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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Biden Vows to "Fight Like Heck" Against GOP Voting Restrictions; Major Meat Supplier Recovering from Cyberattack; U.S. Making Progress in Battle Against Coronavirus; Tennis' Grand Slams Promise to Address Osaka's Concerns. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 02, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:25]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Fight like heck. President Biden vows to protect voting rights and he's putting the vice president in charge.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A major meat supplier trying to get back on line after a cyberattack. What this means for the cost of your summer barbecue.

JARRETT: And a CNN exclusive. An American detained from Russia speaks from jail. His message to President Biden ahead of the summit with Vladimir Putin.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. We are live this morning in Moscow, Jerusalem, Berlin and on Capitol Hill. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, June 2nd. It is 5:00 a.m. in New York. Good morning, everyone.

President Biden starting to pull off the gloves, slowly but forcefully. He is beginning to push forward on several fronts where his restraint until now has frustrated his party -- racial inequity, transgender rights, infrastructure, Arctic drilling, the "remain in Mexico" policy, all in just the last few days, and, of course, voting rights.

JARRETT: At an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the day a white mob massacred hundreds of black residents in Tulsa, Biden announced he is tapping Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the fight against Republican efforts to make it harder to vote. The president vowed to fight like heck to protect voting from GOP assault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This sacred right is under assault with incredible intensity like I've never seen, even though I got started as a public defender and civil rights lawyer. With an intensity and aggressiveness that we have not seen in a long, long time. It's simply un-American.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JARRETT: Democrats fear Biden's low key approach on voting thus far puts fair elections and the party's future at us are being. Senate minority leader -- I should say Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promises the Senate will take up a voting rights bill in the next few weeks.

ROMANS: But a voting rights bill can't go anywhere in Congress unless all Democrats are onboard. President Biden addressed this head on Tuesday, specifically taking aim at two Democratic senators for standing in the way of his agenda.

CNN's Daniella Diaz is live on Capitol Hill with more.

What did he say, Daniella?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Yeah, he seemed to reference these two Democratic senators. Of course, he didn't name them. But President Joe Biden took a swipe at two moderate Democratic senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, for what he claims is them voting more with Republicans than Democrats. That's absolutely not true. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I hear the folks on TV saying why didn't Biden get this done? Well, because Biden only has a majority of four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends. But we're not giving up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: You know, he doesn't say their names. He is clearly referencing the two senators who even though they've always voted with the president on major issue passed through the Senate, they tend to act as linchpins on some issues with his agenda. And also, they oppose nuking the filibuster. The 60 vote threshold needed for legislation to pass through the Senate which means they need some Republicans to sign on to legislation.

Biden's growing more frustrated. You guys referenced that there are major issues that he is trying to act on voting rights, infrastructure, police reform, and the clock is ticking on these issues, and he is facing pressure to act on the issue which is why he is vocally voicing his opposition towards these two Democratic senators who tend to oppose him on some of these issues.

So, bottom line, he is growing more frustrated. He is becoming vocal even though he's not naming them, in showing his frustration to Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for sometimes opposing parts of his agenda.

ROMANS: Yeah, a new -- entering a new month and new tone here for this administration as he's trying to move things forward.

Daniella Diaz, thank you so much for that.

Another infrastructure cyber attack, this time a meat. The USDA has asked U.S. meat processors to keep the supply moving after a ransomware attack on JBS Foods. JBS says most of its plants will be open today. They will have the lines moving. But even a temporary pause means supply chain disruptions.

JBS accounts for almost a quarter of all U.S. beef and a fifth of all pork capacity. Brands include Primo, Certified Angus Beef, and Clear River Farms. Possibility of a shortage could raise alarm bells for shoppers who have already been paying more for meat. Beef prices were up 6.1 percent during the 17 weeks ending May 1st compared to the same time last year.

[05:05:01]

Chicken and pork prices also higher. Economists say a day or two of disruption, that could cause wholesale prices to jump. But if the problem is solved quickly, restaurants and grocery stores are unlikely to pass those costs on to consumers.

Recent hacks are serving as a wakeup call, folks. The White House said this attack was likely carried out by a Russia-based criminal organization. Just like that cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, that led to panic buying and gas shortages. And this newly disclosed attack targeting 150 government agencies, many of them conducting human rights work.

JARRETT: A deadly shooting at a Los Angeles fire station. Police say an off duty firefighter shot two people Tuesday morning, killing one of them. The firefighter was later found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in a burning home about ten miles from firehouse. Deputies saw a man in a pool with a fatal gunshot wound to the head believed to be the gunman.

The whole scenario with workplace violence and a home on fire eerily similar to last week's shooting at a rail yard in San Jose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stand here with a heavy heart. And today is truly a sad day and tragic day for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. And I stand here from the perspective that you see other people do but I never thought it would be me, nor our fire department family that would suffer this type of loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: A 20-year veteran of the department was pronounced dead at the scene. A 54-year-old fire captain was also shot and remains hospitalized this morning. No motive has been revealed.

ROMANS: All right. The county that is home to Amazon and Microsoft voting to ban government use of facial recognition. The King County Council in Washington state voted unanimously Tuesday for the bill which will be the first county level ban on facial recognition technology. The bill would prohibit the county sheriff's department if using facial recognition. The city and state government would still be allowed to use it. Now goes to the desk of the county executive who is expected to sign.

JARRETT: I was amazed how often that turns out to be wrong.

ROMANS: That's right. They found that there are biases in software.

JARRETT: And baked into computer.

ROMANS: All right. It's still ahead. It was once the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., now a major milestone in New York city's emergence from COVID.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:11:28]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

The U.S. is seeing real progress on the coronavirus this morning. CDC data shows that less than 5 percent of the U.S. population now lives in a county considered to have high coronavirus transmission. In Kentucky, senior centers which were huge spreaders of the COVID in the early days of the pandemic are said to reopen at full capacity on June 11th.

Also, smaller shipments of Pfizer's vaccine now available to order. That's boost for the smaller vaccination sites. A big focus is getting more people vaccinated at these smaller community sites.

ROMANS: The U.S. is down to 1.2 million vaccinations a day. That is down 65 percent from the peak. That was six weeks ago. Now areas with higher rates have reason to celebrate. New York City reporting zero deaths for the first time on record during this pandemic.

EARLY START has the pandemic covered coast to coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alexandra Field in New York City where it is a landmark day. The city recording a COVID-19 positivity rate of 0.83 percent. That is the lowest number we've seen since the city started keeping track. The mayor says it is a testament to the willpower of New Yorkers and to vaccines. The city has administered more than 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jean Casarez.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice wants people to continue to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The state announcing a chance to win everything from a college scholarship, a new truck, lifetime hunting and fishing licenses and custom hunting rifles, even a million dollars. To be eligible for the drawings, you must have at least the first shot of the vaccine. The program runs from June 20th through August 4th.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: I'm Jacqueline Howard in Atlanta. A new study confirms that the coronavirus is not a threat to the nation's blood supply. So the process of donating blood is still safe under current guidelines. Researchers tested nearly 18,000 pools of blood donations collected last year for traces of the coronavirus and they found the prevalence of the virus was extremely low.

Now, the American Red Cross is urging people to donate blood this people, especially as cancer patients and others resume care, there may be a growing need.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Omar Jimenez in Chicago.

For the first time since July 2020, you don't have to quarantine. You don't have to be fully vaccinated. And you don't have to have a negative COVID-19 test to travel to the city of Chicago. And that's because last summer, the city's department of public health put in place an emergency travel order, saying that if you're coming from a state with a COVID-19 case rate of 15 per 100,000 residents per day, then you have to at least quarantine when you got here.

Well, based on improving numbers and vaccinations and case rates, you don't have to do any of that because the city now says there are no states that meet the threshold for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Our thanks to Omar and the rest of our correspondents for those updates.

Well, Indiana University is requiring all to be vaccinated before returning to campus this fall, but they won't have to provide the proof. The university's plan initially called for showing documentation, but the schools face mounting pressure from state Republicans and agreed to go with an honor system. University officials say individuals will simply have to certify their status through an online forum.

ROMANS: All right. So, first, Lollapalooza. Now, Coachella is coming back.

The California music festival has official set dates for its return in April 2022. The concert series was canceled last year and this year because of the pandemic. Advance tickets for next year's party in the desert go on sale Friday.

And Vegas is now open in 100 percent capacity.

JARRETT: That's weird, right?

ROMANS: I mean, one by one, things are starting to get back to normal.

JARRETT: It's coming.

All right. With Naomi Osaka on the French Open sidelines, what are the leaders of tennis' grand slam say about her mental health concerns? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:04]

ROMANS: All right. Big leaders in the world of tennis now promising to address concerns about players' mental health after Naomi Osaka's stunning withdrawal from the French Open. Everyone's talking about this this morning.

Andy Scholes is here with this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good morning, Christine.

So, Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after the four grand slam tournaments came together to release a statement, threatening to disqualify her and ban her from future events if she continue to not speak with the media. After Osaka further explained her bouts with depression and anxiety, the four tournaments releasing another statement offering support but they did not apologize.

The statement reading in part: Mental health is a challenging issue which deserves our utmost attention. It is both complex and personal. As what affects one individual does not necessarily affect another. We commend Naomi for sharing in her own words the pressures and anxiety she is feeling and we empathize with unique pressures tennis players may face.

Now, Osaka said when the time is right, she wants to work with the tour to discuss ways they can make things better for the players, press, and fans.

Tennis legend Chris Evert telling Chris Cuomo last night that one solution would be to take a hard look at who's asking questions at press conferences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS EVERT, 18-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: Some of the press is not tennis press. They're tabloid press, or they're bloggers or, you know, they have nothing to do with tennis. They just want to talk about other things besides tennis. And I think it should be primarily after a match should be about your tennis. I think that, you know, somehow, they -- everybody has to talk about a solution to make this a healthy environment for the players to go into and a comfortable environment, because we're all in this together to promote the sport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. To the NBA, Nuggets and Blazers tied at two games apiece coming into Tuesday night. Damian Lillard with a record-setting performance. Under 10 seconds to go, Lillard, the step back three from way downtown, that sends the game into overtime.

Then in overtime, down three again. This time, Lillard, the spinning turn around three sends the game to double overtime.

Lillard had an NBA play-off record 12 threes, also had a Blazers play- off record 55 points. But Portland would lose to the nuggets 147-140 in double OT. Denver can now close out that series tomorrow night.

LeBron and Lakers meanwhile now in the brink of elimination. Not Anthony Davis last night due to the groin injury. Game five, it was over by a halftime. The Lakers only scoring ten points against the Suns in the second quarter, on the way to one of the worst postseason losses in LeBron's career, 115-85, the blowout final. L.A. now down 3- 2 in the series, game six tomorrow night. LeBron has never lost a first round series in his career. He is 14-0.

All right. One second round series is now set. The Brooklyn Nets finishing off the Celtics last night. James Harden leading the way with 34 points and a triple double. Nets winning 123-109.

They're now going to face off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in round two.

And guess what, Laura? We had had three games last night and all of the fans acted correctly. No one was behaving badly in the NBA last night.

JARRETT: I'm glad people have finally gotten their act together. It's just ridiculous.

All right. Andy, thank you.

SCHOLES: All right.

JARRETT: Appreciate that.

Still ahead, it could be a historic day in Israel. The clock is ticking toward a deadline for a coalition to oust Benjamin Netanyahu.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:27:54]

ROMANS: All right. Talk about a hangover. A 19-year-old waking up in handcuffs in the wrong house. Turns out he wandered in, apparently drunk, to an Airbnb rented by three sheriff's deputies and fell asleep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. This is a first for that. I woke up and random places.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The Montana deputies were in Milwaukee for police training. They did not press charges. Okay.

JARRETT: Bad luck.

ROMANS: Bad luck.

EARLY START continues right now.

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ROMANS: All right. Good morning. This is EARLY START.

JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's about 29 minutes past the hour here in New York.

And we begin this half hour with the great American experiment facing one of its biggest tests. Republicans are mobilizing behind efforts to make it harder to vote in every way possible, cutting voting hours, cracking down on early, drive through and mail in voting, all under the guise of election security.

But rampant disinformation, misinformation including former President Trump's big lie about the 2020 election helping to fuel this latest assault on voting after fueling an actual assault on the seat of democracy at the U.S. Capitol.

ROMANS: President Biden and Democrats now aiming to pass new laws that they believe would preserve the right to vote. The president has tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with leading that effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The obstacles in the process -- to progress that have to be overcome are a constant challenge. We saw it in the 60s. But with the current assault is not just an echo of a distant history, in 2020, we faced a tireless assault on the right to vote -- restrictive laws, lawsuits, threats to -- of intimidation, voter purges and more. We resolved to overcome it all and we did.

More Americans voted in if the last election than any in the midst of a pandemic than any election in American history.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he is not bluffing on his threat to defund the state legislature all because Democrats wouldn't get behind the GOP's sweeping bill to restrict voting.