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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
States Looking For New Ways To Slow Coronavirus; More Conservatives Endorse Wearing Masks; China Researchers Discover New Swine Flu With Pandemic Potential. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired July 01, 2020 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:31:27]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: How does the United States plan to flatten this curve? After a devastating month, states are looking for answers, trying to slow a record surge of coronavirus.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And the president refuses to lead on the most basic medical advice, wearing a mask. Now, his Republican and media allies are leaving him behind on this issue.
Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Boris Sanchez in for Christine Romans. Great to see you this morning, Laura. We are 31 minutes past the hour.
JARRETT: So glad you're here Boris --
SANCHEZ: Thanks.
JARRETT: -- this morning.
As the second half of 2020 begins -- yes, we are here -- there are new signs the resurgence of coronavirus will be harder to beat than the initial wave. Almost 45,000 cases reported in the U.S. yesterday, just shy of Friday's record. The last six days mark the six highest totals during this entire pandemic.
California is one of the states where cases and hospitalizations are at record levels, and the governor says new restrictions are coming today.
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GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: We bent the curve in the state of California once, we will bend the curve again -- mark my word. We will crush this pandemic, we will annihilate it, we'll get past this -- but we're going to have to be tougher and we're going to have to be smarter.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: It's tough to overstate the severity of the problem right now. The month of June saw huge setbacks in the battle against the virus and you see it in all the red on that map. The entire south and west losing major ground, a lot of it driven by young people who are not social distancing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's Covid expert, says the pandemic is simply not under control.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: I'd have to say the numbers speak for themselves. I'm very concerned and I'm not satisfied with what's going on. We are now having 40+ thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.
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SANCHEZ: And if you think 100,000 a day is an exaggeration, some experts say we are already there.
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DR. MARK MCCLELLAN, FORMER COMMISSIONER, FDA: Remember, a lot of cases are going undetected because not everybody can get testing. And according to CDC, the total number of cases in the U.S. may be as much as 10 times as what we've actually been measuring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The number of new cases in the U.S. shot up by 80 percent in just the last two weeks. And it may seem obvious, but Dr. Fauci cautions against states skipping steps on the path to reopening.
Nineteen states have now rolled back their plans for reopening, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state will not close businesses to mitigate this worsening pandemic.
In the northeast, meanwhile, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have doubled the number of states on their high-risk list. Now people traveling from 16 states will have to self-quarantine when they arrive.
CNN has reporters covering the pandemic from coast to coast.
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LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Lucy Kafanov in Houston, Texas, where the numbers are trending in the wrong direction. New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are skyrocketing. Younger people are getting sick, hospitals strained, long waiting lines at testing locations like this one.
The governor shutting down bars to try to curb the spread of this disease. Bar owners now suing the state.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: I'm Alison Kosik in New York.
To better cope with extremely long lines for unemployment benefits like the ones you're seeing here, Oklahoma's unemployment office set up a two-day event that starts this morning in Midwest City.
[05:35:01]
Hundreds desperate for unemployment benefits camped overnight Sunday into Monday at Oklahoma's unemployment office to be the first in line to get help. These pictures and reporting from CNN affiliate KOCO.
Some had waited months to get benefits amid the pandemic, but Oklahoma Employment Security Commission staff couldn't see everyone and capped the line at 170, turning some people away.
The solution, today's event to help answer questions. Officials say they'll take the first 500 in line and next week they'll add similar events in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alexandra Field in New York where health officials are investigating a cluster of Covid cases.
At least 14 people tested positive after attending a drive-in high school graduation ceremony. One person who was at the ceremony had recently returned from Florida, later started showing symptoms, and then tested positive.
The Chappaqua Central School District says they are working closely with authorities in order to stop the further spread of the virus.
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JARRETT: Thanks to all of our correspondents for those updates.
Well, President Trump is becoming more and more isolated in his refusal to wear a mask. With the pandemic resurging nationwide, a growing chorus of Republicans and conservative media figures are calling for people to wear masks.
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SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN): The president has plenty of admirers. They would follow his lead. It would help end this political debate. The stakes are too high for this political debate about pro-Trump- anti-Trump masks to continue.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: I think they work. And I said especially, if I wear a mask and it opens up baseball, concerts, NFL football, I'd rather wear the mask and go to the game.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We must have no stigma -- none -- about wearing masks. MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Americans should wear a mask whenever state and local authorities indicate that it's appropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The vice president's stance not exactly shouting from the rooftops and a little more vague, leaving it up to local officials -- some of them using his statements as room to maneuver.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announcing no social distancing and no masks will be required this weekend when the president heads to Mount Rushmore for Fourth of July celebration fireworks.
SANCHEZ: Look, it's a no-brainer wearing a face mask during the pandemic saves lives, but it may also save the economy. A new report from Goldman Sachs estimates a national mask mandate could prevent renewed lockdowns that would wipe five percent from the U.S. GDP.
The president has said they are a, quote, "double-edged sword." He refuses to wear one in front of cameras.
But, Goldman says a mandate could lift the percentage of people who wear masks by 15 percentage points nationally.
Investors are growing increasingly nervous over the spike in coronavirus around the country, casting new doubt on the speed of the country's economic recovery.
JARRETT: Well, presidential hopeful Joe Biden is ramping up his criticism of President Trump's response to the pandemic as he tries to show voters how he would handle a public health crisis if he were in the White House.
The former V.P. who has avoided in-person campaign events during this crisis claims Trump is in full retreat.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He called himself a wartime president. What happened? Now, it's almost July and it seems like our wartime president has surrendered, waved the right flag -- white flag, and left the battlefield.
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JARRETT: Recent national and swing-state polls show Biden with a widening lead over President Trump.
SANCHEZ: Today, Congressional leaders known as the Gang of Eight are going to be briefed on intelligence that Russia offered bounties for attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
CNN has learned the White House was provided with this intelligence in early 2019. More than a year later, President Trump claims he was never informed about the threat. A U.S. official tells CNN the Intel was also in the president's written daily briefing this spring.
The White House now scrambling to defend the president.
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KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president does read and he also consumes intelligence verbally. This president, I'll tell you, is the most informed person on planet earth when it comes to the threats that we face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The press secretary there having to confirm he reads.
This administration claims that Intel did not reach the president because there was no consensus about its credibility. A former senior intelligence official called that explanation inconceivable.
Now, in a "New York Times" op-ed, President Obama's former national security adviser, Susan Rice, says, "I would have walked straight into the Oval Office to brief the president. Contrary to the spin-masters in the White House today, I would not have waited until we had absolute certainty."
Rice is said to be on a short list of potential running mates for Joe Biden.
[05:40:00]
SANCHEZ: In the face of a growing pandemic, Russian voters are getting a chance today to effectively lift term limits on Vladimir Putin's presidency. They get to decide on a national referendum that could extend Putin's reign as president until 2036.
CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now live with the latest. Matthew, perhaps not a surprise that Putin has endorsed this proposal. Is there any chance at all that this fails?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't think there is any chance of it failing. And, in fact, the latest opinion polls -- the exit polls that we've looked at coming out of Russia -- which are all state-run, by the way -- are suggesting as many as 76 percent of the electorates are voting for these amendments.
Vladimir Putin gave a sort of national address on state television last night, saying this is about stability, security, and prosperity, and urging Russian citizens to support those raft of amendments which cover a whole range of issues.
But the most important one is the one you mentioned -- that one which gives Vladimir Putin an extra two potential presidential terms. It means he could be in power for another 16 years until 2036 or until he's 83, whichever number is more -- is more shocking to you.
All this, of course, Boris, coming against the backdrop of those allegations that Russians -- Russia paid Afghan militants bounties to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. That has been categorically denied by the Kremlin. They're calling it a hoax, they're calling it a lie, and even Russian political talk shows have been talking about this, sort of slamming the Western media and the American media for anti- Russian rhetoric.
In other words, exactly the same reaction you always get from the Russian authorities when we're presented -- or when they're presented with any maligned activity around the world, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Yes, you know those denials very well. Matthew Chance reporting from London. Thank you.
JARRETT: We turn now to Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling a delay in his plan to annex occupied territory in the West Bank. Netanyahu had set July first, today, as the target date to begin Israeli sovereignty. But after meeting Tuesday with a U.S. delegation, the prime minister now says the plan will be discussed in the coming days.
The plan has drawn strong international criticism. In a Hebrew op-ed this morning in one of Israel's largest newspapers, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging Israel not to go ahead with annexation, calling it a gift to those who want to perpetuate the old stories about Israel.
SANCHEZ: That Buffalo protester who fractured his skull after being shoved by police is now out of the hospital. We have an update on his condition, next.
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[05:46:50]
SANCHEZ: Brazil is going to allow non-essential businesses to reopen today even though the country is up to 1.4 million coronavirus cases and nearly 60,000 deaths. In Rio, restaurants, bars, and gyms will reopen in just a few hours.
The World Health Organization says many countries in the region will not reach their peak in cases until mid-July or August.
JARRETT: Researchers in China have discovered a new swine flu with pandemic potential. They're getting the information out quickly after worldwide condemnation for their slow response to Covid-19.
Let's go live to Beijing and bring in Steven Jiang. Steven, just what we need right now, another pandemic. What more are you learning about this?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Laura, there's good news and bad news. The good news is this virus, as of now, does not pose an immediate threat to the global population.
But the bad news is this virus, known as G4, is genetically descendant -- a descendant from the H1N1 swine flu, which did cause a global pandemic back in 2009, killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world. And scientists say this virus, G4, actually bears all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus.
But as you said, this virus was discovered by Chinese researchers through a years' long pig surveillance program. They actually collected more than 30,000 nasal swabs from pigs and this virus consistently showed up in their testing results. It also appears it has affected humans in at least two Chinese provinces, especially among workers in pig farms.
But the most promising sign out of all this is so far, there's no evidence this virus could spread from person-to-person. However, experts do say it is very important right now to monitor this virus closely among pigs because it could pose a serious threat to human health, ranging from severe infections to even deaths, and Chinese authorities say that's exactly what they are doing.
And as you said, their early disclosure of information has reassured some outside experts that they have learned a lesson from their initial mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis -- Laura.
JARRETT: Yes, clearly trying to get out ahead of the story. All right, Steven, nice to see you.
SANCHEZ: New travel restrictions taking effect overnight in the European Union. Who's allowed in, who's not, and how will it affect the global effort to defeat the virus?
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live at E.U. headquarters in Brussels. Fred, what I found notable is that they are allowing for travel from China, where the virus originated, but not from the United States.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right, Boris, they certainly are. And it really is a big decision for the European Union because these European countries, they want American tourists to come back here to Europe.
I was crunching the numbers a little bit and in 2018, American tourists spent $4 billion -- around $4 billion in France alone.
So they want Americans to come back but they simply believe that right now with the state of the pandemic in the U.S., it would be a public health risk to allow for that.
And essentially, what the European Union is saying, Boris, with this list, is they believe that countries -- for instance, like Rwanda and Algeria are doing a better job at containing the pandemic than the Trump administration has done so far. They say it's all about science. They're looking at the new infections in these countries of origin.
[05:50:00]
And we have a graphic ready that shows the new infection trajectories in the United States and in the European Union. You can see they're going in very, very different directions there and that's why the European Union is saying right now, it's simply not possible to let Americans in. By the way, the next time that decision gets revisited is about two weeks from now. But until then, travel to Europe is not going to be possible, Boris.
SANCHEZ: All right, Frederik Pleitgen reporting from Brussels. Thank you so much.
The unflattering tell-all written by President Trump's niece will sit waiting in boxes for now. A judge has temporarily blocked the book's release later this month handing a win to the president's younger brother. Robert Trump contends it violates a confidentiality agreement.
Simon & Schuster, the book's publisher, says it no longer controls the 75,000 copies that have already shipped. The publisher says it had been unaware of any confidentiality agreement.
JARRETT: Well, survivors who experienced sexual misconduct by the now-convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein will share a nearly-$19 million settlement.
The payments would resolve two separate sets of lawsuits, one brought by the New York State attorney general, who filed a civil rights suit on behalf of women who said they were discriminated against and harassed at Weinstein's company, as well as a 2017 class action brought by women harassed by the former movie mogul.
Attorneys for some of Weinstein's victims, however, say they will object to the deal because, among other things, it doesn't require Weinstein to accept personal responsibility.
SANCHEZ: A police officer in Oklahoma has died after being shot during a traffic stop. Tulsa police Sgt. Craig Johnson was one of two officers attacked when they pulled over a driver on Monday. The other officer was shot in the head and remains in critical condition.
The suspect is David Ware. He fled, but he was later arrested with an alleged accomplice. Ware now facing first-degree murder and other charges.
JARRETT: The 75-year-old protester badly injured when Buffalo police shoved him to the ground has been released from the hospital. Martin Gugino's attorney says he can now walk with a little help and will continue his recovery at an undisclosed location to ensure his privacy.
Gugino suffered a fractured skull. Two officers have pleaded not guilty to assault charges in that case.
SANCHEZ: The FBI and the Justice Department say they have been reviewing the death of Elijah McClain since last year and they're focusing on whether a federal civil rights investigation should be launched.
The 23-year-old McClain, a black man, was stopped by three white officers in Aurora, Colorado as he walked home from a convenience store last August. He wasn't doing anything wrong but someone called because they said he looked suspicious.
He wound up in a chokehold, suffered a heart attack in the ambulance, and died three days later.
JARRETT: A historic day in Mississippi. Gov. Tate Reeves signing a bill to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag. The Republican governor called it a solemn occasion for people to come together and to move forward.
The flag has flown over the state since 1894. A commission will develop a new flag design that includes the phrase "In God We Trust."
SANCHEZ: Tenants in New York now protected from eviction even if they're suffering financially from the pandemic. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signing a new law yesterday.
The bill's sponsor warns of a tidal wave of evictions looming over New York because of coronavirus. The law does not protect those who willfully withhold rent or those who have not really faced financial hardship.
JARRETT: All right, let's take a quick look at markets around the world. You can see Asian markets closed mixed. Hong Kong was closed for a holiday. European markets have opened mostly lower so far.
On Wall Street, futures are pointing to a lower open to start the third quarter today. Stocks finished higher Tuesday, finishing the best quarter in decades after record declines.
Well, Netflix plans to invest $100 million in black-owned banks to help close the wealth gap. The streaming service has said the money will go to banks and community development organizations, which have a better track record of lending to minority borrowers.
Netflix is also investing $25 million into local initiative support corporations. It's a development finance company that supports black entrepreneurs across a variety of businesses.
Minority-owned banks and credit unions represent just one percent of the country's total commercial banking assets.
Boris, it shows you kind of just where we are -- just one percent. So it's a big move there from Netflix. You know, the co-founder, Reed Hastings, just donated $120 million to HBCUs as well.
SANCHEZ: And, Hastings putting his money where his mouth is.
Thank you so much for joining us. Laura, thank you so much for having me this week. Always a good time. I'm Boris Sanchez.
JARRETT: Always great to have you in, Boris. I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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[05:59:15] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: I'm not satisfied with what's going on. We're going in the wrong direction. Clearly, we are not in total control right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Fauci and others from the Coronavirus Task Force advising the American public to do what the president won't -- wear a mask.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Embrace the universal use of face coverings. Those that are listening, spread the word.
GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: We will have a large event on July third. We will be giving out free face masks if they choose to wear one.
MCCONNELL: We must have no stigma -- none -- about wearing masks.
BIDEN: That mask is not so much to protect me, it's to protect other people. It's called patriotism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Wednesday, July first -- July -- 6:00 here in New York.
Alisyn is off. Erica Hill with me this morning. Great to have you here.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Always good to be here.
BERMAN: So, I'm really glad you're here.
END
