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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
House Passes Bill to Create Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Commission; No Incoming Rocket Fire Overnight from Gaza Into Israel; COVID-19 Booster Shot Likely Needed Within a Year of Vaccination; LeBron James Hits Game-Winner to Lift Lakers to Playoffs. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 20, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Thursday, May 20th. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.
It is inconceivable that some of the members we protect would down play the events of January 6th. Member safety was dependent upon the heroic actions of U.S. Capitol Police, it is a privileged assumption for members to have the point of view that it wasn't that bad. That privilege exists because of the brave men and women of the U.S. CP protected you, the members.
Those are the words of an anonymous Capitol Police officer expressing profound disappointment with Republican leadership for opposing an independent probe that would get to the bottom of happened on January 6th. At least 140 police officers were hurt that day, two later died, yet 175 Republicans targeted themselves are looking the other way.
ROMANS: Despite broad GOP opposition, the measure to form the commission passed in the House, 35 Republicans voted in favor. Here is one of them.
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REP. FRED UPTON (R-MI): If it had not been for the brave Capitol and Metropolitan policemen and women that day, who knows how many of our heads would have been swinging on those gallows that were constructed on the east front of the Capitol.
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ROMANS: The FBI releasing two new videos showing violent assaults on police by the capitol rioters. Now the Senate will have to grapple with this question, was the extraordinary violence and a near overthrow of the government enough to merit an independent probe.
Daniella Diaz in live on Capitol Hill this morning. And that new video hard to watch. There's so much documentary evidence of what happened on that day.
DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: That's right. Even though this legislation passed the House, it still faces a very uncertain future in the Senate and that's even with the bigger picture that 35 House Republicans voted to support that this legislation pass. You know, ten of them, including the ones that voted to impeach Donald Trump in a second impeachment trial earlier this year.
You know, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy really tried to have as little Republican support behind this legislation as possible. You know, he came out against this legislation earlier this week but that did not stop these 35 House Republicans who broke from leadership to support this legislation so that it would pass to the Senate.
But, you know, the bigger picture here is that it's going to face an uncertain future in the Senate. Mitch McConnell came out against this yesterday. He said he is not supporting this legislation. And you remember the Senate is a little different than the House, guys. The Senate Democrats need ten Republicans to sign on and support any legislation for it to pass in order to break this filibuster, this 60- vote threshold for it to pass.
And even some Republicans that we thought were going to support this legislation, such as Senators Susan Collins, are not, you know, completely in support of this legislation. She said that she currently doesn't support this in its current form, but that is not stopping Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from proceeding to take the steps to put this on the Senate floor for a vote and it could happen as soon as next week.
ROMANS: As soon as next week.
Daniella, Republicans got a lot of what they wanted in the talks to form the commission, so why oppose it?
DIAZ: Well, they're really worried about the midterms. You know, senior Republicans, Senate senior Republicans, told CNN yesterday that they believe that this commission could possibly reveal a lot of damaging information about what happened around January 6, especially linked to Republicans and they're really working right now to try to gain control of Congress ahead of the 2022 midterms.
You know, Senate GOP Whip John Thune told us that he was aware that some of these Republicans have these concerns and they're concerned that when this report comes out, that it will hurt their chances to gain control of Congress. But I do want to remind you that the way this is structured right now, they won't have -- they won't have to -- the commission won't have to put out a report until the end of this year, which means they will be months before the 2022 midterms.
Bottom line is Republicans are concerned about this which is why they're not supporting it.
ROMANS: All right. Daniella Diaz, bright and early for us this morning at 5:04 a.m. in D.C. -- nice to see you.
Laura?
JARRETT: OK.
Overnight, the longest lull in rocket fire from Gaza into Israel since the current conflict began, more than eight hours of calm with no incoming rocket fire from 1:00 a.m. local time until sirens went off in southern Israel at 9:30 a.m.
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Israeli airstrikes in Gaza continued overnight with attacks on the Hamas metro tunnel system across the Gaza Strip. Pressure is building on Israel for a ceasefire now, including from President Biden. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will continue military operations in Gaza until Israel's objects testify is achieved.
Nic Robertson joins us live from near the Israeli-Gaza border.
So, Nic, where do things go from here?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Right, it's really anyone's guess. These things could deescalate, that period of eight hours of no rockets fired out of Gaza evaporated just a couple hours ago but that's an indication perhaps that we are on a trajectory to this de-escalation that President Biden spoke about, but in the last few minutes there have been several Hamas rockets fired by Gaza intercepted by the Iron Dome, intercepted defensive system around us here.
The German foreign minister is in Israel today. He is hoping to meet with Israeli officials, probably the prime minister, hoping to meet with Palestinian officials as well.
But the ground reality here is that the offensive operations continue. The Israeli air force targeting not just the tunnels but rocket launchers, ammunition dumps and Hamas leaders overnight and this morning, Hamas targeting a military training base close to the border with unlikely to have been a long-range rocket, more likely a shoulder launch rocket or something similar, targeting this training base and hitting a bus normally used for carrying troops, no one in it, one soldier lightly wounded in that incident.
And Hamas as well overnight saying they've been targeting nearby air bases. Sirens have gone off in the large city of Ashdod, this border area here. People told to stay close to their shelters. I think at the moment it really could go in either direction and perhaps it's the times as you get closer to a potential ceasefire that become the most dangerous because it's hard to know exactly which direction things will go in. But the conflict for now is not over and we don't see it stopping at the moment.
JARRETT: All right. Nic, thank you so much for being there for us.
ROMANS: All right. Work from home is increasingly return to work. A growing number of companies bringing their employees back to the office starting this summer, and parents are caught in the middle of a country opening back up. What to do with the children?
Many schools are hybrid or running shorter hours. Oh, and by the way, the school year is about to wind down at the same time many child care centers are fully booked. That means some parents, often mothers, are questioning whether they can go back to the office because of child care logistics or safety concerns because younger children aren't set to be vaccinated anytime soon.
The pandemic is threatening to reverse years of progress for women in the workplace. Economists say some 440,000 prime age women workers are now sitting on the sidelines because of pandemic related child care responsibilities. Now, the TIME'S Up Care Economy Business Council, which includes McDonald's, JPMorgan, Uber, Spotify and Tory Burch calling on the business community to support women. The council notes the situation for women of color has been especially dire as they endure crisis levels of unemployment.
The unemployment rate for black women was 8.6 percent in April, 7.2 percent for Hispanic women. The group says it will push for the creation of a comprehensive care infrastructure at this critical moment.
JARRETT: Still ahead, the highest level talks between the U.S. and Russia since Joe Biden took office, the surprise announcement just ahead of the highly anticipated presidential summit.
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JARRETT: Fully vaccinated? Be ready for another shot.
Top medical experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci say a COVID-19 booster will likely be needed within a year. That's because the level of protection starts to decline and more breakthrough infections will arise.
ROMANS: Right now, 19 states and Washington, D.C. have fully vaccinated at least half of all adults and in those areas infections are slowing. Just more evidence the vaccines work.
EARLY START has the pandemic covered from coast to coast.
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ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Erica Hill in New York.
More evidence of the vaccines impact. An analysis by CNN of vaccination rates and case numbers finds in the seven states that have already met President Biden's July 4th goal of at least one dose for 70 percent of the adult population, average cases per capita are about 10 percent lower compared to other states. While in the ten states that have vaccinated less than half of adults, average per capita cases are nearly 20 percent higher.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alexandra Field in New York where there are new health and safety protocols for children going to child care facilities and summer camps. Staff and children at those facilities will have to give their vaccination status information. The staff will also be subject to daily health screenings.
On top of that, all children who are not vaccinated and who are over the age of 2 as well as all staff members who are not vaccinated will be required to wear their masks except for during certain activities like eating, drinking, swimmer and sleeping.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik in New York.
Customers can shop without masks at Trader Joe's, Best Buy and Kroger stores, unless mandated by local leaders, though employees at those stores will still have to wear face coverings in certain situations. The companies join others like Walmart, Target, Starbucks and Costco in dropping mask mandates following the updated CDC guidance.
Also, Amazon announced on its website that beginning Monday, fully vaccinated warehouse employees in the U.S. will no longer be required to wear a face covering unless mandated by state or local laws.
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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brynn Gingras.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announcing a number of incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated. People in the state who get the shots can get free access to the state's parks, all 51 of them, if it's done between May 27th and July 4th, and that free access is valid through the rest of the year.
And, wine lovers, if you get your first dose by the end of this month, you can get a free glass of wine at participating wineries in the state.
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ROMANS: All right. To Texas now with Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that bans abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Critics are calling the so-called heartbeat ban one of the strictest in the nation. Anti-abortion advocates are hailing it as a huge achievement. The bill does not include exceptions for rape or incest but does offer a provision for medical and emergencies. And, of course, at six weeks, many women don't even know they're pregnant yet.
Laura?
JARRETT: That is certainly true.
And at least 391 migrant children still separated from their families as of morning, that's according to the latest court filing in a case brought years ago to reunite families separated through the Trump administration. At least 2,800 children were separated from their parents back then. Since April, 54 children have been found. President Biden has created a task force to reunite the remaining family.
ROMANS: All right. The Lakers season comes down to LeBron James.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James puts up the three.
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ROMANS: "The Bleacher Report" is next.
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JARRETT: A game winning three-pointer against the Warriors from LeBron James carrying the Lakers into the NBA playoffs.
Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report."
What a shot, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it was impressive, Laura. Good morning to you.
The very first year in this new play-in tournament format, we got LeBron James versus Steph Curry and it certainly did not disappoint. Now, the winner of this game would claim the seven seed, loser would play in an eight seed elimination game.
Second quarter time winding down, Steph Curry is going to hit this three to put Golden state up 13 at the half. Steph had 37 in the game but LeBron and the Lakers would battle back, a minute to go in the game, tied at 100, time went down, the shot clock, LeBron the three from way downtown.
That would be the deciding basket. Lakers advance to the first round with a 103-100 win. Even though he got poked in the eye earlier, LeBron able to come through in the clutch.
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LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD: You know, after, you know, Draymond finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there, so I just shot at the middle one and I was able to -- with the grace of the man above, I was able to knock it down. I definitely wasn't leaving the floor, no matter if I had to put a pirate patch on my eyes.
STEPH CURRY, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS GUARD: That was a tough one, you don't expect it to go in, you expect us to get the rebound, come down and transition, have a possession to take the lead and everything changed when it goes in. All time great players make great shots. That's what happens.
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SCHOLES: All right. The Warriors will now host the Grizzlies tomorrow night for the number eight seed. Memphis is jumping out to a big lead on the Spurs and they were able to hold off a late charge to win 100- 96.
The Pacers and Wizards square off tonight with the eight seed in the Eastern Conference on the line. You can watch that one at 8:00 Eastern on our sister channel TNT.
All right. To baseball where for the second day in the row, we had a no hitter. This time, the Yankees Corey Kluber, the one with a masterful performance to beat the Rangers 2-0. Only blemish was a third inning walk. The 35-year-old former Cy Young winner throwing the first Yankees no hitter since David Cohen's perfect game in 1999.
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COREY KLUBER, FIRST CAREER NO-HITTER: I think for the other guys say how much it meant to them to be a part of it was definitely something that was special to me. You know, I think that it's -- it will go down as a no hitter in my name but obviously is takes the entire team to accomplish something like that.
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SCHOLES: Now, this was the sixth no hitter of the season. First time ever we've seen this many before June. We've had four in the past 15 days, including two days in a row now. The six no hitters this season, they have come against just three teams, the Indians, Mariners and Rangers have all been no hit twice.
We talked about this yesterday, Christine, the record for no hitters in a season is eight, which was set way back in 1884.
ROMANS: Wow.
SCHOLES: We are obviously on pace to shatter that record this season. We've got four months left, only need two to match it.
ROMANS: All right. You said it here. We will watch and see what happens.
Andy Scholes, thank you so much.
SCHOLES: All right.
ROMANS: All right. Police told this Louisiana man's family he died after a car crash. Shocking new body cam video tells a very different story.
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JARRETT: Comedian, actor and writer Paul Mooney has died after suffering from a heart attack. Mooney was a legendary figure in the world of comedy working on shows like "Sanford and Son" and "In Living Color". He was Richard Pryor's writing partner for years. Mooney also had memorable appearances on "The Chappell Show".
As an actor, he played Sam Cook in "The Buddy Holly Story", and he was in Spike Lee's film, "Bamboozled". Paul Mooney was 79 years old.
EARLY START continues right now.
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JARRETT: Hey, good morning, everyone. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 29 minutes past the hour this Thursday morning.
Capitol police risked their lives to save members of Congress but at least 175 House Republicans won't risk their jobs to find out why.
Last night, those members voted against a bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol insurrection. CNN has learned senior Republicans have little interest in moving forward with a sweeping investigation in part because sources say they think it could become a distraction ahead of the midterm elections.
Democrats are already discussing plan B, a select committee in the House to investigate, which would not need GOP support. Thirty-five House Republicans did join Democrats.
