Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Shortage Of Baby Formula In The U.S. Growing More Severe; Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Declares Victory In Presidential Vote; Sources: Fake Electors Cooperating In Georgia's Trump Probe. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 11, 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]
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of parents are talking about right now -- growing concern about a shortage of baby formula. Store shelves in some places even emptier than they were the week before.
Look at these numbers. In normal times the so-called out-of-stock rate is around 2% to 8%. Now it's spiked up to 43%. And just last week -- that was just last week and that's up from the week before.
The White House says it is working around the clock to address the issue. But here's the thing. It's driven by supply chain issues that we talk about all the time, staffing shortages, and a recall at a big- name manufacturer, Abbott Nutrition.
As one formula maker put it, quote, "This is a crisis. We can't flip a switch and make a lot more formula."
Let's bring in Dr. Elizabeth Murray. She's a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Golisano Children's Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Dr. Murray, we need your help here because there is a lot of hysteria about it. But I want to be really clear -- you can still buy baby formula right now. I know because I just went online and tried to get some because I heard about all this reporting.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I went to my grocery store and it was full. They had everything at my grocery store.
JARRETT: Exactly. And so, you say it's like if you were a fan of Pepsi but you have to drink Coke instead. Explain that for folks.
DR. ELIZABETH MURRAY, PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN (via Skype): Yes. So, certainly, this is a highly emotionally charged issue. Parenting is the hardest thing we're going to do and we all want to make sure we are doing the best things for our babies.
And so, first and foremost, some children are on highly-specialized formulas. And any time you're going to change a formula always run it by your child's pediatrician or family practice doctor first because there are some children that can't easily make the change.
But I think so often we kind of feel like all right, we figured out the formula that works or our baby is doing well on --
JARRETT: Yes.
MURRAY: -- this formula --
JARRETT: Yes.
MURRAY: -- so this is our formula. It turns out there are many, many, many different brands out there and there's many different versions of formula, and a lot of them are very, very similar.
Remember, things such as phrases when they talk about sensitive or gentle -- those aren't regulated terms. Those are kind of like this car has 10 cupholders in it so it's better. Well, these are kind of terms that make the formula sound more exciting than it is.
At the end of the day, it's a way to deliver fat and protein, and sugar in the right ratios for what your baby needs. And so there are a lot of options out there. You've just got to take a look.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: A lot of safe options. You talk about the ratio and how incredibly important this nutrition is for children of this age. I'm looking on Facebook and you can see, really, some hysterical reactions on social media and even recipes for DIY formula. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Why is that dangerous?
MURRAY: Yes. So, babies -- especially the newborns -- the younger babies -- their bodies really need very tight control on how their calories are given to them and the amount of water. It is never appropriate to give a newborn baby a bottle of water. Their bodies actually just can't handle it.
We also worry about pasteurization and safety with regards to processing. That was part of the concern with the original recall is, again, a little baby just doesn't have the ability to fight off different types of germs in the same way. And it is just so easy to get that ratio and get that formula wrong if you are making it at home. So lots of risk factors there.
I agree. I've seen all the recipes. I've seen lots of comments of oh, we used to do it back in the day this way. Well, the reason we don't do it anymore is that there was lots of problems and lots of safety concerns. So you always want to be using a commercially-produced --
ROMANS: Yes.
MURRAY: -- formula if your baby is using formula.
ROMANS: I used to sit on my mom's lap when she would drive to the grocery store. That's not a good idea.
JARRETT: I was going to say we used to do a lot of things back in the -- back in the day.
ROMANS: Just because we used to do it that way, not a good idea.
JARRETT: Not a good idea.
What about -- what about this one. What about starting cow's milk a little bit earlier? What about supplementing with maybe a little bit more purees? I assume also bad ideas.
MURRAY: Yes. Well, look a little bit earlier. At 11 months, if you talk to your pediatrician about it, maybe that's OK. But at four months, no. That's, again, not OK.
JARRETT: Yes.
MURAY: It doesn't provide the ratio of calories. It actually can provide some difficulties with blood development in the body and other problems there.
Purees are good if your baby is over about four to six months of age and already can take solid foods. But again, the calories, the fats are very, very important as part of a baby's nutrition.
So, you know, you can do some label shopping and do some comparisons. The brand that you purchased in the past might not be available. But remember -- especially when it comes to the store brand names -- those are all made by the same company.
JARRETT: Yes.
MURRAY: They just have different labels put on it. So actually, the same formula.
JARRETT: Yes.
MURRAY: Again, a lot of label reading needs to happen here. It's easier than it sounds. There are some great resources online and, of course, your child's doctor will be another great resource to help you if you need to make that change. You can do it.
ROMANS: Yes, and just a reminder. Maybe you have to use a different kind of formula. That's not necessarily the end of the world.
MURRAY: Exactly. Like, if you have to drink one kind of soda as an adult -- don't give babies soda -- you'll be OK for a little bit.
JARRETT: The problem is once you find what works --
[05:35:00]
ROMANS: I know.
JARRETT: -- on anything -- food, sleep, anything -- you don't want to mess anything up.
ROMANS: I know.
JARRETT: And so you just want to stick with what works. ROMANS: I know.
JARRETT: But on this one, it sounds like there is, at least, a path forward.
ROMANS: And look -- and this isn't chicken wings or toilet paper. This is what you feed your baby --
MURRAY: Yes.
ROMANS: -- to grow a child. So it's obviously -- I mean, it's different.
JARRETT: It's critical.
ROMANS: That's why people are so concerned.
JARRETT: Yes.
Doctor --
ROMANS: Doctor --
JARRETT: -- thank you. You can tell we care about this one.
ROMANS: I know. She's always the voice of reason, too.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: I just love having her on speed dial.
All right. Coming up, brand-new CNN reporting on how a scheme of fake electors could have a real impact on the criminal case against Donald Trump in Georgia.
JARRETT: Plus, no pilot's license, no problem. A passenger forced to take the controls in the cockpit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. It looks like a familiar name will be leading the Philippines. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declaring victory in the nation's presidential election. He is the son of the late dictator who was run out of the country in 1986 after years of corruption and human rights abuses.
[05:40:15]
CNN's Ivan Watson covering this from Hong Kong. He actually ran on his father's legacy, Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the words of his statement where he claims victory in Monday's election ends with the words "Judge me not by answers ancestors, but by my actions." So we're getting some mixed messages here. But yes, the candidate -- the presumptive winner of Monday's
presidential election, Ferdinand -- Bongbong as he's known in the Philippines -- Marcos Jr. won apparently by a landslide according to preliminary results. His slogan was "Rise Again."
He has defended his father's legacy -- just an atrocious human rights record with nearly a decade of rule under martial law until his father was ousted in a people-power movement in 1986. There are still investigations underway into allegations of embezzlement of up to $10 billion worth of government assets by the father.
But regardless, this candidate's message did appear to work. He seems to be on the verge of winning an electoral mandate, the likes of which have not been seen in the Philippines in generations.
Now, there are allegations or concerns that some voting machines did not work on Monday. The presumptive number-two candidate has yet to concede. She's going to hold a meeting on Friday with her supporters. But the U.S. State Department has come out saying it looked like this election was held according to international standards and Washington appears ready to work with whoever the next president is, which does seem to be Bongbong Marcos Jr. -- Christine.
ROMANS: And he beat the -- he beat the current president. I wonder if this is less about his name recognition and more about a rejection of the current -- the prior administration?
WATSON: Well, Christine, actually, his running mate is the daughter of the current outgoing president. So, no -- he allied himself with another political --
ROMANS: OK.
WATSON: -- dynasty and that alliance seems to have won big-time.
ROMANS: All right, Ivan Watson. Thank you so much. Really interesting -- thanks.
JARRETT: Back here in the U.S., prosecutors in Georgia are moving full steam ahead with their criminal probe into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Sources tell CNN the Fulton County D.A. has now interviewed several people who served as so-called fake electors from the state.
CNN's Zachary Cohen helped break this story with Sara Murray and he joins me now. Zach, can you first explain just how this scheme was supposed to work? And then, what's the level of cooperation that we're talking about here, at least from what you know in your reporting? Are we talking about just interviews or are people actually turning over their e-mails?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, good morning, Laura.
So, these fake -- so-called fake electors are really a key part of the broader effort to overturn the 2020 election. Now, what they did is these were pro-Trump Republicans in the state of Georgia, just like in six other states -- key swing states around the country -- that signed these certificates essentially declaring Donald Trump the winner in states that he didn't win.
Now, this was all done with an eye toward January 6 where the expectation was that Vice President Mike Pence would essentially throw out all these authentic electors that had cast their state's votes for Joe Biden and then giving these Trump electors a chance to step forward and say Trump had won Georgia when he hadn't really.
Now, we have to remember that this investigation in Georgia -- this criminal investigation all started based on a phone call between Trump and the secretary of state there where he essentially told the top elections official to find enough votes to overturn Biden's win there.
Now, sources are telling me and my colleague, Sara Murray, that this is the first time we've heard that criminal investigators have interviewed several of these people who signed the certificates -- the electoral certificates, and served as fake electors in Georgia. They want to know if they had any awareness of whether or not their actions were part of a bigger plan to overturn the election.
It's important to note here, though, that these are being considered witnesses at this time so the D.A. in Georgia is not considering what they did criminal. But as you know, Laura, that could change over the course of an investigation.
But what's important to remember here is that the criminal investigation in Georgia related to Donald Trump's actions in an attempt to overturn the election is moving forward and moving forward in a more significant way than we knew before.
JARRETT: Yes, more significant for sure. It will be interesting to see what exactly they find and what exactly they're told.
Zach, great reporting. Thank you for bringing it to us.
ROMANS: All right, this -- this is something. It sounds like something right out of a movie. A passenger who had never flown a plane before took the controls and landed a small plane after the pilot became incapacitated on a flight from the Bahamas to Florida.
[05:45:00]
Here is how it sounded in the control tower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASSENGER: I've got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent and I have no idea how to fly the airplane but I'm maintaining at 9,100.
TOWER: Caravan 333 Lima Delta, roger. What's your position?
PASSENGER: I have no idea. I see the coast of Florida in front of me and I have no idea. TOWER: What was the situation with the pilot?
PASSENGER: He is incoherent. He is out.
TOWER: 333 Lima Delta, roger. Try to hold the wings level and see if you can start descending for me. Push forward on the controls and descend at a very slow rate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: They are so calm. Here is this plane touching down at West Palm Beach Airport to the amazement of another pilot nearby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOWER: You just witnessed a couple of passengers land that plane.
AMERICAN 1845: Not a problem. Go ahead and continue and we'll hold short one-zero left, American 1845.
TOWER: Man, they did a great job.
AMERICAN 1845: Did you say the passengers landed the airplane?
TOWER: That's correct.
AMERICAN 1845: Oh my gosh. Great job.
TOWER: No flying experience. We've got a controller that worked them down that's a flight instructor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Serendipity, right?
JARRETT: Wow.
ROMANS: The flight instructor who was an air traffic controller.
JARRETT: That's a better landing than I've had on many a small plane, let me just say.
ROMANS: No word what happened to the pilot. Just one passenger was onboard. The FAA is investigating.
I mean, this is right up there in all of my many worst fears but they were so calm. And hats off to that air traffic controller for being able to just take control of the situation and land that plane.
JARRETT: He was so calm. He's going to be a guest on "NEW DAY" coming up.
ROMANS: What's your location? I have no idea. I can see the Florida coast.
JARRETT: I just -- I just see land. ROMANS: I can see the Florida coast. Oh, yes -- so we'll hear from that air traffic controller on "NEW DAY."
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: Great.
JARRETT: Incredible.
All right. Still to come for you, a no-hitter in the Major Leagues last night.
ROMANS: And why Peloton is making some investors sweat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:51:42]
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business Wednesday addition.
Looking at markets around the world, you can see Asian shares have moved higher. They are closed now for the day. And Europe has opened higher. On stock index futures, a bounce for stocks on deck for today if it holds.
It was a mixed day for stocks yesterday after three big sell-off days. A year of stock market gains are gone. The global economy is a mess of cross-currents, any one of which would be destabilizing on its own. That rising interest rates, red-hot inflation, Putin's war remaking the energy map. High stress right now for stock market investors.
Let's bring in Ann Berry, chief investment officer at Wheelhouse. Ann, looking so forward to talking to you about this. Is the worst behind us for stock market investors? We see the Nasdaq down 26% and then people say to me hey, should I be selling? I'm like I don't know. I mean, you should have sold a long time ago, actually.
JARRETT: When she says people ask her that she means me.
ROMANS: That's her.
ANN BERRY, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, WHEELHOUSE (via Skype): Revision is (ph) -- I mean, we all wish we'd sold a long time ago. But where we are right now -- look, a lot of analysts think -- and I'm one of them -- that there's still a little bit of a way to go. Nasdaq has come right down but the S&P looking more outside of those tech and growth sectors possibly could have a little bit more downward motion if we don't see inflation coming under control, Christine.
So a really big day today looking at CPI data that's due to come out to see where consumer prices have been going. If they're bad numbers I don't think we saw the bottom over the last few days despite the runoff that we've seen.
ROMANS: Also for Laura, I'm asking you this question. If you need to have some money, say in the next year, should it be in the stock market right now -- if you're looking at a home purchase, if you're looking at a tuition purchase?
JARRETT: A baby.
ROMANS: Like, should you have money that you need in the next year -- should it be in the stock market?
BERRY: Well, in terms of liquidity management, the problem is -- and this is the thing that so many investors are wrestling with -- is that it feels like there's nowhere else to go. But with rates coming back up I do think there are some high-yield products that could start to look a little bit more interesting.
And if we do go into stocks -- I mean, I think it's looking at dividend yields. It's looking at cash income from big, stable companies. They're not growers but they're not going anywhere either.
JARRETT: I'll take that.
ROMANS: A new record overnight in gas prices -- $4.40 a gallon. We were mentioning inflation. Look, there's a feeling that until the pandemic is over, supply chains are fixed, and we have clarity on Russia's war, can we say inflation has peaked yet?
BERRY: I am hopeful that inflation did peak in March. That being said, there are often elements of inflation that I don't think are going anywhere anytime soon -- and specifically, that is when it comes to labor. I think we're still going to see wage inflation continue for a while. That feeds into overall inflation. And until that adjusts, I think we don't have a stepdown in inflation to the extent the market is going to see in 2022. I think this becomes a 2023, perhaps longer, rate issue still.
JARRETT: We also want to ask you about this. The Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, testified about everything that we've just talked about. But then she was asked about some news of the day on abortion. Listen to this. Listen to her answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY: Eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:55:00]
ROMANS: She's talking, I think, about the labor force participation of women and how that has changed in the years since Roe v. Wade, Ann.
BERRY: I do think that Sec. Yellen sort of -- focusing on that point was trying to make the broader observation that, particularly, when you look at the pandemic, women were disproportionately impacted. The absence of childcare, the strain of having to take a lot of the work at home of educating their children when the schools were closed. We saw the pandemic have a disproportionately big hit on women's ability to participate in the workforce.
And we're going to see that, whether it's their career trajectory, whether it's their ability to participate in getting to the next level of compensation. Actually being in the workforce, I know, is a massive policy agenda not just for the administration -- this administration, but the previous one talked about it, too. And I do think this issue of women in the workforce able to participate is something that remains an issue. It hasn't gone away and childcare is a huge piece of it.
ROMANS: Yes.
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: We've heard companies say that they're doing whatever they can to try to get women back in.
BERRY: Yes.
ROMANS: They need them -- they need them back in.
Ann Berry, chief investment officer at Wheelhouse, nice to see you this morning. Thank you.
BERRY: Thank you.
JARRETT: Thanks, Ann.
An L.A. Angels rookie throws a -- it's the second no-hitter of the baseball season in just his 11th Major League start.
Andy Scholes has it all covered this morning. Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Laura.
What a night for 22-year-old Reid Detmers. He became the second- youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Major League Baseball history -- the youngest Angel to ever do it. And the left-hander was in control the entire night throwing only 108 pitches.
Detmers had never thrown more than six innings in his pro career after being drafted 10th overall in 2020. He didn't even have a complete game in college at Louisville.
But a no-hitter last night and his teammates mobbed him at the mound after the final out of the 12-0 win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID DETMERS, LOS ANGELES ANGELS PITCHER: It was just something I've dreamed of ever since I was a little kid. I didn't think it would ever happen. We have an unreal group of guys and they were by my side the whole way. And yes, just running around in the outfield and just getting chased down, and then in the locker room having their own little celebration. That's probably what I'll remember the most.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. Elsewhere, the Yankees were down 5-3 to the Jays. Bottom of the ninth, two on for Aaron Judge, and he would deliver. A no-doubter to left field. Yankee Stadium just goes bonkers.
This was the first walk-off home run of Judge's career. He danced his way to home plate before being mobbed by his teammates.
Yankees getting the win there 6-5.
All right. In the NBA, we had two blowouts last night. The Suns only led the Mavs by three at halftime but then came out in the second half and just dominated. They outscored Dallas 61-34 in the second half to win 110-80.
Things getting a little chippy at the end of this one. Reserves Marquese Chriss and Bismack Biyombo getting into it late. They got ejected and Chriss actually followed Biyombo into the same tunnel. Security, though, stopped anything else from going down.
All right. And that 30-point blowout was actually the close game of the night believe it or not. The Heat in total control in game five against the Sixers.
A scary moment for Joel Embiid in this one. He got smacked on the face and lied on the floor for a while. Embiid missed the first two games of the series with a fractured orbital bone. He was able to return but it didn't matter.
This one all Miami. They won 120-85. They can close out that series tomorrow night in Philly.
All right, and finally, Fox announcing that Tom Brady is going to join them as their lead football analyst as soon as his football career is over. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the New York Post reports it's a 10-year deal worth $375 million. That would be the most lucrative deal in sports broadcasting history.
And after this season with the Bucs, Brady will have made about $332 million in his 23 years of playing football in the NFL. Guys, it's incredible that he already had the deal to pay him more as a broadcaster when his career is over. But hey, everybody loves Tom Brady.
JARRETT: Wait, are you --
SCHOLES: I'm fascinated to see how he's going to do.
JARRETT: You're telling me he's going to make more money on Fox as a broadcaster than he made playing?
SCHOLES: Yes. It is a very good time to be a broadcaster. Fox just lost Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to ESPN, so they really wanted to make a splash with a hire -- and nothing bigger than hiring Tom Brady. JARRETT: Andy, you went into the right industry, my friend.
SCHOLES: Yes.
ROMANS: I'm telling you --
SCHOLES: I've got a ways to go.
ROMANS: If you're looking at $332 million over the course of his career, that -- I mean, if he plays his cards right, and I think he does, you're talking about a Brady billionaire. You know, a football billionaire. I mean, seriously --
JARRETT: Wow.
ROMANS: -- that's --
SCHOLES: Yes.
ROMANS: -- really impressive.
OK, thank you. Nice to see you, Andy.
SCHOLES: All right.
JARRETT: Thanks, Andy.
ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
ROMANS: Hey, if you make the right investments --
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to viewers here in the U.S.
