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Remaining Section of Surfside Champlain Condo Demolished for Safety; Americans Celebrate a Nearly Normal July 4th Together; Golf Pro Killed, 2 Others Found Dead at Georgia Country Club. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired July 05, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: The building has come down. Rescuers set to resume the search in Surfside after what was left of that collapsed condo was demolished overnight.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: An American tradition back with a bang. Fireworks on the 4th for the first time since lockdowns were lifted. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world, this is a special holiday edition of EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett, hope you had a nice 4th, Christine. It is Monday, July 5th, it is 5:00 a.m. here in New York. And new this morning, a dramatic-controlled demolition overnight in Surfside, Florida. Late last night, engineers used explosive charges to bring down what remained of the Champlain Towers south so that search teams can continue look for searching for survivors more safely. Now, it has been 12 days since that huge chunk of the tower collapsed, 121 people remain unaccounted for. Officials have confirmed 24 people were killed.
CNN's Natasha Chen is live for us this morning in Surfside. Natasha, good morning to you. So it may seem counter intuitive to folks at home, but this full demolition is actually supposed to make the recovery efforts easier now. Explain how that works.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Laura. This is definitely safer now for search and rescue teams to continue. That space behind us between the buildings right there, that's where the Champlain Towers south used to be, and now it is not. You can't see it from where we are anymore. That is because the blast that you just showed that happened just after 10:30 p.m., and people in the vicinity were asked to stay inside, to close their doors, close their windows and actually put their air-conditioning on recirculation so that it keeps the dust and debris outside and not into people's homes.
So, what this does now is the search and rescue teams can now access areas that they previously weren't able to, for example, very close to the remaining standing structure up until this point. They weren't able to get close to that because of instability of the structure. So, now that they've controlled that demolition, they're able to go through all of the debris. Here's the mayor of Surfside talking about how the impending storm coming through potentially to Florida here could have been a lucky move here for the progress they're making on this site.
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MAYOR CHARLES BURKETT, SURFSIDE, FLORIDA: It appears as though the approaching storm may have been a blessing in disguise for us, in that, it initiated the demolition discussion. That discussion has accomplished several things. It's eliminated a looming threat, a dangerous threat for our rescue workers. It will potentially open up probably a third of the pile, so we can all, you know -- so the teams can focus not just on two-thirds of the pile, but on the whole thing.
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CHEN: The blast that you saw in the video, the authorities last night made clear that, you know, often times demolition can be a spectacle. This was the furthest thing from that. What you are watching as the rest of that building comes down is the continuation of this tragedy. Those are people's entire lives in there. They also emphasize that they did multiple sweeps using all sorts of technology to look for any remaining pets that might have been there. They did not find any animals. And the search and rescue efforts, we were told last night at that press conference would resume as soon as engineers determined that the site was safe again after demolition.
So, the mayor had said any time of night, as soon as they were cleared, they would start again. So, we are looking forward to more updates this morning on how that's going. Laura?
JARRETT: I'm sure that, that will be welcome news to the families that are waiting anxiously for more news on their loved ones. Natasha, thank you.
ROMANS: All right, to the holiday now, 4th of July fireworks lighting up the night skies coast-to-coast last night.
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(FIREWORKS)
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ROMANS: If they seemed especially loud, bright and powerful, maybe it was because Americans were enjoying them together in person for the first time in two years. Last night, President Biden celebrated the holiday at the White House, declaring that the battle against COVID-19 is not over, but that America is coming back together. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more from the White House.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden declared this independence day that America is coming back together, speaking both in terms of combating the coronavirus pandemic and also largely unifying the country. The president really reflected on the progress that has been made over the past year over the -- in the fight against COVID-19, saying that it showed the power of science. And he also issued a call to action as he encouraged Americans to get vaccinated, to protect not just themselves, but also others. Take a listen to a few of the president's remarks at that 4th of July barbecue here at the White House.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Two hundred and forty five years ago, we declared our independence from a distant king. Today, we are closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus. That's not to say the battle against COVID-19 is over. We've got a lot more work to do. COVID-19 has not been vanquished. We all know powerful variants have emerged like the Delta variant. But the best defense against these variants is to get vaccinated.
SAENZ: You know, the president also honored the service and sacrifice of military families and also those essential workers. And he really drew on that signature sympathetic tone as he talked about the so many lives that were lost over the course of the past year due to the pandemic. Even saying that he was thinking of his own son, Beau Biden, who had served in the military as he delivered those Independence Day remarks. Now, this was the largest gathering that this White House has hosted since President Biden took office.
The guests were treated to one of the best views in Washington, the fireworks here in the city. And there are about a thousand people who had been invited, military families and essential workers, as the president reflected and thanked so many people for the sacrifices and service that they've made over the past year in the pandemic. Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.
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ROMANS: Thank you so much for that, Arlette. I thought it was so interesting yesterday is definitely a day, and today as well, a day of patriotism, not partisanship. And the president said something so poignant. I'm paraphrasing, but he essentially said, look, we can talk about the audacity of our founding, and just how amazing this democratic -- democracy journey has been, and still talk about how we can do better.
JARRETT: And talk about it in an honest way --
ROMANS: Right --
JARRETT: I think that balances sort of what he's trying to strike on COVID as well --
ROMANS: So, I think --
JARRETT: Being hopeful, but also realistic.
ROMANS: Absolutely. All right, seven minutes past the hour. The United States has fallen short of the president's goal to vaccinate 70 percent of adults by Independence Day. As of Sunday, 67.1 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one shot, 58.2 percent are fully vaccinated. According to the Centers for Disease Control, just 18 of 50 states reached President Biden's goal.
JARRETT: Well, the fireworks went off in Ocean City, Maryland, on July 4th, but not quite like the city had planned.
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(FIREWORKS)
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JARRETT: The fireworks meant for Ocean City's big Independence Day celebration accidently exploded early Sunday as they were being setup. Some employees of the company in charge of the show came away with minor injuries, but thankfully, no one else was hurt there. Ocean City canceled its fireworks celebration out of an abundance of caution. An official said an investigation is now under way.
ROMANS: All right, Jeff Bezos is not your typical retiree. Later today, he steps down from Amazon, the company he founded that changed the way we shop and made him the world's richest man. He founded Amazon 27 years ago in a garage in Washington State. It started, remember, as an online bookstore and became a global powerhouse. At 57 years old, he retires today from his official role at Amazon, he retires with a nest egg of -- oh, nearly $200 billion. Bezos in a retirement league of his own, the typical American retires at 65 with a net worth around -- oh, $266,000 for American retirees aged 65 to 74.
Bezos retiring with almost 740 times what the average American has when they retire. He's handing off Amazon's day-to-day operations and the CEO title to Andy Jassy. Back in February, he told employees he will focus his energy on new products and early initiatives, and spend more of his time on his space start-up, Blue Origin. In fact, in just 15 days, he'll head to space on the first crewed flight of the New Shepherd, that's the rocket made by Blue Origin.
JARRETT: That is quite a nest egg.
ROMANS: Yes, he's not like us.
JARRETT: Must be nice.
ROMANS: He's not like us.
JARRETT: All right, up next, a manhunt in Georgia after a golf pro was murdered at a country club.
ROMANS: And a big announcement just hours from now in London. The final steps for reopening in the U.K.
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[05:10:00] ROMANS: Welcome back. A manhunt under way this morning for the person
who shot and killed a golf pro at a country club north of Atlanta, Saturday. Police say they found 41-year-old Gene Siller on the green of the tenth hole of the Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Two other men were found dead from gunshot wounds inside a white Ram pickup near the green. Police believe Siller was shot and killed when he went to the green to see what was going on. Siller leaves behind a wife and two young children.
JARRETT: An argument that escalated into gunfire left eight people injured near a car wash in Fort Worth, Texas. Investigators believe most of the people hit were bystanders who had nothing to do with this argument. One young girl suffered minor injuries when a car hit her as she tried to escape the chaos. So far, no suspects have been arrested.
ROMANS: Eleven men arrested in Massachusetts after a nine-hour road- side standoff with state police. Officials identified the men as members of this group called Rise of the Moors, a group of so-called sovereign citizens who don't recognize U.S. laws. They told police they were on their way to training at a camp in Rhode Island.
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CHRISTOPHER MASON, MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE: They wanted to be heard. They wanted to be -- a variety of not demands, but requests that they just be allowed to leave the area, transit the area without any accountability, and at the end of the day we couldn't accommodate that.
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ROMANS: Police say some of the men ran off into the woods with their weapons. In the end, all eleven surrendered without any injuries. They now face charges including unlawful possession of firearms and conspiracy.
JARRETT: Jumping overseas now, despite a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lay out the final steps today for the country's reopening. CNN's Cyril Vanier is live in London with the very latest on this. Cyril, good morning to you.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And it appears, indeed that the British Prime Minister is poised to announce to the country today that almost all remaining COVID restrictions will be lifted two weeks from now on July 19th, a day that sometimes referred to here as freedom day. And even though cases are surging, as you mention, the government's thinking seems to be that the level of vaccination here is high enough, almost two-thirds of adults fully vaccinated, high enough that the country is in a position to relax remaining social distancing rules, even possibly face mask rules. Cabinet secretaries have been doing the rounds on TV to sell this idea. Listen to the housing secretary yesterday on "Sky News".
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ROBERT JENRICK, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HOUSING, COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UNITED KINGDOM: I don't particularly want to wear a mask. I don't think a lot of people enjoy doing it. We will be moving into a phase, though, where these will be masks of personal choice. And so some members of society will want to do so for perfectly legitimate reasons. But it will be a different period where we as private citizens make these judgments rather than the government telling you what to do.
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VANIER: So face masks a matter of personal judgment perhaps, starting July 19th as opposed to a legal obligation. As against that, cases have been surging. I want to show you a screen grab of my phone because I think it tells the story here. The NHS, that is the U.K. health system tracing app, keeps pinging on my phone checking for COVID exposure. That means that as I go out, even though I'm careful, I am coming into contact with people who have been infected. And this has been happening to me every day recently as opposed to never, when we had only one or 2,000 infections a day. So that shows you the gamble that the U.K. government is probably going to be willing to take apparently.
JARRETT: That's so interesting, interesting that you want to see that on your phone all the time. I'm not sure I would want to know, but I get it. Thanks so much, appreciate it as well.
ROMANS: All about the contact-tracing --
JARRETT: Yes --
ROMANS: Right?
JARRETT: Which is a good thing.
ROMANS: We're going to start to open up, you know, we've got to know who are coming in contact with our --
JARRETT: Yes --
ROMANS: Seventeen minutes past the hour. To Rome, next. Why surgeons operated on Pope Francis over the weekend.
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[05:20:00]
JARRETT: At least, 50 people were killed after a military plane crashed in the Philippines. The C130 aircraft was transporting troops when it missed the runway and crashed into a village. Military officials say 47 army personnel were killed along with three civilians on the ground. Investigators are looking into reports that some soldiers jumped out of the plane before it actually hit the ground.
ROMANS: This morning, Pope Francis is recovering after undergoing colon surgery. The Vatican says Francis reacted well to this scheduled procedure. The 84-year-old pontiff had the operation at a hospital in Rome just hours after holding the traditional Sunday prayer in St. Peters Square. CNN's John Allen joins us live from Rome with the latest. So, he led the prayers and then had this scheduled procedure and seems to be doing well?
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Yes, absolutely, Christine. We are told that we're supposed to expect a brief medical bulletin on the pope's condition around noon Rome time, so in about a half-hour from now. But, this is really a case in which no news is good news. If there were some dramatic turn for the worse, we would have heard. Instead, all indications are that the surgery went well, the pope is responding well to the treatment. And, you know, it is striking, I think, that this happened. As you said, not only right after the pope held his normal Sunday mid-day blessing, but also after the Vatican confirmed that the pope is intending to travel to Hungary and Slovakia in September.
I think Pope Francis obviously seemed -- seems determined not to be slowed down by this. As I've always said, this is the energizer bunny of popes. Francis just has no off switch. And Christine, I think the way he's handling this is just the latest case in point.
ROMANS: All right, the energizer bunny of popes. John Allen, thank you so much, obviously, we wish him well in his recovery --
JARRETT: Yes, for sure. All right, coming up, former President Trump right on cue, trying to dismiss the criminal tax case against his business, underplaying but not denying the facts. You're going to hear him coming up.
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[05:25:00]
ROMANS: Parts of Florida bracing right now for Tropical Storm Elsa. The latest forecast just ahead.
JARRETT: And CNN is on the ground at Afghanistan's Bagram airfield. What happens now that U.S. forces have left the long-time base? Good morning, everyone, this is EARLY START, I'm Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 28, almost 29 minutes past the hour on this 5th of July. And Tropical Storm Elsa rapidly moving west -- northwest in the Atlantic and could end up in the Gulf of Mexico. President Biden approving an emergency declaration ahead of the impact. The storm already deadly, at least, three people were killed as Elsa traveled through the Caribbean. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar tracking the system for us. Good morning.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Christine. Yes, we're taking a look at the system as it continues to make its way to the northwest at about 14 miles per hour. Tropical Storm Elsa has the sustained winds at about 65 miles per hour. Now, it does have the potential to strengthen just a little bit more before it makes landfall across southwestern Cuba late this morning. We do have hurricane warnings in effect for some of the southern
portion of Cuba, but also tropical storm watches and warnings. But it's not just Cuba, we also have those in effect for areas of Florida because that's where we anticipate the storm to go next. Here, you can see, again, that track is going to take it back out over open water and potentially making a second landfall.
