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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Florida Gov. DeSantis Slams FDA Decision Blocking Antibody Treatments; Actress Cheryl Hines Condemns Husband RFK Jr.'s Comments; David Ortiz Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 26, 2022 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:32:03]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis once again at odds with the federal government on COVID. Florida now forced to close some sites that treated COVID patients with monoclonal antibodies after the FDA determined those treatments are less effective against the Omicron variant.

CNN's Steve Contorno joins us now. And Steve, Gov. Ron DeSantis lashing out at the FDA's decision. The White House says he is advocating for treatments that just don't work. So, what's DeSantis' plan now?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER (via Webex by Cisco): Well, Christine, Gov. DeSantis said he going to "fight back" to ensure these treatments are still available to residents in Florida. Now, what that means exactly he didn't say. But Gov. DeSantis continues to insist that these treatments can be an effective tool in controlling the pandemic and making people recover from this disease.

Here is what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: This is something that they claim shouldn't be used because we have Omicron, and what we would say in Florida is we have had people use it and we've had good results. It's not 100 percent -- we understand that -- but you also don't even know when someone goes in whether it's Omicron or still the Delta. Yes, mostly in Florida it's going to be Omicron at this point. But it's really a reckless decision to be able to take this option away from patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CONTORNO: Now, the White House said this response was quote "crazy" from Gov. DeSantis, noting that lab results and studies have shown that the -- these treatments are not effective against the Omicron variant.

And worth pointing out that both Eli Lilly and Regeneron, who make these two treatments, both agree with the FDA decision to limit their use against Omicron now that that's the predominant variant.

ROMANS: All right.

You know, Steve, if there's one thing Florida has it is sunshine and it's free. Tell us about this bill moving through the state legislature. It would cut benefits of rooftop solar panels. This is how people lower their own energy bills and get around their local energy utility, right? Advocates say this is going to kill green power industry in Florida overnight.

Who is pushing for this bill?

CONTORNO: This is a bill backed by the largest utility company in Florida and one of the most prolific political donors in the state.

And at issue here is how much solar panel-powered homes should get for whatever excess energy they produce and put back into the grid. You know, on really sunny days some houses might not use all of the energy they create. They can sell that back to the grid and get a credit on their bill. Well, this legislation would slash that rate by about 75 percent.

Solar advocates say that this would kill the industry here and the utility companies are pushing back, saying there are people who are -- these people are still hooked up to the grid. It cost money to maintain that and they're not paying their fair share.

[05:35:06]

So what we're seeing is a fight over the sun in the Sunshine State.

ROMANS: A fight over the sun in the Sunshine State. We know you'll continue to follow it for us. It's nice to see you, Steve -- thanks.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: New backlash this morning for notorious anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who compared vaccine mandates to conditions in Nazi Germany. Now, even his own wife is condemning him publicly.

CNN's Chloe Melas joins us on this and more. Chloe, we're not going to repeat everything that Kennedy said. It's all nonsense. But tell us about what his wife, Cheryl Hines, who anyone who loves "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM" will know her face. What did she say about it?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (via Webex by Cisco): Yes. Well, as soon as this happened Sunday Laura, Cheryl Hines was inundated with tweets from fans of hers, from people who took to Twitter to ask her hey, did you hear what your husband said? Do you agree with what your husband said and his stance on the terrible things that he said that, again, we won't repeat?

And she responded to some people, saying I don't share the opinions of my husband. But then she put out this statement -- a stronger statement saying, "My husband's reference to Anne Frank at a mandate rally in D.C. was reprehensible and insensitive." She goes on to tweet, "The atrocities that millions endured during the Holocaust should never be compared to anyone or anything. His opinions are not a reflection of my own."

Like you said, she has starred on "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM" for years alongside Larry David who -- actually, Larry David introduced her to her now-husband.

JARRETT: Wow.

MELAS: You know, many Jewish people on that show. Cheryl Hines -- she was raised Catholic. I had seen some tweets that people were saying that she's Jewish.

But this is reprehensible and she is taking a strong stance. And it's interesting to see a couple whose lives play out publicly who share very different viewpoints. You don't see it always that often.

JARRETT: Yes. I mean, it is reprehensible. I also think it could be an episode of "CURB."

ROMANS: Yes, exactly.

And a PSA here for -- I mean, comparing the Holocaust to anything is just -- there was only the Holocaust. I mean, it just -- I --

JARRETT: Just don't do it. Just don't do it. Just stop.

ROMANS: It's just -- it's just the easiest --

MELAS: Now, I do want to point out that the -- that he has come out -- Kennedy -- and he has apologized. He did tweet on yesterday that he was sorry to anyone that he offended.

JARRETT: Too little, too late.

ROMANS: Yes. And, I don't know. I don't want to talk about what he said but it didn't even make any sense. Like, he had these little pieces of historical knowledge that he tied up altogether in a mess that didn't make any sense. It was just offensive.

All right, listen. Peter Dinklage from "GAME OF THRONES" -- he had some harsh words for Disney about a remake of "Snow White." What's this about?

MELAS: All right. Well, Disney is remaking one of my childhood favorite movies from 1937, but Peter Dinklage raises a really valid point. He went on the Marc Maron podcast and he said that the stereotypes of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is completely outdated. Why are we still using that word "dwarf"?

And I want you guys to take a listen to what he said on the podcast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER DINKLAGE, ACTOR: They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White --

MARC MARON, HOST, WTF WITH MARC MARON PODCAST: Yes.

DINKLAGE: -- but you're still telling the story of "Snow White --

MARON: It's still "Snow White," yeah.

DINKLAGE: -- and the Seven Dwarfs."

MARON: Sure.

DINKLAGE: Take a step back and look at what you're doing there --

MARON: Yes.

DINKLAGE: -- you know. It makes no sense to me.

MARON: But -- so, what --

DINKLAGE: Because you're progressive in one way and then -- but you're still making that (bleep) --

MARON: Oh.

DINKLAGE: -- backward story about the seven dwarfs living in a cave. What the (bleep) are you doing, man, you know? Have I -- have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I'm not loud enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MELAS: All right. Well, Peter is also talking about the fact that Disney has cast Rachel Zegler from "West Side Story" to play Snow White. She is Latina. He's saying if they're going to be progressive in that stance, why aren't they being progressive in other ways?

But Disney has responded, saying that they will handle this sensitively. They are speaking to the dwarfism community and it's not going to be what we saw 80 years ago.

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: We'll see how they handle it.

Chloe, thank you.

ROMANS: All right, thanks, Chloe. Nice to see you.

MELAS: Thank you.

JARRETT: All right. We are breaking the first rule of "Fight Club" this morning by talking

about "Fight Club." Remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD PITT, ACTOR, "FIGHT CLUB": The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: After two decades, a new Chinese release of the cult classic changes the ending where -- spoiler alert if you somehow missed "Fight Club" -- instead of seeing fireworks exploding as buildings owned by credit companies crumble at the end, you see this caption instead explaining authorities saved the day. The main character Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, was sent to an insane asylum.

Now, in China, the very first rule apparently is the state always wins.

[05:40:01]

ROMANS: Oh.

JARRETT: Christine, of all the movies to remake from Brad Pitt's catalog in the 90s, how is this the one? What about "Seven"? That was horrifying.

ROMANS: I don't know. I mean, I love that it was eagle-eyed viewers in China who started talking about this online -- who noticed that the ending had changed.

And what's interesting to me is -- and I can't see right now what we're showing in China but I'm pretty sure that we are a black screen right now in China talking about China --

JARRETT: Good point.

ROMANS: -- censoring a movie. That's just the way it is. And the Olympics begin in 11 days.

All right. Just ahead, are U.S. stocks headed for a superbubble that could burst at any moment?

JARRETT: And the Baseball Hall of Fame vote. Who's in, and maybe more noteworthy, who's not?

(COMMERCIAL)

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this Wednesday morning.

Looking at markets around the world, Asian shares pretty much mixed here. They are closed now. And Europe has opened higher. A big bounce back in Paris and also London.

[05:45:03]

Look, on Wall Street, stock index futures right now leaning higher as well.

You know, yesterday, another 1,000-point swing for the Dow. The barely-changed closing number belies another wild and dramatic day. The Dow climbed up from the worst losses after strong outlooks from American Express, Johnson & Johnson, and IBM, but the Nasdaq still fell 2.3 percent.

The S&P closed down just over a percent. It's fallen now 9.2 percent from its recent high. That means it's nearing a technical correction but not quite there.

The Nasdaq is there. It's down 15.7 percent.

Twenty twenty-two proving to be an obstacle course for investors. You've got Ukraine-Russia tensions, more mixed corporate earnings, and persistent inflation.

And fighting inflation means a new era of higher interest rates that eats into corporate profits. We're going to hear from the Fed with a policy update today after the central bank wraps up a two-day policy meeting.

Let's bring in Spencer Jakab, editor of the "Heard on the Street" column at "The Wall Street Journal," and author of the great new book "The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors." Great to see you this morning.

I want to talk about the book in a moment. It's really good. But first, this volatility the past couple of days. Is this a reality check that the end of easy money is coming or is this something else?

SPENCER JAKAB, EDITOR, HEARD ON THE STREET, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, AUTHOR, "THE REVOLUTION THAT WASN'T: GAMESTOP, REDDIT, AND THE FLEECING OF SMALL INVESTORS (via Webex by Cisco): It's about the fifth time that we've heard that the end of easy money is coming. It might be for real this time and there's a bit of a boy who cried wolf element to it. We've been living on easy money since the financial crisis, basically, and a lot more was poured on in the wake of the pandemic.

So, it's possible that this time it's for real. But call me in a month and I'll be back on and we can talk about it --

ROMANS: I know, right?

JAKAB: -- and then see if it was another false alarm, I guess. That's the -- basically, that's the best line I can give you about it.

ROMANS: Yes. If we each had a crystal ball we would also both have a private island in the Caribbean.

JAKAB: Yes. ROMANS: The more ominous theory here is that this is somehow a superbubble. That years of easy money from the Fed has, like, fueled all of these crazy bubbles. Evidence: a new dodgy cryptocurrency every day; teenagers trading meme stocks, something you write about in your book.

Do you buy this superbubble theme?

JAKAB: You know, as I talk about in my book here, I've spent all these years writing about markets and it's occasionally of interest to the broader population when things go crazy but usually, of interest to this narrow population.

And here, I've spent the last year writing this book about the GameStop mania and everybody's interested and everybody wants to hear about it -- my mom and sister, my neighbors, people who usually aren't very interested in business stories.

And I'm dropping little tidbits of things I found out because I tell parts of the story that haven't been told. And they're like God, this is like stranger than fiction. It should be a movie. It's actually being made into, I think, four different movies.

So, it's a great feeling to be writing about something that's of such broad interest that all these politicians and late-night talk show hosts weighed in on. But it's also a sign of definitely frothy, bubbly behavior the way that people approach this.

ROMANS: Yes.

JAKAB: And I think that there's no shortage of signs. The writing is on the wall for sure. It's just hard to say when it's going to result --

ROMANS: Right.

JAKAB: -- in some kind of reversal.

ROMANS: You know, a year ago -- it was a year ago this week that GameStop mania began. And I remember people called it the democratization of the Wall Street casino, right? It was the revenge of the little guy. As you put it, getting rich and sticking it to the man.

What have we and haven't we learned? I get real worried when ordinary investors who don't remember, like, the login normally for their 401k password, right, all of the sudden are like all tied up in some of these things that are kind of seem like get rich quick schemes.

JAKAB: Yes, it was like a twofer, especially for this young generation. You had a generation that really didn't like Wall Street and wasn't very interested in finance.

And then all of a sudden, really starting around the time that trading became free and the pandemic set in, got very, very interested in the stock market, opened millions of accounts, traded like crazy, and became a big part of the market. And that provided the setting for the crazy several days that was GameStop mania where Wall Street looked like it was being taken over by people who were organizing on Reddit. And it's continued in some waves since then but that was really kind of the highlight.

And when you think that you're beating Wall Street, Wall Street is usually pretty happy. Wall Street is really happy when there's a lot of activity, a lot of volatility, when you think you're really smart. When new people come into the market and bring new savings into the market who weren't previously there.

And that's the story. That's why it's called the "Revolution That Wasn't," which is a bit of a downer. But it's still a great story, but it's a bit of a downer relative to the narrative that was being spun a week ago -- a year ago --

ROMANS: Sure.

JAKAB: -- this week.

ROMANS: Sure, I know. What a ride, right?

All right, Spencer Jakab, editor at "The Wall Street Journal" and author of "The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors." We'll have you back to talk about this bubble and if it's popping or it's going to be the sixth iteration of the end of using money. Thank you, sir -- Laura.

JAKAB: Thanks, Christine.

JARRETT: All right, let's get a little sports now. The Baseball Hall of Fame has a new member for the class of 2022, but it's not Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens.

[05:50:06]

Andy Scholes has it all covered in this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Laura.

So, you know, this was the 10th and final time for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens on the Hall of Fame ballot and while they saw more votes, neither came close to reaching the 75 percent threshold they needed to get elected. Bonds and Clemens -- you know, no question to it, the best players to ever play -- but both were linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens, in a statement, said, "My family and I put the Hall of Fame in the rearview mirror 10 years ago. I didn't play baseball to get into the Hall of Fame. I played to make a generational difference in the lives of my family."

Now, Bonds and Clemens could still get in if they are elected by a special committee that's in charge of evaluating overlooked candidates. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK O'CONNELL, BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: I'm calling you from Cooperstown, New York to let you know that the baseball writers have elected you to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

DAVID ORTIZ, FORMER RED SOX STAR, ELECTED TO BASEBALL HALL OF FAME: Yes!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. So, Big Papi, the only player that did get the call yesterday. David Ortiz getting voted into the Hall of Fame in his very first year on the ballot. The 10-time all-star received nearly 78 percent of the vote.

Big Papi -- he hit 541 home runs in this 20-year big league career and is considered one of the most clutch hitters in baseball history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORTIZ: When you are playing -- when you are in the mix and you're in the mix, you're not thinking about any others. You're thinking about do whatever it takes to win championships. Do whatever it takes for the fans to go happy on you. You do whatever it takes for your community, for your (INAUDIBLE), for your people. I mean, you're not thinking about one day being in the Hall of Fame.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, some huge news in the NFL yesterday. After 15 seasons, Sean Payton is stepping down as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Payton was the second-longest tenured head coach behind only Bill Belichick. He led the team to the Super Bowl, winning the Super Bowl in 2009. He finishes as the winningest coach in Saints history.

And lots of whispers that Payton may end up coaching the Cowboys one day. But yesterday, he was asked about his future plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN PAYTON, FORMER NEW ORLEANS SAINTS HEAD COACH: I don't know what's next and it kind of feels good. The last thing I did before I went to bed, I Google searched how not to cry during a speech and one of the items was drink water and yawn. Well, I didn't want to yawn, but it worked a little bit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, to the NBA.

Anthony Davis returning to the Lakers' lineup against the Nets after missing 17 games with a knee injury. He looked healthy, leaping high to slam down an alley-oop from LeBron James for the game's first points. And then check out this sequence (ph) from LeBron in the fourth

quarter. He gets the steal, slams it on the other end. The Nets then come right back down the court and LeBron's going to steal it again and dunk it -- and go for the dunk. LeBron finished with 33 points as the Lakers got the win 106-96.

The Clippers, meantime, pulling off the biggest comeback in team history against the Wizards last night. At one point, Washington was up by 35 points.

They were up six with 10 seconds left. But Luke Kennard hits a three right here, and then the Wizards were called for a five-second violation. Then Kennard would hit another three and get fouled. He hit the free throw and got seven points in nine seconds for Kennard.

The Clippers shocked the Wizards 116-115.

And finally, hockey has a new ironman. Philadelphia Flyers' defenseman Keith Yandle playing in his 965th consecutive NHL game last night. He surpasses the mark set by Doug Jarvis in 1987. The 35-year-old hasn't missed a game since March of 2009.

JARRETT: Wow.

SCHOLES: Guys, can you imagine not missing work since 2009? Pretty impressive, especially in hockey.

ROMANS: That's quite --

JARRETT: No comment.

ROMANS: -- an attendance record. Do you guys ever get like the middle school attendance record? I never did.

JARRETT: Perfect attendance.

ROMANS: Yes, you did.

SCHOLES: Oh, yes, I did it once I think -- yes.

ROMANS: Laura, you -- I'm sure you did, Laura. That's so perfect.

All right, thanks. Nice to see you.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: All right.

Elton John's farewell tour hitting another sang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELTON JOHN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: Two of his farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour dates in Dallas postponed after Elton John tested positive for COVID. He is fully vaccinated. He is boosted. He says he only has mild symptoms.

John just returned to the stage after almost two years due to the pandemic, of course, and hip surgery.

JARRETT: Christine, let me tell you. I saw Elton John in Vegas in what I like to call before times -- before COVID. He's amazing.

ROMANS: Yes, he really is.

JARRETT: His voice is still so strong, still.

ROMANS: He really is. And, I mean, I hope we can -- I hope he can recover quickly and they can reschedule those. I'd like to see him on that tour. Thank you so much.

Thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN: Singing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Wednesday, January 26th. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar.

Major news this morning in a story that CNN broke overnight. For the first time, the Department of Justice is publicly acknowledging that it is looking into a specific aspect of the plot from high-level Donald Trump allies to --