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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Gunman Kills Nine Co-Workers At San Jose Light Rail Facility; Biden Directs Intel Community To Probe COVID Origins; Taiwan Battling Its Worst COVID Outbreak. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 27, 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]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The shooter took nine lives before taking his own, leaving family members scrambling for answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HAWKINS SR., WIFE WORKS AT VTA: She left a message from a co- worker's phone saying that she was OK -- she dropped her phone. And that was all I heard from her. I've just got to get to my wife. And what else is going on is prayers to all the families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The Valley Transportation Authority mourning the loss of its employees. Local officials point out the workers helped keep the region moving while the state was on lockdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY CHAVEZ, BOARD MEMBER, VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY: We didn't miss a beat. You know, when COVID-19 hit and people were afraid to leave their homes, these men and women kept light rail out, they kept buses going, and really making sure that essential workers could get to work -- people who were transit-dependent weren't stranded.
And what I was really struck by today is this last year we've been calling essential workers heroes and really recognizing them for their leadership, and it struck me as really overwhelming for these heroes to face yet one other tragedy and to have to be heroic all over again.
I think it's going to -- it's going to take time to heal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Court documents from 2009 show the shooter's ex-girlfriend raised concerns about his violent tendencies and major mood swings, adding to a long list of shooters who had warning signs of violence against women in their past.
The nine victims range in age from 29 to 63 years old. A vigil will be held for them tonight at the San Jose City Hall Plaza.
ROMANS: The reward to catch a killer in a California road rage shooting is now up to $300,000. Six-year-old Aiden Leos was killed last week while his mother was driving him to school. Aiden's family is offering $50,000. The rest of the cash comes from Orange County supervisors and private donations.
JARRETT: Attorney General Merrick Garland stepping up the effort to combat violent crime as the weather gets warmer and crime typically ticks up. The Justice Department announcing Wednesday that the FBI, DEA, ATF, and other agencies will partner with local law enforcement and community groups, all trying to stop violence before it happens.
Officials say the plan has four major parts: building trust, investing and prevention, targeting enforcement efforts, and measuring results.
ROMANS: All right.
The origin of coronavirus is now a matter for U.S. intelligence. President Biden has directed the Intel Community to redouble efforts to pinpoint just how the pandemic started, pressing China to cooperate. He's ordered a team to report back in 90 days.
CNN's David Culver is live in Shanghai, China. And Chinese authorities say this is all a smear against China, even as the U.S. is trying to look into exactly where the origin of coronavirus came from.
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, anything that suggests that the origin is a lab in Wuhan -- specifically, the Wuhan Institute of Virology -- has been considered by China for the past year-plus to be a smear campaign, to be hype, to be a deflection, and they're continuing with that narrative.
But as you mentioned, it seems the Biden administration is facing growing pressure to get to the bottom of this. And it looks like with this now new probe pushed on by the Intelligence Community, in particular, they're looking at two possible theories -- the lab leak, as we've mentioned, and the possibility that it occurred naturally from animals to humans and then spread likely in a wet market or the Huanan Seafood Market, which was believed to have been the original epicenter of all of this.
But the Chinese officials are continuing to push back and we heard that just a couple of hours ago. Here's just a snippet of what they had to say -- the spokesperson from the podium at the Foreign Ministry, that is -- saying, quote, that "This is disrespectful to science, irresponsible to the people's lives, and it undermines global efforts in fighting the pandemic."
This is a narrative Christine that you can bet will continue as the Chinese continue to push against any suggestion that they have culpability here. And this is broader than just trying to figure out the science of this. It's become so heavily politicized and from a geopolitical perspective, they will not back down on this.
And that suggestion that perhaps the U.S. Intelligence Community will get to any sort of real results and answers in the next 90 days -- well, that seems increasingly unlikely as even China is not even digging in that deep from a domestic perspective. They're now suggesting that other countries, including the U.S. Christine, need to look into their own possibility of a lab leak.
ROMANS: All right, David Culver for us. Thank you so much this morning -- Laura.
JARRETT: All right.
So as the U.S. Intel Community digs into the origins of COVID, Facebook will no longer remove claims that the virus was manmade. The company announced in February that it would block such posts after consultations with the WHO and other leading health organizations. Facebook now says it will continue consulting with health experts as the pandemic evolves.
ROMANS: All right, a tense exchange between Sen. Elizabeth Warren and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over the $1.5 billion in overdraft fees JPMorgan collected from customers during the pandemic.
[05:35:02]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): You are the star of the overdraft show. Your bank, JPMorgan, collects more than seven times as much money in overdraft fees per account than your competitors. So, Mr. Dimon, how much did JPMorgan collect in overdraft fees from their consumers in 2020?
JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: Well, your -- I think your numbers are totally inaccurate but we'll have to sit down privately and go through that.
WARREN: These are public numbers.
DIMON: And I also want to point out we did not overdraft --
WARREN: Just answer my question. How much did JPMorgan collect?
DIMON: We did not overdraft -- we did not overdraft -- we did not overdraft the Fed account and at any request --
(Crosstalk)
WARREN: So you never -- I'm sorry, Mr. Dimon. That was -- Mr. Dimon, that was not the question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Warren, of course, noting that the guidance -- the recommendation from regulators last year was that banks automatically waive overdraft fees for customers hurt by the pandemic. None of the CEOs who testified said their companies did so automatically.
A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase later said the bank, quote, "...waived fees on over one million deposit accounts, including overdraft fees" last year, adding it does offer an account that doesn't have overdraft fees. Dimon also addressed the housing boom in the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIMON: It is a little bit of a bubble in housing prices and stuff like that unlike '08 and '09. There, there was tremendous leverage and bad mortgage underwriting. Here, there's not much leverage and much better mortgage underwriting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Dimon was the only CEO to outright say there is a bubble -- a little bit of a bubble, he said -- but stressed banks have enough capital this time to withstand a crisis.
JARRETT: Having that fight over Zoom is just sort of peak 2021, Christine. It just --
ROMANS: Awkward.
JARRETT: It makes it even more tense somehow to do that over Zoom. They're talking over each other and no one can hear anything.
All right. The Senate, in a very unusual move, has reversed its confirmation of Christine Wormuth as the next secretary of the Army. It all happened hours after she was confirmed by unanimous consent Wednesday night.
Our Manu Raju says there was no explanation for the move, no notice at all. CNN has reached out to the Senate majority leader's office but has not heard back yet on this.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:41:23]
JARRETT: All right, welcome back.
Vaccinated and ready to hit those buffets? Well, the CDC has given the green light to the first large cruise ship to set sail in June. It's one of the clearest signs yet that reopening in the U.S. is happening. Cruises were those floating petri dishes for the spread of COVID in the early days of the pandemic.
The Celebrity Edge will depart on a seven-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean on June 26.
EARLY START has this pandemic covered coast to coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Nick Watt in Los Angeles. Good news from Disneyland. The theme park has been open for almost a month now with restrictions and open only, so far, to residents of California. From June 15th, the park will welcome anybody and everybody from anywhere.
Now, June 15th is also the date when officials here in California say that they are imagining they'll lift pretty much all the remaining COVID restrictions.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Alexandra Field in New York where the city is preparing to reopen its beaches in time for the holiday weekend. And where they're expecting crowds this summer, they are also sending vaccines. The city has plans to deploy mobile vaccine units to popular beaches as well as other gathering spots like Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Governors Island.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Lucy Kafanov.
The Las Vegas Monorail is reopening for the first time since it suspended service last year due to the pandemic. Thursday's reopening comes just in time for what's expected to be throngs of tourists visiting the city for the Memorial Day weekend holiday.
To ensure safety, the monorail Web site states that face masks will be required at all times, hand sanitizer will be available at every station, and riders are encouraged to maintain social distancing when possible.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Tom Foreman in Washington, D.C. where not far away, the city of Baltimore has come up with a novel approach to helping students who were failing courses during the pandemic. They say they're not going to fail any of them. They're simply going to give them incompletes or not completed grades, move them to the next level, and then with customized courses, get them back on track.
They say it may take several years but the point here is not to emphasize failure, but moving up and moving on.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Jean Casarez in New York City.
Would you like free college tuition? All you have to do is get vaccinated and be a lucky winner.
The New York governor's office is saying 12- to 17-year-olds who have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine can register online to be eligible for a weekly raffle to win free public college or university tuition. There will be 10 winners each week for five weeks.
And the incentive is get a shot to make your future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, thanks to all of our correspondents for those reports.
Once the model of pandemic success, now a cautionary tale. Why is Taiwan suddenly struggling to keep coronavirus under control?
Will Ripley is live in Taipei. Will, there's obviously the human side of this crisis and also a reminder Taiwan is the world's leader in semiconductor manufacturing. I mean, the global economy depends on what's happening there, too. What's the latest on COVID there?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine. If there is a lockdown on this island of 23 million it could affect the global chip supply, which is already having a hard time given the pandemic and global disruption.
But let's talk about the human toll of this. When you look at the numbers at face value they might seem small for most of the world, but Taiwan it a new record for daily deaths today -- 13. Again, it seems like a small number but considering when I arrived here less than two weeks ago they had just 12 deaths for the entire pandemic and now, a nearly-five-fold increase to 59 deaths.
[05:45:09]
And the number of local cases are rising even more quickly -- a 41- fold increase from just over two weeks ago on May 13th when they had 135 local cases to today, where they are fast approaching 5,600 local cases. And more than 300 of those cases are missing patients. These are people who've tested positive for COVID but they can't be immediately located by the health authorities.
So that is raising a lot of concern about local transmission at a time that vaccines are in desperately short supply here. Fewer than one million doses have arrived on this wealthy island. They certainly have the money, but they've had a very hard time getting millions of doses. And it could be late August before they get even 10 million -- not nearly enough to get everybody who lives here vaccinated.
They have 700,000 doses that have arrived -- 400,000 of them haven't been used yet. And they are currently being distributed with frontline workers, like medical staff, police, and firefighters, first in line.
There are opposition parties here that say everybody needs to get a free shot in order to get this outbreak under control. But the shots are not arriving and the Taiwan government is blaming Beijing. They say that Beijing has been interfering in their efforts to get foreign- made vaccines, including back in February when they eluded that political pressure was partially to blame for a deal with BioNTech falling apart.
Now, of course, Beijing denies this. They've been offering their own Chinese-made vaccines to Taiwan repeatedly. But here in Taiwan, Chinese pharmaceuticals are banned for human consumption. And they say that Beijing has made no attempt to try to show them the scientific evidence that their vaccines are safe and effective, Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Will Ripley for us in Taipei. Thank you so much for that.
Back in the U.S., to the Midwest, in particular. A stunning reversal on the stand in the case of murdered Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera, charged with first-degree murder, now says he didn't do it. He had earlier confessed and police say Tibbett's blood was found in his car. But, Bahena Rivera testified yesterday instead, two armed masked men forced him to drive them around until they spotted Tibbetts, who was jogging in 2018. One of the men killed Tibbetts and dumped the young woman in his trunk.
The defense rested after the new testimony. Closing arguments are expected today.
JARRETT: The white woman who called police on a Black man in Central Park last year now saying she was a victim of discrimination. Amy Cooper is suing her former employer for firing her after a video took off online showing her calling police on Christian Cooper. They're not related. He's a Black birdwatcher.
Their encounter became a symbol for the unconscious bias Black people face on a daily basis.
Cooper claims her company didn't adequately investigate the incident before firing her. She maintains that her 911 call was not racially motivated.
A spokesman for the company says the circumstances, quote, "speak for themselves" and they stand by their decision.
ROMANS: All right, some revealing comments from former President Barack Obama. For years, he faced calls to speak up more about racism while he was in the White House. But he's now reflecting on the frustration he says he felt, constrained by his, quote, "institutional role," only able to go so far in commenting on the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I went as far as I could just commenting on cases like Trayvon Martin or what was happening in Ferguson. Because as we discovered, not every president follows this -- at least my successor didn't.
But I followed the basic notion that the Justice Department was independent. I could not steer them. I did not in any way want to endanger their capacity to go in, investigate, and potentially charge perpetrators, which meant that I could not come down or appear to come down decisively in terms of guilt or innocence in terms of what happened. So you had institutional constraints.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this morning.
Looking at markets around the world, you can see that Asian shares have closed narrowly mixed here and Europe has opened mixed. London not even moving here. European markets mixed over concerns over those rising coronavirus cases.
And Asian markets closed mixed after the U.S. and China held a phone call on trade Thursday morning. Chinese state media said the two sides agreed that developing bilateral trade is very important.
On Wall Street right now, stock index futures are moving slightly lower here. It was an up day yesterday. The Dow -- which turned, by the way, 125 years old -- ended slightly higher.
Investors will get another look at the recovery with the second estimated first-quarter GDP. That comes at 8:30 a.m. And we've got weekly jobless claims. They're expected to dip again, hitting a new pandemic low.
HSBC is turning its attention to rich customers and selling most of its U.S. retail banks. The British bank said it will go from 148 branches in the U.S. to about 25. Those branches will be turned into international wealth management centers.
[05:50:01]
HSBC plans to sell parts of its business to other U.S. banks. Citizens Bank has agreed to buy branches on the east coast, while Cathay Bank will buy locations on the west coast.
HSBC had repeatedly warned it needed to cut costs, especially in the U.S. where it has struggled to attract everyday consumers.
Facebook has been repeatedly criticized for its failure to release misinformation. Now it is expanding penalties for people who repeatedly share misinformation.
Facebook said Wednesday that users could have all of their posts demoted if they repeatedly spread fact-checked misinformation on the site. Users will get a notification their post contains misinformation and have the chance to delete the post.
Facebook had already been demoting pages in groups that spread misinformation but not individual users, so that is a big change there, Laura.
JARRETT: All right.
Wizards star Russell Westbrook fuming after a 76ers fan dumped popcorn on him after he suffered an injury. Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. So, Andy, what happened here?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (via Cisco Webex): Well, Laura, for some reason some fans think they can do whatever they want and treat players however they want, and Wizards star Russell Westbrook isn't going to stand for it. He says the NBA needs to do more to protect its players.
Now, the incident happened in the fourth quarter last night in the game between the Sixers and the Wizards. Westbrook leaving the floor after tweaking his ankle. And once he reached the tunnel, a fan poured his popcorn down onto Westbrook. He had to be held back from going into the stands. The fan was escorted out from the seats and the incident is being investigated.
Westbrook has confronted unruly fans in the past. And after the game, he said something's got to be done about fan behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL WESTBROOK, GUARD, WASHINGTON WIZARDS: To be blatantly honest, man, this (bleep) is getting out of hand, especially for me. Just the amount of disrespect and the amount of just fans just doing whatever the (bleep) they want to do is just -- it's out-of-pocket, man. It's out-of-pocket, seriously.
Like any other setting, I'm all for the fans enjoying the game and having fun. It's part of sports -- I get it. But there's certain things that cross the line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right.
The New York Knicks, meanwhile, getting their first playoff win since 2013, beating the Hawks in game two to even their series at a game apiece. The Knicks -- they were down by 13 at the half but rallied to win 101 to 92. Derrick Rose leading the way with 26 points.
And I'll tell you what, Madison Square Garden was just rocking with more than 16,000 fans in attendance. And check out the wild scene outside MSG after the game. The fans have been waiting a long time to celebrate a playoff win.
Game three in that series is going to be Friday in Atlanta.
More playoff action tonight with a doubleheader on our sister channel TNT. The Bucks and the Heat get things started at 7:30 eastern.
All right. Tennis star Naomi Osaki (sic) says she will not -- Osaka says she will not be speaking with the press at the upcoming French Open for the sake of her mental health.
In a lengthy social media post, the 23-year-old wrote, "Athletes are often asked questions that bring doubt into our minds, and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me." She adds, "I believe that the whole situation is kicking a person while they're down and I don't understand the reasoning behind it."
Now, Osaka says she wants the money -- she'll be fined for not speaking with the media -- to go towards a mental health charity.
The French Open starts on Sunday in Paris.
All right. Finally, the next round of "The Match" announced yesterday. Fresh off winning the PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson is going to team up again with Tom Brady to face Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers July sixth on TNT.
And there was some hilarious trash-talking on social media yesterday. Brady posting a series of memes poking fun at the viral video of Brooks Koepka being annoyed at DeChambeau. Koepka and DeChambeau apparently not big fans of one another and the rivalry has heated up over the last 24 hours.
Koepka then tweeting, "Sorry bro" to Aaron Rodgers about having to be paired with DeChambeau. Phil jumped in, saying he feels like he's in the middle of something and should step aside, except that they want the PGA champ. Then DeChambeau responded with "It's nice to be living rent-free in your head" to Koepka.
Now, Koepka is not even a part of "The Match," Laura. But I'll tell you what, they should make him a part of it because this DeChambeau- Koepka rivalry that's going on right now is the best thing to happen to golf in forever. And the fact that Tom Brady is there poking the bear just makes it even better.
JARRETT: Who knew golf had such drama, right?
SCHOLES: Right.
JARRETT: All right, whatever works. Thanks, Andy.
SCHOLES: All right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Clip from "FRIENDS."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. So, Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox -- they went from pals to lovers to husband and wife over 10 years of friends.
Get this -- in real life, it turns out the two actors are actually distant cousins -- 11th cousins to be exact, according to the online genealogy Web site "My Heritage." And get this, Perry and Cox are also distant relatives of Lady Gaga.
[05:55:06]
By the way, that big "FRIENDS" reunion show airs today on HBO Max.
JARRETT: Beloved children's book author and illustrator Eric Carle has died.
His best-known work, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," simply told and radiantly illustrated, was first published in 1969 and became one of the best-selling children's books of all time. He illustrated more than 70 books in all.
Eric Carle was 91.
I don't know about your boys, Christine -- ROMANS: Yes.
JARRETT: -- but my son is obsessed with "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and can recite the whole thing --
ROMANS: Yes.
JARRETT: -- especially all the food that he goes through.
ROMANS: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Can You See?"
JARRETT: Oh, that's the best one.
ROMANS: That's a good one, too.
All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman on this new day.
A numb nation grappling with the 17th mass shooting this week alone and more than 230 this year, and it's only May.
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