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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.S. Sets Another Single-Day Record for Coronavirus Cases; Trump Lashes Out at Supreme Court Ruling on Tax Records; Tropical Storm Fay Churning Up the East Coast; Big Ten to Only Play Conference Games This Fall. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired July 10, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:20]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Grim new numbers this morning on coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Will U.S. states be forced to pause their reopening or even shut down again?
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Friday, July 10th, 5:00 a.m. here in New York.
This morning, the struggle to contain coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S. here has some public health experts talking about reimposing lockdowns once again.
But Dr. Anthony Fauci says, instead, states may need to press pause on reopening plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: I would hope we don't have to resort to shutdown. I think that would be something that is obviously an extreme. I think it would not be viewed very favorably even by the states and the cities involved. So rather than think in terms of reverting back down to a complete shutdown, I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: And here's why he's saying that. Another single day record of more than 63,000 new cases in the U.S. with new daily records for deaths set in at least three different states.
Our coverage begins this morning with CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three states set new grim records for number of deaths in a 24-hour period due to coronavirus. California, 149. Texas, 105. And Florida, with 120. Also in Florida, the department of health reporting an additional
8,935 new cases, as well as their highest positivity rate for coronavirus testing in weeks.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: I know we've had different, you know, blips and now, a higher blip than where we were in May and beginning in June.
SAVIDGE: The almost daily record-setting surge in Florida triggering long lines of people waiting to be tested, and causing officials to question the state's aggressive plan to reopen schools.
ALBERTO CARVALHO, SUPERINTENDENT, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: At a time when quite frankly restaurants have been emptied out, shuttered, it is counterintuitive to mandate students to return to school at full capacity.
SAVIDGE: Despite concerns, Disneyworld opened today for pass holders. Meanwhile, Hospital and hot spots like Florida, Texas and Arizona, officials say are in danger of being overwhelmed with personal protective equipment again in short supply. 10,000 people hospitalized in Texas with the state's Republican governor calling it a massive spike.
GOV. GREGG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: When you look at the number of people hospitalized over the past couple weeks, you can see there may be more fatalities coming.
SAVIDGE: Arizona is reporting a record high spike in coronavirus emergency room admissions on top of the shortage of ICU beds. All three states opened early despite the advice to go slow. It is not the only way politics is encouraging COVID-19 spread.
This weekend, President Trump plans to hold a rally in New Hampshire this weekend. Triggering fears the state could end up like Oklahoma where experts are reporting a jump in coronavirus cases following the president's rally in Tulsa last month, where supporters ignored advice to wear masks and socially distance.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Dr. Fauci did not mince words when asked why the response to the pandemic has gone so terribly wrong in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: Why we are having blips and surges in Florida and California and Texas and Arizona? Some of the states, the governors or mayors jumped over the guidelines and checkpoints and opened up a little bit too soon. Certainly, Florida I know, you know, I think jumped over a couple of checkpoints.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: When asked whether the pandemic has spiraled out of control because of politics, Fauci said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: We live -- I mean, you have to have blindfolds on and covering your ears to think we don't live in a very divisive society now from the political standpoint. I mean, it's just unfortunate, but it is what it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And Dr. Fauci also stressed the need for local officials to make mask wearing mandatory.
JARRETT: Yes. Well, officials like Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear who's trying to mandate the wearing of masks, he's been blocked. A state court judge has issued a temporary restraining order putting pause on Beshear's ability to introduce coronavirus executive orders unless he can specify more details about this emergency.
[05:05:08]
It's the latest battle between the governor and state's attorney general who is a Republican. The A.G. contends the judge's restraining order protects Kentucky families who've been suffering economic hardships from the governor's executive actions. Beshear is vowing to fight the ruling.
ROMANS: The CDC now says it has no plans to revise its school reopening guidelines. President Trump thinks those guidelines are too tough, too expensive. Vice President Mike Pence promised revisions next week.
But CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield, claims that is not happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC DIRECTOR: There are not new guidelines that we're coming out with, Anderson. We've started the guidance for K-12 back in February and higher learning back in March. We continue to update them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Dr. Redfield says the CDC is working to help schools test for COVID-19 symptoms. He says tools are developed on how to use face masks in a school setting and how parents can determine whether a child should stay home.
President Trump is pushing for schools to reopen in the fall. It is threatening to withhold school funding from districts that do not comply.
JARRETT: President Trump is lashing out at the Supreme Court's decision to allow New York prosecutors to subpoenas his tax returns. The president is also taking aim at officials in his government.
Here's what he told Fox's Sean Hannity about the IRS.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm under tax audit. I have been for a long period of time. We made a deal a long time ago and once I ran for politics, that deal we didn't make it. So, I'm under continuing audit and anybody that did that or showed that before you have it finalized, but they treat, they treat me horribly, the IRS. Horribly.
It's a disgrace what's happened. We had a deal done. In fact, I guess it was signed even and once I ran or once I won or somewhere back a long time ago, everything was like, well, let's start all over again.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
JARRETT: To be clear, there's been a lot of talk about the audit. But the IRS has never confirmed it is looking at the president's taxes.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Laura and Christine, it did not take the president long to respond to those rulings. He fired off a tweet -- several tweets within a matter of hours. And though his press secretary tried to claim he had not been ruled against and actually happy with the outcome, the president's Twitter feed and his reaction in person later told a different story. He could see the good parts and see the bad parts of this. And then he went on the rant saying he believes he has been the victim of presidential harassment. Something we have seen the president say before.
Then he zeroed in on New York where, of course, this is a case that can prove troublesome for the president, since you saw the Supreme Court justices argue that they do not believe he is immune from investigation just because he is a president who was sitting in the White House right now. And that's really going to be the question going forward, because his attorney Jay Sekulow who argued these cases in front the court said he does feel a measure of success. Obviously, temporarily, they are not going to get these financial records. It seems unlikely we're going to actually see them before the election.
But what was a big defeat for the president and his attorney was they were rejecting that argument that he is immune from investigation, something that Jay Sekulow tried to make, saying that he temporarily presidential immunity. And the court said, nope, that is not the case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Kaitlan, thank you for that.
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden unveiled his plan to rebuild and reset the American economy called Build Back Better. It features made in America manufacturing, clean energy, health care and racial equity. Biden drew a stark contrast between himself and President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Throughout this crisis, Donald Trump has been almost singularly focused on the stock market, the Dow and Nasdaq. Not you, not your families.
If I'm fortunate enough to be elected president, I'll be laser-focused on working families. Middle class families where I came from here in Scranton, not the wealthy investor class. They don't need me. The working families do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Part of Biden's manufacturing plan includes $400 billion in new spending with a focused on infrastructure, road, rail, bridges and telecommunications equipment. He wants $300 billion in additional spending on research and development. Biden's campaign said the plan would bring back jobs lost during the pandemic and create an additional 500 million new jobs. He also plans to invest in businesses started by women and people of color and expand affordable housing.
But what you're hearing there, Laura, is Joe Biden setting himself up as the centrist man of the working people.
[05:10:04]
I think you're going to be hearing a lot more about the president's big tax cuts for corporations, right, they were permanent, while middle class tax cuts were temporary.
JARRETT: Yes, definitely. Still, it's hard to remember sometimes we're still in the middle of the campaign season.
ROMANS: That's right.
JARRETT: He's setting himself apart already.
All right. So, so many questions about what happened to "Glee" actress Naya Rivera. We have some new footage that could shed light on some of her last moments. The latest, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The state of Texas just recorded over 100 coronavirus deaths in a single day. That's the first time that's happened since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations there are also climbing to new highs.
CNN has reporters across the country bringing you the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Lavandera in Dallas.
Texas health officials reported on Thursday that 105 people died of coronavirus. [05:15:00]
That is a record single day high. That number has not topped 100 since this pandemic started. And almost 30,000 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in just the last three days.
And the number of people hospitalized here in Texas has tripled in just the last three weeks. These are staggering numbers that are causing a great deal of concern and alarm virtually across every corner of the state.
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Evan McMorris-Santoro in Phoenix, Arizona. This state has had the highest rate of cases on average per capita of any place in the country since June 7th.
But on Thursday, Governor Doug Ducey tried to put a positive spin on recent news saying his states are not number, the rate in which the infection spreads has come down. He attributed that to recent orders closing gyms and bars and other place that the people gather.
Local officials want him to close indoor dining, too, but he refused, instead putting into place a new order that caps restaurant capacity at 50 percent of the fire code. A rate he said will be strictly enforced. He also told Arizonans to stay home. I asked him if keeping restaurants open at the same time sends a mixed message. He said it didn't.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ryan Nobles in Burke, Virginia.
Republicans are once again being forced to adjust their plans for the Republican National Convention. Organizers in Jacksonville are now exploring the opportunity for an outdoor convention site for where Donald Trump is going to accept the party's nomination. They are looking at two places right now, the stadium where the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL play, and also, an 11,000-seat stadium, a smaller venue, where their Minor League Baseball team plays.
This is all because of the rising coronavirus cases in Jacksonville and the hopes the organizers can still pull this event off and keep as safe as possible for the folks planning to attend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Thanks so much to all of our correspondents for those updates.
Well, new surveillance video has been released showing missing "Glee" actress Naya Rivera and her son getting on their boat before her disappearance on Thursday. The video shows them renting a pontoon boat before departing a dock on California's Lake Piru.
Rivera's 4-year-old son was later found asleep on the boat alone. He told officials he and his mother had gone swimming, but only he got back on the boat. The search for Rivera has become a recovery mission at this point. ROMANS: All right. Seventeen minutes past the hour.
Tropical Storm Fay is moving up the East Coast, picking up steam and heading toward New York this morning.
Here's meteorologist Karen Maginnis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christine and Laura, it's Tropical Storm Fay, and it should remain at tropical storm intensity. But before it does, it's going to increase in intensity just a little bit.
Landfall expected at 8:00 thereabouts in the vicinity of New York City. The rainfall will be perhaps worst, 3 to 5 inches. Perhaps the locally heavier amounts of as much as eight inches.
Beach erosion, rip current, possible power outages, rivers and streams out of their banks. All the way from areas around Rockaway Beach, into Long Beach, Coney Island, Newark, Jersey City, Norwalk, Connecticut. So, we'll watch and watch the severe weather potential across the High Plains and to Dakotas and down towards Kansas and Nebraska.
But the heat across the West is going to be excessively hot, potentially deadly from Southern California, into Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, West Texas, and into the Panhandle. It is also hot and humid across the Deep South. It stays hot in the southwest all the way to the beginning of the workweek.
Back to you, guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: All right. Thanks so much, Karen.
Well, sports and coronavirus clashing once again. It will be conference games only this fall for the Big Ten.
Coy Wire with this morning's "Bleacher Report", up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:23]
JARRETT: All right. The Big Ten says it plans to only play conference games in all sports, including football this fall.
Coy Wire has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report".
Hey, Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura.
This could be just the tip of the iceberg, right? And Big Ten is the first Power Five program to put this policy in place. And you can easily see the others following in their footsteps. The conference says the move is going to allow them to have greater flexibility to adjust its operations throughout the season as the challenge -- challenges created by the pandemic continue to evolve.
This means no marquee football match-ups like Ohio State traveling to play Oregon, Michigan and Washington, or Wisconsin playing Notre Dame at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. And this news comes a day after the Ivy League canceled all of its fall sports until January 1st, at least. The Big Ten does say that any athlete who chooses not to play because of COVID-19 will have their scholarship honored.
All right. To the NFL, the league has sent a list of protocols to all 32 teams that coaches and players are going to have to follow during games this season. In a memo obtained by CNN, they strongly encourage wearing masks on the sidelines, maintaining six feet of social distancing within the bench area and in the locker rooms, and they're prohibiting post-game handshakes and jersey exchange.
NFLPA agreed to the rules, but still, players are baffled over them, including Niners quarterback Richard Sherman, tweeting, quote, players can go engage in a full contact game and do safely. However, it is deemed unsafe for them to exchange jerseys after said game, unquote.
[05:25:04]
And let's go to Major League Soccer, now with a second team being forced to withdraw from the tournament due to too many positive tests there in Orlando. Nashville FC done after nine players tested positive for COVID-19. FC Dallas was sent home earlier in the week.
Nashville CEO says that he supports the decision, but the team is devastated. The Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan whose team opens play tomorrow said that he has concerns about playing the rest of the tournament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD GUZAN, ATLANTA UNITED FC GOALKEEPER: There's definitely concern. Before we're athletes, we're humans, we're parents. So, the health of every person that is here has to be the priority and now seeing the results from Nashville and now they're out of the tournament, it certainly is concerning, you know?
We're having to put a lot of trust in Major League Soccer. We're having to put a lot of trust in other people to hopefully make sure that the rest of us can stay safe and stay healthy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Now, Brad is a team captain and player rep. Look, these players have to blindly trust the league and their testing protocols, the hotel staff keeping areas clean at all times. A lot of concerns, Christine, with teams dropping out of this pro tournament, with college teams cancelling games. You get the sense that trying to get games back just might not go how sports fans hope and like.
ROMANS: Yes, just an epic experiment, isn't it? Just amazing. WIRE: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks so much for that, Coy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel talking about coronavirus and maybe taking a shot at Donald Trump? We'll let you be the judge, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
