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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Boeing Engines Fail Midair In Denver And Netherlands; Texas Officials Block Power Providers From Sending Bills; U.K. Prime Minister To Publish Roadmap For Easing Lockdown In England. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired February 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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[05:31:17]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett, about 31 minutes past the hour here in New York.

Breaking overnight, Boeing recommending all airlines temporarily ground 777s that use that same engine as the Denver flight forced to land after a midair explosion. United Airlines already grounded the planes after Saturday's near-catastrophe.

Pratt and Whitney, the company that builds this engine model, sending a team to work with investigators looking into the engine failure aboard United Airlines flight 328.

ROMANS: Wow. Debris rained from the sky. Pilots were forced to turn around and make an emergency landing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY LEWIS, PASSENGER ABOARD UNITED FLIGHT 328: We took some time to pray with each other and there were people around me praying, but I felt fairly confident that we were going to make it back to the airport. As soon as we kind of made the corner and we could see the runway, I made sure, you know, our family -- we told each other we loved each other. It makes you all of a sudden remember all those things that you can easily forget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A second incident over the Netherlands only raising concerns. Another Boeing jet with a similar engine catching fire, dropping debris that injured two people.

Overnight, Korean Air and all of Japan ordered domestic airlines to halt Boeing 777 operations.

JARRETT: Boeing already facing twin crises -- the pandemic, of course, and fallout from two fatal 737 MAX crashes. And questions have been raised about how jets worldwide will be safely returned to the skies after a year on the ground.

That said, though, flight data shows the plane in the Denver incident was being flown regularly -- more than 300 flights in the last eight months.

Aviation correspondent Pete Muntean has the latest on the investigation for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Christine and Laura, we're getting the biggest window into what may have caused that dramatic in-flight failure on United Airlines flight 328.

PILOT, UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 328: Mayday, mayday United air 28. Three twenty-eight heavy mayday, mayday. Aircraft, uh --

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Three twenty-eight heavy, say again, please. Repeat all that again.

PILOT, UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 328: Yes, Denver, departure. United 328 heavy mayday. Aircraft just experienced an engine failure. We need to turn immediately.

MUNTEAN (on camera): The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed some of our early reporting that a fan blade inside the right-hand engine broke off and took out another fan blade. And investigators were able to find parts of those blades inside the inner containment ring of the jet engine.

Investigators now begin the process of piecing this all together. And a focal point of this will be the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine. The FAA administrator has ordered emergency inspections of the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 specific to the Boeing 7200 in this flight. That is a big deal, something the FAA does not do often.

And United Airlines says it is immediately and temporarily removing 24 of its Boeing 777s from service -- Christine, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Pete, a busy weekend for you. Thank you so much for that.

First, the cold, then the dark. And now, electricity bills you would not believe for countless people in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANDREW UPSHAW, RECEIVED $7,000 ENERGY BILL: Well, it's wild. We're in the middle of a pandemic and Texas having recording-breaking weather. The last thing that I'm thinking about while I'm trying to get gas and groceries and make sure that my pipes aren't exposed -- the last thing that I'm thinking about is a $7,000 bill from my utility company.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:00]

JARRETT: Overnight, some much-needed relief from those insane electric bills. The Texas Public Utility Commission issuing a moratorium on disconnections for non-payment and putting a stop to invoices from power companies. The cost of power on the Texas grid shot up last week with customers getting bills in the thousands instead of hundreds.

ROMANS: Water service remains disrupted for nearly nine million people. That's more than a quarter of the state. A boil water order in Houston, the fourth-most crowded city in American, has been lifted. Imagine the fourth-largest city in America, Laura, had a boil water order -- remarkable.

JARRETT: It's just -- it's just remarkable, as you say.

Also remarkable, the U.S. set to reach half a million deaths from coronavirus as soon as today. President Biden will mark the enormity of the loss with a candle-lighting ceremony and a moment of silence. He'll be joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Harris, and her husband, Doug Emhoff.

The administration now working double-time to catch up on vaccine shipments delayed by last week's disastrous weather.

CNN's Jasmine Wright is live for us at the White House this morning. Jasmine, I can't imagine that this is how the president expected to start this week, but here we are.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Laura. Well, the White House is really playing vaccine catch-up right now. As you said, they're trying to distribute those backlogged vaccine doses delayed because of those deadly winter storms we saw in Texas and other parts of the country.

Now, yesterday, White House officials said that they had delivered, at this point, two million out of six million doses, looking to catch up by the middle of the week.

And this setback really came as the White House is continuously trying to ramp up their vaccine efforts, distributing across the country. Now, this setback affected all 50 states in this country. Yesterday on NBC, Dr. Anthony Fauci projected that they would be caught up by the middle of the week.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: Obviously, it is a setback because you'd like to see the steady flow of vaccine getting out there to get into people's arms. But we can play pretty good catch-up. It's a temporary setback. And when you just, you know, put your foot to the accelerator --

CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR, NBC "MEET THE PRESS": Yes.

FAUCI: -- and really push, we'll get it up to where we need to be by the middle of the week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: Now, on Friday, President Biden said he was confident that his administration would exceed that initial goal he set for vaccines. Remember, he said that he wanted to vaccinate 50 million people, administering 100 million doses in his first 100 days. Now Biden is saying that he's confident that they can do that. But, of course, getting those vaccines is -- in people's arms is going to be different than getting vaccines at these facilities.

JARRETT: All right, Jasmine. Thank you so much -- appreciate it.

All right. A big week ahead on Capitol Hill and it all starts in just a matter of hours when the White House Budget Committee votes on advancing President Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue package. Also happening today, a confirmation hearing gets underway for attorney general nominee Merrick Garland.

Then on Thursday, a House committee hearing begins on the January sixth Capitol insurrection. And by the end of the week, we are expecting a vote on the House floor on that rescue package.

ROMANS: Yes, big question. Will the $15.00 an hour minimum wage make it into that COVID rescue plan? It's a progressive priority but opposed by some in Congress and especially small business owners. They call it a job killer and say in the middle of a crisis -- a jobs crisis -- is not the time to double labor costs overnight on small business.

Now, a fact-check here. It would not happen overnight. Most of this is a stair-step here from $9.50 an hour on passage of the law to $11.00, then $12.50, $14.00, and finally, $15.00 an hour in the year 2025. The idea here is to give businesses time to adjust.

The minimum wage hasn't been raised since 2009 and minimum wage workers have fallen behind. Adjust for inflation, a working person hasn't had a pay raise there since the 1960s. At the same time, workers have become vastly more productive, meaning employers are getting more from each hour of work.

Congressman Ro Khanna.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): It's fair for people to be making what they're producing, and I think $15.00 is very reasonable in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Lawmakers in dozens of states and cities agree. They have already voted to increase wages gradually. Poll after poll shows Americans want an increase.

Now, many major companies have already said they have to pay more than minimum wage -- more like $10.00 an hour to attract and keep workers.

But Laura, for small business owners, they are really worried about raising wages at this time. Just a reminder, the $9.50 an hour on passage of this, if it makes it into the bill and if it makes it all the way through.

JARRETT: Yes. I think the gradual part of this --

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: -- seems key. This is not going to happen overnight if it goes through.

It's now time for three questions in three minutes. Let's bring in CNN's senior political analyst, John Avlon. John --

[05:40:00]

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.

JARRETT: -- happy Monday.

AVLON: Happy Monday.

JARRETT: So, OK --

AVLON: Underrated band.

(LAUGHTER)

JARRETT: Millions of Americans have so much at stake this week. Relief for a pandemic that's already caused people their jobs, their homes, their lives. This bill currently on the table has stimulus checks, money for housing, paid sick leave, vaccine, that gradual minimum wage hike we just talked about.

Now, it has broad support from most Americans, so why isn't everybody on board with this in D.C.?

AVLON: Well, I don't know where there's been a time where everyone on D.C. is on board with anything because, you know, politics. But the fact is, as you said, this bill is broadly popular with the American people. There's no question about it.

There are things in it -- core elements that Republicans voted for or argued for before in previous stimulus bills, particularly direct checks. So what they're doing is they're basically saying that the total amount is too much on top of the 3.9 or so we've already passed. You're seeing Republicans discovering -- rediscovering their fascination with fiscal discipline now that a Democrat is president. They'll also cherry-pick in double items.

The other core issue is just that Obama -- President Biden promising unity. His first signature bill, which will do a lot to help the COVID crisis and achieve progressive goals like dealing with income equality, it looks like it will not be bipartisan. And that, itself, will become a partisan (INAUDIBLE).

ROMANS: Yes. The newspaper business record, "The Wall Street Journal" -- its editorial page today calling this a non-COVID spending blowout. It says really only $825 billion or so is actual COVID relief. The rest is all pork. And that includes money for cities and states, and for schools. You could argue that schools are pork.

AVLON: I mean, pork -- please.

ROMANS: But there is -- there is a big business pushback to how much they're spending here. But you're right, the people in this country -- poll after poll shows there's popularity -- widespread popularity here.

Let's talk about Joe Biden. He's trying to govern here, trying to get this through. He's also dealing with something no past president has. He's dealing with his predecessor.

Donald Trump cannot stand being out of the spotlight and he's making his presence felt this week at a conservative conference. It turns out his big election lie turned into the big alternative reality for a lot of his supporters, and that has consequences -- lasting consequences. And it is part of the atmosphere here that Joe Biden is trying to govern in.

AVLON: Yes. It's a massive issue to the extent that it's clear that a supermajority of Republicans still do not accept the legitimacy of Joe Biden's victory, and that's because of misleadership and lies from Donald Trump on down.

It isn't made better by the fact that people like Congressman Steve Scalise, the number three in the house, over the weekend refused -- hesitated, rather to commit to the idea that Joe Biden was legitimately the president after a free and fair election.

Those kind of lies trickle down. And there's a new USA Today-Suffolk poll that has a lot of details on just how far this rot has gone.

You know, I -- we don't pay too much attention to Trump speaking a CPAC. There will be some, inevitably. CPAC is always sort of a colorful measure of the extreme and its influence on the Republican Party. But this -- it's very clear that Trump's big lie is still accepted by a large number of Republicans and that's something that needs to be confronted with facts and by Republicans as well.

JARRETT: John, you've got the big lie on the one hand. But then you also have stuff that's really happening on the ground, like this bill that's --

AVLON: Yes.

JARRETT: -- working its way through the Legislature in Georgia, trying to limit absentee voting. That state, of course, went blue because of record absentee voting during the pandemic.

But now, Republican lawmakers in 33 states -- so not just Georgia -- have proposed more than 165 bills that are trying to restrict voting. It seems as, you know, some people are focused on the big lie and what happened last time; other Republicans are quietly working to suppress the vote the next time.

AVLON: Yes, and they're almost -- they're conspiracy bootstrapping the big lie to create a rationalization for pushing through these voter suppression bills. I mean, let's call them what they will.

You can attack any kind of rhetoric around this but the reality is that if a bill makes it more difficult to vote -- in the case of the Georgia bill, for example, shutting down -- narrowing the window for absentee ballots -- you know, blocking souls to the polls -- it's very clear who they're targeting here.

We should be able to agree on strengthening election security with back-up paper ballots and trying to lower barriers for every eligible voter and not make that a dog whistle for anything other than every eligible voter.

So the whole idea that this is predicated upon lack of trust in our elections or fictitious mass voter fraud is total B.S. This is an effort to claw back power in states that had trended Democrat last time around. And further -- and we should call it what it is -- this is a voter suppression effort.

ROMANS: You're right.

JARRETT: Very well put, as usual.

AVLON: Thanks, guys.

ROMANS: John Avlon, CNN senior political analyst. Nice to see you. Happy Monday.

AVLON: Happy Monday.

ROMANS: The band.

All right -- we'll be right back.

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[05:48:58]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: The difference between the level of antibodies after one dose versus two doses is about 10-fold higher. And that is really important because when you have that high a degree comparable to the single dose alone, that's the cushion that you would like to have when you get a variant that isn't as well protected against. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Dr. Anthony Fauci there defending the need for a quicker second dose even though in some countries people are now being told they can wait longer so more people can get the first dose. Notably, the U.K. allows a 12-week wait compared to three or four in the U.S.

CNN's Isa Soares live for us in London. Isa, the British prime minister is preparing a roadmap to reopen after an extended lockdown in the U.K. What can you tell us?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

That's right, high anticipation here in the U.K. as the prime minister will outline -- unveil his roadmap out of lockdown. The prime minister said he will be looking at the data and not at dates. He'll be guided by data clearly having learned from previous mistakes of opening too quickly.

[05:50:08]

But I can tell you the prime minister was due to speak at 7:00 p.m. local time and is expected to say that schools will open, Christine, on March the eighth. We do not know whether that will be staggered, whether people will be tested, whether they'll be in bubbles, but parents will be relieved no doubt.

Also on March the eighth, two people from two separate households will be able to meet outside for a coffee, let's say.

And in the last 24 hours, we heard that also on March the eighth, care home residents will be able to get one visitor with a -- with a mask, having been tested. And that is so important because so many have been missing the human touch for so long.

After March the eighth, depending on how the data turns out on the numbers of infections, hospitalizations, and so forth, then you're looking at the date of March 29th when two different families will be able to meet outside. The rule is six. And also, we also know that sports -- sporting -- outdoor sports such as tennis and golf will be able to take place on March the 29th.

But all this is based on really four key criteria the prime minister is looking at. One is the vaccination program is going at full speed. It is not being hampered. Seventeen point five million people have had the first dose of the AstraZeneca or the Pfizer vaccine.

Also, the hospitalizations are being reduced. And that the vaccines are having an impact on the hospitalization numbers. No new variants, of course, importantly as well, coming into the country.

So various factors the prime minister will be looking at. But this is going to be a steady, a slow -- the phase -- and what the prime minister calls -- prime minister calls an irreversible opening. So very important here what he will be expected to say today. But critically, on the point that you made before coming to me,

Christine, on the question of the 12-week gap to the 21-day gap, there's clearly a very different school of thought here in Europe.

But we received some new data out of Scotland that might be able to give us some more information. This is early data not yet peer- reviewed that shows that by the fourth week of the first vaccine, if you have taken the Pfizer vaccine -- just the first dose -- 85 percent -- it reduces the risk of hospitalization by 85 percent. With AstraZeneca, the rate -- the risk of hospitalization is reduced by 94 percent.

So going back to that point of perhaps reducing the vaccinations by shorter amount in time -- that point that Dr. Fauci was making there, Christine.

ROMANS: Very interesting. All right, Isa Soares for us in London. Thank you, Isa.

Twenty-two -- 52 minutes past the hour, rather.

Frosted Flakes taking on a whole new meaning this morning. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents seizing a shipment of cereal from South America covered in cocaine instead of sugar. Agents in Cincinnati intercepted it last week, tipped off by a drug-sniffing dog.

JARRETT: Well, do you want to get paid to sleep? The Web site sleepstandards.com is offering $2,000 to sleep for their research. Their chosen candidate will spend five nights sleeping in different environments, including one night in a luxury five-star resort, and they'll be required to write a report about their sleep experience each night.

Christine, you have until the end of March to apply.

ROMANS: All right. Two thousand -- I would give $2,000 -- I would give them $2,000 for some good sleep.

All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this morning, looking at markets around the world to start the last week of February. You can see Asian shares -- if we pull up the screen -- Asian shares closed mixed and Europe has opened slightly lower here. On Wall Street, futures this Monday morning also pointing lower.

Look, the story here is 100 percent Washington. The House set to vote on Biden's American Rescue Plan this week. We also have several companies that will deliver their earnings. That's Home Depot, Lowe's, Macy's, TJX all report.

America's economy, of course, runs on consumer spending, so the health of the retail sector is going to be a crucial indicator on how consumers are doing and how they're spending in this recovery. Remember, there was a $600 stimulus check in December. That may have helped some of those -- some of those companies. Copper prices are soaring and that is good news for the recovery.

Prices hit their highest level in nearly a decade Friday. Copper is used in many construction materials, including electrical wire and pipes. Investors are optimistic they'll be demand for infrastructure and construction projects in the post-pandemic economy.

JARRETT: A Wisconsin restaurant owner is stepping up to help his competitors during the pandemic. Adolfo Melendez, owner of El Mezcal in Stevens Points, Wisconsin, raffled off more than $2,000 in gift cards to other local restaurants in his community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADOLFO MELENDEZ, OWNER, EL MEZCAL RESTAURANT: If you help one person and that person will help another business, that would help a lot. Most of us are just like just single-family owners and there's nowhere you can go anywhere to ask for help but ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Melendez got the idea after a local realtor did a similar thing for him at the start of the pandemic.

Gift cards always a great idea.

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: Help out those local restaurants.

[05:55:00]

ROMANS: Yes, and healthy competition good for everyone.

All right, thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PILOT, UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 328: Mayday, mayday. The aircraft just experienced an engine failure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FAA has ordered emergency inspections, and United Airlines says it's removing all of its Boeing 777 200s with the Pratt & Whitney engine from service.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this aircraft is going to stay on the ground for a while.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Biden will be laser-focused on.