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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
CDC Broadens Eviction Protections; Plan Prioritizes Health Care Workers, Paramedics, Firefighters & Police; Trump Visits Kenosha Despite Local Officials' Objections; Pope Francis Greets Faithful, Resumes Weekly Wednesday Audience; Nuggets Outlast Jazz in Game 7 Thriller. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 02, 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: Pandemic-stricken Americans can stay in their homes through the end of the year. Help for Main Street while Wall Street soars.
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 Wednesday, September 2nd, 5:00 a.m. in New York, 62 days before the election.
And we begin this morning with 40 million Americans facing eviction in the middle of a pandemic and with President Trump trying to avoid eviction from the White House in November, he now wants to keep much in their homes. In an extraordinary move, the CDC, of all agencies, is temporarily halting most evictions through 2020 for Americans struggling to pay their rent due to the pandemic.
Now, the move applies to people making less than $99,000 a year or couples making less than $198,000. The White House taking a step Congress won't. There's a catch. Senior administration officials say renters will eventually have to payback any missed rent.
ROMANS: Also this morning, a panel of experts convened by the national institutes of health is directly contradicting the FDA and president on the use of convalescent plasma. The NIH panel calls data plasma from survivors can treat COVID-19 insufficient. Just a week ago, the FDA granted emergency authorization to use plasma after a public push from the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ERIC TOPOL, EVP OF SCRIPPS RESEARCH TRANSLATIONAL INSTITUTE: This action is extraordinary moment. Here you have different governmental agencies that are at odds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The U.S. is still facing criticism for its lackluster testing effort. Testing is the best way to isolate cases and contain the virus. The federal official in charge of testing says $5 rapid tests will start going out the states starting in just few weeks, but he is dramatically lowering expectations.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF HEALTH: It's great to talk about this utopian why everybody has a test every day and we can do that. I live in the real world. The real world had no tests for this new disease when this first started.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
JARRETT: Well, that's true only as far as it goes. But admiral is pushing back against straw argument here. No one is suggesting testing every single American every single day, and the CDC just relaxed the testing guidance for no apparent reason.
So, a top Harvard doctor put it this way. Quote, it's not utopia to test teachers and kids to return to school, nursing home residents to stay alive, first responder and other essential workers. That's what White House staff and major league sports get now.
ROMANS: All right. The United States is refusing to join more than 170 countries that are investing in research, manufacturing and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine. Why? Well, because the World Health Organization, the WHO, is involved. "Te Washington Post" reports some members of the Trump administration were pushing for the U.S. to participate.
President Trump has long been hostile to the WHO. He pulled the organization agencies U.S. funding in April because ever its praise for Chinese response early in the pandemic. Instead, the administration opted to bet on the U.S. being first to develop a vaccine.
Now, a group of scientists have developed a plan for who would be first to receive the vaccine.
More now from CNN's Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura, Christine, when a coronavirus vaccine does come out, it won't be available to every American right at first. It's going to have to be done in batches, if you will. So various groups have sat down and said who is first priority? This time, it's the National Academy of Sciences, a very convenient venerated institution. And so, this panel took a look at who should have first priority.
And what they determined the highest priority should be first responders, doctors, nurse, emergency workers, others on the front line of the coronavirus response, and seniors in nursing home. There were other people in this group as well. These are just some examples. Middle priority are those with underlying health conditions that would
put them at risk from getting very sick or dying from COVID, and prisoners and others who live in sort of tightly crowded settings. Lower priority would be young adults and children.
Of course, no one can predict when a coronavirus vaccine or vaccines will come on the market in the United States. That's just not known right at this moment or exactly how many will be ready at the time but this group is hoping by coming out with this plan the roll out will be a little smoother -- Laura, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that.
Let's take a look at where things currently stand. Coronavirus cases are now higher in 17 states. The Midwest still an area of concern especially Iowa where cases have risen nearly 80 percent in a week.
[05:05:01]
A White House coronavirus task force report sent to Iowa officials warn of dire new increases there. It calls for expanding bar closures, comprehensive plans in college towns and a mask mandate. Iowa is one of the few states that doesn't have one.
ROMANS: New York City is delaying the first day of school for in- person school from September 10th to 21st. There will be some remote learning before then.
Nevada now added to the list of 37 states with case at colleges. 25,000 cases have been reported on campuses and many more students and staff are now isolated. That includes almost 300 Utah Sate University students now quarantined after the virus was found in wastewater from four dorms.
JARRETT: And the mayor of Philadelphia is apologizing after he was spotted dining indoors in Maryland while restaurants in his city still can't serve indoors. And in Detroit, a park has been transformed into a temporary memorial for the more than 1,500 residents who have died during the pandemic. Hundred of large portraits lined the roadways so their families can mourn from the safety of their vehicles.
ROMANS: All right. President Trump is once again trying to rebrand the pandemic recession as a success using Wall Street's gains as a personal scorecard.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have now the all time highest stock market, if you take the average. The enthusiasm for the country, the enthusiasm for the come back, the V. You look at the V. Now, I think it's a super V.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: Super V, that's the shape of the recovery. A reminder here, the stock market is not the economy. Wall Street is riding high on record stimulus and low interest rate while Main Street deals with health and job crises here. A few stocks are driving the market high as millions of Americans are struggling with rent and mortgages due this week.
Take a look at Amazon for example, up 89 percent this year. Tesla, oh my gosh, up 467 percent. These are the stocks that are driving the market overall to highs.
Big box retailers have benefitted from the pandemic but small businesses are struggling. Thousands of them have closed for good. Even as stocks soar, corporate America is becoming more worried about this recovery. Data shows nearly half of executives think a U-shaped recovery is more likely than a sharp V-shaped recovery.
And, Laura, you're hearing now about the K-shaped recovery. Think of that. The economy fell off a cliff and now some will recover, think big box retailers, people who already have a job and savings and then this other group falls off the cliff and doesn't recover.
JARRETT: Yeah. I think it's just so for highlight. You know, Amazon is not some mom and pop shop that's closed forever. There's a distinction there that's important.
All right. The police shooting of Jacob Blake is what sparked protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, but it was clearly not the reason for President Trump's visit there Tuesday. The president went against the wishes of the local officials surveying areas damaged by demonstrations, touring an emergency operation center and then holding a public safety round table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: The problem with police violence has been described by you, including president, as just bad apples, a few bad apples or people who choke occasionally. Some African-American community leaders and a lot of others said it's systemic. Where do you stand on that?
TRUMP: I don't believe that. I don't believe that. I think the police do an incredible job. And I think do you have some bad apples. I think you agree, every once in a while, you see something.
And you do have the other situation, too, where under this tremendous pressure and they don't handle it well. They call it choking and it happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: No, actually choke is what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis by the police.
The president did not meet with Jacob Blake's family when he was there. Blake's name didn't even come up until 30 minutes into the round table from a pastor for Jacob Blake's mother. Blake's meanwhile uncle reacted on CNN last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN BLAKE, JACOB BLAKE'S UNCLE: Not satisfied at all. He's been a lying president. He's been a racially discriminating president against minorities.
So, at this point, we're taking the gloves off but still standing strong. Still asking people to be peaceful but let's put the facts on the table. Let's address them as they are. It will take Stevie Wonder to see the video to realize that policing was not done on behalf of Kenoshian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Taking a step back here, the president's visit to the swing state marked another attempt to continue his campaign of linking Democratic-run cities and states to violence ahead of the November election. Joe Biden could visit Wisconsin next week.
ROMANS: All right. For the first time ever, a Kennedy has been defeated in a statewide primary in Massachusetts. Senator Ed Markey fending off a challenge from Joe Kennedy to win the Democratic Senate primary last night. The power of the Kennedy name not enough to overcome Markey's incumbency advantage and his progressive credentials.
[05:10:01]
Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal, a more centrist Democrat, defeated his primary challenger, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse. Neal's position as chairman of Ways and Means Committee gives him enormous influence in Congress.
JARRETT: Yeah, Neal, of course, who has been trying to go after President Trump's taxes.
Well, the Russians, they're at it again. Now, Facebook is trying to be proactive after abuse from the same troll farm back in 2016.
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ROMANS: The infamous Russian troll farm that interfered in the 2016 election is at it again. Facebook announcing it has taken down fake accounts and pages linked to two Russian operatives who were trying to trick freelance journalists into writing stories on their behalf.
The social media giant was acting on a tip from the FBI. Facebook was caught off-guard by Russian misinformation campaigns ahead of the 2016 election. Facebook is now trying it says to be more proactive about weeding out foreign actors.
[05:15:02]
JARRETT: Well, Pope Francis meeting the faithful for the first time since the pandemic hit with some restrictions, of course.
CNN's Delia Gallagher joins us live from Vatican City.
Hi -- hi, Delia.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning to you, Laura.
Today marks a new normal at the Vatican with Pope Francis resuming his traditional papal audiences after six months of doing them via video link. Today, for the first time, he has the public present. What's new, Laura, is that they've moved the venue. They're no longer doing it here in Saint Peter Square, where pre-COVID, this place on a Wednesday morning would be packed with thousands of tourists. They are doing it from a small courtyard inside the Vatican, maximum capacity, 500 people. The Vatican says the change is to comply with Italy's health regulations.
But, of course, it's also true that there are just fewer tourists around right now. Italy saw a spike over the summer in cases not as bad as in other countries in Europe but still keeping the numbers down is a concern for Italy and, obviously, therefore, restrictions on travel affecting tourism in Italy and here at the Vatican -- Laura.
JARRETT: All right. Delia, thank you so much for that.
So even in a pandemic, fans got some much needed drama in a game seven.
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[05:20:45]
ROMANS: The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets playing another instant classic in their winner-take-all game seven last night.
Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report".
Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
I'll tell you what, this series has just been incredible. The two starts in the series, the Jazz's Donovan Mitchell and Nuggets' Jamal Murray trading 50-point performance all series long. Game seven last night was an absolute thriller.
This hook shot went in the paint to give Denver two-point lead with under 30 seconds. Final 15 second were just wild. Mitchell drives, loses the ball. The Nuggets go the other way. Then they miss the lay- up.
The Jazz have a final chance to win it. But Mike Conley's three right here is going to rim out at the buzzer. Take another look, Mitchell was on the other side of the court, calling for the ball. It's probably not time to get it to him, he falls to the ground. Murray comes over to console him after an incredible series.
Nuggets 12th game NBA to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Afterward Mitchell, he was more focused on racial injustice he sees post-game seven.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONOVAN MITCHELL, GUARD, UTAH JAZZ: Pain on my face right now and the way I feel, I can only imagine what's going through others and I know if I begin to cry again (EXPLETIVE DELETED) look, man, this is a game. People lost their family members (EXPLETIVE DELETED), I can only imagine and I appreciate the NBA and everybody in this league for the team because it's not stopping here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. This week on "Hard Knocks," we got a look at how both the Rams and Chargers reacted to the Jacob Blake shooting. Charges head coach Anthony Lynn who's one of the only three black coaches in the league, he cancelled practice that day while delivering his message to the team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY LYNN, CHARGES HEAD COACH: I think that's what we got to keep doing is bringing awareness to the situation and getting the right people on our side. Black people have been protesting for 100 years, and ain't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) changed. Well, I shouldn't say nothing's changed, it's better than what it was, but not where it needs to be.
What's the rule number one: protect the team? I got to protect the team, and I don't think we're in the right mindspace to got out on the field today and practice, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. The NFL season kicks off a week from tomorrow. Roger Goodell announcing more social justice initiatives for week one. Decals featuring the names of victims, the phrases "end racism" and "it takes all of us" will be painted on the fields.
Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs meanwhile receiving their Super Bowl rings yesterday. Patrick Mahomes getting his inside Arrowhead Stadium. While he was excited to get that ring he may have been more excited to give a ring. Mahomes later proposing to his girlfriend Brittany inside a suite at the stadium.
You see it there, just decked out with roses. That's quite the rock, Laura. The two have been dating since high school. Pretty cool that he went from high school to Lubbock, Texas, to Texas Tech and now their journey to the NFL came to Kansas City.
Congrats to Patrick Mahomes and his future wife.
JARRETT: That's amazing. It looked like the whole wall was covered in roses or some other flowers. He did it up big. I like it. Nice job.
SCHOLES: Yeah, he did well. All right.
JARRETT: All right. Andy, nice to see you this morning. Thanks so much.
All right. Another thousand Americans died of coronavirus yesterday. We cannot become numb to these numbers. These real lives, people who have loved ones. This virus remains a threat. Next, the newest efforts to increase testing and stop evictions.
Also, join Wolf Blitzer for an exclusive hour long one-on-one interview with Attorney General Bill Barr. Watch "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 5:00 p.m., only on CNN.
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[05:29:35]
JARRETT: Pandemic stricken Americans can stay in their homes through the end of the year. Some help from Main Street while Wall Street is climbing.
Good morning. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
Forty million Americans facing eviction in the middle of a pandemic and with President Trump facing eviction from the White House in November, he's trying to keep everyone in their homes for now. In an extraordinary move, the CDC of all agencies is temporarily halting most evictions through 2020 for Americans struggling to pay rent due to the pandemic.
