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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Doctors Plead For Americans To Respect Coronavirus Over Labor Day; Police Shoot And Kill Suspected Portland Gunman; Aspiring Writer Unwittingly Lured Into Russian Plot. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 04, 2020 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:12]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A new model shows the number of Americans dying from coronavirus could more than double by January. Top doctors are pleading with Americans to be vigilant over Labor Day.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, the suspect accused of gunning down a right-wing protester in Portland shot and killed by police, himself. What he said in an interview just moments before.

Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.

ROMANS: Good morning, I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, 30 minutes past the hour.

And this morning, a number once unthinkable now unavoidable if something doesn't change fast. A model cited by the White House now projecting an astronomical 410,000 Americans dead by January. That's more than double the current death toll. That is one American dead every 80 seconds for the rest of the year.

Three thousand of those deaths are projected in December thanks to a lethal combination of colder weather and less vigilance from the public. A universal mask mandate would cut that number by 30 percent but it could jump to over 600,000 if restrictions are eased.

JARRETT: Another thousand Americans died just yesterday, a figure in this pandemic that's become all too common.

This holiday weekend will be a pivotal test of whether Americans are prepared to stick with what we know works to keep people safe. Big spikes in cases follow big crowds gathering for the last major holidays on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: We don't want to see a repeat of the surges that we have seen following other holiday weekends. Particularly as we go on the other side of Labor Day and enter into the fall, we want to go into that with a running start in the right direction. We don't want to go into that with another surge that we have to turn around again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There are now 27,000 cases at colleges in 40 states across the country.

Thirty sorority and fraternity houses at Indiana University have been ordered to quarantine because of an alarming increase in cases. In New York, the State University's campus at Oneonta is ending all in-person classes for the semester after an outbreak. And all students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania are now required to quarantine after an outbreak of more than 300 cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCENE FROM "THE BATMAN."

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JARRETT: Meantime, production on "The Batman," starring Robert Pattinson, has been halted after someone on the production team tested positive. Reports say it is Pattinson, himself. The film had resumed operations around London just days ago.

ROMANS: All right.

CNN has learned President Trump is ramping up the pressure on the FDA for a coronavirus silver bullet before Election Day. That has a lot of medical experts concerned that your health is taking a backseat to the president's political fortunes.

Now, we've seen examples before, like the president ordering the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine, which was later revoked, or accusing the FDA of delaying vaccine trials.

JARRETT: CNN has also learned that behind closed doors, the president pushed for more good news about the pandemic, insisting that even minor developments be turned into major announcements so that he can claim credit.

There's concern even inside the White House that FDA chief Stephen Hahn is so eager to please this president he might actually cut corners to get a treatment or a vaccine approved before November.

There's already an FDA meeting scheduled for October 22nd for researchers to weigh the development, authorization, and/or licensure of a coronavirus vaccine.

ROMANS: All right, to Portland now. Breaking overnight, police shot and killed the man wanted in the fatal shooting of a far-right pro- Trump supporter in Portland last weekend.

Michael Reinoehl was killed as officers tried to arrest him in Washington State last night. U.S. marshals say he was shot after he pulled a gun and threatened the officers.

He was a vocal supporter of the Antifa movement, a loose collection of far-left activists who say they oppose fascism.

Now, in an interview on "VICE NEWS TONIGHT" that aired just moments before his death became public, Reinoehl strongly implied he was the shooter. He said he believed he and a friend were in danger when 39- year-old Aaron Danielson was shot and killed in Portland as a caravan of Trump supporters fired paintballs at the crowd.

JARRETT: Well, the 2020 election season officially begins today with North Carolina sending hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots to voters. Requests are 10 times higher than at this point in 2016.

President Trump suggested this week that people in North Carolina should vote twice to make sure their vote is counted -- something that's not allowed in the state, by the way.

The North Carolina Board of Elections felt the need to update its Web site with a prominently displayed warning that double voting is, in fact, illegal.

ROMANS: All right.

This is the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes but Americans were more downbeat about the economy during the Great Recession than they are today.

[05:35:03]

A new study found 30 percent of Americans think the economy is fine now. Only 17 percent thought the economy was in good shape back in 2009.

It's a striking comparison. The coronavirus recession is actually a lot worse than the years after the financial crisis. Millions are out of work, the government is spending more to save the economy, and the unemployment rate is higher.

A majority of Americans think the economy will improve again in the next year. That's the hope of a v-shaped recovery. But corporate America is becoming more worried about the recovery. A survey of executives found nearly half think a u-shaped recovery is more likely than a v.

Worse, there's the fear of a so-called k-shaped recovery that widens the gap between winners and losers. Hiring comes back in officers and factories but job losses become permanent in retail, restaurants, and leisure.

JARRETT: Well, Sweden is a unique case study in fighting coronavirus. The country paid a heavy human toll for its hands-off approach compared to some of its neighbors.

You see Sweden in the green on this next chart. But now, it's case numbers are staying low as other European countries are seeing spikes. So, did the strategy pay off?

CNN's Max Foster is live for us in Stockholm. So, Max, what did you find out?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, isn't it? So much focus on Sweden because the numbers came down from that high and have stayed down, at least for now, in the context of there being no lockdown here and most people don't wear masks. But is that the reason why the numbers have come down? The jury's out.

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FOSTER (voice-over): This ICU unit in central Stockholm lies virtually empty with just one coronavirus patient receiving care. This was the scene in April at the height of the Swedish pandemic with the unit inundated.

Outside bars, shops, and schools remained opened throughout. No lockdown, but people were given official guidance on how to sanitize and when to socially distance, and they largely abided by those rules.

Masks were never mandated here, with a senior government source telling CNN that they're regarded here as largely superficial.

After an initial surge in the death rate well above the Scandinavian average, Sweden now has one of the lowest death rates in Europe.

FOSTER (on camera): Most of the causalities were elderly. Nine out of 10 were over 70 years old, and 45 percent of all deaths were in care homes. That's raised the question about the rest of society -- the younger, the healthier. Did they develop some sort of resistance to the virus as they interacted?

PROFESSOR HANS-GUSTAF LJUNGGREN, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS MEDICINE, KAROLINSKI INSTITUTE: It's possible that we are -- we are -- we have been building up some immunity that contributes to the present state.

FOSTER (voice-over): But when people in Stockholm were tested for immunity, only seven percent had enough antibodies to fight the disease. But they weren't tested for T cells, which also provide resistance.

LJUNGGREN: So that means that immunity in Sweden and immunity globally is probably larger than we have previously appreciated. At least that is our current though.

FOSTER (voice-over): And that's a narrative that some American conservatives are grasping onto. Why bother with lockdowns and masks when you can allow people to go about their normal lives, catch the virus, and build immunity whilst only shielding the elderly and vulnerable.

The Swedish government urges caution, pointing to how their safety guidelines were followed by most Swedes. But also, a universal health care and welfare system that provides a safety net for anyone falling ill or out of work.

Lena Hallengren oversaw the government response from the beginning, as health minister.

LENA HALLENGREN, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS: We didn't have a full or a forced lockdown, but we had many changes -- a large number of changes in the Swedish society. I mean, during the spring, we had distance studies for -- online studies for all -- for the secondary, for the universities, and the adult schools.

We also had, I think 30-40 percent of people working from home. We had a lot of people staying home on sick leave because they have the slightest symptoms.

You could go out in the streets in the capital. You didn't meet almost anyone. We have lots of businesses with a very difficult situation because they didn't have any guests or customers.

So lots of things were changed. We didn't have any cultural event or the sports events. So things were changed but not in a forced way. I think that was the difference.

FOSTER (voice-over): The Swedish economy shrank by eight percent in the second quarter of 2020, the largest fall since records began.

But what of the bigger price -- the many elderly who died. Some argue were sacrificed in the early days of the pandemic.

HALLENGREN: If you get the virus into those other care homes, many of the persons living there are having very severe symptoms, and then they also die. So that's why we have this -- by law, people are forbidden to visit the eldercare homes. But that was not successful in all the way but we also learned a lot of that.

[05:40:15]

FOSTER (voice-over): All care home workers have since been retrained in hygiene protocols.

The government here says it's too early to know what they did right, what they did wrong, or whether herd immunity to the coronavirus is even a thing. In the meantime, they're preparing for a possible second wave this fall. It wouldn't be the first country to see a surge in the virus after apparently stamping it out.

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FOSTER: I have to say, Laura, a lot of Swedes you speak to here are bemused by all the attention that the response is getting here and they think it might just be down to a cultural reason -- you know, as a sparsely populated country, people aren't particularly touchy-feely here -- it could just be that. Social distancing built into the culture, almost.

JARRETT: Everyone's just looking to find out what works. So thank you so much for bringing that story for us, Max -- thanks. ROMANS: Yes, that's fascinating.

All right, 40 minutes past the hour.

CNN brings you the stories of Joe Biden and Donald Trump and their fight for the White House. See their triumphs, tragedies, and their dramatic journeys. A special back-to-back documentary event starts Monday at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.

We'll be right back.

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[05:45:30]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

New York's casinos and shopping malls could come back to life soon. CNN is covering this pandemic across the country.

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ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alexandra Field in New York.

With the state's positivity rate still under one percent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is announcing the state is getting ready to take another step forward. Next week, casinos and shopping malls will be able to reopen under some strict limits.

Casinos will be limited to 25 percent capacity; shopping malls, 50 percent capacity. Both casinos and shopping malls will also have to have enhanced air filtration systems and they'll be required to implement other safety measures, like social distancing and masks.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: I'm Jacqueline Howard in Atlanta.

A new study from the CDC suggests that most people obeyed stay-at-home orders back in the spring. Researchers analyzed location data from cell phones before and after stay-at-home orders were in place, from March through May. And the researchers found that about 97 percent of counties with mandatory stay-at-home orders saw a decrease in people moving around to different locations.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: I'm Pete Muntean in Washington.

Delta Airlines is banning even more passengers from its flights for refusing to wear a mask. The airline, in a new memo to employees, says 270 passengers have now been put on its no-fly list.

Airlines have been mandating that passengers wear masks for months. Delta Airlines is banning an average of three passengers each day since its policy went into effect.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS: All right, thanks to our colleagues for those reports.

A CNN exclusive now.

An American who lost his job because of coronavirus roped into a Russian plot to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election. How did this happen?

Donie O'Sullivan live from Washington with the details. Good morning.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (via Cisco Webex): Good morning, Christine.

Yes, U.S. intelligence officials have warned Russia is trying to interfere in this November's election. And on Tuesday, we got a clear insight into some of the tactics Russians are using in social -- on social media to covertly insert themselves into the American national conversation.

Facebook, acting on a tip from the FBI, said on Tuesday that a Web site called Peace Data was posing as an independent left-wing online magazine and was actually tied to the same Russian troll group the Internet Research Agency that interfered in the 2016 election.

Now, in an attempt to look legitimate, this Web Site, Peace Data, hired real, unwitting Americans -- American freelance writers and journalists to contribute to it.

And yesterday, I met one -- Jack Delaney, a 26-year-old aspiring writer who lost his day job at a restaurant due to COVID-19. So he was very happy to get a mysterious Twitter message earlier this summer offering him a writing job.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACK DELANEY, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: The message was saying hey, we like your work. We've seen your work before.

Would you like to write for us? Would you like to get part of our publication? We can offer you about $200-$250 per article.

And at that time, I was like -- I mean, this sounds like a good opportunity for me. I can make money and get my work published.

O'SULLIVAN: It must be quite surreal to hear about this and say oh my God, I'm -- am I part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

DELANEY: Yes, it's solely surreal. I mean, I was completely unwittingly doing it.

I had no idea that they were linked to the Kremlin or anything. Obviously, if I had known, I wouldn't have done that. But it seemed like -- it seemed legitimate from what I saw. I'm obviously no fan of Putin or the Russian government, so it's -- it was concerning. Obviously, I don't want to have any association with an authoritarian regime. So it was -- it was -- I mean, I can't put it in any other words -- that it was like one the strangest experiences of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'SULLIVAN: Now, you might wonder why. Why would Russia try to do this?

Well, in 2016, we know that Russian intelligence and Russian troll groups had set up a whole ton of Facebook pages and events that were made to look like they were run by real Americans -- like Black Lives Matter activists and activists on all sides of the political spectrum.

[05:50:00]

Obviously, the FBI, U.S. intelligence, and Silicon Valley are now keeping a closer eye on this. And so, we're seeing Russia here try and recruit real Americans to sort of basically, do their dirty work for them.

Peace Data, a left-wing site, was posting attacks about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris from the left, which as analysts who follow this area pointed out, that's the same tactics they were using in 2016 to try to split the Democratic vote.

For what it's worth, Christine, Peace Data denies that it's part of a Russian troll operation. The Russian government has not commented.

ROMANS: Yes, the disinfo campaign is troubling enough. What really troubles me is how gullible so many people are -- the American consumer of information -- that it resonates and spreads. That's what's so disheartening.

Donie O'Sullivan, thank you so much for that reporting.

JARRETT: Breaking overnight, a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio has been shot and killed. The department says no arrests have been made and a search is underway for the shooter or shooters.

The officer has not been identified but the "Plain Dealer" reports he was a 25-year veteran. The police union says a second person who was in the officer's car also died.

ROMANS: All right.

Seven officers in Rochester, New York suspended with pay for their involvement in the death of Daniel Prude. Now, the suspensions come after bodycam video of this March incident emerged. It shows the officers covering Prude's head with a hood and pinning him to the ground before he stopped breathing.

Prude's brother is the one who called the police because Daniel Prude was having a mental health episode. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE PRUDE, DANIEL PRUDE'S BROTHER: And now that you see this tape, you see that was cold -- a cold-blooded murder. You can't explain it no differently than that when you've got seven individuals around a man that's in the plea of help. He's crying.

He ain't got no clothes on. It's 32 degrees -- it's 32 degrees -- 32 degrees outside -- rain and snow mixed together. You mean to tell me you all don't keep things in the back of your squad car in the trunk to cover that individual up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The mayor of Rochester told reporters the city's police chief misled her to believe Prude died in police custody from an overdose. No comment yet from the police union.

JARRETT: A professor at George Washington University who portrayed herself as a black woman over her entire career has just revealed she's white. Jessica Krug, who teaches African and Latin American studies, confessed in a post on Medium Thursday that far from the black woman from the Bronx she'd been passing herself off as, she's actually a white woman from Kansas City.

She now apologizes for what she calls her, quote, "continued appropriation of black Caribbean identity" describing it as wrong, unethical, and immoral.

The school says it's looking into the situation.

ROMANS: All right, let's take a look at markets around the world after that -- after that big decline yesterday. You have Asian shares followed the U.S. moves, lower -- but Europe has opened higher.

And on Wall Street, we are watching futures try to stabilize here. You've got Dow futures up just shy of one percent.

Look, the summer tech rally unraveled. The Dow fell 807 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both tumbled. It was a reality check for a stock market divorced from the pain on Main Street and with stimulus talks stalled here.

What we learned yesterday, another 881,000 Americans filed for first- time unemployment benefits last week, only the second time claims have dipped below a million. And still, 29 million Americans are collecting some kind of jobless benefit.

The August jobs report out in just a few hours. Economists expect another 1.4 million jobs were added. That number, though, pointing to a slowing recovery as the pandemic triggered more layoffs and slower hiring.

The pandemic is changing how we vacation. Airbnb said bookings in June were actually higher than last year. People are booking for weeks or even months at a time. Airbnb's CEO suggested most of those bookings are from people looking to break up the quarantine boredom.

The boom in business has encouraged Airbnb to plan to make its stock market debut later this year despite ongoing volatility.

And also, a change in how we eat. The future of fast food fit for a king here. Burger King unveiled two new restaurant designs for the coronavirus age, complete with triple drive-thrus, burger lockers, and take-out counters. One design has no indoor dining option at all.

Drive-thru and delivery have been critical for Burger King's business during the pandemic. It plans to build some prototypes in Miami and in Latin America next year.

JARRETT: It just shows you how they know this is going to be with us for a while.

ROMANS: Absolutely. We're changing how our behavior and our comfort level for so many things, even eating hamburger.

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: Thanks for joining us this Friday. Have a great weekend, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

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[05:59:15]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Friday, September fourth, 6:00 here in New York.

John Berman is off. Jim Sciutto joins me. Jim, great to have you here.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to be back.

CAMEROTA: OK, it's a very busy morning. We begin with breaking news.

A key model used by the White House Coronavirus Task Force now projects that more than 400,000 Americans will die from coronavirus by January first. That is more than double the current U.S. death toll.

The model projects that in December, 3,000 Americans will die a day. Can you imagine a 9/11 level of loss every day? The scientists say that's because of the combo of the flu and the declining vigilance of Americans.

The U.S. already averages about 1,000 deaths.