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11 White Jurors, 1 Black Juror Picked in Trial for Ahmaud Arbery Killing; Claims of Sabotage Theory Film's Shooting Incident; Questions About Kids and COVID Vaccinations; Inflation May Not Fade Until Later Half of 2022. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 04, 2021 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:31:18]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: After a long and contentious jury selection process, a nearly all white jury has been selected in the trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery. There are 11 white jurors, just one is black. Arbery's mother called those results devastating in her words.

This morning the court will hear pretrial motions without the jury present. Tomorrow, opening statements set to begin.

CNN's Martin Savidge is live in Brunswick, Georgia. He's been covering this for some time.

Could the judge have anything to say about jury selection?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely did, Jim. Good morning to you. Yes, the judge was not happy at all. You know, once the racial makeup of this jury was known, immediately the prosecution jumped up and filed a motion, essentially saying that it was their belief the defense had struck or basically taken jurors out of the potential pool based solely on the fact of the color of their skin.

Now the defense pushed back and immediately said, no, we did not base it upon race, we based it upon the fact that we felt that that juror could not be impartial. The judge listened to the back and forth, sometimes it was heated, for over two hours, and then the judge spoke and basically said he agreed with the prosecution, that in some cases he felt that there had been potential jurors struck simply because of the color of their skin. Here's what the judge said next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE TIMOTHY WALMSLEY, SUPERIOR COURT EASTERN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT: This court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel. Again, quite a few African-American jurors were excused through preemptory strikes exercised by the defense. But that doesn't mean that the court has the authority to reseat.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: So essentially what you hear there is that the judge says, yes, he agreed with the state but he also said because of the laws in the state of Georgia there wasn't much he could do about it and the jury was going to stand.

I just want to show you the breakdown when it comes to Glenn County and Brunswick, and the racial makeup and how out of sort of order that is with the makeup racially of this jury. Again, 11 whites and only one African-American.

And the last thing I'll point out to you, Jim, is that, you know, it's been a grueling 2 1/2 weeks and emotions and tensions running very high in that courtroom among the participants and we haven't even gotten to testimony yet -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: A jury of your peers as they say. That's supposed to be the way. Martin Savidge, thanks very much.

Attorneys for the armorer who oversaw weapons on the set of the "Rust" movie are floating a controversial theory, not clear what the basis is, about what really happened. They are suggesting without evidence that the fatal live round that ended up in Alec Baldwin's gun was there as a case of sabotage.

CNN's Josh Campbell joins us now, he's been following this.

What, Josh, have crew members been saying and what if anything do they have to back up this allegation?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's key. They have nothing to back that up. This is a theory that's being floated out there, as you mentioned, without any evidence and the reason why this is so explosive is because what these attorneys are essentially suggesting is that it's possible that there is someone, an employee who was so disgruntled that they went and put a live round of ammunition either in that firearm that killed Halyna Hutchins or in the box of ammunition comingled among some of the dummy rounds which essentially says that there is someone still out there potentially criminally liable for murder. But, of course, it's important to point that out that theory was floated without any evidence.

Now we're hearing from some former set members who have concerns about safety on the set.

[09:35:04]

One of them, a man named Lane Luper, spoke last night with our colleague Chris Cuomo. He was asked about this sabotage theory. He's not buying it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANE LUPER, "RUST" CREW MEMBER: If they had any evidence of that, they should be, you know, talking to the sheriff and not morning television shows. It's dangerous and it's an irresponsible theory to put out on TV.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) CAMPBELL: Now in his resignation letter just the day before that actual shooting, he wrote, I'll read part of it, "I also feel anxious on set. I've seen firsthand our assistant director rush to get shots and he skips over important protocols. Sometimes the AD rushes so quickly that the props department hasn't even had the chance to bring earplugs. And he rolls and the actors fire anyway."

Now it's important to point out that the production company has roundly rejected any idea that this was an unsafe set. Actor Alec Baldwin himself came out and reposting a very forceful statement from another crew member saying that any idea that it was unsafe is BS. I won't say the actual word on morning television. But it's important to note that we're also hearing from other employees, however, who say that there were concerns in the run-up to this shooting, that some of them felt overworked, there were accidental discharges. Again, raising serious questions there.

And people asked, Jim, you know, well, why so much coverage focused on this one story? Obviously the entertainment industry is mourning the loss of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. But we're hearing from so many other employees who are hoping that this intense coverage, which is likely being watched by the studio bosses, will lead to change. These thousands of entertainment employees want to be able to go to work every day in a safe environment -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, it was clearly an unsafe set. Someone got killed, right. And the question is why, how, who is responsible?

Josh Campbell, good to have someone with your experience covering this story.

CAMPBELL: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, younger kids are now getting COVID vaccine shots. Some parents still have questions, though. It's understandable. They're your children. A doctor will join us next to answer some of your most common questions. You'll want to hear this segment.

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[09:41:35]

SCIUTTO: 750,000 people in this country have now died from COVID-19. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that is the highest number for any nation in the world, at least based on publicly available data. There is a new tool available, though, to protect children from this pandemic. Kids as young as 5 are now getting their doses, specifically the Pfizer vaccine.

Joining me now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen.

All right, Dr. Wen. It's great to have you on because a lot of parents, myself included, have a lot of questions about what to do and when, so I'm going to run through if we can some of the most common questions we're hearing. And folks at home, you want to perk up your ears now because this is

going to be some important information. So, first question, this is about how you get the shots. What happens if the pediatrician's office says their appointments are already booked or for instance in D.C., I can tell you from my own experience, if they say, we're not doing them?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, so there are several other places that you can call for information. The first is local pharmacies. Walgreens, CVS and so forth, many of them are now going to be offering shots. And even if they may not be offering shots right now this week, there may be an opportunity to sign up for next week or the following week.

I would also call your local health department and see what other options there are. For example, there may be vaccines offered in schools, in churches, there may be pop-up clinics. And so lots of options to explore. But the pediatrician is also someone who can give you more information even if they're not offering shots themselves.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And remember the pattern with adults, too, right, with this initial surge, hard to get an appointment and then it was a little bit easier after a week or two.

All right, next question. Should parents and families plan on their children missing school to recover from the potential side effects as they get the vaccine?

WEN: Yes, so we know that the side effects for children tend to mirror for adolescents and adults, that most common side effects are sore arm, fatigue, headaches. Actually the side effects for children tend to be less than for older individuals. And so fever and chills are less common. I don't think it's necessary to plan for kids to miss school. But that said, if you are very worried because let's say you may have to miss work yourself, and if your child has to miss school, you can always plan for an appointment to be on Friday, just to be sure.

SCIUTTO: Yes. OK. Next question, because it's also flu season coming, can a child get the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as, say, the flu vaccine?

WEN: Yes. There is no reason to wait to space out different vaccines. The recommendation is that the -- if you're getting more than one vaccine, that they are given at two different sites. So for example, two different arms or if it has to be given in the leg, it could be given in two different locations on the same leg.

SCIUTTO: Yes, you don't want to get that -- I felt that feeling, that little kind of punch in the arm sort of feeling Charlie horse after this. OK. So what if your child has a history of food or medication allergies? Should they skip this vaccine?

WEN: Definitely not. So lots of parents have this question because there are lots of kids who have peanut or egg allergies or even had a reaction to other vaccines. But that is not a reason to skip the COVID vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has really just one ingredient that very, very, very few people could have an allergic reaction to, but it's extremely rare. Polyethylene glycol. And so unless you have a reaction to that very specific ingredient, there is no reason to skip the vaccine.

If you're particularly worried because maybe your child has multiple medication allergies you can always wait in the office for 30 minutes after the shot instead of 15 minutes just to make sure there is no allergic reaction developing.

[09:45:09]

SCIUTTO: Right. That's why they have that pause. OK. Final question, because the dose for 5 to 11-year-olds is a third of the dose for those 12 and up, if you have an 11-year-old, you know, particularly one who's pretty big, can you, should you wait until they turn 12 to get the higher dose or just go ahead and start now?

WEN: Yes, I would not recommend waiting. I would recommend to get the dose now and actually what the CDC says is that you should be getting the dose that's appropriate for you at the time of the administration. So let's say that your 11-year-old is about to turn 12, they could get the 10-microgram dose now and then for the second shot when they come back if they're already 12, they would get the 30-microgram full dose that's given to 12-year-olds and above.

Really the 10 versus 30 micrograms, there isn't -- of course this is the science, so this is what was tested, but nothing is going to happen if you get the 10 micrograms twice or 30 micrograms. This is fairly interchangeable for that 11, 12-year-old group according to the CDC and FDA.

SCIUTTO: Understood. OK. Following guidance. Dr. Leana Wen, thanks so much.

WEN: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: And a reminder, CNN is teaming up with "Sesame Street" again to host a town hall for families. Erica Hill, she's going to be hosting alongside our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Don't miss "THE ABCS OF COVID VACCINES," that's this Saturday morning at 8:30, only here on CNN.

Still ahead, inflation is now haunting President Biden and the Democrats. And it may be a year before Americans see relief. We're going to discuss next.

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[09:51:06]

SCIUTTO: Surging inflation is hitting Americans hard as they struggle to buy food for their families, put gas in their cars. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is saying those higher prices may not fade until well into 2022, mainly because of pandemic disruptions to supply chains. Despite unemployment rates falling, the continued hike in prices for just about everything, including food, is affecting how many Americans view the economic recovery.

Here to discuss is Kai Ryssdal. He's host of Public Radio's "Marketplace."

Kai, good to have you on this morning.

KAI RYSSDAL, HOST, "MARKETPLACE" ON PUBLIC RADIO: Good to be on, Jim. Thanks.

SCIUTTO: So, first of all, let's talk about what the timeline is on this because early on when we saw prices start to go up, you heard a lot of comments from the economic (INAUDIBLE), this isn't lasting, it's going to fade, too. But now you have folks saying well into 2022. So what's the truth?

RYSSDAL: Yes, well, so look, the truth is we're not going to know for a while yet, but all the signs are, and Jay Powell said this yesterday, Secretary Yellen has said this many times in the past couple of weeks, it's going to last into next year because it's going to take that long for the supply-demand imbalances caused by this pandemic to stabilize, right?

I mean, we've seen the pictures of all those ships at the ports out at Long Beach in Los Angeles. Right, I've done those stories. And we know that consumers are going to the store now because they've got cash, they've got pent-up demand, and they want to buy things. And the catch is that's just going to take a little bit of time because the more piled things get at the port, the more piled up things get, if that makes any sense. Right?

SCIUTTO: No question.

RYSSDAL: Ships can piled up you can't unload the containers so you can't take more containers off ships. That's just the way it goes.

SCIUTTO: I flew over the Port of Los Angeles last week and I saw that big pileup there. So I think a lot of folks falsely imagine that any president can wave a magic wand to solve economic problems like this, right?

RYSSDAL: Right.

SCIUTTO: If this is principally a supply chain issue, which is global, by the way, I've spoken to European diplomats and leaders dealing with the same thing. If that's the principal issue here, is there anything the politicians can do about it?

RYSSDAL: No. Look, presidents get a lot of credit and they get a lot of blame for things they simply can't control. And there is nothing that Biden or anybody can do right now to make this go away. Same thing for inflation, by the way. The inflation that Powell was talking about yesterday, which is, you know, maybe it's transitory, maybe it's not, again we're not going to know. That's just driven by the pandemic and the lasting effects of all of those pileups.

This economy got knee-caped, right, a year and a half ago, and we're still trying to figure it out. We just don't know.

SCIUTTO: We don't know. OK. So jobs is the other figure, we're going to have new jobs figures out tomorrow. In the last couple of months, first of all, the predictions have been way off. Right? You know, the consensus predictions way overstating. But the headline really it's slowed down. You know, the delta variant hit and slowed down the economy. What are folks expecting tomorrow or any sort of uptick as the Delta surge has faded?

RYSSDAL: I think fingers are crossed for an uptick, right? It's the October numbers that are going to come out Friday morning at 8:30. I think the challenge here is going to be that if it's a bad number, by bad I mean, you know, quarter million, 250,000 or less when people are banking on more, then I think it's going to be a real challenge. And that's where Jay Powell is, right? He's stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Because he needs to keep, he wants to keep the labor market still growing, and if he raises interest rates or cuts back on the taper too much that he talked about yesterday, the big bond-buying program they're doing. That's going to slow job creation. But at the same time, inflation is real, so what's he going to do?

I think, you know, if it's 500,000, people will be happy. If it's less than a quarter million, I think it's going to be a challenge.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned the taper, right? Now folks are generally aware of interest rates, you know, the rise and fall of interest rates. A big piece of this has been the Fed just buying bonds. Mam. I mean, they're just like throwing money into the market. And there's been talk for months, right, about pulling that back. Sounds like they're finally ready to do that. How do folks at home experience that as it begins?

[09:55:01]

RYSSDAL: So, the Fed did two real things, I mean, they did a lot of really complicated things, but the two most basic things they did at the beginning of this pandemic were, number one, cut interest rates, and number two, they ramped up this quantitative easing, they bought mortgage-backed securities and treasuries, right, bonds, and put more money into the economy, driving interest rates even farther down.

They have now decided that the economy is doing well enough that they can start slowly tapering off those purchases so that by next summer sometime they're going to be done. They're not going to be adding that stimulus. So look, consumers aren't probably going to feel it in the short term because it's relatively speaking a small amount of money that the Fed has taken out of this economy in time.

And they still have a huge balance sheet. Right? The Fed still owns a bunch of bonds, and so the amount of aid that the Fed is providing to this economy is still substantial.

SCIUTTO: Yes. RYSSDAL: So don't look for consumers to feel this immediate move in

the short term. I think next summer, when people are expecting, the market is expecting interest rates to start going up, that's when people are going to start feeling it.

SCIUTTO: Quantitative easing. QE, as they call it, not Queen Elizabeth. It's basically about buying bonds.

Kai Ryssdal, thanks so much for joining and explaining.

RYSSDAL: You bet, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, President Trump's attorneys are in court in just moments responding to the January 6th probe. Not surprisingly, they don't want to give information to that committee. We're learning of at least eight Republicans who were allegedly at the rally, elected to office. Live team coverage next.

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