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Erin Burnett Outfront
Biden Touts New Mask Guidance As The Right Attacks, Fox Host Likens Kids With Mask To "Child Abuse"; Biden to Deliver Address To Congress From Room Where Rioters Tried To Prevent Him From Becoming President; Curfew About To Go Into Effect In NC Town; Attorney: Andrew Brown Was Fatally Shot In Back Of Head; Sources: Biden To Push For Police Bill Named For George Floyd; Interview With Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA); CDC: Vaccinated People No Longer Need Masks Outdoors. Aired 7- 8p ET
Aired April 27, 2021 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We will stay in close touch. And to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WOLFBLITZER. Tweet the show @CNNSITROOM. Be sure to join us at our new time 6 pm Eastern Monday through Friday.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, President Biden prepares to address the nation from the very room where a group of rioters tried to prevent him from becoming president as Republicans are throwing out one baseless conspiracy theory after another desperate for something to step right now.
Plus breaking news, CNN just obtaining new surveillance video of the moments leading up to the shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. This as a citywide curfew there is about to take effect.
And a school in Florida banning vaccinated teachers from having contact with students. I didn't just misspeak. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the grand old party of conspiracies. So at about the same time that President Biden had this to say about the new mask guidance for vaccinated Americans ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Starting today, if you're fully vaccinated and you're outdoors, you need and not in a big crowd, you no longer need to wear a mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: ... well, the usual suspects were already on the attack, trashing the CDC's new guidelines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At some point, we're going to have to stand up and say, this makes no sense anymore. This is not science and health and safety anymore, this is just control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: No. OK. And on Fox it kept going to new level after new level, we were told. In fact, we were told that having a child wear a mask is equivalent to physical child abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Your response when you see children wearing masks as they play should be no different from your response to seeing someone beat a kid at Wal-Mart. Call the police immediately. Contact Child Protective Services. Keep calling until someone arrives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, this is not just nonsense. I mean, we can all only hope - I mean, I'm being serious here that a call regarding a child who is being beaten and whose life is at risk isn't somehow on hold because people are actually doing what Carlson so flippantly suggests. But Republicans are right now throwing anything they can at President Biden, it's not just on masks. Take a listen to this whopper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say goodbye to your burgers if you want to sign up for the Biden climate agenda.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Part of his climate or green targets are to cut our red meat. He wants to cut out 90 percent of the red meat that you all eat. That's four pounds a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No burgers on July 4th. No steaks on the barbie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. So where did this come from that Biden was banning red meat? It happens to be completely false. It actually came from this, a Daily Mail article that speculates how the U.S. could cut greenhouse gases in half by 2030.
In this article, they quote an academic paper from the University of Michigan and Tulane. That study found that cutting red meat consumption by 90 percent and animal products by 50 percent would cut emissions by 51 percent by 2030. So that's the - putting all of that together from this study.
But it isn't Biden's plan. It has nothing to do with Biden's plan, it's a study. The Secretary of Agriculture having to come out today and calling all of this what it is, which is a flat out lie. Biden has said nothing about burgers and you can eat as many burgers as you want. Tom Vilsack saying, "There is no effort designed to limit people's
intake of beef coming out of President Biden's White House or the USDA." But this false thing, this lie had already taken on a life of its own. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeting, "Joe Biden's climate plan includes cutting 90 percent of red meat from our diets by 2030. They want to limit us to about four pounds a year. Why doesn't Joe stay out of my kitchen?"
Well, that is not the only red meat that Republicans are serving up to their supporters. We've gone through this whole mask thing and now the burger. Well, then there was this headline today, it got a lot of talk. Solo kids at border welcomed with copy of veep's book. OK.
It was based on the picture you see of one copy of Harris' book propped up at one of the migrant centers. So Republicans took that front-page headline and they stampeded to run with it. Senator Tom Cotton tweeting, "Now they're forcing taxpayers to buy Kamala Harris' book to give to those illegal immigrants." Congressman Debbie Lesko tweeting, "Harris refuses to visit the border, but the Vice President can still make a profit from her book deal. Outrageous.
Congressman Jim Jordan not to be left out, "Some migrant children are given a copy of her book upon arrival to the USA." RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, " After learning officials are handing out Kamala Harris' book to migrants in facilities at the border, it's worth asking. Was Harris paid for these books? Is she profiting from Biden's border crisis?" OK.
It's really easy to bring the outrage here. Maybe they just should have like maybe checked the fact before they did the whole lemming act. OK.
[19:05:01]
So if you did that like The Washington Post did, you would have found out this, which is that a spokesperson for the facility where that picture was taken said that it was a single copy of Harris' book that was donated by a member of the community. So it was a single copy donated in one facility that some of the facility had put up.
No handouts to migrants (ph). No taxpayer funds. No handing it out to kids as they come over the border. No profits for Harris. No nothing. I mean, the whole thing was completely fabricated.
And tonight, the reporter behind the debunk stories resigned. According to a tweet, she claimed she quit after having been 'ordered to write the inaccurate article'. OK. So all of these things I'm going through are garbage. I mean, they're both false and they're a waste of our time. They are a waste of our time, because there's really serious stuff that Republicans should be focused on right now.
Serious, important stuff like President Biden's transformational plans for this country. He has already passed nearly $2 trillion in COVID relief. He wants another 4 trillion for infrastructure. You can do the math. That is $6 trillion in spending. I'll give you this math. That is roughly a third of this country's GDP. The richest nation in the world, a third of our entire economy, they
want to spend in a couple of months. This is transformational stuff. It will impact this country for generations. We deserve our elected officials debating that non-stop.
But instead, they're certainly not looking into all the details there if they can't actually check a fact on whether Kamala Harris is handing out her books willy-nilly because of taxpayer money on the border or Biden's actually trying to ban burgers, they're not even checking a single fact. Never mind equating mask to physical child abuse.
Kaitlan Collins is OUTFRONT live near the White House. So Kaitlan, what does the Biden administration think of what the GOP has been spending time on which is these nonsensical attacks that that might seem petty but are actually far from it?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think they've been a little bit confused by it, Erin and even unaware of some of these false reports, including that one about the Vice President's book being given to migrant children as they were coming across the border and going into these facilities.
Jen Psaki was asked about this even at the briefing earlier this week and she didn't know what the reporter was talking about, didn't know about this New York Post story that had ran and, of course, now has been debunked and is false, even though it doesn't have a real correction on the story.
And so I think that the White House has seemed confused by it, but maybe not surprised, given you have seen this pattern since President Biden took office where Republicans are not really latching on to some kind of substantive criticism of the policy that he's introducing.
And instead, he is barreling ahead with introducing those policies he plans to do so tomorrow night as he makes that first address to Congress. And so that's really been a question is that these other criticisms that don't even really have merit are the ones that are rising to the top when you're looking at what Republicans are saying about what this President is doing.
And so toward that, he will be addressing members of both parties when he's in the House Chamber making this first address to Congress. We should note some of those Republicans he hasn't even spoken to since the day he's inaugurated, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy who told The New York Times over the weekend he has not spoken to Biden since that day.
And we do know from reporting, Erin, and then in this speech tomorrow night, when he is rolling out these big substantive policy plans that you were just talking about, the ones that the Republicans could be debating the White House over, he is also going to reference the riot that happened on Capitol Hill on January the 6th, where, of course, it's a backdrop you cannot really ignore while President Biden is there in the House Chamber, given rioters tried to get into that very building and gotten to that very building as they were trying to disrupt the process that cemented his win as President.
BURNETT: All right. Kaitlan, thank you very much.
I want to go now to Bill Kristol, Editor-at-Large at The Bulwark and Abby Phillip, Anchor of INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY, so thanks to both.
So Bill, let me just ask you here strategically, because for a party that says it cares about debt and spending, they've been outed as that's a complete lie, because we're taking that by - as I said, 30 percent of the economy, they're not talking about that at all. They're talking about burgers and they're talking about Kamala Harris' book and they're talking about mask abuse in kids and all of this is false, but this is how they're choosing to spend their time, why?
BILL KRISTOL, EDITOR AT LARGE, THE BULWARK: I mean, they think it works and they are uninterested. Many of them in policy decision and policy debates, they think they might be on the losing side I think of some of these debates if you look at the polling.
BURNETT: Yes.
KRISTOL: But I think President Biden and Biden administration, cabinet officials are probably wise to stay above the fray a little bit, set the record straight. But where is the Democratic Party and where are the liberal interest groups, they should be just going after - members of Congress are just lying. They're just lying and then they're called out, maybe they said something stupid because they believed something they saw on Fox, then they should apologize.
If you're a senator and you say something and it's just 100 percent wrong, you should say I was wrong. And incidentally, the New York Post reporter quit saying she'd been ordered to write the story. That's, of course, the Murdoch property as is Fox News, which pays Tucker Carlson's salary.
[19:10:05]
But I agree with you, incidentally, Erin the mask thing is a whole different degree of sickness. I mean, that is sick.
BURNETT: Yes.
KRISTOL: That is sick, urging people to call Child Protective Services when little kids - my little grandchildren wear masks at school, they wear masks sometimes on the playground, depending on who they're playing with and what kind of play and so forth. And Tucker Carlson is saying that the cops should be called and these kids should be interrogated or something or their parents, I suppose. I mean, it's really repulsive.
And again, (inaudible) just going to sit back and say, well, that's Fox, they're kind of weird, what can you do about it. There are cable systems that carry Fox. There are advertisers still at Fox.
BURNETT: Yes.
KRISTOL: There are businesses that have relationships with Fox. There are people who work at Fox. (Inaudible) some of them did something.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, yes. Obviously, they believe the burger story. I mean, Larry Kudlow, someone told him it was the case and so he goes out and says that. As you point out, some of these are knowingly peddling a lie.
On the Kamala Harris, Tom Cotton, Debbie Lesko, Jim Jordan, Ronna McDaniel, they're all doing it. They could have checked it in one hot second like The Washington Post did, Abby. They didn't. They don't care. There's no apology. But are they right that their voters don't care and it resonates?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it might be the best that they've got, frankly, to appeal to their voters. It's probably not going to work, but it might be the best strategy that they have available to them.
I mean, remember, what they're trying to do is recapture this sort of Trumpian magic that was not at all about policy. I mean, there was a four-year Republican presidential administration in which really policy took a backburner.
And so all of the voters who have been caught up in that political movement, if you will, are not that interested in taxes. They're not that interested in infrastructure. They're not that interested in government spending. They're interested in culture wars. They're interested in Twitter fights. They're interested, frankly, in accepting these obviously false bad faith claims that are being made in conservative media.
So it's a tough situation that they're in, but it's a result of the fact that for four years and the current leader of the Republican Party is someone who is completely divorced from Republican ideological orthodoxy of years past.
BURNETT: So Bill, let me ask you about this issue, the mask comment that Tucker Carlson made. You know him well. He started his career writing for The Weekly Standard, which you founded and you edited. So when you hear him say something like this, that making a child wear a mask is no different than seeing someone 'beat a kid at Wal-Mart', that's what he said, what goes through your head?
KRISTOL: I mean, I last worked in the same office since Tucker 20 years ago and I've watched with distress his progress or progress isn't the right word, I guess, down to where he is now. I mean, he always had a slightly mean streak I would say honestly and a bit of a bully. But frankly, reporters sometimes have to have a little of that, right?
BURNETT: Yes.
KRISTOL: You're going up against some big bureaucracies and you get a story, you kind of push hard, and Tucker was a talented guy. But this is beyond just the normal being a little outrageous and trolling. I really find this one - my colleague Sarah Longwell tweeted today there are plenty of moms who have kids with autoimmune problems and other problems - friends, their kids are fine but they have friends. They put on a mask out of decency, out of safety, out of maybe excess caution sometimes, but it doesn't hurt anyone.
And for Tucker Carlson to do this, I mean, I really find it repulsive. I mean, I also treated this as a - I myself just started to say Tucker because I know him or I knew him. But we shouldn't call him Tucker. That makes him so he's part of the club, we're on a first name basis with him. Forget that. He's Carlson and he's a propagandist now. A really a low order, I think.
And I think we need to think in a creative ways about the ways to put pressure on Fox, the ways to put pressure on him. I mean, guests who go on the show, I wouldn't - I haven't been willing to go on for several years. So I just - it's really terrible, the mask thing.
BURNETT: So Abby, one of the few Republican lawmakers who has been willing to vocally stand up to all of this is, of course, Liz Cheney. Adam Kinzinger has, of course, in many cases but Liz Cheney has and she just told The New York Post today about people like Hawley and Cruz who had a role in inciting rioters on January 6th.
She came out and she said this, I quote her, "I do think that some of our candidates who led the charge, particularly the senators who led the unconstitutional charge, not to certify the election, you know, in my view, that's disqualifying." OK.
And she's talking about their very clear presidential aspirations for both Hawley and Cruz. Hawley has just responded telling Manu Raju that Cheney is 'really out of step with GOP voters and members. This is somebody who has no support in her own caucus, who has hung her own members out to dry over and over'.
Both things could be true, what she's saying and he's saying, Abby.
PHILLIP: Yes. And I think that's actually exactly where the Republican Party is.
[19:15:00]
It is true. She is right. It is disqualifying if you didn't speak up about the January 6th, if you were, in fact, egging it on. But it's also true that she is in the minority within her political party right now and that the people who have power are the Hawleys of the world, maybe the Cruzes of the world, the Marjorie Taylor Greenes, the Lauren Boeberts and so on and so forth.
And they are calling the shots that even Kevin McCarthy, the Minority Leader is not willing to stand up for his own member of leadership. It's an extraordinary circumstance. But kudos to Liz Cheney for sticking to her principles on this one. The problem is that unfortunately in her party, she may be very, very lonely with few exceptions.
BURNETT: Abby, thank you. Bill, thank you.
And next breaking news, protesters gathering in Elizabeth City, North Carolina tonight as we have new surveillance video. It's deputies heading to Andrew Brown Jr.'s home and its moments before he's shot and killed by authorities, crucial new context just coming now.
And we will take you inside the high-pressure training that some police officers are now receiving in order to prevent shootings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, it's OK. We just like to talk to you for a quick second. We can kind of work this out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And one private school in Florida, officials there say they are now banning teachers who got vaccinated.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:09]
BURNETT: Breaking news, a curfew going into effect in less than an hour in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Protesters out again demanding answers in the fatal police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. CNN obtaining new surveillance video showing several deputies pulling up to Brown's home in a Sheriff's truck just moments before the shooting. Jason Carroll is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHALIL FEREBEE, SON OF ANDREW BROWN JR.: It's obvious he was trying to get away. It's obvious. And they go shoot him in the back of the head. Man, that's (inaudible) not right. That's not right at all, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Andrew Brown Jr.'s son and the attorneys representing the family say the results of an autopsy they commissioned confirm what they had suspected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CRUMP, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: It was a kill shot to the back of the head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): The family attorneys say the report shows Brown was struck by five bullets. The first four hit his right arm. They say the fatal shot came next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE KENDALL, BROWN FAMILY ATTORNEY: This, in fact, was a fatal wound to the back of Mr. Brown's head as he was leaving the site trying to evade being shot at by these particular law enforcement officers who we believe did nothing but a straight out execution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): The results causing more pain for Brown's son who told us the deputies need to be held accountable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FEREBEE: It's not right. Nobody deserves this and it's still happening, so ain't nothing changing.
CARROLL (on camera): Do you believe when all is said and done that you will get the justice that you're looking for?
FEREBEE: Hope so.
CRUMP: We pray for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): Late Tuesday, CNN obtained video that a source says shows Sheriff deputies arriving in a pickup truck moments before Brown was shot last Wednesday morning. Pasquotank County Sheriff's deputies were executing a warrant for alleged drug activity. The family has repeatedly called for the release of all the body cam footage and they say they were only shown 20 seconds of footage Monday that they say was only after intense pressure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUMP: If they want to be transparent, then why won't they show us? Why won't they show the world? If they have nothing to hide, if they followed policies and procedures, if they did everything legally, why won't they show this video?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL (voice over): The Pasquotank County Sheriff say transparency is a priority. North Carolina law requires a court order for body cam footage to be released to the public. The Sheriff says the department will comply with any court order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This tragic incident was quick and over in less than 30 seconds and body cameras are shaky and sometimes hard to decipher. Outside investigators both from the FBI and from four other sheriff's offices are interviewing witnesses and gathering more information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (on camera): And Erin back out here live in Elizabeth City where a group of protesters, peaceful protesters have been marching throughout the city, demanding more transparency. The Governor has weighed in on all of this, asking that a special prosecutor be appointed to oversee everything going on going forward.
That way, he says, there are more insurances to the community and the Brown family and that things will continue in an unbiased fashion. The problem is, Erin, is that it's really not up to the Governor. That's really not his call, simply because it's up to the local District Attorney to make that decision.
And so far the District Attorney has not weighed in on this particular issue, but the pressure is on from the Governor. The pressure is on from protesters who are out here tonight, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jason, thank you very much.
I want to go now straight to Charles Ramsey, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner and Lawrence Kobilinsky, Professor Emeritus of Forensic Science at John Jay College.
Commissioner Ramsey, let me start with you first. So we've got this new surveillance video tonight that shows several deputies wearing helmets. You can see them approaching in the back of a Sheriff's truck and they're definitely - this is a serious force. They pull up to Brown's driveway.
Would it make sense to see a show force like this? From the information we have, they were serving a warrant for alleged drug activity related to crack, cocaine.
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, every department is a little bit different. Some departments use SWAT teams in order to make forced entry into homes. I don't know what their policy is down there, but it's not that unusual to have a SWAT team execute a search warrant for the officers that obtained the warrant.
When I was in the Chicago PD, we did our own search warrants but that was that department. And in Philly, SWAT often executed warrants, so it just depends on the jurisdiction.
[19:25:02]
BURNETT: Right. Well, but I think it's important you say that because I think some people watching it, it obviously looks so military, so you're saying in many big cities, that would be normal. I think the context is important here.
Professor Kobilinsky, let me ask you about the independent autopsy that came out. It shows Brown was - the fatal shot was in the back of his head. Those are the facts according to the autopsy. There were, of course, other shots to his arm. What can you tell us based on the information that we have in this autopsy that's been put out?
LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, PROF. EMERITUS, FORENSIC SCIENCE AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE: Well, four shots were to the right arm. Two of them were grazing shots, just penetrating subcutaneously. The other two shots to the right arm were not lethal. They were both upward shots. One of them to the right mid arm. Actually, Dr. Hall was able to recover a very small metallic fragment.
Remember, this is the second autopsy. The first autopsy retrieved all of, whatever the bullets were internal, whatever they could obtain. But, of course, the fifth shot was the headshot and that was a lethal shot. It penetrated the skull. It fractured the skull.
And when a bullet hits something hard like that, it's going to deform and fragment. Once it penetrates inside the skull and hits the brain, it wobbles, it turns.
BURNETT: Yes.
KOBILINSKY: (Inaudible) will destroy you inside. I am guessing that it affected (inaudible) and the brain stem (inaudible) stem has the centers to control respiration and cardiac function. And I think he died probably a few minutes after that last shot of cardiopulmonary arrest.
BURNETT: And I mean, look, it's tragic. You're talking about human being here no matter what the circumstances, suffering in those last few minutes. That's horrible and you're saying that it wasn't instantaneous, just in human level it's very hard to hear.
Commissioner Ramsey, let me just ask you again, they have not been forthright with the video here and I know that they have policies and procedures that they're going by, but the impact has been that it looks like they're obfuscating and hiding something, because they haven't put it out. OK. All of that being said, is it possible, is there any situation in which you would see this many shots up to 10 shots and being shot in the back of the head that would be a legitimately executed situation by police?
RAMSEY: Well, I mean, that's why we have to see the video to find out exactly what was going on. And with person who's fleeing, there are very strict rules in place for using deadly force against a fleeing suspect. From what I've heard so far, this doesn't seem to fit that particular portion of a policy, but I need to see the video.
What they've managed to do in North Carolina is fumbled the ball beyond anything I've seen in recent times. I mean, they need to come up with the video if it's a court order, fine, then go before the judge. I mean, if they were able to show 20 seconds and I'm imagining they went before the judge to get that, then show the whole doggone thing.
I mean, because right now, this is a hot potato and the only way they're going to be able to deal with it is if they showed a video. If it's bad, it's bad. Bad news does not improve with age and they're just making matters worse.
BURNETT: Well said as always. Thank you very much, Commissioner and Professor. I appreciate your time.
And next, we're going to take you inside the intensive new police training that is designed to prevent shootings like the recent ones in Ohio and Minnesota. Wait till you actually see how they're doing this training.
Plus, 25 percent of women say they are now worse off financially than they were before the pandemic, why? And should government do anything about it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:32:37]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Biden will urge Congress to pass a police reform bill named for George Floyd during his first address to Congress. And his calls for police reform growing in light of numerous officer involved shootings across the country. One police department drawn into the national spotlight for its own fatal officer involved shooting in 2018, has been applying lessons learned from these incidents, to prevent them from happening again.
Look at this story from Ryan Young.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These four officers are working their way through a hands-on week of intensive training.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, what we are going to see is a team of officers who are dispatched to a distraught male on a bridge. They're going to trying and gain his compliance through de-escalation techniques.
YOUNG: It's part of a realistic, high pressure moment that will go over in the days to come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm fine. I did not call the police.
YOUNG: Roll play and work on simulators.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we have a subject.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, it's okay. We'd just like to talk to you for quick second.
YOUNG: All this in hopes of not having another tragedy like 22-year- old Stephon Clark in 2018, when police say officers believed he had a gun and shot and killed him in his backyard, no firearm was ever found.
CHIEF DANIEL HAHN, SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Somebody has to do this, our community would not be safe without the work of police officers. It's a tough job.
YOUNG: Situations that officers face on a day-to-day basis across the country. Like those fatal police shootings of Daunte Wright and Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio.
HAHN: When you look at the Ohio incident, it's really important because somebody died. If there's a better way after viewing that how that could've been half has that could've been handled, then all departments need to do it. You should be ashamed if you don't learn from somebody else's issues.
YOUNG: So, the Sacramento PD takes that literally, turning graphic videos of controversial police shootings into teachable moments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can trick the brain very quickly putting you physiologically into that environment.
YOUNG: They can use virtual reality to recreate those police calls within a day.
LT. ZACH BALES, SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Some of the incidents you see on TV, almost immediately after a major police incident, we are able to take it and analyze it and immediately incorporate any lessons learned into our training.
YOUNG: Rotating all other officers through the training that reflects the diversity of challenges they face.
While videos of police encounters like George Floyd's, feed calls for police reform.
[19:35:03]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Protesting has its place, but after protests, then what? We've got to talk solutions, and I don't want anybody in our community to be shot, myself, or you included.
YOUNG: Solutions that for Chief Daniel Hahn start with a reckoning, and a problematic history of law enforcement in America.
HAHN: So, when people say defund the police department because we have racism in our past, first of all, we have to acknowledge that's absolutely true. So absolutely we have racism in our past. But so does our entire country. We have to deal with those just as much as we have to do with giving officers new equipment.
YOUNG: And from situations like this one, where officers are trained not to engage physically.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you turn around?
YOUNG: But intervene and de-escalate and keep the community and officers safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: De-escalation is -- first of all, it is the expectation of the community. The community wants us to respond to these problems and help solve the problem. If we're escalating the situation, we're not helping solve the problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG (on camera): So, right now, Erin, you are seeing the simulated situation is going on right now. All these officers right now here they are in training. They are learning how to be officers of the future. They are learning each step now, as they know, this is the flash point for so many concerns across the country. The officer learns how to get out of the car, how to approach somebody in the car, how to keep their voice down, and have a conversation.
One of the things they are also doing, announcing charges to make sure the reason why the persons being pulled over is announced. They are hoping that this is almost foolproof. A step-by-step process so they can avoid some of the issues that we've seen across the country. Once again, look at the future standing here learning as we speak -- Erin.
BURNETT: Yeah, it's amazing. It's actually there as you're reporting. Thank you so much.
And next, one for women say they are worse off financially than before the pandemic. Many forced to step back in their careers, dropped out of the workforce. Congresswoman Katie Porter calls herself a minivan driving single mom is OUTFRONT next.
Plus, the CDC giving new recommendations for fully vaccinated Americans. But do the guidelines go far enough?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:40:54]
BURNETT: Tonight, one in four women say their financial situation is worse now than before the pandemic. This is according to a new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll. The McKenzie study found one in four women, many of them working mothers who are considering downshifting their career or leaving the workforce entirely. So, it's not just a COVID pause, it becomes permanent.
Another stat that may shock you, if you look at pre-pandemic levels, the last time the labor force participation rate for women was this low was 1988, OK? That is more than a generation lost.
OUTFRONT now, Congresswoman Katie Porter of California. She's got three kids in school. She's a self-described, I quote you, Congresswoman, minivan-driving single mom.
Congresswoman, you have made this a big focus. You've been living it yourself. Are you surprised it's only one in four who are worse off? Only one in four who are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce?
REP. KATIE PORTER (D-CA): Well, we say one in four, and I have to think we have to remember that's all women. I think we could narrow it down to look at women who have to take care of young children, I think it would be much, much higher.
And so, we've really a sort of one segment of a generation of women who are being pushed out. So, I think the 25 year olds, and the 60 year olds whose kids are gone to college, they may be able to continue working, but those who have young school age children, in particular we know they are leaving jobs or taking lower paying big jobs with more flexible schedules because they can't simply manage to be in two places at one time.
BURNETT: So, "The Washington Post" article actually a quote from a mother in Colorado talking about what you just said. She said, I had to quit my job to home school my kids. During that time, my husband also lost his job. So, I had to go back to work but the job I ended up getting has lower pay.
Congresswoman, the crucial question here is, will the situations change back with the economy? Or do you think that government could actually do something to change it?
PORTER: We definitely have to change our policies to help make this equal, helped put women back not just where were they were before but to create a level playing field for women and people of color, you know, employment, on employment opportunities. And so, absolutely it would make a huge difference if we have things like paid family leave. It would make a huge difference if we had universal pre-K, if we had more investment in making childcare affordable.
And, crucially, these things don't just tell people with children, they help employers. They help businesses, they create better workplaces, and a bigger stronger, more stable, more globally competitive economy. So, these are not just pro-family things, these are pro-work, pro-economic policies.
BURNETT: Look, all that makes a lot of sense and we see it in our workplaces, but one thing though is that all the solutions which are important, do center around getting more care for children, right, so that parents are supported and working.
What about mothers who want to work and also spend quality time with their children? More time with their children? Are we sort of giving up on that balance as a society?
PORTER: I think that every parent, man or woman, however they identify, ought to be able to track their own path with regards to working and staying home and caring for children, being a caregiver. And I think that the problem we see right now is a lot of families are very squeezed financially, they feel like it takes two full-time workers particularly at lower wage jobs to be able to put food on the table.
And so, what we are seeing these people who are choosing what's best for them, what's best for their career, what's best for their family, economic necessity is driving people both to stay on the workforce, would they be better off leaving, or to leave the workforce when they want to stay.
BURNETT: So, you saw the census data, of course. The upshot, Democratic strongholds are losing House seats, Trump states are gaining. We can see the map.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says these changes mean the House minority is in play. Here he is.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I think everybody knows the majority is in play. So, the reason why it's different, the majority is in play, I believe it is.
[19:45:01]
And the Democrats I think believe it is too, that's why they're going so far left, knowing that they're going to lose it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: Is he right?
PORTER: What we're trying to do is make sure the American people have what they need to get through this pandemic, and to put our economy on a footing to be able to grow. We're worried about what's happening to minimum wage workers. We're worried about what's happening to teachers, to health care workers.
We're not just thinking about big corporations or wealthy donors. We're thinking about a broad swath of Americans and they need us to go big. This pandemic has been big in terms of the hardships that it has created.
And so, if we're going to recover and become a -- maintain our position as a global leader in this world economy, we need to make big investments. So, that's how I think about it. We're going big because the problems in our economy seeing (ph) are big.
BURNETT: All right. Congresswoman, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
And next, the CDC with new guidance for vaccinated Americans. Will it encourage more people to get vaccinated?
And a private school in Miami embracing a bizarre conspiracy theory, telling teachers that if they get vaccinated, they will be banned from school.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:06]
BURNETT: Tonight, the CDC director making a big announcement on mask- wearing outdoors for fully vaccinated people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: States that have mask requirements outdoors, if people are vaccinated, we don't feel that vaccinated people require masks outdoors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. Outdoors, so they are saying fully vaccinated can exercise, dine outdoors, small gatherings without a mask. But they are still making it clear that it's not the same indoors and you should avoid indoor gatherings altogether, mask up at outdoors events that are large.
OUTFRONT now, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, the cardiologist who advised the White House medical team under President George W. Bush.
So, Dr. Reiner, what's your reaction to this guidance? It reflects the reality. They had to do it. Does it go far enough?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: No, it doesn't go far enough, Erin. What it doesn't really underscore for Americans is what the CDC knows which is that these vaccines induced immunity. The CDC published data last week on 87 million fully vaccinated Americans. Out of that giant number, there were 5,000 symptomatic infections. That's 0.005 percent.
And of that 87 million fully vaccinated Americans, there were 75 deaths. That's 0.00009 percent.
So if you are vaccinated in this country, you are effectively immune. But these guidelines don't really tell you that. They tell you to avoid, you know, crowded malls, and crowded restaurants. They haven't really gone far enough. They really need to tell Americans that if you are vaccinated, you are immune.
BURNETT: So, let me ask you about this. They are balancing a risk here, right? You are making the argument that you have to give people more freedom and if you don't tell them, it will erode public trust in the CDC and government, and that's bad.
But on the other hand, you give people more freedoms and we are not close to herd immunity. These people are not going to wear a mask because they are not vaccinated. A lot of them will take their masks often act like they are vaccinated, and that's a risk.
So, where do you -- where do you balance those two things?
REINER: Right. So, the problem that the CDC has is that we have two countries. We have vaccinated country, and vaccinated country is immune. And we have unvaccinated country, and that -- those folks are still very susceptible to this very bad infection. It's about 50/50 now.
But if you tell people that you can do just about anything if you are vaccinated, that's telling people you have confidence in the vaccines.
BURNETT: Right.
REINER: But what's the message to the country when you tell people who are fully vaccinated to be wary of crowded locations? You are casting doubt on the efficacy of the vaccine and I don't think there is any doubt on the efficacy of these vaccines.
BURNETT: So, does this -- does this put you more in the camp of vaccine passports? I understand there's forgery issues, et cetera. But a vaccine passport, so then if I'm going to fake, someone could call me out. I could be humiliated. I could be shamed. That may be a way to prevent this freeloading issue. REINER: I am totally for vaccine passports. That's how you feel of a
Broadway theater. Theaters -- you know, theater companies will not make money unless all the seats are filled and the only way to do that is to have fully vaccinated houses. And the only way to ensure those people are vaccinated is to have some sort of legitimate evidence of that.
Look, the GOP should be all for this. This is a pro business initiative. This is how you feel restaurants and movie theaters and Broadway theaters. It's totally pro business. This is how we get the economy back on track.
BURNETT: All right. Dr. Reiner, thank you.
REINER: My pleasure.
BURNETT: And next, the story of a private school telling teachers that if they get the vaccine, they will not be allowed in school. What? A wild conspiracy theory is behind this decision.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:56]
BURNETT: Tonight, a Miami private school telling teachers not to get the COVID vaccines and banning teachers from school if they do get vaccinated. The school cited debunked conspiracies as justification.
Leyla Santiago is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEILA CENTNER, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, CENTNER ACADEMY: Let's get more information. Let's learn more about this.
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The CEO and cofounder of Centner Academy, a private school in Miami, is standing by her decision to try to stop faculty and staff from getting potentially getting lifesaving COVID vaccinations.
In a letter to faculty and staff, Centner tells teachers wanting vaccination to, quote, please wait until the school year ends and you will not be able to return to school until clinical trials are complete, if a position is still available at that time.
Clinical trials in adults have been completed for all three vaccines to satisfy the FDA's emergency youth authorization requirements.
CENTNER: No one has been -- to be fired or --
SANTIAGO: She doesn't want students near anyone vaccinated against the coronavirus, but her decision is based partly on unfounded claims about the shots.
You want more information?
CENTNER: Yeah that's all I want. I want more information.
SANTIAGO: Have you looked at the FDA? Have you looked at the CDC? Have you looked at the World Health Organization? Because they do say that this is affective.
CENTNER: It's an experiment right now.
SANTIAGO: The academy has some 300 students, 70 staff members, and the school's Web site promotes medical freedom from mandated vaccines.
AMY PISANI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VACCINATE YOUR FAMILY: In a community that seems very close knit, and a school like this, that could easily turn into an outbreak, and heartbreak. It could happen overnight and then all these children would be at risk and everyone in the local community would also be at risk.
SANTIAGO: During our interview and in this letter, Centner cited a series of false claims behind her decision, including, quote, non- vaccinated people being negatively impacted by interacting with people who have been vaccinated, and falsely linking such interactions with a spike in miscarriages.
The CDC has been watching for an increase in miscarriages among vaccinated people and has not reported one.
Leyla Santiago, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: That is unbelievable, affecting menstrual cycles. I can't even -- I don't even know where to start with this.
Thank you for joining us. Don't forget, you can watch the show anytime. Just go to CNN Go.
It's time now to hand it off to Anderson.
