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New Day

States Report Increase in Coronavirus Cases; Emotional Testimony at the Chauvin Trial; Restaurants Await Pandemic Relief; Pressure to Move MLB All-Star Game. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 02, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:21]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. At least 48 people are dead and 150 injured after a passenger train derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan. Local media reports that several of the carriages hit a tunnel wall and were ripped apart from the impact. Video shows the rescue operation underway with passengers stuck on top of the train being helped down. An unknown number are still stuck in the passenger cars. We'll stay on this.

JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR: And, this morning, alarming new statistics show that the pandemic is again getting worse. Yesterday, the United States reportedly nearly 80,000 new coronavirus cases. Over 40 percent of the new cases were reported in these five states. Health experts attribute the new spike to the spread of new variants. The CDC now reports over 13,000 variant cases in the United States.

Joining us now is William Haseltine, he's the president of the Access Health International, a former professor at Harvard Medical School.

Mr. Haseltine, it's good to see you.

WILLIAM HASELTINE, PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL, FORMER PROFESSOR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL AND AUTHOR, "VARIANTS": My pleasure.

AVLON: Why are cases spiking in Michigan to such an extent?

HASELTINE: Well, first, let me say that I've never been more optimistic about our ability to end this pandemic, at least control the pandemic. Our vaccines are working better than they ever -- we ever expected them to do. They are preventing infections, which is a big surprise and a very welcome piece of news. They're working for young children, which is also good. And they're being tested for infants and above. So all that's good.

That comes at a time right now, before Easter, where there's a tremendous spike. And why is that happening? There are two reasons. Fundamentally, it's our behavior. We are getting together. We're not wearing masks. We're ignoring public health advice. And it's starting in Michigan, which is exactly what happened this time last year. It's really distressing to see that people aren't following the advice. And it's happening at a time when we have what I call COVID-21, which

is not COVID-19. It's far more transmissible. It is affecting younger people. The majority of people going to hospitals, not just getting infected, going to hospitals are under 60, and many of them are between 30 and 20. So this is not what was happening before. It's a different virus, more transmissible, more lethal, and more dangerous to the young.

CAMEROTA: Professor Haseltine, I think it's hard to quantify how much of this is human behavior and how much of it is the variants because, I mean, here in the northeast, we're in states where people are pretty compliant, you know, in -- I live in Connecticut. I see everybody masked up.

[06:35:00]

Restaurants are still socially distancing. And yet, Connecticut is spiking.

And so, I mean, I just -- I hate to -- I hate to blame this just on bad human behavior because if you look at the map, there are orange and red pockets, which are the hot spots, everywhere.

HASELTINE: Right.

CAMEROTA: So I think it's just that the variants -- these variants are, as you say, hitting people who are not yet vaccinated and is much stronger.

HASELTINE: Well, I'm speaking to you from Connecticut, too, and my experience may be a little bit different. I see young people behaving very differently from what you just described. So I think it's a very complicated situation that it's a combination of the virus. And I will say, this is not a time to relax because this is a much more dangerous virus. You're absolutely right there, much more dangerous and much more lethal. It's getting younger people, and they are filling up the hospitals, not the older people. That's a big change. And it can get young children, too. So it's a combination of our behavior.

But I think what's making everybody extremely nervous is the fact that this is a pattern we've seen before. It starts in the northeast where it's colder and people are still inside and clustered a little bit more, but it doesn't end there. It ends in the Midwest and in Florida and in Texas. That's what we've seen before.

So I am with a group of people who are really concerned about both behavior and especially behavior with this new virus.

CAMEROTA: You make a great point. That is a great point. I think that we do need to reinforce to our young kids, I mean our children and our teenagers and our college age kids, that that's what's happening. That's really helpful.

Professor Haseltine, thank you very much.

HASELTINE: You're welcome. Thank you. AVLON: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Another emotional day in court at the Derek Chauvin murder trial. What was the prosecution's strategy in calling George Floyd's girlfriend to the stand? We break down those key moments, next.

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[06:41:05]

AVLON: In just a few hours prosecutors will start the final day of an emotional week of testimony in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.

Joining us now to break down the key moments and what comes next, CNN analyst Elie Honig. He's a former state and federal prosecutor.

Elie, what was the prosecution's strategy behind calling George Floyd's girlfriend, Courteney Ross.

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, so here's an important prosecutorial tactic. If you have a bad fact and you know it's going to come out at trial, you have to put it in front of the jury yourself.

John, you called it prosecutorial judo earlier. I like that. I think I'm going to use that.

Because if the jury hears it for the first time from the defense lawyer on cross-examination, it hits extra hard. And this witness was a good example of both of those things. On the one hand, the prosecution did a very effective job using Mrs. Ross' testimony to humanize George Floyd to openly acknowledge the drug use and to really put a human face on that drug use. On the other hand, the prosecution inexplicably failed to draw out a key piece of information about an overdose that George Floyd had had just two months before his eventual passing.

Let's take a listen to that testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC NELSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR DEREK CHAUVIN: You later learned that that was due to an overdose?

COURTENEY ROSS, GEORGE FLOYD'S GIRLFRIEND: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Object, your honor, lack of personal knowledge.

JUDGE: Overruled.

NELSON: You spent several days with him at the hospital, correct?

ROSS: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: So the prosecutor did front the drug use, but they left out that piece. And when it came out on cross, it hit extra hard.

CAMEROTA: So you think that it's actually going to hurt? That one's going to hurt?

HONIG: I think that was a failure and I think it will hurt the prosecution, yes.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the paramedics. So there were paramedics talking about their first take when they got on the scene and they could tell from yards away that he wasn't breathing and was probably dead.

HONIG: So the common theme of the testimony from these first responders is, yes, as soon as they arrived on that seen it was imminently clear to them that George Floyd was in dire medical condition or worse.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH BRAVINDER, HENNEPIN COUNTY EMS PARAMEDIC: What I could see from where I was at, I didn't -- I didn't see any breathing or movement or anything like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't see any chest rise or fall on this individual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did his condition appear to be to you, overall?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In lay terms, I thought he was dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a -- he was an unresponsive body on a cot. The airway was in place so that we could breathe for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: This matters because prosecutors want to put George Floyd's time of death as close as possible to when he was under Derek Chauvin's knee. It also matters because the argument's going to be, if all these people arrived on the scene and could immediately tell that George Floyd had stopped breathing and perhaps was dead, how could Derek Chauvin possibly have not realized that being physically on top of George Floyd?

AVLON: That is a key question.

All right, the last witness was retired Minneapolis PD Sergeant David Ploeger. What did you take away from his testimony?

HONIG: Yes, this was really bad news for Derek Chauvin on the biggest issue coming up now, which is, was Derek Chauvin's use of force against George Floyd necessary and appropriate, or was it excessive and, hence, a crime?

Let's take a listen to that testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have an opinion as to when the restraint of Mr. Floyd should have ended in this encounter?

RETIRED SGT. DAVID PLOEGER, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When is it?

PLOEGER: When Mr. Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could have ended their restraint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: Keep in mind, this is not some outside expert with an academic opinion. This is Derek Chauvin's former direct police supervisor. It's going to hit extra hard as a result. The defense will push back against this, but that was a very strong start for the prosecutors on that issue.

CAMEROTA: What happens next, Elie?

HONIG: So, normally, judges make prosecutors announce in advance who their next witnesses will be. That is not happening here publicly out of security concerns. I think we're nearly at the end or maybe entirely at the end of the eyewitnesses.

[06:45:04]

The upcoming witnesses are going to be two categories. First, people who will talk about police training and use of force, including the Minneapolis Police chief. That should be a fascinating piece of testimony and some really challenging cross-examination. And we'll start to hear from medical experts about the autopsies and the cause of death for George Floyd.

AVLON: All right, Elie, thank you very much, as always.

HONIG: Thanks.

AVLON: All right, the restaurant industry was among the hardest hit in this pandemic. So, up next, we're going to talk to restaurant owners who say they need help now more than ever to survive. Stick with us.

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CAMEROTA: The pandemic has hit the restaurant industry very hard. More than 100,000 restaurants in the U.S. have closed. And those that have survived say they are desperate for the money in Biden's stimulus package.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE FRILLMAN, CHEF AND OWNER, DAISIES: Every single month, at the end of the month, it's like, hey, we made it another month.

LIEN TA, CO-OWNER, ALL DAY BABY: And it's really extraordinary to have made it this far.

[06:50:02]

AMANDA COHEN, CHEF AND OWNER, DIRT CANDY: I feel so unbelievably lucky to be standing on this side of it.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Three restaurant owners in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have made it through the pandemic so far. Something 110,000 other restaurants can't say.

But to keep their doors open, they will need access to the new Restaurant Revitalization Fund, part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.

YURKEVICH (on camera): How critical do you feel like this grant is for you?

COHEN: I won't survive without this grant.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Amanda Cohen has owned Dirt Candy in New York's lower east side for 13 years. Two PPP loans later, she's just hanging on.

YURKEVICH (on camera): What's business like these days?

COHEN: Business is really up and down. You know, we'll do six covers a night, maybe eight covers.

YURKEVICH: So what is six to eight covers a day get you?

COHEN: Nowhere.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Which is why the $28.6 billion Restaurant Fund, run by the Small Business Administration, is paramount. Unlike the PPP loan, this grant covers more expenses and doesn't have to be paid back. The SBA says it could go live this month, but offers no exact date.

FRILLMAN: It's extremely important for us to -- this comes in a timely fashion.

YURKEVICH: Joe Frillman says the grant money would fund his Chicago restaurant till October. Without it, he makes it to May. Some states have lifted indoor dining restrictions but several major cities, like Chicago, still have them in place.

FRILLMAN: The physical limitations of this -- of this space and this restaurant, we're actually operating still only at about 25 percent capacity from what we can do. It's really been a strain in terms of the amount of revenue that we can -- that we can pull off.

YURKEVICH: At the start of 2020, Lien Ta owned two restaurants in Los Angeles. Today, she's working to save her remaining one. TA: Oh, it's tough because it's like choosing between your children,

which one are you going to save?

YURKEVICH: Even after closing one restaurant, she has mounting debt and doesn't think the grant will be enough for all her expenses. But it could help bring back some of the nearly 200 people she laid off.

TA: I think we will need more. But the hope is that you bring back more jobs.

YURKEVICH: Hope is on the horizon for these restaurateurs, something that has eluded them for a year.

COHEN: Once the relief fund passed, I think that was the first good night's sleep I had since the pandemic started.

FRILLMAN: Hopeful for the first time in a long time to be honest with you. Sorry. The -- you work your whole life for opportunities like this. It's been such a roller coaster of emotions for us.

YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Man, that really drives it home how hard it has been in the restaurant industry.

Meanwhile, there are growing calls for Major League Baseball to move its all-star game out of Atlanta in response to Georgia's restrictive new election law. The "Bleacher Report" covers that, next.

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[06:57:27]

AVLON: All right, baseball's opening day is in the history books. But pressure is now mounting over the all-star game, which is still more than three months away.

Coy Wire has it all in the "Bleacher Report."

Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John.

From the players to President Biden, there is a push to move the all- star game out of Georgia in response to the state's recently passed voting laws. Commissioner Rob Manfred says no decision has been made and logistics could be an issue. But he told ESPN he's having discussions about relocating the game with the head of the players union and team owners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB MANFRED, MLB COMMISSIONER: I think first and most important, baseball has always been opposed to any law that unfairly restricts access to voting rights. When you think about the game itself, it is -- there are very difficult issues. We plan these games years in advance and this game is only three months away. It's one thing to say the game should be moved. It's another thing to figure out how to move it on that short time frame.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Brave's first baseman, reigning national league MVP, Freddie Freeman weighing in saying, quote, I think it's a conversation to be had. I think it would be better to keep it in Atlanta and use it as a platform.

Now, finally, the women's Final Four tipping off tonight and coach Tara VanDerveer and the top overall seed Stanford keeping the moves light with some foosball before they go all business for their matchup with Dawn Staley's South Carolina tonight. That's at 6:00 Eastern. And then the night cap, John, you have UConn and their newly crowned player of the year, freshman phenom Paige Bueckers. They tip off against Arizona at 9:30.

AVLON: I did not know that foosball was a Final Four pregame ritual. I love that.

All right, Coy, thank you.

WIRE: It keeps that wrist action working. You've got it.

AVLON: You know, you got to -- you got to work the wrist a different way.

CAMEROTA: Foosball's really hard, may I say. I mean so are just sports in general. But foosball is really hard.

AVLON: I was about to say, are you -- this is what you're copping to a sports deficiency in, foosball?

CAMEROTA: Yes. Yes. The left hand, it's just -- it's tough. That's all I can tell you.

AVLON: All right, well, NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First responders who treated George Floyd testifying Floyd seemed to be gone before they were able to help him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was, I guess, limp.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe you told me that they had tried to put Mr. Floyd in the car. He'd become combative. After struggling with him, he'd suffered a medical emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New details on the sex trafficking investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz.

[07:00:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only does that witness say that Gaetz was seen on video, but then Greenberg texted.