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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Trial on Hold; Trump's Return to the Trail; Second Wave of Coronavirus in Europe Leads to New Restrictions; Drew Brees Leads Saints Past Chargers in Overtime. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 13, 2020 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[05:00:19]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Trials for a coronavirus vaccine are put on hold. We'll tell you why and what it means for the fight against the virus.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, surviving a deadly pandemic seems to have taught the president nothing. Basic protocols ignored at his return to the campaign trail with other Republicans still following his lead.

JARRETT: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Christine Romans.

Great to see you as always, Laura. It is Tuesday, October 13th, 5:00 a.m. in New York, and we are exactly three weeks to the election, so strap yourselves in.

JARRETT: Buckle up.

And we begin with this news breaking overnight. Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson has paused the clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in one of the study's volunteers.

Now, the company didn't immediately say what happened to the person but remember, the vaccine requires just one dose, so federal officials were hoping it would be ready a bit faster than any others. The trial is studying one of six vaccines being tested in the U.S. and one of four in the final stages.

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DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: The Johnson & Johnson trial is the biggest trial of the vaccine that I know of, 60,000 people. Within that trial, you'd expect a few pauses. So, on one hand, they're right, this is completely expected and it's just a reminder of how ridiculous it is to try to meet a political timeline of having a vaccine before November 3rd.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: November 3rd, of course, is Election Day, and President Trump has been pressing to unveil a vaccine before then knowing full well that this election will largely be a referendum on his handling of the virus. This is the second phase 3 COVID vaccine trial to be paused in the U.S. you'll recall AstraZeneca's trial had to be paused last month after a British volunteer experienced complications. That trial resumed in the U.K. and other places, but it remains paused here in the U.S.

JARRETT: So, just a week ago, the president said he learned a lot from his own battle with coronavirus. Well, you wouldn't know it if you saw his return to the campaign trail in Florida. A packed rally, you can see there with few masks, no real social distancing in a state where the positivity rate is increasing but the economy recently reopened. Dangerous conditions for this potential super spreader event for the president, launching a frenzied last ditch effort hoping to turn around his campaign.

The president has a busy campaign schedule ahead as well. He has a rally in Pennsylvania today as he and the vice president head to states they need to keep on their side. Some of which have been reliably red.

Also red, 33 states now headed in the wrong direction with cases increasing as colder, indoor months approach us. The number of people in the hospital hasn't been this high in more than a month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I hope these numbers that you're quoting, which are absolutely correct numbers, jolt the American public into the realization that we really cannot let this happen because it's a on trajectory of getting worse and worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: And notably, the president is not alone when it comes to a casual attitude toward COVID. His chief of staff, Mark Meadows, refuses to keep his mask on to speak with reporters. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, high-fiving people at the president's rally.

And in Washington, you see there, Senator Mike Lee who actually had COVID, going maskless at Monday's Supreme Court confirmation hearing, all of them acting as though a pandemic that has killed 215,000 Americans is just a memory.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more from the White House.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura, and Boris.

It was only hours before this rally that President Trump's doctor actually announced that he had tested negative for coronavirus. The first time we had been told that since, of course, the president's diagnosis. And in this memo, Dr. Sean Conley said the president tested negative for consecutive days using a rapid test though he didn't say which days it was that the president had actually tested negative, and we know the White House has declined to say when the president last tested negative before his diagnosis. Something that Conley made no mention of in his memo.

But this memo came out hours before the president took the stage in Florida. He was there and spoke for a little over 65 minutes or so, and at times, he sounded hoarse, but at others, he talked about his diagnosis with coronavirus, said that he felt powerful, and talked about what his recovery has been like and, of course, as he's been doing now, claimed that he is immune.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I went through it.

[05:05:01]

Now they say I'm immune. I can feel -- I feel so powerful. I'll walk into that audience.

(CHEERS)

I'll walk in there. I'll kiss everyone in that audience. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women, and everybody. I'll just give you a big fat kiss.

COLLINS: Of course, we know science says that what the determination on immunity is and how long it lasts is still very much out despite the way the president is spinning his own health, and though he tried to talk about coronavirus as if it was in his past, we know it's at the top of mind for voters, and it even appeared to be so for some of the president's own advisers, including his chief of staff who does not typically wear a mask but was seen wearing a mask on this trip yesterday, only hours after he refused to take questions from reporters on Capitol Hill because they asked him to keep his mask on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right. Kaitlan, thank you for that.

Joe Biden heads to Florida today after a stop in Ohio on Monday. It's all part of a major push by Biden and his wife Jill to flip all of these states that went to Trump in 2016.

The former vice president now going a little bit further as well on his answers about packing the Supreme Court. He tells a CNN affiliate, WKRC, he's not a fan of court packing but he says the burden is actually on Republicans who are pushing through the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett days before an election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The imbalance in the court is a debate that's going on now. What I want to focus on, they're court packing right now. And what's going on now is the outright effort to do away with health care. That's what it's all about right now, health care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: The challenge to the Affordable Care Act, of course, goes before the Supreme Court right after the November election.

CNN's Jessica Dean is on the campaign trail with Biden.

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura and Boris.

Vice President Joe Biden coming to the state of Ohio on Monday. Ohio, a state that President Trump won by some eight points back in 2016. So, what does this tell us?

Well, the Biden campaign, playing a bit of offense. Ohio has been one of the 17 priority states, but other states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, must win states for them have gotten more attention in the last few months.

And local Democrats believe that Ohio is winnable for Joe Biden. They cite a shift in the suburbs as a reason why. For his part, Biden pitching his economic plan in Toledo on Monday, telling the crowd they are framing in that, what we have been hearing, his Park Avenue versus Scranton framing. Take a listen.

BIDEN: When you see the abuse of power, there's only one way to respond to it, and that's with power, and the only power we have to take on corporate America is union power. That's the only power.

DEAN: That economic message directed right at white working class voters in Toledo, in Ohio. That is a key demographic within the coalition that the Biden campaign thinks that it can bring together here in Ohio that includes those white working class voters, black voters and also suburban voters, those are key constituencies they have their eye on here in Ohio.

As for Vice President Biden, he goes into Florida later today. Another state like Ohio, the Biden campaign does not have to win to get to 270, but if they did, it would make president Trump's path to reelection incredibly difficult -- Boris and Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Jessica, thank you.

Breaking overnight, new restrictions in Texas that allow only one ballot drop box per county have been reinstated by a federal appeals court. The three-judge panel all appointed by President Trump accepted Governor Greg Abbott's unproven claim that multiple drop boxes opportunities for fraud.

Now, several groups had sued arguing it would suppress voting, particularly in the larger Democratic-leaning counties. For example, in Harris County which includes Houston, well, it planned to have 12 drop boxes instead of just one.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, and that just one drop box is set to help millions of voters cast their ballots.

Early voting begins today in Texas and Kentucky. Georgia saw a record setting turnout on the first day of early voting, nearly 127,000 people. You can see the line.

The state is a presidential battleground for the first time in decades and it could play a crucial role in deciding which party controls the Senate, too. There's also a controversy in California where Republicans who spent months railing on voter fraud could be committing voter fraud. Authorities have sent a cease-and-desist order to the state Republican Party over unofficial ballot drop boxes.

CNN's Pamela Brown takes a closer look.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Laura and Boris.

We have learned that roughly 8 million people have already cast their ballots early in this election, and one way the voters are casting their ballots is by using legal ballot drop boxes.

But now, this process is turning more complicated in parts of the country.

[05:10:04]

Let's look at California. Unofficial ballot boxes popped up in several counties, and now, the D.A. is investigating. It turns out in at least one of those counties, the Republican Party bought those boxes but wouldn't say how many or where they put them. The California secretary of state told CNN the practice of using fake ballot boxes is a violation of state law.

ALEX PADILLA, SECRETARY OF STATE OF CALIFORNIA: It's not just the state Republican Party but it looks like some of their local committees participating as well. This is wrong no matter who is doing it. It's not just the security of the ballot that's in question here. It is, you know, the transparency, voter confidence itself.

BROWN: And the RNC is saying in a statement to CNN that this practice of using an unofficial ballot box is in response to ballot harvesting favored by the Democrats which allows people in certain states to hand over a ballot to a door knocker.

But the RNC stopped short of saying it was in support of expanding this practice. Overall, though, big picture, election officials say drop boxes, official ones, are a secure method of making sure your vote is counted.

Back to you, Laura and Boris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Pam, thank you so much for that.

We should note, California law does allow people to hand their ballots over to a designated person who then delivers the ballot. However, it does not allow for unauthorized ballot drop boxes. If you're looking for a real California drop box, it looks like this. Do not fall for anything else right now.

SANCHEZ: Several countries in Europe weighing harsh restrictions to stop a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. How and where? We're live from Berlin in just a few moments.

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[05:15:57]

SANCHEZ: Countries across Europe are imposing new restrictions to combat a second wave of coronavirus, England and Germany in particular.

Let's bring in CNN's Scott McLean. He joins us now live from Berlin.

And, Scott, in some places, there's push back to these new measures.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Boris. There's definitely a sense of fatigue, even in countries like Germany where people have been good about, you know, keeping to the coronavirus restrictions and Germany was one of the most successful countries in Europe in tamping down its first wave. They were exporting ventilators to other countries because they had a surplus.

Now, though, they are seeing the highest levels since April, and it's leading to increased demand at testing centers like this one. Actually, this one is wrapping up for the day. When we were here earlier, people were lined up down the block. Some people waited for several hours.

But, unfortunately, they have a limited number of tests they can actually do, about 350 per day. Tomorrow, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with the premiers of all the German states. She's expected to announce new coronavirus measures that the country will be taking then.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., the government announced a tiered set of restrictions for different regions. The city of Liverpool reaching the highest tier of restrictions, that means the bars and restaurants will have to close down all together.

The government there is also being accused of ignoring its own scientists' advice when it comes to coronavirus restrictions. The scientists had been recommending about three weeks ago the country introduce a sort of circuit breaker lockdown, similar to the one we saw earlier this year but much, much shorter, just to get the numbers under control. But the government obviously choosing not to go that route. The prime minister has said over and over again, his priority is educate getting the economy going again and keeping schools open at all costs.

Countries around Europe are doing everything they can to get a handle on the virus. Italy is seeing its highest ICU admissions it's had since March. They just introduced a nationwide mask mandate, even outdoors. And the Czech Republic is one country to keep your eye on.

It is seeing sky high rates in Europe. One of the most highly infected countries on this continent. It just introduced new measures, but the prime minister is warning they could be in full scale lockdown if things don't turn around soon, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, Scott, even the countries that were most successful at mitigating the spread months ago now facing a second wave, just shows how difficult it is to deal with this virus.

Scott McLean from Berlin, thanks so much.

JARRETT: All right. A series of positive COVID tests and schedule changes forcing a change in COVID protocol by the NFL. What it means for the league and the schedule, that's next.

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[05:23:05]

JARRETT: The Saints quarterback Drew Brees leading New Orleans on a huge comeback to beat the Chargers last night.

Andy Scholes has this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning, Laura.

You know, Drew Brees has been doing this for a long time. This is his 20th season in the NFL. He was up against a Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert last night, a 19-year age gap between the two quarterbacks.

And it was the rookie who started off hot in this one. Herbert to Hunter Henry for the touchdown. That got the Chargers up 20-3. Herbert, four touchdown passes in this one.

But Brees leading the Saints back, he finds Jared Cook in the 4th quarter for a 41 yard touchdown. The two teams traded scores after that. The Chargers hit the field goal that would have won the game as time expired. It goes off the upright.

Game goes to overtime. In the extra period, the Saints would make a field goal and hang on to the 30-27 win.

All right. The Patriots and Titans, meanwhile, reporting no additional new positive COVID-19 tests on Monday. New England's game against the Broncos scheduled for last night was postponed again after Patriots recorded a positive test on Sunday. Meantime, the Titans are set to host the Bills tonight. It's the NFL's

first Tuesday night game in ten years. The league is updating its coronavirus protocol to include game day testing for all players, coaches and some team employees. That's according to a memo sent to teams last night and obtained by CNN.

The NFL has been testing some 8,000 people every week. Those classified as tier one or tier two have been testified every day except for game day in part because the results before would not have been ready in time for kickoff.

For the first time since spring training, there were fans in the stands for a Major League Baseball game last night. Nearly 11,000 people attending game one of the National League Championship series between the Braves and Dodgers in Arlington, Texas.

[05:25:07]

They were treated to a good one. Teams tied at one in the top of the 9th inning when Atlanta's Austin Riley blasting the solo shot, 448 feet. That gave the Braves a 2-1 lead. Atlanta, they would go on to win, 5-1.

Such a different ball game with fans in the stands now. We didn't have any fans in the ALCS. They missed a show from the Rays' Manny Margot.

He had a three-run bomb in the first to give Tampa raised the lead. Then in the next inning, you got to check out this incredible catch.

Look at this foul ball. Margot tracks it down, and falls over the wall. That's about a 6 feet drop right there. Amazing catch.

Everything going the Rays way in this one. They beat the Astros 4-2 to take a 2-0 lead in that series.

You can watch the game 3 of that one tonight, just after 8:30 Eastern on our sister network TBS. Dodgers tried to even that series against the Braves, that one is just after 6:00 Eastern. Boris, you know, down 2-0, really a must win for the Astros in game three.

And they are playing every single day, so these pitching staffs, they could get taxed if it's a long series. It'd be interesting to watch.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, it's tough on the rotation, right? Like that's a lot of work, and especially with all the COVID restrictions, it's a lot to handle, but look forward to those games.

Andy Scholes with the "Bleacher Report", thanks so much.

The nation's top infectious disease doctor saying the president is asking for trouble. Scenes like this in Florida make his point.

We're back out on the campaign trail after a quick break.

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