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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Wisconsin Supreme Court Overturns Stay-At-Home Order; European Commission Moves To Salvage Summer Tourism; South Korea Races To Contain Coronavirus Outbreak As 12 New Cases Emerge. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 14, 2020 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:30]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TONY EVERS (D), WISCONSIN: Today, absolutely, Wisconsin Republican legislators and those four Supreme Court justices decided that facts don't matter, the statutes don't matter, and frankly, it puts our state into chaos.
There's no regulations out there right now -- period. Now we have no plan and we have no protections for the people of Wisconsin. This will cause the -- us to sure have spikes across the state, there's no question about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: The governor is encouraging everyone in his state to continue to stay safe at home, practice social distancing, and limit travel.
And the mayor of Milwaukee says the city's stay-at-home order remains in place, highlighting just the patchwork approach that's caused so much confusion nationwide for months now.
As of Wednesday, Wisconsin had nearly 11,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 421 deaths. It's more than one -- it's one -- more than 20 states have cases down considerably in the last week, progress now at the risk of reversing.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Also breaking overnight, the FBI reportedly seizing a cellphone from Sen. Richard Burr, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
Now, the "L.A. Times" is reporting this is part of a broadening Justice Department probe into controversial stock trades Burr made as the coronavirus first hit the U.S. -- sending stock prices, of course, plunging.
CNN previously reported Burr's committee received briefings as the outbreak spread but none on the week of Burr's stock sales. CNN has reached out to Sen. Burr, the FBI, and DOJ for comment.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says it's simply hard to capture the anxiety of those families who have lost a job during this crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: While we're all affected, the burden has fallen most heavily on those least able to bear it. The scope and speed of this downturn are without modern precedent, significantly worse than any recession since World War II.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Ten years of job gains gone at lightning speed. According to a Fed study among people working in February, almost 40 percent of people in households making less than $40,000 a year had lost a job in March -- 40 percent of those low-wage households.
The Fed chair also urged Congress to pass more stimulus, and quickly. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is standing by the new package with a trillion -- a $3 trillion price tag, saying the bill has a big price but the virus is a big problem.
JARRETT: Still ahead, open borders effectively unite the European Union. How that's being upended by coronavirus and what summer could look like.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:37:09]
ROMANS: Welcome back.
The E.U. is trying to salvage summer tourism. The European Commission is recommending a phased and coordinated approach toward unrestricted movement within the 26-nation Schengen zone. The primary focus will be the medical situation and how it affects various modes of transportation. Open borders, frankly, define the E.U. and in the fight against Covid-19 they can be a double-edged sword.
CNN's Nic Robertson visits one unique border town that's experiencing a widening divide.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Once seamless borders now controlled. Europe's unity facing new strains and nowhere starker than the border enclave town of Baarle.
ROBERTSON (on camera): This is Belgium over here and The Netherlands over here -- B and L. And the border crisscrosses this town right through the middle of the road, creating a dizzying array of divisions the coronavirus lockdown is driving to previously unseen proportions.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Belgium's lockdown tougher than the Dutch.
ROBERTSON (on camera): And here, the border runs right into the store. I'm going in. ROBERTSON (voice-over): Artist Sylvia Reijbroek loves her special border status but not the uneven lockdowns. Her shop, despite the obvious division, is technically Belgian.
SYLVIA REIJBROEK, STORE OWNER: Now it's a big problem because the law said you can't open, only for the Belgian people.
ROBERTSON (on camera): So you can only sell to Belgian people --
REIJBROEK: Yes.
ROBERTSON (on camera): -- because you're in Belgium?
REIJBROEK: It's a really strange rule to ask people where are you from. So I have to boycott my customers? Who's paying my bills?
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In the weekly market on the Dutch side, the cheese seller is hurting, too.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Normally, you have a lot of people from Belgium coming here to this market to buy your cheese.
GERTJAN VAN DER HEIJDEN, CHEESE SELLER: Yes, at least 20 to 30 percent and now we don't see Belgians.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Why not?
VAN DER HEIJDEN: The border line is closed, so --
MAYOR MARJON DE HOON-VEELENTURG, BAARLE-NASSAU, NETHERLANDS: We're the most peculiar municipality in Belgium and The Netherlands.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Caught in the middle, the towns twin mayors --
MAYOR FRANS DE BONT, BAARLE-HERTOG, BELGIUM: People are shocked now, yes -- personal but also the countries. I think they are shocked together.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): -- both in lockstep about who is suffering most --
BONT: In Belgium, it was stronger. The shops were closed. The playground for the children, they were closed. They closed the border over there.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): -- and both in agreement it's not right.
HOON-VEELENTURG: We're trying to make them listen to us.
[05:40:00]
ROBERTSON (voice-over): She explains they've pleaded with their own national governments and the E.U. to fix the imbalance now and make sure it can't happen again. For some here, the fix can't come soon enough. JULIEN LEEMANS, HOUSE BISECTED BY BORDER: Ninety percent of the house
is Dutch. Ten percent, only the toilet.
ROBERTSON (on camera): It's Belgium.
LEEMANS: Yes, it's Belgium.
ROBERTSON (on camera): So on coronavirus lockdown, are you doing Dutch or are you doing Belgian?
LEEMANS: Official, Belgium.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Because his front door is in Belgium.
LEEMANS: As you know, the difference from the count (ph) is about the corona. Belgium, Dutch, Germany, England --
ROBERTSON (on camera): All different.
LEEMANS: -- all different.
ROBERTSON (on camera): So is it a union anymore?
LEEMANS: I believe not a union.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Experience has taught the townspeople a lot. When Europe is well so are their lives. Now in its worst crisis since World War II, the evidence in Baarle shows how quickly a fundamental of the European project, openness, can be undone.
Nic Robertson, CNN, on the Dutch-Belgian border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Thanks so much to Nic for that one.
South Korea is scrambling to trace and test thousands of people for coronavirus after a new cluster of cases emerges from an outbreak at a Seoul nightclub. The cluster of 12 new cases in the last 24 hours brings the total to 133 infections.
Let's go live now to Seoul and CNN's Paula Hancocks. Paula, what are officials saying about their plans to get a grip on the situation?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura, officials at this point are really scrambling to try and test as many people as they can that they believe were in the area over a two-week period and anyone who may have met them since that point as well.
So they've done 35,000 tests since May the sixth and that's just in about a week. Fifteen thousand were yesterday alone. So we can see that they're making a massive effort to try and contain this outbreak.
They're also tracing a number of people using the techniques and the technology that they have at hand -- mobile phone records, CCTV, GPS, the credit card usage, and police cooperation -- to try and find out exactly where everyone has been. And they say that is necessary because people aren't always open about where they've been.
One individual, for example, tested positive and did not admit to being in the area. He was actually a private tutor and then infected a number of his students. Officials are saying they're not looking into whether or not they can actually pursue legal action against him.
But officials are hoping that within this week they will have traced everybody that has been in and around that area in that short period of time.
And as it stands at this point, next Wednesday is when schools will reopen and they hope they will have contained this outbreak -- Laura.
JARRETT: Paula, thanks so much for staying on top of this one for us.
We'll be right back.
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[05:48:25]
JARRETT: Less than two weeks before the shooting that left Ahmaud Arbery dead, a suspect in the shooting of the unarmed black jogger had another confrontation with an unidentified African-American man. That person, seen on video, entering a neighboring house under construction on February 11th.
Now, an attorney for the homeowner says the incident involved Travis McMichael, who is facing charges along with his father in Arbery's death. The homeowner, however, doesn't recognize the man in the video and says nothing was taken.
CNN has now also obtained a recording of a 911 call made that day from a man who identified himself as Travis McMichael.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS MCMICHAEL, ARRESTED FOR MURDER OF AHMAUD ARBERY: When I turned around and saw him and backed up, he reached into his pocket and he ran into the house. So I don't know if he's armed or not but he looked like he was acting like he was. So, you know, be mindful of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: We have learned that Travis' father Greg, also charged in Arbery's death, worked for the Glynn County prosecutor for years without the proper training certification. Employment documents show in 2006, 2007, and 2009, Greg McMichael did not attend firearms requalification or use of deadly force training. He told investigators at the time, the lapses were due to a medical condition, emergency surgery, and personal issues.
Meantime, an unsigned note left at a memorial where Arbery was killed. The message reads "Ahmaud, I'm so sorry. I should have stopped them. I am so sorry." No word who left that note or why.
[05:50:02]
JARRETT: A tropical storm system brewing off the southeast could develop into the first named storm of the season two weeks before hurricane season begins. Here is meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Thursday morning, guys.
We've got some weather to tell you about. Across portions of the Straits of Florida, just north of Cuba there we do have an area of disturbed weather in place and it has the potential here to become our first named tropical or subtropical feature. It has some tropical characteristics.
But you'll notice the National Hurricane Center not messing around. Seventy percent this will form. If it does, our A-letter storm would be Arthur.
Currently, the conditions are unfavorable. We've got quite a bit of wind shear aloft there in this area that we're looking at carefully -- highlighted -- and you'll notice the correlations of, say, pink and red that indicate high shear. That almost all dissipates come Saturday and Sunday and that's where our storm system is expected to end up come Saturday and Sunday.
Now, sea surface temperatures about 80 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit is what you're looking at to get these storms to blossom into a tropical system. That's why we think this will not have what it takes to become a tropical system. But subtropical, again, having some tropical characteristics as sea surface temperatures here are generally into the middle-70s.
But our A-letter storm would be Arthur. And again, the storm system, regardless of how it plays out, will bring in tremendous rainfall potentially into portions of Southern Florida but even across parts of the Bahamas.
You'll notice not unheard of to see A-letter storms or early preseason storms pre-June coming across portions of the United States. But rainfall is what we're going to be looking for on the east coast of Florida and potentially a rip current threat and some high surf as well come Saturday into Sunday -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this Thursday morning.
Taking a look at markets around the world, following the U.S. lead -- declines. And take a look at European shares, down substantially -- actually, more than two percent in the U.K. right now.
On Wall Street, looking at futures, barely moving most of this morning. I would call that treading water here. Stocks fell Wednesday after a warning from the Fed chief Jerome
Powell. The Dow closed 517 points lower. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also fell.
The Fed chief said negative interest rates are not on the table. The unemployment rate will probably peak next month before beginning to decline. And he essentially urged Congress for more fiscal stimulus to make sure that recovery can be robust.
The jobs crisis is putting millions of people at risk of losing their health insurance. A new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows nearly 27 million Americans may have lost their job-based health insurance as these layoffs rip through the job market.
Not all of those people will be left uninsured, though. Nearly 13 million would be eligible for Medicaid. Another eight million could qualify for subsidies to buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act. That still leaves almost six million people who would have to pay for the full cost of new policies.
JCPenney is possibly preparing to file for bankruptcy and thousands of its employees are waiting to hear what is next. But it paid million- dollar bonuses to its top four executives, including a $4.5 million bonus to its CEO. The retailer said the big paydays are designed to keep top talent on board.
JCPenney would not comment about its bankruptcy plans.
Tyson Foods will be discounting prices on some of its products as grocery store prices soar. Now, these reductions will vary but Tyson said some beef products sold to grocery stores, restaurants, and other customers could be discounted up to 30 percent through Saturday.
And even as millions of Americans are ordering food from restaurants, food delivery companies are struggling to make a profit here. "The Wall Street Journal" says Grubhub, Uber, DoorDash, and Postmates are losing money or barely breaking even. The surge in orders also means increased costs for marketing and safety equipment for their employees.
JARRETT: A 15-year-old Boy Scout saved his brother's life by performing CPR on his 8-year-old brother. The boy was in cardiac arrest, possibly related to coronavirus. Jayden Hardowar had come down with a mild fever but had not tested positive for Covid-19. Three days after his first symptoms he suddenly collapsed. His brother, Tyron, quickly put his first aid training to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYRON HARDOWAR, BOY SCOUT WHO PERFORMED CPR ON HIS BROTHER: Every Scout needs to learn CPR. Recently, I took a training in NYU educational lab and I had hands-on training.
I was very nervous. I had all these thoughts going through my head. But then I told myself I need to them aside and I need to focus.
I saw it was pumping. I saw him take a deep breath and I was like I'm doing something right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Jayden faces a long recovery but is now home from the hospital. You never know when that Scout training is going to come in handy.
ROMANS: Always be prepared. That's absolutely right. Good for them and we will -- we hope the best for their family.
JARRETT: Definitely.
ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us this morning. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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[05:59:19]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturning the state's mandate to stay at home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will cause fights across the state. There's no question about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Rick Bright is giving fair warning. Without more action, your 2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: The idea of having treatments available to facilitate the reentry of students would be a bit of a bridge too far.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To me, it's not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump questioning the accuracy of the coronavirus death toll in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number of deaths we have right now is not the right number. It is higher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, May 14th, 6:00 here in New York.
Breaking overnight, chaos in Wisconsin after the state's Supreme Court. END
