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The Lead with Jake Tapper
DOJ Releasing New Insurrection Videos As Part Of Investigation; Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) Is Interviewed About The New Insurrection Videos; Biden Commemorates 300 Million COVID Shots In 150 Days; CDC Director Urges Parents To Vaccinate Their Children As Dangerous Delta Variant Spreads; Iran Polling Center To Stay Open Amid Low Voter Turnout. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired June 18, 2021 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Look, that's a wonderful, wonderful thing because it comes with no strings attached. She's going to let them decide how they want to use it.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I thought there were applications. Apparently, they are making calls and dropping off money. Phone line's open.
"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I thought it was back the blue, not attack the blue. Hmm.
THE LEAD starts right now.
Brand new videos from the insurrection just released showing the brutality of the attack with officers taunted, stomped and even punched in the face.
And then a warning for unvaccinated children with a more severe variant of coronavirus rapidly spreading.
Plus, it helps some restaurants survive, expanding seating on the sidewalks and streets, but now, some cities want that space back. That battle just ahead.
(MUSIC)
BROWN: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Jake Tapper.
And we start with our politics lead. New disturbing video from the January 6th insurrection released by the Justice Department showing a Trump supporter taunting, stalking and then ultimately punching a police officer. There are several clips that we must warn you are disturbing and contain profanity.
Here's the first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're patriots, too. We fucking disarm them and then we storm the fucking Capitol. Fuck you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So much hate in his eyes.
Moments before that, this same man identified as Scott Fairlamb of New Jersey gets in the face of officers yelling at them before slugging one of the officers. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know what the fuck you're doing. You got no idea what the fuck you're doing. Not one idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't talk to me, brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the fuck out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: CNN's Jessica Schneider joins me now.
And, Jessica, those aren't the only videos, right?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRSPONDENT: Yeah, they're not, Pam.
CNN has actually fought for and won the release of three different sets of videos. These were videos that were shown in court or in the case of Scott Fairlamb actually shown to a judge privately, and we were actually expecting potentially the release of even more videos in the weeks to come, and what's remarkable about these videos is that we're seeing this close-up on-the-ground look at some of the most violent pro-Trump mob people who were at Capitol that day.
We saw the video of Scott Fairlamb. We saw him taunting law enforcement and then punching an officer, there's also video that we can show of Thomas Webster. He is a retired New York City police officer, a former marine, and the video here shows him yelling profanities at police.
He then wields a flag pole that he's kind of showing menacingly at police and then eventually he rushes towards police. So these are all videos that CNN has fought for and finally gotten released. And what's amazing about this, especially in this Thomas Webster video it's showing the view from a police body cam. It's some of the only video that we have showing it directly from the police perspective, on the ground.
And you can see that they are really engaged in this hand-to-hand combat. It's really stunning to watch. We've seen many videos, but these are a lot more up close and personal, Pam. BROWN: It's just stunning and just horrific to have to in a way relive
what happened on that day through these new videos coming out. There's more videos as well as you mentioned. What do we know about Fairlamb and what he's being charged with?
SCHNEIDER: Yeah. So, Scott Fairlamb is facing a number of charges here. Twelve different accounts, including assaulting police and also carrying a dangerous weapon. He's still in jail because exactly what we've seen in these four videos.
The judge here talked about just really what a danger he poses to society. So, I'll read you what the judge said. This was back in April when the judge first got a glimpse of this video, saying if any crime establishes danger to the community and a disregard for the rule of law, assaulting a riot-gear clad police officer does.
And we saw the video and we've also seen Fairlamb sort of shouting his defiance in one of those videos. We'll take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
SCHNEIDER: So that was part of the video that this judge watched in private several months ago and led to that decision to keep Fairlamb in jail pending trial. He's still there now facing 12 different counts. Pam, we should be getting more of these videos in the weeks to come.
And they really do hammer home the point going against some of those Republican lawmakers who said that this was nothing more than a tourist visit in one case. We're seeing just how dangerous and violent these pro-Trump mob members were, Pam.
BROWN: It's truly jarring to see this new video. Thank you so much, Jessica.
[16:05:01]
I want to bring in Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
Nice to see you, Congresswoman.
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Good afternoon. Thank you.
BROWN: First off, what's your reaction to seeing that video?
MACE: Well, I haven't seen the video yet. I heard it on the previous segment there. For me, I don't know that I would have the stomach to watch that. It's abhorrent, it's disgusting and it's unforgivable.
And whomever did that to our men and women in blue who were heroes on that day on January 6th, that were there to protect members of Congress and everyone working on the Hill that day, that individual should be prosecuted and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. BROWN: You voted against a bipartisan January 6th commission. These
new videos are coming out highlighting just how awful it was for law enforcement there, trying to do their jobs. I've interviewed law enforcement officers who were really disappoint that Republicans voted against that.
Do you regret your decision at all?
MACE: Well, I voted this week to award the congressional gold medal to the men and women in blue who were heroes on January 6th that day. I think that's very important.
When it comes to the commission, we already have four federal agencies that are investigating January 6th. So you have the Secret Service, you have Homeland Security, the FBI and the Department of Justice all investigating. There have been almost 500 arrests. Hundreds if not thousands of criminal charges so far.
And if there's anybody that could be non-partisan or bipartisan in their investigation, certainly I would think it would be the attorney general and the Department of Justice.
And then on top of that in Congress and the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, there are an additional ten committees that have broad subpoena power, that have investigative power to investigate January 6th, and in fact it was the House Oversight Committee earlier this week that had the FBI Director Christopher Wray there to testify as part of their committee investigation into January 6th.
BROWN: And as you know, it is true there are all these investigations but officers I've spoken with who were there at the Capitol that day, they wanted the commission because it would be independent and it would give an official record of what happened that day without any layer of politics which as you know happens in situations like this.
You're seeing that happened in terms of the politics with members of your party that are pushing an insane theory that the insurrection was orchestrated by the FBI. There's zero evidence to back this up.
Should Republican leadership including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy denounce this theory and the members spouting this lie?
MACE: Well, if that's a theory that's out there today, then Republicans and Democrats can investigate it in the ten committees that are already having investigations under way, and then, again, I'm going to go back to all the federal agencies that are doing their own investigations as well and being transparent with the public.
I think that's really important to recognize that those federal agencies are supposed to be nonpartisan in nature and the Department of Justice and Homeland Security and Secret Service and the FBI also investigating.
BROWN: Right.
MACE: So whatever theories are out there, then Republicans and Democrats alike have the opportunity to ask those questions of those who are in charge and they should.
BROWN: Right. And just to be clear, DOJ investigates the people, but the commission would have investigated the root cause what led to it. But do you not denounce the FBI insane theory that people in your party are spewing? Do you not denounce that?
MACE: I don't know -- I don't know anything about it. I haven't read it. I would highly doubt that the FBI or any federal agency would have orchestrated January 6th with a violent attacks that day.
It's really important that we come together as a nation. And one of the things we did this week was that we voted on giving the officers that day the congressional gold medal, and those are the things that I want to work on, on bringing our country together.
This week, also I voted to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. There are things that we can be doing to heal a country and bring these divisions together, and that's what we really should all be focused on, rather than being focused on the division. How can we come together and make our country better?
I have two kids and I'm a single mom, and I want a bright future for my children and all children, and so those are the things that I'm working really hard to achieve.
BROWN: But just to be clear, and I want to get to the example you point out about bipartisanship with AUMF and we will. But in terms of theories that some Republicans are trying to whitewash this, it wasn't a big deal, it was just a tourist event and one Republican on the Hill wouldn't even shake one of the officer's hands, Officer Fanone's hands this past week. Do you denounce that?
MACE: Yes. If those reports are correct, if that actually is what happened, I can't imagine anyone unwilling to shake any officers' hands, particularly those that were there that day, there to protect us, all members of Congress and staff members on the Hill.
I have -- I have a kid in little league soccer right now and at the end of the games, these kids are taught to shake hands with those that they just lost a game to.
[16:10:03]
And so, we've all got to be adults here and be mature about it and grow together as a nation. That's really important to do that to move forward and to heal.
BROWN: And, of course, these lawmakers were protecting lawmakers during the insurrection, and so it's just -- as you pointed out, you voted in favor of the congressional medal. You worked across the aisle with Democrats to repeat AUMF, a 19-year-old military authorization that gave legal backing to the Iraq War.
Why do you think both parties were able to come together on this particular issue while Congress continues to struggle with bipartisanship on most other key issues? MACE: Right. It's interesting to me, because in the Senate, we're
divided 50-50, evenly divided. In the House, Nancy Pelosi has the slimmest majority in a generation. Rather than sow division, we should be working together.
And this is one of the few places where Democrats and Republicans have been able to both those disagreements aside. And there were nine Republicans that co-sponsored the bill, myself included, to repeal the 2002 AUMF. There were 49 Republicans that voted to repeal it this week with us in Congress.
And so my -- my comments to members on both sides of the aisle and there were Democrats that let me speak. I was the only Republican that spoke on the repeal of the AUMF. But Democrats were the ones gave me time on the floor to do that.
Where we can work together as a country, we absolutely have to and must and the AUMF is a place where we could come together. It's been bipartisan. It's been abused by Republicans and Democrats over the last 20 years and we're going to have the ability to restore the constitutional powers and authority to Congress on whether or not and when we send our children to war.
BROWN: Well, hopefully, we will see more of that kind of coming together ahead.
Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina, great to have you on the show. Thank you.
MACE: Thank you, Pamela.
And up next, President Biden says it's a private matter. We'll show you what prompted that answer from the president up next.
Plus, even those with mild cases of COVID are experiencing odd and sometimes debilitating symptoms months after being infected. We're going to discuss that just ahead.
Stay with us.
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BROWN: In our politics lead, a fight over voting rights and infrastructure happening right now on Capitol Hill, stalling President Joe Biden's big agenda and shining a light on the divides within the Democratic Party.
Now as CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports, Biden is focused on what he can celebrate and today, that's declining COVID cases and a milestone in vaccinations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden trumpeting another COVID-19 milestone today.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks to this wartime response we've gotten 300 million shots in the arms of Americans in 150 days.
COLLINS: The president touting the number of shots administered since he took office while at least 350 million shots have been given overall.
BIDEN: It's an important milestone that just didn't happen on its own or by chance.
COLLINS: But while celebrating the achievement, Biden is also acknowledging the long road still ahead.
BIDEN: Unfortunately, cases and hospitalizations are not going down in many places in the lower vaccination states. They are actually going up in some places.
COLLINS: Biden turned his focus to a new milestone today now that he's unlikely to meet this one.
BIDEN: Our goal by July 4th is to have 70 percent of adult Americans with at least one shot.
COLLINS: Sixty-five percent of U.S. adults have had at least one dose, but the pace of vaccinations is slowing and the pool of those willing to get vaccinated is shrinking.
JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We are going to get to 70 percent and we'll continue across the summer months to push beyond 70 percent.
COLLINS: The administration is making a last-minute push. Dispatching Vice President Kamala Harris to an historically black college in Atlanta today where she talked about her own vaccine experience.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And now I can stand here with my mask off and talk with all of you, and that trade- off, well, it was 100 percent worth it.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, Biden is also keeping the focus on his domestic agenda.
REPORTER: The bipartisan plan, do you have any reaction to that?
BIDEN: I'll tell you Monday when I get a copy of it.
COLLINS: Briefed yesterday on the latest bipartisan infrastructure package gaining steam on Capitol Hill, which features $1.2 trillion in total spending and $579 billion in new spending on physical infrastructure.
But there could be trouble ahead. After Senator Joe Manchin outlined demands on voting rights legislation that could create an opening for compromise, Senator Mitch McConnell is making clear there won't be one.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Equally unacceptable, totally inappropriate. All Republicans I think will oppose that as well if that were to surface on the floor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Now, of course, we know, Pam, that something is going to surface on the floor. It's clear McConnell says they are not going to support it he believes. But when it comes to infrastructure, we should note that even though the bipartisan new proposal is gaining steam and President Biden says he's going to look at it on Monday, they still don't agree on how to pay for infrastructure, because part of what's been in that proposal, though it's not final yet, was raising the gas tax.
That's something that top Democrats have said that they are opposed to. The White House has also said they are against that, and we should note that President Biden is spending the weekend in Wilmington, Delaware, and he is being joined by Steve Ricchetti, one of his top advisers while in Europe has been playing a big role in those negotiations on Capitol Hill.
BROWN: All right. Thank you so much, Kaitlan Collins.
Let's discuss all of this.
Ashley, I'm going to start with you. Let's start with this moment that just happened during Biden's vaccine announcement. As we all know, the president is Catholic. He goes to mass every Sunday, but this afternoon, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops advanced a document that would essentially deny Biden from taking communion because of his support for abortion rights.
[16:20:03]
Here's Biden's reaction to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: That's a private matter, and I don't think that's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: What do you make of this?
ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I remember working on the campaign and even before Joe Biden announced his candidacy and him being very clear that he does not bring his religion into politics, he is a professional politician and a leader for this country.
I also think it's a clear sign that conservatism is everywhere. It doesn't matter if it's a religious institution, a school institution or just people talking on the street. It's very dangerous to start blurring these lines around politics. I understand the Catholic doctrine, gone to Catholic school my whole life and I respect the separation from religious and state. But if this is an attack on Democrats or Joe Biden, I just think it is, you know, the religious space beginning to go into the Washington politics and we should stop it before it goes too far.
BROWN: What do you think, Ana? I mean, Joe Biden is one of the most religious presidents in recent history. What do you think about this?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's outrageous and ridiculous. I am Catholic, a very flawed one at that, but Catholic all my life. And I find this extremely offensive and ridiculous from a group of people who were okay with Donald Trump, a person who cheated on every one of his wives, cheated on his wife when he was pregnant with a "Playboy" bunny and cheated on the "Playboy" bunny with a stripper but they seem to be okay with Donald Trump.
Look, I think there's a separation of church and state in this country and Catholics need to understand that. Joe Biden is the president. United States. He has to do that within that separation.
He is also a man of such great faith that speaks of it, leans on it, shares it, shows it, is proud of it. Second Catholic president in our history. I mean, for God sakes, this man was just in an eight-day trip, foreign trip in Europe and made time to go to mass.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: By the way, he spoke with the pope the day he was inaugurated, he has met the pope a couple of times. This may be telling you more about the U.S. Conference, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops than anything else.
BROWN: Right, this is just an effort by them but this is telling.
I want to switch gears, Gloria, and talk about voting rights and that's a big talker since Senator Manchin called his voting rights proposal a compromise. But the question is who exactly is he compromising with?
BORGER: Well, at this point he was talking I guess he's compromising with Democrats but also, look, he came out and we know that Stacey Abrams said he did a great job and there was something she could endorse about that so, of course, Republicans decided to oppose it, but he said, look, let's put in voter ID in here which is something that Republicans have been talking.
He said, look, make election day a holiday, give people are 15 days to vote, ban partisan gerrymandering. What is wrong with that? I mean, that is -- those are kind of apriority, sort of basic common sense issues and he said to Republicans, if you're worried about the federalization of voting laws, I'm giving state and local officials the ability to maintain their own voter rolls. So, let's take that off the table and then they run out and said, meh, we don't like it.
BROWN: Well, it was interesting too, because not long after he talked about the bill, Stacey Abrams came on "NEW DAY" with John Berman and said, as you pointed out, she supported those proposals and then Republicans almost immediately used that against -- to make the case against the bill. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): I actually think when Stacey Abrams immediately endorsed Senator Manchin's proposal, it became the Stacey Abrams substitute, and not the Joe Manchin substitute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: What do you think? Did her approval hurt Manchin's chances here?
ALLISON: The Republicans are not interested in voting rights. They're interested in voter suppression. Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden, any Democrat and any progressive could have come out in favor of Joe Manchin's proposals and would have said no. But the reality is they are going to say no before Joe Manchin brought out those proposals.
So, it's just another sign of who are we really compromising with? What progress do they want? We see hundreds of bills across the states being pushed and these are reasonable compromises and some of the compromises people are very upset about, i.e., voter ID laws. There's some real concerns there.
So, Republicans, McConnell, he made it clear before this voting proposal came out that he was not going to support any type of proposal from Joe Biden or Democrats and he's just staying good to his word.
BROWN: And you heard many progress say, trying to negotiate with Republicans is a waste of time. Seeing how Republicans reacted to what Joe Manchin put forth here, does that only validate that argument?
[16:25:03]
NAVARRO: It might validate the argument, but I think it's -- it's an irrelevant argument or moot argument because regardless of what progressives in the House mostly may say, Joe Manchin is Joe Manchin, and you're not going to have him change his mind, and Joe Biden is a bipartisan man by nature who is an institutionalist and wants to reach across the aisle. So I don't think you're going to change their nature.
Look, I come from up of those states where there have been voting law changes recently. It's now going to be a lot harder to vote by mail, but I -- I will tell you I don't think Republicans will ever go along with getting rid of gerrymandering because they control so many state legislatures, and it is -- it is to their great benefit.
BORGER: And I have to wonder what Joe Manchin is thinking because here he said I want a January 6th commission, guess what. He didn't get the January 6th commission. He comes out with a proposal that gives Republicans, you know, voter ID, and they say, we don't like it and then they start calling it the Stacey Abrams bill and then they -- they just push it aside. So if you're Joe Manchin and you're saying, okay, I'm not going to support the filibuster, getting rid of the filibuster but yet I've proposed these two things and they are pushing me away, you have to ask the question, well, when is enough enough for him?
NAVARRO: But I think he had to take that step and get rejected before the following one.
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: There's hoping.
BROWN: We'll be watching to see how this all plays out.
Thank you so much, ladies. Appreciate it.
NAVARRO: And I have to say this is the first time I'm back in a CNN studio in over a year.
BROWN: Isn't it great?
NAVARRO: And, folks, get vaccinated. It's wonderful to be able to see and hug your friends.
BROWN: Freedom.
And you have on shoes today, you pointed out.
NAVARRO: I feel like Cinderella's step sisters, I could barely shove my foot in there but they are in there.
BROWN: All right. Thank you so much.
Coming up, a more severe variant of coronavirus is now responsible for 99 percent of all new cases in the U.K. Why that's a warning sign for the U.S., up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:52]
BROWN: Concerned for the kids as the new stronger and more contagious Delta variant spreads, mother and Centers for Disease Control director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, making a plea to all parents to get their children vaccinated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: What I would say, first of all, is I have three kids and all of mine are vaccinated and the really most important thing that you need to do is be comfortable as a parent with your choice in making that decision, and if you make an informed decision where you listen to the science around the vaccine, I think you'll come down the way I did and vaccinate your children.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: And right now, the U.S. children 12 and up can get vaccinated, the U.K., right now, a possible cautionary tale for parents in the U.S. hesitant to get their kids vaccinated, as cases of the variant soar and young people, and the government hasn't approved the vaccine for anyone under 18 years old.
As CNN's Phil Black reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixteen-year-old Thomas Crone is one of the very few school-aged children in the U.K. to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and it's only because he must cook, clean and care for his often sick family.
Mom Claire --
CLAIRE HASTIE, FOUNDER, LONG COVID SUPPORT: Anymore than a few minutes, I would need this.
BLACK: And her 12-year-old twin sons are still suffering a wide range of long COVID symptoms, more than a year after feeling ill.
JAMES CRONE, SUFFERING FROM LONG COVID: It's so not nice to live with.
HASTIE: We know that children can be severely affected.
BLACK: Government statistics show that 30,000 children aged 16 and under have reported experiencing long COVID in the U.K., but Britain is yet to make vaccines widely available to adolescents, even as the highly contagious Delta variant surges through the country with growing evidence it's moving quickly through children and young people.
British experts are still urging caution.
DR. LIZ WHITTAKER, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON: I would be reticent to suggest that we vaccinate the adolescent because being safe is the most important thing.
BLACK: Their concerns are centered on ethical calculation of benefit versus risk. Statistically, very few children suffer severe illness from COVID-19 and while the vaccine is new and the side effects though rare are still being studied.
WHITTAKER: Until we have the final bits of evidence and data, I think it's reasonable to wait to vaccinate our adolescents.
BLACK: It's a very different approach compared to the U.S. where over 5 million children under 18 are already fully vaccinated, and U.S. President Joe Biden is using Britain's experience with the Delta variant to drive that number even higher pointing out in a tweet it's spreading rapidly among young people in the U.K. If you're young and haven't got your shot yet, it really is time.
DR. ALLISON MESSINA, JOHNS HOPKINS ALL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: The more children that are vaccinated, the more they add to that pool of immune people and thus they make the herd, it is a will, bigger.
BLACK: France, Germany, Israel are all pursuing a similar strategy, but experts in the U.K. are hoping the virus can be blocked by immunity in the adult population alone. Around 80 percent have had at least one dose so far.
[16:35:00]
You're hopeful that it won't be necessary to vaccinate children?
WHITTAKER: I'm optimistic, yes, and I don't think that we would wait forever. I think that we -- we just want to make sure we're doing the right thing and we're doing what's safe and in the best interest of our children and young people.
BLACK: Claire Hastie says she just hopes other children will somehow be protected quickly so they never know the suffering and uncertainty experienced by her sons.
HASTIE: I don't really know what to do to help him. Yeah, it's really heartbreaking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACK (on camera): The U.K.'s medicine's regulator, Pamela, has approved the use of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine in children aged 12 to 15, but now an independent panel of experts will advise the government on whether to hold off or proceed with the rollout.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has expressed a very strong view on this issue. It says no country should be thinking about vaccinating children right now because there are so many older, more vulnerable people in countries around the world who more desperately need those doses -- Pamela.
BROWN: All right. Phil Black, thanks so much.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now.
So, you heard that report, Sanjay. You're a dad. What would you tell parents?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I got my girls vaccinated and they are between the ages of 12 and 15 and when that became authorized for their age group, I got them vaccinated. That was the result of doing lots of homework and making lots of, you know, micro judgments and putting it all to go.
I would tell you from a macro standpoint, Pamela, if I would tell you there's hundreds of kids who have died of a new disease, tens of thousands who have been hospitalized and -- and there's a vaccine for it, if you didn't know anything else about this pandemic, you would probably say thank you, there's a vaccine, because that sounds like a real problem.
We've always put it in the context of comparing this to adults, but there is large numbers, you know, here as well. Much smaller risk than in adults but not zero risk.
Also I think to Phil's point in his piece, Phil Black, the long-term impact of this virus, we are still learning so much about this virus, a virus that can give you isolated loss of smell. How does that do that? What is it doing to the brain?
My point is this: you don't want this virus if you can avoid it, and that's why I think the vaccine is so important, why I still got my girls vaccinated. Of course, you want to make sure that the risks and benefits, you really do that analysis, but in the end, I think there's lots of reasons, know, to not -- to protect people from getting infected.
BROWN: Do we know how this particular strain, the Delta variant, impacts kids?
GUPTA: Well, you know, that was an interesting piece again. We're learning more about the numbers in various places where the delta virus is spreading. We know that kids are becoming increasingly susceptible because it's such a transmissible virus and we know that they are more likely to get sick.
I want to be careful because it's much lower risk because they are more likely to get sick from this variant than the previous ones. But I think the long-term impact again is something that we will increasingly learn with time. You find out about these things months down the road.
BROWN: Ninety-nine percent of new cases in the U.K. are linked to this variant. Is that what we should expect in the U.S.?
GUPTA: Let me show you this graphic, Pamela, because this graphic tells this story and answers this question as well. If you look at what happened in the U.K. It's now called the alpha variant, the U.K. variant. That was what was dominant and that's red. That was the end of January this year.
Look what at this graphic. The numbers have come down, thankfully and you've seen a change in color. The yellow is the delta variant. So, that is the predominant. The delta is now the predominant strain in the U.K.
But also, you see the uptick there, Pamela, right. It was coming down, down, as it turned yellow you also saw the numbers start to come up. I think that that is potentially what we could expect. It's a far more transmissible.
But as we talked about yesterday, it really comes down to this idea of vaccinated versus not. If you're vaccinated then I think we now have good data showing that we're pretty well protected against this delta variant.
BROWN: All right. Dr. Gupta, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much.
GUPTA: You've got it. Thank you.
BROWN: And happy Father's Day, by the way. Early Father's Day.
GUPTA: Thank you.
BROWN: Up next, polls about to close in a controversial presidential election it a could have implications for U.S. foreign policy. We're live on the ground in Tehran with all the details.
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[16:43:49]
BROWN: Turning to our world leads now. Polls in Iran's presidential elections are set to close in a few minutes but, although results aren't expected until this weekend, we may already know who is going to win. And it may not be good news for the Biden administration which is trying to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us live from Tehran.
So, Fred, tell us why this race was all but decided before Iranians even cast their ballots.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Pamela, certainly looks as though Iran is going to make another turn towards being even more conservative than it was before. So, the front-runner here in this presidential election is a man named Ebrahim Raisi. He's the head of Iran's judiciary and he is an ultra conservative.
And one of the reasons why so many people said most of the candidates who had a chance of winning against him were disqualified before they race even begun and the few that were left, many of them actually dropped out before polling began and that led many to believe there was going to be low voter turnout. In one of the biggest polling stations here in Tehran, you can see it's almost 1:15 a.m. local time here, and there are still people coming in so it looks like the turnout could be higher than people expected but it certainly looks as though.
[16:45:01]
And you're absolutely right which could make things difficult for the Biden administration. Things here are going to be more conservative than we've had before. We had eight years of the Rouhani administration and the things on the minds of voters here are the sanctions that President Trump put in place hand how the sanctions can be lifted as soon as possible, Pamela.
BROWN: OK. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much for the latest there.
Well, the pandemic brought us patio dining spilling into the streets and now there's a looming battle between restaurants and cities over that precious space. We're taking a look up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: In our money lead, if you've been enjoying your dining experience and park spaces, those days may soon be over as the pandemic winds down. Major cities across the country are now debating whether to turn those lanes back to regular parking or give the restaurants extra seating, as CNN's Tom Foreman reports.
[16:50:10]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like land rushes seen in old movies and fables, restaurants have spread out their menus and tables. Across the country countless public streets were taken over by restaurants at the height of the pandemic with the blessing of city governments.
But now an industry poll says 90 percent of restaurant operators surveyed want to keep their outside access, including much of that land.
JEFFREY OTTMAN, RESTAURANT OWNER: To now finally be able to be completely open outside and have a full patio, that's all we've wanted for the last year.
FOREMAN: While others are saying hold on.
RON HODGES, RESTAURANT OWNER: Now when we get back open inside again then we don't need the space.
FOREMAN: The National Restaurant Association's case for holding the land is based like the nightly special on market prices, 90,000 restaurants have been closed permanently, or in a long term basis by the pandemic, millions of jobs and billions of dollars lost.
MIKE WHATLEY, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: A lot of restaurants are alive today because of outdoor dining and expanded outdoor dining during a pandemic.
FOREMAN: And you're seeing all this economic danger is now over yet.
WHATLEY: Right. At least for right now, they have to have it.
FOREMAN: The counter in many places like New York City where miles of streets have been closed, though not all for restaurants, that public space is immensely valuable and others would like it, too.
Think about all the traffic that might flow on the streets, private cars, public transit, what about all the parking and maybe plans for bike lanes?
Some disabled Americans say those expansions have dangerously cluttered sidewalks and others ask couldn't even more people benefit if that public land was reclaimed for all the public?
HODGES: Once you get started with the celebrations on the street and activities, then it's going to bring foot traffic in, and then these businesses are going to flourish.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Here's one idea. Let those privately owned restaurants stay on this public land but make them pay a fee. Some industry folks think that might work because they know even for restaurant owners, there's no free lunch -- Pam.
BROWN: There's no free lunch. Don't we know that, but it's not just impacts that were impacted.
FOREMAN: No, they have opened up spaces all over the country for all sorts of things, for museums, for park space for people to exercise. They have closed down cars for those areas and it's caused some friction because some people have said, what about lower income people who want to use this area that cannot drive to it, they're being blocked off? What about people who have other businesses that need that flow of people. They don't need the neighborhood but everybody else involved. This is a range war that's just now beginning to heat up.
BROWN: All right. I know you'll be staying on top of that. Thanks so much, Tom.
Also in our money lead today, big drop on Wall Street. The Dow Jones dropped more than 530 points after the St. Louis Federal Reserve president thinks he thinks the Fed should raise interest rates as soon as the end of next year.
And coming up, it is so hot in parts of the United States that people could suffer severe burns just by touching the sidewalk, but first, new details about what really happened on January 6th.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: The election is rigged.
CROWD: Stop the steal, stop the steal!
TRUMP: Fight like hell.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a law enforcement operation. This was a military defense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming for you, Nancy!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once they started banging on the door, that's all I heard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overran the Capitol.
ANNOUNCER: Now new details from those who were there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump said come to D.C., it's going to be wild. And I knew it was going to be history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This might sound extremely strange to a lot of your viewers, but I feel like he was anointed by God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We peacefully protested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You call January 6th a peaceful protest?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, what is happening? I was scared. Absolutely scared.
ANNOUNCER: CNN special report, "Assault on Democracy: The Roots of Trump's Insurrection", Sunday at 9:00.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:59:00]
BROWN: Back now with our national lead, a wave of extreme heat. More than 40 million people are under heat alerts in the West and Midwest. We saw record high triple-digit temperatures yesterday in Sacramento, Las Vegas and Phoenix, Palm Springs, California saw 123 degrees yesterday.
Wow, and it was still in the triple digits, even past 10:00 p.m. last night, and in Arizona, it is so hot that doctors are warning people could suffer severe burns in only a few seconds in their skin touches the pavement.
California's governor has declared a statewide emergency calling for residents to conserve electricity to avoid power shortages There's also an historic drought making the situation even worse. Water in a key California reservoir will fall so low this summer that the hydroelectric power plant will be forced to shut down for the first time since it opened in the 1960s, officials tell CNN.
Well, be sure to tune in this Sunday morning to "STATE OF THE UNION." Dana Bash talks to the national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. It's at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern.
I'm Pamela Brown in for Jake Tapper. You can catch me tomorrow and Sunday on CNN from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Our coverage continues now with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
