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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Covid Battle Enters Critical Phase; European Union Could Block Americans; Russia Holds Victory Day Parade. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired June 24, 2020 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In terms of newly- confirmed cases in a 24-hour period, Mexico, for the first time, reporting more than 6,000 cases in a single day. That brings the overall total to more than 191,000 confirmed cases. We're expecting that number to cross 200,000 cases in the coming days.
And in some non-coronavirus-related news, we heard from President Trump on Tuesday, who said he expects Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to visit the White House, quote, "soon." That would be the first time the Mexican president has left this country since taking office roughly 1 1/2 years ago -- Laura.
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LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Matt Rivers in Mexico City for us. Thank you so much for that.
EARLY START continues right now.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, MEMBER, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we're seeing.
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JARRETT: Health officials pleading with Americans to help slow coronavirus. More states now mandating masks even though the president refuses to wear one.
Well, the message is stay out. The European Union could block all travelers from the U.S. to keep the virus out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUBBA WALLACE, NASCAR DRIVER: I'm pissed. I'm mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that I am. (END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Bubba Wallace has some pretty serious questions after the FBI said the noose found in his garage at Talladega was not a hate crime.
Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett. About 31 minutes past the hour here in New York.
And the U.S. this morning is entering a critical phase in the fight to slow coronavirus. There are now 26 states headed in the wrong direction -- a count that keeps ticking up day-by-day, including new case records in California and Texas, the most populous states in the nation.
The government's leading voice on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, telling a House committee he's worried about complacency and that the curve that Americans tried so hard to flatten is now rising sharply again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: And we're now seeing a disturbing surge of infections that looks like it's a combination. But one of the things is an increase in community spread.
We were going down from 30,000 to 25,000 to 20,000 and now we sort of stayed about flat. And now, we're going up. A couple of days ago there were 30,000 new infections. That's very troublesome to me.
The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we're seeing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Fauci is pleading for people to avoid crowds and just wear masks, just hours before President Trump shunned a mask and addressed a packed crowd of his young supporters in Arizona. That state setting another record for new cases yesterday. Positive tests, a real indicator of spread, have tripled in Arizona since Memorial Day.
Meanwhile in Florida, the "Miami Herald" reports record numbers of patients with Covid-19 are filling hospitals in Miami-Dade County. One medical center in Homestead has reached ICU capacity. There's been a huge jump in the number of Covid cases and critically, in the percentage of tests coming back positive -- upwards of 15 percent, recently there.
Florida businesses, meanwhile, remain open but Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening to pull the plug on establishments that don't follow social distancing rules.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): If people see a pub or restaurant -- you know, if they're operating at 55 percent, OK, give them a warning. Tell them hey, 50. But if you go in and it's just like mayhem -- like "DANCE PARTY USA" and it's packed to the rafters, that's just cut and dry and that's not just an innocent mistake.
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JARRETT: True to that threat, an Orlando area bar near the University of Florida has had its liquor license suspended after 13 patrons and 28 employees tested positive for the virus.
Similar issues are cropping up all over the country now. CNN's Erica Hill has more on all that.
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ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Some sobering new records being set in Arizona and Texas on Tuesday. Record single-day highs for new cases and in Texas, a record, too, for hospitalizations. Harris County, which is home to Houston, really seeing a spike there. In fact, Texas Children's Hospital said it's now admitting adults to deal with the surge.
Gov. Abbott, in Texas, warning the safest place for people to be is in their homes, and that if this surge continues they may have to bring back some restrictions.
Meantime, 17 high-schoolers in Ohio who took a trip to Myrtle Beach have now tested positive. While none of them have been hospitalized, local health officials say they're concerned about the spread.
In Tennessee, half of all the new cases have been linked to community spread. And in Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee, on Tuesday afternoon, announcing that as of Friday, everyone in the state needs to wear a face-covering when they're indoors and outdoors if they can't socially distance.
[05:35:00]
We're also seeing more younger people test positive. In New Jersey, 22 percent of the cases are for people aged between 18 and 29. That's up 10 percent since April.
Laura, back to you.
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JARRETT: Erica, thank you.
The European Union is considering a ban on travelers from the United States because of coronavirus. If the E.U. goes through with this the move would be a glaring rebuke of President Trump's handling of the pandemic.
CNN's Melissa Bell is live for us in Paris. Hi, Melissa.
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura, good morning. Toss your mind back for a moment to early March. Europe was battling the beginning of its outbreak. Italy had just locked down. Donald Trump announced the closing of America's borders to European Union citizens.
Well, the shoe is on the other foot now. It is the E.U. considering whether once it starts lifting those restrictions on nationals from other countries coming into the E.U., whether it will not continue to ban certain countries.
At the moment and according to its objective criteria, Laura, that is whether or not a country is doing the same or better than the E.U. at combatting the outbreak -- at keeping those figures under control. For the time being, the United States does not qualify. And so the risk is that beyond the July first deadline, United States citizens will simply not be able to travel to the E.U., whereas the citizens of a lot of other countries will.
Now, when you consider the business ties between European countries and the United States -- all the business travel, Laura, that goes on -- the many millions of American citizens who come to Europe every year as tourists -- that will be a huge blow. And it will mean, essentially Laura, that for the time being and until a new decision is made you, in New York and me, in Paris will remain entirely physically cut off.
JARRETT: It will be really interesting to see how they weigh all these competing considerations. All right, Melissa, thank you so much.
Well, a very surprising turn after a noose was found in Bubba Wallace's garage at Talladega. The FBI now says this was not a hate crime. The rope had actually been there since October, long before Wallace was ever assigned to that spot last week. But, NASCAR now describes the item as a garage pull rope that was fashioned like a noose.
Many on social media reacted to the news viciously, calling it all a hoax.
Wallace spoke to CNN last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: I'm pissed. I'm mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that I am and my integrity. And they're not stealing that away from me but they're just trying to test that.
But the image that I have and I have seen of what was hanging in my garage is not a -- is not a garage pull. I've been racing all my life. We've raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pulls like that.
It was a noose. Whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose. So, it wasn't directed at me but somebody tied a noose -- that's what I am saying. It was -- it is a noose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Bubba Wallace is the only black driver at NASCAR's top level.
All right, coming up, New York City taking action on its latest problem, overnight fireworks.
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[05:42:53]
JARRETT: Welcome back.
Developing overnight, big protests at Wisconsin's state capitol. A group of protesters tearing down two iconic statues, including one of an abolitionist who died trying to end slavery during the Civil War. That one was beheaded and thrown in a lake.
During the protests, KWOW reports Democratic State Sen. Tim Carpenter was attacked and collapsed before receiving medical attention.
That unrest began earlier Tuesday following the arrest of a black man after he brought a megaphone and a baseball bat into a Capitol Square restaurant.
All right. The list of companies joining the Stop Hate for Profit campaign is growing. The boycott led by the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, Color of Change, and other groups asked major companies to pause advertising on Facebook, citing its repeated failure to meaningfully address hate on its platforms.
Ben & Jerry's joined the campaign Tuesday, calling on Facebook to stop its platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate.
North Face was the first company to join the boycott last week, followed by REI and Patagonia.
Magnolia Pictures, the studio behind the movie "Food, Inc.", became the first Hollywood studio to join the campaign, also on Tuesday. It said it would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram through at least the end of July.
Eddie Bauer, another outdoor apparel brand, also said it's stopped -- it's going to pay -- stop paying ads on the platform through the end of July.
Many of the companies have not said whether the suspension could last longer. Since the boycott began last week, Facebook's stock has risen 1.4 percent.
All right. Right now, Russia is forging ahead with its annual Victory Day parade despite coronavirus cases now topping 600,000 there. The spectacle could give Vladimir Putin a much-needed boost.
CNN's Matthew Chance joins us live with the latest. Matthew, what are you expecting to see? MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's already been taking place over the last couple of hours, Laura.
[05:45:00]
And it is, I have to say, pretty strange at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in Russia -- which has the third-highest number of infections in the world after Brazil and the United States -- to see such a big military parade be staged in the center of the Russian capital.
Thirteen thousand Russian troops, of course, backed by sort of various armored vehicles, being watched by thousands of people. There are invited VIP guests and thousands more in the streets of the center of the Russian capital.
Not really socially distancing, at least outside those stands, although the authorities say that inside Red Square, where the parade is being held, soldiers were socially distanced. The guests and onlookers were socially distanced.
And, of course, all the soldiers had been held in quarantine for two weeks beforehand as well to try and make sure that the coronavirus was not passed on in this potentially very close contact dangerous situation from a pandemic point of view.
But it's the political context, of course, that's all-important in Russia. It comes -- this parade does -- just a week before an important national vote, which could see Vladimir Putin have two extra terms given to him as president, which means he would be in power in Russia until 2036. And so, it's an important vote for the Kremlin.
JARRETT: All right, thank you so much. Good to see you, Matthew.
We'll be right back.
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[05:50:25]
JARRETT: The Georgia Legislature has approved a hate crimes bill that allows enhanced criminal penalties for anyone who targets another because of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Gov. Brian Kemp plans to sign the measure pending a legal review.
Until now, Georgia has been one of four states without a hate crime law. Lawmakers called for changes after the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery.
Well, that bill in Georgia passed on the same day Rayshard Brooks was remembered in a private funeral at the church where Martin Luther King Jr. was once pastor. Brooks was shot and killed by police in Atlanta two weeks ago.
MLK's daughter, Rev. Bernice King, spoke out against structural racism and she called for the demonstrations to continue. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. BERNICE KING, CEO, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CENTER: If we miss this moment, we will find ourselves returning again and again to a pathway of chaos and self-destruction. So to all of my activists, to all of my organizers and people of goodwill, we cannot stop our cry for justice and our fight for freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Both officers involved in Brooks' shooting have now been charged in the case; one with felony murder.
Complaints about illegal fireworks are soaring in New York City. It's getting so bad Mayor Bill de Blasio is forming a task force to combat the problem.
But some residents voiced concern when it was announced Tuesday that the city would be using police to address the issue at the same time the role of policing is being reassessed. But the mayor says the task force will focus on suppliers and distributors, not individuals who are setting the fireworks off.
In the first three weeks of June alone, there were more than 11,000 complaints. In the same timeframe last year, there were only 28 complaints. New York is one of several major cities reporting a large uptick in illegal firework complaints.
Well, a new three-digit number will make it easier to reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Right now, the hotline is accessible by dialing a 10-digit number, 1-800-273-8255. But on July 16th, the FCC will formally vote to activate 988. All telecom carriers will be required to implement the new number by July of 2020.
All right, let's get a check on the markets. Looking at global markets, European markets are lower as the E.U. weighs blocking travelers, including Americans, due to the coronavirus. Asian markets closed mostly lower.
On Wall Street, futures are pointing to a lower open as well. Stocks closed higher Tuesday, though, after investors breathed a sigh of relief over the U.S.-China trade relations. The Dow closed up 131 points. The S&P and Nasdaq also finished higher with the Nasdaq hitting a new record high.
Well, there's a new best-performing work-from-home stock. Fastly took the top spot, surpassing Zoom, after it rallied 15 percent on Monday. The cloud computing company focuses on content, delivery services, with Slack, Spotify, and Shopify as some of its biggest customers.
Zoom surged at the start of the pandemic with millions of users signing on to stay connected with friends, work, and school. Fastly is now up 277 percent year-to-date. Zoom is just under 271 percent.
Well, New York City beaches will be open to the public for swimming on July first -- some good news for beach bums there. They were partially reopened for Memorial Day weekend with no swimming allowed. Officials are warning everyone to follow social distancing rules and cover their faces at the beach to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Well, you could call it the immaculate misconception. The Spanish owner of this famous painting of the Virgin Mary says he paid more than $1,300 to have it restored. But the furniture restorer he hired to clean that painting botched the job and in the process made a cartoonish mess of the Virgin Mary's face -- you can see there.
Conservation experts in Spain say it highlights the need to regulate the restoration business. Currently, a person can sell themselves as an art restoration expert even if they lack the necessary skills.
A lesson there to always check Yelp reviews for those.
[05:55:00]
All right, have a great day, everyone. I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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FAUCI: The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we're seeing in Florida, in Texas, in Arizona.
HILL: A new daily high in Texas. Cases topping 5,000 for the first time.
DR. LEANA WEN, E.R. PHYSICIAN: And unfortunately, we reopened too soon. Basically, we're back to where New York was back in March.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: All of us have been and continue to be committed to increasing readily timely access to testing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump spoke to an audience of nearly 3,000 people inside this packed megachurch.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And there's definitely a certain percentage of the population inside that church that have the virus because of what's going on there.
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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
END
