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Lawmakers Relive Scenes of Insurrection; U.S.-China Relationship Reestablish; Two Masks Are Better Than One; E.U. Now Speed Up Their vaccine Rollout; U.S. Imposed Sanctions on Myanmar; Haitians Protest to Oust President Moise; Activist Freed After 1000 Days; President Of Organizing Committee Of Tokyo Olympics To Resign; Boris Johnson Defends Tougher Border Policy; U.K. Variant Is Going To Sweep The World; Battling Vaccine Hesitancy Amongst Minorities In United Kingdom; U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Could Reach 540,000 By March 6. Automakers Running Low On Microchips. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 11, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Welcome to all of you watching from around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
House impeachment managers are expected to wrap up their prosecution of Donald Trump later today. They laid out a powerful case on Wednesday, showing how rioters were closely following Trump's messages on Twitter as they smashed their way into the capital.
At one point, a man with a bull horn shouted out a tweet Trump had sent about his own vice president who was inside the capitol. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country, and our Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): But many Senate Republicans are already telling CNN they won't convict the former president for what happened that day. This as lawmakers on both sides relive the emotional trauma in chilling audio and video that hasn't made public until now.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has our report.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The rioters were on the hunt for Vice President Mike Pence.
CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
ZELENY: And for the first time today, the images revealed that a Secret Service detail rushing him, his family and aides down a back stairway of the breached capitol, barely escaping the mob. STACEY PLASKETT, HOUSE IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: You can see Vice
President Pence and his family quickly move down the stairs. The vice president turns around briefly as he's headed down. We can hear the mob calling for the deaths of the Vice President of the United States.
ZELENY: On the other side of the capitol, the target was Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
UNKNOWN: Nancy, Nancy! Nancy! Where are you, Nancy?
PLASKETT: The capitol police deemed a threat so dangerous that they evacuated her entirely from the capitol complex, rushing her to a secure off-site location. We know from the rioters themselves that if they had found Speaker Pelosi, they would've killed her.
ZELENY: This never-before-seen video from both inside and outside the capitol lay out in the greatest detail yet, a timeline of the siege on January 6th. Officer Eugene Goodman, a shining hero of that day, saving Senator Mitt Romney, approaching him in the hallway just off the Senate floor, instructing him to turn around to escape coming face to face with the insurrectionists.
And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and his security detail abruptly turning back and nearly running away after their passage to safety was blocked in the bowels of the capitol. The silent security footage unveiled by House prosecutors for the first time spoke volumes and offered a new perspective of democracy under attack.
UNKNOWN: Where are they meeting at? Hey, where (muted).
ZELENY: Stacey Plaskett, one of the impeachment managers, helped narrate the chilling images for senators who are certifying the Electoral College vote that day, and now must decide whether to convict or acquit President Trump.
PLASKETT: They were coming at the urging of Donald Trump to keep Congress a separate branch of government from certifying the results of a presidential election.
ZELENY: She and other House prosecutors offered a new soundtrack. This time with newly-unveiled police radio traffic to show how the attack escalated.
UNKNOWN: This is now effectively a riot.
UNKNOWN: Declaring it a riot.
ZELENY: Pelosi was taken to safety while her aides rushed into a conference room in the speaker suite of the offices on the front of the capitol. The rioters tried to break into that room, pushing again and again before moving on as members of Congress took steps to hide.
UNKNOWN: Take your pins off.
UNKNOWN: Pins off.
REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): The other end of that hallway, where the mob has amassed, and the officers are rushing to protect you.
ZELENY: The dramatic presentation was aimed at the jurors. All 100 senators who will decide whether Trump incited the riot, and it also was for history to chronicle the insurrection from the ages.
REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA), HOUSE IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: Because the truth is, this attack never would've happened but for Donald Trump, and so they came draped in Trump's flag, and use our flag, the American flag to batter and to bludgeon.
ZELENY: Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin called it a meticulous and well-orchestrated plan. Long in the works by Trump and his allies.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): The evidence will be for you to see and hear and digest. The evidence will show you that ex-President Trump was no innocent bystander.
ZELENY: Trump's own words echoed through the Senate chamber as prosecutors sought to use the former president's rhetoric to show his intent to incite the riot.
[03:05:00]
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We are not going to let this election be taken away from us. That's the only way they are going to win it.
(APPLAUSE)
ZELENY: But once the deadly capitol siege was underway, it was his silence that prosecutors said was damning.
REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Even when President Trump knew what his words were causing, he didn't do any of those things to stop the crowd. In fact, he did the opposite. He fueled the fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (on camera): Even after hours of dramatic testimony in the Senate chamber, which is quite literally the scene of the crime, it remains an open question, how many Republican senators, if any, will change their minds and vote to convict President Trump.
Several Republican senators said they were shaken by that video, and hearing and seeing the images of that day. But they still said prosecutors have yet to draw a correlation between the actions at the capitol and what President Trump said, and of course his lawyers will present their case. This trial could wrap up by the weekend.
ZELENY: Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Capitol Hill.
BRUNHUBER: All rightm joining me now to discuss all those developments is Julie Norman, a lecturer in politics at the University College London. Thank you so much for being here.
I want to start where our reporter Jeff Zeleny left off. So much, you know, powerful, emotional video from what we heard from Republican senators last night. After all that testimony, they seem, you know, unmoved, basically saying what they saw was troubling, but where is that connection with Donald Trump?
JULIE NORMAN, LECTURER IN POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: That's exactly right, Kim. The House managers did exactly what they set out to do. They built a very emotive case around what happened in the capitol on January 6th. They coupled that withs a rational logical narrative of the weeks and months prior to the right as well, using Trump's own words, tweets against him, showing how his actions and words led to what happened that day.
However, the challenge is going to be convincing Republican senators to agree with them on that point. Many Republican senators we know were deeply troubled by what they saw in the videos, were obviously very emotional about the memories of that day, but for many, they still will claim there's not a direct link between Trump and what happened, they will put the blame on the rioters themselves.
Many will of course use the cover essentially at the procedural arguments, that the trial is simply unconstitutional to try a former president, and allow them to avoid convicting Trump, but also avoid defending the actions of his supporters.
BRUNHUBER: OK. So, if they say, you know, the whole thing is unconstitutional, then you know, it doesn't really matter what Trump's defense team does? I mean, it certainly didn't, given their initial performance.
NORMAN: Well, the defense team even by most GOP reports was rocky from their own perspective. The defense team will need to come out stronger to make their case. However, this at the end of the day, it's more of a political procedure, rather than a pure judicial one.
We know that many minds have already been made up, and again, we expect the defense team to pull on some of those more political strings. They will try and frame this as a first amendment issue, that's something that resonates with many voters, of course.
They will try to frame it as vengeance from the Democrats, trying to come after Trump for a second time, and again, they'll simply try and break this connecting of the dots between Trump and the actual rioters and try and put the blame on these individuals rather than on the former president.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. So then if everything holds, you know, Donald Trump gets acquitted. So, aside from any moral victory, do Democrats get anything out of this process?
NORMAN: Well, Kim, I think that Democrats are hoping to not only have the trial in the Senate but a sort of trial of public opinion, if you will, to allow American citizens to see everything that happened on that day. And again, also to see Trump's words leading up to that, and make a decision for themselves, and also to have a public record of what happened. We know of course that the electorate is divided over 90 percent of
Democrats would like to see a conviction. About 85 percent of Republicans oppose that. And so, the ability to change many minds I think will still be an uphill battle. There may be a few in the middle. We know that Trump still has a lot of support.
BRUNHUBER: So, you know, given the amount of support that Trump has, we are hearing more and more information about Republicans who are, you know, trying to, perhaps establish a breakaway party, the one that's more center-right. Is this realistic? Is this viable? I mean, I covered something similar that was going on in California and it basically went nowhere.
[03:10:00]
NORMAN: You know, Kim, I think there's often talk about breakaway parties at times like this when we see these kinds of divisions. At the end of the day, though, the U.S. two-party system is pretty enshrined, it's very difficult for a third party to get any kind of traction. And most see that the potential losses from that outweigh the potential gains.
So, I think we'll hear talk about it, it's important conversations to have, but as you said, to actually move forward and to be implemented, I think that it would not be something that we'd see in the near future.
BRUNHUBER: All right, we shall see. Thank you so much for talking with us, we really appreciate it. Julie Norman in London.
President Biden spoke with Xi Jinping Wednesday, it was his first call with the Chinese leader since taking office. The White House says they spoke about trade, security and the coronavirus pandemic. And Mr. Biden called out the Chinese leader for alleged human rights abuses.
CNN's Selina Wang is following the story from Tokyo. Selina, on the hand the two men have spent a lot of time together, so that might help in this new relationship as president. On the other hand, looking at the readout of the call, there were plenty of contentious issues Biden brought up. So, where do they go from here?
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, Biden has made it very clear early on in his presidency that China is going to be a top priority. This is one of the most important bilateral relationships of the 21st century. And Biden has inherited a very messy one with China from Trump.
Now clearly, from a personal approach to Xi Jinping, Biden is taking a more moderate and diplomatic approach, but fundamentally, the Biden administration agrees with Trump's approach to be tougher on China. What they take issue with is the way that Trump went about it.
Now in this call according to the White House, Biden had raised concerns about Beijing's increasing aggression abroad as well as alleged human rights abuses at home. But also offer to cooperate on areas of mutual interest, including nuclear proliferation and combatting climate change.
Now according to Chinese state media, Xi Jinping had warned that the two powers must cooperate or risk disaster. He also warned Biden to tread carefully when it comes to Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Xinjiang saying an often-used phrase from Chinese state media that it's, quote, "a Chinese internal affair."
Now the key difference we are seeing with Biden is this return to multilateralism, once again working with friends and allies as well as a focus on investing at home in America especially in high technology areas to boost America's competitiveness.
Now we know that the Biden administration is planning this sweeping review of the Trump administration's approach in policies to China. But according to a senior official in the Biden administration, the tariffs Trump placed on China are staying in place for now, as the White House consults with Congress and allies and works through what sources of leverage the U.S. actually has.
Kim, it's going to be very important to see how these two great powers engage amid growing flash points between these two countries. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: So much at stake. Thank you so much, CNN's Selina Wang in Tokyo.
Protesters are back on the streets of Myanmar, and they have a powerful ally. The United States announced sanctions on military leaders in that country after last week's coup.
Plus, despite efficacy concerns, the World Health Organization is recommending the use of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. We'll have the details when we come back. Stay with us.
[03:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): A new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that wearing two masks could significantly improve protection against COVID. Researchers found that wearing cloth masks over a surgical mask can block more than 92 percent of potentially infectious particles and they say simply tightening a single mask can improve overall performance by nearly 20 percent.
Now on the vaccine front, the World Health Organization is recommending that all adults can use the Oxford AstraZeneca shot, and that includes people who are 65 years old and older. They WHO says the immune responses is almost the same as in young people. It says the vaccine can also be used in countries where more resistant variants are circulating.
Meanwhile, the E.U. is acknowledging its failures in the block vaccination rollout, it admits it was late to authorize vaccines but says they put safety first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION (through translator): We've made a choice to not make any shortcuts when it comes to safety or efficacy, and we fully defend that choice. There are no compromise possible when it's a matter of injecting a biologically active substance into an individual who is in good health.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): And German leaders have announced they are extending the country's partial lockdown until March 7th.
CNN's Cyril Vanier joins us live from Paris. So, Cyril, it's been a couple of bad weeks for AstraZeneca in Europe especially, but also in South Africa. Finally, now, with some good news.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kim. Yes, good to talk to you this morning.
Look, AstraZeneca is doing what it can at this stage with the help of European countries and European authorities to try and roll out its vaccine faster across the 27 member states of the European Union.
And so, the news that we've seen trickling in over the last few days is simply that more entities are going to help AstraZeneca produce its vaccine in Europe. So, there is going to be several firms that will bottle the vaccine, and that within months we'll be able to increase the capacity of the AstraZeneca vaccine to be delivered across the 27- member state of the European Union.
And that should help speed up the rollout of the vaccination program because as we know, the E.U. has been criticized for a slow rollout especially when they compare themselves to their now non-European neighbor the U.K. The U.K. has been doing very well, it has been able to vaccinate very effectively and very fast.
European countries not so much with Spain just the other day, saying that everyone who is under 65 who does not have a serious health condition, will probably have to wait six months before they can get vaccinated, just because Spain isn't going to get all the vaccines that it thought it would when it thought it would get them.
So, there is hope, Kim, that the vaccination rollout will speed up but we are not there yet.
BRUNHUBER (on camera): All right, thank you so much, CNN's Cyril Vanier in Paris. I appreciate it.
U.S. President Joe Biden says he will impose sanctions against military leaders in Myanmar after last week's coup in the country, calling on the military to release detained political leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Today I can call on the Burmese military to immediately release the Democratic political leaders and activists, and they are now detained including Aung San Suu Kyi. And she is, and also Win Myint, the president.
The military must relinquish power seized and demonstrate respect for the world and the people of Burma. As expressed in their November 8th election. So today, I'm announcing a series of -- a series of actions that are worth taking to begin imposing consequences on the leaders of the coup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): President Biden said the U.S. would prevent access to $1 billion in Burmese funds held in the U.S. and put sanctions on specific leaders who quote, "directed the coup." He said the U.S. would freeze assets that benefit the Burmese government but will maintain support for healthcare and civil society groups.
[03:20:03]
Meanwhile, demonstrators on the streets aren't backing down. They are back out for a sixth straight day. And a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy says that several senior party members were taken from their homes at various times Wednesday.
A bitter political dispute in Haiti has boiled over into the streets.
As you can see chaotic scenes there as police have been clashing with protesters even firing tear gas and they are demanding that the president stepped down, saying that he was violating the Constitution and that his term has expired but the president says that's not true.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann explains why
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP).
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These violent protests rage in Haiti, it's not clear who is the country's president. According to Haiti's Constitution, presidential terms last five years. Haiti's superior court of justice says that the term of President Jovenel Moise was supposed to have ended on Sunday. The president disagreed, arguing that a delay in his taking office after dispute election in 2015 meant that he had another year to go in power.
"We fight each other every day we need to admit the country is dying. I call on all of the elite to wake up," he says. "I heard people saying I'm a dictator, but I want to be clear. I have a mandate for five years and I will finish my term."
Each day that the stalemate drags on Haiti's crumbling institutions grow weaker.
Moise dissolve Haiti's parliament over a year ago by letting its mandate expire. The country needs to hold both legislative and presidential elections soon. Moise's political opponents want him out now. "In the name of the opposition, he says, I am sending a message to the
international community to understand the necessity of accompanying the Haitian people in the struggle for the respect of the Constitution."
So far, the Biden administration is backing the Haitian president saying Mise's term ends in 2022 and that's when he should leave office. But seven U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. secretary of state backing a transition and the opposition's demands that Moise step down immediately.
To hold on to power, Moise is employing an increasingly heavy hand. Haiti's justice minister said that 23 people were arrested on Sunday and accused of conspiring against the state. Including a Supreme Court justice that the opposition had named as interim president and it's supposed to have immunity.
Then police arrived at the Supreme Court, and on Monday, police and soldiers fired their weapons to disperse the demonstration, a witness told CNN. Two journalists were wounded, it's not clear who shot them. The community to protect journalists called on Haitian government to investigate the shootings. Protesters said they will not be intimidated.
"We continue to mobilize demand that Jovenel Moise leave power. He is currently a criminal he needs to leave and the opposition and civil society need to put in a new president," he says. Neither sides seem like they are backing down as Haiti's shaky democracy nears a breaking point.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): Saudi Arabia's most prominent women's right campaigner has been released from prison. Loujain al-Hathloul spend more than 1,000 days in prison for what critics have described as politically motivated charges. Her sister tweeted this picture hours ago after al-Hathloul arrived home.
International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has reported multiple times from Saudi Arabia and he joins us now from London. So, a huge relief and kind of a win for the Biden administration. You've been following the story for a long time, what's the latest?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it is certainly seems to look that way although I think sort of seasoned Middle East experts might say, this is sort of a move that you might find every four years when there is a new U.S. president and their overtures from various different countries to show that they are responding to the mood in the White House.
And in this case, you know, Joe Biden has made a central part of his policy that he wants to see human rights observed around the world. His phone call with President Xi of China just yesterday on that issue. But that issue focuses also on Saudi Arabia. You know, CNN has seen the charge sheets that relate to Loujain al-
Hathloul and they've said that she has been accused of activism for trying to overturn the kingdom's male guardianship laws where those have been change very recently as well. But she has also been accused of having contacts with foreign diplomats, and journalists, and part of her charge sheet included evidence that she had once applied for a job at the United Nations.
[03:25:03]
So, hers is just one of several cases in Saudi Arabia but it has attracted a huge amount of international attention and a huge amount of international pressure, and it's has taken a toll on her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON (voice over): This is what 1,001 nights in the Saudi jail have done to right's activist Loujain al-Hathloul. She campaigned for women to be able to drive, was arrested May of 2018. Finally, released Wednesday despite refusing to back down from her claims of torture, which the government denies.
President Joe Biden pleased.
BIDEN: She was a powerful advocate for women's rights, and releasing her was the right thing to do.
ROBERTSON: During a court appearance late last year, her family was shocked at her condition.
LINA AL-HATHLOUL, LOUJAIN AL-HATHLOUL'S SISTER: My parents saw that she was very weak, that her body was shaking, and that her voice as well. But even with that, she was still very focused and wanted to read her whole defense. her and other activists were being electrocuted, (Inaudible), beaten, deprived of sleep, force fed.
ROBERTSON: Now taking to Twitter, her family demanding all charges against her are dropped, and her torturers held to account. The U.S. State Department pushed for her release.
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I wouldn't want to attach motives to the conduct of any other government. What I can say is what I said previously, the release in this case would be a very possible development, something that we would welcome, it is something we have pressed for.
BIDEN: We are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen.
ROBERTSON: Indeed, since President Joe Biden took over from his predecessor, Saudi is seeing a sea change in attitude.
BIDEN: Upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity.
ROBERTSON: Human rights a cornerstone of his administration. Late last year, Saudi government officials were convinced of Loujain's guilt.
ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I believe the charges had to do with trying to recruit people in sensitive position in the government in order to obtain sensitive documents and give them to hostile powers.
ROBERTSON: Back then, the country's minister of state for foreign affairs said Saudi wouldn't bowed to international pressure to release Loujain.
AL-JUBEIR: We are not subject to pressure. We don't allow people to put pressure on us in order to do things that are against our interest.
ROBERTSON: It's not clear if minds are changed now, but in the past week, several other high-profile detainees have received suddenly leniency. Last Thursday, two Saudi American activists, Dr. Bader al- Ibrahim and Salah al-Haidar detained for 673 days were released on bail pending court appearances.
On Sunday, Ali al-Nimr, a teenager, when he was arrested for taking part in an anti-government protest in 2012, had his death sentence commuted to 10 years, released likely this year.
And Monday, the country's powerful crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, MBS, announced draft reforms. In part to improve human rights, a government statement said.
France's President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Loujain's release. The U.N.'s top human rights defender called on Saudi to release all others imprisoned for their human rights work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And I think what we're going to continue to hear is certainly from Loujain al-Hathloul's family expected to hold a press briefing of some -- of some part later today. Although, Loujain herself is unable to speak because of concerns about her sort of legal position at the moment.
We are going to hear a demand for redress in her case, I think that's certainly what we are going to see around the claims of torture again that the government there denies. And we've heard claims of torture from other of the detainees, one of the people I mentioned there Ali al-Nimr.
He claimed that he was tortured and had a confession extracted under torture while he was in jail, again, the judges there rejecting that when he was in court. We are going to hear more of that and I think we're going to hear more international pressure as well to release not just a high profile people that are being detained, but any others whose cases really do seem to fall under the auspices of perhaps, you know, people who were standing up for human rights being detained. Kim?
BRUNHUBER (on camera): Absolutely, all right, thank you very much for that. I appreciate it. Nic Robertson in London.
[03:30:00]
Well, the data will soon show some impact of the vaccine but only if people take it and in some of the case, minority communities, well, that's a challenge. So, later in the show, we will take you inside the outreach programs designed to reassure Brits.
But first, we are following reports of the president of Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee, he is stepping down. The latest in a live report next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to all of you watching all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, you are watching CNN Newsroom. We are following a developing story out of Japan, where there is word that the president of Tokyo's 2020 Olympics organizing committee will resign. Reports say Yoshiro Mori is stepping down amid a firestorm of criticism after he made sexist remarks about women that were leaked to the media.
Well, let's head straight up to Tokyo, where our Blake Essig is tracking developments. Blake, I mean it seemed almost inevitable when reporting of these comments came out. Now, the resignation seems to be happening. What's the latest?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, Kim, honestly kind of surprised that it has taken even this long to get to this point, given the current climate around the world, you know, regarding women. But public broadcaster NHK has reported that former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is planning on stepping down from his current role as president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee.
We are expecting that resignation to take place tomorrow after a Tokyo 2020 executive board meeting. It does takes that board approval to make the resignation official. Now, Mori found himself in hot water after making comments about a week ago when he was asked during a meeting of the Japanese Olympic committee about their effort to increase the number of women serving on its executive board from 20 percent to 40 percent.
He expressed concern about what's such a move might actually mean to the length of meetings. Here's what he said. A board meetings with lots of women take longer because women are competitive. If one member raises her hand to speak, others might think that they need to talk too. If you want to increase female membership, you would be in trouble unless you put time limits in place.
Now once those comments were leaked to Japanese media, Mori did issue an apology, he also came and you know, retracted his statements, but it didn't go as far as to resign. In fact, he said that he spent the past seven years of his life dedicated to the Tokyo Olympic Games, and that he had no intention to resign.
[03:35:08] As you've said earlier, a firestorm of criticism had followed. More
than 144,000 people at this point have signed a petition online calling for action to be taken against Mori. Hundreds of people who are volunteering for the games this summer have quit.
Naomi Osaka, the tennis superstar took to Twitter to call out his comments as ignorant and the International Olympic Committee went as far to say that the comments were absolutely inappropriate.
Now, as far as sponsors are concerned. They make up about half of what Tokyo 2020's projected revenue is going to be -- is expected to be about 3.3 billion U.S. Dollars in just in the past few days. We've heard from several of those corporate sponsors who have obviously come out, upset about the comments that Mori has made including Toyota who said that the comments do not represent the spirit of the games, or their company's values. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Alright. Thank you so much, Blake Essig in Tokyo. We appreciate it. Well, ahead, we will take you to the front line of the battle against vaccine hesitancy in the U.K. How community leaders are convincing skeptics of a shot safety.
Plus, new polls suggest more Americans are open to getting COVID-19 vaccines, restrictions you will be able to skip if fully vaccinated. We will explain just ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): The United Kingdom is cracking down on COVID- 19 variants. The government is trying to keep out mutations discovered abroad. They've introduced new measures that include mandatory hotel quarantining upon arrival, and the threat of jail time if passengers lie about their travel history. But the opposition party says that's not good enough, accusing the Prime Minister of acting too slowly. Boris Johnson is defending his policy. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We have amongst the toughest border regimes anywhere in the world. But people should understand that on a normal day, Mrs. Speaker, this time of year, you could expect about 250,000 people to be arriving in this country. We've got it down to about 20,000 of 5,000 of whom are involved in bringing vital things into this country, such as medicines, and food. I think that this policy is measured, it is proportionate, it is getting tougher for Monday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): Meanwhile, new U.K. cases are declining, but the country's chief scientific adviser says it's too early to tell if that's because of vaccines. They should start seeing those effects in the next couple of weeks.
Alright. Joining us is Dr. Peter Drobac, he is an infectious disease and global health expert at the University of Oxford. Thank you so much for joining us. I want to start with the so called U.K. variant and comments made by the U.K. health secretary who said it's going to sweep the world in all probability, in her words, a frightening prediction given how quickly this variant spreads. So, I just want to ask you, do you agree with that?
[03:40:11]
PETER DROBAC, GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERT, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: I do. It's a sweeping statement. But I think that is the case. We certainly saw how quickly it became the dominant strain here in the U.K. really over a period of weeks to a couple of months. There's some evidence in the U.S. that we've heard from Dr. Fauci and the CDC that the doubling time of this particular variant is every 10 days, and that by March it could be the dominant strain in the U.S.
So, this particular variant seems to have an advantage and that it is more transmissible so it can out compete other viruses. So we expect to see this continuing to spread around the world, and as we've learned here in the U.K., this variant is no joke. It really spread quickly, it forced us into another lockdown, so it's really a reminder that we need to double down in all of our efforts to control both through social distancing and non-pharmaceutical interventions, but also by exhilarating vaccinations.
BRUNHUBER: But -- OK. So, if that's true, I mean, it's more troubling because remember, now -- some people are finding that you can get infected in a lot shorter time just a few minutes of exposure so given that, do we have to re-evaluate what constitutes close contact.
DROBAC: Yes, I think there have been some misunderstandings about this and things that we put in place like the two meters of social distancing are probably actually not the most accurate way of thinking about this. We have to understand that this is an aerosol transmitted virus. And so think about it like cigarette smoke in the air. And if everyone around you is smoking. Your goal is not to inhale any of that smoke.
When you think about it that way then suddenly you want a lot more distance, and you really want to avoid prolonged time with others in indoor settings. So, that's one. I think, two now is that there are some important recommendations from CDC yesterday around double masking, and that actually finding that a good tight fitting mask which sometimes means putting a surgical mask with a cloth mask on top can dramatically reduce the risk of transmission. This is something that everyone should be considering now.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. Alright. So, I want to turn to the new tough border measures announced in the U.K. that I mentioned. So, I've had experts on here saying that these types of measures, they don't really work because you know, by the time you do them, the variants are already there and spreading. So, you argue they don't go far enough. Is that right?
DROBAC: Yes. That's right. I mean, if you look around the world at the places that have done a really good job of controlling the virus, and actually effectively eliminated in country transmission, an important part of their strategy was strong border controls. And that means enforce or monitored quarantine for all that are arriving into the country, New Zealand, Australia, where there is a major tennis tournament happening right now with people filled the stands, have taken this approach.
And the U.K., I think has also started to acknowledge and realize that in order to really get this under control, we have to do things within our borders. But we also have to prevent the importation of more virus. My concern is that what we are doing right now is just in a certain number of countries where there have been variance, but there a lot of other countries where they have been variants where there are no restrictions.
So, we are kind of playing a little bit of a guessing game. My view would be that if we really want to be aggressive about trying to eliminate transmission, this should be a blanket regulation for international travelers arriving into the country from anywhere.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, I guess part of the -- in the examples you cited there, they require robust testing and tracing mechanisms which certainly hear anyways we don't have. I want to turn to the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine news. It's important, because it's seen as the vaccine for the world. So, you know, for you, what's the importance of this announcement that we've heard from the WHO?
DROBAC: Yes. It's a very important announcement. You know, they are in a very challenging situation because we are operating with very limited data, right. We've heard in recent days, this report that a small study out of South Africa found minimal effectiveness of the vaccine against the so-called South African variant in preventing mild to moderate disease.
We know we have limited data about protection in the elderly, for example. But on the whole, we know that the vaccine is safe and as largely have been proven to be effective. And I think WHO came down to say that look in a situation, more vaccination is good in places where there might be specific concerns about a specific variant like South Africa.
Let's roll out in a measured way, so we can study it. Because we believe that will still protect against severe disease, hospitalization and death as all vaccines have so far. So, this is really important. Because we are now going to see a lot of countries around the world following the WHO lead in approving this vaccine. Hopefully we will finally start to get some vaccination into the global south.
[03:45:04]
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Absolutely. Always a pleasure, thank you so much Dr. Peter Drobac from the University of Oxford.
DROBAC: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Well, COVID-19 has been particularly devastating on communities of colors across the U.K. So now, religious organization are pulling together to reassure skeptics that the shots are safe. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us live from London. Salma, you have been visiting some of these communities. What are you seeing?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): well, as you've seen, Kim. Here the vaccination program has been moving at break neck speed. Millions of people already vaccinated but there's early studies that show that some are being left behind, particularly people of color. There is a lack of trust in public authorities.
So that's why people are turning to local champions. Turning to their own to get answers to their questions. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): A rare gathering under lockdown, Friday prayer at a mosque. Today's sermon (inaudible) is Imam (inaudible) fact check for the faithful.
UNKNOWN: There are people who have understandable questions and understandable concerns about the vaccine.
ABDELAZIZ: People of color across Britain were hit much harder by COVID-19. Pushing communities like this to turn to each other for answers.
UNKNOWN: This vaccine is absolutely halal. The vaccine that is being used in the U.K., they are permissible in Islam.
ABDELAZIZ: More than 100 mosques are taking part in this nationwide effort led by Muslims for Muslims to tackle vaccine myths into conspiracy theories. After prayer, Imam (inaudible) tells us the message which was delivered in three languages is just as important as the messenger.
IMAM QARI ASIM, MAKKAH MOSQUE, LEEDS ENGLAND: As an Imam, I have had to mediate on a number of occasions where the elder generations, the parents want to have the vaccines but actually some of their children were saying, don't have the vaccine, I do not want one more life being lost just based on misinformation.
ABDELAZIZ: How do you convince people, is it a religious argument? Is it a scientific argument?
ASIM: We have a panel of experts who are micro-nano-chip experts as well as doctors and you know, scholars of Islam. So, we present a different argument depending on who the audience is.
ABDELAZIZ: This doesn't impact the Muslim community alone. Government study shows that black and minority ethnic groups across this country have higher vaccine hesitancy, and lower trust in public institution. It is a potent combination and it could cost lives.
That is why members of London's Hindu community chose home turf. The (Inaudible) Indian temple school is now a public vaccination center. The woman behind the idea is temple devotee and health care professional, Hasmita Patel. HASMITA PATEL, HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL, TEMPLE DEVOTEE: I am very
proud of this school. Every day when I come in, I can view the temple and I can feel satisfied that you know, I'm in my community and I'm serving my community.
ABDELAZIZ: Officials in this diverse neighborhood of Brent admitted they failed to engage effectively with minorities at the start of the pandemic. Patel says these systemic inequalities cost lives.
PATEL: When somebody is concerned, it is really important to speak to them in their own languages because that comforts them. That's what they understand especially in the older population.
ABDELAZIZ: We followed one temple member as he gets his shot. His first language is (inaudible) but his joy is clear.
How do you feel?
UNKNOWN: Very, very happy.
ABDELAZIZ: Very, very happy.
When public leadership failed these communities they mobilized and organize to fight for their own.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ (on camera): It's hard really to overemphasize, Kim, just how hard these communities were hit by COVID-19. And yes, of course there are socioeconomic factors, there are structural factors like poverty, housing, all of these issues that played in. But there was also a lack of authority.
Even governments own reports show that there was a lack of confident cultural messaging that there was an inability to reach out to the local population in some of these areas and ultimately that cost lives. That's why you see these local champions, people within their communities stepping up to help, to see this not happen again in the vaccine rollout. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Very important reporting there. Thank you very much for that. I want to ask you about something, a wider question. I guess, we've heard Prime Minister Boris Johnson talking about, you know, too early to book summer vacations and now we heard the U.K. health secretary saying, the U.K. is doing everything to ensure people can have summer vacations. What is going on here?
ABDELAZIZ: Well, it is a bit of bad news for everyone living here. You know we have been under lockdown for many, many months, and hope was of course that there could be some sort of summer vacation. Summer holiday.
[03:50:06]
Yesterday the transport secretary saying that is absolutely not a guarantee. It is not promised essentially that anyone in the U.K. can travel not just within the U.K. but outside the U.K. That you can go on an overseas trip. Health secretary again, emphasizing that stay safe, I wish I could provide certainty to people.
I booked my own holiday in (inaudible), a few months from now, but I simply can't do that at a time like this. We are just going to have to wait and see how do things go with the vaccination program. That is the first question. And how do these variants around the world play out. Kim.
BRUNHUBER (on camera): Yes. A question we are all asking. Thank you so much Salma Abdelaziz in London.
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. could climb to 540,000 by the beginning of March. That's according to a new forecast published by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Plus, public forecast estimated 6,000 fewer by the end of February. The CDC also said the U.K. variant of the coronavirus is a likely responsible for up to 4 percent of COVID cases, here in the U.S. But the CDC Director says those cases had been spread across the nation yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CHIEF INFECTIOUS DISEASES DIVISION, MASS GENERAL HOSPITAL: It's important to note that some states have seen higher number of variant cases and that is the proportion attributable to V-117 in this states is likely to be higher than in other states. We do not believe the variants are distributed equally across the country at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): The numbers seem to have an effect on public willingness to get vaccinated. A new Gallup poll shows 71 percent of Americans are ready to get their shots which is up from 65 percent in late December. And to make things even better the CDC is now saying people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can skip quarantine if expose to someone with the virus.
Well, several major automakers warn, they may have to cut production because of shortages of supplies. An issue is not enough microchips. And it is not just automakers feeling the pinch, we will explain after a quick break. Stay with us
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Well, after a seven month journey through space, China's mission to Mars has successfully entered orbit. Tianwen-1 is now a step closer to landing on the red planet surface. China's national space administration says a rover will gather key data on Mars geological structure, soil and environment when it's touches down on the surface in May or June. China is now the sixth country to reach Mars. Now its perseverance rover is expected to land on Mars in a week.
Japanese auto giant, Honda is reporting a nearly 70 percent jump in quarterly profits, it is also raising its four year profit forecast by more than 20 percent. Honda rosier outlook comes as many carmakers idle production line, because of a shortage of microchips. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has details from Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is so easy to take them for granted. The tiny silicon based semiconductor are fuel on modern lives. Our smartphone, or laptops and our cars. Now the average car has between 50 to 150 chips that are used to monitor important engine and safety systems along with GPS navigation, or driver assistant when you try to parallel park. But when the pandemic hammered auto sales last year top chip makers shifted capacity away from car makers to gadget makers, resulting in a critical storage of car chips that's been called chipageddon.
[03:55:10]
EMMANUEL BULLE, SENIOR DIRECTOR EMEA CORPORATES FITCH RATINGS: One immediate cause could actually be lost in the coming months. That is quite a lot. If you take the average value of a car which might be say what, 20,000 - 30,000 maybe dollars. It would actually lead to about 20-30 billions in lost revenue.
LU STOUT: There is a growing list of automakers cutting production because of the chip crunch. In Japan you have Subaru, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. And in the U.S., Ford and G.M. Now in a statement G.M. says this quote, despite our mitigation efforts the semi conductor shortage will impact G.M. production in 2021. We are currently assessing the overall impact but our focus is to keep producing our most in demand products.
As the chip crunch disrupts production, analyst say it may delay a global recovery in the auto sector. U.S. senators are urging the White House to take action. In a letter sent earlier this month, 15 U.S. Senator from auto producing state, warned that the shortage threatens a post pandemic economic recovery. It's also a diplomatic issue to resolve the shortage the U.S. is working with Taiwan, home of TSMC, the world's largest contract chip maker.
The Taiwan's chip giant says the auto chip shortage is its top priority saying this, quote, TSMC is currently expediting this critical automotive product through a (inaudible). Our capacity is fully utilized with demand for every sector. TSMC is reallocating our weight for capacity to support the worldwide automotive industry, end quote.
As Taiwan pledges help, a warning from the other chip making giant in Asia, Samsung Electronics says that the auto-chip shortage could hit smartphones and if you are planning a new purchase, consider this.
UNKNOWN: If you need something just buy it now if it is in stock. Otherwise, unfortunately you will have to wait another 3-6 months according to our estimates.
LU STOUT: Huge ripple effects are being felt across tech. Auto manufacturer and the global economy all from a tiny piece of silicon. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): And that does it for this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber, and I will be back in just a moment. So please do stay with us.
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