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Biden Arrives in Brussels Ahead of NATO Summit, Putin Meeting; Bidens Meet with Queen at Windsor Castle; Netanyahu Out as Israeli Prime Minister After 12 Years; California Set for Full Reopening on Tuesday; Houston Hospital Workers Lose Suit Disputing Mandatory Vaccines; Transgender and Black; Mom Arrested for Attending Middle School Posing as Daughter. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired June 13, 2021 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: '80s voice. He was Lotso in "Toy Story 3." Ned Beatty was 83 years old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not a contest about who can do better in front of a press conference. We're not looking for conflict but I think the best way to deal with this is for he and I to meet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They need to know that when they do this there are consequences to their actions, and we're going to hit them back.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the Queen very much showing that she carries on no matter what. This is really a personal moment for President Biden.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's shaping up to be a rough summer in the skies. At least 2900 reports of unruly behavior by passengers this year.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The number of people killed by guns in America continued to rise this weekend as did the scourge of mass shootings.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Sunday. Great to have you along with us.
Well, as President Biden gets set for a key summit with U.S. allies in Brussels tomorrow, he is preparing for what might be the biggest meeting of his young presidency. During much of his downtime on his first overseas trip, Biden has been focused on Wednesday's first presidential meeting with Vladimir Putin at a time that U.S.-Russia relations are strained.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: I think he is right, it's a low point. And it depends on how he responds to acting consistent with international norms, which in many cases he has not.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly joins us live from Brussels.
So, Phil, all eyes will be on this Putin meeting but Biden can't overlook this NATO summit that starts in just a few hours.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, Pamela, no question about it. Obviously it's the bedrock defense alliance, 30 nations, North America and Europe. And in large part, it's an entity that exists to counter or at least serve as a counterpoint to Russia. So clearly, that is going to be a focus. And White House officials have made clear the president is not overlooking the meeting that will transpire over the course of the next couple of hours.
But one thing to keep in mind here is this isn't a meeting in isolation. And whether it's the G7, whether it's the NATO summit, the U.S.-E.U. summit, there's a through line here that all leads towards Geneva. These are all allies and alliances that the president doesn't just want to shore up in advance of that meeting with President Putin but also wants to speak to, wants to get their kind of opinions and views on how he should approach this meeting.
And the reason why is because there's not high expectations that President Putin is necessarily going to change. He wants to have as much advice and consultation as he can going into it because well, many administrations have dealt with President Putin. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It's about making myself very clear what the conditions are to get a better relationship are with Russia. We're not looking for conflict. We are looking to resolve those actions which we think are inconsistent with international norms. There's no guarantee you can change a person's behavior and the behavior in his country. Autocrats have enormous power and they don't have to answer to a public.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: So clearly the president not seeming to hint that there is going to be a big outcome from this meeting, kind of following along the lines, Pamela, as you know quite well, what White House officials have been saying for the last several days. But it's some good insights into kind of how he's approaching this meeting. Clearly the White House and the president are going to lay out some pretty definitive red lines and what the repercussions would be should Russia cross those red lines in the future.
But also lay out areas where they believe there's an opportunity for cooperation and the biggest takeaway right now from talking to White House officials, listening to the president, is they want to try and get this relationship into a better place. There's no question. It's as lowest it's been in several years. That is a problem. And they want to see if somehow this meeting can advance things at least a little bit.
BROWN: So they're tempering expectations. But they hope they can at least get it into a better place. President Biden has a few days with allies before this big meeting. What is the White House looking for out of NATO this week?
MATTINGLY: You know, Pamela, your first question was a really good one because they're not overlooking NATO. I think they understand -- President Biden a long believer in kind of the Western democracies and the infrastructure or construct that's been put in place in the wake of World War II that has allowed that alliance to really kind of lead the democratic world over the course of the last several decades.
And NATO is obviously a key component of that. Obviously Russia will be a large portion of their conversation. But you kind of can go across the road map here. Cybersecurity, White House officials say, is going to be a very important part of the conversation. Obviously we saw a lot of conversation about China, which is a central component of the Biden administration foreign policy or focus and their foreign policy of the G7 summit. That will carry over into NATO as well. So a lot of different issues that the president wants to get into.
[20:05:03]
And I think more than anything else, not unlike G7, I think given where his predecessor stood on this issue, NATO specifically, collective defense specifically, NATO spending specifically, and contributions of NATO members, the president wants to do what he did at the G7, reassure allies, make clear that the U.S. in his view is back and made clear that his belief in NATO and that bedrock collective defense stands today and will stand going forward.
BROWN: All right, Phil Mattingly, thanks for staying up late for us. I see it's 2:00 a.m. there in Brussels. We do appreciate it. Great having you on as always.
Well, the president and first lady capped their visit to the U.K. with a meeting at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth. Now that is a privilege that only four American presidents have claimed over the Queen's nearly 70-year reign. It also marks the first time Queen Elizabeth has hosted a world leader since the death of her husband Prince Philip earlier this year.
CNN's Max Foster is in Windsor with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Queen Elizabeth II receiving her 13th sitting U.S. president for an audience. Her 12th during her reign, going back to the 1950s. It was actually an informal process. This was not a state visit. But you saw the Guard of Honor laid out in the quadrangle there at Windsor Castle and President Biden inspecting the troops. Many of these troops have seen active service with American troops.
They've worked very closely with their American counterparts and were very much looking forward to being inspected by the American commander-in-chief. After that and the national anthem playing, they went inside for tea. Those conversations always remain private. But we were given a photograph of the moment inside. And that's the only piece of media we received from this event. Those conversations are never leaked, although last time, President Trump did release some detail. They discussed Brexit.
But usually, they're quite innocuous conversations. An opportunity really for a visiting head of state to have time with the world's longest serving head of state and get a sense of all the history that she's seen during her reign.
The Bidens were in the castle for about an hour. Then they left and their European tour continues.
Max Foster, CNN, Windsor, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Max Foster, thanks so much to you.
Tricia Goddard joins me now. She's a British talk show host.
Great to see you again, Trisha. This was Biden's first trip abroad since Joe Biden was sworn in as president. It was also significant for Queen Elizabeth. The G7 was one of her very -- her first public event really since the pandemic. And today marked the first time that she hosted a world leader since the death of Prince Philip earlier this year. How significant was all of this?
TRISHA GODDARD, BRITISH TALK SHOW HOST: I think it's really significant. And it's a great message to especially the British people that, you know, steady as she goes and things are -- if not back to normal, the Queen has a very calming aspect and a very -- you know, people think, thank goodness she's doing OK. When you consider she's 95 years of age and as you heard Max say, she's hosted many, many presidents.
In fact, I think it's -- I noted that Joe Biden is the 13th president. And they met on the 13th. Some may see that as a very lucky sign. But -- and tea with the Queen as well. Tea is one of her favorite drinks, of course. She's known to drink Twinings Earl Gray. No sugar, just a little bit of milk. One never puts the milk in first. It's always the hot tea and then a splash of milk. You don't stir. You don't stir round and round. It's from side to side. You don't touch the edge of the cup. And you're expected to stop eating once Her Majesty stops eating.
BROWN: Wow.
GODDARD: That's the protocol.
BROWN: So the Queen and the president -- this president have actually met before. That was back in 1982 when Joe Biden was a senator.
GODDARD: Yes.
BROWN: And his mother warned him as someone with Irish roots, don't you bow down to her. And again today he did not bow down. How do people view that in the U.K.?
GODDARD: I still think people have seen it as a very warm meeting, especially as President Joe Biden said that the Queen -- he hoped the Queen didn't mind. But the Queen reminded him of his dear late mother, with her generosity and her warmth and what have you. But I think you have to look overall at this visit. I think it's been an absolute success for Dr. Jill Biden and President Joe Biden.
Because the way they have been seen -- you know, for instance, Jill Biden on the beach and with the Duchess of Cambridge and the school, it's been a very warm, very close meeting. And I think it's done a huge stride for Anglo-American relations.
[20:10:02]
BROWN: OK, so I have to ask you, Trisha. Having met 13 U.S. presidents in her lifetime, 12 as Queen, surely she has some favorites and not-so favorites. Are you able to read her preferences? And if so, how did Joe Biden rate?
GODDARD: Well, I wouldn't know about her preferences because she's very, very -- you know, she's very diplomatic about that.
BROWN: She is.
GODDARD: But I think she would have had a very warm relationship with President Joe Biden because here's one thing. Both their families have gone through quite a lot of turmoil. They both understand that families have difficulties. If you remember with the Queen, she lived through the abdication, and, you know, Wallace Simpson, American bride all over again. And then with Princess Margaret, and now with Harry, you know, with Diana and Charles and what have you.
So they've had a real tough family time, as has President Biden's family. So I think that she would be quite warm and quite close to him. And he -- they're both very warm people. So I wouldn't know if he's one of her favorites. But I'm going to guess he's going to kind of be up there.
BROWN: I just love that video of her cutting the cake with the sword. I mean, I could just watch that over and over.
GODDARD: Yes.
BROWN: It was just such an incredible --
GODDARD: Great sense of humor.
BROWN: -- moment. And she was not going to let go of it.
GODDARD: She's got a great sense of humor.
BROWN: You know, and someone said there's a knife there, and she said, oh, I know. You know, it's just so great.
GODDARD: I'll use the sword, yes.
BROWN: Trisha, thanks again for coming on the show and we'll see you next time we have to talk about the royals. We appreciate it.
GODDARD: Thank you so much, Pamela.
BROWN: And coming up this hour, a judge rejects a lawsuit by hospital staff who refuse to get vaccinated. I'm going to ask one of the nurses involved in the legal fight what her next move is.
Also tonight, a mom in Texas disguises herself -- have you seen this -- as her own 13-year-old daughter. And she sneaks into her middle school. We're going to tell you why.
But first, vowing to return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We will be back soon. We will be back.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: A nail-biting vote ends Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year run in Israel. CNN's Oren Liebermann is live in Jerusalem for us tonight, and joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:16:29]
BROWN: Well, President Biden has already spoken by phone to the new prime minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett. It was just a few hours ago that the country's longest serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lost a confidence vote in parliament ending his record 12-year tenure.
And joining me now is CNN's Oren Liebermann. So, Oren, it didn't take long for President Joe Biden and the new Israeli PM to get in touch.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all. About two hours after the swearing in of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, there was a congratulatory message from President Joe Biden. And then shortly thereafter, the first phone call between the two leaders and that was followed by congratulatory messages from the secretary of State and the Defense secretary.
That's in stark contrast to the nearly one month it took Biden to call Benjamin Netanyahu after Biden was inaugurated. It is already a very different era in politics here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LIEBERMANN (voice-over): After 4,457 consecutive days in office, Benjamin Netanyahu's grip on power was broken. In his final speech as prime minister before being replaced, Netanyahu lashed out at his rivals.
NETANYAHU (through translator): You call yourselves the guardians of democracy but you're so afraid of democracy that you're ready to pass fascist laws against my candidacy, the language of North Korea and Iran, in order to maintain your regime.
LIEBERMANN: The man who replaced him, right-wing rival Naftali Bennett, speaking under a hail of abuse from Netanyahu and far-right extremists. Some ejected from the hall. Late Sunday night, Bennett won a crucial conference vote in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
The swearing in made it official. Bennett became Israel's prime minister. He promised a different kind of politics. One aimed at unity and agreement, not discord and division.
NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Twice in our history we have lost our national home precisely because the leaders of the generation were not able to sit with one another and compromise. I am proud of the ability to sit together with people with very different views from my own.
LIEBERMANN: The 49-year-old high tech millionaire is Israel's first religious prime minister. His rollercoaster political journey has taken him through a series of different political parties on the right. He now leads the most diverse coalition in Israel's history, including the first Arab party ever to join a government.
BENNETT (through translator): We are not enemies. We are one people.
LIEBERMANN: Until the final moment, Netanyahu was working to scuttle Bennett's government and hang on to power. In language echoing former U.S. president Donald Trump, Israel's longest serving leader accused his rivals of the greatest fraud in the country's history.
Trump gave Netanyahu major political gifts -- recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, normalization agreements with some Arab countries and more. But it was never enough to get Netanyahu what he craved, an outright election victory.
Netanyahu couldn't overcome a polarized electorate and the ongoing corruption trial in which he's denied wrongdoing. He is now leader of the opposition as he watches Naftali Bennett lead the country into a new era of politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIEBERMANN: So much of the last few years for Netanyahu will be defined by his relationship with former president Donald Trump. Despite everything that Trump gave him, political gifts, diplomatic victories, it simply wasn't enough for Netanyahu to win an election.
[20:20:05]
Netanyahu lasted just 144 days after Donald Trump and the end of his term he had a functioning government for exactly zero of those days -- Pamela.
BROWN: All right, Oren Liebermann, thanks for bringing us the latest from Jerusalem.
And joining me now is former State Department Middle East negotiator and CNN global affairs analyst Aaron David Miller.
Aaron, first off, what does this mean for the U.S.?
AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think Joe Biden, Pam, caught a huge break here. You've got a government right center and left which has a mutual -- mutually assured destructive facet about it, which means essentially it's a government that will not take bold and risky steps or provocative ones. Naftali Bennett has already opposed the Iran nuclear agreement but it's not a signature issue for him. He's not going to try to manipulate our political system, played to the Republican base or to the evangelicals.
I think relations with the American Jewish community in this government will be much better. And by and large, since Bennett is going to have his hands full, he only has six seats, which is unprecedented for a prime minister of Israel and Israel's political history, he's not going to want to pick a fight with Joe Biden. And Joe Biden frankly is not going to want to fight with him.
He will probably get an invitation to visit Washington. Billion dollars that the Israelis have requested for replacement of Iron Dome missiles. And there'll probably be an invitation, too, for Yair Lapid who will rotate him in the prime ministry in two years should the government last that long.
BROWN: And you said, you know, this new prime minister now has the thinnest of majorities. Not unlike the slim majority in the United States Senate. Israel has long been without a truly functioning government. Can Naftali Bennett actually make some progress here?
MILLER: You know, I think that's the real question. He's 49 years old. He knows that right now his greatest accomplishment has been to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu. That will not be enough to secure his political future. He's going to have to work with the other parties in his coalition, all of whom have a stake in preventing Netanyahu's return, to try to produce and deliver very much -- there's a Trump-Biden- Netanyahu-Bennett-Lapid sort of similarity here.
He's going to have to deliver and make governance, public service, Israel's Democratic institutions functional again against the backdrop of a decade or more of efforts by Mr. Netanyahu to undermine them. So I think -- you know, it's like Sam Adams, our revolutionary founder, said. We're either going to hang together or we're going to hang separately. There's no Israeli Mar-a-Lago here.
Mister Netanyahu will be the leader of the largest political party and most cohesive political party in Israel, and he's going to do everything to see if he can undermine this government and return to power.
BROWN: It's very clear, he is not going anywhere. But look at the backdrop here. Right? Less than a month ago, Israel and Gaza were engaged in an 11-day war. Benjamin Netanyahu was considered conservative on issues of settlements and Palestinian rights. What does this leadership change mean for Palestinians?
MILLER: I think -- well, for Palestinian citizens of Israel, it will be historic. For the first time, a small Arab party is formally a part of the government. And it's head spinning to think that as you mentioned a month or so ago Israel witnessed the worst communal violence between Jews and Arabs since the state was created. Now you have a real chance, this Mansour Abbas, small party, to get deliverables for his community.
Palestinians, on the other side of the line, however, West Bank and Gaza, I think the future, frankly, is going to be very bleak. This government is going to have to figure out how to do things that are not too committing on one hand but committing to a certain degree on the other in order to manage this problem. But managing is not what Palestinians want. And I think if a crisis comes, it may well come as a consequence of an Israeli-Palestinian issue in the weeks and months to come.
BROWN: All right. Aaron David Miller, thanks for bringing on all of your analysis. We appreciate it.
MILLER: Thanks, Pam.
BROWN: And after more than a year of COVID restrictions, Californians are more than ready for their state to reopen. Our Paul Vercammen is one of them. We're going to go there live in just a moment. Stay with us.
[20:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, California has endured more than 15 months of emergency restrictions in this pandemic. And that is finally, finally about to change as COVID cases continue to fall. The state will drop its stay- at-home order and begin to roll back most pandemic-related executive orders. It's all going down in just about 30 hours. But who's counting?
CNN's Paul Vercammen joins us now from Los Angeles where people are gearing up for reopening.
Your smile doesn't give it away at all how excited you are for this reopening, Paul.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's almost like all of California is going to get hit by champagne spray as they celebrate coming out of the COVID-19 restrictions, at least most of them. Let's take the Getty Center here, this landmark with its great view and art from around the world including their Van Gogh's "Irises" and Monet and the rest. So you come to the Getty Center after the restrictions are lifted and you no longer have to stay six feet apart.
[20:30:02]
You can be right next to a perfect stranger inside looking at the art. Keep your mask on. Outside, they are going to allow you to walk around with your mask off. And then another little twist in all of this, this is actually a big twist, is way more people can now come up to the Getty. And you can just tell being here there's this sense of accomplishment that they got through the toughest part of the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB COMBS, DIRECTOR OF VISITOR SERVICES, GETTY MUSEUM: You know, it's really thrilling, especially for a lot of us who have worked on the site for a long time. We really live it and we enjoy it vicariously through the eyes of the visitors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so excited that we can finally be out as a family and enjoy a place like this like the Getty because it's like that's all we've been wanting to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we're going to continue to be safe and follow the recommended guidelines. But definitely enjoy a little bit more freedom.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: And one nuance in rule at the Getty, you will have to wear your mask on the tram that leads up to the Getty Center. That's the rule for most transportation in California. And by the way, the positivity rate, the test rate here in California for COVID-19 is well under 1 percent. And that's how they got here. Just wearing their masks -- Pam.
BROWN: And the vaccinations helped a lot, too. Paul Vercammen, thanks so much. We appreciate it.
A Texas judge has, by the way, just ruled against a group of health workers suing their hospital over a COVID vaccine mandate. When we come back, I'm going to speak to the nurse who led the lawsuit against her employer and get her reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:35:43]
BROWN: Hospital workers in Houston have lost their court case over mandatory vaccinations. We've been following this case on this show. A district court judge sided with Houston Methodist Hospital. Nearly 200 workers have now been suspended for two weeks without pay and may lose their jobs because they have refused to get the COVID vaccine. Last night I spoke with Dr. Marc Boom, the president and CEO of Houston Methodist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARC BOOM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL: These are incredibly, incredibly safe vaccines. And in a hospital, in a health care situation where we deal with vulnerable people, think of people with cancer, people with immunological illnesses and others who don't have good protection and who rely on everyone else for protection. That is our sacred obligation as health care workers to do that and to protect them.
And that's what they've done. And ultimately, people like Miss Bridges and others do have a choice. Their choice, if they don't want to be vaccinated, is not to be employed here and to seek employment elsewhere.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Nurse Jennifer Bridges is the lead plaintiff in this lawsuit.
Jennifer, thank you so much for agreeing to join us again on this show. We talked to you before this court ruling. Now we're talking to you after this court ruling. This judge ruling in favor of the hospital. What's next for you and your co-workers who don't want to get this vaccine?
JENNIFER BRIDGES, REGISTERED NURSE, HOUSTON METHODIST: Yes, ma'am, thank you for having us. And no, we pretty much expected at this level that it would be dismissed and the judge would rule against us. But it's really only the beginning. We are going to be appealing this and taking this up. And ultimately, I very will feel this case is going to go to the Supreme Court. So we're just starting things out at this moment.
BROWN: So as you well know, this judge was harshly critical of your argument, particularly the one that requiring vaccines violates the Nuremberg Code. He said, "Likening the threat of termination in this case, to force medical experimentation during the holocaust, was, 'reprehensible.'" What do you say to that? Do you still maintain that claim?
BRIDGES: Yes, definitely. I mean, of course, we're not going to say this is nearly as big as the holocaust was but at the beginning, the way they did make people have trials and injections, medications, procedures against their will, this is pretty much what they're doing right now. They are having -- forcing people to take a shot when they don't want to and they're not giving the proper, informed consent. Like nobody is being told the risk factors before getting this injection.
BROWN: OK.
BRIDGES: So that --
BROWN: I just want to be clear, though. I mean, you do realize that there is no comparison here to the holocaust. Right? I mean Nazi doctors held medical experiments on people and some died, some -- I mean, it was painful, it was awful. How could you even compare it to that?
BRIDGES: I didn't compare it to the holocaust. But I did compare it to the beginning of it which is the Nuremberg trials to where they did do medical procedures, injections, medications against people's wills. And they did not have a choice in the matter. And that's starting to be what happens now right over here in America because people are not being properly informed about what's going into their bodies before they get it right now.
BROWN: And as we know, there were clinical trials, thousands of people, it went through a whole process. The FDA has given it emergency authorization. So it went through many of the layers to make sure that this was safe before it went out for people, for Americans to start getting the vaccine. Houston Methodist released a statement saying that it has exempted several hundred employees for religious or medical reasons, and has deferred vaccines for some of its pregnant workers.
Why is that not enough for you? Especially when, as Dr. Boom said with the Methodist -- with the hospital system, that look, you're treating patients who are highly vulnerable. Isn't there a higher standard here?
BRIDGES: Well, there's a lot of things Methodist is not saying. They've actually denied about 70 percent of their religious and medical exemptions. So very much more got denied than actually approved. So those people are very upset. They're pastors, they're doctors are upset Methodist is going against their constitutional rights.
[20:40:03]
And even with the patients, we're still protecting them. We wear the proper PPE. So we -- there's nothing that we are going to contract to patients by not getting this vaccine.
BROWN: And we'll have to circle back and fact check on the claim of denying people who are coming forward and saying they can't get the vaccine because of those purposes. But I have to ask you, is this more about legitimate medical concerns for you or politics?
BRIDGES: This is absolutely nothing to do with politics. This is a medical concern. When I've seen people literally have miscarriages, blood clots, die, all sorts of horrible things after getting the shot, and they were perfectly healthy, this is a huge medical concern to me.
BROWN: OK. I actually, on that note, because there's no evidence connecting miscarriages to vaccines and Dr. El Sayed, a doctor that came on CNN after our last interview, actually addressed this directly. We're going to play sound from him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ABDUL EL SAYED, EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT: We know what the evidence has shown us. We know that among the tens of thousands of people who were enrolled in these studies, there was no greater risk of miscarriages among people who received the vaccination versus folks who received saltwater. You know, that'd be like saying that if it rained and somebody had a miscarriage it was because of rain.
We know that millions of people are getting vaccinated every single day around the world. And that miscarriages do happen. But to connect the two, you have to go back to the science. And the science shows us that there is no greater risk among people who've been vaccinated versus people who have not.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: But, Jennifer Bridges, look, I do appreciate you coming on because there are people across this country who are still vaccine hesitant. And they share your concerns. And so it's really important I think to have you on the show to hear your thoughts, your opinions. Are you going to look for another job now? What are you going to do?
BRIDGES: Absolutely. I have already had five companies reach out to me wanting to employ me. So I'm going to my first interview tomorrow. And I understand what that physician is saying. But I have multiple physicians that would contest that with their own research they've done. And the thing with these adverse reactions is, yes, you can't 100 percent prove it was the shot. But you can't 100 percent prove it wasn't either.
So if you are not aware of which way it goes, why not be on the safe side? Why take that risk when you don't have the proper research either way?
BROWN: But we do know that there is a system in place, so if there are any adverse reactions or there could be adverse reactions, they look at people who have had that and people who have been vaccinated and haven't been, compared to what they are seeing with, for example, miscarriages, and they try to figure out whether there's any connection.
As of now, there is no definitive connection between the two that the vaccine could anyway be related to a miscarriage, which sadly happens all the time. So just want to put that out there for our viewers.
But, Jennifer Bridges, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your perspective. And good luck with your interview tomorrow.
BRIDGES: Thank you so much.
BROWN: Well, being black and transgender in Texas. As W. Kamau Bell learns, it's not easy for that community. He joins me next to talk about the season finale of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:47:39] BROWN: Well, tonight is the season finale of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA." Host W. Kamau Bell is traveling to Dallas, Texas, to learn more about the experiences of the black transgender community and how their push to be accepted is often met with threats and barriers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I began my transition in '64. I went to college and I came out with a nursing license. I was able to --
W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: Get that money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. You know, you had to do something.
BELL: Yes, of course. Of course.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To pay for those Neiman Marcus dresses. So I worked as a nurse.
BELL: So at the hospital, you worked at you were --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the hospital I was Sharon.
BELL: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And undressing, going back home with my family.
BELL: It's got to be stressful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was. It was very stressful. I thought it was really, really time for me to be me.
BELL: Yes.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: W. Kamau Bell joins me this evening.
Good to see you. So you talked to a number of black transgender women in Dallas for this episode. Obviously, everyone's journey is unique. But there were some common threads in their experiences that they told you about.
BELL: Yes. I mean, you know, certainly, we need to talk more about the threat that the trans community is under, specifically black transgender women. But all of them to a person we're talking about ways that they were living their lives and thriving despite the circumstances. And I think we really focused hard on showing that side of it so it wasn't just about the trauma.
BROWN: The threat of physical violence is something that many transgender people have to deal with. What did you learn about that?
BELL: Well, I mean, the thing I've learned is that more and more, they have decided not to be quiet about this. They've decided to stand up and decided to talk about -- the story of a woman named Malaysia Booker, who was attacked and then had a press conference to say that we cannot be silent on this. Later she was killed in what is apparently an unrelated crime. But her story has really charged people around the world, the trans community around the world, to like stand up and to demand that the community include them and not exclude them.
BROWN: And what is the role of straight men play in all of this?
BELL: The role of straight men, this role of heterosexual cisgender men like me is to do what I'm doing right now, take what I have learned, try to talk to people who don't know about it but also not act like I'm the smartest person in the room.
[20:50:06]
So you'll see in the episode there's time where I say I know some things and I'm tested on what I know. So I think the role of specifically black cisgender men is to really speak up but also be willingly corrected.
BROWN: And I think it's so important, this is why I love your show because you bring all these issues to the forefront and hopefully expand people's understanding of what others go through in life, what their journey is like, and why.
W. Kamau Bell, thank you so much.
The all-new season finale episode of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA" with W. Kamau Bell is tonight at 10:00 Eastern only on CNN.
And up next, a mother trades places with her 13-year-old daughter. She says it was a social experiment but it landed her in jail. Details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:55:34]
BROWN: Tonight we are learning just how serious the situation was when a Danish soccer player collapsed in the middle of a Euro 2020 tournament match. Christian Eriksen is still in the hospital in stable condition. The team's doctor says Ericsson, quote, "was gone," when he had to be resuscitated from cardiac arrest Saturday on the pitch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MORTEN BOESEN, DENMARK TEAM DOCTOR: What shall I say? He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation and it was cardiac arrest. How close were we? I don't know. We got him back after one defib, so that's quite fast.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: According to his club team Eriksen never had COVID-19, he was not vaccinated. After play resumed, Denmark lost the game against Finland. The team will play again on Thursday. Well, a Texas mother goes back to school to prove a point. Police
actually arrested the 30-year-old woman after she attended classes pretending to be her daughter. Not only did she look the part, she documented the entire experience on YouTube.
CNN's Jeanne Moos talked with the mom about her undercover experiment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This mom went back to school. Middle school. Disguised as her 13-year-old daughter.
CASEY GARCIA, TEXAS MOM: Do I look like a 7th grader? No? Cool. Awesome.
MOOS: Thirty-year-old Casey Garcia dyed her hair, tanned her skin, put on big glasses and a Marvel comics hoodie.
GARCIA: I'm going to get so caught. I'm actually really scared now.
MOOS: The Texas mom says she did it and recorded herself to make a point.
GARCIA: We need better security at our schools.
MOOS: Once inside, she gave her daughter Julie's school ID number. Garcia says the principal greeted her in the hallway.
GARCIA: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
GARCIA: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?
GARCIA: Fine, and yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great.
MOOS: She even got a compliment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like your backpack.
GARCIA: Thank you.
MOOS: And people gave her directions.
GARCIA: I would have never found my way.
MOOS: In math class she held up her math notes. And at lunch in the cafeteria she held a cheesy dish she was eating.
GARCIA: This is disgusting.
MOOS: But in the very last period of the day -- GARCIA: Well, I finally got caught.
MOOS: -- a teacher asked her to stay after class.
GARCIA: And she looked at me, she's like, you're not Julie. I took off my mask, I took off my glasses and I said no, I'm Julie. I'm Julie's mom.
MOOS: Why, the teacher asked.
GARCIA: I said, for a social experiment.
MOOS: Within days, the police came to her home to arrest her on charges of criminal trespass and tampering with government records.
GARCIA: Do I need anything? I've never been arrested before in my life.
MOOS: That same day she was released on bond. The San Elizario School District superintendent put out a statement to parents acknowledging there was a breach in security. "I want to reassure you that our security measures are being reviewed and evaluated."
Garcia's lawyer says she proved any Tom, Dick, or Harry can walk into a public school and spend an entire day going undetected.
GARCIA: I stayed because, look, no one noticed I was there. That is a problem.
MOOS: Her experience sounds like the title of a school paper you might turn in.
GARCIA: I posed as a seventh grader.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: What a social experiment that is. Well, don't forget that you could tweet me at PamelaBrownCNN and you can also follow me on Instagram with the same handle.
And we end this evening with some sad news. A longtime actor of stage and screen, Ned Beatty, has passed away of natural causes. He was known for his work in movies like "Deliverance" and "Superman." Beatty was also nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1977 film "Network."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NED BEATTY, ACTOR: They get out their linear programming charts, statistical decision theories, Betamax solutions, and compute the price, cost probabilities of their transactions and investments just like we do. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies, Mr. Beale.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: Younger generations may know Beatty's voice. He was Lotso in "Toy Story 3." Ned Beatty was 83 years old.
Well, thank you for joining me this evening, it's been great having you along. I'll see you again --
(END)
