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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Several States Tighten Security As Prosecution and Defense Make Closing Arguments in the Trial for Murder of George Floyd; White House Launches Media Blitz to Combat Vaccine Hesitancy; Detroit Schools to Pause In-Person Learning. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired April 19, 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: A nation on edge as the prosecution and defense prepare for closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin.
LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Communities shaken by violence, united by grief yet again. Will the latest string of mass shootings force America to confront its culture of violence.
ROMANS: And Russia's top opposition leader is rapidly deteriorating, what happens if he dies in prison? We have a new warning from the White House. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: Good morning Christine, I'm Laura Jarrett, it's Monday, April 19th, it's 5:00 a.m. here in New York. And Minneapolis and cities across the country bracing for what comes this week as closing arguments begin today in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer on trial for killing George Floyd by kneeling down on his neck for more than nine minutes. A verdict could come as soon as this week. We begin this morning with CNN's Josh Campbell live in Minneapolis. Josh, the tensions we talked about it for this week, but it's really been building for nearly a year now.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, and this is the day that so many have been waiting for, wrapping up this trial of former officer Derek Chauvin. We're expecting those closing arguments from both the prosecution and the defense and then the jury will be sequestered in going into deliberation. We don't know how long that will go, but of course, this is all happening against the backdrop of a city that is being turned into a fortress day by day. Members of the National Guard here have been called up, obviously, Minneapolis police officers in and around the city, and as you mentioned, this tension has been building for quite some time.
It really escaladed over the weekend. The authorities talked about two members of the National Guard here actually being fired upon by someone early Sunday morning injuring two, non-life threatening injuries. But that obviously, very serious. Authorities taking that very seriously. We also note that across the country in California, police there said that one of the defense witnesses in this case had his former home vandalized. They say that perpetrators put what they believe to be animal blood on his front door, they left a decapitated pig's head. Again, just -- you see that sense of tension that has been building, as you mentioned and now we're seeing this continue to play out. Authorities here certainly on edge, finally all five of the city's police precincts are now surrounded by fencing and razor wire. Authorities here simply bracing for what is going to come with this verdict with as you said, could come as early as this week.
JARRETT: All right, Josh, thanks so much, see you back in a little bit.
ROMANS: Vigils across Indiana to remember victims of last week's massacre at a FedEx facility. Eight people were killed in a mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx hub. The shooter bought two guns legally last year after police took another gun away from him when his family reported he was a threat. At one vigil, the mayor of Beech Grove, Indiana, remember the family friend killed in the attack, 19- year-old Samaria Blackwell.
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MAYOR DENNIS BUCKLEY, BEECH GROVE, INDIANA: She is one of our bright, young citizens who has been called home. I'm never going to question why? But she was. Now she is standing on the right hand of God looking down on all of us. And that is refreshing to me --
(SOBBING)
I'm sorry.
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JARRETT: It should not take another mass shooting in this country to recognize there is an epidemic of gun violence. Just look at this map, there have been at least 50 mass shootings in the U.S. since the Atlanta spa massacre on March 16th, at least 150 in all of 2021. Right now, a manhunt is underway in Austin, Texas. Police say two women and a man were shot dead, the suspect, a former sheriff's detective who resigned after being charged late last June with sexual assault of a child.
ROMANS: In Chicago, officials say a seven-year-old girl is dead and a 29-year-old man seriously injured in a shooting Sunday afternoon. In Kenosha, Wisconsin, a person of interest is now in custody after three customers at a busy tavern were shot dead and three more were injured early Sunday morning at Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police say the shooter was ejected from the bar, came back with a gun.
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In Columbus, Ohio, a vigil for the victim of a shooting a year ago was the scene of more gunfire Sunday night -- Saturday night. Five people were injured when a shooter in an SUV fired into the crowd.
JARRETT: And that was all after the FedEx shooting. Another victim being remembered from that attack, Matt Alexander, he was 32 years old. He played baseball at Avon High School where his dad threw out the first pitch this weekend.
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BRAD ALEXANDER, MATT ALEXANDER'S FATHER: That felt like that was part of Matt. And Matt was a pitcher for Avon, he was a shortstop for Avon. I didn't do near as well as he did in a day, but I was there and I know he was looking down, saying, thanks, dad.
MICHELLE ALEXANDER, MATT ALEXANDER'S YOUNGER SISTER: We had the closest civilian bonds that I could ever imagine. And I don't know what I'm going to do without him in my life.
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JARRETT: FedEx has donated a million dollars for the survivors and the victims' families.
ROMANS: All right, a milestone for the vaccine rollout in the United States. This morning, 50 percent of all adults in the country have had at least one shot, and today is President Biden's deadline for states to open up vaccines to all adults. The White House is launching a media campaign to raise awareness about eligibility, will target blacks, Latinos and rural communities where there's been vaccine hesitancy among Republicans.
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ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: But the way you get rid of those restrictions is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and as expeditiously as possible. It was almost paradoxical, that on the one hand, they want to be relieved of the restrictions, but on the other hand, they don't want to get vaccinated. It just almost doesn't make any sense.
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JARRETT: Now, despite the impressive vaccine rollout, many states are still battling spikes in new cases. In Pennsylvania, the average case count has doubled in just over a month, driven mostly by all the variants of this virus. But Dr. Fauci says sending more vaccine to places like Pennsylvania and Michigan could make other states more vulnerable. He also predicts the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will return to market with new restrictions or warnings by the end of this week. EARLY START has the pandemic covered coast to coast.
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EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Evan McMorris-Santoro. Starting Monday, if you're over the age of 16 and you live anywhere, you can get vaccinated in the state of New Hampshire. The governor there is opening up the vaccine process to any adult who wants to get a shot, regardless of residency. He says New Hampshire has plenty of vaccine to go around. The move comes on the heels of other big changes to that state's pandemic response including this weekend where that same governor lifted New Hampshire's statewide mask mandate. POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Polo Sandoval in the city of
Detroit where public schools are closed for in-person teaching at least for now. Detroit's public school board reset the decision last week, announcing that this temporary pause will remain in effect at least until their next school board meeting that's scheduled for the second week of May. This coming as Michigan continues to deal with a sharp increase in hospitalizations as well as infections. Michigan's current test positivity rate about 12 percent. We recalled that recently, Governor Whitmer had announced that she was calling for the temporary suspension of in-person high school teaching as there have been a source of some outbreaks recently in the state of Michigan.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Athena Jones in New York. We're starting today the curfew for establishments that serve food and beverages will be extended from 11:00 p.m. to midnight. The curfew for catered events will be extended from midnight to 1:00 a.m. The loosening of restrictions comes as the seven-day statewide average COVID positivity rate falls to 3 percent. Some 5.3 million New Yorkers are fully vaccinated and more than 40 percent of all New Yorkers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN REPORTER: I'm Paul Vercammen. The governor of Alaska is saying that starting on June 1st, anyone going through the state's major airports can get a free COVID-19 vaccine. The idea is to kick-start Alaska's slumping tourism industry which has suffered during the pandemic. They will give the shots outside the security zones, so that means that anybody who is dropping off and might be from Alaska can also get a shot. That goes for people who are picking up or just swinging by. And they are definitely targeting overseas clients, perhaps anybody who is coming from a country where there just has not been a lot of vaccine supply. The Alaskans saying come on to our state and we can get you that first COVID-19 jab in the arm.
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ROMANS: All right, he could die at any moment. Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is in bad shape in prison. His allies calling for protests. CNN is live in Moscow.
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ROMANS: It started with a hunger strike in a Russian prison camp. Now, the Biden White House is vowing action. U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan says the White House is looking at ways to punish Russia if opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in state custody. CNN's Sam Kiley live in Moscow. And Sam, Navalny's press secretary says he is dying and his doctors are worried about his heart.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, indeed. And just in the last half hour, we've had information from the Russian Federal Penitentiary Services, it's called that they have moved Mr. Navalny from prison colony number two to the hospital in prison colony number three, about two hours outside of Moscow. So dramatic move there in which the Russian medical authorities within the prison system have clearly assessed that Mr. Navalny in is in danger. They have said in a statement that they believe his medical condition to be satisfactory in their words, and that this is their claim, their patient, Mr. Navalny has agreed to some vitamin treatment as they call it.
[05:15:00]
This follows a statement over the weekend from a group of doctors and supporters of Navalny saying that they were worried as a result of blood tests that they had had access to indicating very high levels of potassium, but potential for renal failure and heart problems. So, clearly, there has been a sufficient deterioration in Mr. Navalny's condition to warrant the Russian authorities to actually move him into hospital where he can be subject to greater care. It's day 20 now, Christine, of his hunger strike.
ROMANS: Sam, the stance from the U.S. here is a major shift. You've got the warning from the National Security adviser. You've got new sanctions last week, really speaks to the difference, doesn't it between how Biden handles Russia right now versus his predecessor.
KILEY: Yes, it does. I mean, you've seen sanctions, we saw sanctions during the Trump administration too, but there was on a personal level something approaching a bromance certainly perhaps unrequired one from Mr. Trump toward Vladimir Putin. A very different tone entirely coming from the Biden administration, very swiftly moving to call out the levels of electoral interference that resulted and cyber hacking which resulted in the recent expulsion of ten Russian diplomats from the United States. Europe has matched this recently in the last of gain over the weekend. The Czechs are throwing out 18 people from the Russian embassy in Prague that they allege are all members of Russian Intelligence Services.
Some of whom -- they -- certainly, organizations that they hold responsible for ammunition blasts in ammunition dumps in 2014 that killed two people. So, both in Europe and the United States are much tougher, in a sense, more traditional reset to back towards the sort of respectful rivalry versus the bromance that we've seen historically between particularly the Obama administration and Vladimir Putin's Russia. But things are getting very tense certainly in the European theater and more widely in the relations with the United States.
But that little glimmer of hope being offered from -- by the Biden administration with this suggestion that the two leaders might meet perhaps in Europe, perhaps in the Summer. I think what we're seeing now on the international stages and attempts certainly by the United States to reset and reconfigure that almost in the old fashioned sense back to the days it was -- were, prior to the Trump administration.
ROMANS: All right, Sam Kiley for us this morning in Moscow. Thanks Sam. Laura?
JARRETT: All right, historical landmarks destroyed as a wild fire is burning out of control in South Africa. At least nine buildings have been damaged at Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain. Hikers have been evacuated there and two firefighters have been hospitalized. Also damaged in the fire, a historic windmill near the University of Cape Town, the oldest working windmill in South Africa. One person was detained overnight in connection with this fire. All right, still ahead, could a top Senate ally help President Biden deliver on a partial deal on infrastructure? CNN reports from the White House next.
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JARRETT: President Biden trying to build bridges at the White House to move his infrastructure plan forward. Now, a key Senate ally is exploring a narrower deal to try to get at least part of the deal done. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports now from the White House.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, another round of infrastructure talks is on the agenda for President Biden today as he welcomes a group of bipartisan lawmakers here to the White House. This would be the second time in just a week where he has had that bipartisan meeting with lawmakers on his $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal. And if you take a look at the list of people who have been invited to this meeting, it includes lawmakers from both the house and Senate, and they also have a common thread there. There are many people in that list who were former governors and mayors, which is really part of the White House's push to try to make this appeal on infrastructure to people who have had experience dealing with infrastructure issues and federal spending in their states and cities.
So, you will see Mitt Romney and Joe Hogan, both former Republican governors, as well as John Hickenlooper and Jeanne Shaheen who were also Democratic governors. But one thing that's also playing out right now is this debate over what exactly infrastructure is. Republicans want to see it more tailored to roads, bridges and rails while Democrats are really trying to enhance infrastructure to include Broadband and clean energy initiatives. And one thing that you have seen from a top White House ally, Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware is, he is making this push to try to get some bipartisan support possibly for a more narrow deal, maybe something in the $800 billion range as he's trying to find ways to bring Republicans on board. But right now, it's unclear if the White House would be willing to go that low in order to make this a bipartisan measure. Laura and Christine?
ROMANS: All right, Arlette, thank you so much for that. Minneapolis and many other U.S. cities are now beefing up security ahead of the Derek Chauvin verdict. Both sides will have one last chance to make their case before this case goes to the jury.
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ROMANS: All right, the reality of climate change is changing the reality for corporate America. Major companies have been making trillion dollar pledges to address climate change under pressure from their customers, their employees. Apple is building on its efforts to fight climate change. It launched $200 million investment fund called the restore fund to remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere and at the same time generate financial returns for the company. I spoke with Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president for Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives about the importance of making climate change a corporate priority.
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LISA JACKSON, VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, POLICY & SOCIAL INITIATIVES, APPLE: The idea of having a return is important for the planet because if you really want business to engage, if you want business to turn around and really do this at scale, to invest in working for us at scale, it has to be because there's a return on that investment, otherwise it's just philanthropy. And so much of what we're doing at Apple is about showing that the business of doing right by the planet is good business.
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ROMANS: The restore fund is part of Apple's plan to be carbon neutral by 2030, joining a growing list of major companies with similar goals.
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JACKSON: What we're really saying with the restore fund is, here is a way.
