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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Americans Defy Health Warnings During Labor Day Weekend; Colleges in All 50 U.S. States Report Coronavirus Cases; Record- Setting Heat Fuels Wildfires in California. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 07, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Dire warnings from health experts, not enough to prevent big crowds over the holiday weekend. Colleges are taking tougher steps to keep students in line, and now an unusual pledge from three companies racing to find a vaccine.
ALISON KOSIK, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: And states of emergency as raging wildfires set new records in California. Searing heat as high as 120 degrees, making it hard to fight the flames. One fire sparked by pyrotechnics at a gender reveal party. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world, this is EARLY START, I'm Alison Kosik in for Christine Romans, good to see you.
JARRETT: Great to have you, Alison, I'm Laura Jarrett, it's Monday, September 7th, Labor Day, it's 5:00 a.m. here in New York, 57 days until election day. We begin this morning with large Labor Day crowds popping up all over America, despite all of the health warnings from health experts. With more than 6.2 million Americans infected thus far and almost 189,000 people dead, holiday festivities should look a lot different this year. Nonetheless, many chose otherwise, gathering together in large groups from San Francisco to Georgia to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and New Jersey. It was exactly that kind of behavior that triggered those huge spikes in coronavirus cases following Memorial Day on the 4th of July.
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ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: We go into Labor Day with 40,000 new cases a day, much higher than we were at Memorial Day. And so, I'm worried that any new surges will be potentially quite catastrophic.
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KOSIK: Here is the thing. Just a few days ago, a widely used model predicted 400,000 dead by the end of the year, more than double the current total, 3,000 deaths per day are predicted in December, worst than the peak in the Spring. This model has actually low-balled estimates in the past, but that wasn't enough to keep everyone socially distant this weekend. And the president and his top health experts are still not on the same page.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And, by the way, we're rounding the corner. We're rounding the corner on the virus.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You know, I'm not sure what he means. There are certain states that are actually doing well, in the sense of that the case numbers are coming down. Our concern right now is that there are a number of states, particularly for example, the Dakotas, Montana, Michigan, Minnesota and others who are starting to have an uptick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Colleges remain a big source of spread here. Schools in all 50 states now reporting COVID cases. Northeastern University has kicked out 11 students for the Fall semester for violating protocols and the school, get this, is keeping their tuition. San Diego State University issuing a stay-at-home order, asking students to remain in their dorms except for essential needs through the weekend. NYU warning the kids, don't be next after tweeting that more than 20 students have been suspended so far.
KOSIK: CNN has reported the president is pressuring health officials for a vaccine before election day. Now the "Wall Street Journal" reports Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are making a joint pledge not to seek approval for their vaccines until they have been proven safe and effective.
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ESTHER CHOO, PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: If we push out something that is not safe and that harms people, it will ruin not only our ability to disseminate this vaccine, but to disseminate all vaccines because there's already so much vaccine as you can see.
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JARRETT: Speaking exclusively to CNN, the Democratic nominee for vice president says the president's claims about vaccines should be met with a lot of skepticism.
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KAMALA HARRIS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE FOR 2020: I would not trust Donald Trump, and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he's talking about. I will not take his word for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: A former White House doctor says no vaccine will be distributed before election day because a distribution plan is actually going to be extremely complex. The Trump administration has asked the CDC to be prepared to distribute a vaccine by late October. KOSIK: California breaking the state's record for acres burned by
wildfires in a single year, and it's only September. More than 2 million acres have burned in 2020. That's the size of more than 10 New York cities and firefighters are getting no break from record-setting heat. Temperatures reached 121 degrees in L.A. County on Sunday, the highest ever recorded. CNN has now confirmed a 41-year-old woman died this weekend while hiking in the extreme heat.
JARRETT: The blistering heat has fueled the Creek Fire, which is tearing through this year in national forest in California Central Valley.
[05:05:00]
A sheriff described conditions as hellish, at least 224 people were rescued by air, others made a frightening escape on their own.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God -- oh --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep -- go -- just keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Imagine trying to drive through that? The Creek Fire has already burned more than 45,000 acres. States of emergency are in effect in five counties now. CNN's Paul Vercammen is on the crowned in California.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Laura, Alison, a brutal, horrifying fire-ravaged weekend throughout California. Let's start by talking about the fire that caused these evacuations from a campground northeast of Fresno when it came tearing through the mammoth reservoir camp ground. People were ringed by fire. It was such a scary moment. They had no way to get out, many of them -- a bridge had burned down, that they had to be air-lifted out to safety. And we know that some of those people were treated for burns and broken bones.
We also know that this fire called the Creek Fire caused so much havoc in the area, that nearby camp grounds and lakes had to be evacuated. In fact, at one point, on this lake called Bass Lake, visibility dropped so low that officials told boaters to drop their miles per hour, their top speed to 5 miles per hour. It looked like night time in mid-day. Others were able to drive away from some of these horrific fires and they told tales of just absolutely raging infernos on both sides of them.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A hike with just some hazy air that became, you know, soon, ash rain. We were wearing masks but it was getting, you know, harder to breathe, harder to see. I think if we had stayed just 10 minutes more, we might not have been so lucky.
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VERCAMMEN: And many of these fires in California sending up huge pyro cumulus or fire clouds 8-9 miles into the air. And a factor in all of this, the heat, oppressive. A record set in Los Angeles County for the highest temperature ever. It's just difficult for firefighters to get at all of these blazes. Fire officials expressing concerns with hot months of October and November and Santa Ana winds ahead in southern California, there just might not be any rest for these firefighters battling all of these blazes. Reporting from Venice, California, I'm Paul Vercammen, back to you now, Laura, Alison.
KOSIK: Also in California, the El Dorado fire in San Bernardino has grown to 7,000 acres. It was started Saturday by a pyrotechnic device at a couple's gender reveal party for their baby. Officials have expanded mandatory evacuations. The fire is just 5 percent contained.
JARRETT: Well, the Biden camp is spending $47 million on a new ad campaign that targets voters in military communities in five key swing states.
The protect our troops campaign, it seeks to highlight Biden's family connections to the U.S. military. Voters living near bases like Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Bragg in North Carolina will see the ad on Facebook and Instagram. The Biden campaign is also targeting house- holds near bases in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Florida. The ad moves come after an explosive report in "The Atlantic", claiming the president referred to fallen war heroes as suckers and quote, "losers". CNN has now confirmed much of that reporting over the weekend, and the editor of "The Atlantic" believes it's only the beginning.
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JEFFREY GOLDBERG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE ATLANTIC: There is a sense of horror about the way he acts and behaves and talks, and so I would fully expect -- let me just say it this way. I would fully expect more reporting to come out about this and more confirmation and new pieces of information in the coming days and weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: President Trump and several of his current and former aides are denying "The Atlantic" report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DANA BASH, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Have you ever heard the
president disparage U.S. service members or veterans?
ROBERT WILKIE, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: Well, absolutely not. And I would be offended, too, if I thought it was true.
STEVE MNUCHIN, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: I think this president has enormous respect for the military and for the generals. And I've been at the tank at the Pentagon with him. I've been at 9/11 at the Pentagon with him. This president respects and supports the U.S. military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: It should be noted, even the president's denials contains inconsistencies. He says he spoke to the first lady about whether to attend the ceremony in France, and claims he called her at home, but she was actually on the trip with him.
[05:10:00]
JARRETT: Well, still ahead for you, Jacob Blake seizes a chance many shooting victims don't have -- responding in his own words. We'll tell you what Jacob Blake has to say from his hospital bed.
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JARRETT: For the first time, we're hearing from the man who was shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Jacob Blake from his hospital bed delivered a message to his supporters, warning them that life can change in an instant. We get more on this from CNN's Omar Jimenez.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura, Alison, this is really the first time we've heard from Jacob Blake in really any extended fashion since he was shot seven times a little over two weeks ago now. Now, the shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down. So, this roughly one minute long video shows him speaking from his hospital bed. The video was put out by their attorney, Benjamin Crump.
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JACOB BLAKE JR., SHOT SEVEN TIMES BY POLICE IN KENOSHA: I just want to say, man, to all the young casts out there and even the older ones, older than me, there's a lot more life to live out here, man. Your life and not only just your life, your legs, something that you need to move around and move forward in life could be taken from you like this, man. I've got staples in my back, staples in my stomach, you do not want to have to deal with this, man, 24 hours. Every 24 hours, this pain, this numbing pain, it hurts to breathe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Now, Blake's first public appearance also came from the hospital bed, but that one came with a dress shirt and tie for a virtual court appearance. He is accused of third degree sexual assault, misdemeanor or criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. He's pleaded not guilty to all of those charges, and the judge in this has granted a $10,000 bond with a next hearing set for October 21st. Now, back on August 26th, the Wisconsin Department of Justice who is leading this investigation said they hope to have had this investigation completed within 30 days at which point they will then turn their findings over to the Kenosha County District Attorney's office who will make the final decision as to whether, again, any of the officers involved will face charges Laura, Alison?
KOSIK: The mayor of Rochester, New York, announcing a plan to keep protesters and police from inciting each other. It's a partnership using respected community leaders to form a barrier between them. The idea is for protesters to be able to move without fearing they are doing something unlawful. Protests in the city this weekend over Daniel Prude's death began peacefully, but ended with clashes with police. Video from March was released last week, showing officers pinning Prude to the ground with a hood over his head.
His family says he was in the midst of a mental health episode. Prude stopped breathing and was later declared brain dead and died a week later.
JARRETT: Well, there was no Federer, no Nadal. Now Novak Djokovic is booted from the U.S. Open by the tournament referee. We'll tell you what he did and why he's apologizing.
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JARRETT: Welcome back. The top-ranked player in men's tennis is out at the U.S. Open after accidentally nailing a line judge with a ball. Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT". Hey, Andy, what exactly did he do?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Well, Laura, you know, it's something that, you know, tennis players are just not allowed to do, especially in big tournaments when you're on the main stage like this. Novak Djokovic, he was the overwhelming favorite to win in Flushing Meadows this year, but his frustrations getting the better of him, and now he's going to have to try to wait to win that 18th Grand Slam title. Show you what happened, it was in the first set yesterday of his match. Djokovic, after losing a service game, just fires a ball with his racquet and it hits a line judge right in the neck.
Djokovic immediately showed remorse and went over to see if she was OK. She was able to walk off the court, Djokovic then spoke with officials and was told he was disqualified from the tournament. Djokovic left without speaking with reporters, but did give a lengthy apology on Instagram, saying, "the whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person in the tournament, told me, that thank God she is feeling OK. I am extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong." He went on to say, "I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologize to the U.S. Open tournament, everyone associated for my behavior."
The USCA says Djokovic will lose all ranking points and the $250,000 in prize money he had earned at the tournament. He could also receive a fine. All right, the NBA Playoffs continuing last night, LeBron, Lakers trying to bounce back after losing the series opener to the Rockets. Lakers jumping out to a huge lead early in this one, LeBron catching out a huge, go up 42-21. The Rockets though came all the way back and actually led, going into the fourth quarter, then under 40 seconds to go, the Lakers up 4 and LeBron putting this game away with his fade-away right here. Lakers would win 117-109 to even the series. This was LeBron's one-thousandth win in his career.
Now, the Bucks meanwhile trying to avoid a sweep by the Heat, it did look good for them when reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo re-injuring his ankle, Giannis having to be helped off the court. He would not return, but Milwaukee refusing to go home quietly, thanks to Khris Middleton, he had 30 of his 36 points after half-time including this huge three to steal it in over time. So Milwaukee avoids the sweep, 118-115. Now they're going to have to wait and see if Giannis is going to be able to play tomorrow night in game 5.
And we've got a huge doubleheader on "TNT" tonight, starting with people game 5 between the Raptors and the Celtics, that's at 6:30 Eastern, Toronto fought back to even that series at 2 games apiece, that's going to be followed by game three between the Clippers and the Nuggets, that series all tied up at one game apiece. And Alison, you know, yesterday, was actually the last Sunday until February that we're not going to have NFL football. Fingers crossed, if everything goes, if everything goes OK, so the sports calendar packed right now with events.
KOSIK: You know, at least, we've got something to watch. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.
SCHOLES: All right.
KOSIK: Tonight, CNN brings you the stories of Joe Biden and Donald Trump and their fight for the White House. See their triumphs, tragedies and their dramatic journeys. Don't miss the back-to-back documentary event starting tonight at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.
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[05:25:00]
JARRETT: Urgent warnings from health experts not enough to stop big crowds for the holiday weekend. Colleges are now cracking down on students who don't follow the rules, and now an unusual pledge from three companies racing to find a vaccine.
KOSIK: And states of emergency as raging wildfires set new records in California, searing heat as high as 120 degrees, making it hard to fight the flames. One fire sparked by pyrotechnics at a gender reveal party. Good morning, this is EARLY START, I am Alison Kosik, I'm sitting in for Christine Romans, good morning!
JARRETT: Great to have you, Alison, I'm Laura Jarrett, about 30 minutes past the hour. We begin this morning with a big Labor Day crowds popping up all over.
