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U.S. Showing Slight Decline In Coronavirus Cases; Biden Doesn't Expect $15 Minimum Wage To Survive In Relief Bill; Embattled Greene Blasts Dems And GOP For Her Committee Removals; Cities Facing Pushback Over Grocery Worker "Hero Pay"; Countdown To Super Bowl LV. Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired February 06, 2021 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:46]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM this Saturday.
We begin this hour with the U.S. ramping up efforts to get vaccinations in the arms of Americans. Vaccinations are now outpacing new cases. The U.S. Is averaging 1.3 million vaccines administered every day. That's up from 1.1 million just last week.
New cases and deaths are dropping in most states across the country, but experts warn now is not the time to get complacent.
The U.S. is seeing an increase in some of the new variants of the disease. Virginia is now reporting its first case of the South African variant.
And the CDC says more than 600 cases of these new variants have been reported in 33 states. With that in mind, experts are warning -- warning Americans against holding large Super Bowl parties tomorrow. The CDC offering new guidance that you should only watch the game with people you live with to prevent new outbreaks.
And ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL offering all 30 stadiums for mass coronavirus vaccinations. Already seven NFL teams have been hosting vaccinations at or near stadiums.
CNN's Polo Sandoval is standing by at Major League Baseball's Yankee Stadium where they just opened up vaccinations yesterday. How about the lines today? Are they long?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They keep coming and coming too, Fred. And let me tell you, you know, we've heard from health experts who have said that the only way to actually achieve that herd immunity is by getting as many people vaccinated.
So it is really great to see the number of people that we've actually seen here at the legendry Yankee Stadium getting those shots, especially older people that I have seen, their children bringing them here to get those vaccines. Now, this is not open to just anybody, at least this particular location. It's open to Bronx residents only. Health officials and city and state officials also knowing that the Bronx not only has the highest test positivity rate, but also predominantly black and Hispanic community, many who felt forgotten or unnoticed. So they're coming here taking advantage of this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL (voice over): COVID-19 vaccinations are up and infections are down as the first week of February comes to a close. The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show just over 36 million vaccine doses have been administered, with efforts moving forward at an average rate of about 1.3 million shots a day nationwide.
JAHQYAD AUSTIN, VACCINATED IN NEW YORK CITY: I work at a restaurant in Brooklyn and all of our team actually is coming, you know, this week within their timeframe to get their vaccines. So that was why I was eligible.
SANDOVAL: Supermarket chain Kroger promising to pay any of their employees' $100 in store credit if they roll up their sleeves for a shot.
And take a look at the map showing how new infections are down about 18 percent this week over last. As for hospitalizations, those dipped below 90,000 for the first time since Thanksgiving.
But will those trends hold? Epidemiologist Dr. Celine Gounder is cautiously optimistic.
DR. CELINE GOUNDER, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: It really depends on how we abide by some of these mitigation measures over the next several months while people are getting vaccinated. Only about 2 percent of Americans have been vaccinated so far, so we are very far from achieving herd immunity.
POLO: You would expect multiple promising developments. The U.S. Government scheduled to ship 1 million Moderna vaccines to U.S. pharmacies next week.
With Sunday's Super Bowl marking the end of the football season, the NFL is offering the government every one of the league stadiums to serve as vaccination sites.
In South Dakota, dentists are now allowed to administer shots. And vaccination doses could get a major booster if the Food and Drug Administration issues Johnson & Johnson emergency use authorization for its vaccine candidate.
Some hospitals like Louisiana's Baton Rouge Clinic have been anxiously waiting for more vaccine allotments.
ED SILVEY, CEO, BATON ROUGE CLINIC: We've got a long way to go. And the demand is exceptionally high. [11:04:52]
SANDOVAL: COVID-19 variants continue to worry health officials and are still expected to become the dominant form of the virus by next month says Dr. Anthony Fauci.
On the COVID treatment front, the FDA limited some use of convalescent plasma therapy. That's treatment using blood from recovered COVD-19 patients. This on the same week British researchers documented how that might be helping fuel the rise of viral variants.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: And back out at Yankee stadium, the goal is to vaccinate at least 15,000 people this week. Again, these are just eligible residents here in the Bronx.
Meanwhile health officials with the state of New York also telling those frontline health care workers if they haven't gotten their shot already, get it as soon as they can especially next week since starting February 5th they will be reallocating some of those shots, the unused ones, to some of those folks with pre-existing conditions, Fred.
WHITFIELD: And of course, better organization helps a lot of people.
All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.
All right. Joining me right now to discuss is Dr. Michael Saag, an infectious disease expert and the associate dean for global health at the University of Alabama - Birmingham. Good to see you, Dr. Saag.
So what do these latest numbers tell you? Are you feeling more encouraged?
DR. MICHAEL SAAG, ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR GLOBAL HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM: Well, I am feeling a little bit more encouraged for sure, but I have to think back because it's a football weekend to Nick Saban, who a lot of people know. and he always talks about overall success, but success on every play.
So we're in the middle of a game, we just lost the first half pretty badly and we're getting some foothold here in the third quarter.
But every one of us every play has to do our part and be successful in doing what we need to do to keep this under control and keep the momentum going.
WHITFIELD: So are you concerned that a potential setback could be these variants? I mean, Dr. Fauci says the coronavirus variants that are now circulating in the U.S. could fuel another nationwide case surge, but it's not necessarily inevitable. Over 600 cases have been confirmed in 33 states.
Are you concerned about how it may impact any spikes? DR. SAAG: Yes, that's one of the threats that we're dealing with. And
to be precise, these variants are more contagious. They're easier to pick up. So if one of us is in a room with somebody else who has coronavirus, especially if we're not wearing a mask, with the older original version we might have had, let's say, a 50 percent chance of picking it up.
Being in that room with him now, that might increase to 75 percent or 80 percent chance. So that's why it's especially important right now for all of us to triple down on all the things we know to do about mask wearing and avoiding crowds.
WHITFIELD: CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky saying the agency will release official guidance on school reopenings in the coming week. However, there are a lot of teachers and parents who simply say, you know, one size does not fit all. What do you believe needs to be in that recommendation?
DR. SAAG: I think one of the key things besides all the usual mitigation things within a school is testing. Let's look at what we've done on college campuses. Since we came back to colleges back in the fall, we, for example, in Alabama, have been testing most every student. And over this current semester we've been testing everyone on campus at least every other week.
The percent positive on campuses right now is 0.5 percent at the colleges that I'm working with. In the community it's almost 30 percent. So schools can be safe but it takes an entire strategy to be implemented at all the schools and I think that's where our high hurdle is.
WHITFIELD: Does that strategy include all educators being fully vaccinated before returning?
DR. SAAG: No, we are in the process now of vaccinating our teachers and professors, but what we're doing most effectively, I think, is testing the students. If they test positive, isolating them, keeping them away from the other students for the ten days, and then finding their close contacts and isolating them. Then you bring them back and that keeps the numbers down.
WHITFIELD: A top health official in Seattle is urging Americans to keep their guard up. I mean borrowing a page from your playbook, you know, making analogies to football and Coach Saban, you know, saying at best we are at halftime. We still have a long way to go in this pandemic.
What advice do you give ahead of Super Bowl Sunday when so many people, you know, are likely to want to be together to watch the game?
DR. SAAG: We're all on the same team. And all of us have to do our part every single play, to the best of our ability. So what that means for tomorrow is stay at home. You can do Zooms, you can do Facetime, but don't gather together in large numbers, especially if you're eating and drinking you can't wear a mask.
This is a time for this year's Super Bowl to really double down on the things that we know to do to keep ourselves safe:
[11:09:50]
WHITFIELD: And make it that much more memorable that, you know, you're having to do Super Bowl a little differently, a lot differently, in order to keep it safe for everybody.
Dr. Mike Saag, thanks so much. Good to see you.
DR. SAAG: Thanks for having me.
WHITFIELD: And we know many of you are having trouble finding vaccination locations or even making appointments.
Well, we've got you covered. Go to CNN.com/health and you'll find a link showing you where to find vaccine information in your state.
As President Biden moves forward with his $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, he's tempering expectations around some of its initial proposals, in particular the minimum wage.
Here he was on CBS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORAH O'DONNELL, ANCHOR, CBS NEWS: You also want to raise the minimum wage to $15. Is that something you would be willing to negotiate on in order to get Republican support?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, apparently that's not going to occur because of the rules of the United States Senate.
O'DONNELL: So you're saying the minimum wage won't be in this --
BIDEN: My guess is it will not be in it, but I do think that we should have a minimum wage stand by itself, $15 an hour and work your way up to the $15. It doesn't have to be boom. And all the economics show if you do that, the whole economy rises.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: CNN White House Reporter, Jasmine Wright is in Wilmington, Delaware where the president is spending the weekend.
And Jasmin, before we talk about the minimum wage, do we have any more clarity as to why the president decided to go back home to Wilmington this weekend? I know his press secretary was a bit evasive on it yesterday.
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: well, Fred, at the moment, we just have Biden's words, President Biden's words yesterday saying that he's looking forward to being home, seeing his grandchildren here in Wilmington and getting some of these things that he still has yet to move to the White House.
WHITFIELD: Ok. All right. So let's talk about the minimum wage provision and if there's a feeling that the president is going to get more Republican support by compromising, say, on that?
WRIGHT: Well, Fred, it's not just Republicans potentially that's dropping this minimum wage provision from the COVID relief bill would (INAUDIBLE). It's also some moderate Democrats who aren't fully on board with the wage increase.
Now, of course we know that Dems can't lose a single vote going into these -- going into the COVID relief bill because of their slim majority. But President Biden has made it clear really in his most direct criticism of Republicans to date that he is ready to go forward with this bill, with or without them.
And he used those sluggish job numbers yesterday to defend both the size of his bill, the $1.9 trillion price tag, but also the speed and urgency in which he wants to get it done.
Now, we know that Biden said he is not really interested in getting into these full lengthy negotiations with Republicans if that means taking time to talk with them through it and they likely or possibly won't even sign onto the bill later on.
But it is still an open question of when exactly this bill can get done. As we know, the senate will turn to impeachment next week, tying up that chamber.
WHITFIELD: Jasmine, also we heard President Biden, he was asked about whether former president Trump should receive classified intelligence briefings, often a departing president still has access to that. And how did Biden explain/justify his response?
WRIGHT: Fred, Biden said that he didn't think that President Trump should -- excuse me, former President Trump should still be getting these intelligence briefings. And he was asked by CBS what he is afraid of. Take a listen to his answer here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I would rather not speculate out loud. I just think that there's no need for him to have that intelligence briefing. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: now, sources have previously told CNN that former President Trump at this point has not requested an intelligence briefing, but it is a tradition that is afforded to past presidents. So this would be breaking that tradition, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jasmine Wright in Wilmington, Delaware. Thanks so much.
All right. Still ahead, the insurrection. One month later, nearly 200 people facing charges as the Justice Department warns of dangerous consequences if a member of the Proud Boys is released from jail. Plus, a civil war within the GOP. Embattled Congresswoman Marjorie
Taylor Greene sounds off after being stripped of her committee assignments. So where does the party go from here?
[11:14:44]
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WHITFIELD: Today marks one month since the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. President Trump's impeachment trial is just days away and so far nearly 200 people have been charged by the Justice Department.
However, there have been very few serious charges filed. Authorities have yet to charge anyone in the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
CNN's Marshall Cohen is following the investigation for us from Washington. So Marshall, what is the latest?
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey Fred.
As you mentioned, the most important investigation, perhaps, into the murder of Officer Sicknick, they have been struggling a little bit to build that case.
Federal prosecutors are looking at all the video from social media, from surveillance cameras, et cetera. And we've reported that they have struggled to pinpoint the exact moment when he was killed. Obviously, Fred, footage like that could really go a long way in terms of securing an indictment against the perpetrator or perpetrators.
[11:20:00]
COHEN: Separately from that, though, we are learning about some of the members of that mob, amazingly, were police officers as well. Police officials in Seattle announced this week that they can confirm that six of their own were in the crowd. That's on top of the nearly two dozen current or former members of the military that we've identified as being charged with federal crimes.
So it really goes to show you that there were some members of law enforcement on both sides of that police line. It's really staggering.
And, Fred, we're also learning late last night about The Proud Boys, the far right extremist group, about ten of their members have been charged. The Justice Department is warning in new court filings that they may be planning future attacks.
They've said -- and this is their words -- that they will be continuing to foment rebellion. Rebellion -- that's a heavy term. So we'll be keeping an eye to see if more charges come out of that with The Proud Boys.
And finally, Fred, you may recall the Texas flower shop owner who went viral this week because she asked a judge to let her go to Mexico for her vacation. Well, the judge ruled, the judge weighed in last night. This defendant, her name is Jenny Cudd, she will be allowed to go on vacation near Cancun later this month. Of course, when she comes back, Fred, she's facing a felony indictment to deal with. So, you know, a little vacation now, but she's in a world of hurt because these are some serious charges.
WHITFIELD: The bizarre just gets even more bizarre.
COHEN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. Marshall Cohen, thank you so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up next, the Republican Party at a crossroads. Controversial Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene punished. Is it a step forward or could the move backfire?
Former Congressman Charlie Dent joins me live.
[11:21:57]
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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.
The Republican Party is at a critical crossroads. This week, the House voted to strip Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments. The removal, a punishment for her past support of Qanon and other controversial conspiracy theories.
11 Republicans joined Democrats in removing Greene from her posts, showing the divide is very real within the party.
A defiant Greene, though, is not backing down. She lashed out at the lawmakers who voted to oust her and claimed the Republican Party is still one that belongs to Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Free speech really matters and yesterday when the Democrats and 11 of my Republican colleagues decided to strip me of my committee assignments, education and labor, and the budget committee, you know what they did? They actually stripped my district of their voice.
I had the greatest opportunity yesterday, and I'm so grateful for it. I got to say what I had done wrong. And do you know how freeing that is?
I'm not kidding, I seriously feel blessed by God because I got to do it on a world stage. Record number of Republicans voted for President Trump. Do you want to know why? It's because they loved his policies.
The party is his. It doesn't belong to anybody else.
This impeachment trial that's going to happen next week is a circus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Julian Zelizer is a CNN political analyst and a professor and historian at Princeton University. He's also the author of "Burning Down the House". Also joining me is Charlie Dent who is a CNN political commentator and a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania. Good to see both of you.
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you, Fred.
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to see you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. So Charlie, you first. You know, what are Republican leaders telling you about the trajectory of the party?
DENT: Well, the trajectory of the party is actually -- it's not good right now. I think everybody understands that.
In fact, just yesterday I participated in a forum or a summit where we talked about the future of the party, should there be a new party or a new faction? A new faction within the party or one that operates independently of the party?
That's the conversation that many Republicans are having and we're united around core principles like democracy, rule of law, measured statements.
And, you know, we're against cronyism and we're against this type of ugly populism that we've witnessed over the last four years under President Trump and folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene.
So I think many of us are really beginning just to dive into this conversation.
WHITFIELD: So it sounds like there's a consideration of surrendering the party to a fringe element?
DENT: Well, I think that's a real fear. I mean you just led up with Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments. And let's be perfectly honest.
You know, the Democrats now have a recorded vote of 199 Republicans basically defending her right to serve on a committee. I mean Republicans would say pick on AOC or the Squad and use her to define other Democrats.
Well now, it's going to be a fair turn of events. Democrats are going to do the same thing with Marjorie Taylor Greene, except they have a recorded vote. And that is a very big deal.
[11:29:49]
DENT: So I think Republicans right now, you know, have to -- should have never put themselves in a position where the Democrats did what Republicans should have done themselves, which was remove her from the committees and also, frankly, disinvite her from the Republican Conference.
WHITFIELD: Is there almost like a resounding fear that is being gauged (ph) by you and your colleagues, a fear that Republicans have of Donald Trump, even though he has left office?
DENT: I think there's far too much fear. That has always been the problem.
Talk to those ten members of the House Republicans who voted to impeach. In many respects they feel quite liberated. They're not fearful. I mean, they did what they did. They're resigned to the fact that they may have cost themselves their jobs.
But I've always said, sometimes you have to risk your job in order to save it. And that's what they did. So this conversation is just beginning, the fight, the battle of the future of the party is really just -- it's just opening up now.
WHITFIELD: Julian, your book "Burning Down the House" is all about how today's hyper partisan politics in the Trump era can be traced back to the rise and fall of former house speaker Newt Gingrich and his hard ball, you know, style politics.
What is the cost to democracy of having a major party with so much internal divide?
ZELIZER: Well, I think it makes governing very hard. I think when you have one of the two parties being radicalized at the top, when that party is in power, they're going to push for policies that are far off center from where a lot of the public is.
And then as an opposition force, you have a party that's willing to do almost anything and willing to include very extreme elements in its coalition to battle the president.
And so that doesn't make for a functional democracy and it legitimizes very extreme parts of the political spectrum. And that's the conversation about Congresswoman Greene.
I don't think she's actually an equivalent to AOC. It's not about someone just being on the far right. Someone being on the far right and saying and engaging in activities which just shouldn't even be permissible anywhere, let alone on Capitol Hill.
WHITFIELD: Charlie, Congresswoman Greene, she won her Georgia district by getting nearly 75 percent of the vote. She also won unopposed. You know, voters in her district seem split on the controversy surrounding her.
Take a listen to the sentiment of many.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do think she should be taken off these committees in congress.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's a bad idea.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think she should resign from Congress?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It might be better for her to do that before getting put out.
TUCHMAN: And the final thing I want to ask, if you knew these things, you told you didn't when you voted, would you have not voted for her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
TUCHMAN: You voted for Marjorie Taylor Greene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: You know about the hateful and violent things she's said or liked or done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not all of them.
TUCHMAN: Not all of them, but you know of some of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
TUCHMAN: And she hasn't apologized for it. Does that bother you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it doesn't. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it but it doesn't bother me.
TUCHMAN: I mean even the fact that she -- even the fact that she's cast doubt on whether a plane crashed in the Pentagon on 9/11? I mean families are still mourning today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.
TUCHMAN: Does that not bother you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That does. Something did happen.
TUCHMAN: Why doesn't she just apologize? Have you ever thought about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really.
TUCHMAN: Does it trouble you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a lot. No more than everything else that goes on in Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, man, I believe that -- I mean, I've done stuff that I regret, you know. And I would hate for people to judge me on that. So.
TUCHMAN: Have you ever talked about eating babies? Because that's what Qanon believes and that's what she's supported in the past. It's kind of different than other things, right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I mean. Yes, I guess so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's talking about what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talking about eating babies. I mean.
TUCHMAN: That's not cool, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I wouldn't say so.
TUCHMAN: Does that trouble you then?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, with two babies, I would say that did.
TUCHMAN: Do you feel regret for voting for her knowing this now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: You do?
So do you think there should be repercussions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: So do you think she should be taken off these committees she's on in congress which gives her power?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: You do? Do you think she should quit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She should think about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So that's our Gary Tuchman talking to a number of people who live in the district of Congresswoman Greene.
So then Charlie, I mean does it seem as though party members are struggling with an opinion about her when it seems pretty clear a lot of her constituents, now that they feel like they have a better handle of who she is, they have a better handle of their opinion about her?
DENT: Yes, absolutely. Look, this is really where leadership needs to step in. When a member of Congress becomes a distraction or an embarrassment and that is certainly what we have here, oftentimes I saw Paul Ryan do it, I saw John Boehner do it. They basically sat those members down and oftentimes those members resigned on their own. If they didn't, sometimes those resignations were forced.
[11:34:51]
DENT: That's how you deal with this. And frankly I said last summer, Fred, that this woman Greene should have been given the same kind of treatment that Steve King had, that is that they basically ostracized him. That is no committees, not inviting him to the Republican --
(CROSSTALK)
DENT: -- and we're going to defeat him and we're going to defeat this woman in the primary in 2022 in the Georgia primary. That's how they should treat her.
And that would send a message to the people in northwest Georgia to send an acceptable alternative. Remember Steve King was defeated in his primary after the leadership said enough. Kevin McCarthy put his foot down on it and he said enough. And Iowa sent a replacement, who was obviously much more mainstream.
WHITFIELD: Julian, how potentially might this approach with Congresswoman Greene backfire on Republicans?
ZELIZER: Well, obviously Republicans are scared that if they do this, if they engage in some kind of primary tactic, it will blow back against them, because not only her supporters, but the people who have been loyal to the former president will be out to get their seats.
I think the bigger issue is they're actually exposing where the Republican Party is. Congresswoman Greene is an extreme version of what we have seen at all levels, including the presidency. And so I think the backfiring is the party might have to reckon with what it has become in the last few decades and it's going to be very hard to move to another place because this is where the party has landed.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now, gentlemen. Julian Zelizer, Charlie Dent -- good to see you both. Thank you.
ZELIZER: Thanks Fred.
DEN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, a handful of cities across the country are now requiring so-called "hero pay" for grocery store employees in their communities. How some grocery chains are pushing back.
[11:36:35]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Since the pandemic began, labor groups have been pressing to get frontline workers hazard pay. Los Angeles is now the largest city in the country to move forward with a plan requiring grocery stores and drugstores to pay employees an additional $5 an hour.
But hero pay has its opponents, including the employers signing the checks. When the nearby city of Long Beach passed a similar measure, the grocery chain Kroger responded by closing two stores there. They say city officials are overstepping their authority.
L.A. City Councilman Kevin de Leon joining me right now. So Councilman de Leon good to see you. So when your city council took up the issue, did you take into account that these two stores closing in neighboring Long Beach might take that kind of action? Are you worried that now that could happen in some of L.A.'s poorest neighborhoods as well?
KEVIN DE LEON, L.A. CITY COUNCILMAN: Well, a couple of things, Fredricka, first and foremost, good morning. Thank you for having me here. It's indeed a great pleasure.
The proposal (INAUDIBLE) these workers is at the heart (ph) of all is fair and it's straightforward, temporarily provide an hourly wage for these frontline workers because they put their lives on the line every single day. In fact, they put their families at risk in contracting COVID-19.
These are women, these are working men, these are workers of color and crucially single mothers again, who do everything within their power to make sure that we, America, are fed and we have food on the table.
Now, let me underscore the following, because I want to put this in context. In Los Angeles County alone, we have 10 million estimated population. If Los Angeles is the epicenter for COVID-19, then my district is in fact ground zero when it comes to infections, as well as deaths. A lot of my constituents are the very grocery workers who live in very dense neighborhoods, multi generations under one roof.
They deserve hazard pay.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: But doesn't part of the issue becomes who pays for it?
DE LEON: Without question but let me put this in context, too. Just last year alone, Kroger, the fifth largest grocery retailer in the entire world, made a windfall of profits of $2.6 billion. In fact, they spent last year during the pandemic, 2020, buying back their stock, more than $1 billion.
I want to put this in context because in southern California alone, the average southern Californian had at home an average of ten meals per week during the global pandemic and that has increased dramatically to 17 to 21 meals per week. So grocery chains such as Kroger have had a windfall of profits during the global pandemic.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And so you're saying because they have enjoyed that kind of profit, that should trickle down to the frontline workers, the people who are operating those stores so that people can get food, their sustenance.
So let me ask you this. you know, according to the "L.A. Times", you know, two other California cities, Oakland and Montebello have been sued by the California Grocers Association. So is that a concern?
[11:44:48]
DE LEON: Clearly that's a concern when they put workers' lives on the line, but it is incumbent on me and so as other elected officials to do everything within our power to help improve these human condition for all individuals, regardless of who they are and regardless of where they come from.
So without question this is a very clear message to me and the rest of America during a global pandemic, we need to come together and we need to protect each other, back each other up.
This is very un-American, what Kroger and other retail chains threatening local municipalities that in fact, if you even fathom the thought, increasing hazard pay for our frontline heroes who give us -- who bag -- clerk us, who actually bag our food, that in fact we're going to shut down these grocery stores. Many grocery stores in communities of color where we already have food deserts, where we already have a lack of access to fresh food and vegetables, quite frankly, I think it's un-American.
WHITFIELD: You ran on addressing the city's homelessness crisis, one that has been exacerbated, of course, by this pandemic. You were also present at an extraordinary hearing this week, held in a tent on Skid Row, part of your district. The judge who called you there says the city isn't doing what it promised to fix this.
So how do you plan to change that? What is the next step forward?
DE LEON: Well, I can tell you this, Fredricka, the action from the U.S. Federal Judge Dave Carter was extraordinary, convening the city attorney, council members and other elected officials to a hearing by court order right in the middle of Skid Row.
I have the largest number of unhoused individuals, not just in the city of Los Angeles, but in the entire United States of America. I have more unhoused individuals than the city of Chicago, Houston, Phoenix as well as Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento, to put this in context.
But the bottom line is this. I've introduced a plan, a way home, that calls for 25,000 housing units by the year 2025. We can't cut corners, we can't cheat. We have to acquire housing for unhoused community members because it's both shocking as well it leaves an indelible mark of shame that we have so many family members and increasingly single mothers with children living on the streets, in our parkways, in our tents, alleyways, in their cars and RVs.
This is one of the wealthiest cities in America, the city of Los Angeles. And the fact that we have so many folks living on the streets, again is shocking and it leaves an indelible mark of shame.
So we need to build for housing, we need to acquire, we need to (INAUDIBLE), we need to access hotels, because tourism has dropped considerably, because of the coronavirus. We need to buy those hotels and we need to convert those hotels into permanent housing and we need to do it now, not in five years.
WHITFIELD: And who pays for that? Because money is always an issue.
(CROSSTALK)
DE LEON: Money is always an issue. But collectively we can always find money when we talk about building more airplanes or we're talking about building more military weapons. But we never find enough money to help those who need the help the most.
I think we can find that money whether it's at the state, local or federal level. It's all hands-on deck. That means every governmental official from the president of the United States to the governor and legislature, to the city council, county board supervisors, must work collectively to improve the human condition for our incredible homeless community members who live in misery every single day in the streets of Los Angeles.
WHITFIELD: All right. We will leave it there for now. L.A. City Councilman Kevin de Leon, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
DE LEON: Thank you, Fredricka. Have a great day.
WHITFIELD: You, too.
All right. Straight ahead, it is Super Bowl weekend and tomorrow's game will be one of a kind. We're live in Tampa with all the preparations and excitement.
[11:48:24]
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WHITFIELD: All right.
Super Bowl Sunday just hours away now. The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers set to face off for a title under unprecedented circumstances.
CNN's Coy Wire joining me now from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. So Coy, what are the teams and the fans going through today, just a day ahead of the big kick-off?
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. It's a given idea of how different this Super Bowl is. When I went to pick up my credential, I was the line. Not a single other person. When normally there are lines all day long for media all around the world.
Now, The scene inside Raymond James as you mentioned will look and feel a lot differently than any other Super Bowl as well. 30,000 card board cutout fans to go along with a record low of 25,000 real fans, due to COVID restrictions, of course.
But the league's still trying to bring greater purpose to the event. I talked to the NFL's Peter O'Reilly, a.k.a. the person behind the sport's biggest night about the seats that have been reserved for heroes, health care workers leading the fight against the pandemic. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER O'REILLY, NFL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT: The fact that we've been able to invite 7,500 vaccinated health care workers to be our guests, get free tickets to the game. Two goals there, just to thank and celebrate those people who have been on the front lines and will continue to be. And also to use the stage that we have to educate and point to the efficacy of the vaccine that will help us get through this period.
So from a football standpoint we're proud that we've been able to, with our clubs, to work our way to this point. But want to use the stage we have to deliver a strong message and we think an important one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:54:47]
WIRE: Fred, we want to tell you this story about a 12-year-old boy named Taeden Johnson (ph), just experienced a devastating tragedy.
Last Wednesday in Athens, Georgia the Johnson's home caught fire. The family was trapped inside. Taeden escaped, running to a house nearby to call 911 but Taeden's mom, grandmother and little sister did not make it out.
We have pictures of Taeden with his mentor Zach Hendricks who has started a GoFundMe for Taeden. It's over $200,000 now. The family -- he lost all the family belongings in that fire as well.
Yesterday Atlanta Falcons star defender reached out to lift his spirits up with some Super Bowl tickets. So young 12-year-old Taeden will be here. He has a dream of playing professionally one day and he has never been to an NFL game.
We want you to join us for more story lines surrounding the big game. Today at 2:30 Eastern is kickoff in Tampa, a CNN Bleacher Report special -- myself, Andy Scholes, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We're going through all the big story lines of the big game tomorrow, Fred
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, our hearts go out to Taeden. Wow, big hug to him.
Coy Wire, thank you so much for bringing that to us and everything else. And we'll be watching of course, at 2:30 Eastern time.
We'll be right back.
[11:55:59]
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