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First Move with Julia Chatterley

A Second Passenger Plane Arrives at Kabul Airport; President Biden and Xi Hold Talks as Economic and Geopolitical Relations Remain Tense; More than 100 Million American Workers Face New Vaccine Rules. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired September 10, 2021 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:12]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Live from London. I'm Isa Soares, in for Julia Chatterley, and this is FIRST MOVE and here is your need-to-know.

Now boarding in Afghanistan. A second passenger plane arrives at Kabul Airport, we are live for you from the city.

China call. President Biden and Xi hold talks as economic and geopolitical relations remain tense.

And COVID strategy. More than 100 million American workers face new vaccine rules.

It is Friday. So let's make a move.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Let's start the show this hour looking at U.S. futures. The last time I looked, they were slightly higher and they are. Dow futures up over half a

percent, the Dow; similar picture with the NASDAQ and S&P.

Now, the producer price index jumped 0.7 percent last month that basically indicates the high inflation is likely to rain for a while. We'll talk in a

minute with Matt Egan about that, but in the last 12 months through August, PPI rose 8.3 percent. The index of course is a measure of inflation before

goods and services reach the end consumer.

Meanwhile, have a look as concerns grow, of course about the delta variant's impact on the economic recovery.

President Joe Biden yesterday announcing sweeping new vaccine mandates. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more

employees that together employ over 80 million workers to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a

week.

The bottom line, we are going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated co-workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now, we'll talk about what that means, of course for the U.S. economy, as well as for companies in the United States.

But first let me show you the stock markets in Europe. Stocks really advancing as you can see there a day after the European Central Bank kept

interest rates unchanged. CAC at two-tenths of percent, FTSE 100 three- tenths of a percent, Xetra DAX hovering roughly around the time. The E.C.B. decided to slow the pace of bond purchases under its pandemic emergency

program.

In Asia, a quick look at how it's doing, all closing higher with talks between Mr. Biden and President Xi Jinping, adding to the positive mood. It

was their first call in seven months. As you can see, green arrows right across the board.

Now to our next story, I want to take you to the main drivers.

The U.S. is about mark 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and right now, tributes are being paid at the New York Stock Exchange.

We've been watching there, a minute of silence at the New York Stock Exchange, really recalling the moment when a plane hit the Second World

Trade Center Tower. Of course, we will be marking that moment that day 20 years ago throughout the day, of course, in the U.S. and at the New York

Stock Exchange.

[09:05:07]

SOARES: Let's get more. CNN's diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, and his team were in Kabul, when the attacks took place. Nic is there, again, 20

years on.

And Nic, give our viewers a sense of what it was like on that day, 20 years ago, and what if anything has changed in Kabul since then?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Back then, it was impossible to know what was going on in New York and Washington and

Philadelphia where everything happened. What we could see here was really, you know, the Taliban slowly get their thinking around the fact that there

was something that they were going to be held responsible for that was an absolutely huge moment, and this was potentially going to impact them.

Remember, the Taliban had banned televisions. So even though we were in a hotel that had televisions, we couldn't see what was happening in New York,

and none of the Taliban offices here in Kabul had televisions, so they weren't looking at it as well.

So, there was that sort of surreal feeling of something huge happening in the world that you can't really see and fully appreciate. I remember

talking to people in Kabul at that time, they were very frightened and worried about what could happen next.

One of the conversations that stands out with me today was with a man who, you know, when we asked them, you know, it's possible that the United

States might come here to take revenge against al-Qaeda, to get al-Qaeda's leadership. You know, he said, well, the Soviets came here to Afghanistan,

and we broke their country into 16 pieces. If the United States come here, will break their country into 52 pieces, meaning the different states.

I think at that moment, none of us really realized what could happen, how the 20 years could play out. Kabul is a completely different place today.

Many of the tall buildings here didn't exist before. The city has so much more electricity. The population is much bigger now as well. But it is

still a country that doesn't have, you know, full control over itself. If you are the last government, it couldn't control the whole of Afghanistan;

the Taliban, it seems you know, that's their aim, but from where they stand today, that's a very, very big stretch and a big ask.

SOARES: And Nic, in the last few hours, we saw a second Qatar Airways passenger flight arriving at Kabul Airport today. I'm reading that their

flight, this flight is expected to take off from Kabul. Do we know whether passengers will be allowed to depart? Because I've been speaking to so many

people on CNN, here on our show throughout the whole week, people say they've got the documentation. They've got visas, and they haven't been

able to actually leave.

ROBERTSON: Yes, and we know that 113 of those with the right paperwork were able to get out yesterday, 43 Canadians, more than 30 Americans 13,

Brits, Germans, and Ukrainians were able to get out. And we have been able to see that people were boarding that Qatar Airlines charter flight at the

airport this afternoon.

We know that it brought in aid. People have been seen boarding it.

We do not have the details about who is boarding. I think we can probably reasonably guess that the plane will do what it did yesterday, which was

fly to Doha, and perhaps then, we might get a fuller read about who was on board.

We know that yesterday, Secretary Blinken, the United States Secretary of State said that he welcomed the Taliban's action in sort of facilitating

the flight yesterday to takeoff, that he has been in contact through regional partners to make sure that this process can continue, that the

United States has been in contact with Americans on the ground and those with the right paperwork to get out.

So the expectation is that people with the right paperwork will get out, and I think the expectation is later today, we may learn a little bit more

about another group that had been able to do just that. But at the moment, the details, we just do not have -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, do keep us posted. Nic Robertson for us there in Kabul, Afghanistan. Thanks very much, Nic.

And a programming note for you, join CNN as we, of course, honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks "9/11: 20 Years Later" airs this Saturday. Our

coverage starts at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. That is one in the afternoon in London right here only on CNN.

Also on the agenda right now for the U.S. President is China. Mr. Biden spoke with Xi Jinping on Thursday evening, only their second phone call,

believe it or not, in seven months.

Ivan Watson has the details. And Ivan, I'm sure they had plenty to discuss. What more do we know they actually discussed?

[09:10:08]

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have very few details about what specifically they talked about during this 90-minute

phone call, Isa. We have the adjectives describing the tone of the conversation for both governments, and those are somewhat similar with

White House officials saying that this was candid, it was a broad discussion between two people who are familiar with each other. And here is

a sense of what the Chinese Foreign Ministry had to say about these two leaders conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZHAO LIJIAN, CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): The two countries should look ahead and demonstrate strategic courage and

political resolve and bring China-U.S. relations back on the right track, stable development as soon as possible for the good of the people in both

countries and around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now, I'll just, Isa, direct you to the tone of that diplomat's statement there. That's Zhao Lijian, Isa, spokesperson for the Chinese

Foreign Ministry who engages in what some describe as wolf warrior diplomacy.

Just in recent weeks, he has described on his own Twitter account the U.S. as the biggest bully on the planet, and the White House is arguing that

they are unable to get much done with their Chinese counterparts because there's an awful lot of aggressive kind of rhetoric going back and forth.

The areas where both governments disagree are many. You've got both Navies kind of jockeying, shadowing each other in the contested waters of the

South China Sea. You've had the U.S. impose sanctions on China for alleged human rights abuses here in Hong Kong and China's Xinjiang region. China

accusing the U.S. of meddling in its internal affairs.

There is just a whole host of areas where they disagree. Officials like Zhao Lijian, that Foreign Ministry diplomat almost celebrating the U.S.'s

humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years.

The White House is arguing that it wanted to establish a guidelines and parameters for future negotiations with China to ensure that these two --

the world's two largest economies cannot accidentally veer into conflict, but can instead engage in competition and from what we're hearing

initially, it sounds like the Chinese government is reciprocating in kind.

So, I think the headline is, at least these two leaders are talking -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes. Like you said, like he clearly laid out, hard to see how this one phone call could really help a relation that remains so deeply

adversarial. Ivan Watson there for us. Thanks very much, Ivan. Good to see you.

Now, the U.S. has unveiled strict new vaccine mandates -- as I told you at the top of the show -- for up to two thirds of American workers. Those

employed by the Federal government and at major companies will have to get the shot, a weekly test, or lose their job. President Biden told

unvaccinated Americans, "Our patience is wearing thin and your refusal has cost all of us."

Jeremy Diamond is on the story for us. Jeremy, how is President Biden's aggressive COVID strategy being received not just by the Americans, by the

public, but also by the Republican Party here?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Isa, this is a polarized country. This is a polarizing decision and the reaction has

followed suit.

We have seen praise from a lot of medical experts for the President announcing that these steps to require employees of private businesses of

more than a hundred employees be vaccinated or test regularly, as well as this requirement that Federal workers and employees of Federal contractors

must be vaccinated with no testing option.

Public health experts say that these are the kinds of steps that are perhaps a little bit overdue, but that will certainly help to slow the

spread and to bend the curve of this pandemic.

Now, on the right side of the aisle, you are seeing already some criticisms, some heated criticism from some Republicans, not all

Republicans, to be sure, but certainly some of those who are, you know, among the party's up and coming stars, including Governor Kristi Noem of

South Dakota, calling this unconstitutional rule.

You also have Governor Greg Abbott of Texas saying that this is an assault on private businesses. And there's no doubt that this is something that is

going to face legal challenge.

But when you listen to most of the legal experts who have looked at this, and how the President is planning to implement this regulation,

particularly the one on private businesses of a hundred employees or more, legal experts seem to say so far that the President's decision, while

perhaps controversial, does appear to be on solid legal ground.

And so now of course, will be the implementation phase of this and we will see how much impact it can have. As we know, we have watched over the last

couple of months as coronavirus cases in the United States have really been surging because of the spread of this delta variant, so how much impact can

this have now that the President is implementing this in September.

SOARES: And Jeremy, we are talking about implementation. But what about enforcement? How exactly will this be enforced? Do know that yet?

[09:15:08]

DIAMOND: Well, listen, this is a rule that is still being written right now, but it is going to be finalized in the coming days or weeks and it is

going to be implemented by OSHA, the Health and Safety Administration of the Federal government, which has implemented other coronavirus related

rules on private businesses in the past. Most of those so far have been focused on hospitals and requirements for vaccines and testing on that

front.

But this is a Health and Safety Administration that does implement workplace safety regulations across the country, and so they would be

responsible for implementing this. How difficult it will be to enforce something that could affect as many as 80 million Americans in these

private businesses remains to be seen. But obviously, the hope is here that a lot of businesses will move forward with this willingly.

We have already seen a lot of these large, large companies like Amazon, Google, for example, implementing these kinds of vaccine or test

requirements. And so the hope is that this can encourage other businesses, smaller businesses to follow suit. And if not, you know, to be able to say,

look, our hands are tied, we're doing this because this is now a Federal regulation.

And keep in mind, already three quarters of American adults have gotten at least one dose. So, it really is about getting to that final 25 percent of

the public that has been -- of adults that have been resistant to get the shot.

SOARES: Jeremy Diamond for us at the White House. Thanks very much, Jeremy.

Well, let me bring you those U.S. producer price increases now that I mentioned and the sign of course, the concern is that high inflation will

persist for a while. Supply chains remain stretched as the pandemic drags on.

Matt Egan joins me now. And Matt, looking at those numbers that came out -- what -- about 45 minutes ago? Inflation clearly still huge concern here.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Isa, that's right. I mean, after a sizzling summer inflation in the United States, it's still red hot. We learned that

producer prices in the month of August soared by 8.3 percent year over a year. That's an acceleration from July when we saw producer prices up 7.8

percent. It's also the fifth straight month of a record for this metric, which goes back to 2010.

The good news is that if you look month over month, producer prices were up 0.7 percent. That's a tad hotter than expected, but it's actually a

deceleration from July when those prices were up one percent.

You know, I think big picture, this shows that inflation is still an issue because some of those producer prices, the prices that are charged to

businesses and some customers, that's going to get passed along to American consumers. The question is, how much will get passed along, and we're going

to find out early next week when the even more closely watched consumer price index gets released. And today's numbers suggest that that may still

be a very hot number.

This does put some pressure on the Federal Reserve. It puts the Fed in a tough spot because on the one hand, inflation is clearly an issue. Fed

officials admit that inflation is uncomfortably hot, but also the U.S. economy has slowed down in recent weeks and months because of the pandemic.

So, it does put the Fed in a tough spot as to what they do about interest rates and more importantly, what they do about their quantitative easing

bond buying programmed -- Isa.

SOARES: Matt Egan for us there. Thanks very much, Matt.

And still to come here on FIRST MOVE, as President Biden unveils new rules for testing at schools, I speak to the bioengineering company at the

forefront of those efforts.

And an electric submarine mopping the seabed in a bid to combat climate change. We will bring you that story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:23]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Let's have a look at U.S. futures.

The last time I looked, they looked rather upbeat. So far, so good. That's after the producer price index last month increased 0.7 percent from July.

This, of course, as supply chain disruptions keep squeezing the production cost higher. I spoke to Matt Egan just about that and what that means for

inflation.

Meantime, President Biden's new vaccine requirements now can apply to as many as 100 million Americans. That's close to two-thirds of the U.S.

workforce.

Joining me now is David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

David, great to have you on the show. Happy Friday.

I want to kick off, if I may, with what we heard from President Biden, a pretty aggressive, multi-layered approach from him. Of course, not just to

save lives, but also fight for the economy. What stood out to you?

DAVID KELLY, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT: Well, I think the mandate on private employers, I think that OSHA rule is very

important, because I think, you know, a lot of employers probably feel like they need the backing of the Federal government or a reason to do this. I

think most employers want to have a vaccine mandate. I think most employees would like to know that their co-workers are vaccinated, but they need

somebody to give them the backbone to do this.

So I think, this is very useful for companies in trying to enforce vaccine mandates because that is actually how I think all companies are going to

get everybody back into the office.

SOARES: So on the whole, I mean, from the companies we've been hearing on the show here and on CNN, the majority, the large companies are actually on

board. Do you think those smaller companies, do you think that there will join suit as well? Or do you think we'll be seeing potentially lawsuits

here?

D. KELLY: I think both. I think there will be certain people who dislike vaccine mandates and for various reasons, but in general, I think

businesses -- look, we all need to get back -- get past this pandemic. This is -- this is not a difficult question.

There is a vaccine, which has been designed by scientists to protect us. There's a virus designed by nature to kill us. This should not be a close

call. And I think the fact that it's got a full F.D.A. approval gives the White House some backing to make this a mandate.

So, there's a limit to what the Federal government can do, but I think what the Federal government is proposing to do does help American business get

back to business.

SOARES: Yes, and some even wonder why this wasn't done sooner. But there is somewhat of a conundrum, David. I mean, you have a large group of the

population who perhaps, who don't want to get vaccinated, and then you have a tight labor market.

Do you think at all that people will opt out of the labor market or even go to a smaller company, those with less than a hundred employees? What do you

think -- what kind of changes do you think we'll be seeing here?

D. KELLY: No, I think for the most part, you know, I think there is vaccine hesitancy because there's a lot of misinformation out there. I

think a lot of people don't really understand it. But when it actually comes between you and your wallet, then you have to make a choice. And I

think that when people actually have to seriously study this thing because they have to make a choice about the vaccine, I think a lot of people will

just choose to be vaccinated and grumble about it, but ultimately, that's how we're going to get past this pandemic.

SOARES: Let's look ahead and hopefully pass this pandemic, as you say, David. Where do you see the challenges for the U.S. economy? I mean, of

course, the August jobs report was pretty, pretty glum and pretty disappointing. So, where are the challenges?

D. KELLY: Well, I think actually, the challenges may have eased a bit because if you think about going into the summer, the biggest risk was we

were going to overheat. We were you know, bouncing back very strongly with a lot of fiscal stimulus. Now, we've hit some speed bumps here because of

the delta variant, in some ways, the small silver lining of this has actually taken enough steam out of the economy that I don't think we're

going to overheat.

[09:25:07]

D. KELLY: The big question remaining though is, is fiscal policy. Will they be able to get through this infrastructure bill, the reconciliation

bill, the debt ceiling increase? That's all very important.

If all of that goes through, though, I think the economy will re-accelerate in the fourth quarter. We will be heading to close to full employment early

next year. Inflation will be a little bit higher than it was before the pandemic, but I don't expect breakout inflation. I just think it'll -- you

know, we will be looking at two percent plus, as opposed to two percent minus on inflation.

SOARES: On the labor shortage front, though, how long do you expect this to last? What's your projection here, David?

D. KELLY: I think, it's going to last for years because the baby boomers are retiring in enormous numbers. Immigration, we used to have a million

people come into this country that's been decimated, and we're just chronically short of skilled workers. And so, you know, unless demand eases

off, that's going to continue for a long time here.

SOARES: Such a good point on immigration there. David Kelly, the Chief Global Strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. Thanks very much, David.

Have a good Friday.

D. KELLY: Anytime.

SOARES: Do stay with us, the market open is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

SOARES: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE.

That was the opening bell in remembrance of tomorrow's 20th anniversary of 9/11. The families of the Two New York stock exchange members -- you can

see their pictures there -- who died on that day ringing the opening bell there.

And as the exchange pays tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11, we look at how shares are doing today, just up fractionally up half of one percent.

We've seen new data on producer price indicate really inflation could persist. The PPI jumped 8.3 percent from a year ago, and that's the biggest

increase since 2011.

Shares of Affirm soaring after the buy now pay later company reported blockbuster earnings. Revenue jumped more than 70 percent in the latest

quarter. Endo stock is also surging after the drug maker agreed to pay $15 million to resolve lawsuits over its sale and marketing of opioids.

But Take Two Interactive is down, as you can see, after the video game producer delayed the release of new versions of Grand Theft Auto. They are

down to just almost two and a half percent.

Now, on Thursday, President Biden unveiled six new measures to combat COVID-19. One of them was keeping schools open. The other was mass testing.

Ginkgo Bioworks is involved in both of those things. The bioengineering company tests children in schools right across the country. It has also

partnered with the C.D.C. to track COVID variants at three major airports.

Joining me is Jason Kelly, the CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. Jason, great to have you on the show. And let me first get your thoughts on the President's

COVID strategy. Is this what you were expecting to hear?

JASON KELLY, CEO, GINKGO BIOWORKS: Yes, it was. I think it was also, you know, very strong leadership being shown. You know, I think there's this

challenge in the country right now, where parents are insisting that schools stay open. But what you're seeing, you know, my sister lives down

in Tennessee, this is not a political thing, wherever you are in the country. You know, my nephew has been in school three weeks, he has been

quarantined two of those weeks.

So you're seeing parents say, I wanted the schools in person, but I'm also dealing with kids in quarantine, and the President saying, I can fix that

problem with testing and that's really what a lot of the speech was last night. It was great to see.

SOARES: And what does that mean, in reality, Jason, for your business, in terms of supply chains? In terms of demand?

J. KELLY: Yes, so the two ways that you use testing to keep kids in school are one, the concept is called test-to-stay. So you know, if your student

come -- you know, your child comes back with a close contact to COVID-19, is quarantined for 10 days, instead of staying home for 10 days, test every

morning with a rapid test. If it comes up negative, go to school. So no disruption to the schooling.

And the President just announced last night that they're going to use the Defense Production Act to buy $2 billion more of these lateral flow tests,

to make them available. And then secondly, and Ginkgo is the largest provider of this in the country, universal classroom testing. So every

week, every student, you do a five-minute test in the classroom. You collect all those tests as a group. So it's anonymized, the classroom gets

tested, and you find out if they're a student in that classroom who is positive and they don't know it.

And the reason that's important is before they spread it to five to eight other people, which is the case with the delta variant, you find out who

they are, and you send them home. And that helps prevent spread in schools. So, you have less need to quarantine. And those are the tool to testing

programs, and the President has given $10 billion to the states for that type of classroom testing.

SOARES: Yes, I'm glad you brought that up, because there is a whole logistics and politics, isn't it, of getting a positive test and that's

crucial.

J. KELLY: Yes, and I think what parents are realizing is it to keep schools open, you have to go into this with a mindset of all right,

quarantines are going to happen. How do we make them not annoying? And the answer is, have less of them and have ways to go back to school even if you

show up as a close contact.

That is the world we're living. I have two kids. That's the world we're living in this next two semesters. If your school is not doing that, call

and tell them to do it, and the money, you know, President Biden said last night, that money is there for every school in the country, all 50 states.

And so if you're seeing too much quarantine in your school, you know, this is the way out of it.

SOARES: It kind of begs the question, Jason, why hasn't this happened sooner? I mean, this has been happening here in the U.K. for some time with

my nephews being tested twice per week for several months now. Why is it taking this long to get here?

J. KELLY: So yes, I think a lot of the learnings have come from the U.K. in how things are working. I think it's an amazing program and frankly,

it's the size and scope of the country. You did see certain states like Massachusetts do this last year, but you know, this fall it is available in

every school in the United States of America.

So you know, late to the party, but you are correct, it works, and so parents should demand it.

[09:35:05]

SOARES: What are the challenges? I mean, throughout this pandemic, you've really been working closely with schools, not just to open them, but to

keep them open. What have you learned? What have been the real challenges for you, Jason?

J. KELLY: Yes. So I think one of the challenges is, this is a new thing, right? You didn't need to do this, you know, for the flu, for example. But

this rate that COVID spread, which is more like, you know, for someone like me who had chickenpox before there was a vaccine for it, right? It spreads

like chickenpox.

So, you know, you have to keep a lid on it, and just helping people being - - educating people about that and then it's a way -- it's not like a -- the good thing about the testing, you know, I know, there's a lot of debates

about masks in the United States, for example, okay, is that going to affect teaching and all these things? The testing is, it's a nothing. It's

a five-minute, you know, out of your day thing.

I think people don't realize that. When they think testing, they think, oh, there's something going way up my nose. I'm in the hospital.

These newer technologies like rapid antigen test in the classroom pooling, they're designed to be, you know, not annoying. And they are a new product

class, and people haven't seen them before. And so they've just got to get familiar. Once schools are testing it, everyone loves it. Right?

So that's been the biggest challenge, just getting people familiar with something new, and I think that's always the case. You know, whatever it

is.

SOARES: Jason, do keep us posted how you get on with the testing. Jason Kelly, CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. Thanks very much, Jason. Good to see you.

Now in France, proof of vaccination is now required in many venues nationwide. President Macron launched the Health Pass at the start of

summer, if you'll remember, as cases started rising again. The move has led to weeks of large protests. Could this work though in the United States,

many are asking? CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was the push back in July that made all the difference.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): We are extending the use of the Health Pass to push as many of you as possible to go and get

vaccinated.

BELL (voice over): Within 24 hours, almost a million appointments had been booked. With the Health Pass, which shows whether you've been vaccinated or

have had a PCR test within 72 hours, suddenly needed to enter restaurants, museums, cafes, and bars, and now extended to employees of any business

that serves the public.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say, you have the choice, but you don't really. It's either you get vaccinated or you pay for your tests, so is that really

a choice?

BELL (voice over): Anais says she wasn't going to get vaccinated, like 60 percent of those polled during France's second lockdown in December.

For a long time, the United States was ahead of France in terms of the proportion of the population that had received at least one dose. Then in

July, Macron took a gamble.

Just as vaccination centers were emptying as vaccine hesitancy kicked in, and French hospitals were being overrun by the delta variant.

BRUNO CAUTRES, POLITICAL SCIENTIST, SCIENCES PO: He took the risk to say I will make the life of the non-vaccinated very difficult, which is very,

very, very dangerous statement.

BELL (voice over): Protests followed. One of the biggest came on July 31st, just a couple of weeks after Macron made his speech.

Across France, 204,000 people took to the streets according to the Interior Ministry, but for all the noise, that very same day, more than double the

number of people were quietly getting an injection. The reason says this French rule maker, that most people understood that the alternative was yet

another lockdown.

It was saying to the French, she says, that if you're vaccinated, you can live like you're used to. This Health Pass will give you your freedom back.

Now, France has one of the best vaccination rates in the world, over 62 percent, and despite the spread of the delta variant, hospital admissions

have gone down.

CATHERINE HILL, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: The delta variant goes faster with enough people are vaccinated to sort of balance between being more contagious and

meeting more people who are immunized.

BELL (voice over): Macron's gamble depended on his being able to act at a national level with strong executive powers and a solid Parliamentary

majority, none of which Joe Biden has on his side.

But the French model does show that with some encouragement, even the vaccine hesitant can be convinced that in the extraordinary circumstances

of a pandemic, individual liberties must end where collective responsibility begins.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Melissa Bell there with that report.

And coming up after the break, there is no future on Earth without understanding our ocean says the mapping company armed with smart

submarines. We will delve deeper in two and a half minutes after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:26]

SOARES: And now, we are going beneath the sea to better understand how we can combat climate change as our world experiences more extreme weather

we've seen this year. The exploration company, Bedrock says we can improve climate modeling by making better maps of the oceans up to 50 times more

detailed than currently publicly available maps.

To do this, it is using autonomous electric powered submarines. Bedrock says its technology will speed up the development of offshore wind power

and there's plenty of course of ocean to explore, only 30 percent of our world is land. The company says only a tiny portion of our oceans are

mapped to a 100-meter resolution.

Anthony DiMare is CEO and cofounder of Bedrock. He joins me now. Anthony, great to have you here. Explain to our viewers right around the world

exactly how you map the world's oceans because there's a lot to map.

ANTHONY DIMARE, CEO AND COFOUNDER, BEDROCK GROUP: There is a lot to map indeed. So right now, we focus on trying to build scalable ways to

basically move the needed sensors or sonars around the ocean as quickly as humanly possible. So part of that is developing a AV based solution that is

reliable autonomous, a hundred percent electric that we can deploy very, very quickly from any beach, marina, or other infrastructure that may exist

out there.

And the other part of that is being able to get that data into the hands of the people that need to make these decisions. Where should I put this

turbine? Where should I lay these cables very, very quickly? And right now unfortunately, it takes quite a bit of time to do.

SOARES: Yes, that was going to be my kind of obvious questions. You laid it out for us. First of all, is there any kind of environmental damage as

you try and map out obviously the sea? And also, how long would it take? This would -- this is a long term project. Where would you even start?

DIMARE: Right. I mean, right now we start with -- we start with our commercial clients, right? So, we start with offshore wind farms. And the

easiest answer to try and explain how we do this quickly is we need to dramatically scale up the rate at which we can do this for most people, in

general.

The marine mammal impacts of general or traditional surveying are very real. Unfortunately, we do rely on sound a lot to do most of the work

within the ocean because of the restrictions of moving or sensing information through water. And so we currently right now, all of our

sensors that we use, our sonars that we use are above 200 kilohertz, which do not impact marine mammals in any way, shape, or form.

So this is a massive improvement to the way that this work is done today, not just by the reality or the system that we've developed that allows it

to happen much quicker, but it also just has a completely different impact on marine mammals.

[09:45:13]

SOARES: And as you're talking, we were looking, I don't know, if Bob, my producer can put back that electrical submarine that's kind of mapping it

out, to mapping out the ocean. But you know, once you have this data, Anthony, what do you do with it? What are you intending to show to

companies or to actually governments here?

DIMARE: Yes, so there's multiple different data sets that are critical to understand the geology of the sea floor to move these projects along

faster. One of them is just bathymetry. So, being able to get a shape of the sea floor. Another is imaging, so being able to use sonar to get actual

pictures of what lies on the seafloor itself, as well as an understanding of what the geologic condition of the seafloor is at the surface, and just

below the surface, so the many different layers that exist underneath just what we see.

And so putting all of those things together gives us a comprehensive understanding of what the seafloor is. And we use -- and are just launching

mosaic to be able to get that data into the hands of people much, much faster than it's done today.

SOARES: And, you know, we have seen -- our viewers are seeing right around the world like extreme and prolonged kind of weather incidents this year

that's been charged, I think it's fair to say by climate change -- Hurricane Ida, extreme flooding, if I remember in Germany. Have

governments, Anthony, been reaching out to you and your company to try and find solutions to mitigate this and hoping to use this data.

DIMARE: I can't speak directly to exactly the types of people that have been reaching out, but I can say the response has been overwhelming. I

think everyone globally right now is rallying around the fact that the oceans are a critical ecosystem to the future of life on this planet, and

understanding that in a dramatically quicker way that we are doing right now is completely necessary for us to be able to, to live here for very

long periods of time. And so the short answer is yes.

SOARES: Hopefully, next time, you can give us a tiny bit more. Anthony DiMare with a very appropriate surname, I have to say, cofounder of

Bedrock. Thanks very much, Anthony. Best of luck.

DIMARE: Thank you, Isa. Appreciate it. See you.

SOARES: Take care. After the break, no more games. China's tough new crackdown on gaming sparks intense debate. Can you get hooked on this? That

is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Now, it is always fun to open a new electronic device, but usually, that also means figuring out how to get rid of your old one and

that's become really a global challenge. E-waste is the world's fastest growing form of garbage, by 2050, estimated to total more than 122 million

tons a year.

But as Anna Stewart shows us, a plant in Dubai is aiming to recycle it, turning electronic trash into treasure.

[09:50:05]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice over): This is it. The end of the road for old electronics. Or not quite.

LYES YAHIAOUI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ENVIROSERVE: So this is an example of e-waste. All these are microwaves, laptops, phones, everything goes on

here. This is the start of the process.

STEWART (voice over): A new lease of life to unwanted devices, cables, phones, printers go in all chopped up. Outcomes all sorts of materials like

new ready to be used for manufacturing once more.

YAHIAOUI: These materials are coming from this phone, and really, we are going to make a new phone like this.

STEWART (voice over): Enviroserve collects e-waste for more than 10 countries across the Middle East and Africa. Once in the Dubai facility,

devices needing a quick fix get repaired. Anything broken has their batteries removed, gets torn apart, and is separated based on what they're

made of.

We each produce an average of seven kilograms of electronic waste per year. That's the equivalent to almost four laptops per person on the planet every

year, and is expected to double by 2050.

Getting rid of all this stuff isn't easy. First is the health risk of being exposed to toxic materials, and if you chuck it in landfill, then all these

valuable items just go to waste.

YAHIAOUI: The e-waste going to the landfill is not a solution, it is just part, idling for the future. For when? Nobody knows.

STEWART (voice over): Which is why Enviroserve is determined to provide an alternative.

For now, they are currently operating at only seven percent capacity. But eventually, they hope to process 39,000 tons of e-waste every year.

YAHIAOUI: We are not at full capacity, definitely not. But we are ready for the future, so we can do more and more.

STEWART (voice over): Around the world, less than 20 percent of electronic waste is properly recycled, according to the Global E-Waste Monitor.

KEES BALDE, SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER AT THE SUSTAINABLE CYCLES PROGRAM, UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY: And currently only $10 billion of raw materials

are being recovered from e-waste, and nearly $50 billion are not recovered at all. So, there is a big opportunity out there.

STEWART (voice over): Electronic waste, an example of how one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Anna Stewart, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: And finally, increasingly tough rules in China that limit the playing of video games among minors have sparked intense debate. They're

dividing players, parents, as well as health experts.

Kristie Lu Stout looks closer at so-called gaming disorder and what that exactly means.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Play time is pretty much over for China's young online gamers. Beijing has banned online gamers

under 18 from playing on weekdays and limited their play to only three hours on most weekends.

China's media watchdog says the rules are necessary to combat gaming addiction.

STOUT (on camera): It's a common concern among gamers and parents the world over, can video games be addictive?

STOUT (voice over): In 2018, the World Health Organization introduced gaming disorder as a new mental health condition. Signs include impaired

control over gaming, gaming taking precedence over other interests, continuation of gaming despite negative effects, and impaired social

functioning and distress.

SHEKHAR SAXENA, HARVARD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Gaming disorder is a disorder of control so that person cannot hold on to the

amount of time for gaming and it keeps increasing. It can cause several health problems, physical as well as mental.

STOUT (voice over): According to the W.H.O., the characteristics of gaming disorder are very similar to substance use disorders and gambling disorder,

but not everyone agrees.

According to a 2020 study coauthored by American psychologist, Chris Ferguson, there is a lack of consensus on the issue of video game

addiction.

About 60.8 percent of scholars surveyed agreed pathological gaming could be a mental health problem, but 30.4 percent were skeptical.

CHRIS FERGUSON, PSYCHOLOGIST: It's an issue that scholars really have been arguing about for probably 30 years, and what has happened is there are all

these questions about it that are unresolved in the scholarly community like even as basic as, is this a real thing?

STOUT (voice over): For years, China, the world's largest video games market has worried about the impact of games, blaming it for rising rates

of nearsightedness and setting a boot camps that use military drills to try to kick the habit.

STOUT (on camera): In China now want to combat gaming addiction by restricting how long young players who game online. How effective is this?

SAXENA: Very drastic public health measure. Gaming disorder is only present in a very small minority of all people who game, because gaming by

itself is not always harmful.

[09:55:04]

STOUT (voice over): Mental health experts say the question isn't how many hours a child spends gaming, but whether excessive play is a sign of deeper

mental health issue.

FERGUSON: If you take away the games, you leave them with a preexisting condition, so it doesn't really fix anything. It kind of just takes away

the things they are using to distract themselves from their suffering.

STOUT (voice over): Experts advise parents to monitor their kids and focus on harm reduction rather than unplugging entirely and missing out on the

occasional thrilling fight to the finish.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: In my house, that's all I can tell you. Let us know your thoughts on the show. You can tweet me @IsaCNN, of course @FirstMove. Thanks very

much for watching.

"Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is next. Do stay right here with CNN.

Have a great weekend. Bye-bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

END