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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Democrats Brace For Tougher Fights Against New Voting Restrictions; Pelosi Names GOP Rep. Cheney To Capitol Riot Probe Committee; Biden Reprises Role As Consoler-In-Chief During Surfside Visit. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 02, 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]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: A law restricting how ballots are cast do not violate the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965. The major six- three ruling further cementing a sharp turn to the right on the high court.

CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Laura and Christine, the Supreme Court ending its term with a momentous decision on voting rights that will actually make it much harder for people to challenge voting laws. This coming at a time when we're seeing voting restrictions being enacted furiously all over the country by Republican-led states.

Now, this was a six-three decision written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito and really coming down along those ideological lines -- not only to uphold two Arizona provisions that challengers say unfairly impact minorities, but this decision also restricts how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act can be used.

The court, in this decision, wiped away a rule that let challengers go after laws that disparately impacted minorities. The court now saying that as long as laws allow equal openness to voting they will likely be OK.

So, Justice Alito there saying states should be free to enact laws that are intended maybe to prevent fraud, even though the instances of voter fraud that we've seen are exceedingly rare.

Justice Elena Kagan, on the other hand, wrote a deeply disappointed dissent. She was joined by the two other liberals, saying this. "Maybe some think that vote suppression is a relic of history -- and so the need for a potent Section 2 has come and gone. But Congress gets to make that call."

And this decision really is what many expected from the now solidly conservative court that, of course, was established by former President Trump's appointment of three conservative justices over his time in office.

We saw some earlier decisions this term on the Affordable Care Act, student free speech, religious liberties. Those were narrow and those were some cases where liberals and conservatives came together. But when it comes to bedrock conservative principles, like voting rights, those are really the types of cases that will be the hallmark of this conservative court with more decisions, of course, concerning gun rights and abortion that will be coming next year for the Supreme Court -- guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Jessica. Thank you so much for that.

And Laura's a lawyer so let me pick your brain on this. What in this opinion stood out to you most?

JARRETT: So it seems to me this is one of those times where seemingly benign facts can arguably make really bad law.

I think on the face of it, Justice Alito is saying look, you already have a lot of other options on how to vote early, either in person or by mail. So just the fact that Arizona has these two other restrictions saying if you cast your ballot at the wrong precinct it gets thrown out, or the so-called ballot harvesting where activists actually get to take the ballots and --

ROMANS: Right.

JARRETT: -- obviously, cast them instead of having a family member do it, for instance.

ROMANS: Right.

JARRETT: He's saying as long you have other options, if they want to restrict those two things it's fine.

So it really puts a thumb on the scale for these GOP-led states that are now trying to have all kinds of restrictive voting laws. And so even if this case may seem like well, you have other options, in other cases it might be harder to show that disparate impact on minorities.

But I think the thing here to watch is does this make Democrats in Congress feel like they have to gut the filibuster --

ROMANS: Right.

JARRETT: -- because they've been having this whole debate in Washington about say well, all these GOP-led states are doing so much. Maybe now is the time -- maybe this is the way forward on it.

But I don't -- I don't see any indication that Sen. Manchin or Sinema --

ROMANS: Right. JARRETT: -- are going to look at this Supreme Court decision and say OK, I guess we actually have to move on the filibuster.

ROMANS: As it stands now, clearly, so many of these state laws are really going to be the story of the next elections --

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: -- you know -- where we are.

JARRETT: Yes, exactly. This is -- this is about 2022 --

ROMANS: Right.

JARRETT: -- and 2024.

ROMANS: All right.

The newly-formed House committee to investigate the insurrection at the Capitol already planning its first hearing. Chairman Bennie Thompson wants to call some of those who were most directly affected on January sixth -- frontline law enforcement.

This as more evidence emerges of the violence they faced -- brand-new footage of the Capitol tunnel standoff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop! Stop! Stop!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let go of the door and leave the Capitol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up. Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Bleep) back up so I can shut the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up so we can shut doors. Get a shield line and interlock those shields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing her picks for the committee Thursday. Among them, Republican Liz Cheney, an outspoken critic of the former president for his role in the insurrection. Cheney took the job even though CNN learned House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy had threatened to strip committee assignments from any Republican who dared to accept this offer from Speaker Pelosi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I'm not making any threats about committee assignments, but you know how Congress works. You get elected by your district and you get your committees from your conference. For some to accept committee assignments from Speaker Pelosi, that's unprecedented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:09]

ROMANS: Now, it is unclear if McCarthy will cooperate with Pelosi in advancing the investigation. You'll recall his own role here when he called Trump to beg him to call off the rioters on January sixth.

Pelosi is working -- is supposed to be working on consultation with McCarthy on five members to the committee but he won't be the decider. Pelosi has the veto power for any picks.

JARRETT: President Biden reprising his role as consoler-in-chief during his visit to Surfside, Florida, telling the anguished families of those still unaccounted for to never to give up hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They had basic heart- wrenching questions. Will I be able to recover the body of my son or daughter, my husband, my cousin, my mom and dad? How can I have closure without being able to bury them if I don't get the body? What do I do?

Jill and I want them to know that we're with them and the country is with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: CNN's Jasmine Wright is live in Washington with more on this. Jasmine, good morning.

We're told the president spent three hours with these families. Obviously, just so much heartbreak there. If there is anything that President Biden does well it is this.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Laura. Look, it was an emotional day.

President Biden, who was in so many different ways defined by his experience with grief and tragic loss, used it once again to empathize with these families -- to console these families as they continue on that devastating search for their loved ones.

President Biden, as you said, met with families for about three hours -- dozens of families -- and he used his own past with his first wife and his baby daughter passing in that car crash in 1972 to tell them that he understands what they're going through.

In some quotes that we saw on social media and videos posted after these private meetings, President Biden told the families that it used to drive me crazy when they'd say I know how you feel. You know they meant well but that -- but you know they had no idea -- none. He told them to be patient with one another and, of course, their loved ones would always be with them no matter the outcome. So this is clearly a person who understands what it is like to lose. Now, another notable moment that happened yesterday in Florida is when President Biden sat shoulder-by-shoulder with Trump ally and someone who is considered a possible contender for the 2024 GOP primary, Florida governor Ron DeSantis. And they really traded compliments about their ability to come together to work across the aisle in a tragic moment such as this.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Let me say just one more thing. You know what's good about this? We always cooperate. We're letting the nation know we can cooperate. A simple act of everybody doing whatever needs to be done is -- it really makes a difference, Governor.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: Well, thank you, Mr. President. And you recognized the severity of this tragedy from day one. You guys have not only been supportive at the federal level but we've had no bureaucracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So that idea of no bureaucracy, that is something that President Biden campaigned on, Laura -- remember. It was not only just that he would be able to pass big legislative bipartisan deals in Congress, but it was also that in these times of tragedy where the American people need the federal government to step in and provide aid, he would be able to work across the aisle.

And so this is something that President Biden did. And remember, it's notable because it's not something that all previous presidents have been able to do -- Laura.

JARRETT: Just a real showing of leadership, right? This is -- this is what people want to see when something terrible like this happens. They want to see people put aside their differences and just try to do the right thing for the people who need help right now.

Jasmine, thank you.

ROMANS: All right.

A global tax deal, a major win for the Biden administration. More than 130 countries have agreed to overhaul the global system for taxing companies with a global minimum tax of at least 15 percent on multinational companies.

Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen called the agreement a historic day for economic diplomacy. Quote, "We have a chance now to build a global and domestic tax system that lets American workers and businesses compete and win in the world economy."

The global minimum tax is aimed at preventing companies from avoiding taxes by shifting profits overseas. Setting a global minimum tax has been a top priority for President Biden. Part of offsetting costs of his proposed infrastructure package includes this global minimum tax, so this is really a backdrop for his economic policies and plans.

There's still a lot of work to be done. Negotiations are ongoing and countries would still need to pass reforms at home for any deal to become law. But having global support removes uncertainty ahead of a meeting of the Group of Twenty nations later this month.

JARRETT: The Boy Scouts of America is offering $850 million to sex abuse victims, setting the stage for an unprecedented settlement as part of the organization's bankruptcy proceedings. The Boy Scouts are facing nearly 90,000 claims here, making it one of the largest sex abuse cases against a single national organization ever.

[05:40:09]

Victims who filed claims will now vote on the offer, and an attorney who represents some of the survivors says he expects them to sign it.

ROMANS: Is your friend an extremist? Facebook wants to know and is sending prompts to some users asking just that. Others are being notified that they may have been exposed to extremist content.

This is a test, actually. It's part of a test for Facebook's redirect initiative, which aims to combat violent extremism on a platform where it has, of course, spread.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL SIMON, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "The Only Living Boy in New York."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: That's singer-songwriter and New Yorker Paul Simon. He'll be one of the headliners in a mega concert in Central Park to celebrate New York City's ongoing recovery from COVID-19.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "The Rising."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: The star-studded lineup for the show in August -- we've got no exact date yet -- also includes Jennifer Hudson and the Boss, Bruce Springsteen.

We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "The Rising."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:15]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

The co-conservator of Britney Spears' estate is now asking to resign after the pop star's explosive testimony last week calling the situation abusive.

The wealth management firm Bessemer Trust is named as a joint conservator of Spears' finances, along with her father. The firm's motion to withdraw filed just one day after a judge upheld its role as the co-conservator. Now, the firm says it heard Spears' desire to terminate the arrangement and respects her wishes.

ROMANS: All right, quickly to markets around the world to finish this trading week.

You've got a mixed close in Asia, and European shares have opened just slightly higher here. On Wall Street, stock index futures at the moment are leaning a little bit higher but that is not definitive.

It was another record day on Wall Street -- the S&P 500's sixth- straight record high. By the way, it's up 15 percent year-to-date.

All eyes will be on the June jobs report. That's out in just a couple of hours. Estimates are 700,000 jobs were added back last month and the unemployment rate ticked down to 5.7 percent. If that holds true, the economy is still down 6.9 million jobs since February 2020.

Factories across the country have been struggling with disrupted supply chains and material shortages and it's showing up in prices. New data shows the manufacturing price index hit its highest mark since July 1979. It was the 13th-straight month of price increases.

Prices on everything from steel to lumber have been climbing as demand grows. Manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up.

Car sales soared in the second quarter, even amid the global chip shortage that is limiting supply. General Motors reported a 40 percent jump in sales compared to last year. Toyota sales soared 73 percent.

And prices at the pump are climbing ahead of the holiday weekend. The national average for gas is now $3.12 a gallon. Gas prices are rising, folks, as the economy roars back to life and there are dislocations after shutdowns. Plus, there's this shortage of gas truck drivers.

Forty-three point six million Americans expected to hit the road this week.

JARRETT: Yes, just in time for July Fourth, obviously.

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: And all those tanker trucks, right --

ROMANS: Right.

JARRETT: -- and the drivers -- it's just a mess.

All right, the heat finally easing up a bit, thankfully. What's in store for the holiday weekend? Here's our meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Good morning, Christine and Laura, and happy Fourth of July weekend.

We're starting off on a rather wet note along the east coast, but checking the latest computer models, things looking promising in time for the Fourth of July fireworks Sunday evening.

Along the Deep South, we do have an area of low pressure that's producing some showery activity today around New Orleans, as well as Atlanta. But notice how this high pressure starts to kick out all that wet weather and allow for some clearing in the skies overhead. And very comfortable temperatures for many locations along the east coast.

Rainfall accumulation -- really, for the first half of this three-day forecast map -- you can see the rain picking up from Houston to New Orleans, as well as Jacksonville, even into New York and Boston. But again, that's for today. And then the second half of the weekend looking more promising.

Seventy-four for Chicago, 76 near New York City, 80 for the nation's capital.

Here's a look at your Fourth of July weather forecast as promised and as delivered. Temperatures very comfortable. Seventy-four for New York City with sunshine overhead. I think we'll see those fireworks -- no problem.

But we see the heat return across the Midwest, but very comfortable for places like San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Wow, some of those -- wow, some of those numbers in the Midwest.

All right, Derek. Thank you so much for that.

It's a billionaire space race. Richard Branson now set to beat rival billionaire Jeff Bezos to space. Virgin Galactic says Branson plans to fly in Virgin's rocket-powered plane, July 11th. That's nine days before Bezos' planned launch of his Blue Origin spacecraft.

Branson's company says his flight will be the first suborbital mission to carry a full crew -- two pilots, three specialists, and one billionaire.

JARRETT: All right, the billionaire space race goes on. Bezos, meantime, will be joined on his space flight by 82-year-old aerospace pioneer Wally Funk. She trained as a NASA astronaut 60 years ago but she never got the opportunity to actually fly. She would now be the oldest person to reach space.

Funk will join Bezos, his brother, and the unnamed winner of an auction aboard Blue Origin's first flight on July 20th, the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Very cool.

ROMANS: I wonder, is this just a billionaire story or is this really going to be space flight for real people, you know? Is this really going to be tourism?

JARRETT: Yes. Well, I think it depends on how well it does, right?

ROMANS: Is it really going to be -- is it a viable tourism option? I don't know yet.

JARRETT: I'm not going.

Andy Scholes is with us.

And, Andy, this story about Funk reminded us of another one you did this week. A 70-year-old woman who got to be the batgirl for the Yankees 60 years after she was told she would feel out of place in a dugout. Remember, she wrote that letter and that's the response she got.

[05:50:06]

You're from Houston, home of Mission Control, so take your pick -- space or the dugout?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: You know, guys, give me the dugout all day. I have no interest in going to space. If the movies have taught us anything --

JARRETT: Yes.

SCHOLES: -- something always goes wrong in space -- "Armageddon", "Martian", "Apollo 13." Plus, all the UFO sightings we've had recently.

JARRETT: Right.

SCHOLES: You never know what you're going to find out there. So yes, give me the dugout any day.

JARRETT: I'm with you on that. But I think it's very cool for these two women who were boxed out of --

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: -- these industries for decades. So here, here.

SCHOLES: Yes, it is. ROMANS: Very cool. Very cool.

JARRETT: All right. As for basketball, the Milwaukee Bucks are one win away from the NBA Finals despite losing their MVP. Andy, tell us more.

SCHOLES: Yes. All right, so yes, Giannis Antetokounmpo -- no problem for the Milwaukee Bucks in game five against the Hawks last night. Milwaukee just jumping on Atlanta from the start in this one.

The Hawks were also without their star Trae Young. He's still out with that injured foot.

But, Brook Lopez -- he was just dominant down low for the Bucks. He had 30 points, helping Milwaukee out to a 14-point lead after the first quarter.

The Bucks never trailed at all in this one, winning 123 to 112. They can now punch their ticket to their first NBA Finals in 47 years with a win tomorrow night.

All right, Trevor Bauer is still scheduled to make his next start for the Dodgers Sunday against the Nationals despite being investigated for assault.

According to a domestic violence restraining order filed in L.A. Superior Court, a woman alleges that Bauer choked her until she lost consciousness, repeatedly punched her in the face and other areas, and gave her injuries that required hospitalization.

The woman says she consented to sex but not to the alleged actions by Bauer she claims caused her injuries.

Bauer denies any wrongdoing and his agent, in a statement, says the alleged victim asked for rough sex and they have the messages to prove it.

Bauer has not been charged with a crime. Major League Baseball says it's investigating the matter.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, will be celebrating their World Series title at the White House later today. Bauer was with the Cincinnati Reds last year so he won't be a part of that celebration.

The NFL, meanwhile, has fined the Washington Football Team $10 million after an independent investigation found the club's work environment was highly unprofessional, especially towards women.

Fifteen former female employees and two journalists covering the team accuse team staffers of sexual harassment and verbal abuse.

The investigation claimed owner Dan Snyder was responsible for the team's culture. Snyder won't be forced to sell the team but will give up day-to-day operations to his wife, Tanya.

All right, it's a whole new world for college athletes, many of them already cashing in on endorsement deals, making money off their name, image, and likeness.

Miami quarterback D'Eriq King announced he's already got an endorsement deal with College Hunks Hauling Junk and Murphy Auto Group. Those deals are reportedly worth more than $20,000.

Arkansas wide receiver Trey Knox and his Husky, Blue, meanwhile, have inked a deal with Pet Smart.

And, Dave Portnoy, with Barstool Sports, has already inked -- or has already signed many Barstool Athletes to his roster now. Athletes across the country getting endorsement deals there from Barstool Sports.

And former USC running back Reggie Bush says in light of these new rules he wants all of his records reinstated and his 2005 Heisman Trophy back. Bush was stripped of the award after an NCAA investigation found he had received cash, travel expenses, and had a home for his parents to live in rent-free while he was playing for the Trojans.

Bush saying in a statement, "It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman Trophy solely due to my hard work and dedication on the football field, and it is also my firm belief that my record should be reinstated."

And guys, a lot of college athletes that were punished back in the day now --

JARRETT: Yes.

SCHOLES: -- really salty --

ROMANS: Yes.

SCHOLES: -- with this new rule with all these guys out there making money now. And many of them feel like that they should be -- have their stuff reinstated.

JARRETT: Yes, and thanks to the Supreme Court they should have it going forward, but probably not retroactive.

SCHOLES: Yes. You know, the rules were broken when they were rules --

JARRETT: Yes, you're right.

SCHOLES: -- so, you know --

ROMANS: All right, Andy. Thanks so much. Nice to see you --

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: -- this morning.

All right. Britain's estranged princes, William and Harry, coming together to honor their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday. CNN's Max Foster live for us in the U.K. Max, this is, what, the second time they've seen each other since that bombshell Oprah interview, right?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and interesting to see them able to come together despite their personal differences on professional jobs if you like. And this crossed both boundaries, of course, in that. There was a very poignant moment in the sense that this is the two brothers unveiling a statue of their mother, but also in the garden which was one of her favorite places and where the two boys used to play as children.

So, interesting to see them together in this moment interacting, smiling, working together. I don't think it's all resolved there but they obviously do agree on one thing and that is preserving the legacy of their incredible mum -- mother.

[05:55:05]

And this statue, you'll see children around it -- really speaking to many of the causes that she represented in the later years of life. An image from later in life where the boys said she felt empowered.

ROMANS: All right, Max. So nice to see that -- the brothers together. Thank you so much.

And I still can't believe she would have been 60.

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: Just -- she's frozen in time for us --

JARRETT: I know.

ROMANS: -- you know?

All right, have a great holiday weekend, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: Have a great July Fourth. I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman alongside Poppy Harlow today.

On this new day, breaking news -- a huge milestone. Planes carrying the last American troops from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in the air right now, as a top U.S. general warns of a looming civil war there. CNN is live on the ground.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Plus --

BERMAN: Plus, after Donald Trump's longtime money man is slapped in cuffs.