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New Day

Xavier Becerra is Interviewed about COVID and the Economy; NYPD Officer Rescues Wounded Girl; Kentucky Derby Winner in Doubt; Senators Push for Airline Refunds. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 10, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to ask you about something that Dr. Anthony Fauci said yesterday. He said it might be time to relax mask mandates indoors, particularly among vaccinated people. For people who were all vaccinated, if you work in a vaccinated workplace, there's still a mask mandate, who are you protecting if everyone's vaccinated by wearing a mask?

XAVIER BECERRA, U.S. SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: So we're trying to make sure that the guidance that is put out there by the federal government is one that really focuses on safety. We can't mandate people do certain things, but we can certainly give them the best advice possible. And the guidance that the federal government has put out is for your safety. Wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, crucial. If you haven't done either or if you're not doing either one of those two, you're in real trouble. But if you've been vaccinated, you're obviously far safer.

We still want you to be as safe as possible. That's why the indoor policy should still be masking. But, clearly, if you're been vaccinated fully and you're with folks who are also vaccinated, John, the risk does diminish dramatically. But, again, to be safe, you could end up being a carrier and not know it and if somebody hasn't been vaccinated or doesn't wear a mask, guess what, there's still that potential of getting COVID.

BERMAN: But that's, I guess, what I'm getting at right there because I am vaccinated and the people in this office are also vaccinated. So my safety, I don't think, is being particularly impacted by wearing a mask. If someone else is not vaccinated, it might be their safety that's being affected.

So there's two issues here. Number one, is that my concern anymore that someone who's chosen to be unvaccinated is making a bad choice? And question two is, maybe there should be laws that allow them to be keep out of the building.

BECERRA: Well, you've hit right on the point, John, how do we get to a point where we get everyone to be as safe as possible? You know, it was always difficult to get people on motorcycles to wear helmets for their own safety. It was tough at times to get people to wear seat belts for their own safety. What we're simply saying is, the best guidance from those who are the

experts in health care is, be as safe as possible by wearing a mask, even if you're vaccinated.

But, yes, if you're vaccinated, you're around people who are vaccinated, clearly you're going to be far better off.

It's a matter of -- just -- it's a matter of being -- using common sense, John. And I can't tell you more than that other than, we want every American to be safe and we want every American to get vaccinated. And the more we do that, the more we can say every American can stop having to worry about wearing a mask.

BERMAN: I'm just seeing some new reporting that's crossed this morning that several states are no longer ordering their full allocation of vaccine doses.

What can you tell us about that and what do you think it signifies that states aren't able to use all the vaccine that they could get?

BECERRA: You know, again, we can only give the good guidance. If people follow the best advice by the experts, we can only hope. And we do everything at the federal level to make it possible for our state leaders, our local leaders, to have the best information to do the best thing for their folks back home. I know of no state that has tackled COVID. I know of no community that is free of COVID. And I know of no state or community that doesn't need more of its people vaccinated. But we can only say that to folks and give them the best guidance. You can only lead a horse to water, right?

BERMAN: I do want to ask you about some of the jobs numbers we saw. It was a disappointing report. Not as many new jobs created announced on Friday last week than I think had been expected. There are some people suggesting that the enhanced extended unemployment benefits do work as a disincentive in some cases for people going back to work. I know the White House says they haven't seen direct evidence of that yet but there is anecdotal evidence. People are telling -- Janet Yellen has said there's -- people are telling stories in restaurants and whatnot that this is something that is happening.

I guess my question to you is, if the administration does determine that that is happening, what would you do about it?

BECERRA: Well, you sort of made the point for me. We are driven not by stories, we're driven by the facts. And the fact is there's still some 8 million Americans who -- fewer Americans working today than there were pre-pandemic. And we want to make sure everyone is able to go back to work. We want everyone to be able to pay their rent or their mortgage, feed their families, not have to stop at the food line on the way home from work.

And so this is one of those issues where we're going to do everything we can to build back the country. And that's why the president passed the American Rescue Plan. At the end of the day, we can only put out there the proposals, the resources to make that happen. We hope that everyone back home in their states, in their local communities are doing everything they can, like the president is doing, to make sure all families, all Americans, have a chance to get back to work.

BERMAN: What do you say to those Republican governors, and there are at least three states now, where they've said they're going to stop distributing that enhanced unemployment benefit?

[08:35:07]

BECERRA: I can only say, I think about those who are yearning to go to work and I want to make sure they can because I know they want to feed their families and they want to pay their mortgage or their rent. That's all we care about. And that's why we're going to go out there, put out policies that let Americans get back to work.

BERMAN: Xavier Becerra, Health and Human Services secretary.

Mr. Secretary, a pleasure to have you on NEW DAY. Thanks so much for being here.

BECERRA: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: So parents are planning to file a class action lawsuit against the University of Massachusetts Amherst over their kids being kicked out of school after this photo surfaced of them partying off campus unmasked. The parents say the freshmen girls, all honor students, were forced to forfeit the semester and their tuition.

CNN's Laura Jarrett joins us now with more.

These parents, not at all happy.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR, "EARLY START": Not at all happy, and as any parent can imagine. If you found out your kid's about to get kicked out of school, you're going to be upset. But if you think that there's a double standard at play, well, that's likely to make matters a whole lot worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT (voice over): This photo is the reason three college students at UMass Amherst are suspended this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They took a picture off campus on a Saturday, and they got thrown out of school.

JARRETT: The image reportedly posted on social media in March shows three freshmen at an off-campus party without masks. At the time, all students were directed to stay in their residences because of a surge in new COVID cases in the area. According to CNN affiliate WCVB, parents of at least two of the students photographed say after the violation they were moved off campus to virtual learning but ultimately lost appeals and were suspended for the rest of the semester, forced to forfeit $16,000 in tuition.

UMASS Amherst wouldn't comment on the students' specific disciplinary cases, citing federal privacy law restrictions, but it did provide general information on the suspensions, writing, quote, of the more than thousand cases adjudicated in the spring, no student was suspended for merely not wearing a mask. Adding, more than ten UMass students were suspended for participation at large and small parties on the weekend of March 6th through 7th, when the campus was operating at elevated risk during the pandemic.

The father of one of the students seen in the photo, troubled by the university's coronavirus policy, pointing to videos from April 11th showing students on campus celebrating the men's hockey team winning the national championship title.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These beautiful young ladies who are honor students have had a full academic year stripped away and their paths broken of their higher education for alleged COVID violations. Yet, in the same period of time, the university hosted a parade/event to celebrate the UMass hockey team's national championship win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: The parents didn't want their daughters' names used in this piece in case it might hurt their chances when they're applying to other schools. As for the issue of the double standard, the school says it is, quote, regrettable that those hockey players appeared unmasked, but noted that that event happened back in April, when COVID rates were lower, John.

BERMAN: Back in April -- it's not like that's like 2003. Back in April was a few days ago.

JARRETT: I think it's hard for them to figure out a good explanation for that.

BERMAN: All right, Laura Jarrett -- consistency would be nice here.

Up next, we'll talk to the Times Square police officer who raced a wounded child to safety after a shooting.

KEILAR: Plus, the horse that failed a drug test after winning the Kentucky Derby.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:19]

KEILAR: An act of heroism caught on camera in New York City's Times Square just moments after shots rang out Saturday, wounding a four- year-old girl and two other bystanders.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a boy. Oh, he's (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: You see that. That is a New York City police officer who swept that little girl up into her arms, sprinting the injured child from the chaotic scene to safety, to medical care.

And joining us now is the woman that you see running there, Officer Alyssa Vogel.

Officer, thank you so much for coming on. You know that this has captured a lot of attention from so many people across the country.

Can you just describe the scene for us and how you came across this little four-year-old girl who had been shot in the leg?

OFFICER ALYSSA VOGEL, NEW YORK CITY POLICE: Sure.

Thank you for having me.

So my partner and I had heard the officer on scene call over that there was shots fired on 45th Street and Broadway. And when we had arrived on scene, there were two officers that I work with that were tending to the others (INAUDIBLE) that was also shot on the floor. When they had asked if they needed any more help, they said, no, that they were -- they were OK right now but there's a baby up the block that had been shot.

So my partner and I ended up sprinting up the block. And Officer Spardo (ph) was on the floor with her saying he needed a tourniquet, which I actually have on my gun belt. And I had taken it off my gun belt and started putting it on her leg and we tightened it up and Officer Spardo and myself put the tourniquet on her and we did then check for -- her -- the rest of her body for more gunshot wounds.

[08:45:05]

When we realized that that was the only one, we -- I just picked her up and started running to the ambulance because I wanted to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.

KEILAR: And she's going to be fine?

VOGEL: From what I was told, she had surgery and she's in stable condition.

KEILAR: I know this was incredibly scary for her mom, who was actually -- it's hard to see in the video. She is running behind you as you rush this little girl to medical care. And I know you are a new mother yourself. What were you telling mom?

VOGEL: So when the mother had come on to the ambulance with me, she, obviously, was in a panic that she just saw her little baby get shot. So I was just trying to calm her down, trying to get her to breathe with me so she wouldn't get -- have any panic attacks or anything. And I was just telling her, you know, we're on the way to the hospital, your daughter's going to be OK, you know, just breathe with me, everything's going to be OK. I just wanted to reassure her that we were doing everything that we could at that time to get her daughter to help.

KEILAR: Officer, you did an incredible job and you did it on Mother's Day no less. I know that that mom is very thankful that you gave her the ultimate gift, keeping her daughter safe. I know this was probably very tough for you to be a part of, but it is wonderful to chat with you this morning. Thank you so much for coming on and a belated Happy Mother's Day to you.

VOGEL: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: The winner of the Kentucky Derby is now in question after a failed drug test. What's happening with the horse and its trainer, next?

BERMAN: And new hope for airline passengers who have been sitting on flight vouchers that are now about to expire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:56]

BERMAN: The winner of the Kentucky Derby is now in doubt after the winner failed a drug test given after the race. Medina Spirit tested positive for excessive amounts of an anti-inflammatory drug. Moments ago, the horse's trainer, Bob Baffert, disputed the allegations and suggested the horse's sample may have been contaminated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BAFFERT, MEDINA SPIRIT'S TRAINER: We didn't treat him with that. We don't even use that. And we're -- it's been horrible. I mean it's just a horrible feeling. It's a trainer's worst nightmare.

Contamination is the only way because that horse was not treated by anybody.

We're going to investigate who touched -- who touched the horse, who was near him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Joining me now is Gus Garcia-Roberts, a sports investigative reporter with "The Washington Post."

Gus, thanks so much for being with us.

For our audience who may not be up to the minute on horse racing, explain very briefly what betamethasone is, this drug is, and why it's banned at these levels.

GUS GARCIA-ROBERTS, SPORTS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Right. It's an anti-inflammatory and it's banned on race day. A positive test will get your horse kicked out of the race.

BERMAN: Very simply, that's what happens, and this horse tested at levels double, more than double what is allowed on race day.

Bob Baffert, we heard some sound from him there, saying that the sample was somehow contaminated. That's something that will be -- can be worked out, right, in the appeal process and as they test the other half of the sample. So we may learn more about that there.

But, again, explain how big of a deal Bob Baffert is in horse racing and why there's a little bit of a cloud over him over the last few years.

GARCIA-ROBERTS: Sure. Well, Mr. Baffert is probably -- you know, he's the Michael Jordan of horse trainers really. I mean he's the most recognizable face in the sport. He's won seven Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes and, you know, really since the early 1990s he's been on an incredible run.

But there's been -- he's been sort of dogged by more than two dozen positive tests over the years, especially in recent years. It's become sort of louder. And every time there's a positive test, you know, critics say that it's basically a slap on the wrist for him. And horse racing has traditionally had this sort of like patchwork regulatory system where it's regulated by the 38 states in which horse gambling is legal.

And so, for example, his Triple Crown winning horse Justified tested positive for a banned substance and he claimed it was contamination and he was -- he went unpunished and the horse was allowed to keep the -- keep its title.

BERMAN: And, look, right now, Medina Spirit, at the Preakness, expecting to run this weekend. We don't -- this horse may actually be allowed to run in the Preakness. We simply don't know at this point if that will happen or not.

For again for people out there, what happens to people who bet? If this - if this victory gets overturned, you know, do you -- do you have to give your money back? If you bet on the second place horse, do you get the winning stakes?

GARCIA-ROBERTS: I'm actually not sure what happens in that situation. And I -- but I do know that that is the -- you know, that -- the sport has moved more and more towards non-laymen being into it. And just --

BERMAN: Yes.

GARCIA-ROBERTS: And really becoming more of a better's sport. And so the idea that these races are not -- are having their results more affected by doping as they -- or at least that's being exposed more, you know, that's a big problem for the sport because it affects the integrity of the bets.

BERMAN: No question about that. Gus Garcia-Roberts, my understanding is, like, obviously, the winning horse has to give its stakes back if it's overturned, but people who bet on it, they can't change the bets at this point.

GARCIA-ROBERTS: Right.

BERMAN: Appreciate you being with us, helping us understand this.

GARCIA-ROBERTS: Thank you. BERMAN: So a billion dollar dilemma for airlines in the United States.

[08:55:02]

What happens to all of the flight vouchers on the verge of expiring soon? We have a new CNN report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Just in, Senate lawmakers are pushing airlines to allow customers to cash out their unused flight vouchers. We're talking billions of dollars here. And CNN's Pete Muntean has more on this story.

Pete, this is a great scoop. Lawmakers are pushing for this. I wonder if the airlines are listening.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, it seems that everyone has a story of a trip cancelled by the pandemic. And now the new estimate is that would be passengers hold $10 billion in unused travel credits. And now two high-profile U.S. senators are telling airlines to give that money back to you cash. Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal have written ten airlines letters saying, quote, Americans need cash in their pockets to pay for food, housing, and prescriptions during this emergency.

Just to put this into context for you, the DOT, the Department of Transportation, got 107,000 consumer complaints since the pandemic began. And of those, 89 percent have been about refunds. Consumer advocates tell us that is a huge spike.

These senators say that if airlines do not give you the credit back, that they should just extend the deadline on these credits. Some airlines have already done that. American and United have done that. Not all airlines have. And these senators say that the deadline should just be indefinite. There should be no deadline so that you can get your money back and use this money any time that you want.

There are a couple of theories that people are coming back to travel just because there are deadlines on these credits. The TSA screened 1.71 million people at airports across the country on Sunday.

[09:00:00]

That is a new record of the pandemic. The third time a record has been set in the last seven days, Brianna.

KEILAR: Pete, thank you so much. I know a lot of people will be interested in this story. Pete Muntean for us.

BERMAN: Now I just need to do a my expiring (ph) miles -

KEILAR: Right. I know.

BERMAN: That's a whole different thing. That's not nearly as bad as the unused money there. All right, CNN's coverage continues right now.