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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention States More than 20 Percent of U.S. Population Fully Vaccinated for COVID-19; Coronavirus Cases in Michigan Continue Increasing; Department of Health and Health Services Investigating Allegations of Abuse at Site Sheltering Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors in Texas; Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz States He Will Not Step Down Amidst Allegations of Sex Trafficking and Misconduct; Medical Experts Testify during Second Week of Trial of Derek Chauvin for Murder of George Floyd; Prince Philip, Husband of Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom, Passes Away; Volcano Erupts on Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent. Aired 10- 11a ET

Aired April 10, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:11]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. We are grateful to have your company on this Saturday, April 10th. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. You are in the CNN Newsroom.

And it is a crucial time in the race between the coronavirus variants and the vaccines, and what happens now will have major implications for what our summer will look like.

PAUL: More than 80,000 new COVID cases were added just yesterday. That's the third day in a row the U.S. has logged 75,000 new cases or more. The often-cited model from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation forecasts more than 618,000 deaths by August 1st. That toll jumps to more than 697,000 if people who are fully vaccinated return to pre-pandemic levels of mobility, let's say. It does drop if we wear masks.

BLACKWELL: The CDC says more than 20 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, nearly 60 percent of those 65 and older. More than 3 million people are getting a shot, on average, every day, and we could soon see kids as young as 12 have access to Pfizer's vaccine. But some states say they need more federal help. So, let's go to CNN's Polo Sandoval. He's at a mass vaccination site in Detroit. The governor there, Polo, wants the federal government to surge vaccines to her state. The administration has said they're basing this on population, not on rate of transmission. Break down the challenges there.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the big challenge is trying to get a large amount of vaccinations here, especially in Michigan, to try to cover more ground, which is what the state officials have been asking for. But as you just noted a little while ago, the Biden administration saying at least not at this point, and simply put by Governor Gretchen Whitmer just yesterday, with respect to the state of Michigan, that it is unquestionably still a national COVID hotspot at the moment, especially where the test positivity rate right now, the COVID test positivity rate is almost four times what we saw just two months ago. So it's certainly highlighting the need for Michiganders to head to mass vaccination locations like the one you see behind me, especially the younger residents.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SANDOVAL: Pfizer is requested to expand the emergency use authorization of the drug-makers' COVID-19 vax to include people ages 12 to 15 in the U.S. The FDA will evaluate the request as quickly as possible, said the agency's acting commissioner Janet Woodcock. The FDA currently allows the vaccine's use in people 16 and up. The other two COVID-19 vaccines in the United States made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are authorized for emergency use in people ages 18 and older. The CDC is aware of several incidents involving adverse reactions to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in four states, says the CDC.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: That's something that needs to be investigated. People do just get blood clots, and when you have millions of people who get the vaccine, some people are going to get blood clots. So important to investigate, but right now I am not concerned for myself or for anybody else who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

SANDOVAL: Johnson & Johnson also working closely with the FDA to resolve any manufacturing issues at the emergent facility in Baltimore.

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The company also expects a cadence of up to 8 million weekly doses in total across state and federal channels later in April. Importantly, Johnson & Johnson has also reiterated its commitment to provide at or near 100 million vaccine doses by the end of May.

SANDOVAL: Currently more than one in four adults are now fully vaccinated in the U.S. Experts hope to get more Americans vaccinated quickly as lockdown fatigue takes its toll just as more transmissible variants of the virus become dominant.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, BIDEN CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: I don't think that there needs to be concern about any shift or change in the efficacy of the vaccine.

SANDOVAL: All 50 states have committed to opening vaccinations to all Americans 16 and up by April 19th.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: As cases increase in the community, we expect that cases identified in schools will also increase. This is not necessarily indicative of school-based transmission.

SANDOVAL: Duke University, the latest of at least 16 colleges and universities to require all students to receive COVID-19 vaccines, states including California and Vermont plan to fully reopen this summer. Experts are warning that to truly declare victory against the variants, Americans need to get vaccinated and continue mitigation measures.

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: We still have high confidence that these vaccines are effective, but because they are not perfect is precisely why we are still urging people to be cautious. It's why we have such an emphasis on getting the overall case numbers down, which we can only do by vaccinating and by making sure that people, until we have a critical mass vaccinated, are wearing masks, keeping distance, washing their hands, avoiding indoor gatherings.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

[10:05:06]

SANDOVAL (on camera): And back here at Michigan, which continues to face these extremely worrying numbers, the question is what will the state potentially do next? I can tell that just yesterday Governor Whitmer laying out several recommendations that they would like people here in the state to actually try to adhere to for the next two weeks, and that includes calling on high schools to return to remote learning for at least the next two weeks on a volunteer basis, also strongly encourage residents to avoid indoor dining, instead do outdoor dining or takeout. And finally calling on youth sports to also suspend practices and games for the next couple of weeks. But, again, the governor making it clear this is simply recommendations. These are not orders or mandates at this point.

PAUL: Polo Sandoval, we appreciate it. Thank you.

CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen is with us now. She's also the author of an upcoming book, "Lifelines, A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health." Dr. Wen, always appreciate you being with us. Thank you so much. I want to get your reaction to what's happening in Michigan right now. Should they be getting more vaccines?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, I'm very concerned about what's going on in Michigan and also in other hot spots around the country. And actually, a core principle in public health is that you should target the resources to where they are needed the most. And so in this case if we know that there are certain areas that really need vaccines as a way to increase the protection, I don't see why the federal government can't reallocate their doses, especially because there are some states where the supply and demand are actually catching up on one another. There are some places where people are not using all their supplies. So why can't we redistribute those doses to where they are needed the most?

BLACKWELL: Doctor, you've got a new op-ed in "The Washington Post," and I'm just going to read the headline here and then get you to expound. "Stop calling them vaccine passports." Why?

WEN: Right. The term is inflammatory. It's politically divisive. And, frankly, it's inaccurate, because when we think about passports, we think about some kind of government issued I.D., like a driver's license. If you don't have it, it may limit your ability to obtain certain societal benefits and to enter certain places.

That is not what I think really most people are saying is what we need when we are talking about proof of vaccine status. What we're talking about is something more like a health screen. So imagine right now we already have, if you want to enter buildings, a lot of places are going to be asking you for a list of do you have these symptoms. Some places are checking your temperature. Some places may even administer a rapid test. This is an extension of that and actually replaces those other mechanisms for checking for your health status.

And I think it's a way for businesses, independent businesses, you had somebody who was in charge of a festival earlier on your show talking about how this is a way to reassure customers and to give them peace of mind. And I actually think that it's the height of hypocrisy for politicians who normally say they're probusiness to now not allow businesses to innovate, to provide COVID safety protocols.

BLACKWELL: If I could follow-up on that, you talk about politicians, and in the op-ed you say not to make this political. But people politicized haircuts. There were protests for people to get haircuts in the beginning of this pandemic. What do you say to those governors, Kemp in Georgia, DeSantis in Florida, Abbott in Texas, who are speaking to a constituency? We know from polling, we know from these governors that the majority of the hesitancy is in white, rural Republicans, white men specifically, and they're speaking to their voters.

WEN: I know. I would say in this case that if they're truly for business and free market, then they should allow businesses to do what's best for their customers. You can imagine there may be a gym that's currently not allowing indoor fitness classes because it's high risk for people to come together in cramped spaces for high intensity classes. If everybody in that group is vaccinated and they can verify vaccination status, they can allow those classes to come back. Or you were talking about college campuses. We can basically allow for college students to have something very close to a pre-pandemic college experience if everybody is vaccinated. So I think they should be framing it, these politicians should be flaming it as free choice, that we're allowing businesses, entities to do what's best for the people they're serving.

PAUL: So, speaking of vaccines, we know that Pfizer is asking the FDA to authorize their vaccine for kids ages 12 to 15. These were bridging trials, as I understand it, meaning that they were trials on children, several thousand, as opposed to maybe 40,000, in what is a normal trial. What is your take on that, and how quickly do you think an authorization like that could take shape?

WEN: I'm very optimistic, Christi, about this, and that's because the data from Pfizer that we've seen thus far are very strong.

[10:10:00]

They've shown that in these 4,000 or so individuals 12 to 15 that the vaccine is safe, there were no adverse safety signals, and they were really effective. Actually, they are shown to be 100 percent effective thus far in the trial. And so I'm very optimistic about this. It could be a matter of weeks to months, ideally before the beginning of the next school year, so that teenagers, high school age students are all going to be able to be vaccinated, which is important, because, first of all, we need them to get the benefit of the vaccine, but also it will help us to reach herd immunity a lot faster if we don't just have to rely on adults all to be vaccinated. And this older age group, unlike with younger children, they have a higher likelihood of spreading the virus, very similar to adults. So, getting them a protective effect of the vaccine will help in keeping schools open and stay open.

BLACKWELL: CNN has obtained data that shows that 40 percent of Marines have declined to take vaccinations, 40 percent of those who have been offered it yet, so many still have not been offered. At Camp Lejeune in North Carolina the declination rate is 57 percent. DOD says they can't make it mandatory because the vaccines have only emergency use authorization, not full approval. But what is your concern, beyond the concern for civilians, specifically related to military service members who are declining the vaccines at such a high rate?

WEN: Yes, I think it's important for us to talk about why it is that we get vaccinated. Yes, it is to protect us, the individual, from severe effects from COVID-19, from this potentially deadly disease. It's also to protect others. There is growing evidence that being vaccinated substantially reduces your likelihood of being a carrier for coronavirus able to infect others. And for service members or for anyone who is in close proximity to others, you can imagine there is a real benefit to being vaccinated. It protects other people around you, including those around us who cannot yet be vaccinated.

I have two little kids. They can't be vaccinated not because I don't want them to be, but because the vaccine is not yet approved for children. And so, I think it's important for us to understand the reasons why people are choosing not to be vaccinated, to meet them where they are, to make vaccines the convenient and easy choice and eliminate access as the potential barrier to address those potential concerns. But at some point, I think it really is important for us to tackle all the disinformation and misinformation that's out there that is preventing people from getting this lifesaving vaccine for others.

BLACKWELL: That is an excellent segue. Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much for being with us.

And tonight our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to go on a journey to learn why some people are afraid of vaccines. This new CNN Special Reporting, "The Truth about Vaccines" begins tonight at 9:00.

PAUL: Still to come, voting rights under attack in Texas. Details on what Republican lawmakers in the lone star state are proposing, and the warnings from the governor to business leaders.

BLACKWELL: Plus, funeral arrangements will be released soon for Prince Philip, as a gun salute this morning marked the passing of the Queen's husband. We're live in London. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:17:14]

PAUL: So the Department of Health and Health Services is investigating allegations of abuse at a site sheltering unaccompanied minors in Texas. Yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for a facility in San Antonio to be shut down. According to the Texas Republican, the state had received tips that children inside that facility were being abused. Now, reports received by the state don't make those allegations. But this is the latest challenge for the Biden administration, which is holding at least 20,000 migrant children in U.S. custody.

To talk to us about those challenges that the administration is facing, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro. Secretary Castro, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you so much. What do you make of the governor's call to shut down that facility? First of all, what would happen to the children who are there if it happened, and do you believe that to be the right call?

JULIAN CASTRO, FORMER HUD SECRETARY: I think it's safe to say every single person, whether they're Republican or Democrat, however they feel about what's happening at the border, you want to make sure that they're treated well. And so if the governor heard of mistreatment or abuse that's happening, what he should turn do is that he should turn that over to federal authorities. The administration has said that Health and Human Services is investigating these claims. My hope is that the governor will work with Health and Health Services to make sure that if something is happening, they get to the bottom of that.

But it also strikes me as very disingenuous because this governor stayed totally silent for four years as Donald Trump inflicted cruelty on many, many children and their parents. And so this seems more like somebody using these children as a political prop, using this entire situation to try and score political points. I hope that's not the case and I hope he'll cooperate with HHS, but that's what it feels like.

PAUL: Secretary Castro, I want to listen to President Biden as he pointed to Vice President Harris a couple of weeks ago and did this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've asked her, the V.P. today, because she's the most qualified person to do it, to lead our efforts with Mexico and the northern triangle, and the countries that are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: He essentially named the vice president as the point person on immigration. Where is the vice president? Should she be at the border?

[10:20:04] CASTRO: I think, first, it was a very smart move for President Biden to put Vice President Harris in charge of dealing with Mexico and these northern triangle countries. She's someone who knows this issue, has dealt with these issues when she was attorney general of California. She's well steeped in them. She has a respect of these foreign leaders, so when she picks up the phone and makes those calls, they're going to answer, and they're going to work with her to try and ensure that the flow of migration is stemmed.

And that maybe, most importantly, this is about getting to the root causes of this migration. I applaud the Biden administration for doing something that Donald Trump actually ignored for four years, which is to say, look, if we want to see less people coming to the border, we need to make sure that people can find safety and opportunity at home in one of these northern triangle countries, instead of feeling compelled to make this dangerous journey. So to me, that is the true measure of success of this effort. How do we work with Mexico and these three northern triangle countries, to improve conditions there so that people don't feel compelled to come to the United States? And that's not going to be something that is solved in one week or one month or even a year. It's a longer-term kind of investment we're making.

PAUL: But the White House has shied away from calling what we're seeing there a crisis. Do you call it a crisis? Is that what it is?

CASTRO: I think that it's a challenge. What I believe is that this is something that we see year in and year out. We saw these kinds of numbers of people coming when President Obama was president, when President Trump was president. Now we're seeing it under President Biden. The difference with this administration versus the Trump administration is, number one, they have people who are actually competent in these roles to deal with the migration that's coming. Then secondly, whereas the Trump administration wanted to inflict cruelty on these children and their parents to make an example of them and try and deter other families from coming, and that didn't work because they kept coming, this administration is actually treating people in keeping with the ideals of our country, with compassion, with common sense, with care, and they're trying to get at the root causes of this so that we don't have to deal with this next year, three years from now, five years from now. That's actually smart, too.

PAUL: The immigration issue has been decades old, as Congress tries to iron it all out as well. So there is definitely much there to be done.

I want to pivot to the voting restrictions, particularly the Texas House Committee that has advanced election bill HB-6. It allows for several things, allowing poll watchers to record video and photo of people who are voting. It criminalizes the distribution of vote by mail application to voters that don't request one. It basically could put local election officials in jail if that happens.

We've seen businesses come out and support this by their word. In fact, American Airlines is one of a couple of corporations who are urging the legislature to drop this bill. They said this, "We're strongly opposed to this bill and others like it. Any legislation dealing with how elections are conducted must ensure ballot integrity and security while making it easier to vote, not harder." We've heard from decades from both sides of the aisle about lobbying, about the influence of big businesses in politics. Is the connectivity here of companies and politics appropriate in this vein?

CASTRO: I think it's not just about the companies. I certainly applaud, for instance, Delta, that came out in Georgia after similar legislation was passed in Georgia. I'm glad that American Airlines, that Dell and Microsoft have made their voices heard and I hope they continue to do that. I hope Southwest Airlines, AT&T, USAA, and others do the same. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation. It's not about whether somebody is Republican or Democrat. It's about Texas Republicans playing a power grab here, trying to do Jim Crow 2.0, trying to achieve in Texas what they achieved in Georgia, which is to pass legislation that would allow for voter suppression and voter intimidation.

One of the elements of this legislation is that you could be filmed while you're voting. You can have one of these partisan ideologues filming somebody while they're trying to vote. So, this isn't only voter suppression. It's voter intimidation. Of course, I believe that we need to control big money in politics, and I don't like corporations having more influence than everyday American people. But I also recognize that these are their employees, these are their consumers, their customers.

[10:25:01]

And I do think it's appropriate for them to voice concern when you're dealing with a fundamental right like the right to vote, and people are going to be affected, whether they are Republican or Democrat or independent.

PAUL: And the question beyond that is what is the significance of those words if they are, in fact, just words at this point? I'm sorry, we've run out of town. Secretary Julian Castro, good to have you with us. Thank you so much, sir.

BLACKWELL: Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz says he will not resign. There is now an ethics investigation in the House. There's a federal investigation into alleged trafficking. His message to supporters, his first message publicly since these investigations became public, we have that for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:10]

BLACKWELL: Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz says that he is not going anywhere. The Florida congressman is defiant in the face of now two investigations. Last night he denied the allegations that he broke sex trafficking and prostitution laws during his first public speech since the investigations became public.

PAUL: CNN has learned that federal investigators are looking into whether the congressman was provided travel and women in exchange for political favors. Sources say investigators are also looking into a trip he took to the Bahamas. CNN crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz is tracking this for us. Katelyn, thank you so much. Good to see you this morning. What are you learning about this?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning. We are gradually learning more and more about what might be looked at by federal investigators who are examining Matt Gaetz. Initially we had learned that they were looking at whether Gaetz potentially had sex with an underage girl, whether there were women who were provided money. And now we're learning that investigators are also looking at a trip potentially to the Bahamas. That's important in a federal investigation because federal investigations like this into sex trafficking, there have to be reasons to look at travel across state lines.

Now, all of this, we really don't have a full picture, even though we're gaining little bits about it. But what we do know and what we've seen so far, at least in court, is that there is an associate of Gaetz who has been indicted on a sex trafficking, allegations related to his interactions with minor women. And that investigation, that man has been court. He's been pleading not guilty. He's been in jail. And then this week came out and indicated he was interested, potentially, in pleading guilty, which means that there could be the possibility that he would cooperate.

We don't know yet if he is going to have that kind of deal, but it is the sort of thing that if he has something that would be helpful to investigators about Gaetz, it may be something that he would share with them that could aid an investigation into Gaetz.

Now, Gaetz's office has staunchly denied these allegations and the reporting about the federal investigation. They've said that allegations are blatantly false and have not been validated by a single human being willing to put their name behind them.

Now, on that side, that's all of the legal issues. There's also a political issue that he's facing. The political pressure has been mounting this week. The House Ethics Committee came out and said that they were also going to be investigating the same things that the federal investigators are said to be looking at, and also would be looking at things like CNN's reporting that Gaetz had shown nude pictures on the House floor of women he says he had slept with to other lawmakers. And so that comes at the same time that Gaetz is also seeing departures among his staff, and that one Republican has said that he should step down, one Republican colleague in the House.

Now, all of this comes, Gaetz comes out last night for the first time. We see him after these investigations, and here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ, (R-FL): The smears against me range from distortions of my personal life to wild, and I mean wild, conspiracy theories. I won't be intimidated by a lying media, and I won't be extorted by former DOJ officials and crooks he is working with. The truth will prevail. (END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: And that speech that he gave last night was before a friendly crowd of supporters from what we can understand of that speech. Back to you.

BLACKWELL: Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much, reporting from Washington there.

With me now to talk about all of this, CNN political analyst Jackie Kucinich, Washington Bureau Chief for "The Daily Beast." Jackie, good morning.

JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "THE DAILY BEAST": Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So let's play a little more of Congressman Gaetz and his defense last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ, (R-FL): They lie about me because I tell the truth about them, and I'm not going to stop. So when you see the leaks and the lies and the falsehoods and the smears, when you see the anonymous sources and insiders forecasting my demise, know this -- they aren't really coming for me. They're coming for you. I'm just in the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So that strategy raises money. I don't know if it raises much support. Beyond the federal investigations, what does this now ethics investigation in the House mean for the congressman?

KUCINICH: Well, I think the ethics investigation is probably the least of the congressman's concerns, considering how much the federal investigation is allegedly looking into. But this could cause him some problems in the House. He could be censured potentially.

[10:35:01]

But I think the more immediate issue, he hasn't been charged with any crime. However, if he is, Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House, could remove him from his committees, either temporarily or permanently, pending that investigation.

So I think one of the things -- I should go back -- when all of these scandals first broke, was the lack of surprise in the House of Representatives among Gaetz's colleagues. Our reporters were speaking to Republicans who had sort of said that they were just waiting for something to happen with Gaetz because of his behavior during his tenure in the House. He doesn't have a lot of allies. He doesn't have a lot of friends. And you can see that by the silence. There's no wagons circling.

Even the man whose words he seemed to be borrowing there, former President Trump, has been uncharacteristically quiet. He did say that Matt Gaetz, after "The New York Times" broke the story about Matt Gaetz lobbying for a blanket pardon for himself and other people in the Trump world, he said Matt Gaetz didn't ask for that. But that was an issue where it actually involved President Trump himself, not just defending Congressman Gaetz. So that silence speaks volumes.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk more about the silence, because thus far we've only heard from Congressman Adam Kinzinger, calling for Gaetz to resign. Listen, Kinzinger likely wasn't, we know, a fan of Congressman Gaetz before these investigations became public. But we talk about the lack of support. Where is the expected potential condemnation or statements? They'll have their first opportunity to duck reporters as they return from Easter break, but where is any of that?

KUCINICH: Stay tuned. The minute they step into those halls, and there are going to be reporters with cameras and recording devices, and I think we're going to hear a lot of that, either people on their phones ducking reporters, or people saying that -- I think one of the things that you hear when these sorts of things happen in the halls of Congress is let's wait until all the facts come out. Let's wait to see what happens. But among probably some of his de detractors, like Congressman Kinzinger, people are going to go further because if someone is unpopular and there's blood in the water, foes tend to pounce.

BLACKWELL: We'll see if that happens after they return after the Easter break.

KUCINICH: We'll see.

BLACKWELL: Jackie Kucinich, thank you.

KUCINICH: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Coming up, the compelling testimony from the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on George Floyd's body, what he revealed about Floyd's death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:42:00]

BLACKWELL: Key testimony Friday in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker, he took the stand and stood by his ruling that George Floyd would not have died if not for his interactions with police on May 25th, 2020.

The medical examiner did say heart disease and Floyd's drug use were contributing factors. But there's more. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The second week of the Derek Chauvin murder trial concluded with a key witness, Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You conducted the autopsy on Mr. George Floyd.

DR. ANDREW BAKER, HENNEPIN COUNTY CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINED: I did.

BROADDUS: He acknowledged that heart disease and drugs played a role in George Floyd's death, but the manner of death remains a homicide.

BAKER: It's what I put on the death certification last June, law enforcement subdual restraint and neck compression.

BROADDUS: Baker's statements capped off a week of testimony from medical experts and law enforcement officials repeatedly poking holes in Chauvin's defense, which argues Floyd died from a combination of underlying health conditions, along with the ingestion of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

DR. MARTIN TOBIN, PULMONOLOGIST, EXPERT WITNESS: That's the moment the life goes out of his body.

BROADDUS: Dr. Martin Tobin, a world-renowned pulmonologist, broke down in detail four critical factors that he says caused Floyd to stop breathing, like Floyd's position on the asphalt, which restricted his lungs.

JERRY BLACKWELL, PROSECUTOR: You mentioned several reasons for Mr. Floyd's low oxygen. You mentioned one, handcuffs and the street, correct?

TOBIN: Correct.

BLACKWELL: You mentioned knee on the neck?

TOBIN: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Prone position?

TOBIN: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And then the knee on the back, arm, and side? Were those the four?

TOBIN: Yes, these are the four.

BROADDUS: Defense Attorney Eric Nelson argued that Floyd could have died as a result of taking drugs moments prior to officers forcing him to the ground.

ERIC NELSON, DEREK CHAUVIN'S ATTORNEY: Is it fair to say that you would expect a peak fentanyl respiratory depression within about five minutes?

TOBIN: Right. Obviously, it would depend on how much of it was ingested. But if there was any amount of it ingested, yes, the peak would be five minutes.

BROADDUS: Tobin ultimately conclude drugs didn't kill Floyd, testifying that he had not taken a proper breath for almost 10 minutes, at which point the carbon dioxide in Floyd's body had reached lethal levels.

The jury also heard from Chauvin's former boss, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo. He later said what happened to Floyd was, quote, murder. The chief was asked about Chauvin's use of force.

STEVE SCHLEICHER, PROSECUTOR: Is it your belief, then, that this particular form of restraint, if that's what we'll call it, in fact violates departmental policy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I absolutely agree that violates our policy.

[10:45:00]

BROADDUS: The defense pushed back, arguing that Chauvin's knee placement, which they say was actually on Floyd's back, was a proper police prone hold.

NELSON: Does this appear to be a neck restraint?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.

NELSON: Does this appear to be a prone hold that an officer may apply with his knee?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BROADDUS: But the testimonial theme from law enforcement and use-of- force experts was clear. Witnesses clearly told the jury that Derek Chauvin used, quote, excessive and deadly force on George Floyd when restraining him with his knee for more than nine minutes.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PAUL: And thank you, again, to Adrienne Broaddus there reporting.

Just ahead, we are watching the United Kingdom as they try to figure out how to say farewell to Prince Philip, the Queen's lifelong companion.

BLACKWELL: Also, be sure to watch the new CNN original series "The People Versus the Klan." You're going to hear the true story of Beulah Mae Donald who is a mother who took down the Ku Klux Klan after the brutal lynching of her son, Michael. This is a powerful new series. "The People Versus the Klan" premieres with back-to-back episodes tomorrow at 9:00 eastern on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:54]

BLACKWELL: The U.K. is paying tribute today to a beloved royal, Prince Philip. The nation marked his day with a 41-gun salute to honor his life and accomplishments and his decades long military service.

PAUL: The longest serving spouse in British monarchy history, and a beloved companion of the Queen for 70 plus years. Think about what this means to her, 70 years. Prince Philip died just two months shy of his 100th birthday at Windsor Palace yesterday morning.

BLACKWELL: For more on this, let's go to CNN's Anna Stewart. She's joining us from Windsor.

PAUL: I know it's been quite a day thus far already. I think all of us are thinking about the Queen. Do we know how she's doing?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Such a good question, Christi. One can only imagine what it feels like to wake up a widow after 73 years of marriage. We know she has been spending some time with her family. Some of her children visited her yesterday at Windsor castle, and today we've seen Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, pay a visit. As they left, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, was visibly really upset, looking really quite tearful. But she said the Queen has been amazing.

And tributes have poured in from all around the world, every country you can imagine, to be honest. And the tribute we had here with the 41-gun salute was a really poignant moment, a gun round every minute for 40 minutes, sounding out on land and sea throughout the U.K., Gibraltar, on her majesty's ships, a really magical moment, where I think we were really focused at that time of thinking about Prince Philip and his military career, both his active service in World War II and of course his many honorary commands. This was so important to him. And I feel like over the coming days we will just tease out all these amazing elements that made Prince Philip who he was.

PAUL: Yes, and speaking of that, I know that he did not lavish in the royal lifestyle necessarily, the pomp and circumstance of all of it necessarily. He has requested a very simple service. But I'm sure that there are people there in the U.K. that want to celebrate him in some way. In the middle of a pandemic, how do they do that?

STEWART: It's so incredibly difficult. And yesterday, honestly, within an hour of the news breaking, we had people coming to the gates of Buckingham Palace, people coming to coming to Windsor Castle, even today arriving to lay flowers even though they're being told by the government and by the palace that they mustn't gather outside royal residences. But people have this innate feeling that they want to be there, they want to pay their respects. And all of this will be so difficult, as will the funeral taking place in the midst of a pandemic. Christi?

PAUL: Anna Stewart, we appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Up next, there are thousands of residents on a Caribbean island that are being forced to leave their home after a volcanic eruption. We'll look at the ash and smoke that's spewing into the air. We have the latest on the evacuation efforts and what's happening with that volcano next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:58:28]

BLACKWELL: The Caribbean island of Saint Vincent is waking up this morning to extremely heavy ashfall and this pungent odor of sulfur after a volcano erupted for the third time since Friday night.

PAUL: Some residents are being evacuated by cruise ships. They're going to neighboring islands, while others are actually hunkering down. In fact, listen to one witness who saw the eruption.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON S. HENRY, JOURNALIST WHO WITNESSED VOLCANIC ERUPTION: People looked up and there is this huge plume of ash hanging in the sky, silent, deadly, dreadful. And within minutes you could just feel a change in the mood and the tone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And the last time this volcano erupted was more than four decades ago.

PAUL: We hope that you make some good memories today on your Saturday. And Victor, I hope you have good memories every day.

BLACKWELL: Yes, thank you, thank you. Our last show together. I have enjoyed it.

PAUL: Don't even say it.

BLACKWELL: OK, all right, I won't. I won't.

Boris Sanchez will be here tomorrow. Much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom, Fredricka Whitfield is up next.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, but wait, but wait. You are not going to get out of here without me getting to add to the tribute and the so long geographically for now, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.

WHITFIELD: Of course, so happy for you. And Alisyn and her team are so lucky to have you. I know, Christi, you have conveyed that. I am not going to get teary or anything like that, because you're only a plane ride away. But I have to say you really are the consummate professional.