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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
No Officers Charged With Killing Breonna Taylor; President Trump Won't Commit To Peaceful Transfer Of Power; Trump Threatens To Overrule FDA Plan For Toucher Vaccine Guidelines. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 24, 2020 - 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: After no officers are charged directly in the death of Breonna Taylor.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Less than six weeks to the election and the president floats what was once unthinkable, refusing to leave office.
ROMANS: And the president wants a vaccine before Election Day and he's threatening to overrule stricter guidelines to make it happen.
Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. About 30 minutes past the hour here in New York.
Breaking overnight, a new version of an all too familiar story -- protests across the country after no police officers were charged directly in the killing of 26-year-old black EMT and aspiring nurse, Breonna Taylor. The community's pain screaming from the front page of today's Louisville "Courier-Journal."
Last night, two Louisville officers were shot. We're told the wounds are not life-threatening and a suspect is in custody.
ROMANS: One of the three officers involved in Taylor's death, Brett Hankison, was indicted on charges of first-degree wanton endangerment and this was -- that was not even, though, for Taylor's death. It was because officials say he fired blindly through a door and window -- bullets that wound up in a neighboring apartment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROTESTERS: Black Lives Matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go, man.
PROTESTERS: Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The charges immediately criticized as insufficient by protesters and activists.
The other two officers who fired weapons during this botched March raid -- excuse me -- were not indicted.
The state attorney general says one witness heard police identify themselves, but Breonna Taylor's boyfriend did not and opened fire with a gun he owned legally when he thought someone was breaking into the apartment. The A.G. says that a single shot is enough to justify the use of force by police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL CAMERON, KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL: As our investigation showed and the grand jury agreed that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in their return of deadly fire after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: One of the big serious outstanding questions, in this case, is why were the officers there in the first place.
The attorney general says the federal authorities are looking into the warrant the police were executing. Taylor's ex-boyfriend was the actual focus of the drug investigation in this case that led officers to Taylor's apartment where incidentally, no drugs were found. That man, the ex, was already under arrest 10 miles away.
Taylor family attorney Benjamin Crump called the grand jury's decision outrageous and offensive.
Here is Taylor's cousin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAWANNA GORDON, COUSIN OF BREONNA TAYLOR: It is so insulting that you would say that the neighbors' lives mattered more than Breonna Taylor's life.
There was negligence that night. They shot one time in self-defense because they thought someone was coming into their apartment, and they shot over 20 times. Six of them hit Breonna, killing her, and it's negligence.
Our family is grieving all over again. It is March 13th all over again for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Overnight, protests across the country remained mostly peaceful. There were some arrests. Jesse Jackson saying that violent demonstrations would be a commercial for Trump. Racial justice protests have waned since George Floyd was killed, but this grand jury decision could reignite them just as health experts warn the pandemic is getting worse heading into fall.
JARRETT: A peaceful transition of power has always been a bedrock of American democracy. The president said so himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: But our system doesn't secure the peaceful succession of power, it merely assumes that it will happen. Yet, now, our system is faced with a president who refuses to say that he will honor that sacred pact.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transferal of power after the election?
TRUMP: Well, we're going to have to see what happens. You know that. I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster. And --
REPORTER: I understand that, but people are rioting. Do you commit to making sure that there's a peaceful transferal of power?
TRUMP: No, no. We want to -- we want to have -- get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very -- you'll have a very peaceful -- there won't be a transfer, frankly. There'll be a continuation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Get rid of the ballots, he says. Get rid of mail-in voting, which is not only reliable and legal but has been done successfully for years in several states, so that Trump can have, in his words, a continuation of his presidency.
Here's Joe Biden's response to the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What country are we in? I'm being facetious. I said what country are we in.
[05:35:04]
Look, he says the most irrational things. I don't know what to say about it but it doesn't surprise me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Republican Sen. Mitt Romney calls Trump's answer unthinkable and unacceptable. He says it sounds more like Belarus.
This week, the president essentially admitted he wants a new Supreme Court justice confirmed before the election in case he needs a swing vote for cases about disputed ballots.
Last month, the Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley told Congress the military will not play a role in the election and will not help settle disputes if the results are contested.
JARRETT: Well, as some officials are trying desperately to get the politics out of science, President Trump injects the politics right back in.
CNN has reported the FDA is considering tougher vaccine guidelines. But on the same day that the vice president asked governors to boost confidence in an eventual vaccine, the president said he can overrule steps that the FDA would take to delay the timeline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It sounded to me like something extremely political. Why would they do this when we come back with these great results? And I think you all have those great results.
REPORTER: But when do you expect the vaccine?
TRUMP: Why would we -- why would we be delaying it?
But we're going to look at it. We're going to take a look at it and ultimately, the White House has to approve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The director of the National Institutes of Health says the last thing we need is to create another cloud of uncertainty over vaccine development. There has been a major dip in trust this summer as more decisions appear to be politicized.
Another 1,100 Americans lost their lives yesterday. The CDC director warns 90 percent of Americans are still at rich -- at risk of catching this virus. That shows how deadly it could be to rely on herd immunity, as President Trump has suggested.
Herd immunity was also at the core of this tense exchange between Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
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SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): You have been a big fan of Cuomo and the shutdown in New York. You've lauded New York for their policy. New York had the highest death rate in the world. How could we possibly be jumping up and down and saying oh, Gov. Cuomo did a great job?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: No.
PAUL: He had the worst death rate in the world.
FAUCI: No, you misconstrued that, Senator, and you've done that repetitively in the past. They got hit very badly. They've made some mistakes.
Right now -- if you look at what's going on right now, the things that are going on in New York to get their test positivity one percent or less is because they are looking at the guidelines that we have put together from the task force of the four or five things -- of masks, social distancing, outdoors more than indoors, avoiding crowds, and washing hands.
PAUL: Or they've developed enough community immunity --
FAUCI: Right.
PAUL: -- that they're no longer having the pandemic because they have enough immunity in New York City to actually stop it.
FAUCI: I challenge that, Senator, because --
PAUL: I'm afraid -- I'm afraid we're --
FAUCI: -- I want to -- please, sir, I would like to be able to do this because this happens with Sen. Rand all the time. You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said, that in New York it's about 22 percent. If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you're alone in that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Sen. Paul is a doctor -- an ophthalmologist, to be precise -- and he had coronavirus. Yet, that was his takeaway.
JARRETT: Syracuse University says it's canceling spring break to minimize travel-related virus risks. Ohio State recently did the same.
And in New York City, the Metropolitan Opera will remain shut for another year. That's a big warning sign for America's theaters, concert halls, and live entertainment venues.
And when this year is finally over, Times Square will be hosting a virtual New Year's Eve ball drop.
ROMANS: And that is where we are in 2020 -- a virtual ball drop.
The coronavirus pandemic worsening overseas. Israel is already tightening new restrictions during its second lockdown as cases keep rising. Strict limits on protests and prayer groups. And, Israel's popular open-air markets are now closed.
In Germany, the country's economic and foreign ministers are both in quarantine after contact with people who tested positive.
France is imposing tougher restrictions on the hospitality sector. Marseille has been placed under maximum alert and all bars and restaurants there must close, starting Monday.
The U.K. recording its highest daily increase in cases since May. Prime Minister Boris Johnson just announced new -- tight new restrictions through the end of the year. JARRETT: A federal judge says the White House will have to include a
sign language interpreter in its live feed of coronavirus briefings, starting in October. The National Association of the Deaf sued to force that change. The group's CEO says the order sets a great precedent to achieve full accessibility.
ROMANS: All right.
The pandemic has caused an athleisure boom. Millions of people are swapping out jeans and office wear for yoga pants as they work and stay at home.
Sales at Athleta, the athleisure label at Gap, rose six percent during its latest quarter and it's opening new stores despite Gap sales falling.
I spoke to the head of Athleta, Mary Beth Laughton, about how the pandemic has led to innovation.
[05:40:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY BETH LAUGHTON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ATHLETA: We noticed early on that in the pandemic that some customers were hesitant to shop in stores and we launched a virtual concierge service. We made sure to offer her options -- you know, choice and convenience.
So we now have 65 percent of our stores with curbside pickup offering. We have buy online pickup in stores. We just tried to give her a bunch of options.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It's been a real retail reset because of this virus. Most retailers have been slammed by the pandemic. Bankruptcies and layoffs have piled up.
While athleisure has taken off, it's unclear how long that boom will last when people start going back to the office. Laughton says Athleta will be able to shift with its consumers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUGHTON: I think we can definitely adapt. And times have changed and I think the customer is just going to continue a lot of the ways of living that she's taken on during this period, even into the workplace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It's so fascinating, Laura -- the big shift you've seen at retail places like Amazon and Walmart. Anybody with a vibrant digital strategy --
JARRETT: Yes. ROMANS: -- seems to be innovating and moving forward. But a lot of brick and mortar stores have filed for bankruptcy and have had to lay off a lot of workers. So just a huge transition in retail.
JARRETT: Yes, what a great and timely interview. I know the soft pants that they have are very popular in my household after the show.
ROMANS: Yes.
JARRETT: All right.
Well, heading now back to Washington, President Trump will pay his respects to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg later this morning. She's lying in repose at the Supreme Court for a second day.
Lines of mourners stretched for blocks on Wednesday, and an army of her law clerks lined the steps as the casket arrived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES: It has been said that Ruth wanted to be an opera virtuoso but became a rock star instead. But she chose the law. Subjected to discrimination in law school and the job market because she was a woman, Ruth would grow to become the leading advocate fighting such discrimination in court.
She was not an opera star but she found her stage right behind me in our courtroom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: President Trump says he will nominate Ginsburg replacement on Saturday. As of right now, all signs point to Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
ROMANS: All right.
The most anticipated moment of the election is almost here. Donald Trump and Joe Biden face off in the first presidential debate. Live special coverage starts Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. eastern on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:46:52]
ROMANS: The entire western half of the U.S. struggling with coronavirus. Two of the states in green, Ohio and Indiana, are expanding reopenings, including bars and restaurants. Other states are taking a go-slower approach.
CNN is covering this pandemic coast-to-coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Erica Hill. Restaurants in Massachusetts can seat tables with up to 10 people, starting on Monday. Now, the change increases the current limit, which is six people per table. Bars and restaurants remain closed but Gov. Charlie Baker said restaurants with bar seating can use that space for diners. But he did stress there should be no standing around the bar.
OMAR JIMINEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Omar Jiminez in Chicago.
We've seen double-digit positivity rates in states across the Midwest over the course of the past seven days, including Missouri, where now, the governor, Mike Parson, and his wife Teresa have both tested positive for COVID-19.
Now, the state's first lady was tested out of an abundance of caution, according to the governor's office, after displaying minor symptoms, so the governor was tested, too. And both of their results, again, have come back positive.
Now, as we understand, the governor is feeling healthy and showing no symptoms. But as a precautionary measure, the governor's staff is being tested as they now await their results.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVAIATION CORRESPONDENT: Pete Muntean in Washington.
The CDC now says thousands of people may have been infected with coronavirus on commercial flights. In a statement to CNN, the CDC says it's aware of 1,600 flights between January and August where somebody onboard was either symptomatic or infected with COVID-19.
The CDC says that means more than 10,000 people may have come within six feet of somebody with coronavirus. Droplets transmitted at a distance smaller than that are thought to be particularly high risk.
This comes at a time when the commercial airline industry is fighting for passengers to come back. Air travel levels are still only 30 percent of what they were a year ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: All right, thanks to all of our correspondents for those updates.
So maybe you want to get tested for coronavirus but you don't want to stand in a line with a bunch of people. Well, Walmart is launching a pilot program using drones to drop off coronavirus test kits now.
The test program is being rolled out within a mile of Walmart's North Las Vegas store. Customers will receive a text when the test is on the way. Kits will land on driveways, front sidewalks, or in backyards.
ROMANS: All right.
Facebook is struggling to enforce its own rules on political ads ahead of the November election. A pro-Republican Super PAC led by former Trump administration officials has been targeting swing-state voters with hundreds of misleading ads about Joe Biden and the U.S. Postal Service.
This, according to a recent study by activist group Avaaz. Now, the groups says the ads have been viewed collectively over 10 million times. Facebook says it's reviewing them to see if they should have been rejected.
Earlier this week, the company said it shut down more than 150 fake accounts from China.
JARRETT: Well, by 2035, all new cars and trucks sold in California will be electric or otherwise, zero-emission vehicles.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signing an executive order Wednesday aimed at phasing out sales of gas-powered cars over the next 15 years. It's designed to curb carbon emissions in the country's most populous state.
[05:50:05]
Officials say the transportation sector is responsible for more than half of California's carbon pollution.
ROMANS: A new report finds progress on lowering cancer rates may not be sustainable. The number of cancer survivors is at a record high but that hopeful news is being hurt by coronavirus, obesity, systemic racism, and the aging population.
The AACR Cancer Progress Report says the U.S. cancer death rate fell by 29 percent from 1991 to 2017. But this year, almost 80 percent of cancer treatment has been delayed.
JARRETT: The small town of Swastika, New York voting unanimously to keep its name. Officials say the Adirondack town, which has about 1,500 residents, was named by the original settlers back in the 1800s. They say its name is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning well- being.
The town's supervisor says they saw no reason to change their name despite the swastika clearing being a Nazi emblem that remains a symbol of hate and white supremacy.
ROMANS: All right.
Losses in stock markets around the world. Asia closed down, Europe opened weak. And on Wall Street, it's looking like there could be more losses ahead this morning -- only small losses there for Dow futures at the moment.
It was another turbulent day for stocks. The Dow finished 525 points lower. That's almost two percent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also fell.
Look, Congress is getting ready to leave until after the election without new stimulus. And the economy is on everyone's mind.
Four of the top five Google trends are related to the economy. Look, the first is unemployment. Another 843,000 people are expected to have filed for first-time claims last week. And without new stimulus, Goldman Sachs lowered its fourth-quarter GDP growth forecast from six percent to just three percent.
Amazon is distancing itself from the story we told you about yesterday -- that $499 bike that Echelon said it was -- has developed in collaboration with Amazon. Echelon said Tuesday it built the Prime- branded bike and Amazon partnered with the start-up to build Amazon's first-ever connected fitness product. But, Amazon says the bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime, and it doesn't have a formal relationship with Echelon.
The bike's product page has been removed from Amazon's Web site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCENE FROM DISNEY'S "BLACK WIDOW."
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ROMANS: "Black Widow" fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see her onscreen again. Disney delaying the release of this superhero film until May of next year. The delay of "Black Widow" is another hit for movie theaters struggling during the pandemic.
JARRETT: All right, so what's the best album of all time?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARVIN GAYE, SINGER: Singing "What's Going On."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" now topping Rolling Stone's new list of the greatest albums ever, replacing the Beatle's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
The magazine remade its iconic 2003 list from scratch to reflect more contemporary albums and a wider range of tastes. The new list features 154 albums that were not on the original 500 list, including Adele's "21", Taylor Swift's "Red", and "Check Your Head" by the Beastie Boys.
ROMANS: I can get on board with Marvin Gaye on the top of that.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: I'm on board.
An asteroid the size of a school bus will be whizzing past earth today. It's expected to come within 13,000 miles, well below the orbit of our weather satellites. The closest approach will occur in just over an hour when it passes over the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It will be so close to earth our gravity will alter the asteroid's speed and trajectory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SCENE FROM TOUCHSTONE PRODUCTION'S "FATHER OF THE BRIDE."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: You are cordially invited to a "Father of the Bride" reunion. Netflix announcing the event, posting a short teaser video. It imagines George Banks checking his e-mail and finding a message from Masks-R-Us, and just when you thought 2020 couldn't get worse. It's not clear yet which cast members will join this reunion.
The event will benefit World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit from Chef Jose Andres, that provides meals during times of crises, including this pandemic.
I, for one, am excited about any "Father of the Bride" reunion.
ROMANS: I am, too. In fact, I may have to put that on my list to go back and watch that -- my pandemic movie list --
JARRETT: It's an oldie but goodie.
ROMANS: -- to re-watch that one.
All right, thanks for joining us this Thursday morning -- easy for me to say. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:59:03]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Thursday, September 24th, 6:00 here in New York.
And the breaking news this morning, questions around the country about how a black woman could be killed in her apartment by police and no one charged in her death. Her name, as we know, was Breonna Taylor.
Overnight, protests in city after city after a grand jury in Kentucky issued a single indictment -- not for the six shots that hit Breonna Taylor, but for shots fired into a nearby apartment.
We have a lot of new information this morning about the legal matters at play here, including the information we don't have. The holes in public knowledge about why police were at her apartment in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shots fired, shots fired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officer down, right there. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officer down?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Overnight, two police officers in Louisville were shot. They are both in stable condition this morning and a suspect is in custody.
We're also getting reports of vehicles driving into protesters in Buffalo and Denver.
