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Lollapalooza Takes Place in Chicago; Duke Requires Masks Indoors; Ex-Cop Jailed After Buying Guns; Police Call on Union to Denounce Insurrection; Fires Sweep Across Portions of the U.S. Aired 9:30-10a

Aired July 29, 2021 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

LIZ CLARKE, SPORTS REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Go ahead, I'm sorry.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: No, not at all.

Liz, the International Olympic Committee said yesterday that they support athletes for their mental health, but they did say this that I thought was notable. They said, we can do more on this issue.

Can you speak to the role of organizations like the IOC and others because, remember, for Simone Biles, you know, she has had to endure so much and really felt so betrayed by USGA on how the abuse of Larry Nassar was handled. I mean how critical are these organizations in supporting these athletes, so many of them so young, on all of these levels?

CLARKE: Well, it's absolutely critical. And I think to this point we've seen either the organizations ignoring the issue, taking active steps in the case of USA Gymnastics and the USOPC, to bury and, you know, hide the fact that abuse occurred.

So what we're now hearing are appropriate words, appropriate commitments, but athletes, like Simone Biles, Aly Raisman before her, people who know these organizations are skeptical because it's very easy to say the right things.

HARLOW: Sure.

CLARKE: It's very easy to say, we stand beside you, behind you. But, you know, where is the support? An athlete knows if they will be punished for speaking out, for questioning a coach, for questioning a training method. That's certainly been the case that -- in the past in gymnastics. So there are ways in which you can empower athletes, involve them in decision making, ask them how they're doing, put them on committees that make policies for athlete wellness, you know, rather than just make money off them and then say the right thing when the world's focus is on you.

HARLOW: Yes.

Liz Clarke with "The Washington Post," thank you so much for your analysis this morning.

CLARKE: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: Well, Lollapalooza, you've heard of it. Hundreds of thousands descend on Chicago every summer for the Lollapalooza Music Festival. But as cases rise, could this become a super spreader event? Why local officials are hopeful it will not, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:36:57]

HARLOW: One of the nation's biggest music festivals, Lollapalooza, kicks off in Chicago today at full capacity despite a nationwide surge in COVID cases. The festival is expect to bring hundreds of thousands of people to Chicago's downtown Grant Park. The city is taking precautions.

Let's go to my colleague, Adrienne Broaddus, in Chicago.

So what are they -- I mean I know they've got to be worried, officials there. What are -- what are they doing to try to keep it safe?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, there are a lot of safety measures that have been put in place. And when you have a large crowd gathering anywhere, there's already a risk.

We have an aerial view of where that four-day festival will take place thanks to our friends here at Nema (ph). But before anyone can see their favorite artist on that stage, there are some rules attendees must follow.

First, if you have the COVID-19 vaccination, you need to show proof. So bring a copy, a printed copy, of your vaccination records. If you're unvaccinated, you will be required to obtain a negative COVID- 19 test at least 72 hours prior to entry. And someone will be at the gate checking to make sure you have that documentation.

Also, officials are asking people who are unvaccinated to wear a mask even though it's outside.

And, yes, people are concerned this festival, which normally attracts about 100,000 people per day, could be a super spreader event.

Here's what the state's top doctor had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ALLISON ARWADY, COMMISSIONER, CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: I can't promise that there won't be any COVID cases associated with Lolla. When you're having this many folks who are coming through, almost certainly there will be some cases.

But I'm confident that the combination of what we know about limiting risk in outdoor settings, pairing that with vaccination and/or testing, and ideally mostly vaccination, which is what we expect, as well as all the other mitigation factors, you know, I'm certainly hopeful that we won't see a significant problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: Another mitigation factor, everyone who's working backstage was required to be vaccinated.

Now, this is all coming after the Illinois Department of Health reported more than 2,000 new COVID cases yesterday and a positivity rate of about 4.4 percent. Now, the city's mayor, Lori Lightfoot, says if Chicago sees more than 200 new cases per day, she will reinstate that mask mandate.

Poppy.

HARLOW: OK, Adrienne, thank you. We're all rooting for the best there in Chicago. We appreciate it.

Big universities are wasting no time issuing the CDC's reinstatement of guidance on masks and implementing them on campus. Duke will require masks indoors for everyone regardless of their vaccination status. That decision comes as the university already requires vaccines for staff and students.

Michael Schoenfeld joins me now, he's the vice president of public affairs and government relations at Duke.

Good morning, Michael. It's good to have you.

MICHAEL SCHOENFELD, VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, DUKE UNIVERSITY: Good morning. Good morning, Poppy. Thank you for having me here today.

HARLOW: How did you make this decision?

[09:40:00]

SCHOENFELD: Well, we have been monitoring the conditions locally, nationally and on campus, you know, pretty much every day for the last 18 months. And we have seen, like everybody else, we have seen an increase in cases in the region, in our community, and also an increase in breakthrough infections that have been detected through our testing program.

So we were -- we were walking towards reinstituting a mandate for masking indoors when the CDC issued its guidance which aligned with our thinking. So it really wasn't a switch. We didn't -- we didn't flip a switch when the CDC flipped a switch. We've actually been monitoring and watching this for -- you know, for quite some time.

HARLOW: And what happens to students or staff if they don't comply? Does that mean they're out at Duke?

SCHOENFELD: Well, good question. Students are required to be vaccinated. They have to show up and be vaccinated on -- by August 23rd, which is -- August 24th, which is our first day of class. If they have not been vaccinated and they don't get vaccinated when they arrive here, because they couldn't get a vaccination, then they will not be able to enroll in school. HARLOW: OK.

SCHOENFELD: They'll be suspended until they get a vaccination.

Employees are required to be vaccinated by September 1. If employees are not vaccinated by September 1, they will be subject to very frequent testing and masking requirements and potentially other restrictions.

HARLOW: But why --

SCHOENFELD: And -- and let me just add, also in our health system, with our hospitals, that is a condition now of employment. So you must be vaccinated.

HARLOW: I guess my question would be, why -- why hold your students to a different standard than your employees, your staff, who will ostensibly be in the same rooms with them?

SCHOENFELD: Well, the -- Duke is a large and complex and diverse place, like many universities. We have different kinds of people on campus. We have large numbers of visitors. We have employees. We have students who are -- who have their own cohort. We have various kinds of legal restrictions that are different, that are just different for students than they are for employees. But the program that we have --

HARLOW: Can you explain that a little bit? Are you saying there is a legal limit to what you can make employees do? Because other private sector companies, you know, are not -- are not finding that. Are you saying you feel like you legally -- Duke's lawyers have told you, you legally can't require --

SCHOENFELD: Well, we -- we have -- we just -- we have --

HARLOW: Like, you can't make it a condition of employment for staff to get vaccinated?

SCHOENFELD: No, we -- we -- no, we -- we can make it a condition of -- we can make it a condition of employment. We have -- we have just -- are balancing a number of different imperatives that we have on campus and beyond. And we have come up with an approach that we believe will work effectively for Duke.

HARLOW: OK.

SCHOENFELD: And right now 82 -- 83, 84 percent of our employees are vaccinated. We expect that number is going to go up considerably over the next couple of weeks. And right now about 80 -- what we have been -- what has been reported to us so far is that about 85 percent of our students have reported being vaccinated. We expect that will be close to 100 percent.

HARLOW: OK

SCHOENFELD: There are, of course, exceptions for -- you can apply for an exception for medical reasons or for religious reasons. Those have to be approved by the university.

HARLOW: OK. So let's -- we'll see what happens with that 17 percent of staff not yet vaccinated. Hope the number goes way up, as you -- as you expect it to.

Hey, final question to you from my very smart producers who thought of this, this morning, that I thought was genius, and that is, you're requiring this on -- for students to wear masks and be vaccinated at all Duke-owned and leased buildings. But as we know, a lot of folks go to college or, you know, go to graduate programs and they live off campus, right, or they -- they -- sorority house or fraternity house. How do you -- how do you handle those situations? How do you enforce there?

SCHOENFELD: Right. So, we're not policing what people do in their homes, number one. Number two, we have been working very, very closely with our infectious disease and environmental health experts. They have determined, because the student population will be entirely or nearly entirely vaccinated, and access to our residence halls is limited to those students who live in them, that the risk to students for not being masked inside the residence halls is much lower than it would be with a larger group mixing in our public buildings. So this requirement does not apply to students living in Duke housing and, obviously, it doesn't apply to individuals living in housing off campus.

Now, we are doing very robust testing, I should add. Every student, every student, whether they're vaccinated or not, will be tested at least once a week on the Duke campus.

HARLOW: Yes.

SCHOENFELD: And depending on the circumstances, we may have to increase that.

HARLOW: Michael Schoenfeld, thank you.

[09:45:01]

And mostly good luck to you guys as the school year gets underway.

SCHOENFELD: Great. Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: Well, ahead, a Capitol rioting suspect arrested again. Why? After buying 37 guns. The disturbing new details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHH: Welcome back.

This morning, a former Virginia police officer, who was fired after storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, is now back in jail. Thomas Robertson was arrested again because he ordered a large stockpile of guns and ammunition and posted support online for future political violence.

[09:50:01]

All of this, I should note, after his arrest in January.

Our Josh Campbell joins me now.

Josh, what more do we know about him. And, also, if you could make clear who he is in that picture, I think it's a little confusing for people. They're seeing two faces there.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. That other person on the left was another defendant. Both of those two individuals there on the day, authorities say. In this case, you know, we've seen so many of these images from the Capitol that day. But this case underscoring that all of that rage, all of that anger that we saw with our own eyes didn't simply go away after January 6th. And, in this case, what prosecutors did is they convinced a federal judge that this person remained a threat. He was released on bail but after authorities discovered a firearm at his home, as well as some bomb- making material and determined that he actually had purchased nearly 40 weapons online, they convinced this judge that he remained a threat to public safety.

Now, authorities say that they noticed one online post in which he says, and I'll quote, the only voice these people will now listen to is violence. Buckle armor or just stay at home. The last line appearing to reference gearing up for some kind of battle.

Now, what the attorney said for the suspect is that authorities got it all wrong. It's a misunderstanding. He described his client as an antique gun enthusiast. The judge not buying any of it. He was re- arrested. He will remain in custody likely for the remainder of this year.

HARLOW: Right, because it's not just about the guns that were purchased, it's about the threats that were made for the future.

Look, Josh, you've got reporting that three of the officers who testified Tuesday before that House Select Committee are calling for more support from the nation's largest police union. What do they want?

CAMPBELL: Yes, they feel abandoned. You know, these unions are very powerful, particularly in Republican circles. Officer Michael Fanone, and his colleagues, speaking out saying that these unions, particularly the Fraternal Order of Police, have -- they haven't done enough to call out those who have downplayed this -- the attack on January 6. Fanone told CNN that what he did was call the president of the Fraternal Order of Police and ask that, ask that this organization speak up in order to defend them. He also asked that this group denounce Republican lawmakers who voted against giving members of the Capitol Police medals for their heroism. He also called on the FOP to speak out against other officers who were engaged in crimes at the Capitol.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER MICHAEL FANONE, DC METROPOLITAN POLICE: I asked him to publicly denounce any active duty or retired law enforcement officer that participated in an insurrection at the Capitol. I've received no commitment as to any of those things. But I wasn't particularly impressed with that conversation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now the president of the Fraternal Order of Police talked with our colleague Jake Tapper yesterday. He said that he reached out to Fanone to offer resources. But what Fanone and the other officers are saying is, they don't want resources to cope with the tragedy, they have those, they want this group to speak out and to condemn those who are trying to downplay the violence.

And to show you how it can be done, our colleague Christina Carrega (ph) just got this statement in from another law enforcement group, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Take a look at what they said. These men summoned the courage to speak truth to power, to demand justice be sought, not only on their own behalf, but on the behalf of the affront to American democracy, even in light of those who seek to downplay or distance themselves from the debacle. A very powerful statement there from this organization.

Of course, what these officers are calling upon is for the national union, the most powerful union in the nation representing police officers, to do the same.

Poppy.

HARLOW: Josh Campbell, thank you for the reporting on both fronts.

CAMPBELL: Thanks.

HARLOW: Around one-third of eligible Americans have not yet been vaccinated. When they're asked why, many say it's because the vaccine has not been fully approved by the FDA. When could that happen? We'll have some new details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:15]

HARLOW: Well, at least 81 large wildfires are now burning across 12 states on the West Coast. More than 16,000 people are now under evacuation orders as experts say fires are growing in size, complexity and frequency. Wildfires have already burned an area of land the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined this year.

Our Camila Bernal joins me again this morning from the California/Nevada border.

How are people coping?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Poppy. Well, it's been difficult. It's been so difficult for people who have

had to evacuate and also for firefighters because it's only getting worse. Governors in western states asking the federal government for help. They're asking for boots on the ground and for air support. In Oregon, the largest fire has been burning for almost three weeks now and it's only getting bigger. Authorities asking for help there and here in California.

The Dixie Fire, it's just getting bigger and containment numbers are not going up. It's already burned more than 220,000 acres. That containment still at 23 percent. About 16,000 people here are under evacuation orders. Some have already packed up and left the area. Others packing but not leaving just yet.

I spoke to Jason Ackley, who's from Quincy, California. He says he's worked too hard for what he has at the moment and does not want to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON ACKLEY, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT: It was a big scare but this is everything. That is all we have. This is what we fight for. I mean, if we don't have this, where are we going to go?

When we see the red lights and them guys getting ready to go, I mean we'll -- we'll turn the sprinklers on and we'll, you know, make a last minute prayer and we'll see what we can do. But, at that point, I mean we're going to stand here together. And we've already decided that from day one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:00:02]

BERNAL: And Jason Ackley says he knows it's getting hotter and drier, but he points to forest management. Firefighters agree.