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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Biden to Announce Executive Actions Against Gun Violence; U.K. Variant Now the Dominant Strain in U.S.; Leader Investigator's About- Face on What George Floyd Said; New Warnings Raise Concern About AstraZeneca Vaccine; CNN Goes Inside Restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2021 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[05:00:24]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world.

This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Thursday, April 8th. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

President Biden set to take his first steps to address gun violence. Later this morning, he will unveil series of executive actions that he can take on his own.

Let's take a look at this. He's going to tighten up restrictions on so-called "ghost guns" which are homemade or assembled from kits without serial numbers. He's also going to restrict stabilizing braces that make it easier to manage a gun's recoil.

He will direct the Department of Justice to publish model red flag laws for states. Those are laws that allow for removal of guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or to others. He'll announce new intervention programs for communities hit hardest by gun violence and, finally, the president plans to nominate a gun control advocate as the next director of ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It hasn't had a director since 2015 actually.

Now, far from some sweeping overall here, these measures are limited but work toward fulfilling a commitment that Mr. Biden made after two deadly mass shootings last month in Colorado and Georgia to take some steps right away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take commonsense steps that will save the lives in the future, and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act. We can ban assault weapons and brought down these mass killings. We should do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: As he mentioned there, more sweeping action on assault weapons and universal background checks, well, those require action by Congress. The president has recently acknowledged that his huge infrastructure plan, not new gun laws, is his top legislative priority.

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia flexing his political muscle, insisting he will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster under any circumstances. That's the rule, of course, that requires 60 votes in the Senate to end debate and get most bills passed. Senator Manchin penning an op-ed calling the filibuster a critical tool for maintaining a stable democracy.

CNN's Daniella Diaz joins me live from Capitol Hill.

So, Daniella, what are you hearing about this? It's interesting Manchin weighing in so heavily.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Laura, I think some Democratic senators were hoping that he might change his mind on this issue, but that is -- there is no doubt that he is firm on this issue now after this editorial published last night in "The Washington Post."

You know, he is against Democrats using budget reconciliation to pass legislation in the Senate now that Democrats have the majority and that Biden is president and this means that they only need 51 votes to pass legislation. The context here for this editorial is the Senate parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could use budget reconciliation for more legislation, possibly being able to use it five more times before this Congress is over.

So the Senate parliamentarian is able to rule on this, she is the one that gets to decide, which means that they only need 51 votes to pass legislation and they can just with Democratic votes. They don't need Republicans to sign on.

And there is one line that really sums up how he feels about this, he thinks the filibuster is an important tool and procedure in the Senate that's needed. Here is what he had to say. He said: The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic forum of government. That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt. There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster.

He believes it is crucial for there could be 60 votes to pass legislation in the Senate, 60 votes to break this filibuster that he is referencing. He says it's because bipartisanship needs to happen for legislation to pass in the Senate and he is against any sort of drastic changes for policy making, especially if Democrats don't have the majority in the next congress, he thinks that if this switches back and forth there will be drastic changes in policy.

So Manchin against this filibuster breaking or ending this filibuster means that this is likely not going to happen in this Congress -- Laura.

JARRETT: Obviously, the argument on the other side of this is that if you don't do anything to eliminate it, you're going to gum up works that are things that the Biden agenda cares about deeply, that the American people want to see the president get done, things like immigration reform, things like gun control reform, all of the things that the president has signaled may come down the line.

[05:05:00]

So, what does this ultimately mean for Biden's agenda?

DIAZ: It means it will be harder for legislation to pass in the Senate, especially this legislation that Biden wants to pass, including what you just mentioned, immigration reform, gun safety measures, this $15 minimum wage that progressives really want. This is legislation that will be harder. Republicans are against it and Democrats will need ten Republicans at least to sign on to this legislation, especially if sometimes Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema, the usual subjects usually against these progressive measures, don't support these measures.

So, it will be much harder for Biden to be able to pass his legislation through Congress -- Laura.

JARRETT: Guaranteed this discussion is far from over.

Daniella, thank you. Appreciate it.

All right. To COVID now where 43 percent of the country's new coronavirus cases reported by just five states over the last seven days. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey reporting more than 196,000 of the nation's 453,000 cases.

Here is Dr. Anthony Fauci on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The last count yesterday was 63,000 cases in a single day. When you are at that level, there is the risk of getting a surge back up. So the way we're looking at it now, it's almost a race between getting people vaccinating and this surge that seems to want to increase and do what's going on, for example, in Europe where they're having some surges now that are really quite alarming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Health experts say highly contagious variants are driving the rise in new cases.

Nick Watt has more now from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura, that more contagious variant first found in the United Kingdom is now dominant here in the United States and is at least in part behind a recent rise in cases and hospitalizations. The good news, the average daily death toll in this country is still

falling. Why? Well, the CDC says that is down to the vaccine rollout, particularly vaccinations among the elderly and more vulnerable population.

Now, with perhaps some end in sight, light at the end of the tunnel, what are people looking forward to?

Well, listen to this 95-year-old World War II veteran and Bon Jovi fan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will be going to karaoke as often and as much as I can. What's that one about the cowboy and the motorcycle?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wanted dead or alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wanted dead or alive.

WATT: So the White House says that within a couple of weeks, half of American adults will have had at least their first shot but that means that half of American adults will not have had their first shot.

So where is the finish line? The president says we are not there yet. So where is it? Well, Dr. Anthony Fauci wouldn't be drawing on any numbers or met contribution, all he would say is we'll know it when we see it -- Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Nick Watt, thank you.

A lead state investigator into the death of George Floyd changing his mind on the witness stand as the defense continues to focus on the drugs in Floyd's system as the cause of death instead of former Officer Chauvin's use of deadly force.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is in Minneapolis covering the trial. He has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura, Wednesday was largely more law enforcement taking the stand essentially against Derek Chauvin, but one of the more significant exchanges came from one Special Agent James Reyerson who was with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension took the stand. He was asked about a portion of body camera video taken from May 25th, 2020, and he was asked to identify what George Floyd said in the moment.

And at first, he was asked whether he heard George Floyd say "I ate too many drugs" to which he initially responded yes, but minutes later, prosecutors played a longer portion from that same video and here is how that exchange went.

PROSECUTOR: We played through 202110 with the quote that you were asked about appearing at 202101, correct? SPECIAL AGENT JAMES REYERSON, MINNESOTA BUREAU OF CRIMINAL

APPREHENSION: Yes.

PROSECUTOR: Having heard it in context, are you able to tell what Mr. Floyd is saying there.

REYERSON: Yes, I believe there Floyd was saying "I ain't do no drugs."

PROSECUTOR: So that's a little different than what you were asked about when you only saw a portion of the video, correct?

REYERSON: Yes, sir.

JIMENEZ: It's a key moment because one of the defense's main arguments in this is that it was a combination of drugs in Floyd's system along with his medical history that killed him not a knee to the neck.

Now, in the later portion of the day, drugs was the main focus when two forensic experts were speak being what was found between the squad car and George Floyd's car from that day and they said in at least two of the pills they found meth and fentanyl.

Now, while we knew that was part of George Floyd's autopsy report, the jury got to hear from the experts what was actually found.

[05:10:05]

And that speaks to the larger point of this, because as closely as you and I have been paying attention to this, Laura, the only people that really matter at this point are these jurors seated inside the courtroom and over the course of this week, based on reports we've gotten from inside, it does seem it's been harder for them to give their full attention, especially when you compare this week's expert testimony with last week's emotional testimony.

Nonetheless, they do seem to still be taking notes, sometimes conferring with one another as we move forward in this. If you break this into sections based on what we've seen so far, last week was largely establishing what happened, the beginning of this week has been largely law enforcement focus, mainly looking at the use of force employed in this situation which as we know many of them have testified, that it's been excessive and now really the final portion that we're beginning to head into the territory of is trying to establish what George Floyd's cause of death is, I should say, and that will be stamped by the testimony from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner when it comes -- Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Omar, thank you so much for breaking all of that down.

The E.U.'s top drug agency finding a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots. That's next.

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[05:15:39]

JARRETT: New warnings this morning about the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19. European drug regulators confirming a link between that vaccine and rare blood clots, and U.K. authorities are recommending those under 30 should take an alternative COVID shot.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is live in London this morning.

Salma, nice to have you.

What are regulators saying about this? I know there's been a lot of back and forth in Europe.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Laura.

This morning, U.K. health officials trying to reassure the public saying that this shows that the safety procedures in place are working, and that's why we were able to detect these very rare cases. But, now, of course, very rare cases of blood clotting that is going to be listed as a side effect of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca vaccine, that's really the conclusion.

After two press conferences were held yesterday, one by the E.U. side, another here in London by the U.K.'s health regulators, both sides saying the benefits of this vaccine still outweigh the risks, although there is possible evidence to link these rare blood clots to the use of this vaccine. But while the European Medicines Agency said no specific risk factors can be identified here in Britain, British health officials saying out of an abundance of caution, we will not recommend use of it in those adults aged under 30.

You can hear how the mixed messaging can create confusion, already in the past 24 hours we've seen Belgium and Italy take steps to try to prevent the use of this vaccine is certain age groups. And what you're hearing over and over again from experts is yes, we have a link, but more scientific work needs to be done to understand what that link is and why these blood clots occur but this will be so hard to study, Laura. It is to rare.

Just to give you an idea, out of 20 million people who received the first dose of this Oxford University and AstraZeneca vaccine, out of 20 million, only 79 had these rare cases. One U.K. health official describing it as vanishingly rare.

JARRETT: So rare, but serious enough to get everybody's attention on something like this.

All right. Salma, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Brazil smashing through its previous daily record for COVID deaths now, nearly 4,200 people reported dead Tuesday, that's the highest number in the world. ICUs in some cities now turning patients away and the country's entire health system on brink of collapse. President Jair Bolsonaro down playing the seriousness of the crisis,

shrugging off accusations his COVID response amounts to genocide. He told supporters, what am I not blamed for here in Brazil?

Well, a new wave of coronavirus also threatening to overwhelm hospitals in Ontario, Canada. The entire province including the city of Toronto will be under a stay-at-home order for at least four weeks starting today. Hospital admissions in Ontario increased by 20 percent in the last day alone and ICU capacity has already set a pandemic record this week.

We're getting an inside look inside Notre Dame Cathedral after the devastating fire destroyed that historic landmark back in 2019. Why rebuilding could take much longer than you would think, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:18]

JARRETT: It's been two years since a fire destroyed the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, but rebuilding it could take many more years.

CNN's Melissa Bell was given a firsthand look behind the scenes of the massive restoration effort and Melissa joins us now live from Paris.

Melissa, so many of us remember where we were when that fire broke out back in 2019. I'm eager to see inside. What did you find?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, it really was one of those moments, Laura. We managed to get there very quickly to get a camera up so watched on in horror as did the rest of the world the flames take over the roof of Notre Dame.

But what struck us when we got back there in Friday nearly two years after that tragedy is for all the drama of that evening, Laura, actually how much worse it could have been.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELL (voice-over): Its vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows and elaborate columns. As you can see on these images shot by CNN so much of what makes Notre Dame one of the world's most exquisite Gothic wonders stands tall almost miraculously.

The construction of the cathedral may have taken 182 years from when it began in the 1163. It took the fire of 2019 a matter of hours to compromise its stability.

The work of the last two years has been all about ensuring that the cathedral stayed upright.

JEAN-LOUIS GEORGELIN, NOTRE DAME RECONSTRUCTION CHIEF: We had to be sure that the structure is solid. So I take a lot of measures to consolidate. We don't want to make the reconstruction without being reassured. BELL: Here you can see the iconic north tower that at one point had been threatened by the flames on the night of the fire.

[05:25:05]

In the end, they were put out before it could collapse.

But this was where the most devastating part of the fire took place. It was here, that the famous Notre Dame spire once stood.

As the world watch, the spire which had been under renovation collapsed, breaking through the vaulted ceiling which then crashed into the nave.

The scaffolding that had surrounded it, 40,000 tubes of metal now twisted into the structure, then had to be carefully picked through and removed.

General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who's in charge of the renovation, gave CNN a rare tour.

GEORGELIN: This is the place where the spire collapsed, you know. This is the center of the drama.

BELL: The general then shows us the exact spot where the spire first came crashing through. Here the vaulted ceiling is held up by wooden pillars, each weighing a ton and a half.

They ensure, explains the project manager, that if the stones give way for whatever reason -- bad weather, tremor, a shock -- well, the wooden support beams will keep the structure standing.

Now that the scaffolding for the renovations is ready, General Georgelin says that the work of rebuilding Notre Dame's vaulted ceiling and its spire will begin before the end of the year.

This is the central part of the nave where the great majority of reconstructions is going to have to take place, since it's here that the spire collapsed bringing down the stone structure with it.

Elsewhere, what's really remarkable, is how intact the structure is. These stones that had stood for more than eight centuries, almost exactly as they were.

Outside too, the cathedral's iconic Gothic facade stands as a testament to a construction that has proven as sturdy as it is delicate.

Cathedral officials say that almost a billion dollars have been raised through donations from 150 countries so far. A reminder of the place that Notre Dame has, not just in the history of France, but in the hearts of so many all around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL (on camera): Now, Laura, the expectation is that that renovation work due to start later this year should be done by 2024 which means by then the public will be allowed back in and vaccination campaigns permitting, tourists once again able to visit.

JARRETT: What an effort, just incredible to see inside there. I'm so glad you got that inside look.

Melissa, thank you. Appreciate it.

The Biden administration on the hunt to reunite migrant children separated from their parents. Why the numbers of families broken apart might be higher than previously revealed.

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