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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Americas Defy Health Warnings During Labor Day Weekend; Record- Setting Heat Fuels Dangerous Wildfires In California; China Imposes New Visa Restrictions Targeting U.S. Media. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 07, 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]
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Alison Kosik. I'm sitting in for Christine Romans. Good morning.
JARRETT: Great to have you, Alison. I'm Laura Jarrett at about 30 minutes past the hour.
We begin this morning with big Labor Day crowds popping up all over the country -- exactly what health experts feared would happen. With more than 6.2 million Americans infected thus far and almost 189,000 people dead, one would think holiday weekends would look a little different this year. But in some places, you wouldn't know we're still in the middle of a pandemic.
Many people still getting together in large groups from San Francisco to Georgia, to Myrtle Beach, and New Jersey. Exactly the same kind of behavior that triggered those huge spikes in coronavirus cases following Memorial Day and Fourth of July.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: It was just a few days ago a widely-used model predicted 400,000 dead by the end of the year, more than double the current quarter -- current total. Three thousand deaths per day are predicted in December. That's worse than the peak in the spring.
This model has actually lowballed 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And by the way, we're rounding the corner -- we're rounding the corner on the virus.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: 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 the spread here. Schools in all 50 states now reporting COVID cases.
Northeastern University -- well, they kicked out 11 students for the fall semester for violating protocols, and the school is keeping their tuition. San Diego State University issuing at 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 suspending more than 20 students there for violating guidelines as well.
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've been proven safe and effective.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ESTHER CHOO, PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: If we push out something that is not safe and that it 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 hesitancy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Speaking exclusively to CNN, the Democratic nominee for vice president says President Trump's claims about vaccines should be met with a lot of skepticism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the -- and the reliability of whatever he's talking about. I will not take his word for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Now, 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, meanwhile, 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 two 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: This blistering heat has fueled the Creek Fire, which is tearing through the Sierra National Forest in California's Central Valley. A sheriff described conditions as hellish. At least 224 people were rescued by air. Others made a frightening escape all on their own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK -- oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (bleep).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep going.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go, go, go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep going (bleep).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: 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 ground in California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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 campground 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 airlifted out to safety. And we know that some of those people were treated for burns and broken bones.
[05:35:08]
We also know that this fire, called the Creek Fire, caused so much havoc in the area that nearby campgrounds 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 five miles per hour. It looked like nighttime in midday.
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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A hike with just some hazy air that became -- you know, soon, ash rain. We were wearing masks but it was getting harder to breathe, harder to see. I think if we had stayed just 10 minutes more we might not have been so lucky.
VERCAMMEN: And many of these fires in California sending up huge, huge pyrocumulus or fire clouds eight, nine 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 these blazes.
Reporting from Venice, California, I'm Paul Vercammen. Back to you now, Laura, Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: Thanks, Paul.
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 gender reveal party. The fire is just five percent contained.
JARRETT: Well, Joe Biden's campaign is pouncing on new accusations that President Trump disparaged dead American troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEXT (BIDEN CAMPAIGN AD): "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers. Suckers. We're not going to support that loser's funeral. -- President Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP) JARRETT: The Biden camp is spending $47 million to relaunch the Protect our Troops ad campaign. It's targeting new voters in military communities in five key swing states -- Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
The ad move comes after that explosive story in "The Atlantic" reporting multiple sources saying the president referred to fallen war heroes as suckers and as losers.
CNN confirmed much of that reporting over the weekend and the editor of "The Atlantic" believes it's only the beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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 CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Have you ever heard the president disparage U.S. service members or veterans?
ROBERT WILKIE, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: Well, absolutely not. And I would be offended, too, if I thought it was true.
STEVEN MNUCHIN, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT 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 here even the president's denials contain inconsistencies. He said 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.
JARRETT: Well, President Trump spent the weekend showcasing his strategy to use race as the wedge issue in this upcoming election.
President Trump claims the Department of Education will investigate whether California schools are using "The New York Times" 1619 project, threatening to cut their funding if so. This Pulitzer-prize winning project aims to reframe the nation's history with a focus on the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans.
And then on Friday night, the president banned federal agencies from conducting racial sensitivity training related to white privilege and critical race theory. The administration calls them, quote, "un- American propaganda."
Well, a first look this morning at another damning assessment of the president -- this one, from Michael Cohen. His new book is out tomorrow.
President Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer writing that he's become more convinced than ever that his ex-boss will never leave office peacefully.
According to Cohen, the president is enamored by Vladimir Putin's wealth and unilateral influence and awestruck by what he sees as the Russian president's ability to control everything from Russia's press to its financial institutions.
[05:40:02]
KOSIK: Cohen also writes his former boss is so obsessed with Barack Obama he hired a faux-bama to participate in a video in which Trump ritualistically belittled the first black president and then fired him.
The White House is dismissing Cohen as a disgraced felon and disbarred lawyer.
President Trump has been on the receiving end of an unflattering book barrage with a recent book by his niece, Mary, and a new one by "New York Times" reporter Michael Schmidt. Bob Woodward, of Watergate fame, also has a new book releasing next week.
JARRETT: There is new scrutiny this morning over some of the past fundraising practices of embattled postmaster general Louis DeJoy. Five former employees of a company DeJoy previously ran tell "The Washington Post" that they were pressured to donate to GOP candidates and then they were reimbursed through bonuses.
The longtime H.R. director of New Breed Logistics, David Young, detailed the alleged practices saying, quote, "No one was ever forced to or lost a job because they didn't, but if people contributed, their raises and their bonuses were bumped up to accommodate that.
Now, DeJoy was asked about his prolific GOP fundraising last month. He denies repaying executives for contributing to the Trump campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM COOPER (D-TN): Did you pay back several of your top executives for contributing to Trump's campaign by bonusing or rewarding them?
LOUIS DEJOY, POSTMASTER GENERAL: That's an outrageous claim, sir, and I resent it. COOPER: I'm just asking a question.
DEJOY: The answer is no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Now, you heard that question was specifically related to President Trump's campaign, not about the wrongdoing alleged by Young years earlier in this reporting in the "Post." DeJoy's spokesperson says DeJoy believes he has always followed campaign fundraising laws.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:46:00]
JARRETT: A new country has overtaken Brazil as the second-worst hit by coronavirus. CNN has reporters covering the pandemic around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: I'm Vedika Sud in New Delhi.
India has positive results of COVID-19 caseload on Monday Morning. It is now second only to the U.S. when it comes to new COVID-19 cases. And as reported, over 19,000 new infections for two consecutive days.
The country's population stands at over 1.36 billion, while Brazil has a population of over 211 million. And its confirmed death toll stands at over 71,000, the third-highest across the world.
One reason for high COVID-19 cases being reported from the country is aggressive testing. India has tested almost 50 million samples to date.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in London, where the U.K. has just recorded its highest single-day coronavirus case count since May. Spain hit the same milestone on Friday, the same day that France had its highest number of COVID cases in a single day, ever.
Now keep in mind that this time around there's a lot more testing taking place, which is catching more cases. And the virus is predominantly impacting younger people, which has kept the strain off of health care systems and kept deaths relatively low.
But there is concern that that's changing. In Spain, it appears it already has. That country recorded almost 200 deaths on Friday, the highest number it's seen since May.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Delia Gallagher in Rome.
Pope Francis will travel outside of Rome for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Vatican announced this weekend he will go to Assisi on October third to officially present a new encyclical or papal document on the theme of brotherhood and social friendship. The visit will be private, without the presence of the faithful, and the Pope will also say Mass at the tomb of Saint Francis of Assisi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: Oppressive record heat in the west but incredibly, winter storm watches are in effect just next door, and it's only September.
Here's meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Monday, guys, and what a Monday across the western U.S. You don't often see a weather map like this where we've got the red flag warnings, we've got high wind warnings, winter weather advisories, excessive heat warnings, all in a day's work across the western U.S.
And look at these temperatures. Forecast highs to climb up to 120 in Palm Springs and into the 90s in Los Angeles, which is significantly cooler than Sunday afternoon. In fact, Woodland Hills, not far away from Los Angeles itself, had a high temperature there of 121 degrees on Sunday afternoon.
And, of course, all of this put together -- the excessive heat, the dry conditions -- have about 80 large uncontained fires across the western U.S. -- and the most impressive of which has been the Creek Fire, which has had an explosive growth of some 600 percent in a 24- hour period.
Now, the heat breaks down a little bit across the coastal regions but really, across the Intermountain West. As impressive as a drop in temperatures as you will ever see.
And look at this forecast in Denver. You go from 94 degrees on your Labor Day down to the upper 30s. In fact, a winter storm watch is in effect in Denver, guys, with up to six inches of snow in the forecast after near 100 on Sunday and Monday -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Pedram, thank you.
We jump overseas now where thousands of people in Japan and the Koreas are being evacuated as a powerful typhoon hits the region. Blackouts are already reported in South Korea and four people are missing in Japan.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is live for us in Seoul. Paula, what more are we expecting to see?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura, at this point, we know that there has been one confirmed death in Japan as the powerful typhoon went through there. A 72-year-old woman who fell as she was evacuating. We know, as you say, four people missing. That was due to landslides actually pushing houses into the river.
And then here in South Korea, we know that the storm is just off the east coast at this point and is heading towards North Korea. One person confirmed missing in South Korea as well.
Now, hundreds of flights have been canceled. We know hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and South Korea along the trajectory have now no power.
[05:50:08]
But the one concern, of course, there is, is Japan and South Korea have the capability of dealing with this kind of severe weather. North Korea does not have that infrastructure.
So the fact that this storm is now skirting the east coast of North Korea does give some concern not just for human life and for buildings but also for the agriculture industry. It's a country that has food insecurity already, so this close to the harvest they really don't want to have anything that would jeopardize that.
We saw Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, touring a damaged area from the previous typhoon, which was just a matter of days ago. And they are concerned about what could happen over the next 12 hours or so.
We've also seen rather unusually live reports from North Korean state- run television, as we did last week -- Laura.
JARRETT: All right, Paula. Thank you for being there for us.
KOSIK: The Chinese government is imposing new visa restrictions on journalists working for U.S. news organizations. It's the latest tit- for-tat between China and the U.S.
CNN's David Culver is live for us in Beijing. And, David, CNN is one of the news organizations immediately affected.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Which, Alison, makes this report a little bit uncomfortable, to be blunt, for me to talk about because it impacts me directly.
And we found out about it from the Foreign Ministry. Every single year, you have to get renewed for what traditionally has been a 12- month visa so that journalists can stay in a certain country. For us, it's here in China, and that's their policy -- and we could then continue reporting on behalf of CNN.
Well, what I have learned in my renewal this year is that I was not issued a new press card -- and hence, I could not get a new journalist visa for 12 months. Instead, they are giving me a letter that accompanies my now-expired press card so I can still report legally within the country, and they are extending my visa to two months. This is not just about me and it's not just about CNN. It's been portrayed to us that this is much broader. This is about the U.S. and China and the back-and-forth that we have seen that involves journalists directly.
And what they have told me -- that is, the Chinese officials that I spoke with directly -- is that this is about the Trump administration coming down on Chinese journalists -- those who work for state media in the United States -- and essentially, not renewing their visas. They are currently in, as the Chinese officials have told, a state of limbo. They don't know if tomorrow they will have to pack up and leave if they're denied their new visas.
So they're in this in-between mode now waiting to see what will happen. The Chinese have now said we are going to do essentially this same to you and to other American journalists and non-American journalists working, though, for U.S. media, Alison.
KOSIK: And this all happening at a time when getting access to accurate information is so vital. You're reporting is that important.
David Culver --
CULVER: No question.
KOSIK: -- thanks for your report.
CULVER: Thanks.
JARRETT: Well, it took all summer but a summer blockbuster finally hit the big screen in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCENE FROM WARNER BROS. "TENET."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Christopher Nolan's new action film, "Tenet," raked in $20.2 million in the U.S. over Labor Day weekend. "Tenet's" early success suggests people will, in fact, still go to the theater amid a pandemic, although box office expectations have lowered significantly. Right now, about 70 percent of U.S. movie theaters are open at half- capacity.
KOSIK: Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock has died.
Brock was one of the game's best hitters and base-stealers. He's one of just 32 Major Leaguers to have 3,000 or more hits and he has the second-most steals in baseball history. Brock played 19 seasons, 16 of those with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Lou Brock was 81.
JARRETT: Well, we thought we would leave you with a smile this Labor Day Monday. Teacher Laura Ciervo needed help getting new school supplies this year, knowing she'd have to spend a lot more of her own money than usual because of the pandemic.
So she reached out to one of her favorite celebrities, actress Erin Foster, who is known to engage with her fans on Instagram, with a list of what she needed. It turns out Foster, who has more than half a million followers, was more than happy to post that wish list on her page. And now, Ciervo has now received more than 100 boxes with supplies.
And Foster has since posted 17 teachers' wish lists. She plans to ask her celebrity friends to share them as well.
That is great to see.
KOSIK: I love that story -- everybody chipping in.
JARRETT: Absolutely.
KOSIK: Thanks for joining us. I'm Alison Kosik. Good to see you.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:59:08]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Health experts say COVID-19 cases could surge after Labor Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We saw a surge after Memorial Day, we saw a surge after the Fourth of July. So if that's any indication, we're going to see something similar.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We use Labor Day as our way to take the day off -- but unfortunately, the virus doesn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Record heat and raging wildfires. More than two million acres have burned this year, the most ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The intensity of the heat is just crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three of the four largest fires in California history are burning right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No rainfall, dry conditions -- that is just fuel to ignite more fires.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, September seventh, 6:00 here in New York.
Alisyn is off. Erica Hill with me here this morning. Happy Labor Day.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Labor Day to you. It's exciting to be in a studio again, by the way.
BERMAN: I know -- like actually being near real people.
HILL: Yes. You feel --
BERMAN: I mean, if you consider me a real person.
HILL: Well, that's a topic for the commercial break. We won't get into that now.
