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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Democrats Push White House To Heighten Focus On Protecting Voting; U.S. Capitol Fencing To Start Coming Down As Early As Today; Torrential Rain From Tropical Storm Elsa Floods East Coast. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 09, 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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[05:32:51]

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

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's about 33 minutes past the hour here in New York.

With Republicans across the country trying to make it harder for you to vote, Democrats are ramping up pressure on the White House to do more to protect voting rights.

President Biden met privately with civil rights leaders in the West Wing on Thursday, and Vice President Harris announcing $25 million in new Democratic Party spending to protect voting access ahead of the 2022 midterms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the fight of our lifetime. This is the fight of our lifetime. We all stand on the shoulders of giants. We will always remember our history. We also understand their legacy and that we are a part of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Texas Republicans providing a perfect example of the tactics Democrats are fighting to stop. GOP lawmakers launching their second effort to pass sweeping voting restrictions in a special session called by the governor. Texas Democrats blocked Republicans' first attempt in May -- remember -- by staging that dramatic walkout.

White House reporter Jasmine Wright joins us from Washington. Jasmine, the White House has been talking for some time about a big push on voting rights. So far, the president hasn't given a major address or gone on the road, as he put it last week. What's the holdup?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's unclear, Christine. Officials cited scheduling conflicts like the president's trip to Florida last week as reasons that prevented him from doing so but said it is still his intention.

One thing that is clear, though, is that meeting with civil rights leaders yesterday amounted to kind of a pressure campaign with them telling the president and the vice president that time is running short to enact voting rights laws -- to protect them, right? And they came out and talked to reporters afterwards and really expressed that sentiment.

Here, Sherrilyn Ifill with the NAACP legal defense fund.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERRILYN IFILL, PRESIDENT, NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: This is the moment. There is no more time. We must have legislation. We must have the president use his voice, use his influence, use his power, and use what he clearly understands about this moment. And that was one of the encouraging things about this conversation was that the president understands us to be in a moment of peril in terms of our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:13]

WRIGHT: So that meeting really came as there is an absence of really a national strategy coming from the White House. The leaders called their conversation candid and said that it lasted for nearly two hours with them kind of pushing the White House to do more. And they said that the president responded and said that he was committed to doing so.

The question -- so the question now coming out of this is what will be that national strategy moving forward, especially as the White House, as you said, is facing attempts by GOP legislators to pass more restrictive voting laws. And also, because of that recent decision by the Supreme Court to limit the ability for minorities to claim that laws are discriminatory under the Voting Rights Act -- really, at the ballot box.

So the question is what happens next? And especially, it's a question because there's -- we don't know exactly what the White House can do as it still takes or still likely takes 60 votes in Congress to pass any voting rights legislation without that filibuster.

So we will be looking really -- eyes on the White House in the next coming weeks to see what they're going to do.

ROMANS: All right, Jasmine. Thank you so much for that -- Laura.

JARRETT: So, as the White House faces pressure on voting rights, so did big-name companies.

Toyota making a sharp U-turn after furor over its campaign contributions to Republicans who tried to block President Biden's election win.

In a statement Thursday, the carmaker said it will cut off donations to lawmakers who objected to certifying those election results, saying quote, "Toyota is committed to supporting and promoting actions that further our democracy."

Toyota had given $56,000 to 38 members of Congress who voted against certifying Biden's win.

ROMANS: The Justice Department charging five people from the Tampa area for their alleged role in the January sixth insurrection. They're accused of attacking at least seven police officers. Prosecutors say they used stolen riot shields and flagpoles to beat these officers in the head and neck and later punched and kicked these officers.

Four of the defendants have been arrested and pleaded not guilty. The DOJ says the fifth is still at large.

JARRETT: Amazing some of the most violent offenders still at large.

Well, as early as today, the last of the fencing that was hastily erected around the U.S. Capitol after the insurrection is coming down.

CNN's Daniella Diaz is live on Capitol Hill for us. Daniella, good morning.

Capitol Police, at first, wanted permanent fencing installed, then said this temporary fencing would stay in place until at least September. So what's changed?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: A lot has changed, Laura. You know, I feel like people are more secure here. There has been more security protocols following the insurrection.

And look, the Capitol Police board -- or the Capitol Police said in a statement that based on the current threat of the environment and recent enhancements to response capabilities, the Capitol Police board is supporting the Capitol Police's recommendation to remove the temporary fencing around the Capitol Square.

You know, after January sixth -- after this insurrection when the rioters stormed and entered this building, police enacted -- put fencing around the Capitol to protect it, it was hard to access. Visitors could not stop by. They couldn't even get anywhere near the Capitol.

The outer fencing was removed and now this inner fencing is coming down. And those of us that come here every single day are celebrating the fact that things are returning to normalcy.

But look, this, of course, is being celebrated by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. They both wanted to -- both Republicans and Democrats wanted to see this fencing come down and things return to normalcy.

You know, the task force wrote in its executive summary that this inner fencing -- this temporary fencing was too hard to monitor and hired too much too many personnel to take care of, and it made the Capitol complex less accessible, which was a priority for a building like this.

But the bottom line here is six months after the insurrection things are returning to normalcy over here on Capitol Hill -- Laura.

JARRETT: It's a good sign. All right, Daniella. Thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right, to Surfside, Florida now where the mayor says crews will not stop until every missing loved one is found.

Four more victims were recovered from the rubble Thursday. Sixty-four is the official death toll. But, 76 people are unaccounted for and they are presumed to have died in that collapse. That brings the total death toll to 140, one of the biggest mass casualty events in this country since 9/11.

To put this disaster in heartbreaking context, it is among the worst mass casualty events that we have seen in recent memory.

JARRETT: And we're learning that two of the youngest victims shared a casket earlier this week. Eleven-year-old Lucia and 4-year-old Emma Guara were laid to rest alongside their parents, who were also killed in the collapse.

Another family gone, Bonnie and David Epstein, who were asleep on the ninth floor when the building fell. Their son Jonathan says his parents were just the best.

[05:40:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN EPSTEIN, LOST BOTH PARENTS TO CONDO COLLAPSE: I was thinking of what I'm going to say at the funeral now and I just want to emphasize they were so cool. People would -- when I was younger, people would -- my friends would come over and I always felt like they were coming over to hang out with my parents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That's sweet.

JARRETT: Rosa Flores is in Surfside with more on the devastating community impact.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Laura, Christine, the mayor here saying that it doesn't get any easier to report these numbers. The death toll has increased by four. The total now is at 64.

The mayor says that the families were escorted to the site on Thursday for a moment of silence. They were also given an aerial salute by first responders.

Look, officials here say that their mission continues -- now, to identify every single victim. They are still working 24 hours a day. These brave men and women are still on the pile around the clock using every piece of equipment that they have aggressively, whether it be dogs, heavy equipment, cameras -- whatever it is that they need to make sure that this mission continues.

We've also learned from the mayor of Surfside that they've obtained core samples of Champlain Towers North. That's the sister building of the tower that collapsed. And the goal, they say, is to compare the samples from Champlain Towers North and Champlain Towers South where the building collapsed and figure out if there are any connections.

Again, the goal here is two-fold -- to give families closure but also eventually figure out what went so horribly wrong so it doesn't happen again -- Laura, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Rosa. Thank you so much for that in Surfside.

CNN has learned that the condo building near Surfside that was evacuated last week has 18 pending code violations. North Miami Beach officials declared Crestview Towers structurally and electrically unsafe last Friday. A fire department report revealed the nearly-50- year-old building is also facing various fines and liens.

The police department is now involved. The police chief says investigations -- investigators are looking into possible misappropriation of funds by the condo association.

All right, restaurants are hungry for workers. A growing number of those workers want to work anywhere else. Restaurant workers are quitting their jobs at twice the rate of all other sectors. The so- called "quit rate" for the food services sector, 5.7 percent in May. Restaurant job openings are on the rise to 1.25 million in May.

A few reasons why restaurant workers are walking away. Health and safety concerns. Fatigue from policing customers who don't want to wear masks or frankly are badly behaved. Longer hours because restaurants are short-staffed.

There are still childcare challenges. We are in the midst of a pandemic. And honestly, many are leaving the industry entirely to retrain for higher-paying jobs in tech and finance.

You know, a year with student loan payments paused gave many workers breathing space they never had before. In fact, COVID and COVID relief checks gave many workers a chance to pivot from low-wage industries and low-wage jobs in restaurants. Some restaurants have had to raise wages to attract and retain staff.

And I think this is going to be something that will be permanent. You're hearing a lot of restaurant companies and even small business owners looking to technology to figure out how they can use technology to at least be the first interface with a customer -- not necessarily somebody there with a pad and paper taking your order.

JARRETT: Have you noticed it feels like everyone's fuse is just a little bit shorter --

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: -- at restaurants and that customers are just a little bit more anxious, thinking we're just going to bounce back to normal when in reality there are staffing shortages?

ROMANS: It's true. And I think it's -- in travel, I've seen the same thing.

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: You're right. Everyone's fuse is so short. This is not normal, everybody. Just take a breath.

JARRETT: Just be nice.

ROMANS: You know, we're going to get through it. Just be nice.

We'll be right back.

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[05:48:05]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

As the drought in California gets worse, Gov. Gavin Newsom now asking residents, along with commercial businesses, to cut back on water usage by 15 percent. Newsom also expanded a regional drought emergency to 50 California counties -- roughly 42 percent of the state's population there. He stopped short, though, of declaring an emergency for the entire state or mandating these water restrictions.

And to make matters worse, Californians could also face rotating power outages over the next few days as the west plunges into another brutal heat wave now. The National Weather Service says more than 25 million people are already under heat alerts across parts of seven states, with records expected to follow across the region.

California's power grid operator pleading with customers to conserve their power, especially during expected peak usage times from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. today.

ROMANS: And on the east coast, torrential rain and high winds and flooding brought on by Tropical Storm Elsa. Heavy rains bore down on parts of New York City, flooding subway stations and roadways. That commute yesterday afternoon was just epic.

The storm could reach as far north as Massachusetts now.

Let's get to meteorologist Karen Maginnis. And how long is this deluge from Elsa expected to last? I mean, the rain last night -- even up to a couple of hours ago around here in this area was just unbelievable.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I can imagine, and it looks like it is increasing. I see reports that went from light rainfall to moderate rainfall. You'll start to see the winds kick up.

But here's something interesting, Christine, that's happened. Tropical Storm Elsa is now racing just as fast as it can be to the northeast at just about 31 miles an hour, still supporting winds of 50 miles an hour. So as it does, in its wake, we're going to see the winds increase. Rainfall, two to four inches -- maybe as much as six inches in some isolated areas.

Its position puts it just about offshore the central coast of New Jersey. And because it's racing so fast maybe we won't see those tremendous rainfall totals that we were anticipating. But still the potential for flash flooding across this region all the way from Philadelphia to New York, then head up towards Cape Cod. Then it looks like by Saturday, we'll see it become a post-tropical system and races towards the Canadian Maritimes.

[05:50:18]

But still lots of energy and lots of deep convection, and those high population density areas along that I-95 corridor. So be aware if you're planning on travels going out. Those roads are going to be fairly treacherous. The weather is going to be very looming.

But the good news is, Christine, it moves in, it moves out fairly quickly, and then it will affect sections of --

ROMANS: Sure.

MAGINNIS: -- southern New England as we go into probably the latter part of today. But then it's going to be a distant memory as we head into Saturday. A much better day then.

Back to you.

ROMANS: But for today, 27 million people or something like that under some sort of tropical storm watch.

MAGINNIS: Right.

ROMANS: So we will be careful today. Thank you so much, Karen.

JARRETT: All right, a suspect under arrest this morning in connection with that triple-murder on a golf course in Virginia. Bryan Rhoden is now charged with three counts of murder and aggravated assault, and two counts of kidnapping.

Now, police believe golf pro Gene Siller was fatally shot after witnessing a crime involving two other men whose bodies were found nearby in the bed of a pickup truck there.

Police haven't disclosed a motive on this case yet but say it remains an active investigation.

And police in Chicago arresting an Iowa man after housekeeping found weapons on the windowsill of his Chicago hotel room overlooking Navy Pier on the Fourth of July weekend -- a really scary situation. Keegan Casteel faces two felony charges.

Police claim he had a handgun and a loaded rifle equipped with a laser and a high-powered scope. Five magazines were also found there.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot saying she's not happy that Casteel was released on $1,000 cash bond, calling the guns the police found, quote, "weapons of war."

ROMANS: It's so terrifying when you just think about what happened in -- down in Las Vegas.

All right, let's look at markets here for a quick check on business this Friday morning.

Looking at markets around the world, a mixed performance in Asia. Europe has bounced back this morning after a rough day yesterday.

On Wall Street, stock index futures right now also looking like they're going to try to bounce back after that Thursday swoon. You know, stocks fell over concerns the global rebound in the economy might slow because of the Delta variant and how quickly it is spreading in pockets of unvaccinated people. The Dow closed 259 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also down.

But context here. Stocks have been hitting record after record high here. The fear is the Delta variant could jeopardize the pace of the recovery and put stocks in jeopardy. Even after Thursday's selloff, the S&P 500 still up 15 percent this year.

All right, want to keep your job at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis? Well, the bank's president and CEO Neel Kashkari said you've got to be vaccinated. Employees must be fully vaccinated by the end of August if they wish to remain employed.

More than 82 percent of the bank's staff already is. Kashkari said a small percentage has said they do not plan to be vaccinated. It's another example of how companies are navigating the post-pandemic workplace.

Kashkari said while more than 90 percent of the bank's staff worked remotely during the pandemic, the bank is not going to be a fully remote institution.

JARRETT: All right. Finally, the best story of the morning.

ROMANS: Oh, wow.

JARRETT: A 14-year-old from Louisiana is America's next top wordsmith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAILA AVANT-GARDE, 14-YEAR-OLD WHO WON SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE: Murraya -- M-U-R-R-A-Y-A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is correct. (END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: With that winning word, Zaila Avant-garde was crowned champion of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. She is the first African American contestant ever to win this competition. Zaila will win $50,000 in cash and prizes.

And murraya, in case you were wondering -- I did not know this -- is a type of tree.

ROMANS: Yes, I did not know that either. I never know what those words are in those spelling bees.

JARRETT: They're hard.

ROMANS: Later, Jill Biden, who was in attendance, tweeted her congratulations to the spelling bee champ.

Zaila's achievements in spelling may only be rivaled by her athletic prowess. It turns out she is a basketball prodigy who has appeared in a commercial with Steph Curry and owns three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneously.

And the multi-talented Zaila will be a guest on "NEW DAY" later this morning.

OK, she's my new favorite person.

JARRETT: What else can she do?

ROMANS: This is awesome.

JARRETT: It's so cool. Lucky for Berman and Brianna Keilar, who get to talk to her this morning.

ROMANS: My kids are burning their brains out playing Fortnite and she's like changing the world. Oh, underachiever over here.

Thanks for --

JARRETT: Go, Zaila.

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

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. Have a great weekend, everyone. "NEW DAY" is next.

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[05:59:40]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman, and good morning to viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, July ninth.

And we are beginning with a heavy dose of COVID confusion. Pfizer says it's planning to develop a booster shot after signs that immunity from its vaccine weakens over time. But the CDC and the FDA say not so fast. They issued a rare joint statement that says if you're fully vaccinated you don't currently need a COVID booster shot.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, much of the country may be ready to move on from coronavirus.