Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Most Of Italy Faces New Restrictions Monday; Spring Break Travel Soars As Restrictions Loosen; Brazil's Hospitals Pushed To Limit; U.K. Reels Over Sarah Everard's Murder; Soaring Numbers Of Unaccompanied Children At U.S. Border; Texas Reports Multiple Tornadoes And Large Hail; Grammys Honor Industry Hit Hard By Pandemic. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired March 14, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The U.S. surpasses yet another coronavirus milestone but, this time, it's good news.
Weeks after a devastating winter storm, this is the scene in Texas.
It's music's biggest night and COVID is having an impact. We'll hear how the Grammys will stand out from the other award shows.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to all of you watching. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: In a year of troubling and tragic milestones, it's a relief to mark a positive achievement and today we can. One in every five Americans has now received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and case numbers are falling.
But spring break travel could combine with loosening coronavirus restrictions to derail this process. These are images out of Miami Beach, Florida. Packed, not a mask in site. On Sunday 1.3 million people were screened at U.S. airports and experts say it could all end up with a new case spike.
They are begging Americans to wear masks regardless of what local rules say. Here's Paul Vercammen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Coronavirus restrictions are loosening up from coast to coast but one of the nation's top health experts is warning governors if there was ever a time to put on a mask, this is it.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: I would just appeal to all of those leaders who have people's lives on their hands look at the data, take some risks with your political base if you need to but do the right thing.
VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Health officials are also deeply concerned Americans are letting their guard down by getting on planes in record numbers since the outbreak began and by clustering during spring break.
DR. JOSEPH VARON, CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER, HOUSTON: If you come to Texas, you would say, hey, the pandemic disappeared overnight. It is amazing. You go outside, all the clubs are packed, people not wearing masks, it's very disappointing.
VERCAMMEN (voice-over): A key vaccine benchmark has been met in California so they will ease restrictions.
State officials announce they met their goal to vaccinate 2 million people in the hardest hit poor neighborhoods, teachers, agriculture workers and restaurant employees all eligible to get shots. The list expands to Californians with certain medical problems on Monday.
Also on the Golden State horizon, more reopenings of California movie theaters, museums, zoos, gyms and restaurants indoors on a very limited basis, the reason for restaurant workers to expect more tips, starting at midnight Sunday.
WAITER OROZCO, RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE: There were moments that we didn't have a lot of customers coming in, so you get frustrated sometimes. But right now, everything starts coming back with the vaccine and reopening, it feels more secure now.
VERCAMMEN (voice-over): More good news on the vaccine front, the CDC says more than 100 million people have received a COVID-19 shot and age eligibility requirements dropping in many states. And AstraZeneca hopes to get emergency authorization approval for is vaccine at the end of this month or into of April.
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: The FDA scientists will review the data very carefully. They will get access to the complete file. And if they see any signs of any concerns, they're not going to give emergency use authorization to this vaccine.
VERCAMMEN: But in Mississippi, this memento is a touching and heartbreaking reminder that COVID-19 kills. Jeff Nabors suffered from heart disease, rushed to marry his sweetheart of 17 years.
SHERRY NABORS, WIDOW OF COVID-19 VICTIM: It wasn't what we had in mind, it was beautiful. It was beautiful and it was so touching and it was so perfect.
VERCAMMEN: But Sherry went from newly wedded to widow in days because of the virus that so far killed 500,000 people in the United States and counting -- Paul Vercammen, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Joining me now from Los Angeles, CNN medical analyst, Dr. Jorge Rodriguez.
Thank you so much for joining us.
As we heard there, the TSA reported the highest number of travelers in nearly a year. Spring break just around the corner, tons of non- vaccinated young people will be congregating in many places that have lifted many of the COVID restrictions.
[04:05:00]
BRUNHUBER: It seems like a perfect storm.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It certainly is. When Texas lifted the mask mandate, I thought, wow. This is a perfect way to have young, drunk spring break people going to South Padre Island.
People that are young sometimes think they will not suffer from the virus. They're healthy and they will probably not have long-term complications. But they're breeding variants that get spread to the greater community. I think it will be a perfect storm and that it is very dangerous.
BRUNHUBER: You're one of the places, California, that had the most restrictions. On Monday they're going to reopen some things like movie theaters. California is just catching up to what other states have been doing for awhile.
But especially where you are, L.A. County, what do you think about reopening?
Is it about time or is it still too soon?
RODRIGUEZ: I'm always very cautious. I drove by this restaurant last week that had outdoor dining. And I was taken aback. Luckily the percentage of infectivity is around 2.2 percent. But people take this as a free pass to just go be reckless. We need to be cautious. We're definitely not out of it.
BRUNHUBER: Someone told me the other day, just because you can doesn't mean you should. Fortunately, the vaccines are going into arms more rapidly than ever. Some populations are harder to reach. Usually when we talk about vaccine hesitancy, we're talking about minority populations. But Georgia's governor referred to a different subset. Here is what we're seeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): We are seeing vaccine hesitancy, really. As the pharmacists and I were talking about Macon south and a lot of that is dealing with white Republicans, quite honestly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: So the Biden administration acknowledged that the president and his officials may not be the best messengers to reach white Republicans. So what kind of messaging and from whom would be most effective to
reach them?
RODRIGUEZ: Unfortunately, so much about this pandemic has been politicized and weaponized. In thinking about this, there is no clear answer. I think that you need to, first of all, respect, believe and identify with the person that is speaking to you.
I used to think it was people that had celebrity. I now think it is people that have walked the walk, perhaps that have been involved in the process of making a vaccine. Maybe someone that lost a loved one. But someone that you can identify with. Republican to Republican, African American to African American or Hispanic to Hispanic.
You have to identify, respect and you have to believe what they're saying.
BRUNHUBER: That's all of the time that we have, thank you Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you, Kim.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Rather than opening up, much of Italy is locking down, many parts of the country, because of a new surge of coronavirus. Restrictions are going into effect in half of Italy's 20 regions and they will stay in place through April 6th. Let's go to Delia Gallagher, live in Rome.
How bad is this new wave?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: In terms of how bad the emergency, as it were, is, it's not yet there. The prime minister was saying he is taking these measures to avoid getting into an emergency state.
Nonetheless they are seeing the numbers rise. On Thursday, they recorded their highest daily cases since November. That was just over 25,000 and that has already jumped to over 26,000. So they're seeing an increase in the daily number of cases.
But they are also concerned about variants. They're saying the variant first identified in the U.K. is now prevalent in Italy and that is increasing the rate of transmission and spread. Those are two factors that the government is looking at. And they want to take these measures to bring the numbers down sooner rather than later.
[04:10:00]
GALLAGHER: They're locking down half of Italy's regions, including Rome and Venice and Milan. Easter weekend be a total lockdown but it seems like they will be able to go to Easter mass if it is a church near their home. They're hoping these measures will help bring the numbers down. The prime minister was speaking to the country on Friday, saying he
understood that this will cause difficulties for children's education, for the economy, certainly, and for the psychological well-being of Italians. But he said it is necessary to avoid a further deterioration.
BRUNHUBER: Delia Gallagher, thank you so much.
Six European countries are calling on the European Union to guarantee equal access to the vaccines. The leaders of Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Latvia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic say there is an uneven distribution of vaccines in the bloc but the European Commission says it's a proportionate distribution process, based on population, has been transparent.
So some nations are distancing based on various vaccination needs. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca says it is "disappointed" to announce a vaccine shortfall shipments to the E.U.
For more on this let's bring in CNN's Cyril Vanier in London.
The E.U. is falling further behind in the U.K. on vaccines.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, it's really been a bad week for Europe's vaccination efforts. There are several stories all trending, making availability slower or not as fast as it should have been and as it was scheduled.
And now European countries fighting. First of all, there is a number of European countries accusing the European Commission of not sharing the vaccines equally. That's the kind of accusation that would not sit well with the E.U. commission.
They said we wanted to share them out equally. That's what we suggested but a number of countries took it upon themselves to change the distribution, the criteria. Six European countries have leveled unsubstantiated charges of secret claims between the E.U.'s vaccine steering committee and Big Pharma.
So you have European unity fraying at the seams over vaccine scarcity. Then AstraZeneca is saying we had shortfalls in the first part of the year and now we're going to have shortfalls in the second quarter. Half of the vaccines they were going to supply were going to come from abroad.
The E.U. and other countries, where AZ has supply chains, other countries, they have not named them, have imposed export bans. So now they will not be, at least not fully, coming to Europe.
Add to that the third story colliding with all of this, is that you have a sizable minority that don't know if they trust the AZ vaccine. They've either fully or partly suspended use of the doses after there were blood clots and three deaths in Europe in the last week or so.
This has all collided to make it one of the worst weeks for Europe's vaccination effort, I think it is fair to say. You have countries quarrelling over the scarcity, the scarcity getting worse and a sizable number of countries not knowing if they trust it in the first place.
BRUNHUBER: What a good summary there of all of those troubles colliding. Thank you so much Cyril Vanier in London.
Brazil's COVID-19 crisis is getting worse. Some intensive care units are being pushed and some hospitals are running low on oxygen. A shortage of vaccine doses is contributing to the crisis. The federal government led by COVID skeptic president Jair Bolsonaro has been blamed for sabotaging Brazil's coronavirus response. CNN's Matt Rivers is in Sao Paulo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Brazil, we continue to see signs of just how stressed many health care systems in different states across this country are. The latest news on Saturday coming out of the northern Brazilian state of Rondonia.
[04:15:00]
The Brazilian attorney general's office says there's only enough oxygen to supply that state's hospitals for the next 15 days. The Brazilian attorney general's office sent a letter to the health ministry, asking them to adopt urgent measures to make sure that that supply does not run out.
The attorney general's office saying it's been difficult to procure oxygen supplies from other parts of the country because of how bad the rest of the country's health care systems are at this moment.
Earlier this year, in a place where we were reporting six weeks ago, in the Amazonas state, Manaus ran out of its oxygen supply. It made the outbreak there that much worse, leading to an increase in the mortalities we saw at that time.
That outbreak in Manaus foreshadowed what we're seeing in many other parts of the country. At our last count, on Friday, 23 of 26 Brazilian states, in addition to Brazil's federal district, were reporting ICU occupancy levels of at least 80 percent or higher.
Many of those states were also reporting ICU occupancy rates of 90 percent or higher. If you look here in the city of Sao Paulo and the surrounding metropolitan area, called Greater Sao Paulo, where we are right now, ICU occupancy rates are just shy of 90 percent and extremely concerning.
While we know vaccinations across Brazil have been very slow, one person did manage to get his shot, his first shot this weekend. That would be former Brazilian president and potential candidate for the presidency once again in 2022, Lula da Silva.
Lula, as he is commonly known, took the opportunity after getting the vaccination to criticize current president Jair Bolsonaro and his administration, saying the president needs to stop being ignorant, saying the administration should be guaranteeing vaccinations for all people -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The kidnapping and murder of a young British woman has become a rallying cry for women in the U.K. who say they're afraid to go out alone at night. We'll have a live report from London ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: We want to bring you up to date on a murder that has gripped the U.K., leading to growing anger among women who say they don't feel safe on their own streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The catalyst (INAUDIBLE) 33 year-old Sarah Everard. Thousands of people held a vigil late Saturday where she was last seen on March 3rd. And tensions have been high ever since. A London police officer was charged with her kidnap and murder. CNN's Nina dos Santos is covering the story.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: Yes, I was there yesterday and I'm back here today. You see, they are still visible in the faces of all of these people, continuing to come in large numbers.
They are still laying flowers at this focal point for the memory of Sarah Everard. All of this prompted a national conversation about the consequences of toxic misogyny.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): The death of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, while walking home, has plunged Britain into a moment of reckoning on women's rights and safety.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Essentially, women have a curfew now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As soon as it gets dark out, you either have to be with someone or you have to be home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're fed up of having to worry all the time and not feel safe. And this has just proven our fears to be true.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Sarah vanished March 3rd while walking from one residential part of the capital to another at around 9:00 pm. Her remains were found last week nearly 60 miles away. And a serving London Metropolitan Police officer has been charged in connection with her death. DOS SANTOS: What shocked so many is both the randomness of what
happened to Sarah and the relatability of the circumstances under which she disappeared. She was last seen walking along this busy street in South London after having been to visit a friend, who lived nearby.
It wasn't particularly late and this isn't a particularly dangerous area.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): The vigil for Sarah had been organized by women in the neighborhood where she vanished but was canceled due to COVID regulations. Yet thousands still came; their aim, to reclaim women's rights to walk where they want, when they want, without fear.
LUDOVICA ORLANDO, ORGANIZER, RECLAIM THESE STREETS: While maybe abduction is not as common as been said, being groped on a bus is. Being yelled at is. Being followed home is. And those are things that need to change because -- just because not all the stories don't end in tragedy doesn't mean they're not worth telling.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): On Twitter, women shared their stories.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can vividly remember getting harassed by a man who tried to assault me when I was 18.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On my walk home, a man in a car pulled up next to me to tell me I had --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was 13, a man followed me and my friends down the alley and flashed us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to know (ph). Tracy Kidd (ph), Nellie Staffer (ph).
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): In Parliament one lawmaker shared the names of women who were killed in the U.K. this year. Among them, six who perished the same week Sarah went missing.
For David Challen, who campaigned to overturn his mother's sentence for killing his abusive father.
[04:25:00]
DOS SANTOS: There's a lot men in Britain can do to better understand and aid women's plight.
DAVID CHALLEN, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: It's time for misogyny to be recognized as a hate crime. These are offensive acts on a sliding scale that creates harm and violence and trauma for women throughout their lives. They all have it in common and men are blind to it.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): The scenes of police, arresting masked women holding a vigil despite COVID rules, sparked anger nationwide. And politicians from all sides demanded an explanation. The Met said they hadn't wanted to act.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But we were placed in this position because of the overriding need to protect people's safety.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Sarah Everard's family said their daughter was beautiful and bright, a shining example to us all. In the senseless tragedy of her death, many hope her memory may guide the way for other women towards a safer path home in the future and away from scenes like these.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOS SANTOS: So what is the answer, Kim?
Well, lawmakers are talking about changing domestic abuse legislation to label it as a hate crime, saying it should be against the law in this country. There should be a database of harassers.
Many Londoners, in the meantime, have been asking themselves why it took the senseless death of a young woman from this national moment of reckoning to take place. The answer, some fear, may lie in how swiftly these protesters were dealt with here last night.
BRUNHUBER: As you mentioned here, the Metropolitan Police are under fire from across the political divide. The government getting plenty of criticism here from proposed new laws that seem to target protesters, that critics say encourage police to crack down.
So what do you think the fallout of all of this will be?
DOS SANTOS: Well, there is no doubt that this is a very difficult and tense time when it comes to people's personal liberties and their human right to protest. This is a country that had three lockdowns. This lockdown has been particularly long and painful.
And people are irritated with their inability to gather in big groups to show their anger at certain issues like this. But the real issue yesterday was the proportionality of the force that was used.
The crowd was essentially very, very peaceful. Yes, they were close together and most people were observing social distancing as they could and most were masks but the real scenes happened on the bandstand, where male police officers were charging and pinning down women, who were standing there, making their point of view and also masked as well, taking COVID proportions.
It's that disproportionality that prompted heated political debate in London, outside and around the country. I want to read to you what the mayor of London says.
Because that is the policing force of the capital, that has said, "The scenes from Clapham Common are unacceptable. The police have responsibility to enforce COVID laws but from the images I have seen, it is clear that the response were neither appropriate nor proportionate."
That has been repeated by others as well. They say the woman at the head of the Metropolitan Police should step down now, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Thank you for all of that, Nina dos Santos in London.
Later this hour, I'll speak with one of the organizers of the Reclaim the Streets vigil shut down by the police.
All right, just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. is facing an influx of migrants on the border of the U.S. with Mexico.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The U.S. Border Patrol is dealing with so many unaccompanied migrant children at the southern border that other agencies are coming in to help. The head of Homeland Security is directing FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to help shelter thousands of children.
It follows a week where the number of unaccompanied migrant children in custody increased to over 3,700. Child welfare lawyers spoke to some of the children in a overcrowded tent facility and they say the kids are terrified, crying and worried about not seeing family members.
Some said they hadn't bathed or seen the sunlight in days. One officials say that the situation is quickly becoming a humanitarian crisis. The number of children arriving has been outpacing the Biden administration's ability to put them in proper shelters.
U.S. officials say immigrants are fleeing instability in their homelands, made worse by the pandemic and even hurricanes. There is also perception among migrants of more welcoming policies under the new American president. CNN's Rosa Flores spoke with some.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the faces of the immigration surge on the U.S.-Mexico border.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): Maria Mendoza (ph) is from El Salvador and hopes to reunite with her family in Maryland.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): Roxana Viberes (ph) from Honduras says she lost everything during a recent hurricane.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES: She said that her dream is to have a house. And that that's why she made the trek to the United States.
FLORES (voice-over): Maria (ph) and Roxana (ph) are among the tens of thousands of migrants who've been encountered by U.S. border authorities in recent weeks. One area, alone, saw over 5,000 migrants enter over an eight-hour period last week.
According to a federal source, to expedite processing, authorities started fingerprinting them under this bridge.
[04:35:00]
FLORES (voice-over): Many of the unaccompanied children and families are bused to this new temporary immigration processing center in Donna, Texas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): Maria de la Rosa (ph) lives across the street and says buses packed with people arrive around the clock. And at night, she hears children crying.
MARIA DE LA ROSA, DONNA, TEXAS, RESIDENT: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES: You're scared?
DE LA ROSA: Yes.
FLORES (voice-over): From there, some migrants are dropped off by immigration officials at bus stations, like this one in Brownsville.
That is where we met Roxana (ph), Maria (ph) and her 6-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): She said she evaded a snake during her journey to the United States and fell off a raft while crossing the Rio Grande.
FLORES: Why is there a surge right now, you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): Both Maria (ph) and Roxana (ph) say they learned from news reports --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): -- in their home countries that the Biden administration is allowing migrant women with children to enter the U.S. --
FLORES: And you believe that that was true?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Si.
FLORES (voice-over): -- which is not entirely true. The Biden administration says it's allowing unaccompanied minors to remain in the U.S. pending immigration cases. And some families are allowed in on a case-by-case basis.
That perception could be driving some of the surge, which has over 3,700 unaccompanied children in Border Patrol custody in jail-like facilities. Health and Human Services is caring for about 8,800 unaccompanied minors, while they're reunited with family and is even considering using a NASA site to expand bed space.
FLORES: How is it to be a mom?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): And some non-profit migrant shelters like La Posada (ph), where Maria Hernandez (ph), a migrant from Nicaragua is staying, have seen a spike in the flow of mothers, children --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORES (voice-over): -- and pregnant women.
Cindy Johnson has volunteered to help thousands of migrants across the river in Matamoros and collected hundreds of postcards with their story.
CINDY JOHNSON, VOLUNTEER: This child is saying that they witnessed people dying, people getting beaten.
FLORES (voice-over): Cindy says she scanned them and sent them to then candidate for president, Joe Biden.
FLORES: What was the goal of sending these letters to Biden?
JOHNSON: The goal was, they wanted them to see the humanity.
FLORES (voice-over): Rosa Flores, CNN, along the U.S.-Mexico border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still ahead, we're speaking with the organizer of a vigil to honor Sarah Everard. Plus millions in the U.S. under threat of severe winter weather. We'll have the forecast.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Frustration and anger are boiling over between women's rights advocates in the U.K. and the London Metropolitan Police, who forcibly shut down a vigil for murder victim Sarah Everard.
Ludovica Orlando is the organizer of last night's Reclaim the Streets vigil and is joining us.
Thank you so much for being with us.
What happened last night, it's hard to believe, how did it get that far?
LUDOVICA ORLANDO, ORGANIZER, RECLAIM THE STREETS VIGIL: We're very sad and actually quite angered by the sight of the police manhandling women at a vigil against violence. While yes, we did originally organize a vigil, we had to cancel it because they failed to work with us, despite what the high court ruling had guaranteed.
They said that there can not be a blanket ban on vigils. So we were forced to cancel. So we see what happened last night as completely their responsibility to protect not only public order and public health but also our human right to protest.
The way we had planned the vigil was to be very COVID safe. We had a track and trace for COVID. We were going to have COVID marshals and we offered staggered times. But we were forced to cancel and we saw what happened.
And you know, of this week of all weeks, they should have understood that women needed a safe place to mourn and show solidarity. And they failed on all accounts last night. They could have spent that time they spent fighting with us to help us make a safe solution.
BRUNHUBER: Policeman manhandling women at this specific event was not lost on anyone. There has been pushback, do you think that spirit will translate into action on the issue of violence against women?
What do you think will come from this?
ORLANDO: I think this is all a conversation that the police and the government need to listen and realize that us women feel that the criminal justice system is failing us. And last night is a clear example of that.
Our first priority is to understand what happened last night, why they ignored us and why they don't want to listen to the fact that we could have conducted a safe gathering and vigil to, as I said, remember all women lost to violence. But we will be looking more into this and have discussions because safety was at the heart of everything we wanted to do. And clearly that was ignored.
BRUNHUBER: Abductions and murder of women are, thankfully, relatively rare. But a recent survey found that almost all British women have suffered from harassment. I'm surprised how unfortunately universal these experiences are.
On social media, I have friends all over Africa, tweeting about their own experiences. Is it -- at least one good thing to come from this, how this issue has resonated across the world?
ORLANDO: We really hope so and that was one of the reasons that we wanted to have this safe event for all women. We wanted to make a statement that, it doesn't matter what you wear, where you live, no matter the time of day, time or place.
[04:45:00]
ORLANDO: It is never OK to be harassed at home or in public spaces, followed, assaulted or killed. You quoted, 97 percent of women have reported being harassed and it's a widespread issue and what, you know, following the tragedy of Sarah, police have instructed women to not go out at night.
And we wanted to take a stand. We need to be clear, women are not the problem. Women deserve to be safe. And it is time that we change the conversation. The burden is not on women and there's not that much victim blaming around us.
BRUNHUBER: So the burden is not on women, the implication there is that men have to change. There is an important role for men here.
Do you feel that not just in terms of changing their behavior but also being advocates but allies, are men doing enough here?
What exactly has to change?
ORLANDO: I think there has to be a very honest conversation and men need to be willing to listen and not take anything in an offensive way. What we're saying is that they need to understand what effect certain behaviors have around us and we're very keen that the conversation continues in a constructive way.
But the first step is to be believed. And we need to be able to come to you and say, we're frightened, we don't feel safe. You need to believe us and then listen to us. Because that is the first step.
So a lot of women are sharing their stories of how they walk, holding keys in their hands. There is the awful feeling of when you feel a presence behind you and you don't know who it is. And if they're following you, you completely get cold and then they walk past you, it's a release and then you say, OK, I am safe.
That's something we need to make them understand that's how we feel constantly. And men have a huge responsibility to not only listen to us but also to call other men out. If you see a friend harassing someone or another men that you don't know, you need to step up because this is also on you for all of society to change. It's on all of us.
BRUNHUBER: I hope everyone is listening to what you just said. Thank you for being with us, appreciate it.
ORLANDO: Thank you have having me.
BRUNHUBER: CNN NEWSROOM continues after this break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Much of the U.S. is bracing for severe weather this weekend. Several tornadoes were spotted in Texas on Saturday. And one particularly dangerous tornado is blamed for overturning tractor trailer trucks on a highway. Baseball sized hail damaged multiple power lines in some areas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BRUNHUBER: The Grammys today will look a lot different. They will have live performances, limited onsite performances and one big snub.
[04:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Bad Bunny to Black Pumas, the Stallion to Styles --
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ELAM (voice-over): -- hitmakers are lined up to perform live at the 63rd Grammy Awards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hosted by Trevor Noah.
ELAM (voice-over): But who will be watching? The pandemic-era Golden Globes and Emmys were far from ratings gold. Yet, the Grammys has one advantage.
JEM ASWAD, DEPUTY MUSIC EDITOR, "VARIETY": You've got a whole lot of performances interspersed with the awards, which is awesome because it's what people want to see.
ELAM (voice-over): The show is also coming off a tough 2020, which saw the Recording Academy accused in a series of scandals, including questions about its nomination process. The Recording Academy denied the accusations.
The controversy had been eclipsed by the death of Kobe Bryant the morning of the show.
This year, the noms controversy is back, swirling around The Weeknd.
ASWAD: The Weeknd not getting a single nomination is the biggest snub in Grammy history.
ELAM (voice-over): In response, the singer, in response, calling the Grammys corrupt.
(MUSIC PLAYING) ASWAD: The song "Blinding Light," it's been in the Billboard Top 100,
the greatest metric of a song's success, for a year and no record has ever done that before. ELAM: The Recording Academy responded, saying they understand his
disappointment.
The interim CEO adding, "I was surprised and can empathize with what he is feeling."
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ELAM (voice-over): Queen Bay leaves the nomination race with "Nine."
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ELAM (voice-over): Roddy Rich --
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ELAM (voice-over): -- Taylor Swift --
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ELAM (voice-over): -- and Dua Lipa are each up for six Grammys, including Song of the Year.
ELAM: Moving from its usual home here at Staples Center, most of the Grammys will be filmed in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center right across the street. And the only audience members that will be in attendance will be the other performers and some of the nominees -- Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be back in just a moment with more news. Please stay with us.
