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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Judge Rejects Plea Deal In Ahmaud Arbery Federal Hate Crime Case; British Prime Minister Condemned For Leadership Failure In 'Partygate' Report; Tom Brady Breaks His Silence On Retirement Reports. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired February 01, 2022 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
RACHEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, CO-AUTHOR, POLITICO PLAYBOOK (via Webex by Cisco): So the infighting between the Republican Party, it's going to be something to watch in the coming weeks.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Well, and if they do name Ketanji Brown Jackson then not only do they get a SCOTUS pick but they also have a very powerful seat on the D.C. circuit --
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
JARRETT: -- now just opened for them.
Rachel Bade, thank you so much -- appreciate it.
BADE: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right, to the culture wars now -- the fake culture wars. The Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel "Maus" is back on bestseller lists. This, after that Tennessee school district pulled the book from its eighth-grade curriculum for what it said was rough and objectionable language. "Maus" is an account of the author's father's experiences with the horrors of the Holocaust depicting Jews as mice and Nazis as cats.
I bought this book --
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: -- when I listened to Art Spiegelman, the author, on --
JARRETT: Author, yes.
ROMANS: -- "NEW DAY" last week and had my eighth-grader read it and asked him what he thought.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: He thought it was really compelling. And then I had -- another little boy came to my house and he looked at -- he saw the -- he saw the -- he saw the --
JARRETT: The cover.
ROMANS: -- cover of the book. He's like my mom just bought that, too. So apparently --
JARRETT: It just shows you the reverse of fact.
ROMANS: Right, putting it on the bestseller list again.
JARRETT: All right. Still ahead for you, no plea deal on federal hate crime charges for the two white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery. We have a former federal prosecutor who did these type of cases, next.
ROMANS: And what's a five-letter word for the owner of the free game that has taken over the internet and just sold for seven figures?
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:31:22]
JARRETT: In Georgia, a federal judge has rejected a plea deal for Travis and Gregory McMichael, two of them convicted of killing 25- year-old Ahmaud Arbery. The agreement would have forced the men to admit that the killing was motivated by race, but Arbery's family pleaded with the judge to block the deal and move ahead with the federal hate crimes trial set to begin next week.
Let's bring in Jared Fishman, founder and executive director of Justice Innovation Lab, and a former federal prosecutor at the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Jared, thank you so much for getting up bright and early for us.
I want to start with this curious statement last night from the Justice Department. You used to be there. It kind of suggests some wires got crossed, frankly. They're saying they were working under the assumption that the family was on board with this plea deal for the McMichaels when clearly, Ahmaud Arbery's mother wasn't on board.
So, what happens now?
JARED FISHMAN, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JUSTICE INNOVATION LAB, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I think in a case of this high caliber, high profile nature the Justice Department was definitely in communications with the attorneys for the family, so something got crossed. We're uncertain what that is at this point but there was definitely a miscommunication between the Justice Department and the family.
JARRETT: Well, and they have an obligation certainly under the Victims of Crime Act to sit down and sort of walk through. And given that they were going to have to admit that the killing was motivated by race you can imagine the situation which the family would have been on board with that. But again, clearly, something is amiss here.
So now, both Travis and Gregory McMichael have until this Friday to decide whether to actually plead guilty to these federal crimes and face I think up to 30 years in prison. So what can we expect on Friday?
FISHMAN: Well, what I think has event is underscored is how our legal system is ill-equipped to achieve the justice of the victims and the community demand in a case like this. There's a tension between what justice demands; there's a desire for retribution with the state convictions. We saw both of these two gentlemen, as well as the other defendant sentenced to life in state custody, which is among the harshest penalties that exist.
Though, at the same time, there's a competing tension, which is to call the murder of Mr. Arbery what it is -- a racially-motivated murder. And in order to get that there either needs to be finding of guilt of the hate crime or the defendants need to acknowledge that.
But the plea deal that we saw worked out would come at the expense of the retribution in the previous penalty that they already received. And so, ultimately, the court will have to make that decision. Will it accept this plea at the expense of that previous sentence in order to have the acknowledgment, or will the government have to go to trial and prove its case?
JARRETT: Yes. Well, I imagine they are certainly gearing up to be prepared to go to trial as soon as next week.
Jared Fishman, I imagine we will have you back bright and early very soon. There are so many of these interesting cases in the news right now. Thank you so much -- appreciate it.
FISHMAN: Thank you, Laura.
ROMANS: All right, a failure of leadership and judgment. That's from a British report condemning Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a series of private staff parties while the country was under strict COVID restrictions.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is live for us this morning at 10 Downing Street in London with the latest. How is the prime minister handling this?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, today he's going to take off to Ukraine to deal with the crisis there. So in a way, escaping it for now, buying himself another day.
But this is a scathing report, Christine. It wasn't just talking about a couple of parties here, it outlined 16 gatherings. It outlined a culture of excessive drinking right behind me here under the prime minister's roof. A culture of acting above the rules. A culture that ultimately disrespected the sacrifices of British families.
[05:40:00]
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's response was yet another very meek I'm sorry in Parliament, but it's really down to his own party. After he was in Parliament yesterday, that's where he headed to convince his own lawmakers he's still the man for the job. He was able again to buy himself another day. But it's only going to get worse for the prime minister. Yesterday's
report, as scathing as it was, was just the summary. We're expecting the full report in the coming days. There's also the police investigation looking into even more serious allegations. This is going from bad to worse for Boris Johnson.
ROMANS: All right, Salma, thank you so much for that -- Laura.
JARRETT: So, first came the sourdough starters for your bread, then came Tiger King, and then the versus battles online. Now, the latest pandemic craze Wordle, and it has a new owner. "The New York Times" has purchased the widely-popular online game that gives players a chance -- six chances to guess a five-letter mystery word each day. And then it gives people a chance to brag about their scores online. Millions of people are playing every day.
The price for Wordle, according to the newspaper, was in the low seven figures. The "Times" says the game will remain free to new and existing players for now.
I do not play Wordle because I know I have an addictive personality and I cannot be dragged into this vortex.
ROMANS: I do not either, but I know almost everyone here does. So it has become sort of this daily ritual for so many people. So --
JARRETT: Especially John Berman.
ROMANS: -- good for them for the low seven figures.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: I'm guessing $3 million but that's just a guess.
All right, what's driving up prices at the supermarket? We're going to ask the top boss at a chain of grocery stores near New York, next.
JARRETT: And Tom Brady speaks for the first time since reports of his retirement.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:45:52]
ROMANS: All right, a brand-new month for business. Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning.
Looking at markets around the world, Asian shares closed mixed. Europe has opened higher here today. On Wall Street, stock index futures leaning a little bit lower here.
Look, on Monday it was a rally to end a crummy January. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose more than one percent. The Nasdaq up -- look at that -- 3.4 percent -- a big pop despite that strong final day.
Here's the damage report for January, the worst month for both the S&P and the Nasdaq since March 2020, down 5.3 percent and 8.9 percent respectively. The Dow down 3.3 percent.
Higher interest rates are coming and that's the problem. And that devalues pricey stocks like tech. The Fed is ending its easy money policies this year. Low interest rates have fueled the market's boom from the March 2020 lows.
Grocery store sticker shock. By one measure, the grocery bill jumped nine percent last year and many of the biggest brands are raising prices on Oscar Meyer, Velveeta cheese, Maxwell House coffee, Kool- Aid, Tide laundry detergent. The list goes on and on.
It's all about COVID. The supply chain is a mess. There are product shortages. There are worker shortages. And consumers are still shopping like crazy.
Let's bring in Stew Leonard Jr. He is the CEO of the Stew Leonard's grocery chain. So nice to see you this morning.
Stew, how are you adapting?
STEW LEONARD JR., CEO, STEW LEONARD'S (via Skype): You know what? We've never been working as hard at buying as we have right now. It's just a show out there just trying to get the product that we need. Like, even chicken wings coming up for the Super Bowl.
You know, you don't know if the shipment is going to show up or not so you order extra, and you keep your fingers crossed and hope that it'll be delivered.
ROMANS: How long do you think this is going to last because a year ago, we were in the thick of some of these empty shelves, and product shortages, and delays? I just got some cream cheese this week so I'm feeling confident, but I don't know what's going to be the thing I'm not going to get next week.
LEONARD: Well, you know what, Christine? We're recommending to our customers three things.
One of them is you'll see specials every week at a store. Stock up and freeze the items. We learned that during the pandemic. A lot of people were freezing.
The second thing, we're seeing a big shift from those national brands to private-label in-store brands.
ROMANS: Yes.
LEONARD: Sometimes they're made by the same manufacturer. So, go for that.
And the other thing is that you've got plenty of sale items every week. Look in the ads and get them. Even though there is a pandemic, the thing about the food industry is there's always spots where some of the suppliers have to move heavy volume and they'll give you a discount on it. ROMANS: I think that's really good advice. And let's be honest. This isn't not -- this is not inflation like the 1970s and early '80s when you only had one local grocery store and you didn't have all this competition. We have a very healthy, vibrant sort of food infrastructure -- be nimble is what you're saying.
Talk to me a little bit --
LEONARD: Yes, be nimble --
ROMANS: Go ahead.
LEONARD: Yes, be nimble today, you know.
But look, the reality is we're like your listeners. I mean, we're a company. We have seven stores up around Metro New York here. But we have to buy products every day.
I talk to our ranchers and our farmers and they're all telling me hey, to put fuel in my tractors, to put fuel in my trucks -- that's going up.
ROMANS: Yes.
LEONARD: They're all talking about labor -- how hard it is and how much it costs right now. So that has gone up.
The other -- third thing I think that's creating some of this -- the increase in prices is the supply chain. The demand for a lot of these food items is very high. Some of the items you mentioned are -- you just can't make enough of them.
Like our ranchers out in Kansas, they would love to run the packing plant six days a week right now but they are like on five days a week. They don't have enough workers.
ROMANS: Yes. I think the worker shortage -- it started as what they're calling the great resignation, but I think we're going to have a big conversation about immigration and the worker pipeline here is going to be the next iteration of that.
So nice -- Stew Leonard, so nice to see you. Thank you so much to you.
[05:50:00]
LEONARD: Hey, Christine --
ROMANS: Go ahead.
LEONARD: -- one thing I want you to do -- I hear you're an expert in French also.
ROMANS: How do you know about that?
LEONARD: My son-in-law is from Bordeaux so he is our baguette expert, OK? We run our baguettes by him now to make the best one. I'm going to have you taste one of our baguettes.
ROMANS: Tres bien, I will do it. I will be your taste tester.
LEONARD: OK.
ROMANS: Stew Leonard, nice to --
LEONARD: Au revoir and merci beaucoup.
ROMANS: Au revoir, merci, (INAUDIBLE). Thank you so much, Stew Leonard.
LEONARD: OK.
JARRETT: A perfect French accent from Christine Romans there.
So, speaking of this tight labor market, a big name in fast food now wants hungry customers to skip delivery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINO'S T.V. AD: At Domino's, we're delivery experts, so when it comes --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Domino's, facing a shortage of workers, is offering a $3.00 tip for the customers who order online and then pick up their own pizza. The rollout coming just days ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, one of Domino's busiest days of the year for pizza sales.
I'll do that.
ROMANS: You're going to see these companies trying to adapt to the labor shortage.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: And I'm going to say it again. I think the next iteration of the labor shortage story is an immigration policy story.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: Because we -- there's just -- everyone is saying they cannot get workers. And wages are rising and that's something that CEOs say they're going to have to contend with.
All right, is Tom Brady ready to call it quits? The biggest question out there, right? The Buccaneers quarterback breaks his silence over reports of his retirement.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
ROMANS: Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.
SCHOLES: Yes, good morning, guys. So, you know, over the weekend, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported that Brady is, in fact, retiring after 22 amazing NFL seasons. But the seven-time Super Bowl champion set the record straight on his "Let's Go" podcast last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: And I'm just still going through the process that I said I was going through. So, sometimes it takes some time to really evaluate how you feel and what you want to do, and I think when the time's right I'll be ready to make a decision one way or another, just like I said last week.
I'm going to take it day by day. It really is. I'll take it by the moments and figure out when I feel really confident to allow people to understand my decision. It affects a lot of people's lives. So when that decision comes, it will come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. Brady had said last week that his decision is going to be a family call. He led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season. Brady turns 45 years old in August.
All right, the Bengals, meanwhile, are in the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years and kids in Cincinnati are going to get to stay up late to watch it. Cincinnati Public Schools are giving students the day off after the big game. The school district tweeted, "In honor of the Bengals' first Super Bowl appearance since 1988, CPS will not have school on Monday, February 14th. Staff and students will have the day off to celebrate what we believe will be our city's first-ever Super Bowl victory. #WhoDey"
The city hasn't had much to celebrate for a while. The last time Cincinnati won a championship was the Reds winning the World Series back in 1990.
All right, to the NBA. Coming into last night's game, Steph Curry was having the worst shooting month of his career and he wasn't having a great night -- wasn't having a great night against the Rockets, either. But in the third quarter, Kevin Porter Jr. started talking some trash and that got Curry going. He erupted for 21 points in the fourth quarter, hitting multiple step-back threes. Curry ended with 40 points as the Warriors got the win 122-108.
After the game, Curry said all the trash talk made him take it to another level.
Steve Kerr, meanwhile, joked that he highly encourages others to try to trash talk Curry in the future.
All right. And finally, the Washington Football Team is going to officially announce its new name and uniforms tomorrow. But former quarterback Joe Theismann, who led the team to their first Super Bowl victory in 1982, may have spilled the beans early.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE THEISMANN, FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK: The Commanders is a name that is going to be hopefully one that people will talk about going forward. Commander -- basically, it's Washington D.C. A lot of commanders in Washington, D.C. and the Pentagon, and a lot of different branches of the service. So, to me, that's sort of the way I'm looking at it -- as positions of leadership when it comes to the new name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, guys, the name being Commanders has kind of been the worst-kept secret in sports for a -- for a little while. What do you think -- Washington Commanders? It doesn't really roll off the tongue.
ROMANS: I like -- I'm now used to Washington Football Team, so I -- it's going to take me --
SCHOLES: It is better.
ROMANS: It's going to take me some time.
JARRETT: I think it's -- I think it's an upgrade.
ROMANS: So I want to know real quickly, did the Bengals win or the Chiefs lost? What happened there?
SCHOLES: I mean, it's being called one of the biggest collapses in championship game history. The Chiefs -- they -- I mean, that play before the half --
ROMANS: Yes.
SCHOLES: -- guys, where they threw it and didn't get any points out of being at the one-yard line -- you know, you go both ways. But, you know, you like to give credit to the teams that made great comebacks --
ROMANS: Yes.
SCHOLES: -- so I'm going to go ahead and say the Bengals won that game.
JARRETT: Is that how you were spending your birthday -- watching football?
ROMANS: Yes. Well, I live in a house of football fans, so --
SCHOLES: Christine, I was going to say you're wearing a Joe Burrow turtleneck this morning. I like it.
(Laughing)
ROMANS: God, Joe Burrow -- what a story, right? I mean, that kid -- that guy has got to be just the happiest guy in the world.
[05:55:00]
All right, thanks so much for joining us.
SCHOLES: All right.
SCHOLES: Nice to see you, Andy.
I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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