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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Border Blockade Grows, Cutting Off Auto Industry Supply Chain; Biden: States Lifting Mandates "Probably Premature"; Biden Tells Americans in Ukraine to "Leave Now"; IOC to Hold Hearing for Russian Figure Skater Kamila Valieva. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired February 11, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:09]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It is Friday, February 11th. Happy Friday.

It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York. Thanks so much for getting an early start with us. I'm Laura Jarrett.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world.

But we begin with this blockade at the U.S. border. This was started by Canadian truckers but has now escalated. Access to three border crossings in North Dakota, Montana and a major border between Ontario and Michigan all cut off.

The White House says that companies and entire industries are seeing impact to supply chains and other disruptions. Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, and others, they're all having to cut back production here.

JARRETT: Analysts say U.S. autoworkers in Michigan stand to lose up to lose $51 million in wages this week alone.

Let's bring Josh Rubin. He's a business reporter for "The Toronto Star".

Josh, thank you so much for getting up bright and early with us here.

These protests appear to be only growing right now. And the sense from the outside is that law enforcement really doesn't have a handle on the situation. There seem to be more tickets than arrests by my count. So, what's your sense of what's actually happening on the ground there?

JOSH RUBIN, BUSINESS REPORTER, THE TORONTO STAR: Well, you know, thanks for having me. I think there's some hesitance on the part of law enforcement to kind of, you know, go in and start cracking heads and really arresting people and dragging trucks out. You know, there's -- it's not -- I think they're afraid of violence to a certain extent, and also, I think there's some genuine divide on how to handle this situation. JARRETT: Yeah, what began us, we're calling it trucker-inspired

because, you know, our reporters on the ground are telling us that there are a lot of other people there. There are a lot of trucks, but a lot of other people that have come into this.

RUBIN: Yeah, there's a lot more pickup trucks and cars than there are tractor-trailers out there, that's for sure.

JARRETT: What we're hearing is that the majority of the trucking industry are vaccinated and want to work here. You have auto industries that are having to pause production here. There are actual real money implications here, right down to paychecks. I mean, ironically, this is supposed to be a protest about someone's livelihood being impinged on because of vaccine wages. Does the Canadian government help to plan to work around these disruptions if this continues?

RUBIN: You know, there's a limit to how much you can work around the disruptions, because the volume of stuff, particularly the Ambassador Bridge, the volume of trade that goes through there just enormous. I mean, you can kind of take an extra load of tomatoes from, you know, Florida, that are going from Florida through that tunnel, to the peace bridge or something.

But, you know, you can't -- you simply can't route everything around it. It's, it's -- there's just too much going through. There's like $400 million in trade going through that bridge, both ways, every day. You know, if total, every day.

ROMANS: Wow.

RUBIN: So you can't route around it. It's simply impossible.

JARRETT: I think that's what makes it so confounding this has been allowed to go on for so long. Given how serious it is and the multi- million dollars at stake here. The other question I have, what's the specific demand at this point? Do they want to scrap all vaccine mandates? Is there a demand?

RUBIN: They want to scrap all vaccine mandates. Some of the -- some of the protesters in Ottawa wanted to get rid of the government. There's a sense, you know, I think a background fear, there's a sense that this is -- some people want this to be Canada's January 6th.

JARRETT: Well, I hope not. And I hope that does not turn out to be anywhere close to the case, given what happened here.

ROMANS: It feels a little like Occupy Wall Street, Josh, though. Remember Occupy Wall Street? It feels a little bit like that, sort of rising up against, I don't know, the authority.

RUBIN: Yeah, definitely. I mean, like, you know, trying to get a coherent demands out of a group of people that's that widespread is a little tough, you know? And you have the same things. You have people saying, you know, down with Trudeau.

You know, you have flags -- you know, there have been confederate flags. There's been --

ROMANS: Wait, Confederate flags in Canada?

RUBIN: Yeah, I know. Because we're part of the northern confederacy, I guess, right? So --

ROMANS: That to me puts a fine point on the whole -- on the whole thing.

[05:05:03]

All right.

RUBIN: Absolutely.

JARRETT: Josh Rubin, "Toronto Star" business reporter, Josh, thank you so much. Appreciate your insights.

ROMANS: All right, now to President Biden, with states rolling back mask mandates as the number of COVID cases drops across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Are you afraid, though, that some states and cities are moving too quickly to loosen indoor mask mandates?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you know, it's -- I've -- I committed that I would follow the science. The science as put forward by the CDC and the federal people, and I think it's probably premature, but it's a tough call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. CNN's Jasmine Wright is live for us this Friday morning in Washington.

Jasmine, the president also admitting in this interview that there's confusion out there about what to do.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, he did, Christine. And look, it matters because governors are moving on. And that includes Democratic governors, trying to phase their population into this new phase of the pandemic, even if that means defying CDC guidelines. And that has two really prominent effects. First, it makes the federal government look like they are a few steps behind, but also creates uncertainty among Americans who don't know where to look who are to trust on this issue.

So Biden spoke to that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: It is confusing. It's worrisome to people, but trying to figure out. But what I've tried to do -- I've tried to make sure that we have all the vaccines needed, all the boosters needed, all the mask and all the protection needed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So there we hear the president defaulting back into his efforts to try to get more Americans vaccinated, more Americans tested, boosted, and get those masks.

Now, we know, though, that there is some effort on the side of the administration, really to looking to outside health officials, trying to get some advice on how to basically join these governors. Push the population, push the country into this new phase that we recognize is here past this pandemic.

But one thing that they haven't figured out is kind of what metrics to put in place, including whether or not, you know, what happens when to enforce these mask mandates. But the president trying to straddle the fence, showing compassion for these governors, saying it's a tough call, but also really showing that his administration is not ready yet to move on.

ROMANS: Right. The president also talked about selecting a new Supreme Court justice. Did you get any insight into this process here?

WRIGHT: Well, the president was really clear, really trying to lay out his process and how far he is along in the process of trying to pick a new Supreme Court nominee. Remember, he said that his deadline is by the end of February.

So take a listen to really how he outlined it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I've taken about four people and done the deep dive on them, meaning there's thorough background checks and -- to see if there's anything in the background that would make them not qualified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So here we have it, Laura. The president really laying out his approach, where he is in the process.

One thing we did not hear from him, though, is really outlining names that he is looking for, those four judges that he's taken a deep dive on. Now, we have some idea of who is really viewed on that short list, including D.C. Judge Ketanji Brown, South Carolina Judge Michelle Childs, California Judge Leandra Kruger. But again, the president is under a deadline of February and they're moving along.

Now, he did say before this interview, when he was talking to Senate Democrats in the Oval Office that he could start meeting with potential candidates as soon as next week. So we'll of course be looking for any movement on that front -- Laura, Christine.

JARRETT: Very interesting. Jasmine, thank you.

All right. President Biden also addressed the situation in Ukraine, as the possibility of a Russian invasion grows by the day. He had this warning for Americans who remain there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: American citizens should leave, should leave now. We're dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, how is the Kremlin responding to Biden's remarks that Americans should get out now because it could be crazy?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, we haven't had any direct response from the Kremlin on this. What we do know, they continue to deny, as recently as yesterday, the foreign minister telling the British foreign secretary that Russia has no intention to invade Ukraine. But, you know, recently released satellite images do show Russia continues deploy more troops, more equipment to both Belarus, for the military exercises there, to Crimea, south of Ukraine, and in Russian cities, just to the east of Ukraine, as well.

So the pictures that emerges at least from the satellite is Russia is more capable of executing an invasion, so it should desire, at a more immediate moment.

[05:10:07]

And I think that seems to be the root of the concern here.

But as far as Russia is concerned at the moment, these are military exercises and we know that they're sort of going to swing to even higher gear over the weekend, and the big question thereby, when these exercises end, which is supposed to be or expected to be the 20th of February, will they twill begin to pull back some of those troops. And on that, they haven't been clear yet.

JARRETT: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you.

ROMANS: All right. President Biden acknowledging the challenge higher prices have in the COVID economy recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLT: When can Americans expect some relief from this soaring inflation?

BIDEN: According to Nobel laureates, 14 of them that contacted me, and a number of corporate leaders, it ought to be able to start to taper off as we go through this year. In the meantime, I'm going to do everything in my power to deal with the big points that are impacting most people in their homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Taper off from this. January's consumer prices rose 7.5 percent from last year. That is the biggest annual increase since February 1982. That's nearly four decades.

When you look at month-to-month inflation increases, prices rose 0.6 percent from December, and that was disappoint. That reverses a trend of the last few months that showed a slowdown at least month-to-month in price hikes. That means that the peak is probably not in yet.

Higher prices across the board, big jumps in the past year for gasoline, used cars, groceries and electricity. Food also jumped 0.9 percent for the month. That's a big increase from December. That's a big move in just one month.

That's something every American feels. And there are increases in nearly every grocery category.

That red-hot inflation is likely hitting your household budget. Our friends at Moody's say, at current inflation levels, the average U.S. family is paying $250 more per month for the same things compared to before the pandemic.

That puts more pressure on the Federal Reserve. It is the Fed's job to fight inflation. The Fed is already planning to raise interest rates several times this year, but it may make more aggressive moves to cool demand and tame prices. That's what the problem was in the stock market yesterday.

JARRETT: It's interesting to me that they are still paying for it. They're not happy that they're paying high prices but they --

ROMANS: We haven't seen demand go down. People are still going out there and buying stuff.

JARRETT: Still ahead for you, the Russian figure skater accused of using a banned drug just before the Beijing Olympics. What now? Does she get to compete? We have all the details on an urgent hearing.

ROMANS: And new reporting on the White House papers that ended up in Florida with Donald Trump. What this means for his legal jeopardy.

JARRETT: And a bad fall leads to Bob Saget's death. A medical expert joins us soon on what you should know about head trauma.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:17:30]

ROMANS: All right. New drama for the Russian figure skater at the center of a doping scandal at the Beijing Olympics. An urgent hearing has just been called to determine if she'll be allowed to compete in her next event.

Selina Wang is in Beijing with the very latest.

What do we know, Selina?

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, this doping scandal now overshadowing the premiere event at the Winter Games. Officials have confirmed that 15-year-old figure skating star Kamila Valieva, she has tested positive for a banned substance. This is a drug that is used to treat a heart conditions, and it improves endurance. It also increases blood flow.

And this is a huge deal, because she is the favorite to win gold in women's singles. She is considered one of the best skaters in the world, the first woman in history to land a quad at the games. And now the question is, can she continue to compete? Can the gold that the ROC already won, can they keep that medal?

The ROC is hoping that Valieva's case is expedited because she's due to compete again in a few days on Tuesday. The timeline of events here, it's a little bit confusing, but it started on December 25th, that is when Valieva's sample was taken in Russia. Now, the results of that test did not come through until the Russian Olympic Committee already took home the gold.

Not until Tuesday did they get the result of that test taken on December 25th. When they discovered it was positive, the Russian Anti- Doping Agency, they banned Valieva from competing, she challenged that decision, and then her suspension was lifted.

The IOC now, though, they are pushing back. They are calling for a hearing on this. And very soon, they have to make that decision, because Tuesday, Christine, that's when she's due to compete again.

ROMANS: All right. Selina, thank you so much for that.

Laura?

JARRETT: Now, to this, explosive new details about some of the documents that Donald Trump took to his home in Mar-a-Lago when he left the White House. "The Washington Post" reports that some of those documents were clearly marked as classified and some were market as top secret.

Let's bring in CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Jennifer Rodgers.

Jennifer, good morning. Flushing documents down the White House toilets was bad enough. We learned that yesterday. But now, "The Post" has confirmed that at least some of these documents were, in fact, classified, the ones that were down at Mar-a-Lago.

Do you think that that will force the Justice Department's hand to at least take a look at what happened, not saying that any charges will be brought, but don't they have to look at this?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think so, Laura, because DOJ and the FBI take very seriously classified information. So I think if they can confirm reporting that there was actually classified information in these boxes, and they will have to do that because they're now at the National Archives.

[05:20:06]

They certainly will have to investigate this.

JARRETT: And, of course, we understand there are big questions about the status of those documents. Did he go through some declassification process, perhaps before he took the documents down to Mar-a-Lago. We need some more reporting on that.

But to be clear, he can't just de-classify things if he wants to, waving a magic wand. He certainly can't declassify things retroactively, right?

RODGERS: He cannot declassify things retroactively in the sense that once you're no longer president, you don't have that power anymore. One thing they'll have to consider is if they do investigate and consider charging this, even if they weren't declassified, does the fact that he was president when he took them somehow negate the intent here? I mean, this is unchartered territory. I think that they will consider it as it relates to intent.

JARRETT: Yeah, the timeline is going to be important here, and exactly what the markings were. I want to ask you while I have you about the January 6th committee apparently discovered gaps in the White House call logs on the day of the attack against the capitol. No calls to or from the president, according to CNN's reporting.

We know that he uses other aides' phones, right? He uses the phone, just not his phone, perhaps. As a former prosecutor, though, does that raise red flags for you that there's no calls?

RODGERS: Well, we've known for a long time that he uses others people's phones, you know, whoever happens to be around, whoever happens to pick the phone. So, that's not really a surprise.

It definitely makes it more challenging. They had already started to try to gather call records from the people who would have been physically around him during the day. So it definitely makes it harder. Given all that he's done to avoid proper record keeping and handling of documents, you would think that might raise a red flag with the calls, but that has been his process the entire time.

I'm not so sure it shows an attempt to avoid the record keeping in terms of the calls. It just makes it more challenging to put the facts together.

JARRETT: Yeah. All right. Jennifer Rodgers, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

RODGERS: Thanks, Laura.

ROMANS: All right. Twenty-one minutes past the hour. Just ahead, new evidence revealing that Bob Saget may have died after an accident.

JARRETT: And the very short reason for this very long table between French President Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:26:46]

ROMANS: The medical examiner who performed Bob Saget's autopsy now says he probably fell when no one was looking and hit the back of his head. The cause of death, blunt head trauma.

With me now, Dr. Joseph Sakran, trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

So nice to see you bright and early this morning.

DR. JOSEPH SAKRAN, EMERGENCY GENERAL SURGERY DIRECTOR, JOHNS HOPKINS, HOSPITAL: Yeah.

ROMANS: This is such a tragedy. The family at least now knows what officials think happened. They said, blunt head trauma here.

The statement from the chief medical examiner said probably suffered an un-witnessed fall backwards and struck the posterior aspect of his head. Are you surprised by this? Is this a common cause of death?

SAKRAN: Yeah. Well, good morning and thanks so much for having me.

This is obviously a very sad situation. I mean, people in America often bump their head and this is not the end result. But it's clear from the medical examiner's report that this was a severe blow to the head, which, you know, based off the other findings looks like resulted in some significant bleeding around the brain, that then, you know, resulted in probably what was a lot of pressure, that then ended up resulting in the loss of his life, unfortunately.

ROMANS: Yeah, and that's what blunt head trauma is.

Our friend, Dr. Sanjay Gupta says, if you bump other part of your body, there's swelling and your body can fix it, but your head is encased in this hard shell. If you're at home and you bump your head, I guess the question here is what should you look out for?

I mean, he -- it looks as though he decided to go to sleep. Maybe he had a headache, we won't ever know. He went to sleep. What should somebody look out for?

SAKRAN: Yeah, I that's a great question. Some of the things that we tell people to look for are, if they're having a worsening headache, do they have confusion, do they have nausea, vomiting. Those type of things.

Of course, Bob Saget was alone in a hotel room. You can imagine that he had no one really looking out for him. He was the one who he would say, if you have those pieces and this severe blow to the head, you want to get to a trauma center so you can be evaluated as quickly as possible.

ROMANS: All right. Very good advice, Dr. Joseph Sakran, Johns Hopkins Hospital, thank you so much this morning.

SAKRAN: Thanks so much for having me. JARRETT: Up next for you, the Biden tragedy to fight inflation. High

stakes for his presidency and his party.

ROMANS: And how this year's super bowl halftime will make history.