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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Miami Beach Imposes Emergency Curfew Over Spring Break Crowds; New York Reports First Case of Troubling Brazil COVID Variant; Railroad Merger Creates first U.S., Canada, Mexico Freight Rail Network. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired March 22, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Out of control. That from officials in Miami Beach overwhelmed by Spring breakers. What officials are now doing to contain the chaos.
LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: The border is closed. Like his boss, the DHS chief telling migrants at the southern border, do not come. But when will President Biden plan to get a firsthand look at the conditions himself?
ROMANS: And defense secretary pays a surprise trip to Afghanistan as the Biden administration grapples with a timeline for bringing troops home from America's longest war.
JARRETT: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is EARLY START, I am Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: A good Monday morning to you all, I'm Christine Romans, it is March 22nd. It is 5:00 a.m. exactly in New York. And in Miami Beach, the party is over. Officials there extending an 8:00 p.m. curfew and a state of emergency until mid April now after the city dealt with a rowdy army of Spring breakers. Police fired a chemical irritant into that crowd to disperse it. Authorities struggled here to disperse partiers, partiers who fought in the streets, destroyed restaurant property and refused to wear masks or socially distance.
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MAYOR DAN GELBER, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: The problem is that this particular time, and I think it's because of the pandemic, almost no other destinations are open. So we have been beside ourselves. We're having issues not just on weekends, but on week day events. We don't want to wait until some horrible tragedy happens, and then decide we're going to act. We're hoping that this is enough, and we're hoping that we can do it for enough time to get us through this, you know, this very challenging moment.
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JARRETT: Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis has not imposed restrictions or lockdowns for months now, and there's no statewide mask mandate. Right now, Florida leads the nation with the highest number of reported cases of the contagious COVID variant first seen in the U.K. CNN's Randi Kaye has more from Miami Beach.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Christine and Laura. Officials are calling these Spring break here in Miami Beach a Spring break like no other. They said it is not your typical group of Spring breakers here. More than a thousand people were in the streets on Friday night and many more on Saturday night, which is why they have now put in this state of emergency and new curfew here in Miami Beach. The curfew is at 8:00 p.m., goes into effect at 8:00 p.m. at last for another day or so. The causeways will also be closed from the mainland to Miami Beach and the entertainment districts here.
And the streets in this area here in Ocean Drive where we are also closed to Spring breakers, although hotel guests can come in, people who work in the restaurants can come in or the businesses around here and some of the resident as well. There is a chance of course that there -- that this violence could continue, which is why they put this new curfew into effect. More than a dozen people were arrested on Saturday night. The mayor here has said that there had been riots in the street. He said that somebody fired a gun into the air. There have been stampedes, so on Saturday night, police had to use pepper balls to try and clear the crowd of Spring breakers that was defying the new curfew and the new order in place. I did speak to some Spring breakers to get their views on what they think of this new curfew. And here is what they told me.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like it's needed because, you know, corona is still around. I feel like a lot of the Spring breakers are just not thinking about, you know, the future and what could possibly happen if they keep coming, you know, to Miami for Spring break.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, they shut down South Beach. And I live closer to Fort Lauderdale. So, when they shut down here, it was just like a flux of people coming down to Fort Lauderdale, and it's just like -- since South Beach is like the most -- like popular one, they just trickle it down to the Fort Lauderdale, and that's my home. So, I'm even more worried about Fort Lauderdale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came all the way out from New York to be out here to have fun, like 8 O'clock is old D, maybe 10:30 would have been fine, I would be OK with that or even 10:00, but 8:00? That's so bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And about 51 percent of those people who were arrested are from out of state. They're not even from here in Florida, which is why people are so concerned about this group that seems to be wrecking havoc on the city of Miami Beach. Back to you.
JARRETT: Randi Kaye, thank you for that. Breaking overnight, AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine found to be 79 percent effective against symptomatic disease and a 100 percent effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalization. [05:05:00]
Now, the findings in a large U.S. trial show the vaccine causes no serious side effects. A number of countries had temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca shot, you might remember after reports of blood clots in a small number of vaccinated people. This comes as the company prepares to apply for emergency use authorization here in the U.S.
ROMANS: New York is joining a growing list of states confirming at least one case of the coronavirus variant first found in Brazil. The patient is a Brooklyn resident in their '90s with no history of travel. Scientists are concerned that this variant is not only more contagious, but has the potential to reduce vaccine effectiveness. The CDC says about 48 cases of the Brazil variant have now been reported in at least 16 states.
JARRETT: Working around the clock 24/7. President Biden's Homeland Security Secretary pushing back against now these growing criticisms of the administration being caught flat-footed by the recent influx of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border. Here is Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
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ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Let me just say that we have a number of work streams in place. As I mentioned, we are dealing with the needs of the children now. We are rebuilding orderly ways in which the children can make their claims without having to take the perilous journey to the border. And we are elevating our messaging so that the individuals do know that they cannot come to the border. The border is closed.
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JARRETT: But the Biden administration still hasn't offered a timeline for when the large number of children that are currently stuck in border patrol custody will be moved out. CNN's Jasmine Wright joins us live from Washington. Jasmine, good morning. So, when might we see the president down at the border?
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN REPORTER: Look, make no mistake about it, Laura. The president says now that the White House will take new steps to deal with those surge of unaccompanied minors coming across the border. But they are on the brink of a big problem, both in real life because these are children that we are talking about, Laura. But also because of politics. We saw Alejandro Mayorkas a few moment ago, he was on CNN, he was also on "ABC", "NBC" and "Fox" really trying to take control of the narrative. He was as you said defending the White House's preparedness on this issue, but also laying the blame of what we see down at the border squarely on former President Trump's feet, saying that it was his administration that dismantled the immigration system and it is going to take some time for President Biden to rebuild it.
But now these numbers do not seem like they're going down. These are children coming across the border. So, the question is going to be, what is the White House going to do to respond? And when is President Biden going to see it for himself, as you said? We kind of got an answer yesterday when he was speaking to our own CNN Arlette Saenz on the White House lawn. Take a listen.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you thinking of going to the border?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At some point, I will, yes.
SAENZ: Do you want to see firsthand what is going on in those facilities?
BIDEN: I know what's going on in those facilities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think your message to the migrants, telling them to stay home, that don't come now. Why do you think it hasn't resonated yet? What more can be done, sir?
BIDEN: A lot more. We're in the process of doing it now, including, making sure that we re-establish -- but just to before, which was they can stay in place and they could stay in their home country. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And when will you allow the media into those facilities?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: So the White House while dealing with this issue is also going to be doing their day-to-day issues. They're picking back up that help is here to educate Americans about the American rescue plan. Today, Vice President Harris will be in Florida, tomorrow, President Biden will be at Ohio where he will also celebrate the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. And then on Thursday, we can expect to see him giving his first press conference. So, a busy week down here on Pennsylvania Avenue. Laura?
JARRETT: All right, Jasmine, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, the U.S., Canada and Mexico would be linked on a single freight rail network for the first time in history. Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, two of North America's largest railroad companies have reached a $25 billion merger agreement over the weekend. The deal would combine two of the industries' rapidly growing rail companies as online purchases have soared, overwhelming ports and delaying shipments, the network could become more important as the USMCA; that's the revised NAFTA trade deal takes hold.
And as all three countries begin to reopen after the pandemic disrupted global trade. The combined company would be called Canadian Pacific Kansas City, joining their networks in Kansas City, Missouri and having a single interchange point could speed up shipment by allowing some cargo to stay on the same train car instead of changing cars before reaching its destination.
The combined company would employ nearly 20,000 people. The deal still needs to be approved by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and by Mexican officials.
JARRETT: Families of the Atlanta Spa victims speaking out and calling for justice as rallies across the country condemn violence against Asian-Americans. That's next.
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JARRETT: Welcome back. A national display of solidarity this weekend. Thousands of Americans gathering at rallies across the country to honor the victims of the Atlanta spa shootings and to condemn violence against Asian-Americans. The family of one of those killed is demanding justice for what they say was a massacre. CNN's Natasha Chen has more from Atlanta now.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, I sat down with the family of one of the victims Xiaojie Tan. They said Tan was two days away from her 50th birthday. She was loved by friends, her customers, fellow business owners. She lived the American dream, and moving from China to the U.S., starting out as a nail technician, working her way to buying two spas Her daughter Jamie Webb said she had plans to meet her mom last Sunday but overslept. She would never have the opportunity to see her mother again.
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JAMIE WEBB, DAUGHTER OF XIAOJIE TAN: I thought that I had all this time with her, I mean, just because I missed that Sunday meeting with my mom, I thought that we can always meet like any Sunday, any other day just like before.
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CHEN: She told me she understands the overall anxiety of the Asian- American community right now. But the family is not ready to link racial motivation to these killings. At the same time, multiple congregations of different Korean churches gathered at the spa behind me on Sunday afternoon to hold a service. One of the pastors told me this is a moment of awakening.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's awakening moment for Asian-Americans to stand strong, stand up and raise our voice and participate in social justice movement. Many Asian-Americans tend to avoid those kinds of things. It's not our business. We're just focusing on our survival, but is awakening moment for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHEN: Earlier in the day, another church where the suspect attended,
held its Sunday service. In a statement, the church said they have removed the suspect from their church membership, saying they can no longer affirm him as truly a regenerate believer of Jesus Christ. Christine and Laura, back to you.
ROMANS: All right, Natasha, thank you so much for that. Former President Trump is coming back to social media, this time with his own network. A spokesman says Trump plans to be back in two or three months with his own platform. But the spokesman says will completely redefine the game. Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter and other social media following his incitement of the January 6th U.S. Capitol riot.
JARRETT: Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson admits the near total abortion ban he signed into law earlier this month is unconstitutional, but he tells CNN he did it, hoping it leads to the Supreme Court overturning the landmark decision, legalizing abortion.
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GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): I signed it because it is a direct challenge to Roe versus Wade. That was the intent of it. I think it's very narrow chance that the Supreme Court will accept that case, but we'll see.
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JARRETT: Pretty bold admission there. The new Arkansas law only allows abortions to save the life of the mother. The governor says he would have preferred the legislation to also include a rape and incest exception, which it does not.
ROMANS: All right, Julia Letlow, the widow of Louisiana Congressman Luke Letlow has won a special election for his house seat. Her husband died in December from coronavirus just days before his swearing in. Julia Letlow becomes the first Republican woman elected to Congress from Louisiana and just the third woman overall to win a house seat from that state.
JARRETT: Well, sister Jean called it. We'll show you the inspirational pre-game moment that helped her favorite team upset the number one seed in the NCAA tournament.
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[05:20:00]
ROMANS: Sister Jean is back in the sweet 16. Loyola-Chicago still dancing after pulling off a huge upset. Andy Scholes is in Indianapolis with more in this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT". And it seems, Andy, that sister Jean gave up losing for lent.
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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: She is certainly tough to beat, Christine, and what a weekend we've had here in Indy. Three double digit teams have made it to the sweet 16, and the second round isn't even over yet. Plus, 101-year-old sister Jean in Loyola, Chicago are back at it again. And check out sister Jean's pre-game prayer for yesterday. She said we hope to score early and make our opponents nervous. That happened in the game. Also, we have a great opportunity to convert rebounds as the team makes 50 percent of lay-ups and 30 percent from three. Illinois ended up shooting 29 percent for three in the game.
Sister Jean just unbelievable. The Ramblers were led by Cameron Krutwig, tough to stop a man with that mustache. He scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Loyola led wire-to-wire, knocking out one- seed Illinois 71-58. In 2018, the Ramblers shocked the world, making the final four as an 11 seed there, back in the sweet 16 as an eight seed this year.
All right, we have this year's Cinderella story. And Oral Roberts, they are raising 11 points, sent a shock to Florida Gators 81-78. The Golden Eagles becoming just the second number 15 seed in tournament history to advance to the sweet 16. And check out the reaction at the watch party back on Campus in Tulsa. Lots of masks there, but I guess hard to social distance when you're that excited. All right, one tournament rule we should all have every year. Don't pick against Jim Boeheim and Syracuse. For the third time in the last five tournaments, Syracuse advances to the sweet 16 as a double digit seat. This time they took down number three seeded West Virginia. And it was coach Boeheim's son, Buddy, leading the way with 25 points.
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JIM BOEHEIM, HEAD COACH, SYRACUSE ORANGE MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM: He's worked since he was in ninth grade. And he had to work there hard from ninth grade to 12th just to get to come to Syracuse.
BUDDY BOEHEIM, SYRACUSE GUARD: I can't describe it. Something I dreamed about my whole life. And to win two games and we're touted in both the underdog and this means everything.
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SCHOLES: All right, the women's tournament meanwhile tipping off in Texas yesterday. Stanford having no problem beating Utah Valley 87-44 in their opener.
[05:25:00]
Coach Tara VanDerveer; women's basketball all-time winning as coach, looking for her third national championship since 1992 in this tournament. And over the weekend, VanDerveer ripping the NCAA, saying she felt betrayed over what she called blatant sexism about the amenities provided to the teams at the women's tournament compared to the men here in Indianapolis. At the backlash, the NCAA did upgrade the women's workout room in San Antonio. And Laura, the NCAA did apologize. A lot of people are hoping that this is going to be a turning point and we're not going to see these kind of situations develop between the men's and women's game moving forward. JARRETT: Yes, good for her calling them out, she sure got some
results fast, right? Wow, all right, Andy, thanks so much, appreciate it. All right, the AstraZeneca vaccine now found to be 79 percent effective, paving the way for it to apply for approval in the U.S.
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