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U.S. Surpasses 28 Million Coronavirus Cases, Nearing 500k Deaths; Biden Approves Disaster Declaration For Texas; House To Vote On Biden's $1.9 Trillion Relief Bill Next Week; OMB Nominee Neera Tanden Facing Stiff Senate Opposition; Pennsylvania Cop Charged In Capitol Riots; NY Gov. Cuomo Blames "Misinformation" For Nursing Home Scandal; Body Cam Video Shows Violent Arrest At Center Of Lawsuit; First Lady Jill Biden Maps Out Unique Path In New Role. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired February 20, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:09]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour in Texas where temperatures and tempers are rising. Snow and ice is melting but the new crisis -- limited water. Right now nearly half of the Texas population is under a "boil water" advisory after frigid temperatures crippled the power grid, froze and burst water pipes everywhere. Thousands of people are waiting in long lines trying to get their hands on bottled water.

In San Antonio overnight, firefighters were unable to use frozen fire hydrants and were forced instead to find water elsewhere as they battled a fire at a Hilton Garden Inn.

The storms have also created a backlog of coronavirus vaccines. The White House saying six million doses have been unable to be distributed because of the weather.

And just moments ago, President Biden signed a major disaster declaration for Texas which will free up federal money for that state.

CNN's Natasha Chen is in Houston for us. So Natasha, just how dire is the situation there?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as you said, the power situation has improved greatly, but that now means that the attention is turning to the water crisis. There are so many places that still don't have running water, a lot of places under a "boil water" notice like here in Houston. And you know, in many spots in town we're still seeing folks not able to reopen their businesses because of lack of running water or faucets will be taped off and people can't use drinking fountains.

And this is becoming an issue that's why there are bottled water distributions happening throughout the weekend here at the Houston Food Bank. We just saw three congresswomen go in to volunteer that includes Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who helped raise more than $3 million now for several Texas organizations, including the Houston Food Bank, and a couple of Congresswomen who represent this area -- Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia.

We're talking about the calls they were getting from constituents who were so desperate this past week in the freezing temperatures, calling about burst pipes.

And the situation could continue to get worse. As the weather continues to warm up, more pipes could burst. So this is going to be a long-running issue for a little bit here.

Here is what Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said about this disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): When disaster strikes, this is not just an issue for Texans, this is an issue for our entire country. And our whole country needs to come and rally together behind the needs of Texans all across the state.

And, you know, as was mentioned earlier, disasters don't strike everyone equally. When you already have so many families in the state and across the country that are on the brink that can't even afford an emergency to begin with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And of course, hospital systems are really feeling the brunt of this, too. Some have said that they've gone without water for days, using rainwater to flush toilets. They've talked about even patients staying in the lobby after they were discharged because they weren't sure if they would have power or water if they were to go home.

So a lot of considerations right now, and of course state and local leaders are trying their best to figure things out for their constituents.

This major disaster declaration should help because those resources can now help with repairs, with temporary housing, giving FEMA more latitude and resources as well, especially in those cases where insurance does not cover the cost, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

All right. With me now to talk more about the situation on the ground in Texas is Larry Wallace. He is the mayor of Manor, Texas just outside the city of Austin. Mayor -- or San Antonio, right? Or kind of close to both.

Mayor, so good to see you. So what is the situation where you are?

MAYOR LARRY WALLACE, MANOR, TEXAS: Yes. Well, the situation, I think, for a lot of people is even though we have more people that now have access to electricity and have access to water, we still have people in the thousands that still either don't have electricity or they don't have water.

Here within the city of Manor, we have one homeowners' association, everybody except for a couple of streets still have no electricity whatsoever. I've been trying to get in contact with the organization, ONCOR Electric, was finally able to make contact almost three or four days into this winter storm to be able to find out what is going on. And still really no true timeframe of when they're going to get this electricity almost a week in of no electricity. I have a town -- go ahead.

[11:05:00]

WHITFIELD: No, keep going. You have a town that -- tell me about the people there and how they're able to manage this long without water, without power and then I certainly want to ask you about the frustration of those who would seem to be available to assist your town and the people.

But tell me how people are managing. What are they up against?

WALLACE: What they're up against is the jurisdictional lines. Most of them do not know, and I didn't even know when I moved here, that if you're in one town you're within the city of manor, if you're in another town, even though you're within a zip code that's for Manor, you're actually probably belonging to Austin or you belong to the county.

And so they're reaching out to the local leaders asking for support and assistance and sometimes our hands are tied behind our backs because of the jurisdictional lines.

And you know this, the higher that the authority is, if it's at county, they're operating on a more regional perspective. They're not necessarily thinking to go down and ask about those communities that they have authority over, and to make those phone calls to those electric companies, to the water companies, to get that information.

We have people without electricity and without water going on almost a week, and all they're getting is the same generic information being pushed out by the companies.

WHITFIELD: So that is incredibly frustrating because you're caught between these jurisdictions. So given that discovery, you would think, or I imagine that you are hoping that the governor's office would be able to chime in and offer greater assistance or perhaps, you know, your lawmaker, your congressperson, your senator that represents your district would be able to assist.

So what happened when you reached out?

WALLACE: You know, honestly, I've lost all faith in senior leadership. They have proven time and time again over the last 12 months, and for us having three declared disasters -- COVID, which was the first national that went across all states, the threat on violence that Governor Abbott declared here and renewed it back in January, and then now the inclement weather.

I have only heard from council members and fellow mayors that I've built relationships with around here, my county commissioner and our brand new county judge. Everybody else is a lost hope.

I'm just going to be frank with it. And that's how everybody feels. You know, as I said, I have a community that's outside of my actual legal jurisdiction, legal authority to expense any types of funds or assistance and we can't even figure out if they belong to Austin ETJ or to county.

And we are the ones trying to go overboard, above and beyond what our legal requirements and restrictions are, to provide that assistance and guidance to them. And at 4:30 this afternoon I'm personally going to go out there and try to just take the brunt of that frustration, because I am the local leader and nobody else is coming out here.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. So you know, I mean being caught in the middle like this and you feel like you've lost faith, you know, in anyone and all that you have reached out to.

And in the interim, people are cold, people are thirsty, people, you know, need sustenance. They need help. So how -- and describe how people have tried to help one another. You included businesses, residents, even though you're all doing without these basic necessities.

WALLACE: I think, you know, we've learned through COVID, like a lot of the smaller cities, and definitely suburban and rural towns that don't -- can't necessarily rely on those regional services that restrict in times of criticality, right?

So we've had to create overnight organizations and entities try to overnight teach people these jurisdictional lines and the red tape and how to work around those things to take care of the communities we have.

You're talking about a 13-mile radius of a city that we have in one of the largest homeowners associations does not belong to us. Almost 20,000 people of the 40,000 that I support in this 13-mile radius don't even belong to me.

WHITFIELD: I mean this is unbelievably confusing. And this is the worst time -- I mean there isn't a good time to be caught in the middle. But now, This is the worst time with this kind of calamity and people's lives are at stake.

Mayor Larry Wallace, please keep us posted. We're going to keep in touch with you too, there in Manor, Texas to see what kind of assistance comes your way, what kind of help to rectify this very terrible, dire situation. Thank you so much, Mayor. All the best.

[11:10:01]

WALLACE: No problem. I appreciate it. And one last thing I would love to ask is if I can hear something from Aqua America. I haven't heard from you all week and I have 2,600 people without water.

WHITFIELD: Aqua America, if you're watching, if you're listening, the folks in manor need some answers, need some help.

We'll see what we can do as well. Thank you so much, Mayor.

WALLACE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And for more information about how you can help other cities, other residents, everyone in Texas through this winter storm, go to CNN.com/impact.

So nearly half a million coronavirus deaths and counting now. The United States on the verge of marking a grim milestone as the debate heats up over delaying the second dose of the vaccine. Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

Plus, President Biden's budget nominee facing serious opposition from Republicans and now at least one Democrat. Find out what Neera Tanden is doing to save her nomination.

[11:11:04]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

The U.S. has just crossed 28 million coronavirus infections and is now closing in on half a million deaths.

The White House says it is considering ways to honor the nearly 500,000 lives that have been lost and the families that are still suffering. This, as President Biden assures Americans that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe we'll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year, and God willing, this Christmas will be different than last. But I can't make that commitment to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Athena Jones joining me now from New York. Athena, what more are you learning from where you are?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka.

Well look, there's no doubt that the COVID picture here in the U.S. is improving and it continues to improve. We're getting close to an average -- having an average of about 70,000 new COVID cases a day. Now, that's still a high number, but it is much lower than what we saw during the height of the holiday and post-holiday surge where we were seeing 200,000 new COVID cases a day.

In fact we're seeing the steepest decline in new cases since the pandemic began down almost 30 percent week over week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice over): Encouraging news from the Centers for Disease Control Friday at a White House coronavirus task force briefing.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We continue to see a five-week decline in COVID cases with cases decreasing 69 percent in a seven-day average since hitting a peak on January 11th.

JONES: Hospitalizations have also declined 56 percent since January and deaths have declined modestly to an average of about 2,700 a day. Those improving numbers mean that schools can reopen at any stage of community spread, according to the CDC director.

WALENSKY: Our numbers are coming down and I would actually invite schools to lean in and to look at what is needed so that and the roadmap to try and get more and more children back to school.

Reporter: during the briefing Dr. Anthony Fauci said vaccine safety data for high school aged children will likely be released later this year and children younger than that, early next year.

But while COVID-19 infection numbers appear to be easing, President Joe Biden said he could not be sure when a majority of Americans would have access to the vaccine.

BIDEN: Look what's happening with the weather now, for example. It's slowing up the distribution right now.

JONES: Vaccine shipping delays continue to cause headaches across the United States with severe winter weather hindering distribution efforts. Though officials remain confident those delays will ease within a matter of days.

GOVERNOR PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): The weather is certainly the here and now reason why it isn't a straight line. But I'm confident that this will straighten itself out in a matter of days. The biggest reason is a lack of supply.

JONES: That lack of supply is driving questions about whether second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should be delayed in favor of giving more Americans a first dose after a new Israeli study indicates high levels of protection after just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Dr. Fauci said he had not changed his mind about the need for two doses, saying it is too risky given the data about the vaccines.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: I'm with Tony. I'm with Dr. Fauci in the sense that we know that two doses both give high levels of consistent neutralizing antibody and durability of protection. I haven't seen sufficient data yet to go just to that single dose route. (END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: And so while we're getting good news about the vaccine's effectiveness, they're only going to be effective if they actually get into arms.

And so at places like right here, the Javits Center here in New York, one of several mass vaccination sites across the city, the issue remains supply. Appointments here get snapped up almost as soon as they become available.

We're hearing from the White House about that backlog of six million doses due to winter weather. But that backlog is going to be relieved and worked out over the course of the next week. That is music to the ears of folks here, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That would be some good news, indeed. All right. Athena Jones, thanks so much.

All right. Joining me right now to discuss, Dr. Richina Bicette, an emergency medicine physician and the medical director at the Baylor College of Medicine. Good to see you, Doctor.

I want to get to the coronavirus headlines in a moment. But first, you know, you're in the Houston area, south Texas. I want to find out from you, how is your hospital doing, how are people, you know, in your world doing as a result of this incredible winter freeze -- water pipe breaks, all of that?

[11:19:49]

DR. RICHINA BICETTE, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Fred, this has been a completely harrowing experience. We were not prepared at all. The guidance that we got before the storm was that, you know, it would be cold, roads would freeze, don't drive.

There was no suspicion that we would be without electricity when it was below freezing temperatures outside or that people would be without water.

You know, we're in Texas. This isn't a winter state. There was no widespread education to wrap or insulate your pipes to prevent pipes from bursting.

And so that little paucity of time where people were essentially trapped in their homes, we've seen a lot of cases come from this winter storm, including people who have been burned in fires, entire families who have had carbon monoxide poisoning. Because of the water outages, a lot of people on dialysis, for example, are missing dialysis and are showing up to hospitals extremely sick. Or people who use medical equipment that require electricity are showing up requiring oxygen and very, very sick. So the aftermath of the storm is also proving to be quite a trying time as well.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. And these carbon dioxide dangers because, you know, in many cases, people are in their cars trying to stay warm or even using generators for the first time and really not knowing how properly to use them. I heard that from a lot of family members I have there in south Texas.

So talk to me about what your hospital is up against, without running water in the vicinity or perhaps even your hospital is suffering through that, what does that mean for your equipment, sterilization, for being able to provide all that you can to your patients for the washing of linens? All of those things that mean securing a sanitized environment.

DR. BICETTE: So the problem with hospitals is that we're never allowed to close. It doesn't matter what's going on in the world or what's happening outside, our doors must remain open.

And so for most of the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, they may not have lost water completely, but the water pressure has gotten to dangerously low levels. And so we're on a water conservation monitoring phase, meaning don't wash your hands if you can avoid it, use hand sanitizer -- things of that nature.

They're providing bottled water to staff and patients because aside from not having water or having poor water pressure, we're now under a "boil water" notice. So the water that is coming out of the pipes isn't even safe to drink or necessarily to put on your skin.

We have been making do with the resources that we have, but things are getting to be a little scary and a little dangerous, because again, we're having such a high influx of sick patients coming in, there aren't enough staff to take care of these patients right now.

Fred, I actually wrote on Twitter yesterday that one of the C-Suite executives from one of my sister hospitals sent out an email begging for staff to come in to help take care of patients because our patient load had gotten so dangerously high.

WHITFIELD: And that's hard for them to do that because they've got family at home or maybe they're even displaced because of all that everybody has expired with power outages and no, you know, safe water.

All right, so, boy, our prayers are going out to people who are really suffering so much, who were already suffering and now even more so, particularly because of coronavirus.

Let's talk now about what is happening there with vaccinations that have been delayed, people who were looking forward to those appointments they have upcoming there throughout Texas and now perhaps they can't because of the supply, you know, and the shipping delays.

So describe what's happening in that arena.

DR. BICETTE: So early reports are that about six million doses of vaccine have gotten delayed this week because of weather issues, so either the roads being impassable or workers being unable to leave their house to come pack and then ship the vaccine.

As of yesterday, I believe about 1.5 million of those doses have been shipped out, but we do have a lot of making up to do. So in this upcoming week it's really going to be on vaccination centers and health departments and health experts to really try to ramp up the rate of vaccinations in order to make up for what we missed last week.

I've also heard reports of some places canceling future appointments for people to get their first dose because they don't have enough of that second dose on hand, which I think could definitely be problematic.

Whatever doses we have on hand, we need to give our community and we need to get people vaccinated.

WHITFIELD: All right. The need is so great and multiplied even further because of what we're dealing with right now.

Dr. Richina Bicette, thank you so much. All the best to you.

DR. BICETTE: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, the shocking video of a Pennsylvania police officer taking part in the Capitol siege on January 6th. Charging Capitol police and fighting with other officers -- we'll show you the violent footage police say he posted himself online.

[11:24:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Congress is gearing up to take on President Biden's biggest legislative priority. The $1.9 trillion COVID relief package could pass through the House as soon as next week.

And despite skepticism, Senator Bernie Sanders believes one key element of the deal, the $15 federal minimum wage increase, will survive when it arrives in the U.S. Senate.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is on Capitol Hill with more on this. Suzanne, so what are the next steps?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred.

Well, this is going to happen just within weeks or so. President Biden had hoped that it would be bipartisan support for his first major piece of legislation. That is not going to happen, Fred.

[11:29:54]

MALVEAUX: We're talking about the narrowest of margins for Democrats both in the House and the Senate to push this through, through a process of reconciliation it is called. They will not need the Republicans to force this thing through but they say, look, there are millions of Americans suffering and it needs to happen, it needs to happen quickly.

These are just some of the highlights that are on this $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan here. Talking about $1,400 in direct payment -- stimulus payments, that for those making $75,000 or less, enhanced unemployment aid from $300 to $400 a week for the 11 million Americans unemployed, assistance for small businesses, money for child care.

You have aid for state, local, tribal governments to the tune of $350 billion. You've got $170 billion for school aid. Increased support for vaccines to the tune of $20 billion. And, finally, a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour.

That last one potentially goes through a hurdle. The senate parliamentarian would have to approve that and say that is ok for the budget bill. So we'll see how that plays out.

But Fred, this timetable is very fast. You're talking about Monday, the House Budget Committee will take up -- mark-up, if you will, of this massive bill. Pelosi -- Speaker Pelosi says it will then go before the full House hopefully by the end of the week for a vote. It then kicks it over to the Senate side if there's amendments that happens. Then it will have to go back to the House, that being the week of March 8th.

And then the critical deadline here. We're talking about March 15th. That is when they want this on the president's desk because that is when the unemployment benefits expire for millions of Americans, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Quite the timetable and a tight one at that. All right.

Thanks -- oh, actually, I do have one more question for you, Suzanne, you know. And this being, the president's choice for the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden.

There is a big obstacle now because there is one Democrat in the senate who is saying I'm not likely to confirm her. What kind of uphill battle is this now?

MALVEAUX: Well, we have heard that Tanden will reach out to senators in the coming week and really make her case here. She's already reached out to about 35 senators so far.

But yes, she does face an uphill battle here and that is because Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia essentially really put her nomination in peril and said he is not voting for her, that she is too partisan.

Also Senator Bernie Sanders she'll be meeting with this week as well. He is objecting to her nomination or at least he is challenging her in some ways because of corporate donations to the liberal think tank that she used to be in charge of. And so he's going to have a conversation. He wants to make sure that she is ok in his eyes.

But Fred, this is so close. You're talking about 50/50 in the Senate side, Democrats and Republicans with Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential tie-breaker. They need every Democrat they can get.

With Manchin out now, the big question becomes will they be able to win over some Republicans? So far, they do not have any but they're looking at those like Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski who've defied their party in the past.

WHITFIELD: All right.

MALVEAUX: We'll see.

WHITFIELD: It looks like at least two, right, might be needed.

All right. Suzanne Malveaux, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

MALVEAUX: Ok.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, a Pennsylvania police officer is facing criminal charges after posting a video of himself battling other officers at the Capitol riot and yelling "charge" as he clashed with officers in January.

Joseph Fischer, a policeman from North Cornwall Township is facing several charges, including obstruction of law enforcement.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is with me now. What can you tell us about his alleged involvement?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: That's right.

We have this man in central Pennsylvania who is a police officer. He had posted a video to Facebook, taken it down. That video showed a line of people in the riot, inside the Capitol, yelling charge, pushing toward a line of police.

After he had taken that down, the federal investigators then matched that with another video that showed him in it that was taken on a body camera from a member of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Now, this is a really interesting contour that we're seeing in this investigation where there are members of the police, members of the military that are being identified as people who are facing charges that took part in this riot that are getting arrested, that are being detained.

And at the same time, this is a riot that injured police officers, where police officers were protecting the building and overwhelmed by the crowd.

WHITFIELD: And Katelyn, we're talking about nine alleged associates of the right-wing Oath Keepers now who have also been charged in conspiracy to attack the Capitol. What more can you tell us about these members and the charges?

POLANTZ: Right. This is a very similar thing to what I was just talking about in that the Oath Keepers is a group of people who recruit from ex-military, ex-police.

[11:34:51] POLANTZ: And the Oath Keepers, we now have nine of them charged in a conspiracy where these people were planning, they were discussing, they were alleged to have met up before, in the morning of January 6th were decked out in military gear.

And then in the move to the Capitol, in the crowd, there were several of these people who could be seen on video allegedly putting their hands on one another's backs. That's called a stack formation. It's a military formation that allows them to move through a crowd.

And so we have nine now. Three of them we had already known about. Those three people are being detained. They've been indicted. These additional six are now some of the -- this is, right now, I believe the biggest conspiracy charge that we have seen against a group for pre-planning during the Capitol riot, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all right. Quite extraordinary. Thank you so much, Katelyn Polantz in Washington. Appreciate it.

All right. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration is being investigated for its handling of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. The state's attorney general saying those deaths were undercounted by as much as 50 percent. We'll talk about that next.

[11:36:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo now blaming, in part, misinformation as outrage grows over allegations his administration covered up the true number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. And even some fellow Democrats are joining calls for a full investigation into Governor Cuomo's handling of the crisis.

And as Brian Todd reports, the scandal has also led to questions about the governor's personal behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Andrew Cuomo's latest political battle has gotten intensely personal with new accusations of intimidation against the New York governor.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: That's classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York state have received those phone calls. You know, the bullying is nothing new. The threats, the belittling, the demand that someone change their statement right that moment, many, many times I've heard that and I know a lot of other people in the state have heard that.

TODD: The comments to MSNBC by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio who has had a long-standing contentious relationship with Andrew Cuomo, refer to a call Cuomo made recently to New York state assemblyman Ron Kim.

Kim, who has criticized Cuomo over a controversy involving nursing home deaths from COVID, says Cuomo threatened to destroy his career. RON KIM (D), NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY: Berating, yelling and

threatening that I have to issue a statement that invalidated what I heard. He asked me to lie to cover up for his staff and this was done in front of my family. He called me, my wife was right next to me. I was right about to bathe my kids. And it really just put my family and my wife into shock and trauma.

TODD: Cuomo's office tells CNN, Kim is lying about the conversation. That there was never a threat to destroy anyone. Cuomo and his aides say Kim's accusations stem from their history.

GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): I've had -- my office, more than me, has had a long and hostile relationship with Assemblyman Ron Kim.

TODD: This New York style political brawl stems from backlash Cuomo was getting over his handling of the pandemic. A law official tells CNN the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn and the FBI are looking at the handling of data surrounding COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities in New York.

This comes after a top aide to Governor Cuomo admitted to state lawmakers that his administration delayed the release of that nursing home information, because they were concerned the Trump administration would turn it into a political football.

It's not clear whether federal investigators are looking at Cuomo himself. Cuomo's office says it is cooperating with the Justice Department and Cuomo addressed the crisis this week.

CUOMO: These decisions are not political decisions. They're all made on the best information the medical professionals have at the time.

TODD: A far cry from those dark early days of America's battle with coronavirus, when Cuomo was looked on as a true national leader, at a time few others were.

One analyst says Cuomo still enjoys high favorability ratings for his handling of the pandemic, but --

JON CAMPBELL, USA TODAY: This is certainly among the biggest crises -- political crises that the governor has faced since he's come into office. It's not the biggest and, you know, the difference here is the attention that he's getting.

TODD (on camera): Asked by CNN to comment on Mayor de Blasio's remark that he's a bully, Governor Cuomo's office didn't respond specifically to that but did send us an email calling Assemblyman Ron Kim quote, "unscrupulous".

Meanwhile some New York lawmakers are calling for Cuomo to be stripped of his expanded emergency powers. And in Washington some Republican senators are calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the nursing home controversy.

Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And coming up in our 1:00 hour, I'll speak with a Alessandra Biaggi, Democratic state senator from New York about the crisis in the governor's office.

We'll be right back.

[11:44:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Body camera video of a violent arrest in Chicago is now key evidence in a new federal civil rights lawsuit being filed by a black man police are seen slamming to the ground.

I do want to warn our viewers now that the video is disturbing.

Leroy Kennedy says he was just walking down the sidewalk when two Chicago police officers ran up to him, knocked him against a brick wall, as you're seeing right here, slamming his head down on the sidewalk more than once.

Police claim Kennedy appeared to be reaching for a concealed gun during the arrest, but he says he was just reaching for his glasses. No weapon was ever found and all charges against Kennedy were later dropped.

For more on this, let's bring in Nadia Romero. Nadia, what do we know about the circumstances surrounding this arrest, him being accosted and then where his allegations are going and this new civil rights lawsuit?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, when you look at that video it is so disturbing and at times violent. So violent, that's why Leroy Kennedy says he had to file this federal civil rights lawsuit just this week.

[11:49:58]

ROMERO: And when you first watch the video, there's no audio. So we can't tell if Chicago police officers gave any sort of commands or directions to Leroy Kennedy. But we do see them running out of their police cars, running up to him, grabbing him by the neck like this, slamming him on a brick wall and then slamming him down on the pavement.

He says it happened multiple times. Then when the police officers picked him up that's when you can see all of the injuries to his forehead, his cheeks. The cuts, the lacerations, the bleeding on his hands. He was even limping at one point during that video, during the arrest.

Now, police say they arrested him because when he saw them he looked shocked on his face. Then he started moving his hands and his clothing. They believed he was trying to conceal a gun. But when they searched him they didn't find a gun, any weapons, any drugs, nothing at all.

Listen to what Leroy says happened to him on that summer day and how it's still affecting him now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEROY KENNEDY, SUING CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: I told them, sir, I'm not resistant I just want to get my glasses. He slammed me again thinking I'm resisting. It left me kind (ph) of traumatized, man. I'm not going -- you get nervous -- you get even more nervous once you see the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So when you hear him talk about what happened to him that day he then served some days in jail but the charges against him, multiple counts of resisting arrest, battery against a police officer -- they were all dropped.

Now, it's important to note that the two officers involved, one of them is a black Chicago police officer, the other one is a non-black officer.

And so some people will question, how is this a civil rights violation when you have a black cop involved? That's why activist and attorney Ben Crump will tell you, this is not a black/white issue, this is a blue issue. They believe that the Chicago Police Department when those officers enter certain neighborhoods on the city's South and West Side, historically black and Latinex neighborhoods they treat the people who live there as criminal combatants.

Now, it's important to know that those two officers involved in the lawsuit have not been criminally charged or convicted of any crimes and we did reach out to the city of Chicago, the law department tells us they do not comment on pending litigation, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then Nadia, was there a response coming from Ben Crump? Is he representing Kennedy?

ROMERO: He is. And that's a name you know well, Fred, because he is the same attorney representing the families of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

He believes that this is just another instance in America of police officers brutalizing a black citizen for absolutely no reason. So that's why he's representing Leroy Kennedy in this case. And you see he posted on his Twitter, he tweeted about what happened. He said it is vile and inhumane what happened to Leroy Kennedy.

WHITFIELD: All right, it is indeed hard to watch. Nadia Romero -- thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

[11:52:50] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This morning, First Lady Jill Biden is speaking to a virtual conference for student veterans. It's the latest in a long series of public events Biden has participated in since taking -- her husband took office one month ago. From coordinating a Valentine's Day message on the White House lawn to meeting National Guard troops after the January 6th riot the first -- the new first lady is redefining the role of the White House's East Wing.

CNN's Kate Bennett is in Washington for us. So Kate, good to see you. I remember seeing those hearts throughout the lawn all week long. It really brought a smile to so many people's faces, particularly because of Valentine's Day.

So let's talk about and now what we've seen in the new first lady. We haven't necessarily heard her lay out a specific platform except that she did say she was going to return to, you know, veteran family- related affairs, right.

KATE BENNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So the interesting thing about Jill Biden and what's different about her is that she really is passionate about several different components of her, you know, her interests.

There's veterans, there's joining forces, which is about military families, there's cancer research and care, there's education, free community college. And I think what we've seen in the past month is that this is not a first lady who is sort of getting in and feeling her way around before she decides what to do, quite the opposite.

This is a first lady who is hitting the ground running. She's got, you know, decades of experience as a political spouse, and has said publicly I don't intend to waste one minute of this role or this platform.

So although she hasn't necessarily assigned one particular thing, and quite frankly, Fred, I think it's sort of an antiquated component to being a first lady to have one first lady platform and it's a thing you smack on a tote bag. I think, you know, women, especially Jill Biden, have demonstrated they're capable of doing a multitude of things and doing them focused and doing them full throated.

And I think what we're going to see from her is really something that spans more than just one topic or one initiative.

WHITFIELD: Can I call it --

BENNETT: She's got staff on board to do that.

WHITFIELD: Right. Can I just call it an all access first lady is what it seems like she's already, you know, establishing.

[11:59:48]

WHITFIELD: I mean I think it was nice for people in D.C. particularly, right in southeast D.C. to see her come into a bakery, you know.

And that picture went viral. You know, wearing her scrunchy in her hair, and carrying her own baked items that she has just purchased, which also sends a very strong signal of just, you know, I want to be able to be -- any -- in all places as the First Lady.