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Eight Killed in Massage Parlor Shootings, suspect in Custody; Biden in Favor of Reforming Filibuster; Biden: Cuomo Should Resign if Probe Confirms Sexual Harassment Allegation; Biden Tells Migrants: 'Don't Come' to U.S. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 17, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Eight people are dead, and one suspect is in custody after shootings at three metro area massage parlors. Four of the victims are of Korean ethnicity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just heard numerous gunshots coming from across the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are investigating the theory that all these cases are connected.

NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Average new COVID case counts are rising in as many states as they are falling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are just starting to turn the corner, and where this goes is dependent on whether we all do what has to be done to protect ourselves and others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could be (ph) back to normal. We're really asking for another wave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Wednesday, March 17, 6 a.m. here in New York.

Alisyn off. Erica Hill with me this morning. And we do have breaking news.

New details about three shootings at Atlanta massage parlors that led eight people dead. This has led to increased security in cities across the country.

Now, one suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, is in custody. Police say it is extremely likely that one person did carry out all of these attacks.

The "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reports that six of the victims are Asian, and this has raised obvious concerns, given the rise of anti- Asian hate crime across the country. As of now, law enforcement has not provided any evidence of a racial motivation.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Also new this morning, President Biden weighing in on the filibuster, for the first time advocating for an overhaul; and in that same interview offering a blunt message to any migrants who are considering coming to the southern border. We're going to have more on those comments ahead.

But we do want to begin with our top story, those deadly shootings in Atlanta. CNN's Ryan Young is live for us this morning.

Ryan, good morning.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

This is a devastating shooting when you think about it. The metro Atlanta area is just trying to figure out exactly what happened here. We do believe there will be a news conference sometime this morning to sort of explain what police are thinking in terms of the motive of this case, but the shootings really shut down much of the road here.

That's one of the spas where the shooting happened. It has so many people asking why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG (voice-over): A shooting rampage at three spas in the Atlanta metro area Tuesday, leaving eight people dead and one wounded. Police apprehending one suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, Georgia. Law enforcement saying that video evidence suggests that it's extremely likely that the same person is responsible for all three shootings.

SHERIFF FRANK REYNOLDS, CRISP COUNTY, GEORGIA: Georgia State Patrol troopers performed a pit maneuver which caused the vehicle to spin out of control. The subject was taken into custody without incident.

YOUNG: The first shooting took place about 30 miles outside of Atlanta at Young's Asian Massage in Cherokee County. Two people died at that scene, and two more died at the hospital. One individual was also wounded.

JAY BAKER, CHEROKEE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: In 2020 we had one homicide in Cherokee County. So we've had at least three today. So it's pretty shocking for not only our responding deputies in public safety but also for the community here. We take this very serious.

YOUNG: The other two shootings took place in Atlanta at spas right across the street from each other. The first at Gold Massage Spa, leaving three dead. While police responded to that shooting, they learned of another across the street at Aromatherapy Spa. One person was killed there.

Atlanta police say this investigation is a high priority. SERGEANT JOHN CHAFEE, ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: We do have some

witnesses that we were in the location around the location. It is an extreme priority for us.

YOUNG: According to Atlanta Police, the suspect's vehicle was sign at the crime scene in Cherokee County and also on the same street as the shootings in Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just heard numerous gunshots coming from across the street. I won't say any names, but they're really nice girls, and they just do great massages. They do great massages over there. So it's just unfortunate.

YOUNG: Authorities tell the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" that six of the victims were Asian women. Police said they had no immediate indication of a motive for the shootings. But the killings came at a time when attacks on Asian-Americans have increased since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. That's left some people questioning whether race played a role.

Stop AAPI Hate, the nation's leading group fighting anti-Asian hate and discrimination, called the deaths "an unspeakable tragedy" and added, "This latest attack will only exasperate the fear and pain that the Asian-American community continues to endure."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: John, when you're talking to law enforcement sources in this area, they basically told us that video did help in terms of this investigation. That's how they were able to get the image out there so quickly. That's how they were able to get that suspect vehicle out so quickly.

But if you think about this, that pit maneuver, the stop, that chase happened almost two hours away from where I'm standing in metro Atlanta. Much of the evening we saw investigators talking to witnesses and trying to gather as much evidence as possible, but still, we are waiting for the motive. We're still waiting to figure out exactly what police know at this point, especially about that suspect -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Ryan. Keep us posted. As you said, we are expecting to hear from law enforcement this morning. We'll bring that to you live, obviously, when it happens.

[06:05:06]

Joining me now, CNN law enforcement analyst Charles Ramsey and Henri Hollis. He's a breaking news reporter for "The Atlanta Journal- Constitution."

Chief Ramsey, look, obviously the question this morning is, was this racially motivated? The "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reports six out of the eight victims were Asian. We know there's a rise in anti-Asian hate crime across the country. How will you go about proving the motive? What is the investigation doing right now? CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, obviously, they're

probably leaning in that direction, but they're also combing through evidence. They'll look at his social media. I'm sure they probably already have search warrants for the vehicle, wherever he lives. Looking for evidence that will verify that he had a hatred toward Asian -- Asian-Americans.

And once they come up with that, then they'll officially declare a motive. But until then, they're going to be reluctant to do that. They're not going to speculate on that at all.

HILL: You know, Henri, as we're look at what we do know at this hour and as we just heard from Ryan, we are expecting, hopefully, a press conference this morning, is there anything that has changed overnight in terms of what we're learning? Because I have to say it is remarkable how quickly someone -- a suspect was apprehended.

HENRI HOLLIS, BREAKING NEWS CORRESPONDENT, "ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION": Yes, in terms of new developments overnight, the story really slowed down once he was captured then in south Georgia. I don't know of any new developments, especially not in terms of his motive. The police have been pretty -- pretty cautious about saying anything in those terms.

BERMAN: What are they telling you, Henri, though, about what they're investigating and what they've been doing over the last ten hours or so?

HOLLIS: So I hadn't been touch with any police this morning. I was the night shift person working last night, so I was working through midnight last night communicating with police. So our last official communication from them came around midnight.

HILL: Chief Ramsey, as we're seeing and as Ryan touched on, this is raising the concern and alert level far outside metro Atlanta. Really across the country as there are concerns. Again, while it has not, you know, been stated that the motive here was race, it is -- it is a concern. And hate crimes -- anti-Asian hate crimes are growing nationwide. If you're looking at this, what is your biggest concern this morning and where is it?

RAMSEY: Well, that you'd have a copycat or if this individual is part of a larger organization, which probably is not the case, but you always have to be concerned about copycats.

There have been a lot of cases, hate cases against Asians in this country, unfortunately. You have to assume that there will be others that may take place, so you have to be cautious. You want to provide additional security, or at least special attention, to Asian-owned businesses, just to make people aware, because this is a very serious situation we find ourselves in. And you have to take every step possible to protect people.

BERMAN: Henri, what has the atmosphere been in Atlanta specific, or Georgia specific, over the last several months, in terms of concerns about possible crimes toward the Asian community? HOLLIS: I think that they have been, you know, relatively high just

like everywhere in the U.S. It's been a problem that's been on people's mind. I know that when the pandemic first began, we did a lot of reporting on Asian restaurants that were suddenly seeing a huge drop in traffic and, you know, even since then, over the past many months, that has certainly been a concern.

Police did tell us last night that they were increasing patrols in the area, that they were checking in on businesses. And I can say that that area where the second and third shootings happened is well-known for this type of business. It's Asian-owned businesses, and that, to me, would make it a target.

BERMAN: Henri Hollis, Chief Ramsey, thank you both for being with us. Obviously, as we said, we are expecting more information as the morning progresses, so we may hit you up again for more information. Thank you.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

HOLLIS: Thank you.

HILL: President Biden for the first time endorsing a major change in Senate rules that could help advance his ambitious agenda. Here's what the president told ABC News.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think you have to eliminate the filibuster. You have to do it, what it used to be when I first got to the Senate back in the old days when you used to be around there. And that is that a filibuster, you have to stand up and command the floor. And you had to keep talking on. You couldn't call for, you know, a -- no one could say, you know, quorum call.

[06:10:04]

Once you stopped talking, you lost that, and someone could move in and say, "I move the question of." So you've got to work for the filibuster.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: So you're for that reform? You're for bringing back the talking filibuster?

BIDEN: I am. That's what it was supposed to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN's Jeremy Diamond, live at the White House this morning with more for us. Jeremy, good morning.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

Extremely significant comments by President Biden, not only for his agenda but also for how things move forward in the Senate. This is a 50-50 Senate with Democrats holding the majority because of the vice president, Kamala Harris, being able to come in as the tie breaker. But they have been -- they will be unable to move forward much of their agenda unless they do take some reforms to the filibuster.

Some progressive Democrats have been arguing for removing the filibuster altogether. Clearly, that is not something that President Biden supports.

But over the last several weeks, we have heard from the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, say that even reforms to the filibuster are not something that President Biden is entertaining at the moment.

And yet clearly, in these comments, the president making clear that he would like to see some changes to the filibuster, including it seems, reforming the rules to require that Republicans, who like to oppose legislation under the filibuster rules, you're required to take to the floor and stay on the floor if they want to object to passing some piece of legislation. So very significant on that front.

The president also making other comments in this interview with ABC News about New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, his most significant comments to date in terms of what he would like to see happen and what he believes could happen if the allegations against the governor are found true in investigation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: If the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should he resign?

BIDEN: Yes. I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too. A woman should be presumed for telling the truth and should not be scapegoated and become victimized by her coming forward, No. 1. But there should be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And up until now, President Biden has really demurred on this issue. He has said simply that he would like to see this investigation happen. He's going to withhold judgement.

But now you see the president there throwing out this idea, unprompted, that Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, could potentially be prosecuted if these allegations against them are found to be true.

Now to be clear, the president here isn't going nearly as far as most of New York's congressional delegation. The majority of that congressional delegation, both of its senators, including Chuck Schumer, who is the majority leader in the Senate, calling on Governor Cuomo to resign over these allegations. The president not going quite that far but nonetheless, making some pretty striking comments on this issue -- Erica.

HILL: That is for sure. Congress getting a lot of attention this morning. Jeremy, thank you. President Biden in that interview also sending a direct message to potential migrants hoping to enter the United States. We'll have that, next.

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[06:17:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: First of all, the idea that Joe Biden said, Come, because I heard the other day that they're coming because they know I'm a nice guy. And I want --

STEPHANOPOULOS: They're seeing this.

BIDEN: Yes. Well, here's the deal. They're not.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you have to say quite clearly don't come clearly, Don't come?

BIDEN: Yes, I can say quite clearly, Don't come. And while we're in the process of getting set up, don't leave your town, or city, or community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: President Biden discouraging migrants from coming to the United States as the administration scrambles to respond to the surge of unaccompanied children coming across the border.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, live in Washington with more. Priscilla, obviously, we discussed with administration officials the idea that the message they're trying to send is being manipulated by smugglers. What's to make of this?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN IMMIGRATION CORRESPONDENT: John, this is a message that officials have been sending since last fall, but as you mentioned, one of the biggest challenges that's running up against is the misinformation and rumors that is being spread by smugglers that are encouraging migrants to make the journey north.

And some of these migrants, if not many of these migrants, are fleeing desperate conditions. The pandemic decimated economies in Latin America. Two major hurricanes passed through last year. That devastated the region.

So all of those factors, combined with the perceived relaxation of enforcement, is bringing people to the border.

HILL: Meantime, when they arrive at the border, I know you have some new reporting this morning about the conditions inside some of these border facilities. What more are you learning?

ALVAREZ: That's right, Erica. We're really starting to get a glimpse of what it looks like in these Border Patrol facilities. Sources are telling us that children are alternating schedules so that

they can sleep. Border Patrol agents are setting up bunk beds, cots, mats, to try to accommodate these children. And that's because these facilities are just not meant for kids. They're intended to process adults. They look like jail-like facilities with concrete walls and concrete benches.

But until the administration can begin to accommodate these children in shelters, that's where these kids are staying, and that is one of the biggest challenges facing the administration right now.

BERMAN: Priscilla, I'm hoping you can clear up, I think what's happening around the country is a bunch of different issues are getting conflated here.

I don't think there's any question we're seeing in the numbers, the statistics, that that there's a rise, a very steep rise in unaccompanied minors coming to the border and now in custody in various places around the U.S.

And there are also a rise in encounters at the border, but most of those encounters are people being turned back, correct? So that in terms of the notion that there's a wave coming across the border overall, what's the reality?

ALVAREZ: John, this is key. The Biden administration is still relying on a Trump-era policy put in place during the pandemic that allows them to turn away single adults and families. So essentially, Border Patrol will encounter them and kick them back to Mexico or back to their country of origin.

[06:20:03]

But the Biden administration said that it would not take this policy and subject children to it. So that is why we are seeing so many children come into custody but seeing single adults and families turned away.

BERMAN: That is a big difference there. It's important, I think, to make that distinction. And that doesn't get to the other issue, which you've done terrific reporting on also, which is the conditions that the children are living over once they get here. But as we said, it's complicated. Thank you so much for covering it for us, Priscilla.

ALVAREZ: Thank you.

HILL: Also, with us, CNN political analyst Toluse Olorunnipa. He's a national politics reporter for "The Washington Post."

You know, we've talked a lot about Biden's comments this morning. And I want to pick up on his comments about the filibuster. I mean, is this the president admitting that bipartisanship is going to be a really tough road, which I think most people realize? I mean, the D.C. of 2021 is not the D.C. that he left behind.

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, that's exactly right. If you look at what happened with the coronavirus relief bill, that was the clear test of whether bipartisanship was going to work in a Biden administration. There's hardly anything more bipartisan on Biden's agenda than trying to provide relief for the country that's going through the pandemic, that has a number of small businesses and people who are going through economic stress and trying to get Republicans on board.

Not only did he not get the ten Republicans that you would need to overcome the filibuster, he didn't get a single Republican either in the House or in the Senate. So that was a clear signal for him and for his agenda.

And if he's going to try to get anything done on his broader, more ambitious proposals, whether it's on climate change, on the environment, on immigration, on the economy and taxes, that it's going to be very hard for him to get Republicans to sign up to support whatever his agenda might be. And for that reason he's going to potentially have to change his view on the filibuster and try to get other Democrats to come on board to reforming or overhaul -- overhauling the filibuster so that he might be able to get more things done in the future.

BERMAN: Well, he has now officially changed his view on the filibuster in terms of being willing to reform it.

The question I have is how big of a change would this be? It would be theater. I mean, we have the "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" moments where members of the Senate would be speaking for hours and hours on end, but if functionally, Joe Manchin and others still require the 60- vote threshold to move legislation forward, it isn't necessarily clear to me that this specific reform requiring senators to speak would make more legislation actually pass, Toluse.

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, it's not clear that this would actually change things. I think what Biden and some of the other Democrats are trying to do is sort of get some of these moderate Democrats on board with the idea of making changes to the filibuster, trying to say that, you know, changing the filibuster is not getting rid of it and having them sort of ease into the process of maybe allowing exceptions to the filibuster, whether it's for civil rights and voting rights types of bills, where we're trying to make it harder for Republicans to continue to filibuster all the legislation coming out of the Democratic House.

So it may not change things by having it become a speaking filibuster, but it might make it easier for someone like Joe Manchin or a Kyrsten Sinema to say, Maybe we should look at further changes to the filibuster. Maybe we should look at ways to provide carveouts and exceptions so that Democratic bills can pass. Otherwise, it will be hard for anything on Biden's agenda to move beyond the $1.9 trillion bill that he just signed.

HILL: Yes. Listen, the president also talking about Governor Andrew Cuomo here in New York. Really the first time he's actually weighed in and went pretty far. Here's that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: If the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should he resign?

BIDEN: Yes, I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too. A woman should be presumed to telling the truth and should not be scapegoated and become victimized by her coming forward, No. 1. But there should be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The fact that he went there and said, I think, you know, he could be prosecuted, too, depending on the outcome of this investigation. That sends a very clear message not just to Governor Andrew Cuomo, but I think to a number of Democrats.

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, this was unprompted. Joe Biden did not get a question about whether or not Andrew Cuomo was a potentially criminal or a suspect in a criminal investigation, but he raised this prospect and made it very clear that, if the allegations are proven to be true over the course of this investigation, not only would, as president, called for Andrew Cuomo's resignation, but he would potentially call for him to be prosecuted as a criminal, as well.

This is -- that's definitely an escalation of the language that Biden and the White House are using about Cuomo. Now, they haven't called for his resignation yet. They said they want him to get due process and the investigation to play out. They're even raising the idea that the governor of New York, the leader of the Governors Association across the country could be a criminal, could be, essentially, a sexual assaulter.

That's something that makes it very clear that this has become an even more tenuous situation for Governor Cuomo, and he can only hope that this investigation proves him innocent. Because anything short of that would make it much harder for Biden and the White House and any Democrats that have not called for his resignation to hold out and stand with him.

[06:25:16]

Right now, it seems like Cuomo does not have many friends, and he cannot count on Joe Biden to support him, especially if this investigation proves some of these allegations against him.

BERMAN: Yes, look, there's the practical and the political. From a practical standpoint, the president continues to give Governor Cuomo the cover of the investigation, right? But by saying he might ultimately be charged with a crime, that politically is just not what Governor Cuomo wanted to hear overnight. No question about that.

Toluse, thank you very much for being with us. Appreciate it.

OLORUNNIPA: Thank you. HILL: Coronavirus cases have been declining nationwide for weeks. This morning, though, there's concern about new potential hot spots emerging and questions about whether more transmissible variants are to blame.

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