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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Police Quickly Release Bodycam Footage After Shooting Teen; Biden Climate Summit Begins Today With Over 40 World Leaders; Virginia Officer Fired After Reports Of Donation To Rittenhouse. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired April 22, 2021 - 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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LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Laura. I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday morning and it's exactly 30 minutes past the hour.
We begin with the guilty verdict against former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin. It's likely just the beginning of a renewed push for policing reform in the U.S.
Today, the funeral of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man killed by police in Minnesota this month. And in just the 24 hours since Chauvin's conviction, another Black man was killed by police in North Carolina. And a 16-year-old Black girl was killed by an officer in Ohio after she lunged at someone with a knife.
JARRETT: All these killings at the same time as Black communities face other forms of systemic oppression, like attacks on voting rights.
In Arizona, a Republican bill that could remove 200,000 people from the early voting list has cleared the House. Debate over that bill grew heated.
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REGINALD BOLDING (D), ARIZONA STATE HOUSE: And on a day when people of color witnessed a small measure of justice with the conviction of Derek Chauvin, here in Arizona we're taking a step backwards -- right now, making it even more difficult for these same people to participate in democracy and to stand up and fight for justice. The effect of this bill will make it harder for independent voters, seniors, Native Americans, Black, brown, and low-income people to vote.
TRAVIS GRANTHAM (R), ARIZONA STATE HOUSE: I feel personally that motives were arraigned of members, including myself, with regards to colored people, Black people, whatever people this individual wants to single out, and their ability to vote. And I don't think it's correct and I think he should be sat down and he shouldn't be allowed to speak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: What year is it? My goodness.
ROMANS: Let that marinate a little bit. Wow, Arizona -- breaking my heart.
OK, as for the shooting in Columbus, Ohio now. NBA star and Ohio native LeBron James vented his frustrations on social media, tweeting the line "you're next" with an image claiming to show the officer that -- an image that showed the officer that killed Ma'Khia Bryant. It's not clear, though, that was the right officer and the tweet has since been deleted.
CNN's Jason Carroll has more on the ground in Columbus.
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JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A group of protesters gathering in support of Ma'Khia Bryant Wednesday night. Bryant was shot by police after police say she lunged at someone with a knife.
Police took the unusual step of releasing bodycam footage just hours after the incident Tuesday night. Yesterday afternoon they released even more bodycam footage as well as 911 tapes -- all in an effort, they say, to be transparent during this critical time.
A slowed-down version of the bodycam video shows what appears to be a knife in Bryant's right hand. She raises it above her head toward another girl wearing pink, and that is the moment when the officer shoots.
REPORTER: Can an officer shoot the leg? Can they shoot somewhere that would not result in a fatal wound, right? So a lot of people have said couldn't you have just shot her in the leg so she'd drop? Couldn't you have shot her in the arm or something like that?
MICHAEL WOODS, POLICE CHIEF, COLUMBUS, OHIO: I get it. One of the difficult things with that is when you're trying -- we don't train to shoot the leg because that's a small target. We train to shoot center mass -- what is available to stop that threat.
CARROLL (on camera): The officer has been identified as Officer Nicholas Reardon.
There have been a lot of questions about whether or not this officer should have used a Taser rather than a gun. Police were actually asked about that. They say it is their policy that an officer can use deadly force if that officer is trying to stop an assault from happening.
Of course, this will all be part of the investigation -- an independent investigation now underway -- Christine, Laura. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Jason Carroll. Thank you so much for that.
OK, to the president's infrastructure plan now. It includes investments in manufacturing, transportation, and housing. They're arguing over it right now in Washington, trying to figure out what the final composition will be.
There are some labor economists who are worried the plan doesn't do enough for women. Here's why. Millions of women dropped out of the labor force to take care of kids and older adults at home. There are 3.7 million fewer women in the labor force today than there were in February 2020. That essentially erases 33 years of progress for women in the workforce.
Now, the White House is now framing its American jobs plans as pro- women, saying they will include funding to upgrade schools and childcare facilities with investments in programs to strengthen employment for women.
Biden's infrastructure plan also includes $400 billion to expand services under Medicaid and improve the wages of home health workers. The Economic Policy Center says this investment would help women a lot. More than 90 percent of home health aides are women.
The White House says the plan will also create a new grant program that will help small manufacturing businesses owned by people of color and women of color that will help them access private capital.
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JARRETT: President Biden about to risk a fracture with Turkey over the use of a single word -- genocide. He's preparing to use the word to describe the ethnic cleansing of a million-plus Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
Both President Obama and President Trump avoided using the word to avoid angering Turkey, but sources say President Biden decided relations with Turkey deteriorated anyway and the U.S. needs to signal its commitment to human rights.
All right, now to this. A real COVID crisis in India this morning -- the highest single-day case total for any country since the start of the pandemic, even eclipsing the peak in the United States just a few months ago. In the capital city of Delhi, oxygen supplies dangerously low, putting hundreds of patients' lives at risk.
CNN has the pandemic covered around the world.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong.
A global record number of Delhi COVID infections has been recorded in India, surpassing the United States, as the country grapples with the second wave of the pandemic. Almost 315,000 Delhi cases were recorded, along with more than 2,100 deaths, making it the highest Delhi toll ever recorded. And experts fear that number is only going to rise.
The health system is on the verge of collapse as hospitals are forced to turn away patients due to an acute shortage of oxygen. The capital received less than half the required oxygen to treat COVID patients, and a leak in the main oxygen tank of one hospital claimed the lives of 24 people.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm John Defterios in Abu Dhabi, where the UAE is considering restricting the movements of people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The government's Crisis Management Authority said those refraining or delaying from being vaccinated pose a threat to the safety of society.
The UAE has some of the highest vaccination rates in the world with just over 100 doses per 100 people working with a small population of around 10 million. The oil-rich state moved swiftly to acquire vaccines when they became available.
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Matt Rivers in Mexico City.
Pfizer says that it has identified counterfeit versions of its vaccine both here in Mexico and in Poland. The company saying it's now working with ex-law enforcement officials to try and identify any potential threats to its supply chain.
"The Wall Street Journal" reported that 80 people here in Mexico paid $1,000 apiece for this fake vaccine.
The Mexican government responded on Wednesday, reminding people here of the threat posed by counterfeit vaccines, and also saying that only the government in Mexico is authorized to distribute actual vaccines and that the vaccines are free of cost.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Paula Newton in Ottawa where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrapped a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden, and they discussed getting more vaccines to Canada. Now, the president said he would like to help out.
One point five million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine has already been sent to Canada. Now, the United States has not yet approved that vaccine and has millions of doses in stock. Canada would like those doses as it continues to go through a very tough third wave of this pandemic.
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Hadas Gold in Israel, where it's hard to get a reservation at a restaurant or a spot on the beach. The economy is open and masks are no longer required outdoors. That's thanks to Israel's robust vaccination program. A majority of those eligible have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far. And while there are still people out there that the government is
trying to reach to vaccinate, health experts here tell me that they believe Israel has reached a high enough level of immunity that a new outbreak is unlikely unless a new mutation that can overcome the vaccine enters the country.
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ROMANS: All right, what Amazon and Whole Foods are doing to lend a helping hand at the register.
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JARRETT: The United States is returning to its role as a leader on the global climate crisis today -- excuse me (coughs). President Biden gathering more than 40 heads of state for the multi-day summit. He's expected to lay out an aggressive timeline cutting greenhouse emissions by as much as half by 2030.
Global cooperation is key here, including countries that contribute most to the climate crisis, namely Russia and China.
CNN's Steven Jiang is live in Beijing with more. Steven, what else should we expect to see today?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Laura, it's a very interesting mix of attendees -- not only U.S. allies and partners but, as you mentioned, rivals and adversaries.
You know, Putin is showing up despite the recent U.S. expulsion of Russian diplomats.
And, Xi Jinping's attending and that's seen by some as a goodwill gesture from Beijing to Washington that Chinese leadership is at least willing to consider carving out a special lane for cooperation despite growing tensions between the two governments in a whole range of areas from trade to security to human rights.
But, Mr. Xi's attendance is also seen as a challenge from China to a U.S.-led climate agenda. The Chinese have made clear they're only willing to participate in these kind of talks when they are being treated as an equal of the United States and they're not going to unilaterally make concessions to satisfy U.S. demands.
There, of course, have been calls from Washington for China to accelerate its pace of carbon emission reductions on top of Beijing's already very ambitious goals of peaking its emissions by 2030 and becoming carbon neutral by 2060. Now, of course, there are doubts over how achievable these goals are but the Chinese have been standing firm and insisting they are going to stick to their targets and roadmaps.
And Mr. Xi is expected to say during his speech on Thursday that when it comes to tackling an issue like climate change, the world needs a new global order based on multilateralism and justice, in his words, instead of letting any single country dominate the agenda -- Laura.
JARRETT: All right, Steven, thank you so much.
ROMANS: All right. Today is Earth Day and companies are crucial to solving the climate crisis, but a majority of them are falling short of their goals.
[05:45:04]
Less than a quarter of companies in the world's largest stock indexes are on track to hit the goal of the Paris agreement by 2050 despite more companies pledging big money toward sustainability and the climate crisis. Emissions have risen since 2015.
The report comes before the start of that two-virtual summit on the climate crisis. Dozens of world leaders expected to attend.
Looking at markets around the world right now, Asian shares have closed mixed. Europe has opened higher here. A bit of a bounce after stocks recovered Wednesday after two days of losses in the U.S. Stock index futures right now moving a little bit lower here.
Yesterday, the Dow up 316 points. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also gained ground for the day.
In a few hours, we'll see the latest evidence of the jobs market, the weekly jobless claims. Another 16,000 Americans are expected to have filed for first-time claims. That would be higher than the previous week, as you can see, when claims there hit a pandemic low.
From a swipe of your credit card to the weight of your hand, Amazon is bringing palm scanners to one Whole Foods in Seattle. It's called Amazon One and customers will be able to hold their hands above a scanner for a contact-free way to pay. Customers will need to give Whole Foods their credit card and debit card information to link their palm print.
Amazon already uses the system in its Amazon Go locations in Seattle. Customers can leave the store without checking out as scanners and cameras track their purchases.
Obviously, a pilot program to see --
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: -- how well it works.
JARRETT: All right, a quick programming note for you here. A special CNN town hall on the climate crisis. U.S. special presidential envoy John Kerry and White House climate team members. Dana Bash hosts "THE CLIMATE CRISIS" tomorrow night at 10:00, only on CNN.
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JARRETT: On the day pro-Trump mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol, police were apparently told to only look out for anti-Trump protesters.
This ill-advised warning came over a radio to all units that morning, according to Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, who described the new revelation during a hearing on security failures around the attack. She says the officer said, quote, "We're not looking for any pro-Trump in the crowd. We're only looking for anti-pro-Trump who want to start a fight."
A Capitol Police spokesman tells CNN the radio communication occurred around 8:00 a.m. that day.
ROMANS: A Virginia police officer fired after being investigated for donating to a legal defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse. You might recall the 18-year-old charged with killing two people and wounding a third during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin over the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer.
"The Guardian" newspaper reports Norfolk police lieutenant William Kelly, the former number-two official in the department's internal affairs division, made a $25.00 anonymous donation to Rittenhouse last year.
JARRETT: Now, according to "The Guardian," Lt. Kelly's donation included this comment. Quote, "God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You've done nothing wrong."
The Norfolk city manager now calls those reported comments egregious and says Kelly's actions erode the trust between police and those that they're sworn to serve.
CNN has reached out to Kelly and the police union for comment.
Rittenhouse -- who is white, by the way -- walked freely down that street with a weapon before he was safely taken into police custody. As many have pointed out, a vastly different treatment than that facing Black women and men in this country.
ROMANS: And you see him there, Laura, with his hands up carrying that big gun, walking toward police who waved him through, and then he went home after he had just shot three people. Other protesters were yelling and screaming that hey, he shot somebody, he shot somebody, and police just let him go. That is not something in recent memory --
JARRETT: Just one of the more powerful examples of just the disparate treatment. And obviously, his hands are up there but you can see an enormous gun dangling from his waist.
ROMANS: And they just let him go.
All right. North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum vetoing a bill passed to stop transgender students from playing sports in school. Burgum says the state has a level playing field in girls' sports and there has not been a single recorded incident of a transgender girl attempting to play on a North Dakota girls' team.
Thirty-one states have introduced bills targeting transgender athletes.
JARRETT: Opponents of Georgia's new law making it harder to vote renewing calls for boycotts of major companies based in the state, like Delta, Coca-Cola, and Home Depot, claiming they didn't do enough to defeat the measure.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who worked -- whose husband works for Home Depot, says a boycott will be an economic blow to all Georgians and she tells CNN there's a more effective way to bring about change.
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MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), ATLANTA: My concern with a boycott -- not just at Home Depot but any of the almost 30 Fortune 500 companies that are headquartered in Atlanta -- is that you will impact families like ours. So they have a real impact in our communities, in addition to the thousands of people who work for them.
So I think that our best chance right now is federal legislation, but certainly still pressing forward and making changes come election year in states across this country.
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JARRETT: The mayor also says she understands why they did it but she's disappointed that Major League Baseball pulled this year's All- Star Game out of Atlanta.
[05:55:00]
Well, one area that warring political parties seem to agree, space travel. President Biden's pick for NASA administrator says he will try to stick to President Trump's timetable to get astronauts back on the moon as soon as possible.
Former Sen. Bill Nelson, who flew on the Shuttle in 1986, says the program transcends politics. But top NASA officials have suggested the 2024 timetable may be a little too ambitious.
Tomorrow morning, NASA and SpaceX are scheduled to launch a rocket to the International Space Station at 5:49 eastern. EARLY START will bring it to you live.
ROMANS: That will be fun. I always wanted to watch.
All right. An NHL player says the league lied about easing restrictions for vaccinated players.
Carolyn Manno with us this morning in the Bleacher Report. Good morning.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (via Cisco Webex): Good morning, Christine. How are you?
Yes, that's right. Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner says that the NHL isn't keeping promises it made about COVID-19 protocols after players and teams had been vaccinated.
Just a little context for you on the 10-year veteran. He's openly discussed his Bipolar I disorder. He's an outspoken advocate for mental health.
And he says that the league promised to loosen those strict isolation rules and the frequency of testing if the majority of the team's players got vaccinated. He says players were blatantly misled by the league.
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ROBIN LEHNER, GOALIE, VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS: At some point, we've got to start looking at the mental health of people around us -- not just in the NHL but everyone in society -- and see how can we start getting back to normalcy because the problem is going to be huge.
But being lied to us about things changing kind of force us to take the vaccine, unacceptable. And to -- now that we have taken the vaccine, to have the excuse of saying nah, it's not -- we're not changing because of competitive advantage, it's outrageous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly pushed back against his remarks, saying in a statement, "It's been a matter that's been raised and discussed as between us and the NHLPA, but no decision to modify has ever been made nor communicated to anyone."
In the NBA, Sixers star Joel Embiid scored 38 points against the Suns last night. But it's the shot that he missed that has everybody buzzing. Down three, under a second left, grabs a rebound and chucks the ball all the way across the court and comes so close to going in. Embiid in disbelief, dropping to the floor after the near-buzzer- beater that would have sent the game into overtime.
The Eagles have yet to name a starting quarterback. They might want to take a look at him.
Meantime, Oakland A's keeping ways to win at the top of mind. Bases loaded, 10th inning, down to their final strike, Ramon Laureano hitting a routine grounder.
And then chaos ensues. Twins third baseman Luis Arraez sailing the throw. Metcalf (ph) is in. Elvis Andrus coming all the way around from second to score the game-winner. A walk-off error.
That's the A's 11th straight win after starting the season zero and six.
And with fans back in the stands, they are taking full advantage of all the tasty snacks at the ballpark. Even this little one at the Phillies-Giants game trying to take a bite out of a home run ball. Mom doing her best to say hey, please stop doing that. But you know what? Baseballs just taste a little bit better at the ballpark. JARRETT: You know what? My position is whatever keeps them quiet and
in their seats is allowed. It's going to boost his immune system. I say go ahead and eat that ball.
MANNO: Yes, you feel for the mom. Please, honey, don't do that.
JARRETT: Totally.
MANNO: Don't do that.
JARRETT: All right, Carolyn, thank you -- appreciate it.
Finally this morning, another win for crowdsourcing. LeVar Burton will be one of the final guest hosts in season 37 of "JEOPARDY!" Over 247,000 fans signed an online petition supporting him. The actor, already known for his T.V. roles on "ROOTS", "STAR TREK", and "READING RAINBOW" says he is overjoyed, excited, and eager to guest host.
Other hosts will include "GOOD MORNING AMERICA" anchors George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts, and sportscaster Joe Buck. And, of course, our very own Anderson Cooper has been hosting this week.
My vote for the next one, Christine Romans.
ROMANS: Oh! You know, Berman, actually -- I think he's very good at this, too.
JARRETT: I know. He is very -- he has a lot of feelings about how well he did.
ROMANS: Just ask him.
All right, thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Christine Romans. Hi, John.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman on this new day.
With tensions still high across America over policing, LeBron James is under fire for a tweet targeting an officer involved in a shooting.
Plus, just in, President Biden revealing what changes are coming to the U.S. and your household to fight the climate crisis.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Once you get the coronavirus vaccine, what are your chances of being infected? A brand-new study may give us the answer.
And newly-revealed audiotape allegedly showing a Capitol officer directing units hours before the insurrection to only monitor anti- Trump protesters.
KEILAR: Hello, and good morning to our viewers here.
