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Biden Administration May Be Taking Over Vaccine Distribution At The Right Time; More Than 120 People Charged Over Role In Capitol Siege; U.K. Prime Minister Seeks Reset With President Biden After Cozy Trump Relationship. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 22, 2021 - 05:30   ET

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


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[05:33:02]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Developing overnight, the United States reported 3,955 new deaths from coronavirus. That's just a horrifying number.

But there are some positive signs. Hospitalizations, which is such an important statistic to watch, dipped below 120,000 for the first time since last month and you can see a significant downward trend there. Cases are down in the United States nearly 37 percent from the peak on January second.

And in terms of vaccinations, there is the thought now that the Biden administration might be the beneficiary of some good timing.

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now with the new reporting on that -- Kristen.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, that's right.

We know the Biden administration has already taken a number of steps to ramp up production. We've seen those executive orders. But experts tell us that even if the Biden administration did very little, they could be poised for success given just when they are taking over this distribution plan. So as you said, good timing.

Remember, they're absorbing this flawed system at a time where these companies are hitting a stride in production and where states have had time to actually work out the kinks in their distribution plan.

Now, we do believe Pfizer appears to agree with this. They told at least one Democratic governor they're expecting a surge in supply in February and in March, but there are still a lot of questions here about where the supply stands.

We know that the Biden administration has said that they were largely in the dark during transition. They're still trying to wrap their head around those numbers. And while they're touting this big federal plan about mass vaccinations, it's happening at the same time states are actually canceling vaccine appointments, saying that they just don't have enough supply.

Now, the states we talked to say they're still concerned and they're still confused about how exactly they're supposed to be communicating with the Biden administration. So clearly, there are still some kinks in this system.

We reached out to the White House and they gave us a statement saying they believe it is very important to listen to the states, to work with them. But still no answers on how exactly they're going to do that -- John.

[05:35:03]

BERMAN: All right, Kristen, watching it very closely.

Obviously, what everyone wants is to get as many vaccines out as quickly as possible. And coming up next hour we'll speak with Dr. Anthony Fauci about all the breaking coronavirus news and the plan to get people vaccinated.

President Biden signing more executive actions today to help struggling Americans. What is in it for you? That's next.

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. President Biden will sign two executive orders today designed to help millions of struggling Americans.

CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans has the details for us. What are you seeing, Christine?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "EARLY START": You know, this is about, Alisyn, getting more COVID relief to more people more fairly. You know, this White House fact sheet here uses the word equity or equitable about a dozen times.

Here is who's going to feel this. Eight million Americans who still have not received their stimulus checks. Biden is directing the Treasury Department to fix that process.

[05:40:00]

There's more money here for the hungry, giving families another $100 every two weeks, making sure that children who are not in school and they're missing meals -- making sure they have enough food. Boosting food stamps to another 12 million people and extending relief to September.

There's a new protection for frontline workers. It directs the Department of Labor to clarify that unemployed Americans can refuse to take a job they fear will jeopardize their health and they still qualify for unemployment benefits. This has been a big issue in some states.

Now, the first executive order Biden will sign today calls for federal contractors to pay a $15.00 an hour minimum wage. It directs federal agencies to identify who they employ who are making less than that and find ways to bring them up to 15 bucks an hour.

The White House here, Alisyn, saying there's just no time to wait for more aid from Congress. They need to use all the levers of government to find ways to get more relief to hungry people and out-of-work people here.

CAMEROTA: And, I mean, Christine, you've obviously been studying what is needed over the past year. How does this differ than previous relief packages?

ROMANS: Well, this is all about equity. Again, I point out a dozen times in this -- in this -- in this fact sheet from White House they're talking about the disparate impact of the crisis on working families, families of color, frontline workers, women. And they want to make sure that people who have the least access to aid for hunger and for help on the workforce and from the Department of Labor that they can get that quickly.

So really zeroing in on the people who are falling behind from the crisis and trying to make it easier to get aid to them more quickly.

CAMEROTA: OK, that will be welcome news. Thank you very much, Christine --

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: -- for all that.

OK, there have been more arrests following the Capitol insurrection, including this man you're about to see, who was beating a police officer with a hockey stick. The latest on the ongoing threats, next.

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[05:46:00]

BERMAN: Developing this morning, more than 120 people now facing federal criminal charges in connection with their role in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

CNN's Brian Todd with the very latest in the investigation.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Distressing video from the Capitol breach on January sixth. A man wildly swings a hockey stick, prosecutors say, at police officers. The man, Michael Foy of Westland, Michigan, arrested, facing federal charges including assaulting an officer.

The dragnet has brought in the man charged with assaulting D.C. Metropolitan police officer Daniel Hodges, seen in this video being crushed and screaming for help. That suspect, Patrick McCaughey of Connecticut, has been denied bail. Federal prosecutors have charged about 120 individuals who allegedly took part in the riot. One of them, Joseph Biggs of Florida, is a member of the pro-Trump extremist group the Proud Boys. Biggs is believed by law enforcement to have urged followers to quote "blend in with what they would wear on January sixth," believed to have worn an earpiece, and to have carried a walkie-talkie-like-device during the riot.

DARYL JOHNSON, FORMER SENIOR DOMESTIC TERRORISM ANALYST, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It definitely looks like an orchestrated planned act. Some of these people might have been incited to participate because of the president's incitement moments before they stormed the Capitol. But definitely, there was an element they came prepared and was looking to do nefarious things.

TODD (voice-over): New video obtained by CNN shows members of the far-right militia group called the Oath Keepers moving in a line to the front of a mob storming the Capitol. Prosecutors say they moved in a quote "organized and practiced fashion" to force their way to the front of the crowd.

One person in the group facing charges is identified by prosecutors as Jessica Marie Watkins, who prosecutors say is an Oath Keeper and leader of an Ohio militia. Watkins has admitted being there but denies causing any destruction.

Experts say the Oath Keepers are known for their ability to recruit members of the military and law enforcement.

MICHAEL GERMAN, FORMER SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: Many of the people within these violent white supremacist and white militant groups were trained by the United States Army, all right. That's the kind of training and experience that foreign terrorist groups don't have -- would drool over.

TODD (voice-over): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated there may not be evidence yet that Republican members of Congress aided and abetted the rioters by giving them tours of the Capitol before the siege, which some Republicans have denied. But Pelosi did say she believes some Republican House members embraced the rioters' mindset.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): There is no question that there were members in this body who gave aid and comfort to those with the idea that they were embracing a lie.

TODD (voice-over): Social media posts from rioters, police bodycam footage, and testimony from law enforcement officers is painting a more complete and brutal picture of the violence on January sixth. Of hand-to-hand combat between police and rioters. Of officers being beaten and attacked with objects like an American flag and a fire extinguisher.

On Thursday, D.C. officials said the city remains under threat even after the inauguration.

DR. CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, DIRECTOR, D.C. HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Let's be clear. The threat of right-wing extremism is here, right, and we saw it on January sixth. And it will continue to be a persistent and real threat to the District of Columbia and to our region as well.

TODD (on camera): D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says that while some National Guard troops have started to leave Washington, intelligence from the city's federal partners suggests that the city may need what Bowser calls more presence of security forces in Washington than the city would normally have. Bowser and members of Congress suggesting that some of the security measures put in place since January sixth may have to stay in place for a long time.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Brian for that.

So overnight, the CDC announced changes in vaccine guidelines. Everything you need to know, next.

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[05:54:27]

CAMEROTA: President Biden expected to hold his first call with a foreign leader today. It's with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who is already expressing disappointment after Biden canceled the Keystone Pipeline.

President Biden will also try to forge a relationship with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live in London with more. What do we expect, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Alisyn, that special relationship maybe not quite as special as it once was. Boris Johnson is going to be looking to work with President Biden on climate change and they both seem to have the same agenda about building back better after the pandemic, but this is a relationship Boris Johnson has got to do a lot on his side to secure.

[05:55:10]

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BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I look forward to working with him and with his new administration strengthening the partnership between our countries.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): U.K. P.M. Boris Johnson quick to embrace Joe Biden's presidency and with good reason. He was close to former President Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know who this is? Does everybody know?

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Less than 18 months ago, U.S.-U.K. relations were blossoming, a much-needed trade deal seemingly close.

JOHNSON: We're going to do a fantastic deal.

TRUMP: They call him Britain Trump and people are saying that's a good thing.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Then came Trump's election loss to Biden and the Trump-inspired insurrection.

JOHNSON: I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way --

ROBERTSON (voice-over): But Johnson's speedy denouncement belied many missed opportunities for Democrat support.

NICHOLAS BURNS, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: I don't think trade is going to be the first issue of concern to the United States -- to the new administration.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Johnson and his predecessor were replying on Trump for a fast trade deal to gloss over the economic pain of leaving the E.U., Brexit, and overlook building better relations with Democrats.

KIM DARROCH, FORMER U.K. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: It was one of my frustrations when I was in Washington.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Sir Kim Darroch was U.K. ambassador to D.C. and witnessed the damage among Democrats.

DARROCH: There was a bit of sore feelings about that.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Trump liked Brexit, liked the disruption to E.U. power, and distrusted NATO. Joe Biden and his former boss Barack Obama believed in NATO, the value of the E.U., and actively opposed Brexit. Obama warned Brexit would hurt the possibility of a U.S.-U.K. trade deal.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The U.K. is going to be in the back of the queue.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Johnson, then mayor of London, scolded Obama.

DARROCH: That Boris Johnson comment about President Obama's Kenyan heritage and his dislike of the British Empire stuff certainly reverberated in Democrat circles in Washington and there were some Democrats who really took this -- took this very badly.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Biden, unlike Trump, however, may brush aside hurtful slights in favor of national interests.

BURNS: It is in the interest of the United States to, in essence, recreate the special relationship with the United Kingdom. The U.K. is out of the E.U. and might possibly be a U.K. that wants to have an even tighter military and intelligence and political relationship that would be to the advantage of both countries.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Yet, as Johnson celebrates Brexit, something Biden's Secretary of State pick Antony Blinken called a total mess, there is no disguising the U.K.'s slip and the ranking of U.S. allies.

BURNS: The United States is going to -- is going to great -- have to greatly enhance its partnerships with Germany and with France and the other major countries of the European Union.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Where Johnson sees a path to relationship repair is over shared goals.

JOHNSON: Impacting climate change, building back better from the pandemic, and strengthening our Trans-Atlantic security.

DARROCH: We're hosting the G7 in 2021 and we are also boosting this big climate change conference -- top 26 -- in November, which will be a great relaunch for America on the climate change scene. Then maybe that will override the bad feelings -- any remaining bad feelings about those Johnson comments.

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ROBERTSON: Now, Boris Johnson has a track record of being able to -- able to overcome significant setbacks that would sort of crush other politicians -- accusations of lying, infidelity, political gaffes.

So I think you know what Joe Biden is going to find here is somebody who is ready and willing to get on. And in Boris Johnson, whose hero is Winston Churchill, someone who really wants to rekindle that special relationship. So, Boris Johnson has got his work cut out but he's a survivor and the bets are that he can do it -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, we'll be watching, Nic. Thank you very much for explaining all of that.

And NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to take months for us to turn things around. And to a nation waiting for action, let me be the clearest on this point. Help is on the way.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We're going to be building on things. We're not going to be destroying it. We're not going to trash anything.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We're running out of vaccine and we're not getting any assurance of major new shipments.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Looming over everything on Capitol Hill, the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

PELOSI: It will be soon, I don't think it will be long -- but we must do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we can come up with an agreement with Sen. McConnell and Sen. Schumer and do this in a collaborative way, that's the way to do it.