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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

DOJ Releases Harrowing New Bodycam Video From Capitol Riot; Tokyo Olympic Officials Prepare For Delta Variant; Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge To Obamacare. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 18, 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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[05:32:09]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good Friday morning, everybody. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Laura Jarrett. It's about 31 minutes past the hour here in New York.

And this morning there is harrowing new police bodycam footage from the Capitol riot. It's the second time this week the Justice Department has released new video from the insurrection.

This time, it's in the case of a retired New York City police officer, Thomas Webster. He's the man in the red coat you can see there in melee -- it's a little hard. He's pleaded not guilty to seven federal charges.

CNN's Daniella Diaz is live on Capitol Hill for us this morning. Daniella, Congressman Andrew Clyde says this was a normal tourist visit. We all know it wasn't based on what we could see with our own eyes, including in this latest tape. So what are prosecutors saying?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Prosecutors are saying this is offering a new glimpse into what really happened on January sixth.

You know, this is part of a case against Thomas Webster, a former Marine and retired police officer from the New York City Police Department, who is accused of participating in the Capitol attack.

You know, these prosecutors say that this tape shows that Webster -- who is wearing that red coat, you can see -- was cussing at the officers, threatening and wielding a flagpole, and finally, rushing at the officers who engaged in hand-to-hand combat with him and other members of the mob.

You know, he has been charged with seven federal crimes, including assaulting police, unlawfully entering Capitol grounds with a dangerous weapon, and civil disorder. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. You know, the bigger picture here is that this is video that's released as part of efforts from more than a dozen news outlets led by CNN to try to get access to footage being used in these cases against these defendants that are accused of participating in the Capitol riot.

You know, these videos were previously private. They were not accessible to the public. And now, CNN and other media outlets are getting access by a case-by-case basis to this footage and it's really offering a new glimpse into what happened.

Now, you mentioned Andrew Clyde and how he said this was a normal tourist visit. That's what he said about the January sixth Capitol attack. Of course, it was not that.

Brian Sicknick's longtime partner was on CNN last night, really sharing her anger toward these House Republicans who say this -- who said this and have been whitewashing what happened on January sixth. You know, Brian Sicknick was one of the police officers who died as a result of this attack.

So this is a story that just continues to unfold, Laura.

JARRETT: The amount of denial for political ends when you have loved ones who are facing pain from losing people close to them is just -- it's remarkable.

Daniella, thank you for your reporting, as always.

All right, some COVID news now. Children and young adults causing an exponential growth in coronavirus cases in England. This new study finds the numbers are doubling every 11 days. And while young people are certainly less susceptible to the virus, experts fear the current growth rate could mean an increase in infections in more vulnerable people.

[05:35:09]

CNN's Phil Black is live for us in London. Phil, how do the vaccinations factor in here? Obviously, young kids aren't getting vaccinated net.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Laura.

So there is growing evidence that as the new highly transmissible Delta variant moves quickly through the population, it is moving most quickly through age groups that have little or no vaccine protection, and that includes children.

Vaccines here are now open to everyone over the age of 18. What the government here hasn't decided yet is if it's going to follow other countries like the U.S. and start vaccinating or at least making those vaccinations available to adolescents.

The government is waiting on some advice from an independent expert panel. Members of that panel say that this is ethically a tricky decision because you're talking about children who generally do not experience COVID-19 seriously. So, therefore, the benefit-risk analysis is a little more hazy. If you choose to proceed, then you are choosing to use a new vaccine on children, largely and primarily to protect older members of the population.

Now that's in stark contrast to the very clear reasoning in the U.S. and other countries where they say this does protect children. It is safe. It protects their families.

It prevents outbreaks at schools, which also prevents disruptions to education. And it adds to the pool of immunity in the population, which is good for everybody in preventing the spread of the virus.

So these are the considerations that are really important for the U.K. as it is dealing with this new surge in cases from the Delta variant. But there is one other reason why they may choose not to proceed at this time, and it is the hope that it won't be necessary. This is a country where uptick among adults is very high and there is the hope that through that alone you could still hit a critical threshold in immunity, which would then protect everyone.

So that's the hope -- that it will require a wait-and-see approach if that is the case -- Laura.

JARRETT: Certainly, everyone is anxious to see how that wait-and-see approach works out -- hopefully, for the best.

Phil Black from London for us -- thanks.

ROMANS: All right, to Tokyo now where Olympic officials are laying out countermeasures to deal with the Delta variant.

Athletes from India will face rigorous quarantine and testing protocols before and after entering Japan. Officials acknowledging the variant has the potential to become a significant factor in the success of the Games.

Selina Wang is in Tokyo. She is tracking all of these Olympic developments for us. And, Selina, how do Olympic officials plan to keep everyone safe from the Delta variant?

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine.

Well, exactly, because of those concerns over the Delta variant, Olympic officials say they're putting additional restrictions on athletes travel from India. For seven days before coming to Japan they're going to have to tested daily and quarantine. But all athletes attending these Olympics are going to have to go through a bunch of hoops, like daily testing, contact tracing, social distancing, or they risk getting kicked out of the Games entirely.

But despite the litany of rules, medical experts say there is still a risk these Games will lead to a major rebound of COVID cases here in Japan.

In fact, Japan's top COVID-19 adviser said it would be, quote, "desirable to have no spectators at the Games." But, Christine, the question is are Olympic organizers going to take that advice. The government has said that in places where there is no state of emergency they'll allow up to 10,000 people at largescale venues.

And in Tokyo and other parts of Japan, they're going to come out of that state of emergency on June 20th and then transition to a quasi- state of emergency until the 11th.

Now, to try and prevent that resurgence, the prime minister is urging the public to watch these Olympics at home on T.V.

And for the spectators that can come, it is not going to be the usual celebration. Organizers say they need to go straight from their homes to venues. No drinking or partying in the streets. They should try and eat alone or socially distance from each other.

So clearly, an Olympics like no other for the athletes -- participants -- but also for the potential spectators -- Christine.

ROMANS: Thanks so much, Selina Wang -- Laura.

JARRETT: For the third time in the last nine years, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act, saving healthcare for millions of Americans.

CNN's Jessica Schneider has more on this.

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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Laura and Christine, the Supreme Court saving the Affordable Care Act for the third time since the law's inception, and notably, doing it with a seven to two decision where three liberal justices were joined by four of the conservatives.

Now, this opinion did rest on procedural grounds and did not get to the heart of the issue. But nevertheless, the effect is that the Affordable Care Act does remain in place.

The justices holding here that the challengers to the law, who included more than a dozen Republican-led states -- they just didn't have the necessary injury or the standing, in legal terms, to bring the case -- in part, because since the penalty for not getting under insurance under the law is now zero dollars, there was no harm in under the law in this case.

So this ruling means that the 30 million-plus people who have gained coverage under Obamacare who may have been sweating this decision out -- they will continue to have healthcare coverage. And there are millions of others, of course, who have benefited from the law, whether it's those with preexisting conditions or maybe 20-somethings who are still under their parent's insurance plans.

[05:40:13]

It is quite possible that Republicans will find another way to challenge this law at some point. In fact, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already promised to fight it.

But for President Joe Biden, this is a major win since his administration asked the Supreme Court to let the law stand and the court found a procedural way to make that happen here.

Conservative Justice Alito, though -- he was joined by Justice Gorsuch writing a dissent, expressing exasperation at the court. Saying, quote, "The Court has pulled off an improbable rescue," and some think shutting the door on any future challenges at the Supreme Court, but we shall see.

Laura and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Jessica, thank you for that report.

Well, another victory at the U.S. Supreme Court for religious groups. The justices unanimously siding Thursday with a Catholic foster care agency that refused to work with same-sex couples.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for six of the nine justices, noted the contract between the city of Philadelphia and the agency forbids discrimination but it allows the city to make exceptions, and that was the key here.

The decision marking the third time this term that the high court has ruled in favor of religious institutions.

ROMANS: All right, now to getting America back to work. The pandemic took a toll on working women, pushing millions of women out of the workforce, undoing a generation of gains for women at work. But as the economy reopens, some are blaming enhanced unemployment benefits for keeping women on the sidelines.

ADP's chief economist Nela Richardson calls that explanation a scapegoat.

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NELA RICHARDSON, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ADP: Women had to take on more family responsibilities, both for children and for their parents, during the course of this pandemic. And yet, that structure of care for our most vulnerable citizens was dismantled by the pandemic. We saw daycares close, schools close, eldercare facilities close, and women shouldered that burden.

So instead of being scapegoated and saying that they're sitting on the couch, maybe society owes women a thank you.

And so what you might say is a shortage, I think of as a barrier -- a consistent infrastructure barrier that prevents women from fully engaging in the labor market because of all these other social and family concerns that are still present post-pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: She says this moment is actually an opportunity to reexamine the American labor force.

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RICHARDSON: We need to stop there and really investigate the jobs that we're trying to bring back to the economy. These are low-paying jobs. This could be a time to reinvest in women and human capital more generally.

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JARRETT: Wow.

ROMANS: I love her point that it's less a labor shortage than a barrier to return. And those jobless benefits -- they'll start expiring, no question, right? And that could, on the margin, help some people return to work. But many women, low-wage jobs -- two or three low-wage jobs to make 40 or 45 hours a week, it's just not feasible unless we figure out what this workforce could look like.

JARRETT: I mean, she really does hit the nail on the head I think for so many women who want to say you're welcome, right?

ROMANS: You're welcome, women. You know, a reevaluation of the labor force, not a return to normal.

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: A reevaluation.

JARRETT: And an opportunity to reevaluate.

ROMANS: I think we're in the middle of that.

We'll be right back.

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[05:47:43]

ROMANS: Welcome back.

A record-setting heat wave in the southwest. Heat warnings and advisories in effect across seven states. And guess what? No let-up in sight until late in the weekend. Until then, 40 -- 4-0 million Americans expected to see temperatures 100 degrees or higher, and that's raising concern about already dire drought conditions that could lead to another devastating wildfire season.

JARRETT: And it is a different problem in the Gulf Coast. Rain and lots of it. Weather warnings are up from Louisiana to the Alabama- Florida border as storm season takes shape now.

Let's get the latest from meteorologist Tyler Mauldin, who joins us live. So what should we expect?

TYLER MAULDIN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we are looking at a tropical storm warning in effect from Fort Walton Beach, Florida all the way to the intracoastal city of Louisiana. Pretty much, we are dealing with the same situation that we had last year, so we're leaving -- we're picking up where we left off in the 2020 season.

The system that is going to move to the north is right here. It doesn't look like much on satellite imagery, does it? Very discombobulated at the moment.

The hurricane hunters had their first flight into the system yesterday. That was their first flight of the season and they picked up on a wind speed of 35 miles per hour.

However, as you can see, the thunderstorms are way far away from what may be the center, so they haven't upgraded it yet to a tropical depression. That will occur later on today and then it will eventually get named -- and it will be Claudette, a 40 mile per hour storm eventually making landfall near Morgan City, Louisiana as a 45 mile per hour storm tomorrow.

From there, it pushes into the Tennessee Valley where it quickly weakens. But remember, I said all the thunderstorms are on the east side of the center. So as it takes this track it's going to dump a lot of rainfall across the Deep South, from Mobile all the way to Atlanta, Columbia, and portions of North Carolina, too.

This area is under a flood watch as we head into this weekend because we are going to see the potential for some flooding. That happens when you get so much rain in short order, right?

As I mentioned, guys, this name will be Claudette. From there, we've got Danny and then Elsa.

JARRETT: I'm sure that there's a whole scheme for how they come up with these names --

MAULDIN: Yes.

JARRETT: -- but it always seems very random to me.

[05:50:02]

MAULDIN: Right.

JARRETT: All right, Tyler, thanks -- appreciate it.

ROMANS: All right, 49 minutes past the hour.

To the historic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Pentagon leaders addressing the threat of terror groups, like al Qaeda, regrouping inside the country.

Testifying at a Senate hearing Thursday, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley were asked to assess the risk of that happening.

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GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I would assess it as medium. I would also say, Senator, that it would take possibly two years for them to develop that capability.

GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: If certain other things happen. If there was a collapse of the government or dissolution of the Afghan security forces, that risk would obviously increase.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: President Biden announced in April American troops would leave Afghanistan by September 11th of this year.

Guilty pleas from the St. Louis couple who drew worldwide attention last year, remember, for pointing their guns at racial justice protesters. A St. Louis grand jury indicted Mark McCloskey and his wife Patricia on felony charges last October. They pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges yesterday and were ordered to pay fines and turn over the weapons that they brandished in that incident.

Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Looking at markets around the world, you can see Asian shares have closed mixed. Europe has opened also mixed with London shares down. On Wall Street, stock index futures barely moving this morning, but leaning higher.

U.S. stocks recovered from an early sell-off yesterday to close mixed -- tech stocks higher.

You know, weathering pretty well what could be the end of an era of easy money on Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, Wednesday, moving up its timeline for a rate hike to 2023, a response to rising inflation as the U.S. economy simply booms.

Investors traditionally don't like higher rates. Neither do gold bugs. Gold prices falling almost five percent, on track for the worst week since March. Gold loses its luster compared to other assets that benefit from those rising rates.

All right, the economy is booming, the job market less so. Jobless claims unexpectedly rising last week, moving in the wrong direction. Four hundred twelve thousand Americans filed for first-time unemployment, the first increase since late April. Until now, weekly claims had been the lowest of the pandemic.

It's disappointing but no cause for alarm just yet. The labor market has been improving for months. It could be a glitch prompted by several states actually ending their pandemic benefits early.

So we'll watch that. The trend has been favorable. We'll watch to see if that was just a blip.

JARRETT: OK, so just how wild is the real estate market? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIMI FOSTER, COLORADO REAL ESTATE AGENT: I've been using the "House from Hell."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: This house of horrors in a pricey Colorado Springs neighborhood is listed for $600,000 -- look at all the graffiti -- and getting multiple all-cash offers.

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FOSTER: There is not a surface in this home that doesn't need fixing. We have an expression -- if it smells, it won't sell. And obviously, I am putting that to the test.

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ROMANS: If it smells, it won't sell.

A former tenant trashed the place when evicted, spray painting every surface. We even have to blur it out it's so nasty. Even leaving a freezer of meat unplugged in the basement. Despite the smell -- oh, it will sell. The local realtor says she got 250 calls in a single day about the property.

Of course, in real estate, it's location, location, location. The house is about $200,000 below market in a really great neighborhood so naturally, even this house is in high demand. It's also a sign of how crazy hot the real estate market is with low inventory sparking intense bidding wars.

And yesterday we told you the National Association of Realtors says we're about 5 1/2 million houses short --

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: -- of what we need in America right now.

JARRETT: So that's what people are resorting to. But they're going to have to put so much money into it.

ROMANS: I know, but I think houses there cost between $750,000 --

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: -- and $800,000 is what they sell for, so there you go.

JARRETT: In line.

ROMANS: All right. The hosts of late-night serving up some dad jokes ahead of Father's Day this weekend. Here are your Late-Night Laughs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES CORDEN, HOST, CBS "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": And the weekend's coming up. That's Father's Day -- Father's Day, Sunday -- yes. Father's Day, which means millions of dads are going to be taken out to brunch by the most important people in their lives even though they'd much rather they all go and the dad can just stay home and play FIFA on their Xbox.

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, ABC "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": I don't know, this might be the worst of many unremarkable Father's Days because I feel like we all had a big emotional family reunion on Mother's Day. Now Father's Day is here. It's like here's some socks, dad. Talk to you next year.

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": It's like Father's Day is this Sunday and Americans are expected to spend over $20 billion. That story again on Sunday. Over 20 billion scratch-off tickets will be sold. Good luck, dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Good luck, dad.

My dad is a loyal EARLY START viewer, so happy early Father's Day, dad.

JARRETT: Oh, very nice.

ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

[05:55:00]

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. Enjoy your first official national Juneteenth holiday tomorrow. "NEW DAY" is next.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman on this new day.

A shooting spree across Arizona. One person killed and more than a dozen hurt as cities across the country see a sharp rise in crime.

And violent and visceral new evidence released from January sixth showing the harrowing attack on police trying to defend the Capitol.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Supreme Court decidedly upholds Obamacare.