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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Third Night Of Protests Against Police Killing Of Daunte Wright; Iran Says It's Stepping Up Uranium Enrichment; CDC Recommends Pausing Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Over Blood Clot Concerns. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 14, 2021 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: On Tuesday, a majority of New York House Democrats led by Congressman Tom Suozzi and Jerry Nadler, sent a letter to leadership saying they would oppose Biden's infrastructure plan unless it included a repeal of state and local tax limitations. The 2017 tax bill capped those SALT deductions, you'll remember, at just $10,000. That was a big tax hit for families living in New York, New Jersey, and high-tax blue states.

Lawmakers said repealing the limitations would be critical as New York recovers from the economic toll of the pandemic.

Congressman Suozzi said, "The cap on the SALT deduction has been a body blow to New York and middle-class families throughout the country. At the end of the day, we must fix this injustice. No SALT, no deal."

Democrats want to move quickly to get infrastructure done but the letter shows there's growing support to repeal those SALT limitations as a way of moving forward with negotiations. Of course, on the other side of the aisle, the Republicans, so far, have not been open to raising taxes on corporations and undoing some of those Trump tax goodies from 2017.

EARLY START continues right now.

All right, good morning. This is EARLY START on a Wednesday morning. I'm Christine Romans.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett, about 30 minutes past the hour here in New York.

Will the now-former officer who shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright face charges in his death? We expect to find that out today.

Meanwhile, hundreds of peaceful demonstrators took to the street for a third night. Now, the city of Brooklyn Center left like so many other American cities trying to figure out a path forward.

Let's go straight to CNN's Josh Campbell who is live for us in Minneapolis. Josh, a lot of anger at the now-former police chief calling this incident an accident so quickly. He didn't want to talk about details but he was happy to call it an accident.

But as you know, a killing doesn't have to be premeditated -- it doesn't have to be intentional to still be a killing. That's the whole point of a manslaughter charge. It's one of the charges that Derek Chauvin is facing.

So what do you expect to see today?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes -- you know, as you mentioned, the idea that this is an accident is certainly not comforting this community. Another -- here in the Twin Cities, another person of color killed in an encounter with law enforcement, which has this community on edge at this moment, demanding answers.

What we're expecting to hear as early as today is a possible decision on whether this officer who fired that fatal shot into 20-year-old Daunte Wright -- whether that officer will be charged. Authorities are moving somewhat quickly here in trying to render a decision. So, of course, the community here wanting answers.

Last night there were additional protests and clashes with police -- nothing like what we saw earlier in the week but still, there were upwards of 60 arrests that were made. So again, the community here -- obviously, there's a lot of tension between some of these demonstrators and some of the law enforcement officers.

There was also a very emotional moment yesterday where we saw family members of George Floyd's family, as well as the Wright family, meeting together -- of course, coming together in these circumstances that are so heartbreaking -- both losing loved ones to what is being called excessive use of force by police.

JARRETT: It's a club no one wants to be a part of but so many are.

Josh, a lot of questions in this case about how an officer could possibly mistake a Taser for a gun, especially a person who is not a rookie -- someone who spent 26 years on that police force. And, of course, there's a difference in weight between a Taser and a gun.

You worked in law enforcement. What are police departments trained to do on this? My understanding is this is something that has come up before and so it is actually part of the training.

CAMPBELL: Absolutely. And, you know, thankfully, it is rare, but any accidental loss of life because of a mistake by police is obviously too much. And so, this is something we've seen in the past. And I think it comes down to the training.

You know, I was thinking about it. When I was in law enforcement training we fired thousands and thousands of rounds on the shooting range.

And I still think to this day, just to give you an example of the muscle memory, there was this issue about people shooting their non- dominant hand whenever they pull out their weapon. And so part of training is when you pull out your weapon, you put your hand to your chest. To this day, when I put my hand on my hip, my hand goes to my chest, just to show you that muscle memory.

The problem is that law enforcement officers receive much more training with deadly weapons than they do these Tasers. And so there has been this call to provide more training to try to build that muscle memory because obviously, when an officer is in a situation where the stress hormones are coursing through their veins, they have to make the right decision and they often have to go back to that muscle memory that only comes from training.

And so that, obviously, is not going to comfort the family of Daunte Wright and it's not going to comfort this community. But what we're hearing from law enforcement experts is in order to ensure this doesn't happen again there has to be more robust training for these officers.

JARRETT: Well -- and I think this is part of why there is a robust debate about whether this is really about training or whether it's about something far greater than training.

Thanks, Josh.

CAMPBELL: Absolutely, absolutely.

ROMANS: All right.

This morning, President Biden confronting unrest over racial injustice for the first time since taking office. He met yesterday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

[05:35:00]

Daniella Diaz is live on Capitol Hill with more. What'd they talk about?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: That's right. President Joe Biden is walking a very fine line right now. He is faced with the most prominent protest of his administration -- the short administration of three months -- following the killing of a black man at the hands of police in Minnesota.

And he is trying not to inflame the situation but he is acknowledging that there needs to be accountability following what happened on Sunday with the killing of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man who died at the hands of police in Minnesota.

And his vice president, Kamala Harris, actually went a step further to call for accountability. She said that Daunte Wright's family deserves an explanation for why their child died on Sunday.

And Joe Biden met with the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday in the Oval Officer where he said that this week has been very painful for Minnesota and for the country and he is vowing for real change on how police interact with Black Americans.

Here's what he had to say yesterday in the Oval Office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the business -- all of us meeting today -- to come up with some real change. I signed the executive order. Every single aspect of our government, including every agency, has a primary focus dealing with equity. Not a joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: So as you heard there, he's taking this incredibly seriously.

And the Congressional Black Caucus said after the meeting with Biden that they were very encouraged by the conversations they had with him and are hoping that real change will come from these conversations.

But look, the bottom line is that Biden is facing a very tricky situation right now with these protests in Minnesota and it's unclear what the White House is going to do to call for accountability or what steps they're going to take for accountability following this death of Daunte Wright in Minnesota.

ROMANS: Yes. Changes in policing, in inequality, in institutionalized racism in this country in the midst of a pandemic a tall order for this new administration.

Daniella, thank you so much -- Laura.

JARRETT: So, debate over how or even if policing should be reformed in this country once again dividing some congressional Democrats.

After police shot and killed Daunte Wright this week, as we've been discussing all morning, Michigan Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib tweeted this. "Policing cannot be reformed as it is inherently and intentionally racist."

Last night on CNN, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn offered a different take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): This is not about policing. This is not about training. This is about recruiting. Who are we recruiting to be police officers?

That, to me, is where the focus has got to go. You've got to have police officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Clyburn went on to say Tlaib is just expressing her frustrations and what she hears from her constituents.

ROMANS: All right, you are right if you notice this at the grocery store, folks -- everything is getting more expensive. Consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in March, the biggest jump since August 2012. Prices rose 2.6 percent year-over-year. Gas prices a standout here, up 22 1/2 percent over the past 12 months. Remember, oil prices were devastated last year during the pandemic as the economies around the world collapsed and didn't get back to pre- pandemic levels until just the beginning of this year.

We've been expecting consumer prices to start to rise as the economy reopens, demand increases, and people begin spending their money. Prices for used cars and trucks rose for the first time since October. Airlines fares and public transportation jumped nearly two percent after three months of declines.

Now, it's not clear if this is temporary after the reopening or it's the start of a new trend that could slow consumer spending.

One positive sign of shopping -- Americans, however, have stopped hoarding toilet paper and wipes. Toilet paper sales dropped almost 33 percent from last year. Sales of wipes fell just over 15 percent. That decline allowed suppliers to restock inventory to keep up with demand.

JARRETT: You know --

ROMANS: That's a notable new moment where we are over the past year where you're not stocking toilet paper.

JARRETT: You know how I could tell things were different? When I went in for my COVID vaccine --

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: -- there was tons of Clorox at CVS. That's how I knew things were different. It was a real full-circle moment from when you couldn't find any, right?

ROMANS: What a year.

JARRETT: All right, now to this.

Iran says it will plan a huge ramp-up in its uranium enrichment levels after an apparent attack on its main nuclear facility. The Biden administration says the move calls into question Iran's serious about nuclear talks.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has reported extensively from Tehran. He joins us now from Berlin. Fred, this doesn't sound promising.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, it certainly doesn't sound promising and it is really a serious upping by the Iranians over their uranium enrichment.

They say that they are going to start enriching uranium to a grade of 60 percent. That's up from 20 percent that they've been doing so far. And according to the nuclear agreement that, of course, Iran is still in, they are actually only allowed to enrich to 3.67 percent. So certainly, very much upping the ante here -- the Iranians.

[05:40:06] And the president, Hassan Rouhani -- he was on Iranian state T.V. earlier today and he absolutely confirmed that all this is in direct relation to that incident that happened there at the Natanz nuclear facility.

The Iranians have said how they want to do this. They say they're going to start the process now and then used more advanced centrifuges, and then really get that process going next week. And they also say they've already informed the International Atomic Energy Agency about this as well.

As you mentioned, the U.S. government spokesman, Jen -- spokeswoman, Jen Psaki -- she came out yesterday and she said all this calls into question the seriousness of the Iranians when it comes to those nuclear talks there in Vienna.

Of course, those nuclear talks are still very much ongoing. There's supposed to be another session happening today. However, one of the members -- or one of the delegations actually had a positive COVID test and that's why it's all being postponed, now set to start until tomorrow.

Of course, both Iran and the U.S. have said that they want to salvage the nuclear agreement. But with the incident that happened there in Natanz, it certainly seems as though it's becoming at least a little more difficult, although both sides still say they still want to move forward with those talks, Laura.

JARRETT: Yes, needless to say.

Fred, thank you so much for your reporting on this, as always.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:30]

ROMANS: And welcome back.

The U.S. Surgeon General is trying to ease the concerns of Americans after the CDC recommended pausing the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. There were six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot for people who got the shot. Now, it's not clear if they're linked. Remember, almost seven million doses and six cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: The good news is that we actually have adequate supply with Moderna and with Pfizer to be able to vaccinate the adult population by the end of July in the United States, and even much of the adolescent population. I'm confident, even with what's happening with Johnson & Johnson, we will be able to vaccinate the country and do so effectively.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JARRETT: Over the last month, coronavirus deaths are down pretty much everywhere, but cases are up. And pausing the Johnson & Johnson shot right, that's tough when some vaccine hesitancy still exists. Pausing the vaccine could also have a significant impact on college students who were targeted for the one-dose shot before leaving school at the end of the spring semester.

CNN has the pandemic covered coast-to-coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Nick Valencia in Atlanta.

Atlanta Public Schools says the district will hold its second-dose COVID vaccine event for all staff and contractors at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The district says that they've secured enough of the two-dose Pfizer vaccines for up to 8,000 staff and contractors of the district.

Meanwhile, the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reports that an employee vaccination event for the district scheduled for April 21st, in which they had planned to use the J&J vaccine, has been canceled. The event was canceled by the district after the U.S. CDC and FDA recommended that the J&J vaccine be put on pause.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Dan Simon.

The battle over so-called vaccine passports is intensifying with another Republican governor coming out against them. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte joins other red-state governors, including from the state of Florida, Texas, and Missouri, who have preemptively banned them citing privacy concerns.

Now, no government entity has come up with a passport system yet and the White House says it's not trying to come up with a national version of one. But you do have healthcare companies and technology companies trying to come up with a digital app where somebody, in theory, could show that they're fully vaccinated to enter a business or an event.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Alexandra Field in New York.

In an effort to get more people vaccinated, the state now targeting rural farmworkers. Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing a plan to deploy mobile vaccination units to farms so that they can vaccinate workers and managers.

The governor again urging all New Yorkers to get their vaccines as soon as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMAN: Yes, and for so many of those people already signed up for vaccines -- Johnson & Johnson vaccines -- they were automatically switched to others in New York. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause is being felt around the world, especially in countries like South Africa where it is the only coronavirus vaccine available.

CNN's David McKenzie is live in Johannesburg. And David, here in the United States, the administration quick to point out there are two other vaccines that are even more widely distributed here than J&J. Not the case in South Africa.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. Here in South Africa, it's not like the U.S. where they say they've got enough supply to avoid using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and still meet their targets. This isn't the case here. Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been a key vaccine for South Africa.

Now, you'll remember the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine was abandoned because it didn't work against mild and moderate cases here because of that dominant variant here in South Africa. So, the J&J vaccine, also a one-shot vaccine that is easy to store, is a key part of the strategy here.

Now it must be said that the regulators say they believe this will be a temporary stop -- a pause. They're taking the cue of the FDA. They're hoping that will be un-paused in the coming days.

Of the 290,000 healthcare workers that we witnessed getting the vaccine as part of a large-scale trial, they haven't had a single case, at this stage, of that rare blood clot that has been reported in the U.S.

But really, there is a worry that vaccine hesitancy could become an issue. They abandoned one vaccine. There's a question mark over another one even though people are trying to allay fears.

And in the coming weeks, 30 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be rolling out in South Africa. They are hoping that those vaccines will be into arms very soon and that this pause doesn't drag out -- Christine, Laura.

[05:50:09]

ROMANS: Yes, and very important to point out these are six cases in seven million shots and you can't say it's a bad reaction. We don't know that. Just the six cases in seven million shots could be unrelated. That's what they need to find out -- and the utmost caution proceeding here.

Thank you so much, David McKenzie -- Laura.

JARRETT: OK.

Back here in the U.S., Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz -- well, he could have more reason for concern this morning. CNN has confirmed a former Florida official -- an associate of the congressman, Joel Greenberg -- has been cooperating with the Fed providing information since last year. Now, "The New York Times" first reported that information includes details about encounters Greenberg and the congressman had with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex.

Greenberg had already been indicted for sex trafficking of a minor and corruption. Congressman Gaetz has not been charged and denies all allegations.

ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight, six people rescued from a capsized commercial lift vessel off the coast of Louisiana as a storm moved in. Twelve others who were on board are still missing. The Coast Guard says multiple Good Samaritan vessels assisted in the rescue.

The National Weather Service issued a gale warning for Louisiana's coastal waters, advising mariners to avoid the hazardous sea conditions.

JARRETT: Two suspects arrested in a decades-old missing persons case. Kristin Smart, a California college student, disappeared back in 1996. Forty-four-year-old Paul Flores, the last person to see her and a longtime suspect, now charged with her murder. His father, 80-year-old Ruben Flores, is charged as an accessory.

Police have not found the body but there's new forensic evidence police believe is linked to Kristin Smart.

Well, an emotional farewell to U.S. Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans. His daughter there, 7-year-old Abigail, wiping her mom's tears as the chorus sang "Bridge over Troubled Water."

The husband and father of two lay in honor at the Capitol yesterday, the second officer this year to do so. He was killed in an attack outside that same building earlier this month.

President Biden and congressional leaders paid tribute during the ceremony. Biden reflecting on his own personal tragedies as he tried to comfort the family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: But you're going to make it by holding each other together and most importantly, by holding Logan and Abigail as tightly as you can. Because as long as you have them, you have Billy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: President Biden also jumped out of his seat when the little girl dropped a toy model of the Capitol dome, handing it back to her. And after speaking, the president knelt down and handed a presidential challenge coin to Evans' young son.

ROMANS: That whole event, Laura, so moving and just a reminder of the sacrifices that so many of these people who keep our --

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: -- country safe.

And the fact that the Capitol building could have been politicized in these recent months as somehow someplace -- I just -- it just -- it just breaks my heart. It just breaks my heart.

JARRETT: And this is just a reminder of the human toll -- the human loss. This is a real person with children and a wife and people who loved him.

ROMANS: We send our very best to Logan, Abigail, and their mom.

All right, taking a look now -- 53 minutes past the hour -- at markets around the world, you can see Asian shares closed mixed here. Europe has opened higher a little bit here.

On Wall Street, barely moving, essentially, ahead of the start of earnings seasons. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo report their first-quarter earnings before the opening bell.

Stocks closed mixed after the U.S. urged that pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That pulled the Dow down 68 points but the S&P managed a record high.

Relief check for you here. The critical enhanced child tax credit should start flowing this summer. The IRS said it's on track to send payments to millions of families in July. Expect an online portal July first that will allow you to get the IRS to send that credit to families monthly instead of a lump sum at tax time.

A major show of support, Laura -- I want to show you this -- for voting rights. This is in "The New York Times", "The Washington Post." Look, so many names here --

JARRETT: Wow.

ROMANS: -- you can't even see them the print is so small.

Hundreds of companies and CEOs, including Amazon, BlackRock, Google, Warren Buffett -- they've signed this new statement opposing any discriminatory legislation that makes it harder for people to vote. "The New York Times" says the statement doesn't mention any specific states' restrictions.

Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck, told the "Times" protecting the rights of voters shouldn't be a partisan issue.

Some notable companies are missing from this statement. Delta and Coca-Cola strongly opposed Georgia's voting law after it was passed, but they decided not to add their names to this group.

[05:55:07]

The statement will run in "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" today. But a lot of names on here.

JARRETT: It's so interesting to watch the domino effect here, you know? They are facing so much pressure from their employees --

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: -- from customers. It's just incredible how fast things can change sometimes.

ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The police officer who shot Daunte Wright stepping down.

MAYOR MIKE ELLIOTT, BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA: I'm hoping this will help bring some calm to the community and full accountability under the law.

BEN CRUMP, ATTORNEY: Ten miles from where the Chauvin trial regarding George Floyd was taking place, that a police officer would shoot and kill another unarmed Black man.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The beginning of the defense's case for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

BARRY BRODD, FORMER POLICE OFFICER AND USE-OF-FORCE EXPERT: I felt that level of resistance.