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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Biden Announces Executive Actions to Combat Gun Violence; Gunman Kills 1, Wounds 5 Others at Texas Cabinet Plant; Expert Witness: "Low Level of Oxygen Killed George Floyd; States to See Sharp Drop in Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Deliveries. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired April 09, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:27]
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is EARLY START.
I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Friday, April 9th. Happy Friday, everyone. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.
We begin this morning with President Biden taking on what he calls America's international embarrassment. Standing in the Rose Garden in front of families who have lost loved ones to gun violence, the president outlined a series of modest steps his administration will now take despite the gridlock in Congress to combat gun violence.
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JOSEPH R. BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an epidemic, for God sake, and it has to stop. I'm going to use all the resources at my disposal as president to keep the American people safe from gun violence, but there's much more that Congress can do to help that effort and they can do it right now. They've offered plenty of thoughts and prayers, members of Congress, but they've passed not a single new federal law to reduce gun violence. Enough prayers. Time for some action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Previewing the criticism he knows will come from gun rights advocates, the president says his executive orders do nothing to threaten the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Let's go live to the White House and bring in CNN's Jasmine Wright.
Jasmine, the president acknowledged very clearly that the more bold actions on things like assault weapons and background check loopholes, those need congressional action but he seems determined to just do at least something right now.
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Laura.
Look, President Biden is once again leading by executive action because of the inaction of Congress on guns. Now, President Biden has been under pressure after this country has seen mass shooting after mass shooting after mass shooting to do something. Now, after that Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado, mass shooting we saw last month, President Biden pledged to take common sense actions. So, this is what those half dozen executive actions look like and they are really aimed at trying to take guns out of the hands of criminals but also sink money into community violence prevention programs.
Let's be very, very clear about something, Laura, these actions fall short of what gun control advocates would have liked to have seen from a Democratic president leading a unified government, but also what President Biden himself said that he would do in office as a candidate.
Now, the White House officials are saying that these are just initial steps and President Biden outlined what he would like to get done if he had a wish list thing to do. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: People don't realize the only industry in America, a billion dollar industry that can't be sued, is exempt from being sued are gun manufacturers. But this is the only outfit that is exempt from being sued. If I get one thing on my list, the Lord came down and said, Joe, you get one of these, give me that one, because I tell you what, there would be a coming to the Lord moment these folks would have real quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: So as you said, Laura, President Biden called for a renew of that assault weapons ban, also for Congress to pass the two bills now cleared by the House. That would tighten background checks, But, of course, both those things would need 60 votes in the Senate, something that Democrats just do not have because of their 50/50 split.
And Republicans don't seem interested in really taking up gun control reform and honestly Democrats don't seem to be on the same page of what they think they should be doing.
So that really leaves President Biden to act on his own right now. And the president has been clear that for him, his first priority is this infrastructure bill and so it's not clear right now how much political capital he is willing to spend on guns -- Laura.
JARRETT: All right. Jasmine Wright, thank you so much for all of that. Appreciate it.
But just hours after the president spoke of the epidemic of gun violence yesterday, that disease spread to a Texas office park. One person was killed, five others wounded at Kent Moore Cabinets by a man police say worked there. One worker inside at the time says she feels lucky and blessed to be alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMELIA RODRIGUEZ, WITNESS: I was painting with my co-worker and I heard -- I heard like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I said, oh, the machine got messed up again. So I tried to walk to figure out which one and when I started walking somebody grabbed me, she was like, no, no, no, we need to run because there's a shooting going on.
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[05:05:05]
JARRETT: CNN's Ed Lavandera has more from the scene in Bryan, Texas.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Laura, this morning victims of the latest mass shooting here in the United States are recovering and fighting for their lives. Police here in Bryan, Texas, say a gunman walked into a cabinet manufacturing business and started shooting, killing one person, wounding five other people, four of those are in critical condition. The gunman was able to get away from the scene Thursday afternoon before police arrived and was pursued into a neighboring county and that's where police say he shot a state trooper who was chasing him down. We are told that that state trooper is in serious but stable condition.
Right now, police here in Bryan say that they believe that the gunman used a handgun, was an employee of the cabinet manufacturing business, but at this point, they don't know what the motive might be in this particular shooting. So that part of the investigation continues.
This shooting took place Thursday afternoon, one of the witnesses an employee inside the business said at first when the gunshots started going off, it sounded like some of the machinery was malfunctioning and that's when people realized they needed to start running and that's what they described happening here in the moments after the gunfire erupted inside this business.
But the major headline this morning, four people in critical condition, fighting for their lives, and one other person dead -- Laura.
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JARRETT: Ed Lavandera, thank you for that report.
A low level of oxygen, that according to a renowned breathing expert, is what killed George Floyd. One of the most compelling witnesses so far in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, Dr. Martin Tobin, told jurors Chauvin's knees on Floyd's back and his neck squeezed his airway, causing brain damage and cardiac arrest.
What did not kill Floyd, the doctor said, were his preexisting health problems or drug use, the theory being pushed by Chauvin's defense lawyers.
CNN's Omar Jimenez is in Minneapolis following the trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura.
We always knew the medical part of witness testimony was going to be important but I don't think we realized how quickly that would become apparent. Now, Thursday was the most engaged the jury has been by all accounts in a while as we shifted to that ever important topic of George Floyd's cause of death which at least the first doctor who testified Thursday said was because of low levels of oxygen that caused damage to the brain.
Now, over the course of the day,, he went through diagram after diagram in front of the jury. Along the way poking major holes in the defense's argument that Floyd's cause of death was largely due to his previous medical history and drugs that were in his system, including fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Now, at one point, this doctor was asked by prosecutors, did his death have anything to do or did he die, I should say, from fentanyl or meth? He definitively said no. He was then asked, did this death happen as a result of his previous medical history, to which the doctor said no. He even went so far as to say that a healthy person if they were subjected to the same amount of conditions Floyd was would have died.
He then even presented evidence and conclusions over calculating the amount of force that went directly on to George Floyd's neck from Derek Chauvin's knee.
DR. MARTIN TOBIN, PULMONOLOGIST: The toe of his boot is no longer touching the ground, half of his body weight plus half his gear way is coming down that's 91.5 pounds is coming down directly on Mr. Floyd's neck.
JIMENEZ: But it wasn't just Dr. Tobin that testified. We heard from multiple doctors over the course of the day, one who ruled out that state of distress known as excited delirium.
Another who testified there was fentanyl and methamphetamine in George Floyd's system. Meth in the low amount but on fentanyl, he compared it to the test taken during DUI cases and said that the amount there was in the 80th percentile. He also, though, said that the blood work was very similar or more similar to cases of people being alive than those who are dead.
And over the course of all of this testimony, much has been made about juror attentiveness. Well, this was, again, the prime example of them paying attention, especially during Dr. Tobin's testimony.
And there was even a moment where just about every juror started touching their necks after Dr. Tobin asked them to during a demonstration about the anatomy of the neck. And on top of that, virtually, all of them took notes when he talked about Chauvin's knee being on George Floyd's neck for more than three minutes after all oxygen had left his body -- Laura.
(END VIDEOTAPE) JARRETT: Omar, thank you.
As vaccinations ramp up in the U.S., one drug maker is struggling to play catch up.
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We have the details on that next.
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JARRETT: States are expected to see about an 85 percent drop in Johnson & Johnson's vaccines shots next week. This shortage comes after a manufacturer mix up ruined as many as 15 million doses of the one-shot coronavirus vaccine.
According to the CDC, more than one in four adults in the U.S. are now fully vaccinated, that's over 66 million people. Still health experts have real concerns in the ongoing race of the vaccines versus the variants.
CNN's Alexandra Field has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. LEANA WEN, EMERGENCY PHYICIAN: I actually think that we're in the middle of a fourth surge right now.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): About a third of Americans have received at least one shot that health officials warn we need to move faster, much faster.
[05:15:03]
MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH & POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: We're just not going to be able to get enough people vaccinated quickly enough to keep the rest of the country from experiencing much of what we're seeing in the Upper Midwest and Northeast.
FIELD: Alarming surges and new infections even as vaccines reach so many of the most vulnerable. Nearly 77 of people over 65 have received at least one shot. But COVID-19 is taking its toll on younger people, not just spring breakers, also school children.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Clusters of cases in daycare as well as school sports, particularly team sports, which people engage in close contact without masks. I think that is what is explaining these surges of cases in young individuals.
FIELD: More than 75,000 new cases reported Wednesday. Hospitalizations are up in 18 states since last week, and climbing higher, particularly among younger people.
But new research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows an overall declining death rate among hospitalized COVID-19 patients is likely not due to their age, but due to better treatments, giving hope perhaps to the families of the sick, while so many others are coping with loss.
GLORIA SALAZAR, SALAZAR FUNERAL HOMES AND CREMATORY: As if the emotional part of it wasn't enough, to shell out that much money is just incredibly tough.
FIELD: That part will get better. On Monday, FEMA will start providing up to $9,000 per funeral for COVID deaths.
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FIELD (on camera): All 50 states are working to make anyone age 16 and up eligible for vaccinations by the April 19th deadline. In the meantime, the Biden administration is saying that any seniors who have not been vaccinated should go do that right now.
To encourage more older people to get vaccinated, the city of New York is opening up additional walk up sites for senior citizens, anyone who accompanies them can get a shot as well.
In New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.
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JARRETT: Alexandra, thank you for that.
Embattled Florida Republican Matt Gaetz now facing a call to resign from a member of his own party. New information on the investigation into the congressman, next.
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JARRETT: Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger has become the first GOP House member to call on embattled Florida Republican Matt Gaetz to quit. The moderate from Illinois tweeting, quote, Matt Gaetz needs to resign, with a link to a "Daily Beast" article about an associate of Gaetz who is facing a sex trafficking investigation.
Here is Jose Pagliery who wrote "The Daily Beast" story told Chris Cuomo last night.
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JOSE PAGLIERY, POLITICAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER, THE DAILY BEAST: We have Venmo payments that show payments from the congressman to this local official and then hours later, payments that add up to the same exact amount to three young women, one of whom later turned to be a porn star, and all of these women are extremely young.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Extremely young, meaning what?
PAGLIERY: One just turned 18 six months before that happened. But let's talk about what these receipts actually showed. Are you familiar with the Venmo app? When you make an online payment, you have to do two things. You have pick who you're going to send this to, how much, right, but what it's for. You list what it is for.
And that's key to understanding what we have here. Because what we've obtained are Venmo payment records that show that late one night in May 2018, the congressman sent two payments to Joel Greenberg, this local official, the first payment is $500, it says test. The second payment is $400 and it says hit up and then it names a girl. We've chosen not to name her yet but just seven or eight hours later, Joel Greenberg makes three payments totaling $900 including one of them who was named by Matt Gaetz.
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JARRETT: Now, it's important to note here that Jose did not speak with any of the women who received these Venmo payments and he doesn't have any evidence or proof that the payments were actually for sex. Also, none of the three women that "The Daily Beast" mentions in that article are under age, as Jose mentions, they're young but they're not technically under age.
And while Joel Greenberg has been indicted on federal charges his connection to Gaetz on these matters hasn't been fully established.
CNN's Paula Reid has more on the investigation into both men.
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PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The investigation surrounding Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz enters a new phase as a key associate signals he might strike a plea deal with the government.
JOEL GREENBERG, FORMER SEMINOLE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR: It really is an honor to be here today.
REID: Joel Greenberg, a friend of Gaetz and the former tax collector in Seminole County, Florida, is likely to enter a deal in his own criminal case, raising the possibility he could cooperate with investigators as part of the deal.
FRITZ SCHELLER, ATTORNEY FOR JOEL GREENBERG: I'm sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today.
REID: Greenberg's attorney was in court and said any potential for Cooperation would be worked out in conjunction with a plea deal.
SCHELLER: If somebody signs a cooperation agreement, they're required to cooperate.
REID: Gaetz's friendship with Greenberg is key to the federal investigation surrounding him. The two have been friends for years, posting photos together, Gaetz even told a local radio station in 2017 that Greenberg would make a good member of Congress.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Joel Greenberg has gone into the Seminole County tax collectors office, take it by storm. He's been a disrupter.
REID: The plea deal is not finalized, but if the agreement goes through, it means one of Gaetz's close confidants would be cooperating with the government, putting further pressure on the congressman.
SCHELLER: If Mr. Greenberg, if he accepts a plea or plea agreement, one, it will show his sense of remorse, which he does have, and his sense of acceptance of responsibility. Number two, I think he's -- he's uniquely situated.
[05:25:02]
REID: Greenberg has been awaiting trial in jail after violating the terms of his bail earlier this year. He is charged with 33 criminal counts, including allegations of stalking and harassing a political opponent. Also included, one count of sex trafficking a child between the ages of 14 and 17.
While details in the court records for this charge are scant, investigators believe Greenberg recruited multiple women online for sex and that he introduced the women who received cash payments to Gaetz who had sex with them, too, according to the "New York Times."
Gaetz has denied all allegations writing on Monday, I have never ever paid for sex, and second, I as an adult man have not slept with a 17- year-old.
GAETZ: Providing for flights and hotel rooms for people that you're dating who are of legal age is not a crime.
REID: But a source tells CNN, investigators are examining whether in I federal campaign money was involved in paying for travel and expenses for the women.
And now, federal investigators are scrutinizing a trip Gaetz took to the Bahamas and whether women were paid to travel for sex with the congressman and others, a potential federal crime, sources tell CNN.
As part of a broader probe, investigators want to know if Gaetz was accepting paid escorts and travel in exchange for political favors according to people familiar with the investigation.
Gaetz's lawyers declined to comment but a spokesman for Gaetz denied the allegation toss CBS News, calling them part of a general fishing exercise about vacations and consensual relationships with adults.
Paula Reid, CNN, Orlando.
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JARRETT: Paula, thank you.
Moderate Democrat Joe Manchin hasn't shied away from flexing his political muscle given the 50/50 split in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I'm going to be sitting down with both sides and understanding where everybody is coming from.
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JARRETT: More from the senator in a wide-ranging CNN exclusive. That's next.
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