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Senate Continues Working on $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Bill; Democratic Senator Joe Manchin Agrees to Compromise on Unemployment Benefits Included in COVID Relief Bill; Analysis Indicates Americans May Reach Herd Immunity to COVID-19 by Summer of 2021; Jackson, Mississippi, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba Interviewed on Infrastructure Needs of His City and Restoring Water Service to All Resident; More Information Emerges from Charlotte Bennett who Accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of Sexual Misconduct. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired March 06, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:45]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you, March 6th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker in for Christi Paul. You are in the CNN Newsroom.

BLACKWELL: So, it is a busy and consequential Saturday morning on Capitol Hill. We could be very close to a final Senate vote on President Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue bill. A live look at the Senate where senators have been up all night, this marathon session, debating and voting on a series of amendments.

WALKER: The process, known as vote-a-rama, was delayed for nearly 12 hours while by Senator Joe Manchin faced off with fellow Democrats on enhanced unemployment benefits. Senator Joe Manchin ultimately agreed to a compromise, extending the benefits through September 6th. Republicans are not running out of options to stall voting after Democrats refused to stop for the night.

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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Now that this agreement has been reached, we are going to power through the rest of the process and get this bill done.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Well, my goodness, it's been quite a start, quite a start to this fast track process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is following this all on Capitol Hill. Manu, they've been up all night. Any indication on when we'll get the final answer on if it's time to end debate and vote on this bill? MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The end is actually

in sight based on what both sides are indicating. The senators are just exhausted after 11 straight hours overnight of voting as part of this free-flowing amendment process. Republicans have tried to gut, derail, and change core elements of this bill through the amendment process overnight, but Democrats have successfully fended off those amendments. There have been some changes made to the bill, but not enough at the moment to derail its path to passage.

This bill is significant in size and scope, $1.9 trillion. It impacts virtually all aspects of the U.S. economy, provides more money for vaccines, for providing direct payments for individuals and families, also money for schools, for states and localities, and extending jobless benefits. And that issue about extending jobless benefits led to a major stalemate on the floor yesterday that actually risked the bill's collapse after Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat, centrist Democrat, balked at a last-minute deal that had been reached between the White House and Senate Democratic leaders to extend jobless benefits at $300 a week and also ensure that first $10,200 is not taxed of those jobless benefits.

But Manchin refused to support that plan. As a result, the Senate was in a standstill for 12 hours yesterday. In fact, the first vote was left open for 12 hours. That is the longest time of any single vote in modern history as Republicans -- as the Democrats were working furiously behind the scenes to win over Manchin behind that plan. Their concern was Manchin would jump ship and vote for a Republican alternative that would gut the core elements of the proposal.

But Joe Biden got on the phone with Joe Manchin as well as Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, other rank and file members press him, and ultimately cut a deal to ensure that only certain households would be able to deduct $10,200 to ensure that money in jobless benefits is not taxed. As a result of that compromise deal, that has paved the way for this bill's passage, and we do expect that passage potentially to occur within the next couple of hours, Victor and Amara.

So after an arduous fight, Democrats believe that they can keep their caucus together. And because Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed, uniformly opposed to this, because they believe it's too big, too costly, and is unwieldy, Democrats need to ensure that they have all 50 of their members together, get this through with likely all 49 Republicans who are here voting against it. That means that they can provide final passage soon, and then the House could potentially act as soon as the coming week and send it to Joe Biden's desk at that point, guys.

BLACKWELL: We'll head there next. Manu Raju, thanks so much. And as Manu said, keeping a close eye on this is the president, he's waiting to learn the fate of his first major piece of legislation.

WALKER: Yes, but there's still a lot more voting to go before it reaches his desk. CNN's Joe Johns is at the White House now. Hi there, Joe.

[10:05:2]

So, what is team Biden saying about how this is playing out so far in the Senate, and Joe Manchin's 11th hour deliberations?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: They're saying very little about it, quite frankly. Jen Psaki put out a statement last night essentially saying that the president was grateful to all of the senators who worked on the unemployment benefits part of the bill. And we also have a little graphic, it says "This agreement allows us to move forward on the urgently needed American Rescue Plan, with $1,400 relief checks, funding we need to finish the vaccine rollout, open our schools, help those suffering from the pandemic, and more."

So it's pretty clear as to Joe Manchin that the president is not piling on. In fact, Jen Psaki isn't piling on either. No one here talking much about Senator Manchin. One thing that Psaki has said, in fact, is that the president has the benefits of experience when it comes to senators in a 50-50 Senate, and that experience includes 2001 when a Republican senator named Jim Jeffords singlehandedly flipped the Senate by moving from Republican to independent and thereby giving Democrats power to control the Senate at a time when George W. Bush, a Republican president, was trying to put his agenda in place. So Joe Biden understands that he's going to have to deal with Joe Manchin of West Virginia and any other Democratic senator who wants their voice heard. Back to you.

WALKER: All right, Joe Johns, appreciate you, thank you very much.

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for a new COVID-19 test that looks for a different type of immunity.

BLACKWELL: It's the T-Detect COVID test. It looks for evidence of cellular immunity or t-cells in people who have had the virus, and experts say that's a longer lasting type of immunity than antibodies. Scientists do not know how long immunity lasts in people who have been affected with COVID-19.

WALKER: Let's get now to CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro. Hi there, Evan. We're also learning that the U.S. could reach herd immunity by this summer. What more can you tell us?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Amara. This is a new CNN analysis of the vaccine, its rollout, and what that means for the rest of the country. The CDC says about 2 million doses of vaccine are going into people's arms every day here in America, and according to our numbers, that means that could mean we could reach herd immunity in this country by the end of the summer, which is pretty nice to hear.

Let me show you some graphics that get into this a little bit. Currently 8.8 percent of the American population has been fully vaccinated according to those CDC numbers. As you can see on screen, herd immunity is very, very far away from 8.8 percent. But with those vaccines continuing to go into people's arms, the numbers hopefully will close up pretty quickly and we'll see that herd immunity before the end of the summer, which is great to hear. Right now, we're I'm standing in Manhattan, warm weather feels a very

long way off, but it really isn't that far. So it's one of those reason that people are saying America needs to keep the pressure, keep the focus on masks, social distancing, doing the right thing, because this vaccine is actually having an impact and it really could have a very, very big impact very soon.

BLACKWELL: Evan McMorris-Santoro for us, thank you.

WALKER: Joining me now to talk about all of this is CNN medical analyst Dr. Jorge Rodriguez. Appreciate you joining me, good morning you to.

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE AND VIRAL SPECIALIST: Good morning, Amara.

WALKER: So first off, let's talk about this COVID-19 test that looks to see if someone may have had COVID-19 by looking for a longer lasting type of immunity that involves immune system cells. Can you talk to us a little bit more about that and how that works?

RODRIGUEZ: Sure. That's a pretty complicated test, if you will. Having been someone that has worked with HIV patients for the last 30 years, when your body meets a virus, it makes many, many different types of antibodies. And it also sparks up a different part of your immune system called the t-cells. And the t-cells are basically memory cells that are there to start producing antibodies and reactions. That's why it was also said that even though maybe some of these vaccines were not completely curative against some of the variants, your t-cells are sparked up.

So, it is a very good test. I'm kind of surprised it's going to be available to the lay public because I don't want anybody to get a false sense of security, but yet again, it is one more quiver that we have -- one more arrow in our quiver that we have in order to fight this virus. And it's a good thing.

WALKER: It sure is. I want to ask you, too, your reaction, Doctor, about the CNN analysis that finds the U.S. could reach herd immunity by late summer through vaccinations alone. Does that mean life can get back to normal, possibly, by the summer?

[10:10:13]

RODRIGUEZ: It does not mean that life can get back to normal. Listen, sort of to paraphrase Bill Clinton, it all depends on what your definition of "normal" is, or "is" is. We're not going to get back to an open society for a while. That means probably early next year. We have to remember this is not the United States alone that has to reach immunity. It is the whole world, we're all connected. But I am thrilled by these numbers, by 2 million people being vaccinated a day. We just don't have to give kudos to the government. We have to give kudos to the American people that are going out and getting vaccinating. Yes, we're going to have normalcy to some degree I think by the end of the summer, early fall. WALKER: So, what would that mean, then, in effect if we're not going

to return to full normalcy with herd immunity, will we see more lifting of restrictions, more indoor dining? On the ground, what would we see?

RODRIGUEZ: I think that's exactly what we're going to be seeing. And if we follow, for example, the Israeli model, because Israel is way ahead of us in the percentage of people that they have vaccinated, they are allowing people to go to theater. They're allowing people to go to stadiums. But you have to show proof of vaccination.

The big obstacle that we're now facing is the fact that variants are coming in at a huge rate. So who is going to win first, the vaccinated populace or the variants? So, I think until this storm is over, we're going to have to peek out the window and see if it's safe to go outside. The biggest issue that I see is that we are rushing to open up way too soon right now.

WALKER: Let me ask you this, because Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, brought this up in the briefing on Friday, and she was talking about we've been seeing this downward trend in cases and deaths and hospitalizations over the past few weeks, but what's concerning is this plateauing of cases, new cases of COVID-19 at a very high number. I think the last number I saw was from Thursday was 65,000 new cases. Can you put that into context for us, and what does it mean if we are seeing cases plateauing at such a high number?

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. At the height of this winter, there were approximately a quarter-million, 250,000 new cases per day. When America basically locked down last April or so, we locked down when there were 30,000 new cases. We're now at double, almost two-and-a- half times that. So, we have become a little complacent, because sure, we have gone down a lot in the past month-and-a-half, but the tide now is much higher than it was even in April.

So, what does that mean? That means that if another surge comes in the form of these variants, it's going to take less time for us to reach these peaks that we had in early January, because we are already at a high level. Listen, the fire in the house has been almost put out. It is not completely put out. This is no time to get back in the home, to use a very strange analogy. So, we are at a very tenuous moment right now.

WALKER: And speaking of premature moves, Doctor, so Texas and Mississippi, as I'm sure you already know, have lifted or are lifting mask mandates and also opening many businesses at 100 percent capacity. To add to that, you have the Connecticut governor who announced that, look, we're going to keep the mask mandate but open at 100 percent capacity. Is there any difference between what Governor Ned Lamont is doing in Connecticut versus the governors in Texas and Mississippi?

RODRIGUEZ: You know what, there's very little difference, because what it basically is doing, it is sending a message, whether outright or subliminal, to people saying, you know what, things aren't that bad. Go out there and use your own judgment. And people have been pent up, we all have been pent up for so long that I think the natural instinct of a lot of people is just to rip that mask off and just go and act as if things are normal. They are not normal yet.

And again, I have to give kudos to the vast majority of the American people that have toed the line, that have sacrificed and are doing the right thing. We still need to do the right thing. So is there a big difference? No, because the message is still the same, which is, hey, things are better, go out there. Things are not 100 percent yet, folks. Please be careful.

WALKER: And you're concerned of a variant fueled surge come late spring?

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. Some states have already increased from one to two percent variants in of the general population to 20 to 30 percent. These variants take off like kindling. And that is why that plateau that we've seen over the past two to three weeks in all the variables, in deaths, in new infections, is such a concern because it's gone way down and now it has leveled off.

[10:15:03]

Is it going to spring back up? Yes, it possibly could. So we've come so far that it really is frustrating to see that we are going to put our defenses down a little bit too soon, when we're so close, so close to that finish line here.

WALKER: So close but not out of the woods yet. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, I appreciate you joining me, thanks so much.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Charlotte Bennett, one of the women who has accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, is speaking, and she's calling him a textbook abuser. Her story, next.

WALKER: Plus, Pope Francis is in Iraq today. It's a historic trip marking the first ever Papal visit to the country. What we're learning about who the Pope is meeting with and what's on his agenda later this morning.

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[10:20:00]

BLACKWELL: Thousands of people in Mississippi could soon finally have water service again. It's been several weeks since that winter storm hit Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Around 5,000 people in Jackson still don't have running water, that's the last count. More than 43,000 people there who do have it are under a boil water advisory.

The storm not only caused disruption to water service. It highlighted some serious problems with the city's infrastructure. My next guest, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is asking the state for $47 million to fix the problem. He says that's just a fraction of what is needed. Mr. Mayor, thank you for your time this morning. The numbers we have, the latest from the city, are 5,000 without water, 43,000 who are under a boil water advisory. Are those the latest numbers or can you update us on service?

MAYOR CHOKWE ANTAR LUMUMBA, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: That is relatively close to what the actual numbers still are. We are working every hour to bring that number down. And we're not satisfied until the very last customer has restoration of their water.

BLACKWELL: Is there any estimate on when that will be?

LUMUMBA: We do believe that we're at the end of that journey. Our water treatment facility operates off of hydraulics. And so, the individuals who are without water service at this time are those individuals who live at higher elevations. And so just as we've been battling throughout this process, trying to push water through the system, when the storm interrupted the pressure that the system is able to create, it has been a matter of the system gearing back up and getting to full strength. And so, it is approaching that full strength. And it has been a really, really challenging and trying time for our residents. But we're happy to see that we are nearing the end of this journey.

BLACKWELL: So, midweek you sent a letter to Mississippi's Governor Tate Reeves requesting $47 million to fix the 100-year-old water distribution system. What has been, if there has been, the response from the governor's office?

LUMUMBA: I've spoken with his chief of staff and the governor. And I did speak at the onset, in the early days of this crisis, for the contribution of tankers to support in the immediate -- for the immediate need at the moment. But we have not been able to engage in a full conversation.

I have been in conversation with different leaders at the statehouse to talk about this request. And we do believe that it will be put forward for a vote. And so, we're hopeful, whether it comes from the state, whether we're able to seek assistance from the federal government, we need this support now. It's critical infrastructure needs, and this underscores the aging infrastructure that our country has.

And so, I have been informed that they will put our needs in the disaster relief package that they submit to the federal government. And so, whether it's the state, whether it's the federal government, we have to understand that we live in legacy cities, that the infrastructure has not been addressed for far too long.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn to the pandemic now. I know that today is vaccination day in Jackson, 2,000 vaccines expected to be administered today. Let's talk about the disparity, though, in the distribution of those vaccinations. Whites make up just over half of the state's population but have received more than two-thirds of the vaccine shots. Blacks are roughly 38 percent of the population in Mississippi but have received only a quarter of the shots. I expect that today's event is aimed at closing that gap, but walk us through how else, as what we're seeing across the country, that can be eliminated. LUMUMBA: Well, I think that it's a reflection of the equity issues

within our health care system. We repeatedly see access to health care being limited within black and brown communities, and the methodology with which we've been providing access to vaccines in communities is reflective of that. And so that is why the city of Jackson, along with our COVID task force that we have assembled of local medical professionals, wanted to step in and see how we could make improvements to those numbers.

It is extremely alarming when you know that Mississippi, the black population is approximately 40 percent of the population, and to only see 25 percent, which is an improvement from the earlier days where it was about at 13 percent. And so we're stepping up to make it available.

[10:25:00]

There have been a lot of questions about fear and concern around the vaccine. But I think that that has been overblown. More so I think it is attributable to the issue of access to people within the community.

BLACKWELL: There has also been a lot of concern about moving forward without the mask mandate. The governor rescinded that mask mandate. We've talked a lot about Texas, but also that's happening in Mississippi. You said that in the city of Jackson, the mask mandate stands. What have you heard from business owners there about what the governor has decided, your executive order, your decision as well, as it relates to masks?

LUMUMBA: Well, from the individuals that I've had the opportunity to speak with, they've actually thanked me. They thanked me, the city, for protecting them. They understand that the mask mandate more or less protects our economy. Throughout this pandemic we've been attempting to find out how we operate an economy in the time of COVID- 19. And it makes little sense when we can see light at the end of the tunnel, that we prematurely make a decision to no longer require masks. We have to make certain that we see this to the end, and no one can celebrate in the third quarter.

BLACKWELL: Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, thank you so much for your time this morning.

WALKER: Back to the breaking news. The Senate is holding a marathon session right now. These are live pictures of the Senate floor. They are working through amendments to President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill. And we are keeping an eye on any developments. We will bring you any of the latest developments as we get it in. We're back in a moment.

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[10:31:15]

BLACKWELL: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says he supports a bill revoking his expanded emergency executive powers related to the coronavirus pandemic. WALKER: The state legislature passed the measure as we learn new

detail from the second woman accusing the New York Democrat of sexual harassment. CNN's Alexandra Field joining us with more. And Alex, lawyers for his accuser is asking New York's attorney general to keep all documents related to her case.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Amara, we have heard more from Charlotte Bennett this week, the 25-year-old former assistant to the governor detailing these allegations of sexual harassment against Governor Andrew Cuomo. And now her attorney Debra Katz has international sent a letter to the state's attorney general, Letitia James, asking that the governor's office preserve any documents related to her case. That letter specifically outlines the state to retain documents related to the case.

That letter specifically outlines two instances in which Bennett reported the behavior to senior members of the Cuomo administration. These are conversations that happened in June during which Katz says that Bennett told these staff members that the governor's behavior was unwelcome. She says that he had sexually propositioned her, that he was grooming her for sex, and that she felt, quote, terrified. She did not want to see an investigation at the time, saying she was too terrified. Katz says Bennett was told by those staff members that an investigation did not have to go forward, that she was given an apology, told the behavior was inappropriate.

Now we're hearing from Cuomo's general counsel in response to that letter. She is saying that Bennett was treated with respect. She says Bennett was given the job transfer that she had requested, she was consulted about the resolution, and that she appeared to express satisfaction.

As for her part, Leticia James has asked the governor's office to preserve any documents related to claims of sexual harassment. We also reached out to Governor Cuomo's office about the allegations further detailed by Bennett this week. His office has referred us back to the public statement that he made earlier this week in which, you'll probably remember, he apologized, saying that he was sorry if he made anyone feel uncomfortable and that it was unintentional. Amara, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Alexandra, the governor's office is also pushing back on accusations that his aides changed reports counting the number of COVID-19 related deaths in nursing homes. What are they saying?

FIELD: Yes, this is the other crisis that the governor has been confronting for weeks now. Beth Garvey also responding to these reports from the "New York Times" and the "Wall Street Journal" that said that the state had drafted a report over the course of the summer that listed nursing home deaths at about 10,000. The report that was ultimately published showed deaths at nearly half that number. Garvey is saying that data pertaining to deaths that happened outside of nursing homes, nursing home patients who died in hospitals, that that data was omitted because DOH could not adequately verify it.

But she goes on to underscore the point we've heard from the Cuomo administration repeatedly, saying that the total death count in the state never changed, that nursing home deaths were not underreported, that instead deaths were reported at the locations in which they happened, meaning hospital deaths were reported as happening in hospitals, nursing homes deaths were reported as happening in nursing homes.

BLACKWELL: Developments in each of those crises. Alexandra Field for us in New York, thank you.

WALKER: First, Texas Governor Greg Abbott stalled a federal offer to test migrant workers for COVID. Now he's accusing those migrants of bringing coronavirus into the state. The details ahead.

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[10:38:54]

WALKER: The Biden administration says facilities caring for migrant children can open back up to pre-pandemic levels. A memo obtained by CNN cites extraordinary circumstances as the number of kids crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone is growing.

BLACKWELL: There are roughly 7,700 unaccompanied children in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services right now. That's according to their latest figures. CNN reported earlier this week that children were saying in border control custody for longer than three days on average, and the facilities are not designed to hold children and are only permitted to hold them for a max of 72 hours under law.

WALKER: The Biden administration is considering opening additional temporary border facilities in Arizona. Some are already being used and constructed in south Texas.

BLACKWELL: And the governor of Texas is accusing immigrants and the Biden administration of bringing coronavirus into the U.S.

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GOV. GREG ABBOTT, (R) TEXAS: The Biden administration has been releasing immigrants in south Texas that have been exposing Texans to COVID. Some of those people have been put on buses, taking that COVID to other states in the United States. The Biden administration must stop importing COVID into our country.

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[10:40:08]

BLACKWELL: A senior Homeland Security official tells CNN that Texas is stalling efforts by the feds to fund COVID tests for migrants. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us from Brownsville, Texas. Give us a reality check, a fact check, really, of what's going on there at the border.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor, and in order to actually get a deeper understanding of the reality here on the ground, it's important to keep this in mind. Just in the last week we have seen migrants enter the country by at least two means. You have those who have actually crossed over this port of entry in the last week, those migrants that have been waiting just on the other side of this port of entry after the Trump administration implemented its migrant protection protocols back in 2019, essentially requiring these asylum seeking families to wait right across the border in Mexico.

Then last month the Biden administration then announced that they would begin processing those migrants. However, they are required to prove that they have tested negative for the coronavirus before even setting foot in the country. So considering that, consider the other route here that is really where the debate starts, which is the so- called interior releases. These are families and people, undocumented people, that have crossed the Rio Grande illegally, turned themselves into authorities on the U.S. side of the border. They've been processed and then released, as we've seen with previous administrations in the past.

But then the concern is over testing those individuals. Right now the city of Brownsville has to actually test these people before they are allowed to go on their way. This is where the federal government is saying that they had already begun to move the wheels here in terms of trying to secure FEMA funds to allow the state and to allow local municipalities like the city of Brownsville to test these migrants. However, Governor Abbott then was quite vocal in saying that that should be the federal government's response, to actually test these migrants before they're allowed to continue on their way.

DHS in a statement responding to the governor saying, that "We hope Governor Abbott will reconsider his decision to reject DHS's agreement with the Texan local authorities that would enable the very testing of migrant families that Governor Abbott says that he wants." So again, that is really where the debate starts here.

And again, the city of Brownsville has been administering these tests, these rapid tests, and in some cases even administering the more accurate tests and tells me that at least some of those have turned out to be false positives. So far, at last check, only roughly 135 migrants in the last few weeks have actually tested positive for the coronavirus. And the big challenge is actually convincing these migrants to quarantine in place and take up the locals' offer to potentially quarantine in a hotel, and obviously with growing distrust, that is something that is extremely difficult. But nonetheless, though, Amara and Victor, those numbers are still enough fuel that debate about these migrants entering the country.

BLACKWELL: Polo Sandoval for us there in Brownsville there at the border, thank you, Polo.

So the so-called QAnon shaman, he claims he was peaceful and calm inside the capitol on January 6th, But will the video evidence bring down that case? Just ahead.

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[10:47:20] BLACKWELL: The task force established to review security at the Capitol after the January 6th insurrection is recommending a few upgrades.

WALKER: According to a report obtained by CNN, the task force wants 1,000 more Capitol police officers, a dedicated quick reaction force, and a system of fences and walls around the Capitol complex.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us now. Katelyn, the recommendations are coming as investigators made more arrests for the violent insurrection. Officials are probing what they say led up to the day. What's the latest on the investigation?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning. This is a very aggressive investigation that we're seen, and they're sweeping in lots and lots of data right now. That's what CNN's new reporting was this week. It was that we are seeing investigators identifying contacts with lawmakers that rioters may have had before or in the days around, and also contacts that rioters may have had with one another about lawmakers or about associations they might have with lawmakers.

That's not illegal, and that is the sort of thing that we are going to see as investigators are probing into these people with deep political interests. And as they're looking and piecing together the timeline of the days leading up to this, they're looking at cellphone data, they're looking at cellphones where they moved within the insurrection. They're looking at lots and lots of different things that they're getting from social media, from phone companies, as a way to build a timeline of what happened.

So, we don't know enough right now to know, and we haven't learned anything that says that there are lawmakers targeted in this investigation. But it does show a step forward as investigators are building pieces of this together. And then yesterday, "The New York Times" had some additional reporting that investigators along this same line did indicate that they had indication of a call between a member of the Proud Boys and someone associated with the White House in the days leading up to January 6th.

WALKER: January 6th, that was what, two months to the day after the riots now. And Katelyn, investigators are still making arrests.

POLANTZ: That's right, every day we're seeing new arrests being made. There are still many defendants, 300 I think is the number we're at right around now. A very significant arrest was made late this week on Thursday in Virginia.

[10:50:02]

It was a person who had worked on the Trump campaign in 2016, and then had become a political appointee in the State Department, a man named Federico Klein. He had been working in the western hemispheres section of the State Department and then worked in the FOIA office. He was allegedly in the riot, in the insurrection, and using a riot shield to wedge open a door and fight against a police line for several minutes during the insurrection. That's what he's accused of. And those are some significant charges. That's assaulting a police officer charge. And that's the sort of charge make prosecutors now say they want to keep him in jail.

And so, we're going to see more from his case in the coming weeks as they argue that out. He's due back in court on Tuesday. And we might learn more about him and his connections to the Trump world as that continues on.

At the same time, there's other people in this investigation who are very high profile that we've known about since two months ago when the insurrection had happened. The man Jacob Chansley, this is the QAnon Shaman, the man dressed without a shirt and animal pelts inside the Capitol with a spear, he was in court yesterday. He has been arguing to be let out of jail. The Justice Department has fought back very aggressively against this. And yesterday, the judge in his case was really pressing him both whether it was a spear or a flagpole, it seems like the judge is leaning towards he was carrying a spear. And he was also pressing him on his interview with CBS this week, with "60 Minutes" and whether he was given permission. The judge seems to believe he did not have permission from the court and from the Justice Department to do that interview while he was in custody. Back to you.

WALKER: Wow, Katelyn, the more details we hear about this insurrection, it's incredibly shocking still. Appreciate you joining us, Katelyn Polantz, thank you.

POLANTZ: Thank you.

WALKER: Atlanta police say they are taking no chances this All-Star weekend as NBA Fans from all over come to Atlanta for Sunday's game.

BLACKWELL: So the general public will not be allowed in State Farm arena for the All-Star game, but the surrounding areas full of activity. Some businesses are open for extended hours. But the authorities say that they're coordinating longer shifts to patrol the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEPUTY CHIEF CHARLES HAMPTON, JR., ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have our men and women on 12-hour shifts, off days cancelled, as well as selected members of other units and divisions also on 12 hours and off days cancelled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms calls this event a made for TV moment.

WALKER: Right now, we're going to take you live and show you pictures out of Baghdad where Pope Francis is speaking as part of his historic trip to the city. We will take you there live when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:57:30]

WALKER: More on Pope Francis's historic trip to Iraq. Right now the pontiff is holding mass at the Chaldean Cathedral of St. Joseph in Baghdad. The four-day trip is meant to unify the many faiths of the war-torn nation and highlight the country's minority Christian communities.

BLACKWELL: Earlier he met with the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a prominent Shia Muslim leader for a private but symbolic meeting. CNN's senior interview correspondent Ben Wedeman is live this morning in Erbil. What's the latest there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here, of course, the city is preparing for the arrival tomorrow of Pope Francis, who is really focusing on northern Iraq, which is where a great number of Iraqi Christians live. And there is a real sense of anticipation here. He's going to go first to Mosul where he will be conducting prayers at a church there that was destroyed by ISIS while it occupied the city. Then he'll be going to the town of Qaraqosh, another predominantly Christian town that I've been to several times. In fact, I was there shortly after it was liberated in early 2017 when they held their first mass there after liberation. ISIS, when it was in that town, destroyed every symbol of Christianity they could. The main church there was scorched by fires they had set there. In fact, they even used the main courtyard of the church as a firing range.

His final activity here in Erbil will be to address 10,000 people in a cathedral here. That will be his biggest event yet. Iraqi authorities in this part of the country have assured the Vatican that social distancing will be maintained in the cathedral despite that huge number of people. But certainly, his focus will be tomorrow on the dwindling Christian community here in Iraq.

WALKER: And Ben, so we know the trip is centered on bringing different faiths together, and we did see the Pope meet with Islamic leaders as well. Live pictures here from Baghdad, Iraq, as this historic trip continues from the Pope. Ben Wedeman, thank you very much.

And that's our time. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Amara Walker.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Newsroom continues with Fredricka Whitfield right now.