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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
CDC Issues New Guidance For Fully-Vaccinated Americans; Biden's Primetime Address Set for Pandemic's Anniversary; Buckingham Palace Silent After Harry and Meghan Interview. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired March 09, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:25]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Can you see your grandkids? Can you go out to dinner? Can you travel?
New answers from the CDC for vaccinated Americans starting to return to normal.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden delivers his first primetime address this week, but first a generational effort to narrow the American wealth gap on the verge of reality.
ROMANS: And silence from the palace. When will the royal institution weigh in on that damning interview from Harry and Meghan?
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
Laura, it was a year ago this week everything started to shut down. Now we get a glimpse. A taste of freedom. What it will look like for vaccinated Americans going forward.
JARRETT: It's hard to believe.
ROMANS: Yeah.
JARRETT: I am Laura Jarrett. It's Tuesday, March 9th. It's 5:00 a.m. in New York.
And we begin with good news this morning. Some of you will finally be able to hug your grandkids again after a full year of coping with this pandemic, a major step forward in returning to something resembling normal life. New guidance from the CDC for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, giving the green light to many everyday activities and easing some restrictions and precautions.
Nearly 20 percent of Americans have been at least partially vaccinated, almost 10 percent fully.
ROMANS: B the CDC still recommends people avoid travel saying it risks creating a surge in infections. The airline industry pushing back saying highly filtered air and universal mask wearing actually make planes a low risk environment. And A CNN medical analyst agrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: So this is one of these examples where I think the CDC is being far overly cautious in a way that defies common sense. People who are fully vaccinated should be able to travel, should be encouraged to travel. And that's one of those things that we can give as a way for restoring freedoms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura and Christine.
The CDC has now laid out what you can do once you're fully vaccinated. So let's take a look first at what it means to be fully vaccinated. What it means is that you are at least 2 weeks out from having had your Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two weeks after your second dose of Moderna or Pfizer.
And if you are fully vaccinated, you can visit others who are fully vaccinated indoors with no masks, no social distancing. No limits on that.
And if you're fully vaccinated you can visit unvaccinated people indoors if, first of all, they're from one household, not from a variety of families and, two, if they're at low risk of developing severe COVID-19.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: If grandparents have been vaccinated, they can visit their daughter and her family even if they have not been vaccinated so long as the daughter and her family are not at risk for severe disease.
COHEN: Now, to be clear, the CDC didn't say that you can do whatever you want if you're vaccinated. It's 2019 again. They did put on limits.
For example, they told people that even if you're vaccinated, you shouldn't travel. They also said you shouldn't attend medium or large- sized gatherings. And if you are out in public, you should still wear a mask and practice social distancing -- Christine, Laura.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: So important to still wear a mask.
President Biden set to deliver his first primetime address to the nation on Thursday, commemorating one year since coronavirus became a global pandemic shutting down much of the U.S., the world and changing the course of history. Jasmine Wright is live at the White House.
Good morning, Jasmine.
What do we expect to hear from the president this week? What are you hearing from your sources?
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the first time we will see President Biden is when he visits a small business that has benefitted from the Paycheck Program Protection loans. We learned that President Biden will be giving his first primetime address focused on the anniversary of when the COVID-19 shutdowns started to take place this time last year.
Biden senior advisor Cedric Richmond really previewed that speech for us last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: He's going to convey the same message he did on the campaign trail, which was he has a plan. He's executing that plan and as a country we're going to come together. We're going to beat this pandemic. We're going to rise from the economic crisis and then we're going to build back better which means we're not going to leave anybody behind this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: Now, Richmond has expressed optimism that the House will pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill before March 14th.
[05:05:07]
That is the deadline when the enhanced unemployment benefits expire. That has been the long-time deadline for the Democrats to try to get to, now that thee votes supposedly schedule for that, the White House -- excuse me, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that that vote will come late as tomorrow morning. But, of course, Biden wants that bill on his desk before those benefits expire.
JARRETT: All right, Jasmine. Yee you back in a little bit. Thanks.
ROMANS: (AUDIO GAP) on the verge of historic effort to address income inequality, the president's coronavirus relief. Supporters say it could cut child poverty by half.
Key here, the child tax credit. It is a critical and historic step towards that. For example, a family with two parents, two kids making, say, $96,000 a year, if you add in the stimulus checks and the child tax credit, that is $11,600 in relief for that family.
Something new this time, adult dependents qualify for stimulus checks. Elderly relatives or college age kids, it's $1,400 to them, too, although it will be made out to the taxpayer, head of household. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday this package will fuel a
very strong recovery and it goes beyond the child tax credit. There's an extension of food stamp benefits. Extra jobless benefits through September.
A little known part of the relief bill will be going to farmers of color. Experts say it's the most significant piece of legislation for black farmers since the Civil Rights Act. There's money to help people stay in their homes. There's paid second family leave, all critical to help millions make it to the other side of this crisis.
JARRETT: Just so much in this bill.
President Biden announcing his nomination of two female generals to positions as four-star commanders on International Women's Day. The promotions of Air Force General Jacqueline Van Ovost and Army Lt. General Laura Richardson have been delayed during the Trump administration. Now, if confirmed by the Senate, Van Ovost as commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, and Richardson, the head the U.S. Southern Command, would be the second and third women to lead a combatant command.
ROMANS: All right. A stiff upper lip? Barely. The U.K. now reacting to Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview. What they're saying about the royal company, next.
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[05:11:30]
ROMANS: The deafening silence this morning is from Buckingham Palace. You know, more than 24 hours after the incredible interview where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accused the royal institution of racism. There's been no information from the firm.
More of the interview with Oprah Winfrey has been released, including Harry and Meghan tried to meet with the queen with the last year to explain the decision to step away as working royals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: My grandmother had said, the moment you land, come up to Sandringham, we'd love to have a chat, come for tea, why don't you stay for dinner because it's going to be a long drive and you're going to be exhausted?
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: She wanted us to stay the night.
PRINCE HARRY: We love that.
MARKLE: Yeah.
PRINCE HARRY: The moment we land in the U.K., I got a message from my private secretary, Fiona, at the time.
MARKLE: Private secretary is sort of like a CEO? PRINCE HARRY: Cutting and pasting a message from the queen's private
secretary basically saying, please pass along to the duke and duchess of Sussex, that he cannot come to Norfolk. The queen is busy. She's busy all week.
OPRAH WINFREY, TV HOST: After she just invited you?
MARKLE: Yeah.
PRINCE HARRY: She'd just invited me. The queen's busy. She's busy all week, do not come up here.
Okay. So I rang her from Frogmore and she said, yes, something in my diary that I didn't know I had. I said, well, what about the rest of the week? She goes, well, that's busy now as well.
Okay. I didn't want to push because I kind of knew what was going on.
WINFREY: Doesn't the queen get to do -- I mean, doesn't the queen get to do what the queen wants to do?
PRINCE HARRY: No. When you're head of the firm, there is people around you that give you advice.
WINFREY: Okay.
PRINCE HARRY: And what has also made me really bad is some of that advice has been really bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN's Anna Stewart live in Windsor, England.
I mean, that clip has been so fascinating to unpack. I mean, who's in charge here? Is it the people who run the palace or the royal family in the palace?
Anna, this interview just aired in the U.K. What's the reaction?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Finally, Britain was able to actually watch the interview in full. And I can tell you, the reaction is mixed. This is something we touched on yesterday but much clearer now particularly looking at the newspapers and how they are handling it.
Take a look at "The Metro". Front page: Just the four of us now. A picture of bliss really celebrating the independence the couple now have.
And then if you look at "The Daily Mirror", and I've lost, but I believe it's the biggest crisis for the royal family pretty much since the abdication. So, that is a pretty serious thought.
This is playing out differently in the U.K. to the U.S., there is no doubt. A YouGov poll that released overnight is absolutely fascinating. They asked audiences in the U.S. and the U.K., do you think this interview was inappropriate? Well, in the States, just 20 percent thought it was inappropriate, and in the U.K., 47 percent, nearly half.
That is not to say that people don't empathize with Harry and Meghan, and they don't take the serious allegations of racism or mental health to heart, but many people worry that think this has been damaging to the royal family.
And that's what we've been asking people. What do you think about this interview?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think it's really sad that family matters can't be played out within their family and at a time when so many people are losing people, losing their jobs, this is the main headline?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a good thing that people can hear about the experience in the royal family. It's not such a blocked off experience anymore. So, I think that's good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn't really want much attention. Actually, she's getting the attention. She's looking for it. But, you know, at the same time, she hasn't been treated as equally as the other members of the royal family.
[05:15:06]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think what she said is a surprise. I haven't seen it. I didn't think it was that dramatic. It wasn't anything, I was probably expecting a bit more from -- she was never going to name people. So --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: I don't think you can underestimate how protective some people are of the royal family. You had a whole mix of opinions there. I imagine if you ask the same question where you are, you get a very different response.
JARRETT: I think that's probably right.
ROMANS: A hundred percent, 100 percent.
JARRETT: Safe to say.
The question that seems to crop up whenever the royal family faces some big controversy is, can the monarch survive? Should it survive? What's your sense?
You cover the royals. You live there. What do you think?
STEWART: Well, I think the palace would say they move with the times. You know, particularly at the moment, the Queen zooms. But on the serious note, the royal family really championed all sorts of charities, but particular ones related to mental health and race, particularly in the commonwealth. They like to talk a lot about equal opportunities.
But here, they had an opportunity. They had Britain's first mixed race royal. The sort power she could have wielded, particularly in the commonwealth was a fantastic opportunity. Meghan even says in the interview, you need to see people that look like you in positions of power. This is an opportunity lost.
Now, I don't think this is -- when you talk about survival of the royal family, I don't think we're talking about their survival here in the U.K., certainly it damaged their reputation and also importantly in the commonwealth.
ROMANS: The parallels to Princess Diana, Harry's mother, are just so fascinating too. You know, the headline said it was the worst crisis in 85 years. I don't know. I mean, those years with Diana, it was not very favorable, the impression of the royal family writ large, for the public, certainly here in the United States, and I know there, too.
Anna Stewart, nice to see you. Thank you.
JARRETT: Thanks, appreciate it.
All right. Still ahead, a top college football coach out of a job because of misconduct reported at his old school.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:21:33]
JARRETT: Breaking overnight. Residents of Maui and the eastern part of Hawaii being asked to evacuate to higher ground, or shelter in place. The Kaupakalua dam in Maui has been breached, with emergency evacuations issued for everyone downstream. Heavy rains keep pounding the island. Evacuation shelters have already been open at local community centers and high schools.
ROMANS: Les Miles is out as the head football coach at Kansas just days after sexual allegations surfaced from his time at LSU.
Andy Scholes has this morning's "Bleacher Report".
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good morning, Christine.
So, the Jayhawks say that they have mutually agreed to part ways with Les Miles effective immediately. The school placed Miles on administrative leave Friday after LSU released a review by a law firm about the university's handling of sexual conduct complaints. Miles is accused of sexual harassment of female employees while he was the head coach at LSU from 2005 to 2016. Miles who won the national title in 2007 at the school has denied those allegations. The investigation revealed LSU's athletic director recommended Miles
be fired for cause in 2013. Kansas officials say they weren't aware of the allegations against Miles when they hired him in 2018 and only saw the reports when they were made public last week.
All right. Dallas Cowboys meanwhile have agreed to terms on a new contract, quarterback Dak Prescott. A four-year deal worth up to $164 million with a record 126 million guaranteed. Move comes just before today's franchise tag deadline. Prescott's 2020 season was cut short when he suffered that gruesome broken ankle in the fifth game of the season would require surgery.
And check out this great picture tweeted by Dak's brother, Tad, captioned, when your little brother gets the call: Pretty cool right there.
All right. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is speaking out about bullying and violence against Asian-Americans. Roberts, the son of a black father and Japanese mother, recently sent an email within the Dodgers organization to raise awareness about racism calling recent attacks cowardice. He says he decided to send that email after reading a Facebook post by former NBA star Jeremy Lin who says he was called coronavirus on the court while playing the G League this season.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE ROBERTS, LOS ANGELES, DODGERS MANAGER: What's going on is not right. Treating anyone, any race that way and so I just think a lot of people felt hurt and supported and their voice was kind of heard. And that was really important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. Baseball's opening day is three weeks away. The players aren't the only ones getting ready. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot posted a video on twitter showing her getting warmed up to throw out the first pitches for the Cubs and the White Socks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D), CHICAGO, IL: Let's play ball, Chicago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yeah, the Cubs will be at home for opening day on April 1st. The White Socks will be on the road. But they're going to have 20 percent capacity at the ballparks and the bands when they start the season there in Chicago.
JARRETT: I like to see my hometown mayor taking that job very seriously with lots of practice. It's good to see you.
SCHOLES: Got to get it over the play.
JARRETT: And she's doing both the Cubs and the Sox. That's something for sure. [05:25:02]
All right. Andy, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
SCHOLES: All right.
JARRETT: All right. Still ahead for you, after a year of staying six feet apart, new CDC guidelines give reason for grandkids and their grandparents to smile.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JARRETT: Good morning, everyone. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It's about 30 minutes past the hour here.
We're not back to normal, but we're getting closer. The CDC says people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus can take a small step towards the post-pandemic reality. Less than 10 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, with progress still provides hope after this long year of isolation.
JARRETT: Now, starting two weeks after full vaccination, people can visit other vaccinated people indoors without masks.
