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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.S. Intel: Researchers From China Lab Hospitalized In November 2019; Japan Opens Mass Vaccination Centers In Tokyo And Osaka; 14 Killed In Italian Cable Car Crash. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 24, 2021 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
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MICHAEL GORDON, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: -- engineered by the Chinese. But perhaps they took a virus into the lab to try to work on a potential vaccine and inadvertently it escaped.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The Intelligence Community still does not know exactly what caused the researchers' illness. China has denied the theory the virus escaped the lab, which was doing research on bat coronaviruses. The World Health Organization is meeting this morning to discuss the next steps investigating the origins of the virus.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, more excellent news on the pandemic front here in the United States. Cases and deaths dropping to levels that haven't been seen since last summer. Half of the states have fully vaccinated at least 50 percent of adults and they're still trying to find more ways to get people to get shots and avoid a slide back.
EARLY START has the pandemic covered coast to coast.
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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN REPORTER (on camera): I'm Paul Vercammen in Los Angeles where among other things, they're offering unique incentives for people to go ahead and get the COVID-19 vaccine. They were offering three pairs of tickets to the musical "Hamilton" at the Pantages Theater for anybody who strolled in and got a shot.
And then in Las Vegas, they were offering a unique incentive. People were going into a strip club to get the vaccine in the dimly-lit corners and beneath the disco ball.
All of this part of a strategy to sort of downsize from the mega vaccine sites, such as Dodger Stadium, and get out into the community in whatever way possible.
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Erica Hill.
Starting today, West Virginia will offer 16- to 35-year olds a $100 gift card or a $100 savings bond if they get vaccinated. The incentive program is part of a push to get more young people vaccinated and it's retroactive. Governor Jim Justice also noting if the state can get 70 percent of its eligible population vaccinated, masks will go away.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Elizabeth Cohen.
Over the course of the pandemic, it's often been asked how do you prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 at schools. A new study has some insights.
This study looked at COVID-19 rates in more than 160 K through five public schools in Georgia, and what they found is that when they required masks for teachers and staff, the COVID-19 rates were 37 percent lower than when they didn't. But interestingly, when they looked at schools that required masks for students, they couldn't find a difference. There was no statistically significant difference when they required masks for students.
It may be that children just don't get COVID that often or just don't transmit it very efficiently. Or maybe it's because the children, even though they were told to wear a mask, didn't always do so.
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JARRETT: Thanks to Elizabeth and the rest of our correspondents for all of those updates.
Well, it turns out dogs may be able to lend a helping paw in the fight against coronavirus. As part of a new study, dogs were trained to recognize a distinctive odor produced by people with COVID. They correctly picked up 88 percent of cases.
Researchers suggest dogs could be a useful tool, along with testing. The fastest test right now gives results in about 15 minutes, but researchers say two dogs could screen 300 people in a half an hour.
ROMANS: And now there are two audits of election ballots from 2020 battleground states. In Fulton County, Georgia, a judge has ruled that absentee ballots can be unsealed for parties looking to examine them for evidence of fraud. The review is not set to begin until the judge reviews the terms of this audit.
And that sham audit in Arizona is scheduled to resume today. You can see ballots being hauled back to the counting site. This will be the third review of ballots. Two previously reviewed -- previous reviews revealed no widespread fraud.
JARRETT: So as these phony audits are happening, the GOP is falling further through the looking glass. A quick sampling from just the last few days includes Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene comparing House masks mandates to the Holocaust.
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REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): You know, we can look back at a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star. And they were definitely treated like second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany. And this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about.
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JARRETT: Greene was asked if she stands by that.
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GREENE: I stand by all of my statements. I said nothing wrong. And I think any rational Jewish person didn't like what happened in Nazi Germany and any rational Jewish person doesn't like what's happening with overbearing mask mandates.
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ROMANS: A few of her GOP colleagues are disappointed.
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REP. PETER MEIJER (R-MI): Any comparisons to the Holocaust, it's beyond reprehensible. This is -- I don't even have words to describe how disappointing it is to see this hyperbolic speech that, frankly, amps up and plays into a lot of the anti-Semitism that we've been seeing in our society today.
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[05:35:02]
ROMANS: But not all Republicans are showing backbone on this. Crickets from House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and other party leaders.
JARRETT: Congresswoman Liz Cheney spoke out against leadership about the big lie, for a moment giving her few fans on the left. But now facing the option to criticize her colleagues for making it harder to vote, Cheney appears to be going along with the status quo.
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JONATHAN SWAN, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: How much culpability do Republican elites have for fertilizing the soil for the big lie?
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): That is -- that's not at all how I think about it, you won't be surprised to hear.
SWAN: Why?
CHENEY: I think that when you look at things like voter fraud, it certainly exists. I will never understand the resistance, for example, to voter I.D. I think you ought to have to show I.D. to go vote.
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ROMANS: Cheney facing a primary challenge from a state senator who impregnated a girl when she was 14 -- and that would be a crime if he did that today. Here's how he explains it.
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ANTHONY BOUCHARD (R), WYOMING STATE SENATOR, CHENEY PRIMARY CHALLENGER: It's a story when I was young -- two teenagers, girl gets pregnant. You've heard those stories before. She was a little younger than me so it's like the Romeo and Juliet story.
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ROMANS: He was 18, she was 14.
All this and more have Republican Party veterans wondering where it all went wrong.
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JOHN DICKERSON, CBS NEWS, "FACE THE NATION": Let me take you back to your CIA days analyzing other countries. If you were analyzing the political structure of the United States as a CIA analyst and the minority party believed that -- the majority of voters in that party believed that the president was illegitimate, how would you assess the stability of the political organization of that country?
ROBERT GATES, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I would have serious concerns about the future. You know, I've -- I worked for -- I worked for eight presidents. Five of them were Republicans. I don't think any of them would recognize the Republican Party today.
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JARRETT: That was former Defense secretary Bob Gates.
Well, more than four months after the insurrection, National Guard troops are leaving the U.S. Capitol grounds. Retired Lt. Gen. Russell Honore, who led the security review following the Capitol riot, says troops accomplished their mission of securing the building. Still, the Capitol and its surrounding area will not be immediately open to visitors because of a strain on resources.
More than 70 rank-and-file Capitol police officers have resigned or retired since January sixth. A law enforcement source says that is slightly more than the normal rate of attrition.
ROMANS: All right, travel is snapping back as the economy reopens. Newly vaccinated Americans hitting the road and flying again and that means prices are rising.
Saturday, the TSA screened more than 1 1/2 million people traveling through U.S. airports. Airfares are up nine percent since the beginning of April. International fares climbing 17 percent.
For months, planes were mostly empty and airlines slashed flights. As demand returns you'll probably notice those restrictions also returning on the lowest-priced airfares.
People are heading to the beach or theme parks after being inside for the past year. Hotel profits are now back to about half of their 2019 levels and rising. And data through the middle of May shows hotel occupancy the second-highest rate since the start of the pandemic. And hotels in Miami, Tampa, and Virginia Beach -- their daily occupancy rates are higher than they were before the pandemic back in 2019.
Not flying? Rising gas prices are making road trips more expensive. The national average is still above $3.00 a gallon. AAA says prices may fluctuate leading up to Memorial Day weekend with an estimated 34 million Americans taking road trips.
JARRETT: Well, just two months to go before the start of the Summer Olympics in Japan and now, largescale COVID vaccination centers opening in Osaka and Tokyo.
Selina Wang joins us live from a vaccination site in Tokyo. Selina, the goals here are ambitious. They don't have much time. Can these goals be met?
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura, absolutely. Just two months away from the Games so the stakes are high.
I'm outside of the Tokyo mass vaccination center, the first of its kind. At this center, along with another one that just opened in Osaka, the government aims to vaccinate as many as 15,000 per day. Now, it's a large number but it's only a tiny dent in what is a huge problem.
Laura, only less than two percent of the Japanese population here has been fully vaccinated. Less than half a percent of the elderly has been fully vaccinated. And only people 65 and older are eligible to be vaccinated here.
I spoke to several of the residents who came here and got their first dose and they say they are relieved but also frustrated. Take a listen to what one woman told me.
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ICHI TOCHIGI (through translator): I feel frustrated by Japan's vaccine rollout strategy. It's been so slow for a developed country so I feel a bit disappointed.
I definitely don't think Japan should go ahead with the Olympics. I'm very scared.
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[05:40:00] WANG: Japan's vaccine rollout has been held back by bureaucracy, a lack of manpower, a lack of doctors and nurses to administer these doses. But the prime minister says that the goal is to finish vaccination of the elderly by the end of July, which is after the Olympics has already started. And even that timeline, public health experts tell me, is extremely optimistic. And notably, there is still no timeline for when the broader population is going to be eligible for a vaccine.
Now, all of this is happening as opposition to the Games grows. More calls for cancelation, including for the medical community who say it is impossible to hold the Games safely -- Laura.
JARRETT: Yes, two percent of the population is just not enough when a lot more than just the elderly population is going to want to go to those Games, of course.
All right, Selina. Thank you for that report.
We'll be right back.
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ROMANS: A manslaughter investigation now underway after 14 people, including one child, were killed when a cable car plunged into a mountain in northern Italy.
[05:45:07]
CNN's Barbie Nadeau is live for us in Rome. The pictures are just devastating. The disaster really spotlighting a concern about the risk of other tragic events are more attractions start reopening around the world.
I know that, Barbie, they didn't have maximum capacity on this particular cable car because of COVID restrictions.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, that's right -- they only had 15 people. This car would have held up to 40 and that would have been an even worse tragedy.
You know, you have to really look at this. It opened up April 26th. It had been running until then and it ran a couple of rounds in the morning before this accident occurred.
But investigators in this manslaughter investigation are looking into why when the cable broke -- the cable that was pulling it up the side of the mountain broke, why wasn't the cable that was supposed to stabilize it and the brake system that was supposed to stop it -- why did that fall through? And why did these people endure probably 10 seconds of sheer horror as they slid back down the mountain and then bounced a couple of times before this car came to rest? The investigators will get to the bottom of this, they tell us.
Meanwhile, there is a 5-year-old still fighting for his life in the hospital. He went through surgery yesterday and is in grave but stable condition this morning after a five-hour surgery. So we're hoping at least for that child to survive even though his whole family has died -- Christine.
ROMANS: Oh, just awful. All right, Barbie, thanks, and keep us posted -- Laura.
JARRETT: Terrible.
All right. Extreme weather conditions killing 21 ultra-marathon runners during a 62-mile race in northwest China. The high-altitude marathon began on Saturday morning -- awfully sunny. But by afternoon, freezing rain, hailstones, and ferocious winds were battering the runners. Many of them suffered from hypothermia while others went missing.
ROMANS: Hundreds of children feared missing after a volcano erupted on Saturday in the Democratic Republican -- Republic of Congo. More than 150 children have been separated from their families. More than 170 others are unaccounted for.
Eight thousand people forced to cross into Rwanda to seek refuge following the eruption. Most of them are sitting along roads waiting to be able to go back home and pleading for food and resources.
JARRETT: Well, it was all about The Weeknd at the Billboard Music Awards.
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THE WEEKND, SINGER: Singing "Save Your Tears."
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JARRETT: The R&B star won 10 awards, bringing his career total to 19. That's fifth on the all-time winners' list.
And country star Morgan Wallen also won three major awards despite being banned from the show. He was caught on camera using a racist slur back in February.
One of the more awkward moments of the night, rapper DaBaby won the award for Top Rap Song for his hit "Rockstar." One problem -- someone accidentally played Post Malone's "Rockstar" as DaBaby made his way to the stage.
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DABABY, RAPPER: It's me. It's me.
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JARRETT: Oops.
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DABABY: I'll live with that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Pink also won the Icon Award last night and did her performance in the air again. Her 9-year-old daughter joining in the fun -- wow.
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PINK, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Cover Me in Sunshine."
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JARRETT: But it was Drake's son Adonis who stole the show. Oh, how cute is he? He clung to dad's leg while holding his award for Artist of the Decade.
ROMANS: It's bring your kids to work day --
JARRETT: I love it.
ROMANS: -- at the Billboard Awards -- all right.
Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Looking at markets around the world to start the week, you can see that Asian markets closed mixed. European markets have opened higher here. Markets in Germany are closed for the -- for a holiday. And on Wall Street, some gains to start the week.
You know, the reopening economy is booming but expect a guessing game on Wall Street. The big question, when will the Fed cut back on stimulus to prevent the red hot economy from overheating? The big guessing game on inflation and how long it will last.
Bonkers, Bitcoin. Prices fell 13 percent on Sunday adding to last week's losses. Last week, U.S. regulators hinted at restrictions. The Treasury Department said any transfer of digital currency 10 grand or more must be reported to the IRS.
Then comments from the Tesla CEO Elon Musk have also moved prices around. Musk tweeted his support for Bitcoin again over the weekend, giving prices a slight boost before falling again.
Volatility in cryptocurrency -- that is the name of the game. But if digital currency becomes more mainstream, the swings are facing more scrutiny from regulators.
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Scene from "Fast & Furious."
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ROMANS: All right, the latest "Fast & Furious" doesn't open in the U.S. until next month but it's already off to a hot start at the global box office. F9 brought in $135 million in China alone over the weekend, making it the biggest opening for a Hollywood film during the pandemic so far.
[05:55:01]
Another sign of reopening and getting back to normal. That's good news for an industry looking to rebound after a horrible year.
JARRETT: Fifty-year-old Phil Mickelson rewrites the golf record book, becoming the oldest player to win a men's Major. Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Andy, what a win.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (via Cisco Webex): Oh, what a win, Laura, and old Phil proving that he's still got it. And, you know, there are very few athletes that basically everyone roots for. Phil is one of them and he delivered a performance yesterday that many will never forget.
You knew it was going to be a special day early on. On five, Phil with a perfect shot out of the bunker for the first (ph) and the crowd was going wild. But maybe not as wild as they were on 18. After Phil's second shot, the crowd just chasing him up the fairway almost knocking him down.
Phil had the lead the entire day to win the PGA Championship by two strokes. After that final putt, giving his younger brother Tim, who is his caddy, a big old hug. This was Phil's first major win since the Open Championship in 2013, his sixth major overall. And at 50 years old, Phil's the oldest to ever win a Major.
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PHIL MICKELSON, 2021 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER: This is just an incredible feeling because I just believed that it was possible but yet, everything was saying it wasn't. And I hope that others find that inspiration. It might take a little extra work -- a little bit harder effort to maintain physically or maintain the skills but, gosh, is it worth it in the end. And I'm so appreciative to be holding this Wanamaker trophy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where do these fans rank in terms of what you've experienced over your career?
MICKELSON: Yes, I don't think I've had an experience like that, so thank you for that.
(Cheers)
MICKELSON: It's slightly unnerving but exceptionally awesome, so thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, congrats to Phil.
And in the NBA we had a thriller at Madison Square Garden last night with 15,000 fans on hand to see it. It's the largest indoor event in New York City since the pandemic started. The atmosphere was electric. In the final seconds, the Hawks Trae Young, a floater with less than a second to go. Talking a little smack to all the Knicks fans. The Hawks win that one in a thriller by one.
Game two, Wednesday in New York.
Elsewhere, things got heated between the champion Lakers and Suns off that missed free throw. LeBron flops to the ground after being boxed out by Chris Paul.
The Lakers' Alex Caruso and Phoenix's Cameron Payne get into it. Montrezl Harrell runs in. Caruso and Harell each got a technical foul. Payne gets two and ejected.
The Suns would go on to beat LeBron and the Lakers 99 to 90 to knock their first playoff win in over 11 years. Game two of that series is set for tomorrow night.
You can watch the playoff doubleheader on our sister channel TNT tonight. The Heat's going to try to even the series against the Bucks. That one is at 7:30 eastern. And then it's game two between the Blazers and Nuggets at 10:00.
Finally, Simone Biles continues to make history. Over the weekend, she became the first woman ever to land a Yurchenko double pike in competition. That's two backflips off the vault with your legs straight. Just incredible.
Biles easily winning her first competitive meet in over 18 months. Next up, she has Olympics trials this year before heading to the Summer Games in July.
Laura, I could watch Simone Biles compete all day long. It's so impressive.
JARRETT: Absolutely.
SCHOLES: I mean, the greatest of all time and she's, what, 24 years old. It's just awesome.
JARRETT: It's great to see her back.
All right, Andy, thanks so much -- appreciate it.
SCHOLES: All right.
JARRETT: Well, another gymnast comeback story this morning. Olympic silver medalist and mother of two coming out of a nine-year retirement to compete in gymnastics. Thirty-two-year-old Chellsie Memmel participating --
ROMANS: Wow.
JARRETT: -- in two events at tournaments in Indianapolis on Sunday. Memmel says she didn't know how coming back would feel but she's glad she did it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELSIE MEMMEL, OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST: I feel like this is a win. I didn't know what to expect, honestly, when I got out on the floor. Was I going to just like fall over and faint of nerves? Like, I don't know.
When people said you should have retired when you were 20 or when you were 24 -- you can't have kids and come back to a sport -- like, it's that kind of thinking I feel is so backwards.
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JARRETT: Backwards, indeed. Memmel says she hopes her return encourages others to follow their passions and dreams -- wow.
ROMANS: Well, I think what sports taught us today is that 50 is the new 40 and motherhood does not equal retirement.
JARRETT: And never say never, right?
ROMANS: Right.
JARRETT: You can come back. I love that.
ROMANS: It's amazing.
All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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[05:59:28]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman alongside Brianna Keilar.
On this new day, a new twist in the mystery over the origins of the pandemic. New reporting that several scientists from the Wuhan lab were sick enough to be hospitalized in November of 2019.
Plus, quote, "evil lunacy." That's how one colleague describes Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's comparisons of mask restrictions to the Holocaust.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And a dramatic standoff 30,000 feet in the air. Did a strongman order a flight down in order to detain an activist?
And Father Time's got nothing on Phil Mickelson. Why old is the new young in a history-making year.
