Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

American Children Head Back to School Amid COVID Surge; Texas Governor Doubles Down on Mask Mandate Ban; At Least Seven States Have Banned Mask Mandates in Schools; Andres Cuomo Announces Resignation; Eight Provincial Capitals Fall to Taliban Militants; Senate Approves $3.5 Trillion Budget Resolution. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 11, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROSALIND OSGOOD, CHAIR, BROWARD COUNTY FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARD: I'm just not willing to risk or play Russian roulette with somebody's life. Especially not a child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adults, we've let our children down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It's a battle over masks in schools and getting children vaccinated with one top health official saying some state officials are putting kids at risk.

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi's new football club is less than an hour away from officially introducing him. We will go live to Paris for that.

And tropical storm Fred forms in the Caribbean and barrels toward Florida. The latest forecast just ahead.

Good to have you with us. Well, U.S. President Joe Biden is taking his COVID vaccination campaign to business leaders. He will meet with a group of them later today to discuss strategies for getting more Americans vaccinated. The meeting comes as three major U.S. airlines have announced they will not require employees to get vaccinated. Delta, Southwest and American Airlines say they are encouraging employee vaccinations but won't mandate them. But United Airlines says its employees need to get vaccinated by late October or risk getting fired.

Vaccination rates have been rising in the U.S. Right now more than a half million Americans are getting their shots each day, that's the highest since June, but about 30 percent of eligible Americans are still unprotected and that is a big concern as millions of children head back to the classroom. Many not yet eligible to get the vaccine and at least some of the parents refusing to get it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My concerns are deep. The reason children are becoming infected is because in most cases they live in low vaccination rate states and communities, and they are getting it from unvaccinated adults.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: All this also comes as new numbers show the delta variant is causing more kids to get sick, and even sending them to the hospital. On top of that, in many areas, the school year has not even started yet. Now one expert says the clock is ticking to get vaccines approved for children under 12 or we will see them suffer even more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PAUL OFFIT, FDA VACCINE ADVISER: We're going to have children in school many of whom will be either under vaccinated or unvaccinated. And you know, you have communities where the virus is spreading and our behavior this fall is much different than last fall. A lot of schools never opened. It's much looser -- the behavior is much worse this year and I do worry coming into the fall and winter that children will suffer even more. And I think the clock is ticking as we move to late fall and early winter, you want a vaccine for young children, I certainly hope we have one in place by then because children need this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And perhaps even more troubling, COVID-19 transmission rates remain high across much of the United States. And health care workers are feeling the brunt of it. Here in Georgia, the state's largest health care system, Wellstar is reporting a surge of COVID patients at its hospitals including children. And wait times to see a doctor are taking longer due to a shortage of staff.

In another southern state, North Carolina State University announced it will require masks in all indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status starting Monday. It's part of an effort to control the spread of the virus.

In the state of Maryland, Baltimore's new indoor mask mandate went into effect Monday, the Mayor Brandon Scott bluntly sounded off on those who don't like it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON SCOTT (D) MAYOR OF BALTIMORE MARYLAND: None of us want to go back to what we went through the last two times. And for anyone that's frustrated about wearing a mask and you are not vaccinated, then look in the mirror. It's your fault that we're going back to having an indoor mask mandate. Make sure that folks get vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, shut up, don't complain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:00]

CHURCH: Quite a message there. In meantime, COVID hospitalizations are surging in Texas. Right now, more than 10,000 people are in the hospital with coronavirus across the state, the highest rate since early February. And the state can't take much more, with just over 300 ICU beds still available. To help combat the rising cases, officials in at least three counties are taking matters into their own hands by asking for restraining orders and filing lawsuits against the governor's ban on mask mandates. But the governor is doubling down. His press secretary says violating executive orders and rights of parents is not the way to protect children. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Texas with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And all of this happening as the number of coronavirus cases continues to spike. And we talk about the pressure on the hospital system is immense. We are seeing hospitalization levels that we have not seen since the worst days of this pandemic back in late January and early June.

The governor has not responded directly himself to what county officials and city officials in the biggest cities in the state are doing in requiring these masks and defying the executive orders that the governor has issued in recent weeks, only the press secretary for the governor has come out today to say that the governor still believes that the time for mask mandates is over. He's urging people to get vaccinated and he is saying it is the personal responsibility of Texans across the state to do what they need to do to help get the coronavirus under control.

But the fact of the matter is, is that there is much less interest in people wearing masks and the number of people vaccinated is still not very high, well under 50 percent. So the push to get people vaccinated here in Texas is just moving very slowly at this point. And hospital officials that we've spoken with say they are increasingly alarmed about just how severe the spike in hospitalizations has become here in this state.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, a similar showdown over mask mandates in schools is playing out right now in Florida. State officials have informed at least three counties they are under investigation for noncompliance after the school districts defied Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and put mask mandates in place. The governor though is defending his decision by claiming mask requirements in schools may be harmful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I can tell you kindergartens, everybody admits that whatever efficacy of mass are, you have to wear it fitted properly and tight. Do you honestly think these young kids are doing that? So I don't think it's really doing much. So, as a parent, I think parents should look to say, you know, it is doing more harm than good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But one county school board chairwoman told CNN prior to the probe that they refuse to be bullied.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROSALIND OSGOOD, CHAIR, BROWARD COUNTY FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARD: I'm just not willing to risk or play Russian roulette with somebody's life, especially not a child, a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old child that can't get vaccinated come into a schooling, catches the coronavirus, goes home and infects the people in the house, the people -- Lord knows how many we have dying or impacted with this pandemic if we irresponsible policymakers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Florida remains the new epicenter for COVID in the U.S. and you can see how hospitalizations there have shot up in just the past few days. That's resulting in shortages of critical supplies such as hospital beds and ventilators. A health administration official says the federal government sent hundreds of ventilators to Florida earlier this week but the Florida governor claims he is unaware of any such request for equipment and would have to, quote, check to see whether that's true.

Well, earlier I spoke with Dr. Ravina Kullar, an infectious disease expert and epidemiologist and I asked her about the decision by at least seven states to ban mask mandates in schools. And here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. RAVINA KULLAR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST: They're going against science. They're going against what we know that works. They're going against what we know protects individuals including those innocent children where they cannot even get vaccinated. They need those masks to protect themselves from getting the virus. And it's very disappointing to see leaders, which should be the role model and that should be actually guiding individuals for the right thing to do, that they're just telling them to do the wrong things.

CHURCH: So, we know that the American academy of pediatrics is now urging the FDA to speed up COVID vaccine authorization for children under 12.

[04:10:00]

Is that what needs to happen now particularly with some of these governors banning mask mandates? KULLAR: That's correct. I mean, if there are governors which are

banning these mask mandates which would protect those children that cannot even get vaccinated, the alternative is that those children are going to have to get vaccinated. And the only mechanism for this is to complete those trials quicker and to get those vaccines available in to those arms of those children that need the protection from this delta variant.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): Dr. Kullar also said the U.S. is at a tipping point and she says it will take every leader from all parties to get closer to herd immunity and put an end to this pandemic.

In New York, Kathy Hochul is preparing to be the first woman to serve as the state's governor. She will take control in two weeks from Andrew Cuomo who announced his resignation Tuesday because of a sexual harassment scandal.

Governor Cuomo defended himself as he tendered his resignation claiming that he had never intentionally made anyone feel uncomfortable, but he acknowledged the scandal had become too much of a distraction to stay on in the job. U.S. President Joe Biden had this reaction to the resignation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I respect the governor's decision and women should be believed when they make accusations that are on the face of them make sense and investigated -- they're investigated and the judgment was made that they said was correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: One Governor Cuomo's accusers is also speaking out. In a tweet, Lindsey Boylan said --

From the beginning I simply asked that the governor stop his abusive behavior. It became abundantly clear he was unable to do that, instead attacking and blaming victims until the end. It is a tragedy that so many stood by and watched these abuses happen.

Well, CNN's Brynn Gingras is in New York with more on Governor Andrew Cuomo's resignation and the fallout surrounding it.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces he is stepping down telling New Yorkers he is a fighter, but it's time.

CUOMO: Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing. And I cannot be the cause of that. GINGRAS (voice-over): The 63-year-old governor getting choked up at moments as he gave his resignation, speaking to New Yorkers, his staff and three daughters.

CUOMO: I've seen the look in their eyes and the expression on their faces and it hurt. Your dad made mistakes. And he apologized and he learned from it.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Cuomo's decision which takes effect in 14 days comes exactly one week after the release of the State Attorney General's report, which concluded the governor sexually harassed 11 women in the past seven years. Before calling it quits, the governor defended himself.

CUOMO: However, it was also false --

GINGRAS (voice-over): Moments before Cuomo's presser, his personal attorney, Rita Glavin, laid out the faults she found with the A.G.'s report referencing some accusers by name and said the governor wasn't given a fair process.

RITA GLAVIN, ATTORNEY FOR GOV. ANDREW CUOMO: This investigation took every possible negative thing that could be said about the governor and they put it in, and they disregarded the positive, the things that would balance it, and the things that would undermined what some people were saying about the governor. And that's not right.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The governor also offering an apology to his accusers, again attributing some of his actions as generational. Cuomo specifically addressing his actions toward the claims made by a trooper in his detail.

CUOMO: The trooper also said that in an elevator I touched her back and when I was walking past her in a doorway, I touched her stomach. Now, I don't recall doing it. But if she said, I did it, I believe her.

GINGRAS (voice-over): And apologizing.

CUOMO: It was a mistake, plain and simple. I have no other words to explain it. I want to personally apologize to her and her family.

GINGRAS (voice-over): It was a dramatic fall from grace for the three- term governor who CNN reported was actively fundraising for a fourth term. But bringing relief to those accusing him of sexual misconduct. Two women saying they felt vindicated.

[04:15:00]

Ms. McGrath and Ms. Limmiatis remain grateful that their voices and experiences were heard and substantiated by the AG's investigators. And feel solidarity with all woman who continue to be abused by men in power. At least today, one of them his face some consequences.

CUOMO: I want to thank the women who came forward -- GINGRAS: Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will become the first woman to hold that top spot in New York government and we're told she did get a head's up from Cuomo's team before he officially made those remarks in New York City. We're also told they spoke afterwards. We're going to hear from Hochul herself as she has her first public briefing in New York City later today.

Brynn Gingras, with CNN, in Albany, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Even as eight provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban, U.S. president Biden says that he doesn't regret the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. He's urged Afghan leaders to fight for their country, but government forces are struggling to push the militants back. The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan is in Qatar for talks to urge the Taliban to end the offensive and reach a political agreement.

The International Red Cross reports 4,000 Afghans have been wounded in the fighting and hundreds of thousands more are at risk. CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Kabul. She joins me now live. Good to see you, Clarissa. So of course, the speed of the Taliban advance has surprised U.S. officials and now the capital Kabul could very well be next. What is the latest on all of this and of course, the ramifications?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, I think a lot of people here on the ground are just shocked at the speed with which Afghan security forces appear to be unraveling. As you mentioned just in the last five days, eight provincial capitals, that's roughly a quarter of all the provincial capitals in Afghanistan and many more are under threat. We visited a couple of them, Ghazni city, also Kandahar city, both completely surrounded by the Taliban. Others like Herat, Lashkar Gah, the site of heavy fighting.

So, there is the sense that things are disintegrating very quickly indeed. We heard from President Ghani, the Afghan president, yesterday. He put out a tweet basically calling on ordinary Afghans to join the fight, to form what he called popular uprisings. He wants them to basically join forces with warlords in the various different areas across the country to try to push back some of the gains that the Taliban has made.

But I want to say, Rosemary, that that might be a tall order because in the north, where the northern alliance of various warlords who fought the Taliban for many years is situated, five provincial capitals have already fallen. So ,there is a sense that it is going to be a momentous challenge to try to reverse the course. And that in turn is having an impact on the international community. We're hearing from my colleague Kylie Atwood in the State Department at CNN, saying that the U.S. embassy here is thinking about drawing down its staff. This after they ordered all U.S. citizens to try to leave the country.

There is a sense that things are deteriorating, that they are deteriorating quickly. Originally U.S. officials had maybe six months until the Afghan government would fall here in Kabul, in the capital. I should say, it's relatively secure here, but now there's a sense that everybody is kind of recalibrating that estimate and looking at it being potentially much, much sooner with very worrying consequences for the future of Afghanistan -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, and it's such a big concern, isn't it. Clarissa Ward bringing us the very latest from Kabul, many thanks.

The U.N. estimates nearly 360,000 people have been displaced this year and some European leaders fear another migrant crisis. Earlier I spoke with Prue Coakley of Medecins Sans Frontieres, in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRUE COAKLEY, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: A lot of people are leaving their homes him and seeking shelter either in districts where the fighting has stopped or heading toward Kabul with their families. Often bringing nothing with them at all because they are leaving very quickly. But there are huge internal needs to meet the needs of all these people that have left their homes. But of course, on the medical side, which is what we often see most, is seeing the impact on civilians of the fighting and that many of them are injured in crossfire. We are receiving a lot of patients in our medical facilities at the moment with gunshot wounds, blast wounds.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Afghanistan is also dealing with another wave of COVID and a severe drought.

Well, this just into CNN, the Senate just voted to approve a $3.5 trillion budget resolution by a vote of 50-49.

[04:20:00]

Now, this sets the stage for Democrats to try to pass a sweeping economic package that would widely expand the country's social safety net. The resolution now goes to the Democratic CONTROLLED House.

The football star who wanted to begin and end his career with Barcelona is now officially part of Paris Saint-Germain. Lionel Massey's first news conference with his new club is quickly approaching.

And after months of negotiations, a major win for the Biden administration with a potentially transformative infrastructure bill has cleared a major hurdle in the U.S. Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: After years and years of infrastructure week, we're on the cusp of an infrastructure decade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Anticipation is building in Paris as the world awaits Lionel Messi's first news conference with his new club now just a half an hour away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD, CHANTING: Messi, Messi, Messi!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:25:00]

CHURCH: Elated Paris Saint-Germain fans have already been cheering outside his hotel, at the stadium, and of course at the airport. Messi made his initial debut in the French capital Tuesday meeting with teammates and bosses and sealing the deal. It's reportedly a two-year contract worth some $80 million. Far less than he was previously making but still more than most other clubs could afford.

So, let's go to senior producer Saskya Vandoorne who joins us live from Paris. Good to see you, Saskya. So a lot of pressure on Messi to deliver. What's he expected to say next hour about his monumental move to Paris and of course what's been happening so far?

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: So, we don't know that much about what he is going to say, but what I can tell you, Rosemary, is as you said the anticipation here is building. The fans can't wait to see the press conference. It's going to be live on the screen just behind me, so they will be able to follow that. There are fans that are here but there are also fans that have been lining up in front of the PSG stadium trying to get their hands on the number 30 shirt. It is now Messi's shirt.

PSG released a video just yesterday showing him undergoing a medical, showing him in his new club. And just I want to talk about, you know, yesterday as well, Rosemary, about his arrival in Paris. It was such a big day for the fans. I know it was a huge contrast to that tearful good-bye he gave on Sunday in Barcelona.

Yesterday he arrived and they let off fireworks, they let off smoke machine, he waved from his window. It's exactly what the fans were hoping to see. And I just want you to listen to what one of the fans told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're asking me if I'm excited? The G.O.A.T., that the best player ever is coming to Paris? Of course, it's awesome. It's wonderful. It's great. And it's another message that we are sending to Europe and all over the world that Paris Saint-Germain is going up, going up, going up. It's amazing. We're like living in a dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANDOORNE (on camera): So, the fans finally believe that with Messi they have a chance at winning that Champions League. He's a six-time winner. He's won a Champions League four times. And so this is it, they are really banking on Messi and of course with Neymar and Mbappe, they're going to be a pretty strong trio -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All very exciting. Saskya Vandoorne joining us live from Paris. Many thanks.

A U.S. Senate panel wants to interview Donald Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, about efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Documents obtained by the Judiciary Committee show Meadows sent five emails in December and January to the acting Attorney General asking him to look into fraud claims and other debunked theories. But Jeffrey Rosen who has already testified before the committee refused.

Well, the pressure is mounting for the U.S. House of Representatives to take up the massive infrastructure Bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday. The White House says it is confident Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi can get the Bill over the finish line. But as CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports it might be a while before president Biden can sign it into law.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On this vote, the yeas are 69, the nays are 30 ...

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Capping off weeks of intense negotiations the Senate passed a critical component of President Biden's agenda.

BIDEN: After years and years of infrastructure week, we're on the cusp of an infrastructure decade.

COLLINS (voice-over): With yes votes from 50 Democrats and 19 Republicans, the $1.2 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill made its way through the upper chamber.

I want to thank those Senators who worked so hard to bring this agreement together. I know it wasn't easy. For the Republicans who supported this bill, you showed a lot of courage.

COLLINS (voice-over): President Biden who was scheduled to be on summer vacation returned to Washington to tout the achievement

BIDEN: America, this is how we truly build back better.

COLLINS (voice-over): For weeks, his top aides, 10 Senate Democrats and Republicans have worked fiercely behind the scenes to reach a deal. If passed by the House, the bill would revamp the nation's roads and bridges while boosting broadband connections and combatting climate change.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This will deliver huge benefits, millions of jobs to the American people. It will deliver clean drinking water and high-speed internet to every household in the country. COLLINS (voice-over): Lawmakers have said the cash infusion is urgent

but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she won't bring it up for a vote until another more ambitious policy package expected to have only Democratic support also passes the Senate.

PSAKI: This message is that he remains committed to passing each of these pieces of legislation on dual tracks, that he will work in lock step with Speaker Pelosi.

COLLINS (voice-over): Moderate House Democrats are pushing for an immediate standalone vote as their progressive colleagues warn they won't vote for it until the $3.5 trillion package passes.