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Family of Andrew Brown Jr. Views More Body Cam Footage; Liz Cheney Strikes Defiant Tone Ahead of Expected Ousting; Elise Stefanik's Support of Trump Divides Constituents; Pfizer: Vaccine Shown 100 Percent Effective in Kids 12-15; Supreme Court: Every Nepali Deserves Medical Treatment. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 12, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY DANIELS, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF ANDREW BROWN JR. (voice-over): Now we know why they didn't want to release the tape.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Almost three weeks after he was fatally shot during an attempted arrest, tonight, the family of Andrew Brown Jr. describes what the body camera footage shows during the final moments of Brown's life.

JHA'ROD FEREBEE, SON OF ANDREW BROWN JR.: My father did not deserve to die at all. He did not deserve to be killed. In any way shape or form, he did not pose any threat at all. (INAUDIBLE), there's no way that this could be justified. There's no way possible.

TODD (voice-over): A judge allowed them to view less than 20 minutes out of nearly two total hours of footage from sheriff's deputies' body cameras.

CHANCE LYNCH, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREW BROWN'S FAMILY: When the first shot fired he was sitting in his car and then he began to back up. At no time did we see him go towards a sheriff's deputy at any time. The first shot was fired. And what we saw was after it was fired, he began to back up because he wanted to get out of there.

TODD (voice-over): The district attorney has told a different story of what Brown did with his car.

ANDREW WOMBLE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, PASQUOTANK COUNTY: As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers. The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.

LYNCH: At no point did we ever see Mr. Brown make contact with law enforcement.

TODD (voice-over): CNN has obtained other critical images of that violent morning Elizabeth City. This street camera footage shows deputy racing toward Andrew Brown's house in the back of a pickup truck wearing tactical gear. They were serving search and arrest warrant for narcotics. The footage shows the truck stopping at Brown's house. Deputies are heard screaming demands. But it does not show the actual shooting.

This footage captured by a neighbor just seconds after Brown was shot, shows deputies surrounding Brown's car after it crashed. Two neighbors told CNN deputies pulled Brown out of his car and attempted life saving measures.

KHALIL FEREBEE, SON OF ANDREW BROWN JR.: He's going to get his justice because it wasn't right.

HARRY DANIELS, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREW BROWN'S FAMILY: The killers should be brought to justice, and they will be. They will be.

TODD: And the Brown family attorneys are renewing their call for the district attorney Andrew Womble to recuse himself from this case saying that Womble works way too closely with the sheriff's department and its deputies. Andrew Womble steadfastly refuses to recuse himself.

Brian Todd, CNN, Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery have pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges. The suspects are accused of chasing and fatally shooting Arbery an African-American man while he was jogging near Brunswick, Georgia, last year. The men wore orange jumpsuits and were shackled at the ankles in their first federal court appearance. They have appeared by video link in the state proceedings. That trial is set to start in October. All three have pleaded not guilty to the most serious charge of felony murder.

Also in Georgia prosecutors are upgrading the charges against the suspect in the Atlanta area spa shootings and they are now seeking the death penalty for hate crimes. Police say Robert Aaron Long shot and killed eight people at three different spas back in March. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent. County authorities say Long told investigators that he had a sexual addiction and that the shootings were not racially motivated. The enhanced charges will be the first test of a hate crimes law passed by the Georgia legislature last year.

Well, in a matter of hours Liz Cheney will learn if she's been kicked out of Republican leadership in the U.S. House. The vote is set for later today and Cheney's ouster appears all but certain. Ahead of the vote she gave a defiant speech telling Congress, quote, ignoring the lie emboldens the liar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Our duty is clear, every one of us who has sworn the oath must act to prevent the unraveling of our democracy. This is not about policy, this is not about partisanship, this is about our duty as Americans. Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar. I will not participate in that. I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president's crusade to undermine our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Elise Stefanik is widely tipped to take over from Liz Cheney in the Republican House leadership. The New York Congresswoman has changed her tune on Donald Trump in recent years, inviting both support and criticism in her district. Athena Jones has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is a breath of fresh air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's a miserable, ambitious demagogue.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Essex County, New York, among the swingiest of swing counties. One of just 25 in the country to vote twice for Barack Obama, choose Donald Trump in 2016, and then pivot back to Joe Biden in 2020.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a classic purple district.

JONES (voice-over): Maybe that's why opinions of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, poised to become the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress after and embracing Trump's lies about the 2020 election, are decidedly mixed here in this small town of Willsboro.

[04:35:00]

BRADLEY FRENCH, ESSEX COUNTY RESIDENT: I know she's done a lot of good stuff for the town and counties around here. I think she would do an excellent job in this job.

SANDRA MURPHY, ESSEX COUNTY RESIDENT: She's backing the big lie, and I, and Trump too, so I am not supporting that at all. In her first term, when she ran up here, I voted for her. But then I wouldn't vote again for her.

JONES (voice-over): The 36-year-old Harvard graduate worked as an aide for President George W. Bush and for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.

Brian Mann of NPR has covered Stefanik for years.

BRIAN MANN, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: I think any political observer two years ago would have said that Elise Stefanik would have been in Liz Cheney's corner in this fight.

JONES (voice-over): Stefanik campaigned as a moderate in 2014.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): With new ideas and fresh leadership, together we can get it done.

MANN: She was someone who opposed Donald Trump early on things like NATO and his attack on NAFTA, moderate right down the line.

JONES (voice-over): Stefanik was endorsed in the first run by Romney, now persona non grata among many base Republicans for standing up to Trump. Stefanik has taken a different tack, becoming a fierce ally of Trump during his first impeachment.

STEFANIK: This has been an unfair process from the start.

JONES (voice-over): And voting to overturn the election results.

STEFANIK: Tens of millions of Americans are concerned that the 2020 election featured unconstitutional overreach by unelected state officials.

JONES (voice-over): And she's won over some voters who are pro Trump, but had their doubts when Stefanik, who grew up in Albany, claimed to be from here.

STEFANIK: I'm Elise Stefanik, a small businesswoman from Willsboro.

DANA MARSHALL, ESSEX COUNTY RESIDENT: I just wasn't impressed. If you can't tell your -- the people you're trying to represent where you are actually from, that just spoke volumes to me. But I am really glad I put that aside, because she really is trying her best for the North Country.

JONES (voice-over): As Stefanik's political star has risen and her embrace of Trump is grown stronger, others here have complained she has left her district behind.

BARRY GOLDSTEIN, ESSEX COUNTY RESIDENT: There are a lot of very important issues here, as with many rural areas, drug abuse, health care, broadband access, which is critical now, education. I don't see her talking about the North Country and the issues that are involved here.

JONES (voice-over): One thing seems clear.

MANN: She is a very different politician now than she was a couple of years ago, different policy ideas, different allies, shedding, you know, people who had been close to her for a long time, and that's turned out to be a winning strategy.

JONES: Stefanik won this district by a landslide in 2020 with nearly 60 percent of the vote, improving on her showing in 2018. So at least for now her big pivot to Trump appears to be paying off. Still the margin was much closer here in Essex County. So the question is whether the voices of voters who are upset by her evolution will grow more louder and more numerous come 2022.

Athena Jones, CNN, Essex County, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And still to come here on CNN, a big step forward for the U.S. in the battle against COVID-19. We'll explain what children have to do with it.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well later today the CDC is expected to formally recommend Pfizer's COVID vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 here in the United States. The FDA has already approved emergency use of the vaccine for this age group. A doctor involved in the clinical trials spoke to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the vaccine's safety and effectiveness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is 15-year-old Ben Dropick (ph). He's about to get the COVID-19 vaccine as part of a clinical trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is just trying to beat the virus, trying to get everything back to normal.

DR. ROBERT FRENCK, DIRECTOR, VACCINE RESEARCH CENTER, CINCINNATI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: The kids have been leading the charge on a lot of this.

GUPTA: Dr. Robert Frenck has been research vaccines on kids for 40 years. He now oversees COVID-19 vaccine trials in kids at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

FRENCK: One of the things that people have said is that teenagers they only care about themselves and they're just looking out for themselves. And I have found that to be totally wrong.

GUPTA (voice-over): They've also found another piece of good news, just one month after getting the second dose Pfizer's trials found that teens age 12 to 15 had even higher levels of antibodies than 16 to 25 year olds who had also received the shots. Making them far less likely to get sick.

FRENCK: 18 cases of COVID in the 1,500 adolescents that had placebo and zero in the group that got vaccine.

GUPTA (voice-over): Since the pandemic began the American Academy of Pediatrics reported over 3.7 million children were infected with COVID-19 but less than 2 percent of them were hospitalized. According to the CDC children under 18 make up about 12 percent of all cases but also represent just a tenth of a percent of all COVID-19 deaths.

The agency has found more than 3,000 children have developed a hyperimmune response to the virus known as MISC, which causes different parts of their body to become inflamed.

GUPTA: I imagine that a lot of parents will say, look, I don't think that my kid or kids in general are that at risk of getting sick in the first place. What is the real reason that we need to get kids vaccinated? FRENCK: So they have a runny nose. They have a cough. They don't seem

like they are that sick. Mom or dad is not going to take them to the doctor, but they actually have COVID, and they end up then going to grandma and grandpa and accidentally infecting them or others and that those people get very sick.

And the other thing I guess to remember is that we have 75 million people under 18 years of age in the United States. If we don't immunize that group that's going to leave a big population that's susceptible to the virus.

GUPTA (VOICE-OVER): Now, remember, in order to stop transmission we want to reach herd or community immunity and you get there through a combination of vaccination as well as antibodies from previous infections. The threshold of community immunity is based on how contagious the virus is.

For example, measles, which is really contagious, requires around 90 percent herd immunity. For the novel coronavirus, somewhere around 70 percent to 85 percent. The FDA has expanded authorization for 12 to 15 year olds now makes 85 percent of the U.S. population eligible for a shot. But even then surveys show about one in eight adults aren't planning on getting the vaccine. About one in five parents say they won't vaccinate their kids, either. Which is why the focus is now on going even younger. Trials have now begun in kids like seven-year-old Naomi.

[04:45:00]

LORI, NAOMI'S MOTHER: Naomi after seeing a friend of our family participate in the study said that she wanted to do it. It will give me a lot of peace of mind because I know that she'll be protected.

I'm really proud of you.

NAOMI, 7-YEAR-OLD TRIAL PARTICIPANT: I'm going to tell them that they should get the vaccine so they can protect themselves, their family and everyone around them so that -- and that would be a great way to keep the world safe.

GUPTA: I do want to point out that as things stand now about a quarter of newly diagnosed coronavirus infections are happening in kids. So they were a smaller percentage earlier on, but a larger percentage now. And that's another reason to get them vaccinated. There's going to be some work to do, take a look here in terms of willingness of parents to get their kids vaccinated. When it comes to getting vaccinated right away about a third, 30 percent, but about 23 percent say definitely not.

So we'll see what happens with those numbers over time. What happens now is that the ACIP this immunization practices committee of the CDC, they're going to meet today and basically formally recommend this vaccine. That's what's expected to happen. And people can start getting shots right away age 12 to 15. I have three kids on a personal note, with that age range, and they have already told me that they are enthusiastically ready to roll up their sleeves and get the shot. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: That's great news. Our thanks to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta for that great report.

Well, India once again has set a new record for daily coronavirus deaths. More than 4,200 fatalities were reported on Wednesday with the overall death toll now exceeding a quarter million. India's total cases have now risen past the 23 million mark.

In neighboring Nepal, the daily death toll is also in record territory. The lockdown in the capital Kathmandu has been extended a few more weeks and the U.S. embassy there is warning Americans not to travel to Nepal anytime soon.

Well CNN's Anna Coren is tracking the crisis in South Asia live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Anna. So Nepal facing both the coronavirus and a political crisis. What is the latest on this?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, Human Rights Watch is warning of a looming catastrophe unfolding in Nepal. We have to remember it's a very impoverished country with ailing health care system. So the numbers there increasing on a daily basis, as are the deaths. One person is dying nearly every six minutes in Nepal. The positivity rate nearly 50 percent. So one in two people are testing positive for coronavirus.

Hospitals, as I say, are at breaking point. They are turning patients away because of a shortage of beds, but also of oxygen. Doctors there are describing an oxygen crisis. The supreme court of Nepal has intervened, it has ordered a national task force be set up to organize the distribution of oxygen around the country.

The problem is, Rosemary, this, you know, acute shortage of oxygen. India has previously supplied liquid oxygen as well as medical supplies to Nepal. Well, that has completely dried up. So Nepal is now looking to other countries. China is helping out. They have sent 20,000 oxygen cylinders and 100 ventilators. But that's really a drop in the ocean considering the dire needs facing this country.

You mentioned the political turmoil that has engulfed Nepal, it couldn't have come at a worst time as the country face this is national emergency. But the Prime Minister lost a vote of confidence on Monday. It's now to the opposition as to whether they can form a government by Thursday night. If they fail the Prime Minister will remain caretaker Prime Minister until elections can be held, the earliest the end of the month.

But really the situation in Nepal so dire, international aid definitely needed and, you know, add the political turmoil to the mix and really this catastrophe is on Nepal's doorstep.

CHURCH: Yes, it certainly is. Anna Coren joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

Well as the crisis continues there are many ways you can help people cope with this devastating COVID outbreak, just go to CNN.com/impact to find out how.

And still to come one of London's largest indoor gatherings since the pandemic began. Why this year's Brit awards were about much more than just music.

[04:50:00]

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CHURCH: Popular food chain Chipotle is raising its pay to attract new workers. The company says it will begin increasing pay in the coming weeks to an average of $15 an hour. That's on top of management positions it says will pay an average of $100,000 in compensation. The burrito chain wants to hire 20,000 people ahead of the summer joining other major chains looking for workers like Taco Bell, McDonald's and IHOP. Chipotle is looking to improve its controversial track record with workers. The company has come under legal fire for its pay practices in New York and Massachusetts.

Well, the U.K. celebrated music's top performers and honored frontline workers at the brit awards on Tuesday. 2,500 health workers and their guests were given tickets. It's one of the first big indoor events in London since the pandemic began. The British government used the event as a test to see if some COVID restrictions were still needed.

[04:55:00]

No one had to wear masks, no social distancing, everyone took a COVID test and gave information for contact tracing.

Well, a scandal over a lack of diversity has rocked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the past few weeks. Now threatening the very existence of the Golden Globes. Megastar Tom Cruise has returned his three golden globe awards in protest and actress Scarlett Johansson is accusing HFPA members of behavior which she says borders on sexual harassment. She says unless there's necessary fundamental reform within the organization I believe it is time that we take a step back from the HFPA and focus on the importance and strength of unity within our unions and the industry as a whole.

And the bright lights of Broadway will soon be back on. The three most popular shows, Lion King, Hamilton and Wicked will raise the curtain September 14th more than a year after going dark because of COVID. They will reopen at 100 percent capacity adhering to CDC guidelines and with more shows opening later this year. Many of the roughly 100,000 Broadway workers sidelined by the pandemic will get back to work.

We will end on a high note there. And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me on Twitter @Rosemary CNN. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett is up next. You're watching CNN. Have a great day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHENEY: Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The liar, the former president. In a matter of hours Liz Cheney will lose her leadership role for telling the truth. What it means for the future of elections.