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New Day
State TV: Russia Orders Troops To Withdraw From Ukraine Border; Japan Issues State Of Emergency In Tokyo Amid Pre-Olympics Virus Surge; Arizona Secretary of State Debunks GOP's Voter Fraud Claims. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired April 23, 2021 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00]
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Company memo.
In 1980, a climate expert told the American Petroleum Institute that a likely rise in temperatures could have long-term globally catastrophic effects.
But their public posture was very different. The oil industry decided to adopt an approach to climate change ripped right from the big tobacco playbook. Quote, "Doubt is our product since it's the best means of competing with the body of fact that exists in the mind of the general public."
So while the science moved forward, the fossil fuel industry-funded think tanks, putting forward their own experts armed with alternate facts. But they didn't yet control a whole political party.
Before Al Gore wore "Earth in the Balance," Republican President George H.W. Bush strengthened the bipartisan Clean Air Act with a cap and trade program designed to reduce acid rain. He signed the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, declaring that the United States fully intends to be the world's preeminent leader in protecting the global environment.
But increasingly, conservatives were turning climate change into a new front in the culture wars with stunts like Sen. Jim Inhofe bringing a snowball onto the Senate floor to mock the idea of global warming.
John McCain was the last GOP nominee to support climate change cap and trade. And by 2010, the Tea Party was dominated by lawmakers who took the industry-backed no climate tax pledge, as pro-environment Republicans found themselves facing well-funded primary challenges and a wave of climate change denial became the norm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO PERSONALITY, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, TELEVISION SHOW HOST: There is no manmade climate change.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): The climate's always changing. DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All of this with the global warming and the -- a lot of it's a hoax. It's a hoax. I mean, it's a moneymaking industry, OK? It's a hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: The Trump administration made this official policy, withdrawing from the Paris climate accords, rolling back environmental regulations, and placing climate change skeptics in scientific positions.
And so despite increased data, melting polar ice caps, and more extreme weather events, we've seen a growing partisan gap on whether combating climate change should be a priority, hitting a stunning 57- point spread in a 2020 Pew survey.
The question now is whether this partisan fever will break because denialism is dangerous. We're always safest and strongest when we confront reality and then harness the power of science to solve our common problems.
And that's your reality check.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: John, thank you so much.
It has been another dizzying week of headlines -- historic news events that are shaping America from the tragic to the hopeful.
As John mentioned, President Biden sets a bold goal in the climate crisis fight.
A jury convicts Derek Chauvin of murdering George Floyd after 10 hours of deliberation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE PETER CAHILL, FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT, HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA: Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: President Biden calling it a step forward in society. His DOJ reveals an investigation into Minneapolis police, signaling heightened scrutiny for all departments across the nation.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also in Minneapolis, Daunte Wright is laid to rest after a now-fired officer claims she accidentally shot him instead of tasering him during a traffic stop.
In Ohio, protests erupt after police shoot and kill a 16-year-old, appearing to stop her from stabbing another. LeBron James deletes a tweet targeting the officer in that case.
KEILAR: In the Senate, talks are underway on what appears to be a compromise on police reform.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is sued for his anti-riot law said to be targeting violent protests. Critics say it's unconstitutional.
BERMAN: The FDA deciding the fate of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after its rollout was paused due to a series of blood clots.
President Biden hits his goal of 200 million doses, but the next 200 will be harder due to hesitancy among Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's an incredible achievement for the nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now, after a surge, cases are falling in the U.S., but they are rising sharply around the world. Dozens of colleges and universities requiring students to be vaccinated in the fall. And the famous COVID denier is infected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED NUGENT, SINGER, DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19: They claim 500,000 people have died from COVID-19 -- bull (bleep). It's not a real pandemic.
I have never been so sick in all my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: An old Army study shows middle-aged people getting fewer than six hours sleep at night are more likely to get dementia.
A conspiracy caucus scraps an idea for a club promoting, quote, "Anglo-Saxon values" while a Republican senator is the only one to vote against an anti-Asian hate crime bill.
KEILAR: NASA notching another win on Mars, successfully flying and landing a helicopter there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NASA CONTROL ROOM (Applause).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: From the red planet to a red line. Vladimir Putin draws one against American threats, comparing himself to a tiger surrounded by hyenas, in the process. Meantime, one of his biggest foes is still locked up and said to be dying behind bars while on a hunger strike in Russia. And the U.S. ambassador to Russia leaves the country after being threatened by the Kremlin.
[07:35:03]
BERMAN: Moscow and China blamed for weaponizing QAnon conspiracies to divide America. An Indonesian submarine goes missing with time running out before the
crew loses oxygen.
KEILAR: And Jimmy Carter's former vice president, Walter Mondale, dies at 93.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER": How do you want to be remembered?
WALTER MONDALE (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: An honest and decent guy that did his best to serve the public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The White House downplays President Biden calling the border crisis a crisis.
Republicans make a $600 billion counteroffer in the infrastructure talks.
KEILAR: Congresswoman Val Demings gets into it with her Republican colleague.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): I have the floor, Mr. Jordan.
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): The gentlelady has --
DEMINGS: What? Did I strike a nerve?
NADLER: Look, the gentle --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The war on voting continues as Arizona takes up a bill making it harder to cast a ballot.
And George W. Bush calls the party that's left him nativist in his most political comments in years.
And more guest hosts are announced on "JEOPARDY!" -- none of whom are named John or Berman, and that is a problem.
BERMAN: It's an outrage.
KEILAR: It really is.
BERMAN: It's more than a problem, it's an outrage. It's also sadly true. (INAUDIBLE).
KEILAR: I'd love to see that. I'd love to see that.
BERMAN: I think America would, too. By America, I mean me. But, yes. KEILAR: Speaking for all of America.
BERMAN: I'm speaking for all of America.
KEILAR: You're speaking for me too, though, John.
BERMAN: Right.
KEILAR: So look, you have some company there.
BERMAN: I've double the number of people --
KEILAR: There you go.
BERMAN: -- who want to see me host "JEOPARDY!"
Just in, Russia seems to be stepping back from the brink in its border battle with Ukraine, but can it be believed?
KEILAR: Plus, a Black police chief says his heart skips a beat when he sees a cop car behind him. He's going to join us live.
And a woman admits to hitting a teenager with her car because she was, quote, "a Mexican."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:17]
BERMAN: Overnight, Russia ordering the withdrawal of some of its troops from the Ukrainian border. The move could deescalate tensions with the Ukrainian government and the West.
Sam Kiley in Moscow with the latest developments. Sam, is this real?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's real, John, in that it may reduce the very-much heightened tensions that were caused by what the Russians are calling a military exercise on the borders with Ukraine and inside the illegally-occupied Crimean Peninsula, and in the Black Sea.
Now, the European Union said that there are about 100,000 Russian troops in the area, including some estimated. This is E.U. estimates of some 40,000 extra troops on the Ukrainian border. A substantial number of those may be withdrawn by the Russians by May the first, they say.
But what's going to be interesting to the spies -- effectively, intelligence organizations in the Western world -- will be to see what troops or whether troops are left behind, particularly specialist units such as paratroopers inside the Crimean Peninsula and specialized rocketeers, effectively -- people who fire surface-to- surface, surface-to-air missiles. The specialist elements -- the specialist weapons may be left behind.
But at this stage, the official Russian policy is that they are moving out after successful exercises and partly, to avoid any kind of conflict or sense of conflict with an ongoing NATO exercise which includes operations in Estonia, Romania, and Bulgaria -- of course, areas formerly of Soviet influence, John.
BERMAN: All right, Sam Kiley for us in Moscow. Thanks for keeping us posted, Sam.
KEILAR: Developing this morning, Japan is declaring a state of emergency in several cities, including Tokyo, as a fourth wave of coronavirus hits the country. Questions are growing about the government's insistence that the Tokyo Olympics, delayed from last year, move forward as planned this summer.
CNN's Selina Wang is live in Osaka, Japan with more on this -- Selina.
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, the reality here is that we are just three months away from the Olympics and Japan is struggling to contain this fourth wave of COVID cases that is driven by these more contagious COVID variants.
Yet, the prime minister just declaring a state of emergency to cover Tokyo, Osaka, and two other prefectures. Now, this is not a hard lockdown but it will require large commercial spaces like shopping malls, as well as places that serve alcohol, to shut down.
Now, I'm here in Osaka right now, which is the epicenter of this current wave. The governor here has said that its medical system is on the brink of collapse.
In the meantime, you have less than one percent of Japan's population fully vaccinated. Most -- the majority of the healthcare workers here have not even received a single dose of the vaccine.
Now, Japan may be known as one of the world's most technologically advanced countries but it has struggled enormously with the vaccine rollout for reasons that include red tape, supply chain issues, and poor planning in general.
One of the key reasons is the slow approval process for vaccines in Japan. Now, the country has only approved the Pfizer vaccine and even that came late because Japan requires additional domestic clinical trials of new vaccines.
Japan has one of the lowest rates of vaccine confidence in the world. This is driven by a series of vaccine scandals in the past 50 years.
And amid all of this, several experts have told me that they are worried that these Tokyo Olympic Games could become a superspreader event. Despite all of this, the prime minister -- the Japanese government -- at least to the external public on the face of it -- officially, they are projecting unwavering confidence that these games are still going to go ahead as planned in the face of mounting public opposition here in Japan and skepticism -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And will they go ahead, but should they go ahead? We'll be tracking your reporting very closely, Selina. Thank you. BERMAN: All right, signs of an economic comeback. A lot of signs now.
Chief business correspondent Christine Romans here with the details -- Romans.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "EARLY START": Yes, those so-called green shoots this spring -- you're seeing them everywhere, John, because of vaccinations, warmer weather, and epic stimulus.
Great news this week that layoffs are slowing. Sure, there's a lot of work to do, right, but historic government aid is flowing to weather the storm. There are 17.4 million people getting some sort of jobless check.
And stimulus checks hitting bank accounts for almost everyone else. The IRS and the Treasury Department sent out another two million stimulus checks this week. That's now 161 million payments worth more than $379 billion. That is money in Americans' pockets.
Another sign of recovery. The TSA screened more than 1.1 million travelers Wednesday. American Airlines bringing pilots and flight attendants back. And the CEO of Southwest, this week, said the worst is behind us for the airline industry.
[07:45:06]
Now, real estate is booming. Millions of people are looking for a home and they can't find one. If you do find one, get ready to pay above asking price. Home prices hitting record highs last month -- the highest price since the National Association of Realtors started tracking prices back in 1999.
It's a seller's market. Not enough homes for the rush of new buyers.
Homes are going fast. The typical home, you guys, sold in just 18 days in March. We've never seen that. That's the shortest on record.
Now, this recovery is wind in the sails of the Biden administration as the White House seeks new taxes on the rich to pay for landmark efforts to support working families. Widely expected next week in Biden's joint session to Congress, a plan to double the capital gains tax on people making more than a million bucks a year and returning the top tax rate to 39.6 percent from 37 percent.
You know, the White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki wouldn't divulge specifics but said the president will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. Get ready for a tax fight with Wall Street, guys.
BERMAN: Wall Street didn't like that last part yesterday, Romans.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: The market seemed to go down a little bit after word of the capital gains tax came out. ROMANS: There shouldn't be a surprise. And stocks have been so much over the past year. It wasn't even down, like, 1-1 1/2 percent. So that little tax tantrum, I think might be over.
BERMAN: Right. Thanks so much, Romans.
KEILAR: These are some tough times for relations between police officers and their communities. Trust is broken and the gulf is deep. But some officers are going beyond the call of duty to build bridges, like one Atlanta officer who lends a hand to the homeless on her beat.
CNN's Natasha Chen has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When she's not responding to 911 calls, 25-year-old Atlanta police officer Melina Lim starts every day by checking in on businesses around northwest Atlanta.
OFFICER MELINA LIM, ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: There have been times where I've actually walked into a robbery at these locations before.
CHEN (voice-over): But it's a stop near the end of her day that brings a smile to her face.
DOC, HOMELESS MAN: You know, I really think so much of her.
CHEN (voice-over): Shortly before the pandemic, Lim drove past (INAUDIBLE), who goes by Doc, on the side of the road and noticed his sign.
LIM: He wasn't begging for any money or anything, he was just smiling, holding his sign, waving at everyone. And so I went to go grab my lunch and I decided hey, I'm going to get two lunches today.
CHEN (voice-over): Sixty-one-year-old Doc, who told us his drinking and drug addictions have cost him well-paying jobs in the past, remembers the first time Lim pulled over to talk. He wondered if he had a warrant out on him and thought Lim was going to take him to jail.
DOC: I remembered that I was afraid. But she quickly eases the relationship and basically says what do you need?
CHEN (voice-over): When George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis last year, their connection strengthened at a time when police and community relations were deeply strained.
LIM: He is very pro-BLM and I was able to get him a special shirt that said "BLM -- All Black Lives Matter."
CHEN (voice-over): Lim made sure Doc was safe during major protests, all while working long shifts.
LIM: We stuck together a lot during the protests, huh? DOC: Yes.
LIM: I knew the community was hurting. I knew that their trust was broken with us. But the main -- the main reason I got into this job was to connect those ties with community. That we're not always the enemy.
CHEN (voice-over): And with the rise in anti-Asian attacks and the recent spa shootings in Atlanta, Doc is concerned for his friend, too.
DOC: I hate that we have a lot of people that are so one-sided and narrow. There are Asian-Americans, right now, that are being picked on and a lot of violent things are happening. And I'm just hoping nothing would happen to you, you know?
LIM: Aww, I thought about you, too.
CHEN (voice-over): Lim has bought Doc food and clothes over the past year, but Doc tells us it's not about the gifts. It's the daily chat and mutual support that lifts them both up.
LIM: It's taught me patience. It's taught me compassion. It's taught me that everybody has a story that they're going through and it just takes one person to listen.
I'll see you in a bit. I'm going -- I'm going to go get you some food, OK?
DOC: Hey, you guys, let's have an awesome and amazing year and day.
CHEN (voice-over): Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Nevada's Republican Secretary of State is pouring some cold water on the big lie. We are going to speak with the state's attorney general who has some strong words for folks spewing falsehoods about the election.
BERMAN: And new clues in the frantic search for a missing submarine and dozens of crew members that vanished near Indonesia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:54:23]
KEILAR: Days after the 2020 election, then-President Trump tweeted Nevada is turning out to be a cesspool of fake votes. But Nevada's Republican Secretary of State is dealing yet another blow to Trump's big lie, announcing that her office found zero evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Let's bring in Nevada's attorney general, Aaron Ford. He's also the co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. I want to read a portion of the letter from the Nevada Secretary of State who outlined her findings. It says, "While the Nevada GOP raises policy concerns about voting, these concerns do not amount to evidentiary support for the contention that the 2020 general election was plagued by widespread voter fraud."
[07:55:09]
She's saying there's no evidence of fraud. What's your reaction to this announcement because it appears there is no sign that Republicans -- people in her party -- will accept that?
AARON FORD, NEVADA ATTORNEY GENERAL, CO-CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEYS GENERAL ASSOCIATION (via Cisco Webex): Well, good morning, and thank you again for having me on. I think the last time we were on were talking about debunking claims of widespread voter fraud.
KEILAR: Yes.
FORD: But to respond to your question, it doesn't surprise me at all that her letter says that. We have been engaging in contemporaneous investigations the entire time.
I have personally put out a request to the Nevada GOP and some of the former elected officials to file complaints with my office. They have yet to do that. They've not even filed a complaint with my office and that's because they know it takes evidence.
And so I'm not surprised at all that our Secretary of State found no evidence.
KEILAR: So, Republicans -- and we've talked about this before -- they had flagged thousands of cases of alleged voter fraud in Nevada. I actually went through them -- thousands of them -- months ago, right after the election.
And what was so obvious was that these were -- many of the people on that list -- they were not voting fraudulently. They were military or military-connected. There were -- those P.O. boxes for the military as some of their addresses. So it was very clear it seemed like a disingenuous claim.
Knowing that, how do you combat it?
FORD: Well, you're right. That's entirely what it was -- a disingenuous claim.
And it's something, again, that they were able to say in a press release or on a general press conference but would not file with our courts.
And the way that we continue to push back on that is, in fact, defeating them in court. We did that six times during the election cycle. At least my office beat them six times. And there were probably another half-dozen, if not 10 other cases in which these claims were fought back and defeated. And so the only thing that we can do to fight misinformation and
disinformation is to put out truth and valid information.
KEILAR: So earlier this month, the Secretary of State was actually formally censured by the state Republican Party for, quote, "disregarding her oath of office by failing to investigate election fraud." She has -- she found nothing.
What does that mean for the future of elections in Nevada?
FORD: Well, I've never had an issue with the integrity of our elections, and so as far as I'm concerned, the future of elections in Nevada remains good. It's going to be up to these folks spewing nonsense to come to a reality. And the reality is we've had a fair and free election that elected our current administration and we will continue to move forward in order to protect the rights and the integrity of our vote.
KEILAR: Attorney General Aaron Ford, it's great to see you again. Thanks for being with us.
FORD: Thank you. Thank you so much.
KEILAR: NEW DAY continues right now.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman alongside Brianna Keilar on this new day.
Decision day for Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Just hours from now, the FDA could lift the pause put in place because of rare blood clots.
Plus, policing in America. We'll hear from a veteran Black chief who says his heart skips a beat when he sees a squad car in the rearview mirror.
KEILAR: A submarine lost at sea as time runs out to save the crew. Could an object spotted overnight lead searchers to this sub?
And as vaccine hesitancy threatens to prolong the pandemic, a country music star -- superstar -- is telling his fans to take the shot. Brad Paisley will join us live in just minutes.
BERMAN: Megastar.
KEILAR: Yes.
BERMAN: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Friday, April 23rd. It's Friday.
KEILAR: It is. Happy Friday.
BERMAN: You made it all week.
We already witnessed some history today. We have video of the SpaceX launch early this morning. The Crew-2 is carrying two NASA astronauts and two international space flyers. And for the first time, they're working with a used rocket and capsule -- or as I like to say, previously owned. Docking with the International Space Station expected to take place around this time tomorrow.
Other big news this morning. Advisers to the CDC are about to meet to decide the future of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine. Seven million single-dose shots were administered before the rollout was suspended because of six cases of blood clotting that could be related.
KEILAR: And today, the advisers will hear about any other issues that there are with clotting. This includes a new fatal case in Oregon.
Joining us now is CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, listen to what --
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
KEILAR: -- Dr. Anthony Fauci thinks that we're going to see today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT: They will allow it to be given because they feel that the risk of COVID-19 far outweighs the very rare, rare occurrence of this serious.
