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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.S. Capitol On Alert Again After DHS Warns Of Possible Violence; President Biden Strikes Compromise With Moderate Democrats On Stimulus Checks; Buckingham Palace To Investigate Bullying Allegations Against Meghan Markle. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired March 04, 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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LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, this is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. This is Christine Romans. It is 30 minutes past the hour on EARLY START.
Two months after the deadly siege at the Capitol, Washington is fortified again. U.S. Capitol Police warning of a new threat today. Quote, "We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March fourth."
Overnight, the House sergeant at arms laying out new security procedures around the Capitol. A House session set for today has been canceled and all because of online conspiracy chatter about the imagined resurrection of the Trump administration.
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REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): Yes, I think President Trump has a responsibility to tell them to stand down. This threat is credible and it's real. It's a right-wing militia group that believes that the original -- because the original inaugural day was March fourth until the 20th Amendment passed, they think this is the true Inauguration Day.
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JARRETT: Now, law enforcement sources say it's not clear that the online chatter has escalated beyond just talk among extremists but Capitol Police not taking any chances this time. The department says it has made significant security upgrades, including new fencing and more officers.
Meantime, the big lie lives on. Even former Vice President Mike Pence, who the rioters chanted that they wanted to hang, now pushing unfounded election fraud claims himself. ROMANS: Top senators from both parties on the Homeland Security Committee want to hear from former Army Sec. Ryan McCarthy and former Acting Defense Sec. Chris Miller. They want to know why the National Guard was not deployed to the U.S. Capitol more quickly on January sixth.
On Wednesday, senators heard from the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard for the first time about how long it took to get authorization.
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MAJOR GEN. WILLIAM WALKER, COMMANDING GENERAL, D.C. NATIONAL GUARD: At 1:49 p.m. I received a frantic call from then-chief of the United States Capitol Police Steven Sund, where he informed me that the security parameter of the United States Capitol had been breached by hostile rioters. Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency at the Capitol.
The approval for Chief Sund's request would eventually come from the acting Sec. of Defense and be relayed to me by Army senior leaders at 5:08 p.m., about three hours and 19 minutes later.
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JARRETT: Three hours later.
Walker also said restrictions that the Pentagon placed on him before the riot and the lag time by his chain of command in making critical decisions prevented him from sending more forces quickly. He says he kept hearing that optics would be a problem.
Well, a quick confirmation for Merrick Garland hitting a Republican roadblock. Sen. Tom Cotton announced he's blocking Democrats for a swift vote on the attorney general nominee. Senator Cotton says several of Garland's answers at his confirmation hearing last month were inadequate.
If confirmed to lead the Justice Department, Garland would, of course, oversee the prosecution of those charged in the Capitol Hill insurrection.
ROMANS: All right, it is crunch time for President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID rescue bill. The president agreed to compromise with moderate Democrats.
He's narrowing who is eligible for the next round of stimulus checks. A source says the checks will cut off completely at lower income levels in the House bill. About seven million fewer families then would receive a partial payment but under the House version of that bill.
JARRETT: Mr. Biden says everyone is making small compromises and he is willing to do the same.
CNN's Daniella Diaz is live on Capitol Hill for us this morning. Daniella, the bill has broad support and people obviously need help. And yet, Republicans are literally doing everything they can to slow this process down.
DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: That's exactly right, Laura. We're expecting a very late night here in the Senate as this -- they take up the process to vote on this COVID-19 legislation.
We have been told that Senate Republicans are planning to read the full legislative text of the COVID-19 legislation on the Senate floor today, which could take up to 10 hours before they actually start the process to vote on amendments.
We've also learned that Senate -- Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is going to force votes on a lot of amendments to try to draw out this process. They want to make this as long as possible.
This is a tactic that Republicans will take to try to point out all of the parts of the legislation that they don't agree with, that they find unnecessary and partisan because, I want to point out, that this legislation that the White House is pushing that the House already passed has zero Republican support.
[05:35:12]
So we are expecting a late night with this 10-hour reading of the legislative text of the COVID-19 bill. And then another 20 hours when they vote on amendments to -- when they vote on amendment after amendment after amendment after amendment to vote or keep or remove amendments. And it starts today and it could honestly go through the weekend. So this is part of the process to try to pass this legislation and Republicans are going to do everything they can to make this long and hard for Democrats.
JARRETT: All right, Daniella, get your coffee. You're going to be busy out there. Thank you so much -- appreciate it.
ROMANS: As more vaccines ship out, more people across the country are lining up for their shot. Arizona, Connecticut, and Indiana have expanded eligibility to include younger people. In Detroit, factory workers can get vaccinated starting this week regardless of age. And 38 states and Washington, D.C. are now prioritizing teachers for COVID vaccines. Six states just added to that list.
JARRETT: In California, officials say 40 percent of available vaccines will go to residents in the most disadvantaged areas. Also, now a sense of when it's safe for children to finally get vaccinated. And fans may soon be in the stands at Major League Baseball games.
CNN has the pandemic covered coast-to-coast.
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ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Elizabeth Cohen.
The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was recently authorized for adults ages 18 and older. But the company says that they will be testing their vaccine in children and if they get authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration it could be available to children in September. Now that's important because the Pfizer vaccine is authorized only for 16 and older, and the Moderna vaccine is authorized only for 18 and older.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Nick Watt in Los Angeles.
Over in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey has signed an executive order saying schools must offer in-person teaching by March 15th or the end of spring break. He says the science is clear it is safe. About half the schools in the state are already open and more need to follow. There is an exemption for counties with very high case counts.
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Erica Hill in New York where three mass vaccination sites will now offer 24/7 appointments in an effort to maximize the state's first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. New York received 164,000 doses on Tuesday which they'll use for overnight appointments at Yankee Stadium, the Javitz Center, and the New York State Fair.
Governor Cuomo noting shipments of that single-dose vaccine are expected to lag over the next two weeks.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Rosa Flores in Miami inside a FEMA tent where the COVID-19 vaccine is being administered. This is the refrigerator where the vaccines are being stored.
Once people walk into this tent they wait in this area. This is where they're asked whether they'd like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the Pfizer vaccine. There are only 500 Johnson & Johnson vaccines available and those are on a first-come, first-served basis.
The actual shot takes moments. After the vaccine recipient takes the shot they're in observation for about 15 minutes.
Now, what you see here is being replicated at three sites in the state of Florida.
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ROMANS: All right, thank you, Rosa and all of our correspondents for those reports.
To Texas now where businesses are stepping in where the government won't to keep people safe during the pandemic. Leading grocery chains, pharmacies, retailers, automakers -- they all say they will still require masks at their stores and their factory floors for customers and their employees once Texas ends its mask mandate.
General Motors has 13,500 employees in Texas. It says its safety practices put in place last spring -- those stay in place. Kroger will require everyone in its stores to wear a mask until all of its frontline workers can get a vaccine. Now, not all chains are taking the same approach. HEB and Albertsons
-- they say they will require their employees to wear masks but they will only encourage face coverings for their customers who are shopping in their stores.
Now, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade group, called the decision to end the mask mandate in Texas a mistake and said this. It could jeopardize the safety of pharmacies and grocers gearing up as vaccination centers.
Now, the Texas Restaurant Association's worried the end of the mandate could expose workers to confrontations with customers who refuse to wear a mask.
JARRETT: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issuing a public apology Wednesday after two women accused him of sexual harassment at work and another said he tried to kiss her at a wedding.
Cuomo flatly rejected calls for his resignation and asked New Yorkers to wait for the state attorney general to issue her full report.
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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable.
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JARRETT: You heard there the governor say he never knew at the time but one of his accusers, Charlotte Bennett -- well, she says that cannot be true. Her lawyer says Bennett reported Cuomo's behavior immediately to his chief of staff and his chief counsel and they are confident that the staffers made Cuomo aware of those complaints.
ROMANS: All right. Meghan Markle accused of bullying royal staff, but she says it's Buckingham Palace that's been perpetuating lies.
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MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I don't know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent.
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OPRAH WINFREY, CONDUCTED TELL-ALL INTERVIEW WITH MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY: How do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today?
MARKLE: I don't know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there's an active role that the firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us. And if that comes with a risk of losing things -- I mean, I -- there's a lot that's been lost already.
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ROMANS: A bit of a royal row unfolding between Buckingham Palace and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The pair giving a rare public glimpse of the last few years in this new interview with Oprah that airs on Sunday. But back in the U.K. the palace is now investigating complaints against Meghan, herself.
CNN's Max Foster live just outside of London. And Max, we also just learned that Prince Philip, who is 99 years old, underwent a heart procedure yesterday. A lot going on for the royal family right now. Where do you want to begin?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Prince Philip obviously -- first with him, really, because he had this heart procedure yesterday. We are told it was successful, so some good news. But we're also told that he needs further treatment, so he's going to be in the hospital for a number of days. So everyone wishing him well.
Meanwhile, back at that palace, they're dealing with this "Times" article citing unnamed sources and talking about this complaint about -- against the Duchess of Sussex. So people working for her made a complaint to the H.R. department at Buckingham Palace that she'd been bullying staff, effectively, forcing out two personal assistants from her household at Kensington Palace and undermining the confidence of a third member of staff.
That was all hearsay for much of the day until Buckingham Palace came in late in the day and said they are going to look into this, actually, and they're going to speak to members of staff involved, but not crucially Meghan and Harry. They are not members of staff.
So are they investigating the bullying or are they investigating the follow-up to the complaint, it's not entirely clear.
But a lot to deal with for them there because the duchess has got this interview coming up on Sunday with Oprah Winfrey and I think this is her biggest claim yet against the palace. She's talked a lot about how she suffered with this media onslaught here in the U.K. Harry said he had to take his family out of the country because of it.
She's indicated before she didn't feel supported or protected by the palace. They just allowed these complaints to sit there and undermine her. And now she's effectively saying they were working against her by not acting. But we need to hear more about the accusations she's laying against the palace -- not yet against the family themselves, I don't think.
But as we know, this interview has been extended to two hours so I think it's going to be pretty bombshell. They don't give us any lead on it but they're making it clear that she's going to make some quite big claims. So some nervousness in the palace about that as well, I'm sure.
ROMANS: Yes. I think from this side of the pond -- you know, Max -- I mean, there's this phrase in the United States "lean in" women are told. When there's a -- when there's a -- when there's a barrier, you lean in and you get around that barrier to work.
We sort of listen to what the allegations are in the U.K. against Meghan and we see an American woman leaning in, especially with that background of just how unfairly she's been treated by the press and some of the public in the U.K. It will be interesting to see if this two hours will change minds on your side of the pond.
Max Foster, nice to see you. Thanks, Max -- Laura.
JARRETT: All right.
Back here in the U.S. the House of Representatives reviving and passing a bill aimed at police misconduct on Wednesday.
The George Floyd Justice and Policing Act would impose a federal ban on chokeholds, set up a national registry of police misconduct, outlaw racial and religious profiling, overhaul qualified immunity which protects officers against civil suits, and this would ban no-knock warrants in federal drug cases.
Democrats passed the bill last year in the wake of Floyd's death but it never got through the Senate, which was Republican-controlled at the time.
ROMANS: More fallout from the power failures that crippled Texas. Bill Magness, president and CEO of the Texas electricity regulator has been fired. Five ERCOT board members had already resigned in the wake of the storm that left millions of Texans without power.
Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm says Texas would benefit from connecting its power grid with neighboring states.
This morning, more than 160,000 residents -- this is remarkable -- 160,000 residents in Texas are still without clean water.
JARRETT: That just is amazing.
Well, a day of setbacks for SpaceX.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five, four, three, two, one, ignition -- abort.
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JARRETT: The first attempt to launch their latest Mars prototype rocket was aborted just one second before liftoff. Then last night it stuck the landing for the first time following a high-altitude test flight, but just minutes later the rocket exploded. SpaceX is developing the rocket with the goal of launching cargo and people to the moon and to Mars.
Well, Barbie releasing its new Eleanor Roosevelt doll to commemorate International Women's Day. March is Women's History Month, of course, and the former first lady's doll joins other role models like Billie Jean King, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, and astronaut Sally Ride. Barbie says the dolls are designed to inspire young girls to be anything.
ROMANS: Oh, that's cool.
All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Looking at markets around the world, global markets taking their cue from a big selloff in the U.S. Wednesday.
On Wall Street right now, the mood looks like more losses this morning. Tech and consumer stocks led to a sharp drop in stock indices.
A really tough day for the Nasdaq, down almost three percent. That's a big move. A little lesser so for the Dow. The S&P down more than one percent.
A reminder here -- the bond market is boss right now. Bond yields rising on the idea the U.S. economy will come back gangbusters. Why? Vaccine progress, more fiscal help, years of an easy Fed.
Will that lead to overheating and a Fed that then must raise interest rates to ward off inflation? That's what bond investors are grappling with right now.
The Fed chief Jerome Powell has said rates will stay low while the economy recovers. He speaks later today.
The pandemic's effect on the economy, of course, has been uneven, to say the least. Discount store Dollar Store -- Dollar Tree said it will open 600 new stores this year as customers look for bargains, and food, and household essentials.
But Disney will close at least 60 of its stores in North America this year and focus more on its e-commerce platforms as more customers shop online.
And this. Popular Texas-based Alamo Draft House is filing for bankruptcy. The theater chain known for its dine-in experience has not announced which locations will close.
Meantime, Chipotle is holding its executives accountable to hit environmental and diversity goals. It will now link 10 percent of executive pay to progress toward hitting certain targets, including increasing the number of pounds of local produce it uses at its restaurants and promoting more women and people of color. Chipotle also said it will announce new sustainability goals at the end of the year. All right, James Harden returns to Houston for the first time after a blockbuster trade sent him to the Nets. Coy Wire has this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine.
For eight years, Harden was synonymous with Houston, leading the Rockets to the playoffs season and being named the NBA's most valuable player along the way. But his trade request was granted and now he has Brooklyn balling, winning 10 of their last 11, while the Rockets haven't won in a month.
His intro onto the court much different this time around. Cheers and boos from the small crowd in Houston. Harden, though, going on to score 29 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds. Just the sixth player ever to record a triple-double in his first game against his former team.
Nets win 132-114. The Rockets being dealt a league-worst 13th straight loss.
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JAMES HARDEN, GUARD, BROOKLYN NETS: A lot of mixed emotions from the fans but I knew that was going to happen. I just wanted to come out here and give them a show.
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WIRE: The beard showing some love to some young fans after the game, tossing his shoes into the crowd. The Rockets owner wanting to show Harden some love as well, saying he still plans to retire Harden's number despite the breakup.
On to baseball. Yankees manager Aaron Boone taking a leave of absence after having a pacemaker put in. The 47-year-old who had open-heart surgery in 2009 consulted with doctors after feeling lightheaded and tired the last few weeks. He's expected to make a full recovery and be back with the Yankees in the coming days.
Finally, the bigger they are the harder they fall. Well, they don't get much bigger than Shaq -- seven foot-one, 365 pounds. The basketball Hall of Famer getting a tag team win in an All Elite Wrestling debut on our sister channel TNT last night -- but not before this. Down goes Diesel, smashing through two tables.
Is he OK? Shaq was loaded into an ambulance -- but wait -- he's gone. Oh, the drama.
Oh, Laura and Christine. Hopefully, he'll reappear with Ernie, Charles, and Kenny tonight at 8:00 eastern on TNT for the NBA All-Star draft.
JARRETT: It looks Shaq had -- Shaq has another career. I didn't realize. Very cool.
WIRE: Shaqqed in the pool. So cool, right? ROMANS: All right, thanks, Coy.
WIRE: All right.
ROMANS: Nice to see you.
JARRETT: Thanks, Coy.
ROMANS: And thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: There are real concerns about security at the Capitol today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Testimony revealing it took more than three hours to authorize the deployment of the National Guard.
WALKER: The Army senior leaders did not think that it looked good -- it would be a good optic.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The president blasting officials in Texas, Mississippi, and other states that are lifting all COVID-19 restrictions.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These masks make a difference.
GOV. TATE REEVES (R-MS): The fact of the matter is we have seen significant drops.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: From a public health standpoint it's ill-advised.
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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, March fourth, 6:00 here in New York.
And this morning the U.S. Capitol is on high alert. Federal authorities bracing for the possibility of another attack after officials shared intelligence about a potential.
