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Germany: Novichok Used to Poison Russian Opposition Leader Alexey Navalny; United Airlines to Furlough More Than 16,000 Employees; Ford to Cut 1,400 Salaried Jobs, Offer Early Retirement; Students in England and Wales Go Back to School; Are U.S. Schools Ready to Reopen Amid COVID-19 Risks. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 03, 2020 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Germany is demanding answers from the Kremlin after concluding that Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was poisoned with Novichok. Navalny became ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow last month and is still in intensive care in Germany. Toxicology tests show that a Soviet era nerve agent was used in that attack. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will work with other EU leaders to develop an appropriate response to Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We are informing our EU and NATO partners about the results of the findings. We will deliberate together and depending on the Russian reaction, we will decide on an adequate common reaction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN's Frederick Pleitgen is following the story from Berlin. He joins us now live. Good to see you, Fred. So, what more are you learning about this and Navalny's condition?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we are certainly that the German government was absolutely shocked when they found out that Alexey Navalny had apparently indeed been poisoned with Novichok. But the Germans wanted to do this entire time is that they really did want to take their time with all of this. It wasn't just the toxicology lab of the German military that was looking at Alexey Navalny's samples, but of course other labs here in Germany as well.

However, one of the German military, that's the pretty much the best one here in this country, probably one of the best ones in all of Europe. And they are the ones who then obviously took the lead and found out, as the Germans say, without any sort of doubt, unequivocally, that it was a poison from the Novichok family, which is a nerve agent, a chemical nerve agent, that was used to poison Alexey Navalny.

Now we've already heard a little bit from Angela Merkel. You can see yesterday when she stepped in front of the press that she was very, very angry. Certainly, a lot more angry than I have seen her in a very long time. And that the Germans are saying that they'll work with the EU, they'll work with NATO, they'll also work with the Organization of Prevention of Chemical Weapons to see what the best way forward is. But of course, first and foremost, the Germans are saying that Russia needs to answer some very serious questions now. Here's what we're learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): After more than ten days in one of Germany's top hospitals, toxicologists are now certain Alexey Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. A visibly angry German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanding answers from Russia.

There are severe questions that only Russia can answer, she said, that, indeed, Russia must answer.

Alexey Navalny has long been the most vocal and arguably the most powerful critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's power elite. His investigations into widespread corruption viewed by millions of people. Navalny fell severely ill on a domestic Russian flight on August 20th. He could be heard screaming in pain forcing an emergency landing in the city of Omsk where he was rushed to hospital.

In a CNN interview Navalny's chief of staff later pointed the finger squarely at the Russian state.

LEONID VOLKOV, ALEXEY NAVALNY'S CHIEF OF STAFF: Their refusal even to open up a criminal investigation proves that Mr. Putin is responsible.

PLEITGEN: Indeed, doctors treating Navalny in Omsk, claimed there was no evidence he had been poisoned. After international pressure and pressure from Navalny's family, he was finally medically evacuated to Berlin on August 22nd. Where experts quickly came to the conclusion that he had been poisoned.

Now the German government says there is no doubt Alexey Navalny was attacked with a military grade nerve agent Novichok. The same chemical used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in the U.K. in 2018. The international community holding Russia responsible for that poisoning.

Now the German government says it will work with allies to determine if and how to further punish Moscow.

We will consult with the EU and decide on the appropriate response, Angela Merkel said. The crime against Alexey Navalny is directed against the fundamental rights and values, we stand for.

And the consequences to Alexey Navalny himself could be devastating. The Berlin hospital treating him put out an update late Wednesday saying long-term consequences of the severe poisoning cannot be ruled out.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PLEITGEN: And, Rosemary, obviously we're in front of that hospital right now, the Charite, which is in Germany. One of the premier, if not the hospital to deal with cases like this one. Certainly, a very, very good toxicology department here in this hospital.

And a little bit more from that update that the doctors were giving there.

[04:35:00]

They obviously said, as we just heard there, that they're not sure whether or not there's going to be a full recovery. But they certainly say they know that this will be a prolonged illness as they put it. They say his condition has gotten a little bit better over the course of time as obviously he's been in treatment. But certainly, it does appear as though there is a long way to go.

Now as far as the Russian side is concerned, they're obviously still denying everything. The spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry came out yesterday and said all of this was anti-Russian propaganda. Obviously, the kind of words that we've heard in the past from Moscow as well.

The Russians themselves are saying they would be willing to give data to the German authorities on the condition of Alexey Navalny. Obviously, he was in the hospital in Omsk for a while. They haven't launched an investigation. They continue to still say that when he was in Russia there was no trace of any sort of poison in his system -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, we'll watch to see how the international community responds to this in the end. Fred Pleitgen joining us live from Berlin. Many thanks.

Well, Japan's coast guard has just launched a second search and rescue mission as it tries to find out what happened to a cargo ship that disappeared in typhoon Maysak. It comes as rescuers plucked one sailor from the ship, call the Gulf Livestock, out of the sea near southern Japan. The sailor was found Wednesday night in the water wearing a life jacket. 42 crew members and almost 6,000 cattle the ship was carrying remain unaccounted for. Rescuers are hoping to find them before a second typhoon reaches that area.

And after making landfall on Wednesday, Typhoon Maysak swept through the Korean Peninsula with rain and strong winds equal to a category 2 hurricane. It's expected to move into northeastern China soon. In addition, Typhoon Haishen most likely will follow in the path of Maysak and could possibly reach super typhoon intensity during the weekend.

Well, taking a hit Ford becomes the latest company to announce possible layoffs. We'll tell you how many people could lose their jobs due to the coronavirus. We're back with that in just a moment.

[04:40:00]

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CHURCH: Many businesses and companies continue to struggle with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, among them, United Airlines. In a memo, United says more than 16,000 employees will be furloughed after October 1st when restrictions attached to a federal bailout expire.

And Ford is also looking at cost-saving measures. The U.S. automaker says early retirement offers will be going out to eligible employees in its bid to cut 1,400 jobs. And joining me now to discuss all of this, CNN's John Defterios live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, John. So, Wall Street thrives while main street suffers along with some of the big name companies and their employees. What's behind that disconnect?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I think disconnect is a perfect way to put it, Rosemary. You can call it the great disconnect because interest rates are so low and the stimulus at least in the first round was so generous there's a belief that it's going to last well through 2021. So, they're letting the money ride on equities despite the fact that dislocation that you're talking about on main street with some very big brands and the signals that it's getting weaker in the second half of 2020. And that will spill into 2021.

Let's take a look at that airlines sector overall. Using furloughs at this stage while the bailouts are there, United Airlines, 16,000 but American Airlines, Delta. And then if you go overseas you see British Airways laying off 12,000. It's a similar tale here in the Middle East with the major Gulf carriers that serve as a bridge between Asia, Europe and the United States.

And also, in Asia, they're laying off and shrinking down. The chairman of United said that about 50 percent of the capacity in the industry needs to disappear because this is the normal that we're going to be getting used to right now. It's a similar theme from the online travel site Kayak. The CEO said we'll get back in 2023.

And if you look at transportation in the air or on the ground, we see a similar trend line here, Rosemary. Ford laying off 1,400 white collar workers but it's part of a much bigger restructuring of $11 billion. That industry is also facing an energy transition to electric vehicles. In the major automakers like Ford, and GM, and Fiat/Chrysler are chasing Tesla in that transition. They have to get leaner, get smarter, get into that transition faster. And that's why they're laying off a lot of the top line management and later I'm sure in the manufacturing lines as well.

And if you are looking for a mood of the nation, you have to just take a look at the beige book survey from the Federal Reserve. Because it takes the pulse of all of the regional central banks and the common theme this time around, lingering anxiety, Rosemary, about jobs, about schools, about consumer spending and that clearly will get worse after the election and perhaps after the stimulus plan is passed. How big will it be is a huge question.

CHURCH: Absolutely, so many people hurting. John Defterios joining us from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks.

Well, despite the growing uncertainty in the job market, it was another strong day for U.S. stocks yesterday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 once again closed at all-time highs. The Nasdaq climbed nearly 1 percent and closed above 12,000 points for the first time ever. The Dow also ended the day up more than 1.5 percent.

Well, students in England and Wales are back at school and the British Prime Minister says there's more risk to children from not going to school than from the coronavirus. We go live to a school in England after the break.

[04:45:00]

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CHURCH: Well, many children are back at school in England and Wales. It's been a staggered return this week with new measures in place to guard against the coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously said scientific advice suggests it's safe to go back to school and not doing so would cause more harm.

Scott McLean is at Horndean Junior School in Waterlooville in south England. He joins us now live. Good to see you, Scott. So, what measures are being put in place to keep these students safe as they return to school?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Rosemary. So, you mentioned the Prime Minister said that he has a moral duty to send kids back to school despite the fact that coronavirus cases are starting to see a slight uptick across the U.K. and really across Europe as well. And today had to be one of the strangest first days of school for a lot of these teachers and these students probably as well.

I'm in the hallway of this school and you can hear a pin drop out here because there aren't any students coming and going. In fact, the hallways are virtually off limits for the vast majority of students because they have to keep every single classroom separate from each other, that's inside the building. All of the classes are separate and even outside. And so, they're using outside doors to come inside the building.

There's also hand sanitizer absolutely everywhere. In fact, at this school in particular, they're even keeping all of the windows and doors open at all times to try to help with the ventilation. One of the things that you will not see at this school is masks. The government has said that for younger students, they're not necessary. In this school is primarily for younger students. And even for older students though the government has left it up to each individual school to decide for themselves what the best approach is. And so, the government's advice has been, look, if you can make the school so that you can keep students relatively separate from one another, then you probably don't need to have masks in the first place.

And they are taking some pretty extraordinary measures. They had an assembly this morning. It was all done virtually. [04:50:00]

And even to the point where, you know, teachers can't go and crouch down beside a student's desk like they normally would. And so, they're using technology to try to maintain social distancing. So, in this case every desk of two students will have an iPad. And so, if students need help for something, they'll have to take a picture of their paper, send it off to their teacher who can then help correct their work or help them that way.

But the bottom line here, Rosemary. As even the head teacher of this school, the principal of this school, said the risk here is far greater to keep kids out of school than is the virus.

CHURCH: It is a brave new world. Scott McLean joining us there live. Many thanks for that report.

Well, schools in New York, meanwhile, are set to reopen later this month. The city had to reach a deal with teachers to settle on the date. But it's not just the staff who are worried about the virus. Parents are as well. CNN's Brianna Golodryga has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABELLA, STUDENT: I feel so happy that I want to explode.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (voice-over): For 5-year-old Isabella and her 13-year-old brother, Kelvin, going back to school is a long-awaited return to some sort of normalcy.

KELVIN ESPINAL, STUDENT: The school from 8 to 2:20, I think I'm going to learn more.

GOLODRYGA: Like millions of other students across the country, remote learning has been a struggle for the Brooklyn, New York, siblings.

KARLA MONCADA, MOTHER: I had so much stress getting my daughter to learn, in that remote learning, and she cried most of the time. My son, he distracted himself by talking to his peers and playing on the computer.

GOLODRYGA: But returning to in-person instruction is not without risk. Their mother Karla struggled from a possible case of COVID-19 in the spring when tests were scarce. She said her asthma made her recovery much more difficult.

MONCADA: It was very scary. I thought I was going to die. So, I don't wish that to anybody.

GOLODRYGA: She worries about sending her children back to school, especially Isabella, who also has asthma. But says the alternative, another semester online would be even worse.

MONCADA: I don't have a choice, but it's either, you know, try to get her into this education. Say that she is going to -- that is so essential or, you know, stay at home and do the same thing that we did last time.

GOLODRYGA: Two-thirds of the 100 largest school districts in the country are starting the school year entirely online.

EMILY OSTER, AUTHOR, "EXPECTING BETTER": School reopening is really important for our society. It's not that I think we should reopen at all costs, but I think that trying to do this safely in places where we can do it safely seems just really important for kids, for getting people back to work, for the mental health of parents, for learning.

GOLODRYGA: As doctors continue to study how susceptible children are to the coronavirus and whether they transmit the disease as easily as adults, dozens of schools that have reopened have already experienced outbreaks. And thousands of students and teachers have been forced to quarantine just weeks into the school year.

Some teachers' unions have fought against returning to in-person learning threatening not to return to the classroom unless additional safety measures are taken.

BECKY PRINGLE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: We cannot open our school buildings unless it is safe.

GOLODRYGA: For parents like Karla still haunted by scenes like this one in a Georgia high school where packed hallways full of maskless students ultimately led to positive cases and a school shutdown, the decision to send her kids back to school wasn't an easy one. Proof that there are no easy choices a pandemic.

MONCADA: I will try it. Let's see how this works.

GOLODRYGA: Brianna Golodryga, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing backlash for getting her hair done inside a San Francisco salon. That is against the city's COVID-19 safety regulations which require such visits to take place outside. And this is security video from inside the salon on Monday. The Speaker's deputy chief of staff says Pelosi and her team relied on the interpretation of someone at the salon about what was allowed under new city regulations and that information was incorrect. Pelosi calls the situation a setup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: I take responsibility for trusting the word of the neighborhood salon that I had been to over the years many times. And that when they said we're able to accommodate people one person at a time and that we can set up that time, I trusted that. As it turns out, it was a setup, so I take responsibility for falling for a setup.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The owner of the salon is pushing back. [04:55:00]

She told Fox News that Pelosi was not set up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERICA KIOUS, SALON OWNER: She had called the stylist, or her assistant did and made the appointment. So ...

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS: Yes.

KIOUS: ... the appointment was already booked. So, there's no way I could have set that up. It's the fact that she actually came in and didn't have a mask on. And I just thought about, you know, my staff and people not being able to work and make money and provide for their families and if she's in there comfortably without a mask and feeling safe, then why are we shut down?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Pelosi's staff says she wore a mask during her visit except for a brief period while she was getting her hair washed.

Well, Hollywood action hero Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his family are among the millions of Americans recovering from coronavirus. Johnson says the entire family caught the virus from close friends. They found out they tested positive about 2 1/2 weeks ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DWAYNE JOHNSON, ACTOR, FORMER PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: And I could tell you that this has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family, and for me personally too, as well. And I've gone through some doozies in the past. I've gotten knocked about and gotten my ass kicked a little bit in the pass with some challenges. But testing positive for COVID-19 is much different than overcoming nasty injuries or being evicted or even being broke which I have been more than a few times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Johnson says he's thankful the entire family has made a full recovery. And so are we.

Thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me any time on Twitter @RosemaryCNN. And "EARLY START" is up next. Have yourselves a great day.

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