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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
President Biden's First G7 Summit Begins This Morning; Closed Cold Case Murder Tied To Ex-Tennessee Governor; COVID Expert Says Shutting Virus Out Of Olympic Games Is Impossible. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired June 11, 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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[05:31:41]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Laura Jarrett. It's just a little over half past the hour here in New York.
Leaders of the world's economic powerhouses gather this morning in England with President Biden as their newest member. It's the first in-person meeting since the pandemic began and all signs point to this being one of the most consequential G7 summits in recent memory. The global economy still in shock with COVID raging in much of the world and threats posed by Russia and China are now escalating.
ROMANS: As if the stakes weren't high enough, President Biden is framing the moment as pivotal for global alliances as the years during and after World War II.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny live this morning in Falmouth, England. Good morning.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
President Biden is trying to really remind the U.K. and, indeed, the world about those alliances that, of course, were so important over the course of history that have frayed in recent years. But talking about this as a wartime effort, using the vaccine distribution of the latest example.
Of course, many of those vaccines -- some half-billion, which the U.S. will buy for developing countries -- will be produced in states like Michigan and Kansas, and Massachusetts and beyond. So the president making clear that they can use American might and muscle to help the world once again.
Clearly, this is all coming to the focus as he held his first face-to- face meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They spoke publicly for a brief time and then met privately as well. But we heard President Biden frame the stakes like this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America will be the arsenal of vaccines in our fight against COVID-19, just as America was the arsenal of democracy during World War II. Now, a new generation of American men and women working with today's -- working with today's latest technology is going to build a new arsenal to defeat the current enemy of world peace, health instability, and COVID-19.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So that was the opening gambit from President Biden there as he prepares to meet with other leaders in a group of seven later today. But certainly interesting, Christine, how he's framing this as a moment -- again, every opportunity he can do to show that this alliance is still strong.
ROMANS: Yes, notable there.
You know, Jeff, the first lady Jill Biden and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, they will meet today. They're going to have a roundtable about early childhood education. They're going to tour a school in Cornwall.
So, Jeff, nobody ever cares what the guys wear but apparently the women are the ones who always make the wardrobe headlines. Jill Biden made some headlines with a not-so-subtle wardrobe choice yesterday. What are people saying about that?
ZELENY: Christine, it was simply one word on the back of her jacket. The word was 'love.' And, first lady Jill Biden said she was simply wearing that to convey that America is bringing love here to England -- here to the United Kingdom. Perhaps a not-so-subtle reference to the jacket that Melania Trump wore that was controversial during the campaign that was not -- the message was not love.
But beyond that, this is a symbol of something we're also seeing of Jill Biden, the first lady, making her debut as well. But she had these very interesting words to say about how President Biden has been preparing for this trip.
[05:35:00]
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JILL BIDEN, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: He's so well-prepared. I mean, he's -- you know, we -- he's been studying for weeks -- you know, working up to today. Of course, he knows most of the leaders that will be here. And Joe loves foreign policy. This is his forte, so I think the meetings are going to be great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he prepared for the meeting?
J. BIDEN: Oh my gosh, he's over-prepared.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: So, saying that he is over-prepared, that is certainly something we're not hearing from White House officials who are traveling with the president. But that, of course, is all about the meeting next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.
But before all of that, all of the world leaders, including the Bidens, will get their first look at Queen Elizabeth tonight here in Cornwall. She'll be making a very rare appearance to meet with -- for a reception and photo opportunity, we're being told, here in Cornwall. So certainly, a moment for them to meet the queen, but they will have a private audience with her on Sunday at Windsor Castle -- Christine.
ROMANS: I know. We'll talk to you about that again soon.
And Jeff, for the record, your trench coat just screams chief national affairs correspondent, you know? I mean, that's the headline from your wardrobe choice today.
ZELENY: Exactly. It's emblazoned right here.
ROMANS: All right, thanks a lot. Nice to see you -- bye.
JARRETT: All right.
FBI Dir. Chris Wray in the hot seat fielding questions from both parties, especially on the attack on Capitol Hill. Wray said he was unaware of any probe into former President Trump related to that riot, but he specifically stressed the enormity of the investigation. More than 500 arrests have been made so far. Almost none of the charged insurrectionists were under investigation before the riot.
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CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR, FBI: We are treating it as an act of domestic terrorism and investigating it through our Joint Terrorism Task Force. And we are, as you know, now in the midst of bringing any number of conspiracy charges, which are particularly serious. But this is a very ongoing investigation and there's a lot more to come. And I would expect to see more charges and some of them may be more serious charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: So what about all these recent cyberattacks? Well, Wray also said companies should not be paying ransom to hackers. Colonial Pipeline and JBS, however, did pay over millions of dollars.
This list of companies that have been hacked grows by the day. Now it's one of the world's biggest video game publishers, Electronic Arts and Cox Media Group, which is still recovering after being hit with a cyberattack last week. These hacks hit millions of people -- everything from gas, hospitals, transit, and more.
Yesterday, President Biden's nominee for this newly-created national cyber director position said the threat of ransomware will not stop on its own accord. ROMANS: All right, to Tennessee now where authorities say they have
solved a 42-year-old cold case. They're calling the murder a contract killing connected to the governor. Samuel Pettyjohn was shot and killed in 1979 in what investigators described as an execution-style hit.
Yesterday, the Hamilton County district attorney revealed that at the time of his death, Pettyjohn was part of a federal probe into a pardon and parole scheme involving then-Tennessee Gov. Ray Blanton. The D.A. says the governor's office was arranging for inmates to be released early from their sentences in exchange for cash.
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NEAL PINKSTON, HAMILTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Mr. Pettyjohn was involved in part of that scheme and actually came to cooperate with federal investigators -- the FBI -- on a number of occasions.
A gentleman by the name of William Edward Alley, who is now deceased, was given a contract to murder Mr. Pettyjohn, and monies for the contract came from some people in the Chattanooga community. And one of the cooperating individuals we have indicated that a third party paid a portion of the contract on behalf of Gov. Ray Blanton's administration.
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ROMANS: William Edward Alley was a notorious bank robber who died in federal custody in 2005.
JARRETT: Much of Puerto Rico waking up in the dark this morning after an explosion and a fire at an electrical substation knocked out power for thousands of customers. About 400,000 still without power and that's more than one in 10 residents.
The governor says law enforcement is investigating the cause of the fire. The utility company says it was also hit with a cyberattack Thursday -- another one -- but no immediate connection was made between the attack on the Website and the explosion.
We'll be right back.
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JARRETT: A reality check this morning from the Olympics COVID adviser in Japan. The expert says shutting the virus out of the Games is impossible, especially with thousands of largely unvaccinated volunteers set to assist at Olympic venues across Japan. Ten thousand volunteers have already quit, citing a lack of COVID protection.
CNN's Selina Wang spoke to some of those volunteers and she filed this report from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JUN HATAKEYAMA, QUIT AS OLYMPIC GAMES VOLUNTEER: I think it's
belittling human lives, yes.
SELINA WANG (voice-over): Jun Hatakeyama is one of some 10,000 Tokyo Olympic volunteers out of 80,000 that has quit amid pandemic fears.
HATAKEYAMA: I just quit because for my health condition and to show my opinion that I'm against to forward (ph) the Olympic Games.
WANG (voice-over): When college student Hatakeyama signed up to be a volunteer he was excited to witness the world's best athletes come together at this Olympic village. Instead, he's witnessed mounting problems.
HATAKEYAMA: The Olympic Games is belittling human lives. Our lives are not normal, so it's emergency now. So I think why we can hold an Olympic Games in 2020 now?
WANG (voice-over): An army of enthusiastic volunteers has been key to the success of recent Games, helping to operate venues and assisting spectators and athletes. Tokyo organizers say fewer volunteers this year won't impact operations given no foreign spectators and downsizing of events.
[05:45:07]
But volunteer (INAUDIBLE), a language teacher who lives here in Hyogo prefecture, says protection hasn't been nearly enough.
WANG (on camera): What COVID protection have you been given as a volunteer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to get two masks and a bottle of hand sanitizer.
WANG (on camera): So that's it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it.
WANG (voice-over): Volunteers are asked to take public transportation between their homes and Olympic venues, and for those who live outside of Tokyo, they have to find their own lodging.
(INAUDIBLE) hasn't quit yet but says he's thinking about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could be bringing back COVID to my family.
WANG (voice-over): Organizers say the Olympics can be held in a safe bubble with the majority of the Olympic Village vaccinated. But many public health experts say that's impossible, especially if there are tens of thousands of largely unvaccinated and untested volunteers at Olympic venues across Tokyo and Japan, and less than four percent of Japan's population fully vaccinated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not being given neither testing nor a vaccine, so we have to go in and out of the bubble at all times. There is a significant potential of this becoming a superspreader event.
WANG (voice-over): Normally a symbol of national pride and excitement in the host country, many volunteers this year instead are scared, largely left on their own to protect themselves from COVID-19.
HATAKEYAMA: I think the meaning of the Olympic Games was completely forgotten.
WANG (voice-over): Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
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ROMANS: All right.
The son of legendary University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler alleging he was sexually abused by a former team doctor and his father knew and did nothing. Matt Schembechler, who is now 62, says he was first assaulted by Dr. Robert Anderson when he was in fourth grade.
In a news conference Thursday, Schembechler detailed what happened when he told his father of the assault.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT SCHEMBECHLER, I told my mom as soon as I got home, as I was uncomfortable and shaken. She was a registered nurse. And she -- and after she had heard what Anderson did, she knew something was wrong and she wanted me to tell my dad in her presence.
When Bo got home I told him what happened and it did not go well. Bo's temper was legendary and he lost it. He screamed I don't want to hear this. I'm not hearing this.
I tried to tell him repeatedly but my effort earned me a punch in the chest. This was the beginning of the end of the relationship with him. I hoped my father would protect me but he didn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Matt Schembechler and his mother later reported the abuse to the school's athletic director who fired Anderson, but Matt Schembechler says his father reinstated him. A report commissioned by the university found that the school received hundreds of allegations about Anderson and failed to act.
Bo Schembechler died in 2006. Robert Anderson died in 2008.
JARRETT: A 1-year-old boy and his grandmother are dead after being shot by a gunman at a grocery store in Florida. The shooting happened Thursday at a Publix in Royal Palm Beach. The shooter is also dead.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says the motive for the shooting is unknown and there is no known relationship between the gunman and those victims. ROMANS: All right, to Iowa now where an Iowa community is offering a $15,000 reward for 11-year-old Xavior Harrelson. He's been missing since May 27th. Local businesses and citizens in Montezuma, Iowa have contributed to this reward fund. Authorities hope it will produce new information to help investigators who are said to be at a standstill two weeks after Xavior's disappearance.
JARRETT: This morning, a new warning from the CDC -- not about COVID, but about the common cold. A cold virus spreading across the south is causing a spike in infections that typically come in the fall and the winter. The CDC is advising doctors and other healthcare providers to be on alert for this virus, which can cause pneumonia, especially in small children and infants. That's scary.
ROMANS: Yes.
All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this morning.
Looking at markets around the world, you can see Asian shares closed narrowly mixed. Europe has opened higher this morning. On Wall Street, stock index futures, to close out the trading week, also very mixed. Barely moving, honestly.
Stocks closed higher yesterday. Investors really shrugging off inflation fears. Instead, the focus is on the economic boom and the view here is that it is sustainable. The Dow finished up just 19 points, but the S&P 500 hit a record high. The Nasdaq also closed higher.
That key consumer inflation report yesterday showed stripping out food and energy cost -- those can be more volatile -- core inflation rose 3.8 percent. That is the fastest pace since 1992. Overall, inflation rose five percent year-over-year, the biggest jump since 2008.
Should the coronavirus vaccine be mandatory to go back to work? It is the big question for employers right now.
Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs said employees had to report whether they have been vaccinated or not by Thursday at noon, but the bank isn't requiring employees to be vaccinated.
[05:50:06]
Parents protested Indiana University's decision to require vaccines for students and faculty on Thursday. The school said the vaccine is required but documentation isn't.
And nurses at Houston Methodist Hospital walked off the job, protesting the hospital vaccine requirements. Employees were told they had to get the COVID-19 vaccine by June seventh.
According to a report, a vast majority of people who are told they need to be vaccinated to go back to are doing so.
A red-hot housing market making millions of Americans richer, at least on paper. Home equity grew by nearly $2 trillion in the first quarter. Soaring demand for homes has caused prices to rise over the past year, pushing home equity even higher. Analysts say the gains are important to boost confidence in the housing market, especially for older homeowners.
A reversal from United Healthcare. The insurer will delay a recently announced plan to stop paying for emergency room visits that it considers non-urgent. The new policy was met with anger -- a lot of anger from millions of patients for effectively steering people away from E.R. visits. -- many of them at risk of long-term effects of COVID.
There's already been a decline in E.R. visits during COVID, leading to savings for insurers.
The new policy is on hold until at least the end of the pandemic.
Anthem announced a similar policy several years ago that led to similar backlash and a federal lawsuit, which is ongoing.
OK, could we see a 12-team college football playoff in the near future? Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (via Webex by Cisco): Yes, good morning, Christine.
So the College Football Playoff Committee is considering expanding the playoffs from four teams all the way to 12 when they meet in Chicago next week. And this change could happen as early as the 2023 season.
Here's how it would all work.
You've got the top four seeded conference champions who receive a bye under the proposed model. The remaining eight teams would play at the home field of the higher-ranked team. The quarterfinals and semifinals would be played in the traditional bowl games. And the national championship would be held at a neutral site.
Under this proposal, Notre Dame and other independent schools would not be eligible for a bye in that first round because they cannot win a conference title.
All right, the Oklahoma Sooners, meanwhile, completing one of the most impressive seasons in softball history yesterday. Oklahoma scored more runs and hit more home runs than any other team ever during the regular season in World Series.
You can see the excitement from Jayda Coleman after she was rounding the bases after a home run yesterday.
O.U. beat Florida State five to one to claim their fifth national title.
All right, for the third time in four years of their existence, the Las Vegas Golden Knights are going to be playing in the NHL semifinals. They advance after beating the Colorado Avalanches six to three in game six last night of their second-round series. Vegas now going to face the Montreal Canadians and try to earn their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
All right, to the NBA. The Bucks jumped out to an early 21-point lead against the Nets in last night's game three, but this one ended up coming down the wire. The play of the game in the final seconds, Milwaukee's Jrue Holiday, the spin move and the finish at the rim to see seal the 86-83 win.
The Bucks now trail that series two games to one. Game four Sunday in Milwaukee.
The Clippers, meanwhile, once again finding themselves in a 0-2 hole. Tied one to one in the fourth, Bojan Bogdanovic hit the three to give the Jazz the lead. Then moments later, watch Joe Ingles just walks up the court. No one guards him so he buries a three. Donovan Mitchell had 37 for the Jazz in this one.
They take game two 117 to 111. Game three tomorrow in L.A.
And finally, Brewers at the Reds. Bottom of the second, Joey Votto going to crush this one to right-centerfield.
Check out the incredible catch by this young fan. Dives over the seats. The fans in this section just going nuts when they realize he caught it.
I'll tell you what, guys, that might be the most impressive home run catch in the stands I've ever seen by a youngster. Giving up the body and making the catch -- just awesome.
ROMANS: That is so great. It's so nice to see people back at the games, too. I just love it.
SCHOLES: Right.
ROMANS: It's like it's back to normal. It's just -- I'm just savoring it.
All right, nice to see you, Andy. Have a great weekend.
SCHOLES: Bye, Christine.
ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. For Laura Jarrett, I'm Christine Romans. Have a great weekend, everybody. "NEW DAY" is next.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good morning to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is Friday, June 11th and we do begin with breaking news.
Abuse of power -- that's what we're talking about. New stunning allegations of abuse of power. New questions about just how far Donald Trump, William Barr, and Jeff Sessions pushed the Justice Department to go to look into perceived enemies, digging into the personal communications of members of Congress and even their families.
Here are the specifics. Prosecutors in the Trump Justice Department subpoenaed Apple for the communications data of at least two House Intelligence Committee Democrats -- Chairman Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell -- along with their staff and family members, including a child.
To put that in plain English, they went after certain iPhone records of key Democrats involved.
