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U.S. Surpasses 500,000 Lives Lost to COVID-19; Fauci Predicts Americans Might be Wearing Masks into 2022; New York Prosecutor Gets Access to Trump's Taxes; British Prime Minister Lays Out Plan for England to Exit Lockdown; Texans Are Getting Sky-High Energy Bills. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired February 23, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead --
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow.
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CHURCH: 500 candles, each marking 1,000 lives lost. More than half a million Americans have died from COVID-19, a staggering loss marked in a moment of empathy at the White House.
The U.S. Supreme Court deals a blow to the former president's legal case allowing a New York prosecutor to obtain Donald Trump's tax returns.
And later, neighbors and allies meet but Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden may not see eye to eye on everything, including global vaccine distribution.
Good to have you with us. It has been just over one year since the coronavirus was detected here in the United States, and since then a heartbreaking half a million lives have been lost to the virus. The deadly disease striking the most vulnerable and leaving behind grief stricken families. Now the country is mourning the loss of loved ones with the American flag on top of the White House lowered to half- staff. U.S. President Joe Biden is trying to comfort the nation and asking Americans to remember those who have died.
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BIDEN: We acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America. Remember each person and the lives they lived. They're people we knew. They're people we feel like we knew. Read the obituaries and remembrances, the son who called his mom every night just to check in, the father's daughter who lit up his world. The best friend who's always there.
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CHURCH: And meantime, the race to prevent more tragedy and get Americans vaccinated continues. The CDC says more than 64 million vaccine doses have been administered but warns that there is still work to be done. CNN's Nick Watt has more on how the U.S. got here and what's expected in the coming months.
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NICK ROSE, HUSBAND OF COVID-19 VICTIM: I could tell her anything. Man, I love you so much.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zarina Rose, a 42-year-old nurse, died after giving birth, one of the half-a-million now dead in America. It did not have to be this way.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If you look back historically, we've done worse than most any other country, the kind of disparate responses of different states, rather than having a unified approach.
WATT (voice-over): A disengaged now former president. And the politicization of masks.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: I think you could make a case that tens of thousands of people died as a result.
WATT (voice-over): With new, more contagious variants of the virus circulating, say three influential medical associations in a statement to mark half-a-million dead.
Now is not the time to let your guard down.
FAUCI: Now let's just go forward and be completely committed as a unified country to just go at this together. This is a common enemy.
WATT (voice-over): Our weapons, masks and needles, more than 75 million vaccine doses now distributed. Weather-related delays, Dr. Fauci says, will be made up by midweek.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're getting the Pfizer vaccine.
WATT (voice-over): Still, less than 6 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated. And the country likely won't reach herd immunity until next winter, say University of Washington modelers. Across society, some things might never be the same.
DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think the handshake, for example, is probably going away.
[04:05:00]
I hope so. I do think masks in the cough/cold/flu season in the winter months would make a lot of sense.
WATT: So half a million dead now in the U.S. alone. That's about the entire population of Kansas City and then some. How many more will die? Well, the CDC here in the United States projects that at least another 30,000 people could die in just the next three weeks.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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CHURCH: And earlier I spoke to Anne Rimoin, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA. She said this massive loss of life due to the coronavirus could have been avoided. Take a listen.
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ANNE RIMOIN, PROFESSOR, EPIDEMIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, UCLA: I think there are a variety of factors. There's not going to be one factor that we can point out fingers at and say, aha, this is the only reason we got where we are. There are a number of things. One, the politicization of this virus and the public health measures. A mask would become something that was symbolic of where somebody stood in their political spectrum was something that I don't think anybody could have ever imagined.
Also the lack of -- the unwillingness to acknowledge what a problem this was from the Trump administration really did create a major issue. And then, of course, the lack of investment in our public health infrastructure. Chronic lack of investment for decades really left us quite vulnerable.
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CHURCH: Ann Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at UCLA talking to me earlier.
While the U.S. mourns so many lives lost to COVID-19, there's still a huge focus on how to safely reopen schools. The CDC recommends schools in areas with very high rates of transmission only reopen for in- person classes if they can maintain strict mitigation measures like masks and social distancing.
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DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: The safest and quickest ways to open schools and keep them open is to have as little COVID-19 as possible and neighboring schools to open and remain open is therefore a shared responsibility.
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CHURCH: The CDC says only 18 percent of the nation's counties have coronavirus spread low enough for a safe return to in-person learning. It is a major reason why the CDC is highlighting the importance of scaling up vaccination efforts. Well Donald Trump is blasting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that will
allow a New York prosecutor access to eight years' worth of his tax returns. The former president calls the investigation a fishing expedition meant to make him look bad. But legal experts say it is a major blow for Trump. CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump losing a major legal fight in a looming criminal investigation. The Supreme Court has cleared the way for New York City's top prosecutors to obtain Trump's tax returns and financial documents dating back to 2011. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance responding succinctly, the work continues.
Prosecutors have been probing at least two separate schemes possibly linked to the former president's taxes for more than two years.
ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It shows me that the Manhattan D.A.'s investigation is getting more and more serious by the day. Now, they are going to get the tax returns and that's going to be a key piece of the puzzle.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): They first began examining hush money payments Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen made to two women who alleged affairs with Trump to see if the Trump organization falsified any records in connection with reimbursements to Cohen. Then the inquiry seemed to expand when court filings from Vance's team indicated they were investigation possible tax crimes, along with potential bank and insurance fraud.
Trump is responding to the Supreme Court decision saying the Supreme Court never should have let this phishing expedition happen. But they did.
He also accused the district attorney of being politically motivated and reiterated the witch hunt theme he's been harping on for years.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a continuation of the witch hunt, the greatest witch hunt in history. There's never been anything like it, where people want to examine every deal you have done to see if they can find that there's comma out of place.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The criminal probe has only intensified. District attorney Vance has been bolstering his team, adding a well- known former federal prosecutor with an expertise in financial crimes and they interviewed Michael Cohen who's already testified to Congress about Trump's alleged schemes.
LACY CLAY, THEN U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Did the president or his company ever inflate assets or revenues?
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Yes.
CLAY: And was that done with the president's knowledge or direction? COHEN: Everything was done with the knowledge and at direction of Mr. Trump.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): But the public won't get access to Trump's tax returns as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. They will be released to the D.A. for use with the grand jury only, a process for the proceedings are kept secret.
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But if Trump or his business face charges, details could be exposed. "The New York Times" has already reported Donald Trump paid no federal income taxes for 10 of 15 years beginning in 2000 because he lost much more than he made, and that in 2016 and 2017, when Trump was in the White House, he reportedly only paid $750 in federal income taxes.
SCHNEIDER: As for the timing of those tax returns, the DA's office expects to get them in the next few days according to our sources and there'll likely be an electronic form. Crucially prosecutors will also have access to work papers and communications related to those tax returns, which could shed light and if there was intent to commit any crimes.
Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: And earlier I discussed the Supreme Court decision with Norm Eisen. He is a CNN legal analyst and a former White House ethics czar. I asked him how much legal trouble Trump could be in.
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NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Rosemary, it's a felony in New York state to prepare false books and records in order to cover up another crime. We know Michael Cohen was charged for campaign finance violations, and that's just the beginning of the problems. Potential tax fraud, bank fraud and a variety of other issues that he faces, including insurance fraud. So the difficulties are challenging, indeed, and now there will be tax returns and accounting work papers to make his situation worse.
CHURCH: Right and you talked there about Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen. He has previously said his boss allegedly inflated property values to get better loan deals, while also under valuing his properties to avoid tax. Now Cohen reveals his delight about the decision, saying this about the ruling.
The supreme court has now proclaimed that no one is above the law. Trump will for the first time have to take responsibility for his own dirty deeds.
So what is your reaction to Cohen's statement there, and what all do you think Trump's tax returns will reveal?
EISEN: Well, as to Mr. Cohen, who I got to know when we were conducting our investigation, hell hath no fury like a former lawyer scorned, Rosemary. So I think Cohen's life was turned upside down. Terrible suffering on his part because of his connection with Donald Trump. So I do think there's an element of understandable humanity to that statement. But the substance of the statement is right.
Donald Trump is facing a day of reckoning in New York and in other criminal and civil proceedings. How they'll turn out we don't know. But, yes, having the bright light of the prosecutors focused on him and his long history of alleged financial misconduct, that is going to be a day of reckoning.
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CHURCH (on camera): And my thanks to Norm Eisen speaking with me earlier.
Well adding insult to injury, ahead, why some Texans are getting hit with sky high energy bills after the state's huge winter storms.
[04:15:00]
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well the British Prime Minister is trying to gradually bring England out of a full lockdown. Boris Johnson unveiled a four-step plan on Monday to, as he put it, cautiously but irreversibly exit lockdown. He warned there will be more deaths from the virus but says the country could not persist indefinitely with restrictions.
So let's turn to CNN's Isa Soares. She joins us live from London. Good to see you, Isa. So how is this going to work? And is this being viewed by everyone as the beginning of the end of life under lockdown?
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rosie. I think many people are breathing a sigh of relief as the sun is shining. People perhaps thinking that the lockdown is coming, but it's a long road ahead. It is a slow and cautious road, as you mentioned.
The Prime Minister pretty much of his comments on behind the vaccination program that has vaccinated more than 17.5 million people with the first dose. He says the vaccination program has shifted the odds in our favor and has put England on a one-way road out of a lockdown to freedom. But that is a long road with some caveats really, where conditions have to be met.
So there are four conditions that have to be met. You and I have discussed them. Those have been from hospitalization, the infection rate, the vaccination programs going ahead, and obviously, no more variants appearing in the U.K. Those are the conditions.
At each stage of the unlocking there are four phases. The government will assess whether those conditions are being met. The Prime Minister saying yesterday it's about the data and not about the date. Even though he provided dates, those are movable. So the first one we have is March the 8th. Schools can reopen -- will
be able to open. Parents will also be breathing a sigh of relief for they've been home schooling their children. So March 8th is the opening. Two people will be able to meet outside for a coffee, let's say. Then on March 29th two households with the rule of six can also meet outdoors. That's phase one.
After that phase one, Rosie, what happens, the Prime Minister and the scientists will look at that data to see whether the conditions are being met. If they see that actually they are being met, there's no impact on the health service on the hospitalizations, then they go onto the second phase or third phase. And eventually end on June 21st when really all limits on social contact are lifted. That's really the last day of restrictions, official contact for the U.K.
[04:20:00]
The Prime Minister pointing out very clearly giving a reality check to many saying although the vaccination is going at full speed, there are many people who will not be vaccinated either because they don't want to be vaccinated or because they can't have the vaccine for health reasons. So there's still many vulnerable people.
But he also said, and I think your point it out, as you said to me just now, that there's no credible root to a zero COVID Britain or a zero COVID world. So although the -- although the country's opening, there will be hospitalizations and unfortunately, they'll be more deaths -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes, absolutely right. But some progress being made there. Isa Soares bringing us very latest from London, many thanks.
Well in the U.S. state of Texas, the city of Denton was hit with a $207 million electric billion for power used during last week's statewide blackout. That's more than three times what the city usually pays in a year. We keep hearing reports of people receiving their own sky high electricity bills. CNN's Ed Lavandera takes a closer look.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine the horrifying shock Nora Flores experienced when she printed out this electric Bill for last week's charges during the winter storm in Texas.
LAVANDERA: And how much have you been charged now?
NORA FLORES, EDINBURGH, TEXAS RESIDENT: My Bill is a big one. $3,315 is for just maybe five days. Not even a month.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Flores works in a nursing home making $11 an hour. Even as she sat in the dark and cold with her husband and children for three days without power, she kept seeing the charges skyrocketing.
LAVANDERA: Are you scared that this is going to wipe out the savings that you have? But can you afford to pay this bill? FLORES: No, not right now because I don't have any savings at this
moment. I already spend my money when this month, you know? I don't have any saving money at this time. I'm really, really scared about that, yes.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): State lawmakers will hold hearings this week scrutinizing what went wrong in last week's power grid chaos. But the state's Republican leaders are scrambling to respond to calls for regulation of the state's energy market.
Senator Ted Cruz, who is trying to rehabilitate his image, after his well-documented 24 hour trip to Cancun in the middle of the crisis, now says regulators should act swiftly to prevent this injustice.
But in 2019 Cruz tweeted, the success of the Texas energy market was built on low regulation.
And after a week of intense criticism for his handling of the crisis, Governor Greg Abbott is calling for state officials to help.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Texans who have suffered through days of freezing cold without power, should not be subjected to skyrocketing energy bills.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): State officials say they're working to find relief for residents on variable rate electric plans who are facing these crippling electric bills. One lawmaker said federal disaster aid could help cover the cost.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Are you saying they'll use the disaster relief funding from the federal government?
ABBOTT: Yes. Yes, that's the current plans with the federal assistance.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): FEMA says federal disaster aid can be used for temporary housing and housing repairs. It does not include provisions to use the money to pay off energy bills. Texas created its power grid to stand on its own to be free from federal regulation. Texas consumer watchdogs say it's on Republican leaders to fix this mess.
ADRIAN SHELLEY, DIRECTOR, PUBLIC CITIZEN TEXAS: Homeowners are being hit with these massive bills. Something has got to be done with it. And ultimately, it's a Texas problem and we need to figure out a solution here with our local lawmakers.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): There are still millions of people without water in Texas. Water distribution sites are set up all over the state. Crews are working to repair water main breaks and people like Rachel Stevens are recovering from mess left by the aftermath.
RACHEL STEVENS, AUSTIN RESIDENT: We have lines that were just gushing water. So now we've got zero water in the house just due to having to turn it off until somebody can come out here to start fixing things.
LAVANDERA: And there are new details about another Republican Texas leader that fled the state last week during the Texas freeze, Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife who is a state Senator, flew to Utah for a series of meetings. A spokesperson for Paxton would not tell us or confirm when he left and when he returned back to the state.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
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CHURCH: Well, the wife of convicted drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been arrested on international drug trafficking charges. Emma Coronel Aispuro was arrested Monday at Dulles Airport just outside of Washington.
[04:25:00]
The U.S. Justice Department accuses her of conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana and meth. Prosecutors say she also helped her husband escape from a Mexican prison back in 2015. El Chapo is now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
Well, as the U.S. surpasses yet another terrifying death toll, it is a big week for President Joe Biden's stimulus bill. We'll look at how the Bill is expected to fare in the House and Senate.
Also ahead, President Biden sits down with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today. Why vaccine supply is likely to be a hot topic between the two allies. Back with that in a moment.
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CHURCH: Well, the coronavirus pandemic hasn't just killed half a million people in the United States, it has shattered families, shuttered businesses and devastated the economy. But now U.S. President Joe Biden's COVID relief bill may finally be coming together. CNN's Phil Mattingly has more.
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BIDEN: We need Congress to pass my American rescue plan.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tonight crunch time for President Joe Biden's corner stone legislative priority.
BIDEN: Now critics say the plan is too big. Let me ask then a rhetorical question. What would you have me cut? What would you leave out?
MATTINGLY (voice-over): House Democrats moving this week to vote and pass Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief proposal. Biden keeping the door open to bipartisan talks.
BIDEN: I'm prepared to hear ideas about how to make the American rescue plan better and cheaper.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But his stern refusal to back off the size and scale of package amid GOP concerns has left the onus entirely on Congressional Democrats to pass the plan with zero margin for error in the 50-50 Senate.
