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U.K. Mourns As Prince Philip Laid To Rest; More Than Three Million People Have Died Of COVID-19 Worldwide; Sixth Night Of Protests Over Killing Of Daunte Wright; Officials Say J&J Pause Proves Safety System Works; Four Members Of Sikh Community Killed In Indianapolis Shooting; National Fight Moves To Texas Over New Legislation. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired April 17, 2021 - 12:00   ET

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

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You have been watching our coverage of the funeral of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the patriarch of the royal family.

It was a simple and elegant ceremony that the Prince himself helped plan reflecting his faith and his long affiliation with the British military, especially the Royal Marines. With the world watching, he was laid to rest in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Inside the chapel only 30 people because of COVID restrictions, joining his wife Queen Elizabeth, members of the royal family.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which thy beloved son shall then pronounce.

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WHITFIELD: Prince Philip known to be especially close to princes Harry and William during the procession to the chapel. The two followed the casket and walked into the chapel with a royal cousin between them. But then after the ceremony, some spontaneity. Prince William and Prince Harry walking together seemingly chatting with the Duchess of Cambridge nearby, their first public interaction since Harry and wife Meghan's interview with Oprah and the publicized rift between the brothers.

Joining me right now CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster, who is at Windsor Castle, CNN, Isa Soares is at the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburg and CNNs Nic Robertson as at 10, Downing Street. Thanks to all of you. Let's talk more about today's service for Prince Philip. And let's talk with you first Max on that.

I mean, what a beautiful ceremony. And while Prince Philip had a hand in crafting all of this, it also seems as though it may have been a little bit more opulent than he might have preferred. MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, felt in many

ways, like a state funeral, didn't it? But it wasn't. And I think that what you saw there was his military associations, the fact that he wanted all the military shown there and is by function looks very ceremonial.

But I think what's so striking, of course, was the COVID restrictions and the added poignancy, that gave to this event, the choir standing in that row of four in the main body of the church, and then seeing members of the royal family separated in that way in what's called the choir at the front of the church, in particular, the Queen.

I mean, the cameras are very sensitive, but she looked obviously very solemn in that moment, and very lonely. And I think that speaks to really what happened here. She didn't just lose her soul mate. She lost her most trusted advisor, the person who was there throughout her reign, advising her on every part of life and contributing in a huge way to what has been is a remarkably successful monarchy.

And you refer there to Harry and William, that wasn't the focus of today. But I'm sure Prince Philip must be looking down, surely heartened to see how they came together, broke away, started chatting like brothers again once more, after the service.

WHITFIELD: And Max, I think we're all probably reading into all audiences everywhere, who were all hoping for a moment just like that and to see it on public display really does offer some hope about the brothers coming together. Yes, this was Prince Philip's day. But also people can't help but remember and recall how William and Harry walked behind the casket of their mother Diana, and that was at the urging of Prince Philip.

And that his passing would, in some way, bring the two brothers together.

FOSTER: And they are so connected, Harry and William because of what they've been through. Only Harry really understands how William feels looking ahead to his own monarchy. So whether or not Harry is a working royal, I think it would be a huge benefit to both of them, particularly women, William, to have that support going forward as he reaches his own monarchy.

[12:05:00]

You know, there's a lot to heal here. I think why the wider family were horrified to see all of this personal breakdown really televised on that CBS interview. It's incredibly hard to watch and trust broke down particularly afterwards, when there was a conversation about the interview between William and Harry and that was leaked. They need to start rebuilding that trust. And I think that that's perhaps what we saw, started to see the beginning of today.

The Duchess of Sussex by the way watching all of this unfold from LA and saying she wish she had come so if this goes well with Harry, hopefully you can also see Meghan being brought back into the family fold as well. WHITFIELD: And she's staying - remaining in California because she is

pregnant with their second child and against doctor's orders you know, she would be defying the doctor's orders if she were to travel is what we understand. Thanks so much Max.

Isa Soares at the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburg so tell us the kind of tribute that might be paid there posthumously for Prince Philip.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello Frederica, we wouldn't remember if you saw a photo this morning that was shared by the Queen on social media where the Queen is sitting down with Prince Philip when very relaxed photo. I think we have to show you in the highlands in Scotland and it's their love obviously of Scotland.

There's their love of the highlands. Their love the great outdoors, that people will remember them daily with daily by and actually we're inside the Royal Yacht Britannia which was home for the Prince - Prince Philip and the Queen for 44 years so home away from home in many ways.

Sailed more than more than 700 overseas trips, sailed more than 1 million miles to give your viewers a sense, it was an emblem of Britain right around the world. I want to give you a good sense of the tool of what this meant for the couple because of course it was a home away from home.

It was a place where the Queen said she felt most at ease, most relaxed friendly because really there weren't any prying eyes from the media or the public. We are on the second deck right here. I want to give you a sense of the rooms, the Prince Philip's room. I've to get my cameraman Marty to show you. This is Prince Philip's room.

As you can see it's a single bed. This is where he spent most of his, some of this time. It was - they didn't - didn't sleep in the same bedroom. The Royal couples, European royal couples traditionally don't. And it was joined by another door as you can see there that leads to the Queen's bedroom. Also a single bed and it's incredibly frugal, all the decorations as you can see.

Here is the Queen's bedroom, single bed once again. And actually a lot of the bed linen that was used here was actually from Queen Victoria so she's been using a lot being incredibly frugal, remember this is post Second World War.

I want to take you - if I come through here if I just go backwards, you can get a sense. This is the sun deck. This is where the royal family spent a lot of their time. This is one of the Queen's favorite rooms. It was here that she was able to relax. It was here she was able to have afternoon tea.

And critically the children too loved being on Royal Britannia because they were able to play outside. They have fond memories in here. You have weasel where we know Prince Philip used to paint, I don't know if you know he's a great - he's a great avid outdoor, he loves the great outdoors, bird watching. He's actually published quite few books, 14 books, one of them was on

bird watching that from Royal Britannia. And this space meant so much to Prince Philip for various reasons. One, because he was of course, a naval officer through and through. That is clear. Today we saw in the ceremony.

Every single touch of the ceremony today was dotted with his naval career, duty, responsibility above all else, but also his second love and his biggest love was that to Queen, country and Commonwealth and so together, this Royal Yacht, Britannia really meant so much to both of them and when it was decommissioned, in 1987, we saw the Queen shed a tear, because it was - they've made such wonderful memories right here. Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's one incredible access you have there, what vivid descriptions because we can all envision everything and envision the interaction they all had at that extraordinary place. Thank you so much. CNN's Nic Robertson, joining us now at 10, Downing Street. So how our respects being paid from there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Prime Minister has been out of his country residents and of course one would normally expect the Prime Minister to attend a funeral of the spouse of a monarch. But of course the COVID regulations limits on the number of people.

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So the Prime Minister has obviously not gone in deference to members of the royal family being able to being able to be there. This is really for him, you know, a moment to step back and not be in the limelight. I think perhaps, more broadly speaking, this is something that is being felt around the world because for the royal family, the family of the Commonwealth is really important.

And you heard Isa there saying the Royal Yacht, Britannia made more with the Queen and Prince Philip aboard made more than 700 trips around the world. That Prince Philip himself made 637 solo trips around the world, many of those to Commonwealth countries. And we know from our own experiences, that funerals, weddings sometimes but funerals also bring families together.

Again, exceptional circumstances, but it has, in a way, brought the Commonwealth family a little closer together at this time. The Queen has spoken to the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. There were eight days of mourning in Canada. The Queen spoke as well with the, the Governor General of Australia. She's had calls from a senior figures in Pakistan, from New Zealand, from Jamaica.

You know, the Commonwealth has reached out to try to, you know, send their message of condolence to the Queen. Prince Phillip himself, very well remembered and revered in some smaller islands around Vanuatu. So he - his passing and this in - in a way, bringing the Commonwealth family a little closer at this time together, although not physically, that's something that will be remembered about his funeral.

But for British politicians, this really has been and the Prime Minister in particular, a time to, to stand back and let the nation mourn and follow the funeral with the royal family.

WHITFIELD: And you touch on what really could be part of his legacy, right? Bringing the family together. Nic Robertson at 10, Downing. Thank you so much. Let's talk more about today's service and the legacy of Prince Philip. Joining us right now is Philip Eade. He is the author of Prince Philip, The Turbulent Early Life of the Man who Married Queen Elizabeth II.

So good to see you. Well, let's talk about this extraordinary, it really was a beautiful ceremony. And it really does help give us kind of the springboard of what the legacy of Prince Philip is. And I really just kind of mentioned what Nic just said, bringing the family together, how else would you define his legacy?

PHILIP EADE, AUTHOR, PRINCE PHILIP: Well, I think his legacy really is - his greatest legacy was his support for the Queen. I mean, he really was this - this is the end of an incredible, long love affair really, and - and sort of life of service in his - in his case.

I mean, they first met famously when she was a girl of 13 and he was an 18 year old cadet at Dartmouth College and she famously, you know, was visibly sort of smitten with him and really never looked at another man again, and really becoming Queen is such a sort of ghastly prospect in many ways.

But the fact that she was, you know, able to marry the man of her dreams, which he was, this sort of handsome young Viking as he - as people describe him at the time. I mean, he was - he was a first total breath of fresh air in her life. He was the first person really that she'd met who would call a spade a spade.

She was used to the sort of fawning deference of palace servants and here was - here was a man who was sort of prepared to tell her what was what, and people who observed them later on, you know, after they got married, were often taken aback by the sort of crosswords that passed between them sometimes in private.

But, you know, as one of her friends perceptively put it, you know, nothing makes a woman less happy than being able to get away with everything. So, you know, here was someone and also he played this sort of very crucial role on her confidence early on.

Not much of the same way as Georgia VI's wife. The Queen, the later Queen Mother, who we saw on the film, The King's speech, helped him overcome his shyness and his stammer, stammer. Prince Philip did a very similar job to the queen. I mean she was an incredibly shy young woman, and she was not at all a natural at sort of on walkabout, sort of ease of conversation.

He was very adept at sort of soldiering over whenever sort of deadly silence threatened and he would somehow put in some little quip which would - which was - which would defuse the tension and allow the conversation to flow. So he really was I mean, he, as people often remarked, you know, he helped make her what she became and what she became, was the greatest constitutional monarch this country has ever seen. [12:15:00]

And if you are a tool of a set of monarchous leanings, you know, we've got an enormous amount to thank Prince Philip, for because without him it, I think it's sort of inconceivable that she could have reigned for so long, and in such a sort of successful way as she did.

WHITFIELD: Oh, Philip, thank you so much for that. Prince Philip, the longest serving consort, and perhaps the one who defined his own blueprint of what it was to be just that. Philip Eade, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

EADE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come here in the CNN newsroom. Yet another grim milestone. 3 million people around the world have now died from Coronavirus plus a string of fatal police shootings prompts crowds to take to the streets as frustration and anger boil over.

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WHITFIELD: For a sixth night unrest across America as protesters take to the streets following a string of high-profile police killings of people of color. In Brooklyn Center, Minnesota outside Minneapolis at least 100 people were arrested as a peaceful protest over the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright turned confrontational with police.

In Oakland, California, more unrest at protests over police brutality. Police say demonstrators vandalized numerous businesses, set fires and threw objects at police. And then in Portland, Oregon, a riot was declared after violent protests over a fatal police shooting on Friday.

A man who has only been described as a white male suspect was killed by an officer responding to a report that he was pointing a gun in the park. The police department says lethal force was used after less lethal rounds were attempted. And in Chicago, the killing of 13-year- old Adam Toledo by a Chicago police officer again brought out a huge crowd of protesters calling for justice.

All of this coming as we are learning more about the eight people killed in a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. Today, flags at the White House are flying at half-staff for the victims, four of whom are now being identified as part of the Sikh community. In the last month alone, the U.S. has had more than 40 mass shootings. President Biden calling the violence an epidemic.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:: It's a national embarrassment and must come to an end.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: We begin with the protests in Minnesota. Omar Jimenez is

with us now from Minneapolis. So Omar, what are you learning about what happened last night?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, a tense time around the country but especially so here in the Minneapolis area. Last night, we saw a protest in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, which is just a few miles outside of Minneapolis for the sixth night in a row.

And basically, what happens every night is that for hours and hours, you see peaceful protests, marching, people telling stories, even singing. And then as night falls, things tend to get a little bit more contentious with objects lobbed at police, police throwing projectiles back and then that becomes the relationship, you run up against a curfew.

And then they try to clear the area and that's when you see some of the more violent images. And last night at least 100 people were arrested which is insane when you think about the fact that the night before there was zero people arrested but you get the sense that there is a tension here in the area.

And then when you look at the timeline here that of course comes in response to the death of shooting and killing of Daunte Wright at the hands of police. But then when you look at what's ahead here in Minneapolis, Monday is going to be closing arguments in the trial for Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd.

Businesses are boarding up. The law enforcement presence is up. Minneapolis Public Schools is even pushing everyone to remote learning midway through the week. And so you have one tense situation going right into another and when you look ahead on the Daunte Wright case, the funeral for him is going to be on Thursday.

So next week is really being looked at as one of concern from a law enforcement perspective. But one, where there's a lot of pressure mounting on the justice system to come out on top for the community here in Minneapolis.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy, that is a lot in one city in particular or at least in the area of that one city for sure. Omar Jimenez, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. All right, coming up. COVID cases are on the rise in more than 20 states, many of those by double digits. Will the push to get Americans vaccinated be able to keep up with the pace?

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WHITFIELD: More than 3 million people around the world have now died of Coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and more than 566,000 of those deaths coming here in the United States as officials around the nation work to prevent another surge in cases. CNN's Evan McMorris Santoro has the latest from New York.

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EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The CDC says more than 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered in the United States. But the number of infections continues to climb. At least 21 states have recorded at least a 10 percent rise in daily average positive cases of COVID-19.

That's according to Johns Hopkins University data released on Thursday. In Michigan, hospitals are increasingly overwhelmed and reaching full capacities in part due to the influx of new Coronavirus cases. State and local officials across the country are attempting to avoid a similar situation and are pushing to increase vaccination levels among adults.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I want people to get vaccinated and once they're fully vaccinated to know that we are that much closer to pre pandemic normal.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Researchers have begun testing the Pfizer vaccine on kids as young as two and the U.S. is making plans in case a vaccine booster shot is required after Pfizer said a third dose is likely needed.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Ongoing already are clinical trials looking at a boost of the original wild type virus vaccine, as well as a boost with a variant specific in this case, the variant is 351, the problematic one from South Africa.

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Looking at both the safety of it, obviously, but as well as whether or not a boost of wild type versus a boost of variant specific increases the ability of the antisera to ultimately neutralize both the wild type and the variant.

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CDC advisors will meet next Friday to review the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause after failing to vote this week. A severe form of blood clot in the brain may be linked to the vaccine. So far, only six cases have been reported in the U.S. out of the approximately 7 million doses administered here to date. One person died, and another is in critical condition. And FDA official said this week.

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: You've heard a lot from us about the pause with administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. These decisions are never simple and this one was taken after a very careful assessment of the risks and benefits of calling for such a pause. But the actions taken by CDC and the FDA this week should give Americans confidence that our safety system is working for them.

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MCMORRIS-SANTORO: So Fred, once again, the story in New York and across the country, this pandemic is here. Experts want you to get your vaccine. They want people to wear their masks and stay distant, keep safe that way. But also we have these stories of the J&J vaccine, things like that, leading people to hope that those vaccinations continue, even as we explore the best way to go about it. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, hope but not out of the woods yet. Evan McMorris-Santoro, thanks so much in New York.

All right, still ahead, the Sikh community is in mourning as four members were among the victims of the Indianapolis mass shooting. I'll speak with the leader of the Sikh Coalition when we come right back.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back, we're learning more about the people killed in that horrific mass shooting in Indianapolis. Police have released the names of the eight victims. They range in age from 19 to 74. Half of them were members of the Sikh community.

Satjeet Kaur is the executive director of the Sikh Coalition. Satjeet, so good to see you. Thank you so much for being with us. Let me first express our condolences for all of those impacted by this horrific shooting. And again, we don't know the motive of the gunman, but we know that four of the eight victims were of the Sikh community. So, how is the larger Sikh community reacting to this tragedy, Satjeet?

SATJEET KAUR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SIKH COALITION: First off, thank you for having me and sharing this community's perspective here. We're heartbroken and shattered. Our community is very close and tight- knitted, where honestly no more than three degrees of separation from one another. And we're all heartbroken and in pain.

I have spent the last 24 hours on calls with community members who lost loved ones. Others who have family members who barely escaped with their life. Others who have spent the entire day and again today providing support to their son -- or their community as we say.

And these individuals were the backbones of their families. And I want to underscore, honestly, they were America's backbone. They are working families. And so, as I hear them cry, and hold back tears, I just also want to share that this is a feeling that I personally have felt and many others in the community felt after Oak Creek. It's exactly what we feel every time a sec has been viciously attacked as we continue to fight for our existence and wondering if any place is safe. It's real trauma.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Tell me about that fight for existence. I mean, six have been targets of hate crimes and violence in this country. And even though we don't know this gunman's motivation, what are the concerns that this shooting brings? How does it heighten already existing, you know, fears?

KAUR: Yes. Again, it's about the impact and not necessarily just the motivation, right? Like, what is the impact that is having on the community, and it's very difficult for our community not to feel targeted, especially given the violence as you shared, we've endured for decades.

So based on public reporting, we are deeply saddened and quite frankly alarmed to hear that the shooter had a propensity for violence, something that, as we have heard and read, his mother had warn law enforcement about before. But it's also undeniable that this particular facility was overwhelmingly staffed by six and that's something that the community is saying over and over again, because it's important to recognize.

And so while we don't have clarity, like you said on motive, the impact on the community is no different. The attack is traumatic for our community as we continue to face senseless acts and often very targeted acts of violence over and over again.

WHITFIELD: Talk to me in detail, if you don't mind, you know, about the fight --

KAUR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- that you're talking about, what you and other people in the Sikh community have been subjected to.

KAUR: Yes, of course. You know, especially post 911, the Sikh community, like many other marginalized communities, has faced hate crimes, severe school bullying, to the point where school administrations don't get involved, employment discrimination, lack of public accommodations, to acknowledge the existence of sex and their articles of faith, their public identity.

And, again, oftentimes it is our family members, those that are most vulnerable while they're going to work, while they're at work, while they are driving cabs, Uber, while they're working in FedEx facilities like this week, who were viciously attacked for just existing or for just being and that has continued.

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It's been on the rise, quite frankly, it's taken us years to even be able to account for hate crimes against the Sikh community. And once we finally have that, we've seen continued increases, and the Sikh community is disproportionately attacked for their faith, for their race, for being who they are. And that's something that has to quite frankly change.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Sadly, still too much work has to be done to stamp out ignorance and hate. Satjeet Kaur, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

KAUR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, Texas becoming ground zero in the suppression of voting rights as bills move through the Texas Legislature targeting democratic strongholds.

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WHITFIELD: The national fight over voter suppression has a new battleground. Texas, GOP lawmakers there are moving forward with new legislation that would limit access to the polls and activists say the bill is explicitly target minority voters in democratic strongholds. Sara Murray has more.

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SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fight over voting rights is heating up in Texas as GOP efforts to restrict access to the ballot box advanced across the U.S.

STEPHANIE GOMEZ, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, COMMON CAUSE TEXAS: I definitely think that Texas could be the next Georgia. I think that it is really concerning to see this kind of coordinated national attack on voting rights and Texas is just -- it's just next.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Set (ph) it down.

MURRAY (voice-over): After Georgia Republicans passed the law last month that included new voting restrictions --

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): For over 10 years, I've led the fight to strengthen protections at the ballot box.

MURRAY (voice-over): Voting rights advocates and business leaders alike are sounding the alarm about legislation that just passed the Texas State Senate.

JUDITH ZAFFIRINI (D), TEXAS STATE SENATE: This bill will impact minorities negatively by making it more difficult for African Americans and Mexican Americans to vote, making it easier for them to be harassed by overzealous poll watchers, and diminishing the likelihood that election outcomes will represent the preferences of We the People.

MURRAY (voice-over): Among the proposals limiting early voting hours, expanding (ph) drive-thru voting and allowing partisan poll watchers to film some voters as they fill out their ballots. It comes as Republicans nationwide of champion (ph) new voting restrictions, insisting Americans are losing faith in their elections.

LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK (R-TX): The bill is needed because Americans no longer trust the system. At a country where voters do not trust the system is a country in peril.

MURRAY (voice-over): This after many Republicans spent months embracing the big lie, that former President Donald Trump was robbed of a 2020 election victory because of widespread voter fraud that didn't exist. Still, 361 bills with restrictive provisions had been introduced in 47 states as of late March, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Texas Republicans insist they're simply looking to standardize rules across the state. BRYAN HUGHES (R), TEXAS STATE SENATE: I understand there's this national debate and I'm not part of that. This is about making the system in Texas better for everyone.

MURRAY (voice-over): But advocates say the proposals moving forward in Texas mainly hurt voters of color. And even some election officials disagree with the measures.

ISABEL LONGORIA, HARRIS COUNTY, TX ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR: Things in Texas are hard already for elections administrators who are nonpartisan and sworn to uphold the law. And they're only getting worse with these measures going through the Texas Legislature.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

MURRAY (voice-over): Georgia's voting law serving as a wake up call to American corporations, which are considering more active steps to combat voting restriction.

CHIP BERGH, CEO, LEVI STRAUSS & CO.: We're going to do everything that we can to work with the legislatures to make sure that these restrictive laws don't go into place.

MURRAY (voice-over): This week, hundreds of executives from prominent companies like Amazon, Google and Starbucks signed a statement opposing discriminatory legislation that makes voting harder. A positive step activist say even as they press companies to further ramp up their efforts.

GOMEZ: Texans are being able to organize around that quicker and a lot of that is because it happened in Georgia. Democracy is everyone's business.

MURRAY (voice-over): Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN Political Commentator Ashley Allison joining me right now. Ashley worked for both the Obama White House and the Biden-Harris campaign. So good to see you. So, Ashley, Texas has more than 40 pieces of legislation that critics say suppresses the vote. And this after Georgia passed a voting law that critics say restricts voter access, making it harder for people to vote.

So, that big American corporations are speaking out against these kinds of bills and laws. Will that be enough to stop what could be a trend passage in state legislatures of tougher voting laws?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, thanks for having me. You know, what we're seeing in Texas and Georgia is no surprise. It's encouraging that Corporate America is speaking up and letting folks know that they don't want to have these voter suppression bills spread across the country. 47 states right now, 47 states are trying to implement restrictive provision. So we need Corporate America to speak up. We need voters to speak up and let people know that they want it easier to vote. It was so challenging in the middle of a pandemic to figure out how people were going to be able to vote in 2020.

[12:50:03]

But I do also want to pull on the historical context here. So in Texas and Georgia, we're seeing these state provisions, but those are both states that were covered under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. And so there are legislation -- pieces of legislation and states that we need to stop. But there are pieces of legislation like H.R.1, which is For the People Act, and H.R.4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that currently could be passed into law right now and help expand access and protect the vote. This is a --

WHITFIELD: And you're talking (ph) in a federal level in Congress, which would say --

ALLISON: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: -- that law would supersede these state pieces of legislation, but that isn't happening and the state legislatures are moving rather quickly with Texas on the precipice of passing a piece of legislation. Georgia already doing so. So in your view, with these bills soon to become law, is America moving backwards?

ALLISON: Absolutely. And it's not trying to be disguised at all, when they dismantled the Voting Rights Act, it was for this exact purpose to allow states to continue to eviscerate voting rights and make it hard for young people, black people, brown people, people with disabilities. Let's not forget, Texas was the state in the middle of a pandemic.

During the 2020 election, the most important election of our country, they tried to end curbside voting to keep people safe. So, you know, that phrase that our former president used to say Make America Great, these voter suppression tactics is to take us back to a Jim Crow era to prevent black people and brown people who stood in line to make sure we got a racist president out of office to take us back to a time where we will not go. And people will speak up and make sure that their voices are heard.

WHITFIELD: In Texas, nor in Georgia, where there any proven cases of voter fraud, and yet these pieces of legislation proponents of it are saying this is election security. These are new pieces of legislation on the vein of securing votes, but instead critics are seeing this as trying to fix a problem that didn't even appear.

ALLISON: Voter fraud is not a real thing. It is a sham that the Republicans, Conservatives have tried to push down the throats. It's misinformation, it's disinformation. It is not a real thing. Our elections are fair and safe.

And the people who are the frauds are these Republicans who are trying to make it harder for people who believe in our democracy, who want to engage, who want to have a voice. We should not believe the tactic to say that we have a corrupt system, we absolutely do not. We need to make sure that we expand access that we make sure voting is accessible for people so that when they want to have their voices heard, it ultimately elect people, unlike these individuals who are trying to pass these suppressive laws out of office, they can.

WHITFIELD: Ashley Allison, we'll leave it there for now. Good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.

ALLISON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So much more straight ahead in the Newsroom. But first, if you found yourself experimenting in the kitchen during the pandemic, this Vermont company has an ingredient to take your cooking to new heights, infused maple syrup.

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LAURA SORKIN, OWNER, RUNAMOK MAPLE: Runamok Maple is based in northwestern Vermont. We produce pure, smoke, infused and barrel-aged maple syrup.

ERIC SORKIN, OWNER, RUNAMOK MAPLE: I'm Eric Sorkin.

L. SORKIN: I'm Laura Sorkin.

E. SORKIN: And we are the Runamok Maple co-founders.

L. SORKIN: We started making pure maple syrup in 2009. Around 2015, we decided we would start a retail line. We thought we might differentiate ourselves by doing some infused and barrel-aging. We started experimenting. We found that maple syrup is really complementary to a lot of different herbs and spices that no one had tried.

E. SORKIN: We got a tremendous amount of attention Oprah Magazine and food and wine and it's just really well received.

L. SORKIN: We've got 25 different varieties. Some of them are tried and true like cinnamon vanilla, some more unusual ones like Makrut lime leaf, elderberry, strawberry, rose, hot chili pepper

E. SORKIN: We reintroduced the limited release sparkle syrup and it just flew off the charts. Particularly during COVID, I think it really hit that need to have a little bit of frivolous joy.

L. SORKIN: Maple syrup is really just the perfect ingredient for both savory and sweet things. And when you have the infused ones that have a little extra something, you can really have fun with it and use it for things like cocktails, marinades, sauces, just absolutely wonderful. Cheers.

E. SORKIN: Cheers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:59:33]

WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. For a sixth straight night unrest in America as protesters take to the streets following a string of high-profile police killings of people of color. At least 100 people were arrested in a Minneapolis suburb as a peaceful protest over the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright turned confrontational with police.

Protests over deadly police encounters also erupting in Portland, Oregon and Oakland, California. And in Chicago, the killing of 13- year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago police officer, again, brought out a huge crowd of protests.