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FDA Grants Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer Booster; Black Female DC Police Officers File $100 Million Lawsuit; U.N. Releases $45 Million in Emergency Heath Care Aid for Afghanistan; Johnson Urges the World to "Grow Up" on Climate; Autumn Off to Rough Start for Millions; Facebook Under Fire for Knowing Instagram Toxic to Girls. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 23, 2021 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And third doses are already approved for the immunocompromised. And more than 2 million Americans have already received them. But a former FDA commissioner thinks the eligible age group will be expanded. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the author of the new book "Uncontrolled Spread" had this to say.
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DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, PHYSICIAN AND FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: ACIP the advisory committee to CDC is going to meet and interpret the FDA authorization, and we'll see what kind of recommendations they make around that. Because that could be quite broad. It could include a lot of people who are at high risk from a bad outcome from COVID because they're more likely to come into contact with the disease. That they're working in occupations where they're put at risk of contracting the illness as well.
So, the CDC is going to get an opportunity to opine on it. I suspect what's point to happen is we'll continue to collect data on this cohort 65 and over and other people made eligible. And eventually the agency may walk down the authorization to younger age cohorts depending on what they learn from the data set in the United States.
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CHURCH: There are new signs of progress around the globe. The World Health Organization says global COVID-19 cases and deaths have continued to decline over the past week. The number of deaths went down 7 percent compared to the week before. The eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia saw a substantial decrease in both coronavirus deaths and infections.
Well, the Washington, D.C., Police Force is under fire for its alleged mistreatment of black female officers. A group of current and former officers announced they are suing the department for $100 million. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has our report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I spoke with several of those police officers involved in the class action lawsuit against their own department, and some are still on the force. They described feeling afraid, anxious, depressed, but also very much resolved to change what they describe as a toxic culture within the Metropolitan Police Department here in Washington, D.C. That is allegedly particularly abusive toward black female officers.
The group of ten said they experienced racial and sexual mistreatment, a hostile work environment, bullying and retaliation. It offers what they call an unprecedented look inside the MPD's blue wall of silence which involves alleged civil rights violations and serious misconduct. The class action lawsuit actually represents more than 700 black female officers who are or were employed by the department from ten years ago to the present.
Now, some of the most egregious allegations in the suit include a male fellow officer showing a plaintiff a picture of a gun that he said was going -- he was going to use to assassinate former first lady Michelle Obama, and another male officer urinating in the police van in the presence of a female officer.
PAMELA KEITH, CO-COUNSEL IN CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT: You see how a black female mayor or black chief of police, if they don't listen to the voices of women, then the women are going to get ignored. And it's time that we stop ignoring women. And I think that's both the point of the Me-Too movement, but somehow the Me-Too movement often excluded and did not include the voices of black women.
So, this case is not just about retaliation. It's not just about bullying. It's not just about all of the discrimination we talk about. It's about the fundamental disbelief of women, and the devaluing of their voices.
KIA JONES MITCHELL, SENIOR OFFICER, WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE: It made me feel totally disrespected. I've worked so hard to keep my -- to be a strong black woman, and it made me feel like I was nothing. I felt like I was just nothing to him. The other young man had enough respect for me to get out of the car and go urinate in the woods. You had no respect for me, even though you didn't pull out your penis directly in front of me, you were behind me, directly behind me, and you still did that.
MALVEAUX: The overall common complaint is the alleged pattern and practice of MPD covering up these women's complaints and allegedly punishing them for speaking out.
A statement from the department reads, the Metropolitan Police Department is committed to treating all members fairly and equitably throughout our organization. We take these allegations seriously, and we will be reviewing them thoroughly and responding accordingly.
[04:35:00] Now, the lawsuit is calling for someone independent to be appointed to overhaul the MPD's personnel practices, get the cooperation of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and to establish a $100 million fund to address the harm done to these women.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, in Washington.
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CHURCH: While we follow developments in the search for Gabby Petito's fiancee, we are also keeping an eye on another case. The murder of a couple in the mountains outside Moab, Utah. The bodies of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner were found five weeks ago, but no suspect has been named. Schulte's father has set up a booth each week where he encourages the public to stop by with any clues which he then reports to the sheriff's office.
Well, just ahead, some straight talk on climate change from Britain's Prime Minister who says the world is acting like a teenager and needs to grow up.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, several U.S. lawmakers stormed out of a classified Afghanistan briefing with the Biden administration on Wednesday. Three sources say both Republicans and Democrats were frustrated after officials with the State Department, the Pentagon, Homeland Security, and national security failed to answer even basic questions. Lawmakers say what's still unclear is how many Americans remain in Afghanistan who want to get out.
Meanwhile, the U.N. is releasing emergency funds to try to prevent the collapse of Afghanistan's health care system. Jomana Karadsheh is in Istanbul. She's following this story.
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Jomana, what more are you learning about this?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, as you know, long before this current crisis, Afghanistan was considered one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, and this current situation, this current crisis has exacerbated the dire humanitarian needs in this country, a country that is so reliant on international aid. And you know, as the international community donors around the world are trying to figure out how they're going to be dealing with this new political reality on the ground, an Afghanistan that is under the control of the Taliban, the withholding of aid right now is having a devastating impact on the country's basic services.
For example, you know, we saw yesterday an urgent dire warning coming from the World Health Organization, saying that the country's health care system right now is on the verge of total collapse. And that unless urgent action is taken, the country is facing an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. And the reason for this, Rosemary, is they're saying the largest health care project in the country, the Sehatmandi. This is a project that is mostly funded by the World Bank and USAID and others.
And as they are withholding this aid, what they have seen is that thousands of medical facilities have had to either reduce their operations or shutdown altogether. And about 17 percent only of Sehatmandi's hospital health care facilities in the country are up and running right now. This is because they have run out of medical supplies, because they can't pay their staff.
And this is having a rippling effect across the country on basic health care services as well as the emergency response. And when we talk about emergency response, Rosemary, the World Health Organization says that includes the polio campaign. Afghanistan is one of two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
And also, you got the Covid situation. Nine out of 37 hospitals in the country have had to shut down at a time when COVID cases are continuing to rise. The campaign, the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 had to stop. There are 1.8 million doses that are sitting there that they have not been able to administer since August. And only about 5 percent of the country's population has been vaccinated.
So, a dire warning coming from the World Health Organization, which seems to have prompted this release of 45 million U.S. dollars announced by the United Nations under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. And this, Rosemary, is really just to stop to prevent a total collapse of the health care system. Nowhere near enough to begin to address the dire humanitarian needs in that country.
CHURCH: Yes, it is just shocking. And you know, you talk of polio. That's exactly why people need to get their vaccines, for all of these sorts of diseases, for COVID, for polio, so we can eliminate these sorts of diseases across the globe. Jomana Karadsheh many thanks for bringing us up to date on that dire situation in Afghanistan.
Well, tough words from Prime Minister Boris Johnson who's urging the world to grow up when it comes to climate change. In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, he slammed what he called the world's infantile approach, and he's asking countries to speed up their commitments to fight the problem. Nina dos Santos explains.
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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Six weeks before he is set to host a major climate change summit on his own soil here in the U.K., Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, used his United Nations General Assembly address in New York to rally the cause for more urgent action on climate change. With some more of the blunt language that you can hear here.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: My friends, the adolescence of humanity is coming to an end, and must come to an end. We are approaching that critical turning point. In less than two months, just over 40 days, when we must show that we are capable of learning and maturing and finally taking responsibility for the destruction we are inflicting, not just upon our planet, but upon ourselves. DOS SANTOS: Well, then Johnson's own inimitable style, he said that
essentially the world was behaving at the moment like a bunch of reckless teenagers not conscious of the damage that they're causing. It's time for the world to wake up, to grow up and also take more responsibility and listen to the warnings of the scientists.
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And the backdrop to all of this is that there've also been concerns that the diplomatic effort underway ahead of COP-26 which is set to take place in Glasgow in Scotland in just six weeks' time is falling perilously behind. And there've also been various sets of data that show that when it comes to the targets of climate change, namely limiting global warming to around 1.5 percent of pre-industrialize levels. That is also far off the mark at the moment.
Nina dos Santos, CNN, in London.
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CHURCH: Well, autumn is off to a rough start for tens of millions of Americans. We are looking at heavy rain and possible flooding in the east with a new tropical threat brewing in the Atlantic. And Derek Van Dam is here with more. So, Derek, it appears that extreme weather is the new normal. What are you seeing?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, what we're seeing is hefty rainfall totals across the Great Lakes all the way to the East Coast today. Take a look at this past 36 hours, we've seen some significant amount of precipitation across the state of Michigan, particularly around the Detroit metro region. Check out the shades of orange and yellow. That's indicating anywhere between 2 to 4 inches, even locally higher amounts, though. That's within the past day and a half.
But guess what, that rain has to move somewhere and it's generally going to move eastward. In fact, you'll see that with this cold front here that's brought in some cooler weather behind it. But not without, of course, causing some havoc. Flash flood threat for about 40 million Americans. So, this covers many of the major metropolitans from New York to Boston, as well as Philadelphia, and the nation's capital. They did allow the flash flood watch in Detroit to expire as only a few 10th of an inch of rainfall dissipated for you.
But look at the line of storms that's going to greet you as you head out the door this morning. For the major East Coast cities, the I-95 corridor, that will be a slow go today with rain moving through, 2 to 4 inches of rain not out of the question throughout that area, potentially leading to some localized urban flooding.
Plenty of wind associated with the passage of this front as well. So, expect gusts anywhere between 15 to 35 miles per hour. That cold front will bring big changes to the air. It's going to remove that humidity and bring in much welcomed fall-like weather across the eastern seaboard. Good news and it's going to stick with us throughout the course of the weekend. Quick update on the tropics. We've got the remnants of Peter and Rose
still churning across the central Atlantic. But now all eyes are focused on tropical depression, 18 newly formed. This system is going to move in a generally westerly direction and has the potential to impact land within the next 5 to 7 days -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right, thank you so much, Derek, appreciate it.
Well, confirming what parents knew, Instagram is toxic for teen girls. Facebook now under fire for what its own investigation found.
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CHURCH: Facebook is under fire after internal documents showed the company knew that Instagram poses serious dangers to mental health in teenage girls. CNN's Sunland Serfaty explains.
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SUNLAND SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Madeline Taylor has grown up on Instagram. First creating her account in the 6th grade.
MADELINE TAYLOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I was in a very, like sad kind of like lonely place.
SERFATY (voice-over): Her darkest moments of self-doubt over the last decade, she says, have all been triggered by what she sees on her feed.
TAYLOR: I felt like very isolated in my friend groups. And that was just totally perpetuated by Instagram. I would see all my other friends going and doing these really fun excursions with their other friend groups. I was wondering why I wasn't doing any of that.
SERFATY (voice-over): Those harmful feelings are exactly what Instagram already knows. According to company documents obtained by "The Wall Street Journal," Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, spent the last three years trying to understand just how toxic Instagram is to young people.
That internal research is damning, saying that comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves. Their researchers wrote.
Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression.
Finding that --
We made body image issues worse for one in three teen girls.
And among teens who reported suicidal thoughts, 13 percent of British users and 6 percent of American users traced their desire to kill themselves to Instagram. ABBY MATTHEWS, PSYCHOLOGIST, CINCINNATI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: I would
say 99 percent of the time the patients I meet with are reporting looking at idealized images and feeling horribly about themselves and using those images as a basis of comparison that really results in feeling like a failure often.
SERFATY (voice-over): In the wake of these internal findings, Facebook is pushing back, calling the reporting deliberate, mischaracterizations, and conferred egregiously false motives to Facebook's leadership and employees. Adding that they believe "The Wall Street Journal" report cherry-picked selective quotes from individual pieces of leaked material in a way that presents complex and nuanced issues as if there is ever one right answer.
Instagram says it's looking at new ways to discourage users from focusing on their physical appearance and making it a positive space for all. But lawmakers on Capitol Hill say that is insufficient.
SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): After this revelation, Mark Zuckerberg has to come down to Capitol Hill. He has to give answers.
SERFATY (voice-over): And have demanded Facebook release their findings.
MARKEY: He has to explain why he knew about the dangers, and yet continued his business practice.
SERFATY (voice-over): In the past Facebook has taken pains to downplay the negative impact on teens.
REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R-WA): Mr. Zuckerberg, yes or no, do you agree too much time in front of screens passively consuming content is harmful to children's mental health?
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: I don't think that the research is conclusive on that.
SERFATY (voice-over): An assessment that lawmakers aren't buying.
REP. LORI TRAHAN (D-MA): We all knew that that was a hollow talking point back then when he said it. But obviously this internal research shows that he knew or at least he should have known that it was the exact opposite.
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SERFATY: And lawmakers have sent Mark Zuckerberg a letter with a series of questions, including asking for a copy of that research. They have given him three weeks to respond. And if he doesn't, they expect him to be called back to Capitol Hill to testify.
Sunland Serfaty, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: Excitement is building over a fan-favorite event in golf. Here's Don Riddell with a minute in sports. Don.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hey, Rosemary, golf's Ryder Cup is now just over one day away. I love this competition. The American team has home advantage. They're the favorites to win. But they're trying to overturn history at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Team USA has lost seven of the last nine events. But with the stacked lineup they'll be hoping to win it back the first time since 2016. Fans are in pretty good voice and they are dressed for the occasion, too, in America's cheese country.
A busy night of football action in Europe saw Real Madrid continue their red hawk start to the new season. Marko Sensio scoring a hat trick in a 6-1 thrashing of Mallorca. So, with 21 goals scored already this season, Madrid are the top scorers in Europe's big five leagues.
Not such a good night for Manchester United, though. The Red Devils were knocked out of the English League Cup by West Ham who avenge their defeat in the Premier League over the weekend. And a major changing cricket. The game's only lawmaker, the MCC, says the term "batsman" has been to the more gender inclusive batter. That is to reflect the surge in popularity of women's cricket worldwide. That is your minute in sport, Rosemary. Back to you.
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CHURCH: Thank you so much, Don, appreciate it.
I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. "EARLY START" is up next. Have yourselves a wonderful day.
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