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CDC: Nearly 37 Million Vaccine Doses Administered; U.S. Showing Slight Decline In Coronavirus Cases; CDC: Watch Superbowl With People You Live With, No Large Parties; Proud Boys Members Face New Charges Over Capitol Attack; Pennsylvania "Free Store" Helping Those Who Need It Most; Fox Cancels "Lou Dobbs Tonight" Amid $2.7B Lawsuit. Aired 12- 1p ET

Aired February 06, 2021 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The U.S. ramping up efforts to fight the coronavirus as the country faces new emerging challenges. 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 be complacent. The U.S. is seeing an increase in some of the new variants of the disease.

Virginia just reported 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 and with that in mind experts are warning Americans against holding larger Superbowl parties tomorrow.

The CDC offering new guidance that you should only watch the game with people you live with to prevent new outbreaks. Several sports stadiums are opening up as mass vaccination sites across the country. The NFL is offering all 32 of its stadiums to the federal government to help speed up vaccination process.

Several sites are already open. CNN's Polo Sandoval is at the Major League Baseball Yankee Stadium in New York. Another new mass vaccination site so Polo, what are you seeing today.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Only two days in Fred, and there's certainly a high level of excitement of people who are able to actually make it here with those appointments and are ready to go and get the vaccine.

You're actually joining me at the very front of the line. This is where folks get to where their speak to some of the folks who are helping with those efforts including members of the National Guard and then show that proof of that they live in the Bronx and do in fact fit in those eligible categories of folks that are able to get vaccinated. They make their way inside, get that much anticipated shot and then

and then leave here. One woman told me she was about 15 minutes, it was a relatively smooth process and I have to tell you really is great to see the number of people who come out here, especially older members of the community.

I've seen many people who are bringing their parents here. Obviously quite vulnerable to this horrible virus making sure that they're protected. The fact that this is happening in the Bronx is certainly no accident, given its predominantly black and Hispanic population, many who have felt that perhaps this was long overdue and that is why city officials are making sure that it is only people from these communities that have been particularly hard with the highest transmission rate at this point that are able to get that vaccine.

Statewide, we do know that about 3.3 million vaccines have been distributed. Out of those about 2.1 million have been administered so that's obviously a promising number but it's still very clear that officials in the city of New York want to aim higher, want to get more people protected and that's one of the reasons why New York and really many parts of the country as well are continuing to move forward with these vaccination efforts at about 1.5 million a day.

But as we heard from one health expert yesterday on our air say, we still have only about 2 percent, roughly 2 percent of the population vaccinated and that's still nowhere close to that herd immunity that they would like to achieve so that we could at least try to get ahead of these variants that are expected to become the predominant strain coming on.

But that's basically what we're seeing here in New York. Again, two days in. The goal is to vaccinate close to 15000 people in a week at least at this location.

WHITFIELD: All right, pretty encouraging numbers Polo Sandoval, thank you so much at Yankee Stadium. Atlanta's NFL's Mercedes Benz stadium is entering a new phase of vaccinations today. CNN's Natasha Chen is there for us and Natasha, who is getting vaccinated there today?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred in the last few minutes, we just heard the 600th person being called up for a vaccine. 600 before noon and today is all about the employees of local school district so Fulton County schools, Atlanta public schools, also employees who drive for the public transit system here Armada.

I have with me Ron Wade. He's the Chief Human Resources officer of Fulton County schools. So you've got the eligible people among your employees who can get vaccinated right now. That's people older than 65, health care workers. Tell me about how difficult it's been to get them to get vaccinated? Have you had to do some convincing efforts?

[12:05:00]

RON WADE, CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER, FULTON COUNTY GA SCHOOLS: Yes, we - when we again, this partnership with - we recognize that we're going to have to inform, provide and place access and incentivize. So to make sure that employees were basically properly informed in interest of getting the vaccination, we started with information sessions.

Just bring in experts in and have virtual sessions where about the employees could get the information, the correct information and hopefully that would motivate them to take the vaccine. The next step was to provide access and that's what we're doing here today with our partners at Fulton County board of health.

And also today we have a number of incentives for employees through our partnership with the Family First Credit Union will get opportunity to win $50 gift cards and a grand prize of a 70 inch television.

CHEN: OK, so the TV is the sweet spot.

WADE: The TV is the sweet spot.

CHEN: Get your vaccine and possibly get a TV and you're also getting your shot today?

WADE: I will be getting my shot today as well.

CHEN: And a lot of these folks are actually here getting their second dose right because they've already come a few weeks ago for the first?

WADE: Correct, this is the second in two events and so the majority of the roughly 698 Fulton County's employees are coming to get their second doses. Out of that 170 are getting their first dose today.

CHEN: Yes, so big picture though that's about 714 but you've got 14,000 employees. How are you continuing to make sure that school is a safe space when it's kind of a slow effort right now to ramp up everybody getting vaccinated.

WADE: We're really running all the preventive measures just like people - public health. We do have two options for families. They can do a remote or face to face. We'll provide our employees with our PPE, mask, hand washing, gloves if they want it and also you know we have our own internal contact traces so if we would have situations around COVID, we can properly trace it and make sure that is contained in our schools.

CHEN: Thank you so much Mr. Wade and I have to mention that he's been walking around with a spray bottle, disinfecting things and is actually the Superintendent of the school district whose calling people names to get a shot. So everybody's being put to work here today, Fred. WHITFIELD: Hey, every little bit counts, right and goes a long way. Natasha Chen, thank you so much and thanks to Mr. Wade there as well. All right, joining me right now is Dr. Seema Yasmin, a CNN medical analyst and a former CDC disease detective.

She is also the author of the new book 'Viral BS: Medical Myths and why we fall for them.' Congratulations on the new book, doctor. I'm wondering are you at all encouraged by the increased pace of vaccinations thus far? DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I am. It's good news, right?

It's gone up from about 1.1 million to 1.3 million and we're narrowing that gap importantly between the number of vaccine doses that have been distributed to states and those that have actually crucially been injected into people's arms so that is all promising of course.

We need it to keep going in that direction, we need to keep vaccinating more people upwards of maybe 2 million Americans a day but here's a thing that I really worry about Fredricka. If we focus solely on speed because speed is important, we could drop the ball on equitable distribution of vaccines and this worries me because nothing about the pandemic has been even or fair.

We've seen black people, indigenous people, people of color disproportionately impacted by the virus itself and now receiving the vaccine at low and slower rate than their white neighbors. I'll give you one quick example. North Carolina, 22 percent of the population there is black and actually black North Carolinians make up 26 percent of front line workers so very much exposed and vulnerable.

They make only 11 percent of those in North Carolina who's been vaccinated so disproportionate and we need to make sure that that does not happen across the board. The distribution and administration of vaccines has to be fair, has to go to the most vulnerable first.

WHITFIELD: I wonder if I could you know ask you to give me a little taste of your book when you talk - you know your title, you know among the myths, that really has a lot of people you know falling for, can you give me an example of what might be a myth that you believe people are falling for, that is a real setback.

YASMIN: So there are many myths now about vaccine. Some saying that the mRNA vaccines for example change your DNA. They absolutely do not. The mRNA in the vaccine goes into your body, your cells use that code to make the spike protein but then that mRNA disappears and it never interacts with your DNA, doesn't even get into the part of your nucleus where your DNA is stored.

There's been all these conspiracy theories that the vaccines for COVID-19 could make you infertile. Those are untrue as well so there's many. It's almost hard to keep up with the conspiracy theories and the misinformation but really important that we debunk them and give people the accurate information so they can be safe.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. I'm really glad you brought up that DNA one because I have a friend of mine who shared with me that was something that some of her friends were believing in it that the vaccination would change their DNA. All right, so let me now ask you about CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky saying the agency will release official guidance on school re-openings in the coming week. What are you expecting?

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YASMIN: I'm hoping that what is in these guidelines, if some concrete advice about whether the CDC believes teachers need to be vaccinated in order for schools to reopen because there's been a bit, it seems like flip flopping on this. We heard the CDC Director say a few days ago that maybe vaccinating teachers was not a prerequisite for opening schools and then we saw the White House Press Secretary kind of walk that back a little bit and say that you know she was speaking in a personal capacity.

We need to wait for the guidance. Interestingly a few days ago, there were three staffers at the CDC who published a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association, taking kind of like a really big overview look at the role of schools in the pandemic.

And what they're saying from looking a bunch of countries, looking at the U.S. as well is that schools didn't don't seem to be real hubs of infection and so you could read that as saying well, is the CDC going to come out with guidance saying that vaccines are not a prerequisite?

And then a couple of days ago the CDC director was on cable TV news saying, it's not just about vaccines right, it's also about making sure masks are distributed and worn in schools, it's about making sure that school classrooms are not too densely populated.

So I know that teaching unions and many people just really concerned about this. I hope we get some really solid evidence based guidance about how to safely reopen schools because President Biden has pledged that that will happen by the end of April.

WHITFIELD: All right because indeed resources sometimes is the barrier for some of these high schools or school districts to put some of these measures in place. Dr. Seema Yasmin, thank you so much.

YASMIN: Thank you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And we know many of you are having trouble finding exactly you know details on locations. Where to get those vaccinations. 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.

President Biden conceding that one major campaign promises may not end up being part of his $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. This as he signals that he is prepared to move forward on this plan with or without GOP support. New details straight ahead.

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[12:15:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, President Biden is pushing forward with his $1.9 trillion COVID - relief bill but he's also acknowledging that not everything he proposed will make it through negotiations including his federal minimum wage hike. Arlette Saenz is in Wilmington, Delaware where the president is spending the weekend.

Arlette, the president seems OK with fighting the minimum wage battle another day.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He does Fred. He is said in this interview with CBS that ultimately, he is not sure that that $15 federal minimum wage will ultimately survive. He is talking that up to the Senate rules process. Now this is something that Biden campaigned on throughout the 2020 presidential campaign, calling for that raising the minimum wage to $15.

But there have been some Republicans that have balked at that figure but he has also said that he believes that he can bring it up at a different time, if it is not part of this COVID - relief package. Now as these negotiations are still under way, the president indicated that one area that he will not budge on is those $1400 stimulus checks.

He wants to get that exact and that amount out to American families but he did say that he is willing to negotiate, when it comes to who will receive those checks. As you've heard Republicans calling them to be more targeted to ensure that they make it into the hands and the pockets of those American families that need it most.

So that is an area of negotiation that he is interested in talking to Democrats and Republicans about but when it comes to that $15 minimum wage the president indicating that it just may not survive in this COVID-relief package. Of course, there are always give and takes in negotiations and that's one that he's given.

WHITFIELD: And then we also heard Present Biden talk about whether former President Trump should continue to get Intel briefings.

SAENZ: That's right. President Biden talked about the fact that he personally does not believe that former President Trump needs access to these intelligence briefings that are afforded typically to previous presidents. Take a listen to what he had to tell CBS news yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd rather not speculate out loud. I just think that there is no need for him to have that 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)

SAENZ: Now White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki just moments ago also elaborated a bit more on this. She said in a statement, "The President was expressing his concern about former President Trump receiving access to sensitive intelligence but he also has deep trust in his own intelligence team to make a determination about how to provide intelligence information if at any point the former president requests a briefing."

So ultimately what she is suggesting there is that it is the president's opinion that former President Trump should not be receiving those classified intelligence briefings but ultimately it will be up to the intelligence community to make that decision. Now the latest reporting that we have is that former President Trump

has not requested one of those briefings as presidents - previous former presidents have done in the past so that is still something that could come up for this intelligence community to assess if the president - the former president does decide to go that route.

WHITFIELD: All right, in other words the door is always open for that. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much. All right, House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy survives what has been one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent memory for the GOP but he did not come away unscathed. We'll have more from Capitol Hill, next.

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WHITFIELD: GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy has survived a tumultuous week for the Republican Party but he didn't escape unscathed. Questions about his leadership are growing after he took a hands-off approach to a pair of controversies within his caucus.

This week 11 Republicans joined Democrats in removing GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee post and in a separate vote, Republicans decided to keep Representative Liz Cheney in leadership despite her vote to impeach former President Trump. For more on this, let's bring in Suzanne Malveaux on Capitol Hill.

[12:25:00]

Suzanne, good to see you. So McCarthy still has several more challenges ahead to keep House Republicans united, right?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely Fred and what happened that was critical this week was a meeting, a five-hour meeting that occurred with Republican conference and all of them together on Wednesday. McCarthy leading them saying essentially look to 2022.

They want to take control of the House. They want to be the majority. He, of course is looking at the Speakership and so they must be united and so what he did was essentially try to give room for Marjorie Taylor Greene as well as Representative Liz Cheney for both their points of view.

It is a very difficult dance to do here Fred as many Republicans are quietly telling me that look, they just - they didn't want to have to react to all the tweets in the controversy of the former president, President Trump and now they've been faced with these same questions regarding Greene and her QAnon conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric that she has since distanced herself from and dismissed.

Never the less, they didn't want to have to deal with that on and on again. The more extreme element in the party, Greene saying something very important, significant. She said that she believes that the Republican Party is Trump's party and that is the direction she's going. On the other hand you had Cheney who very handily defended her

position, survived the leadership position in that vote among their own caucus there but Fred, today she is facing potentially a censure from the Wyoming state GOP for her impeachment vote against the former president.

And so there is a move afoot to punish those Republicans who are criticizing or going against the former president. At the same time, there are those who are trying to hold on to some conservative and moderate views but both of these sides, is far from certain whether or not they're really going to be able to get along and work along to get to that point where they want to be in 2022 and that is the majority.

WHITFIELD: And then you've got two Republican lawmakers who you know, are the first members of Congress to now be fined for violating the new security measures this one month after that insurrection that nobody can forget but tell us what happened here.

MALVEAUX: It's a $5000 fine immediately taken out of their paychecks. This is a new rule that went into effect just this past week and it was because there were some lawmakers, members who weren't going through the magnetometers, they were not - refused to be wanded to get on to the House floor where firearms are not allowed.

These two Republican congressmen, one of them a Louie Gohmert of Texas the other one Andrew Clyde of Georgia responding, saying both of them are going to fight this but for very different reasons. Gohmert saying it was kind of an innocent mistake if you will.

His statement saying, "They made it sound like I avoided the metal detectors. I've been abiding by those completely. And so all of a sudden somebody made an arbitrary and capricious decision to all of a sudden start wanding when they saw you go to the restroom."

He's going to fight that and then you have Clyde, very different response. He was saying on Fox news that he is really avoided these magnetometers. He doesn't believe in them. His statement saying, "We're going to fight it. I'm going to appeal it and then I'm going to take them to court because this is unconstitutional. We're all set to do that but I had to have standing in this."

And so Fred, there's even this debate within lawmakers within the party really what is responsible and acceptable behavior on the House floor and at the same time a real safety concerns from some of the Democrats that we heard this week saying that they don't feel safe among their own colleagues.

So there's a very far way to go before anybody seems to be able to work together and get something done.

WHITFIELD: Right and these safety concerns persist. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much. All right so as I mentioned today does mark one month since the deadly Capitol riot and now the 'Proud Boys' an extremist group with ties to white nationalist is coming under increased pressure for any role, its members may have played in the insurrection. Another 'Proud Boys' leader was arrested this week as federal

authorities investigate the group's ties to the deadly assault. Here now is CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the height of the insurrection, one rioter sent out a video of himself celebrating.

NICHOLAS OCHS, PROUD BOYS AFFILIATE: Hello.

TODD: Prosecutors say this is Nicholas Ochs, the founder of the Hawaii chapter of the far right pro- Trump group The Proud Boys who've often engaged in street battles with Antifa.

[12:30:03]

Now, Ochs along with another Proud Boys associate Nicholas DeCarlo are under indictment for conspiracy in the Capitol riot investigation. Prosecutors say they conspired to block Congress's certification of President Biden's win that they planned and fundraised for the effort, then joined with the violent mob inside the Capitol.

ARIEH KOVLER, ANALYST OF EXTREMIST SOCIAL MEDIA: The Proud Boys were organized, they were ready. They were near the Capitol early. A group of Proud Boys are one of the first groups to breach the cordon at one point in the Capitol. A number of them did get inside. And this seems to be talking to other -- to each other coordinating to a certain degree.

TODD (voice-over): Ochs and DeCarlo are alleged to have inscribed the words, murder the media on a prominent door into the Capitol. Ochs told CNN that day quote, we didn't have to break in. I just walked in and filmed.

Another Proud Boys associate Ethan Nordean has just been arrested. Federal prosecutors believe Nordean also engaged in some planning before January 6th, saying he asked for protective gear and communications equipment on social media prior to that day. Two others linked to the Proud Boys, William Pepe and Dominic Pezzola, are also charged with conspiracy. But in their case, prosecutors say they work together more during the attack.

Prosecutors say Pezzola is the one seen here smashing a window at the Capitol with a shield. According to CNN's analysis, at least 11 people with ties to the Proud Boys have been charged in connection with a capital riot, including Joseph Randall Biggs, who prosecutors believe had a walkie-talkie like device and who they say urged followers to blend in on January 6th.

In addition to the Proud Boys, three alleged members of the far right self-described militia group the Oath Keepers have also been indicted on conspiracy charges.

KATHLEEN BELEW, HISTORIAN OF RIGHT-WING EXTREMIST MOVEMENTS: I think now we see this moment of action of arrests and have an enormous amount of attention and pressure on a lot of these groups.

TODD (voice-over): Analyst Kathleen Belew says the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have the capability to take down the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and other groups, but she worries about what happens next.

BELEW: As pressure mounts on the Proud Boys today, one thing that has happened in the past with some regularity is that members will flee to other groups where they will continue their activism.

TODD (on camera): Meanwhile, the prominent follower of the QAnon movement who we've been reporting on Jacob Chansley, the man who wore a headdress and face paint and carried a spear inside the Capitol has been moved from a D.C. jail to one in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, because D.C.'s Department of Corrections couldn't get him the organic food that a judge ordered he should be given. Chansley had been on a hunger strike in recent days because he hadn't gotten organic food in jail.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this just in to CNN, officials are working right now to regain control of a downtown St. Louis jail after chaos broke out there overnight. About 115 inmates over took an area of the jail before they set fires, broke out windows, and then threw things from the fourth floor windows. At least one corrections officer was taken to the hospital after being attacked by the inmates. All but one of the inmates are now in custody and about 60 of them are expected to be transferred to a more secure facility.

[12:33:22]

As lawmakers debate over the stimulus relief bill, millions of Americans are facing poverty because of the pandemic. The Second Lady of Pennsylvania is taking matters into her own hands and she continues to help those struggling in her community. She joins us next to discuss her initiative called the Free Store.

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WHITFIELD: President Biden continues to call for the quick passage of his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan with or without support from Republicans. Biden is pointing to an underwhelming jobs report as proof Americans are still suffering. Just 49,000 jobs were added in January compared to the nearly 10 million jobs that have been lost since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

And as millions struggle for work and to make ends meet, there's a store in Braddock, Pennsylvania, that's trying to make a difference. The Free Store 15104, that's the zip code, is a volunteer driven store that receives surplus and donated goods and distributes them to those in need at no cost. The store was founded by Gisele Barreto Fetterman, who is also Pennsylvania's Second Lady. And she's joining me right now. Good to see you. GISELE BARRETO FETTERMAN, FOUNDER, FREE STORE 15104: Thanks so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Well, you know, this isn't a new store. I mean, you've been doing this, what, since 2012. But in this last year of this pandemic, you have seen something different in terms of the need and the people who have been taking advantage of the food store. Tell me what you've been seeing.

FETTERMAN: Absolutely. So we've been serving families for, you know, nine years. And what's been hard to see is during the pandemic, we've seen a change in that. Not only has our visitor base increase, but also we've seen previous donors who have now become shoppers.

And we've seen that change, you know, we always celebrate when we have a shopper who becomes a donor. It's a very special moment when there's that change. But we've seen the other, the opposite happen during this pandemic, which has been hard.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's been very hard. You know, we've been hearing from people in so many cities, saying, you know, they're standing in food lines asking for help for the first time in their lives and many describe it as being really humiliating and humbling. What are people telling you? How do they verbalize it to you?

FETTERMAN: It's the same thing. You know, they pull me aside but by now they've gotten to know me. We've spent time together at the store. And they realize that we've created a space of dignity. It's a space that, you know, the language we use is different how we treat people, is different. And we really believe that with food, specially, you should be able to pick what you want.

[12:40:16]

Many places, you'll get a box of things, it may be that you eat nothing in that box. So we really believe in a dignified approach. So families will get to pick what they need. Everyone is treated with love, accepted with open arms. So I think that has helped. They have felt safe coming to our space, because they've gotten to know it over the last several years.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's so nice. So the idea of this Free Store, I mean, it came out of your own experiences, right, after coming to the U.S. from Brazil as a little girl, you were undocumented, your mom would tell you, you know, have a good day, but be invisible today. So how did your life experience and finding worth in everything, you know, bring this idea of this Free Store?

FETTERMAN: Yes. It was completely inspired by my immigrant experience, you know, we came to this country, we were young immigrants. And we dumpster dived. And I remember these experiences. And I remember being shocked at what America would discard and how disposable things felt because that never would have happened in my country.

But it also informed me that there was plenty of food and things. It's just we're throwing them out. And I wanted to keep things out of landfills. But also get it into the bellies and into the homes of families who could use it because I was one of those families.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And then you're giving back in a very different way. And it's obviously making a tremendous difference. And then I wonder, you know, what do you see, you know, next? I mean, this has been a hard year, do you see that, you know, in the coming months, perhaps, even at least another year that the need is still going to be great for an outlet like this Free Store?

FETTERMAN: I think it is, you know, of course, I'm always hopeful that, you know, you know, one day we won't need them. But I think we should always need a space like that because we should be conscious about our environment. We should be keeping clothing in rotation, all that has an immense impact.

And I think we have to get away from this idea that because something may be gently used that it's no good, right? There is value in these things. There's value in places. There's value in people. And we really try to carry that message.

WHITFIELD: And before I let you go, I also want to ask you about your husband, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, you know, who gained national attention for his role in defending Pennsylvania's election results. He filed this week to possibly run for U.S. Senate. I'm sure you guys have talked about it. What do you want to share with us about the family plans and its pursuit to Washington?

FETTERMAN: Well, I'm going to -- I guess I'm going to find out on Twitter with everybody else.

WHITFIELD: That's how you're going to get notified like the rest of us, via Twitter? Are you sure, you don't want to share something with us on how you all are making plans? Are you starting to look for real estate anything like that?

FETTERMAN: No. I mean, we make decisions as a family. We make sure that, you know, the kids and Levi, they're all on board with whatever step we take next. And I think our family will be having a lot of meetings this weekend figuring it out.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, after those family meetings, you let us know. We have a place for you here. All right, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, thank you so much.

FETTERMAN: Bye-bye.

WHITFIELD: And of course, we'll have more news in a moment. More Americans are cooking during this pandemic. And in this week's human factor, food blogger Kevin Curry talks about the connection between food and mental health 11 years after nearly taking his life. Here now is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN CURRY, FOOD AND WELLNESS BLOGGER: I think my earliest memory of feeling depressed and anxious was when I was in the fifth grade. In our household, we kept family things to ourselves. I didn't feel like I had like an outlet.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his late 20s, Kevin Curry hit rock bottom, he lost his job and he lost his girlfriend.

CURRY: I decided that it was time to in my life. I had researched how to cut my wrist. And I had drawn sharpie marks on my on my arms.

GUPTA (voice-over): He believes a random call from a former counselor saved his life.

CURRY: I started to tell her what I was feeling. I have never unpacked that before anybody.

GUPTA (voice-over): Ultimately, medicine and exercise made Kevin feel better. But it wasn't enough. He needed to change his diet to improve his state of mind for the long term.

CURRY: You can never out train a poor diet. If I was going to make significant change, it had to start in the kitchen. So I started to cook.

GUPTA (voice-over): Kevin posted his dishes online.

CURRY: I started my blog in August 2012, it just begin to grow. That's what created Fit Men Cook, the global community of people dedicated to living healthier and happier lives.

[12:45:09]

GUPTA (voice-over): Today, Kevin uses social media to promote better mental health through food. He's also published his own cookbook, but he says his biggest accomplishment is simply being alive.

CURRY: I'm so happy that at the end of the day, with all that's going on, that I'm still here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:04]

WHITFIELD: All right, "Fox Business" has abruptly taken one of its most prominent anchors Lou Dobbs off the air. He is one of several people at "Fox News" named a $2.7 billion lawsuit filed by a voting technology company this week. And it all stems from the network pushing long debunked conspiracy theories that the November election was stolen, in other words, a big lie. Here's a preview of tonight's CNN Special Report for the record, the truth behind Trump's big election lie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR & SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Even before the election, White House officials said results should be known on election night despite no legal basis for that.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What we want election night to look like is a system that's fair, a situation where we know who the President of the United States is on election night. That's how the system is supposed to work.

BROWN (voice-over): Questions were also raised about whether Trump would commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost.

MCENANY: The President will accept the results of a free and fair election.

BROWN (voice-over): But what constitutes a fair and free election and who gets to decide that?

BEN GINSBERG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER: The ultimate decision that an election is free and fair comes into certification of the vote totals by the state, which is what you saw this year on December 14th.

BROWN (voice-over): A source tells CNN right after that December 14th vote, pressure began to build on Vice President Pence to stop Biden's victory. And conspiracy theories tested the foundation of democracy like never before.

GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA ELECTION OFFICIAL: It's Looney Tunes crazy town, you know, man bites dog. I can't even equate every kind of cliche and come up with how crazy they all are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Pamela Brown joining me now. So Pamela, while we hear less from the President these days, he did throw his support to Lou Dobbs last night. So in other words, the lie continues?

BROWN: Oh, absolutely. And the fallout from the lie continues. We are seeing that with these billion -- people who perpetuated the big election lie perpetuated those conspiracy theories. And the consequences in the fallout haven't even been seen yet, Fredricka.

You have millions of people in this country who believe the election was stolen because their President was telling them so. And then disinformation was spreading online about it. And so that really hurts the future in terms of policy debates with Joe Biden now in the White House with all these people thinking (INAUDIBLE) President with the midterms in a couple of years with just the future of America, as a democracy and a society that raises all kinds of questions how the big election lie will impact America, and the months and even years to come.

WHITFIELD: So one has to wonder, you know, Pamela, if lawsuits like this one from Smartmatic, if it might discourage other news outlets like "Fox" from running these kinds of narratives in the future?

BROWN: It certainly raises that question. And that was a huge move to remove Lou Dobbs from "Fox Business" because he had the highest rated show there. So that shows that once that lawsuit came from Smartmatic, it got their attention in a big way.

But in terms of how the other particularly right wing networks are going to deal with that in the future, you're seeing One America News, OAN, airing Mike Lindell's, the MyPillow CEO big election lie. He did a documentary claiming that he had proof behind what happened in the election. But then you're seeing the disclaimer from OAN -- play out.

But I -- nonetheless, we have to do our role to put the pieces of the puzzle together and show that there was nothing behind these allegations that Joe Biden was legitimately elected and even Republicans who contested the election like Madison Hopper (ph) interviewed even said, the election was legitimate. It wasn't fraudulent.

WHITFIELD: All right, Pamela Brown we'll leave it there for now. Look forward to this evening's special. We'll of course be watching. For the record the truth behind Trump's big election lie that airs tonight at 7:30 Eastern right here on CNN.

[12:54:28]

All right, the NFL making a major play to help get people vaccinated more on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

There are encouraging signs in the U.S. fight against coronavirus. But with new variants emerging, experts warn the public must remain vigilant. First, the signs of progress, 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. And new cases and deaths are dropping in most states across the country. But the U.S. is seeing an increase in some of the new variants of the disease.

[13:00:02]

Virginia just reported its first case of the South African variant.