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FDA Panel Recommends Booster Shots For J&J And Moderna; Texas Police Ambush; Former President Clinton Recovering From Infection In CA Hospital; Biden Optimistic Despite Stalled Agenda; Interview With Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); Manchin, Sanders In War Of Words As Spending Debate Drags On; January 6th Committee Subpoenas; Gubernatorial Election Developing As A National Barometer. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired October 16, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:28]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. It was boasted as a one shot wonder. But now those who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine are being advised to get a second dose of the vaccine. The FDA's vaccine advisers voted unanimously recommending a booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to everyone 18 and over who received their last shot at least two months ago.

That same committee agreed to emergency use authorization of a Moderna booster. That one would be for people over 65 and others at greater risk. And like Pfizer, the Moderna booster can be given six months after someone's last shot.

The moves come as new data from the CDC has a dire warning for unvaccinated adults. The risk of dying from COVID-19 is eleven times higher than those who are fully vaccinated.

Let's bring in Dr. Richina Bicette. She is an emergency medicine physician and a medical director at the Baylor College of Medicine. So good to see you.

RICHINA BICETTE, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Good morning.

WHITFIELD: So I'm wondering, is it your feeling that those who got the Johnson & Johnson one shot, should they all get that booster as soon as possible?

DR. BICETTE: Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind that anyone who is eligible for a booster should go ahead and get it as soon as they're able to.

WHITFIELD: So the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had a lower efficacy rate, about 72 percent versus Moderna or Pfizer, which are around 94 percent, 95 percent. And with a booster shot now, the Johnson & Johnson efficacy is now 100 percent reportedly. So then why not in the first place get the two doses of Johnson & Johnson?

DR. BICETTE: So Fred, I think when the vaccines were first released, the United States, we were essentially hemorrhaging, we were at a point that we had never seen before, seeing 3,000 -- 4,000 deaths per day, upwards of 200,000 cases per day, and we needed to get our population protected and so our vaccines were released in order to try to prevent people from dying and prevent hospitalizations.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine while it may have had lower efficacy in contracting COVID illness, it was still very effective against hospitalizations and deaths, so it was right to release the vaccine at that point, but now we have more information and so our recommendations have changed.

WHITFIELD: And so you don't have a problem with the fact that it was sold as a one shot wonder with a lower efficacy. You think it was still important to have that out there and you like the idea even more now that the efficacy rate is much higher with Johnson & Johnson with a booster shot?

DR. BICETTE: Absolutely. And I don't think that the American people should be upset or confused by this at all. The nature of science is that it evolves as we get more information. Data changes and thus our recommendations change.

WHITFIELD: Ok. All right.

So for now, let's also talk about what else is potentially available. The FDA is officially side stepping for now, the question of whether people can mix and match vaccine shots and boosters. And while it looks at the data, there is one study in the U.K. that suggests it is effective. What are you telling patients who ask?

DR. BICETTE: So I'm going to sidestep this a little bit as well and preface my answer by saying this is not medical advice and you should still talk to your physician about your individual case.

However, the U.K. released data back in the summer comparing the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine and mixing those doses with promising results. And just this week, the U.S. government released data from a child that they sponsored, showing that mixing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine all produce comparable results in terms of creating an antibody response.

WHITFIELD: All right. The FDA says it is also reviewing Moderna's application for children ages 12 to 17 as expeditiously as possible. Pfizer's vaccine is already authorized for that age group. Is the FDA, you know, just being overly cautious here or do you like the decision making thus far?

DR. BICETTE: We have to be overly cautious when it comes to our children. We have to make sure that we are making recommendations that are scientifically sound. [11:04:48]

DR. BICETTE: However, I am optimistic that the Moderna vaccine for those of younger ages will get approved. As a matter of fact, the FDA has scheduled a meeting to discuss approving the Pfizer vaccine in those under the age of 5 as of October 26th.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Let me ask you to address something that I mentioned at the top. Pretty alarming numbers that data from the CDC this week showing that unvaccinated adults, facing eleven times higher risk of dying from COVID-19, and fully vaccinated adults.

So how do you convince adults right now who continue to be reticent about getting at least one vaccination dose?

DR. BICETTE: Fred, I don't know if I'm on a campaign to convince anyone. All I can really do at this point is present the facts and allow people to make their own decisions.

There is no dispute when it comes to science. Data is data. You can have whatever personal opinions you want, you can make whatever choice you want for your own health and your own body.

But at this point in the pandemic, you're either going to get vaccinated or get COVID. That's where we are right now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Richina Bicette, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

DR. BICETTE: Thank you, Fred.

And this breaking news overnight.

One police deputy is dead and two others injured following a shooting outside a sports bar in Houston. Houston police say the officers were ambushed and shot from behind while working a police-related side job. A person of interest is in custody but it's unclear whether or not that is the shooter.

CNN's Jean Casarez joining me right now. Jean, what are you learning?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It happened about 2:15 this morning. It was at the 45 North Bar and Lounge in Houston. And these deputies heard that something was happening in the parking lot, so they went out there. And that's when Houston police constable Mark Herman says they were absolutely ambushed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK HERMAN, HOUSTON POLICE CONSTABLE: Our deputies went out to confront a suspect. While they were trying to make an arrest of that suspect. They had him on the ground and a second suspect came out of nowhere with a rifle and began to basically shoot our deputies.

A third deputy that was here heard this, went out to the location, and he ended up getting shot too. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So those are the facts that the police are working with right now. And it's important to know that the police were working a related extra job there. And that's why they were already there in the morning hours.

But the person that came out behind the car, as you heard the constable say, had a rifle and just started shooting the two deputies that obviously had their backs focused to this perpetrator that committed this because they were trying to apprehend someone on the ground.

Now, one of those two officers, they are now deceased. The other was shot in the back. They are currently and have been this morning in surgery. Their families are at the hospital.

The other officer that came out and he was also shot because he heard something was going on. He was shot in the leg, and has multiple broken bones in his leg and he is slated for surgery at this point in Houston also.

Now, they have one man in custody. They say this is a person of interest. They also are trying who they believe may be the perpetrators, 21 years old. The attorney general is calling it a manhunt in the area. But obviously with a rifle this person could be considered armed and dangerous, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jean Casarez, thank you so much. We'll look for more information throughout the day. Appreciate it.

All right. Still ahead. President Biden is spending the weekend trying to revive his sweeping economic agenda. But the divides with his own party seem deeper than ever and possibly standing in his way.

Plus, high prices and long shipping delays. Will there be any reprieve to the worldwide global supply chain backlog as we approach the holiday season?

[11:08:55]

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

Former President Bill Clinton remains hospitalized in California after being admitted for an infection. The 75-year-old Clinton spent a fourth night at the University of California Irvine Center recovering from a urinary tract infection that doctors say spread to his bloodstream.

The former president's doctors say those infections are very common in older people and they are easily treatable.

For the very latest, let's bring in Natasha Chen. Natasha, what more do we know about Clinton's condition and possible release? NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, we are hearing

that he's doing well. The trends are all in the positive direction. His tests are getting better here.

And as far as when he might be released, we're hearing from a source familiar with the situation that he hopes to be released within the next day or two. But this all, of course, depends still on the daily testing.

And the reason that he's still here is that doctors want to continue that IV antibiotics that is a treatment that we're hearing typically could be three to five days of this particular IV antibiotics.

So if you count from the day that he arrived at this hospital on Tuesday when he felt fatigued and felt something wrong, five days could be within the next day or two.

Just taking a look at what's behind us at the moment, you know, we have seen a lot of security activity. Secret Service have been standing there around the clock. So we also have a little bit of video showing Secretary Clinton coming out of the hospital during one of her visits late Thursday night. Our crew here yesterday saw her visiting here as well.

[11:14:51]

CHEN: And doctors and staff in the hospital have told CNN that the former president is in good spirits. He is able to get up and walk around, and he's also joking with the staff, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Natasha, I know you just explained the kind of treatment he's getting. And is it the case that he's in ICU for all of that treatment?

CHEN: Well, the ICU for him is really for safety and privacy, not necessarily because he needs that level of care that you would typically think of for someone in the ICU.

Just to be clear they, of course, tested him for COVID-19 when he arrived. This situation is not at all related to COVID. It is not related to any heart problems because as you remember years ago, he did have bypass surgery. So right now, his location in the ICU is really for comfort, safety and privacy above all else, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen, thank you so much. Keep us posted.

All right. President Biden is spending this weekend trying to salvage his sweeping economic agenda as he continues to face deep divisions within his own party.

Biden spent Friday in Connecticut trying once again to sell his massive spending bill. That bill along with much of his agenda remains stalled with moderate Democrats and progressives at an impasse. Despite the stalemate, Biden remains optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told you before what my neurosurgeon years ago said when I had that aneurysm, he said, your problem -- I was then a senator -- your problem, Senator, is you're a congenital optimist. But I'm convinced we're going to get this done. I'm convinced we're going to get it done.

We're not going to get $3.5 trillion. We'll get less than that. But we're going to get it. And we're going to come back and get the rest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Congresswoman Barbara Lee joining me right now. She's a Democratic representative from California and a member of the house leadership. Congresswoman, so good to see you.

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): Nice being with you, Fredricka. Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: I'm glad you can hear me and see me and vice versa. So you know, you have been involved in the behind the scenes negotiations with moderate Democratic Senators Manchin and Sinema who want a much smaller price tag for this spending bill.

Biden says he is about to deliver his message to Sinema and Manchin, and I'm quoting him now, "pushing hard' to get lawmakers to move quickly on his legislative agenda. Are you equally optimistic that he is able to move the needle, so to speak, with Manchin and Sinema?

LEE: I certainly am.

WHITFIELD: Why are you so positive?

LEE: Yes, Fredricka, I certainly am. First of all, the negotiations aren't really at an impasse. And they're not stalled. This is part of what creating and moving forward legislation entails.

And what we're witnessing is the negotiations that are taking place. Some say the sausage is being made. And in fact we have to have consensus. Members have different points of view, but I think that it's very clear that this is the Biden agenda. The public embraces it. President Biden ran on this agenda.

This is an economic agenda that's going to create good paying jobs. It's going to address our climate crisis. It's going to address the care economy where our senior citizens will be able to stay at home, and receive health care from care givers who deserve a living wage. We're going to see a middle class tax cut with the child tax credit. Reducing poverty. We're going to see housing investments.

And so this is a big transformational bill. And so that requires a lot of thought and a lot of negotiations. And we'll get there, but no one said it was going to be easy.

WHITFIELD: Yes, so you say it's not an impasse and this is what negotiations are all about. But there is a deadline by the end of the month. So do you believe that deadline can be met? LEE: Well, we're working as hard as we can, and I know our speaker is

working day and night. Senator Schumer is -- all of us are working day and night to try to meet that deadline.

Because the American people want to see us get this completed. They deserve these investments so that they can -- so that they can be ensured that their lives are going to be better as a result.

And we want this to go quickly. We want them to feel and to embrace the investments to help better their lives as quickly as possible. So I think we need to do this quickly. These negotiations with both bills are moving forward together, and hopefully we'll be able to meet that.

WHITFIELD: Well, let me tell you, and get your point of view on what's going on in the Senate as it pertains to senator Manchin and Senator Bernie Sanders who have had an exchange of words so to speak, you know, in a West Virginia -- Charleston, West Virginia local newspaper and also via Twitter about their differences on the this spending bill. And they remain far apart on the size and the cost of the bill. Take a listen.

[11:19:56]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): We came down from $6 trillion to $3.5 trillion. Ok, that is a huge, huge compromise. So I think at the very least in my view, we have got to be at $3.5 trillion.

SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): My number has been $1.5 trillion. I have been very clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. And you hear, you know, Senator Bernie Sanders calling this a compromise and even in response via Twitter, Senator Manchin said, you know, people from outside don't need to be essentially, and I'm paraphrasing, in the business of people there in his state.

So do you see a willingness on either side of real negotiation here, or are you seeing instead a digging in of the heels?

Well, first, Senator Sanders is absolutely correct. We did start it over $6 trillion and in fact, again, these are negotiations that are taking place. And so I would say we need to look at what is in the bill and what, in fact, Senator Manchin is willing to cut.

First of all, let's look at child care. Do you know, so many women, this is close to two million women are out of the work force? And the reason they're out of the work force is because they can not afford child care.

So are the senators who are opposed to the dollar amount and we're not talking about the dollar amount, but we're talking about how we get to where we can make sure that everyone wins out of this. Are they willing to cut child care.

And then what happens with women, they won't be able to get into the work force.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Are you getting any clarity on that? Is it -- are you getting clarity on if it's an issue of the price tag of is it an issue of deleting an entire program or proposal like one you just described?

LEE: Well, we're not talking about the price tag, Fredricka at this point. We're talking about the transformational nature of all of the provisions in the Build Back Better bill, recognizing we're going to have to further negotiate.

And one example, the housing provisions, I serve on the Budget Committee, and we passed the budget bill, the Build Back Better bill with strong, very clear housing provisions. We have a housing crisis in our country -- so many unsheltered people. People cannot purchase homes again because of the cost of housing.

And so this bill under Congresswoman Maxine Waters' leadership has very clear provisions that will help people become sheltered and help people buy homes, which again, this is about the pathway into the American dream.

So are the senators willing to cut that? So it's not about the dollar amount. But it's about those investments that are going to make people's lives better. And that's what we're talking about.

We're talking about who's going to win, and who's going to lose. We think that everyone should win out of this. This is an inflection point. And these issues and people's lives are at stake.

And so we have to do the best we can to make sure that they have an opportunity to live the American dream.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California, thank you so much. Always a pleasure for you to join us.

All right. Coming up, President Biden weighs in on the subpoena effort underway by the congressional committee looking into the attack on the U.S. Capitol. But his comments quickly prompted his press secretary to do a little clean up. We'll explain straight ahead.

[11:23:28]

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WHITFIELD: All right. President Biden says the Justice Department should prosecute those who defy subpoenas from the January 6th committee. The strongest remarks from Biden yet only to be walked back by press secretary Jen Psaki. She tweeted afterwards, "As President Biden has said many times, January 6th was one of the darkest days in our democracy. He supports the work of the committee and the independent role of the Department of Justice to make any decisions about prosecutions," end quote.

So this as the House committee investigating January 6th is moving forward to hold former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in criminal contempt. They will vote on the matter on Tuesday.

Bannon is refusing to comply with subpoena requests. He wants the committee to reach an agreement with former President Trump over his claims of executive privilege or until a court weighs in. Three other Trump allies are also facing subpoena deadlines in the coming days.

Let's bring in now Timothy Snyder, a professor of history at Yale and author of the book "On Tyranny: 20 lessons from the 20th century", and has studied authoritarian regimes. Professor Snyder, so good to see you.

TIMOTHY SNYDER, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, YALE UNIVERSITY: So glad to be with you.

WHITFIELD: So let's begin with the investigation. Is there any historic precedent for this fight we are currently seeing over executive privilege?

SNYDER: Well, of course. I mean, very broadly, there is a historic precedent. Normally in a Democratic rule of law system, none of us is above the law. We make a partial exception, it seems, for the president while he's in office.

But what we're talking about now is whether a private citizen is immune from the law because he has some private relationship with the president. What history tells us is that that's a basically authoritarian situation. If the chums of the leader are above the law, then you don't have law anymore.

[11:29:53]

WHITFIELD: And you were one of the first to call the campaign to discredit the 2020 election the big lie. And you warned how it is an existential threat to American democracy. So in your view right now are you seeing an unraveling attempt to democracy?

SNYDER: Of course. I mean, the reason why I brought that phrase into our discussion is that I knew in November as soon as President Trump started to talk about having won the election that he was going to be creating a giant safe space. He was going to be creating a place where right wing politics could inhabit.

The big lie isn't just about being against the truth. The big lie is about changing the nature of the system because democracy is about verified facts. Once you toss that away, you're creating a situation where people can say, let's rig elections.

And Mr. Bannon is very much tied up in that. Mr. Bannon's idea is that we should get people into positions where we can swing the elections, we don't have to win. We can install the person who we want to install.

So this is all tied together in one package.

WHITFIELD: So let's listen to what Congressman Jamie Raskin who is on the January 6th Committee said about prosecuting Steve Bannon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Steve Bannon is clearly still under the spell of Donald Trump who travels with an army of lawyers. These people think they're above and beyond the law. We expect and we demand that people comply with our orders.

So I want to ask you, you know, both points of view. Is there a danger in prosecuting Bannon, that it will give him a platform for his ideas of tearing down democratic institutions? Or is the danger bigger by not prosecuting him?

SNYDER: I mean, I would go back to the foundations of all of this, which is that we as a democracy -- as a democracy with a long history, we have to know what actually happened on January 6th. That's the real issue.

It seems that Mr. Bannon was closely involved in the preparations for January 6th and closely involved with the ideology of what's to come next, mainly bringing down American democracy.

As a democracy we have to learn from history and January 6th is a central moment in our history. That's the basic issue. Everything else is a distraction. There's no reason why Mr. Bannon should be above the law.

WHITFIELD: And then is it your feeling that obviously the former president is trying to use executive privilege in which to shield information about the planning and execution of what took place.

SNYDER: Well look, Mr. Trump says that he has nothing to hide about January 6th. Mr. Trump brags about what happens on January 6th. He's doing that openly in his rallies.

If he's proud of what happened on January 6th, he should also be proud to disclose all the details of what happened in January 6th. So I don't see any reason, I don't see why he can maintain the pose that everything was fine and dandy, and at the same time invoke this imaginary executive privilege to people who were not on his staff at a time when he's no longer president.

WHITFIELD: What are your thoughts about the prospect of former President Trump being reelected, whether it be by challenging the outcome and winning in his challenge or whether he were to be voted in outright? What would be your concerns?

SNYDER: I mean, my concern is less about a person and more about a procedure. My concern is that by bringing the big lie into the system, Mr. Trump prepares the way for himself or for someone else in 2024 or in the future to win without winning.

He creates a situation where it's legitimate to ignore vote counts because we're supposed to believe that they're not real. It's legitimate for states to throw up various strange quote unquote "audits" or whatever to delay vote count. And in that way prevent the election from going off in a normal way.

He's creating a situation where someone, him or someone else, could be installed as president in 2025 rather than actually winning the election.

I'm less concerned about the (INAUDIBLE) -- I'm concerned about the lie and the way the lie is preparing the way for a non-democratic America.

WHITFIELD: Professor, I also want to ask you about something that happened in Texas this week. A school district administrator told teachers that if they have books about the Holocaust in their classroom libraries then they should also include books that have opposing.

Does this highlight the perils in your view of forgetting or revising, rewriting history?

SNYDER: Well, I mean, for me, what it's showing is that the Republican Party, at least at the level of a number of states including Texas has become the relativist party. What they're saying is that history is not about what happened, history is about how you feel about what happened.

And once you open those flood gates, democracy is very difficult because democracy depends precisely on being able to check yourself. And you can't check unless you know what happened.

If we deprive our children basic knowledge about things like the Holocaust and slavery, they can't grow up to become good citizens who make a better America in the future. That's the basic issue for me.

[11:34:59]

WHITFIELD: All right. Professor Timothy Snyder, the author of "On Tyranny: 20 lessons from the 20th century" and professor at Yale, thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

And this quick programming note. In an all new episode of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING", she takes a look at conspiracy theories and social media. How algorithms that are designed to make money control the information you receive.

The all new "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" tomorrow night at 10:00 only on CNN.

And we'll be right back.

[11:35:31]

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WHITFIELD: Union strikes against companies like John Deere and Kellogg are halting plans across the country this week. Striking workers demanding better working conditions along with better wages.

Meantime, the White House working to unclog congested ports and return goods to empty shelves.

Moody's says the weakest link in the global supply chain may be the shortage of truck drivers which has contributed to making the delivery of goods slower and more costly.

Joining me right now to discuss is Todd Spencer, a trucking industry expert and president of the Owner/Operator Independent Driver's Association. He began his career driving trucks back in 1974 and has since become an industry advocate.

So good to see you. I like your smiling face, Todd, which tells me that you want to strike an optimistic tone. What do truckers need to get back behind the wheel?

TODD SPENCER, PRESIDENT, OWNER/OPERATOR INDEPENDENT DRIVERS ASSOCIATION: Well, I'm grinning because of the reference to the driver shortage. I've been in trucking for decades and I've pretty much heard that same song and dance the entire time.

WHITFIELD: So you don't believe it? What is it? What's going on?

SPENCER: Well, look, it's just simple math. Every year there are over 400,000 new commercial driver licenses passed out to people. And these are people most that want to drive trucks.

And they burn out real quick because it's a tough life, and a lot is expected. The personal sacrifices are great and the economic rewards just aren't there for lots.

So yes turnover, attrition -- that's not a shortage. Actually, that's a surplus.

WHITFIELD: Ok. So you say there are drivers out there, qualified drivers to get the merchandise moving, so then why when we look at all these container ships, more than a dozen off the Pacific California Coast, and we're hearing that they don't have enough drivers. Part of the problem is you don't have enough truck drivers so when all this stuff is unloaded -- offloaded from the containers on to trucks, it can then be dispensed across the country.

You're saying, am I hearing this right, you're saying that that is not really the full picture?

SPENCER: Well, clearly that's half the story.

WHITFIELD: Ok.

SPENCER: Obviously there are backups and congestion in the ports because of demand and disruptions in supply, and things like that. But what drivers all across the country tell us is that they can't get loaded and unloaded. They have extensive wait times on both ends. And if you don't know when you'll get loaded or unloaded, you can't plan your next move. So if you want to get -- if you want to get cargo delivered, you got to get it on the trailer, on the chassis, and to the shipper or receiver specifically with the ports in L.A. and Long Beach, things can be more complicated because you have more players, you have ports involved, you have steam ship lines involved. You have freight forwarders involved.

And oftentimes the people that are actually going to do the loading or unloading, they don't -- there's no direct communication with truckers. So nobody knows who's on first.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

SPENCER: And that level of transparency is, I mean, there is no level of transparency there. It's just a mess.

WHITFIELD: So you're saying there's a real organization, you know, problem here, but if you can speak on behalf of truckers, what do they need? What do they want in order to offer greater incentive for them to be available to help move cargo, move products?

SPENCER: Well, you know, number one issue is when -- they need to be able to -- they need to be assured they can get in and out of loading and unloading facilities in some kind of timely fashion.

Right now for too many, that's just simply a crap shoot, and you know, you might be talking about six, eight, ten, twelve hours -- sometimes the next day. And that's common in trucking simply because most drivers get paid nothing for their waiting time.

So others on both ends of the spectrum, really there's no disincentive. There's no penalty for them delaying drivers. So they're in a situation where they can do all of their planning around what's best for them. And, you know, that truck driver is on his own, and that's kind of a reality that drivers have been dealing with for decades.

[11:44:55]

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's a hard job. Todd Spencer, I think, most of us knew that, but you helped paint an even more vivid picture. It's even harder than many of us even thought. And these are tough times.

Thank you so much. Oh, wait, you're going to say something?

SPENCER: And specific to L.A. and Long Beach, it's mostly Latino drivers that service those ports, and those are folks that have largely been crapped on for decades. They have always had a rough road to hoe, and it's been worse, they have been exploited. That needs to be corrected. But again it's one of those things that's easy to ignore.

WHITFIELD: Todd Spencer, thanks so much. I want you back because you have just educated us on so much. And I know there's even more we can learn from you.

SPENCER: Glad to be part of the show.

WHITFIELD: Thanks, Todd Spencer.

All right. Coming up next, a closer look at one of the most hotly contested governor races in the country and why it has Democrats concerned.

[11:45:53]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Recent polls in Virginia showed the governor's race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican challenger Glenn Youngkin is narrowing.

President Biden will likely head to campaign for McAuliffe, while Youngkin seems to be distancing himself from Donald Trump.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Donald Trump loves standing at the front of a big rally.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm thrilled to be back.

ZELENY: But in the Virginia governor's race, the former president can be heard but not seen.

TRUMP: I really believe that Virginia is very, very winnable but everybody has to go out and vote.

ZELENY: As Republicans hope to launch a comeback in the biggest campaign of the season, Trump is not invited at least for one of his signature rallies. Instead he called into an event last night.

TRUMP: We're going to take it all back.

ZELENY: Head lined by longtime Trump supporter Steve Bannon to build support for the GOP ticket. Trump used the forum to spread election lies.

TRUMP: We won in 2016, we won in 2020, the most corrupt election in the history of our country.

ZELENY: Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin said again today Biden was legitimately elected. But quickly moved to change the subject in the latest sign of how he's walking a tightrope, embracing the Trump energy to fire up his base while trying to avoid alienating other voters.

In the final days of a race that has Democrats on edge, Terry McAuliffe is calling in the cavalry. President Biden this summer, First Lady Jill Biden on Friday, and former President Barack Obama next weekend, reprising a visit he made in 2013 when McAuliffe first narrowly won.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The next governor of the great commonwealth of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe.

ZELENY: This time, McAuliffe is blasting Youngkin as an extreme Trump clone, releasing a new ad to link the two.

GLENN YOUNGKIN (R-VA), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I was honored to receive President Trump's endorsement.

ZELENY: But Youngkin is trying to stand alone.

YOUNGKIN: All eyes are on Virginia.

ZELENY: Mindful, he needs to win over some of the very Virginians who previously voted Democratic including for Biden who won last year with ten points. In a race that will turn on enthusiasm, it's a tricky balancing act with Trump.

(on camera): Would you like to see him campaigning here?

YOUNGKIN: So no. The person just campaigning here for the next 2.5 weeks is Glenn Youngkin. I'm on the ballot.

ZELENY: You hope he stays out of the stat e.

YOUNGKIN: You're going to see me campaign as Glenn Youngkin, the candidate who is marching to victory. And you're going to see my opponent bring in everybody he possibly can because he can't win on his own.

ZELENY: Now Youngkin does not want to talk about Trump. Of course, that's virtually all McAuliffe wants to talk about, making this race a referendum on Donald Trump.

Of course, it's an open question what impact either president, the former or the current will have in this race.

But the White House is saying President Biden also expected back here in Virginia to campaign for McAuliffe in the final days.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN -- Alexandria, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jeff.

In this week's "Mission Ahead", it's an electric aircraft that takes off like a helicopter, but flies like a plane. Here's a look in how the company behind it envisions the future of air transportation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL SCIARRA, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, JOBY AVIATION: So, I think what travel is going to look like in the future is one that's increasingly multimodal. It's really about putting people in the right vehicle for the trip that they want to take.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It may not look like your typical helicopter or plane. But out here in the middle of the desert, Joby Aviation, a California-based EVETOL company, says it's on the brink of making electric aircraft for commercial passengers, a reality.

EVETOL stands for electric, vertical take off and landing, meaning the aircraft can take off and land like a helicopter but also fly like a plane.

SCIARRA: So the Joby aircraft does everything that a helicopter does, with none of the downsides, so it's significantly safer, significantly faster, and significantly quieter than the helicopters that are out there today. Something that can be a brand-new mode of transportation that's usable by folks every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joby says its aircraft can travel up to a 150 miles on a single charge at a max speed of 200 miles per hour.

While other vehicles today aim to be autonomous, Joby's aircraft will allow space for four passengers and one pilot.

Wanting to get places faster and skip the traffic isn't a new concept but Joby thinks its vehicles will improve upon traditional helicopters. The company says a streamlined design means there's less maintenance.

And electric batteries not only lower carbon emissions, they reduce energy costs and noise pollution.

[11:55:01]

SCIARRA: I think this service really allows people to rethink the way that we thought about transportation which has generally been thought about two dimension and really bring that to three dimensions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In 2020, Joby received the first ever Air Worthiness Certification for an EVETOL aircraft from the U.S. Air Force and says it plans to offer commercial flights in 2024.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:55:23]

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