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FDA Green Lights Using Pfizer Vaccine for Adolescents; McCarthy Announces Vote to Oust Liz Cheney for Trump Criticism; At Least 11 Dead in Russia School Shooting; FBI: 'DarkSide' Gang from Russia to Blame for Cyberattack on Pipeline; Sirens Going Off in Israel as Violence Escalates. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 11, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman alongside Brianna Keilar on this NEW DAY. A potential game changer in America's fight against coronavirus. What vaccines for kids mean for the end of this pandemic.

[05:58:53]

Plus, she chose truth over party. Now as Republicans get ready to oust Liz Cheney, we're learning that she's going down swinging.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: From Jerusalem and Afghanistan to Iran and Russia, the world is on edge right now with new violence and new threats rising. CNN is there live.

And a riot suspect says he took the word of man over Jesus. Hear from the alleged insurrectionist who is using FOX-itis as his defense.

BERMAN: Good morning to viewers in the United States and around the world. It is Tuesday, May 11. And a pivotal moment in the fight to crush COVID. A development that could enable millions of young people to safely return to sports and summer camp. The FDA has cleared the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in 12- to 15-year-olds. That means my kids. That means that 85 percent of the U.S. population can now get vaccinated. Hallelujah.

KEILAR: Hallelujah. Hallelujah, indeed. Very exciting news. And this is a decision that increases the likelihood that more schools can reopen for in-person learning. Perhaps why Berman is so excited. The CDC director is expected to officially sign off on the recommendation tomorrow, but shots could go into arms today, since doctors already have the vaccine on hand.

Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us now with our top story. Elizabeth, this is going to affect so many Americans.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It really will. I am right there with John Berman. John, I think our 14-year-olds should have a play date, because it sounds like they will be among the first in line to get vaccinated.

Makes a big difference for families like ours, where the older members are vaccinate, and now the whole family, or at least one more member of the family can be vaccinated.

Let's take a look at the science that made the FDA give it this emergency use authorization. Pfizer did a clinical trial with more than 2,200 children, ages 12 to 15. It was 100 percent effective. So in other words, more effective than it was in people over the age of 15. And there were no safety concerns.

But there is a vaccine hesitancy concern. Let's take a look at a survey that the Kaiser Family Foundation did last month. Only 30 percent of parents are like the Cohens and the Bermans and want to get this vaccine immediately. Two-thirds aren't there. Twenty-six percent want to wait and see whether they're going to get it for their child. Eighteen percent will only get it if required, like by a school or a summer camp. And 23 percent, nearly one in four, said they would not get it for their child.

Now, what we have seen is that, once the vaccine was out there for adults, all sorts of people who were like, I'm not so excited about this, did end up getting vaccinated. So hopefully, those numbers will change in the coming weeks -- John.

BERMAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you and congratulations to you and your family.

Joining us now, Dr. Lee Beers, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. And a joke here, I mean, you're not just the president, you're also a member. I understand you are the parent of a 12-year- old. So how excited are you as a parent about this news?

DR. LEE BEERS, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: I am quite excited, actually, as a parent. And I will also say yesterday my phone sort of blew up when the announcement came out from -- from my son's friends and our neighbors, who were also equally as excited.

BERMAN: So no hesitation by you to sign your -- you know, your kid up as soon as possible?

BEERS: No. Absolutely no hesitation. You know, this is really an incredibly safe and effective vaccine. I -- in addition to being the mother of a 12-year-old, I'm also the mother of a 16-year-old, and she's already gotten her first dose and getting her second dose next week.

So -- so really no hesitation whatsoever. And in fact, we are just incredibly eager to -- to get them vaccinated and protected and really make sure that they're safe.

BERMAN: What kind of a difference do you think this will make in transmission of this virus?

BEERS: You know, that's a really important question. And it is going to make such a difference. It's an important vaccine for children and adolescents to begin with, but also the more people in our communities, in our neighborhoods who are vaccinated, the -- the harder it is for the virus to spread. And so -- so by increasing the number of people who are available to have the vaccine, that also decreases the -- the spread of the virus.

BERMAN: Elizabeth Cohen moments ago put up the graphics among who was ready to do it right now and how many parents are taking the wait-and- see approach. And it's understandable. I get it that things are different for your children than they might be for you. But what would you say to those parents taking the wait-and-see approach?

BEERS: You know, the first thing I would say is, you know, we're parents. It's -- of course we want to make sure that we have all the information about -- about medical decisions for our children.

And so if you have questions or you feel on the fence, talk to your pediatrician. That's what we're here for. We -- we know so much about vaccines. We give vaccines all day, every day, right? And so, you know, if you have questions, talk to your pediatrician.

I know when the vaccine first became available for adults, I had questions myself. I read about it. I -- I looked at the data, and when I looked at everything, I was 100 percent comfortable that it was a safe and effective vaccine.

And so as a parent that's what you should be able to do, as well. And pediatricians across the country are ready and eager to talk to you about the vaccine and answer your questions so that you can feel comfortable vaccinating your child.

BERMAN: Dr. Lee Beers, it's a very big moment. We appreciate you being with us to help us understand it.

BEERS: Yes. Great. It's very much my pleasure, and it's an exciting day. I agree.

BERMAN: Brianna.

KEILAR: It is an exciting day.

The Republican purge of Liz Cheney from House leadership is all but complete. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy telling GOP colleagues it's clear they need to make a change and that he's formalizing a vote tomorrow on removing Cheney as the third-ranking House Republican.

Some GOP lawmakers want to delay the vote over concerns about the voting record of Cheney's likely replacement, New York congresswoman and Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik.

CNN's Lauren Fox is joining us now. So this, you know, has seemed like a foregone conclusion. Where are we now?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I think we still expect that Elise Stefanik will eventually slide into that No. 3 slot.

But yes, there are some Freedom Caucus members who have concerns. Meanwhile yesterday lawmakers yesterday got back into town, into Washington. We were able to ask some senators a little bit about their reaction to this very fast-moving drama in the House of Representatives Republican conference.

And you know, you heard, really, a disparate view of Republicans who believed that Cheney is being ousted in a way that they're not comfortable with and some Republicans who are arguing if you don't support Donald Trump, you don't belong in the party anymore. Here's what Lindsey Graham said last night on FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): To try to erase Donald Trump from the Republican Party is insane. And the people who try to erase him are going to wind up getting erased. It's impossible for this party to move forward without President Trump being its leader, because the people who are conservative have chosen him as their leader. And you know why they chose him? Because he delivered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And of course, that view is not one that is shared, necessarily, across the Republican Senate conference.

In fact, I talked to Bill Cassidy last night, a Republican from Louisiana, who said that he thinks this sends the wrong message to Republican voters, because he believes the party is really divided over whether or not Trump should be the way forward. And he said there should be room in the party for people who support Trump. There should be room in the party for people who want to move on.

And that's a test that should come in 2022 and 2024, not a test that Republican leadership in the House should be deciding right this minute, Brianna.

KEILAR: But the fact is it appears it is being decided. I mean, whether or not Republicans agree or disagree with Lindsey Graham, he seems to be right on the money with his assessment here that, if you try to erase Donald Trump, you're going to get erased. We're seeing that with Liz Cheney.

FOX: Well, certainly. And I think that there's a clear view in the Republican conference in the House of Representatives that Cheney's view is the minority view.

And I think that for Republican voters, especially in House districts that are strongly conservative, that is likely the view. And certainly, you know, Cheney is going to have a tough race in Wyoming. I mean, she's being challenged in a multiple way Republican primary, because her views do not necessarily line up with conservatives in the state of Wyoming.

Not because she doesn't vote the right way on energy. Not because she doesn't vote the right way on tax legislation. But because of what she says about the former president.

This is not about voting. This is about how you talk about Donald Trump and how you view his presidency. Obviously, that is the disagreement right now within the Republican Party. KEILAR: So also Dr. Fauci is set to testify before a Senate committee

today. And I think we should be clear that, you know, look, he needs to answer questions like public officials. He is not immune from questions or even criticism, but doctor and Senator Rand Paul no doubt is going to make some drama of this. This has kind of become almost like a sort of dog-and-pony show that he puts on.

FOX: Well, that's exactly right. I mean, every time that Fauci testifies before a committee hearing that Rand Paul is a part of, you see these fireworks.

And obviously, Senator Rand Paul tweeted yesterday, essentially, that he was looking forward to another conversation with Dr. Fauci, because Dr. Fauci has had some concerns in the past about some of the medical advice that doctor and Senator Rand Paul exposes.

I mean, remember, he is somebody who had coronavirus early during the pandemic and then didn't wear a mask on the Hill after he had coronavirus, because he argued he didn't need to be wearing a mask anymore. And that, of course, was not the guidance that Dr. Fauci was giving.

And given the fact that, you know, people like me, my colleagues, we were on the Hill, we were interacting with the senator who was refusing to wear a mask, I mean, that was something that became quite the showdown on Capitol Hill.

There are going to be questions about how long people are beginning to be asked to be wearing masks indoors. Obviously, there are going to be questions about what the future looks like of wearing masks. Those are good conversations to have. Whether or not Senator Rand Paul will be having them respectfully with Dr. Fauci, I think that's another matter entirely.

KEILAR: Yes. His passive-aggressive tweet maybe told us all we need to know about this. And also, look, we have the receipts on Senator Paul, and we're going to talk about that a little bit later. We have to roll the tape on that. Lauren, thank you so much.

A world on edge. Jerusalem spirals. A school shooting in Russia. And a new standoff between the U.S. and Iran at sea. We will take you there.

BERMAN: Plus, the FBI says a criminal gang is holding the U.S. hostage in the pipeline cyberattack that's threatening the supply line up and down the East Coast.

And Caitlyn Jenner speaks with CNN about her Republican run for governor. What she says about Donald Trump's influence. This is NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning we're following a world on edge. Just a few of the stories happening right now. Air strikes in the Gaza Strip and Israel, as violence flares up in and around the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Afghanistan is in mourning after at least 85 people were killed, most

of them schoolgirls, in explosions near their high school in Kabul. Nearly 150 others were injured.

Tensions with Russia are soaring after the FBI announced that the Dark Side ransomware attack -- this is from a criminal group originating from that country -- that's responsible for a cyberattack on a major American fuel pipeline. President Biden said there's no evidence yet that Russia's government sponsored the attack, but the U.S. intelligence community continues to assess the situation.

[06:15:19]

The U.S. fired 30 warning shots after Iranian Revolutionary Guard fast boats harassed Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. It comes as the countries are supposedly negotiating a new nuclear deal.

There's also a huge divide between countries such as Spain, which celebrated the end of coronavirus curfews with huge parties and a return to normal life, and countries including India, where more people are dying from COVID than at any stage of the pandemic. Doctors and citizens alike are scrambling for supplies.

I think the biggest hot spot in the world right now is clearly what is happening in Israel. Palestinian officials say at least 24 people were killed overnight after Israeli air strikes. At least 16 were injured on the Israeli side of the border from rocket fire.

Now we were expecting a report from CNN's Hadas Gold, who is in Ashkelon in Israel, not far from Gaza. But air raid sirens just went off, indicating there could be rockets incoming near where she is. She had to scramble from her live shot. We're working to reestablish connection with her and find out that she and her crew are safe. So stand by for that -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Thanks, John.

Breaking news, at least 11 people are dead, many are wounded in Russia after two gunmen opened fire at a school. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live in Moscow with more on this. Tell us what's happening here.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A really tragic situation in a town of Kazan. This's about, I would say, 550 miles to the east of Moscow.

And this is something that's still very fresh, Brianna. So a lot of these details that are still coming into us are changing over the course of time as we get them.

But you're absolutely right. The local authorities are saying that on this day, which by the way, is the first day back at school for these kids after a public holiday, that two gunmen entered that school, opened fire, and they are saying that at least 11 people have been killed. Initial reports said it was nine, eight children and one teacher. And there are some absolutely horrific details that are coming in.

Obviously, a lot of panic breaking out as that shooting was going down. There are reports of, obviously, children running out of the school, children even jumping out of windows in that school as high as the third floor to try and escape from that shooting.

Aside from the people that have been killed and the children that have been killed and apparently one other person who was killed, there's also reports of a lot of people who have been injured and wounded, as well.

As you can imagine, the Russian authorities very much, obviously, taken aback by this. There's a huge police presence there. There's at least 21 ambulances there, as well.

And essentially, what the authorities there are doing is obviously investigating this, but at the same time also strengthening security measures around that area, as well.

School shootings, of course, something and generally mass shootings something that's very uncommon here in Russia. There's barely any civilian gun ownership at all.

So obviously, Vladimir Putin, the president of this country, has been informed about this situation. The Russian authorities are saying that they're sending help down there from the central government and are already talking about strengthening and further restricting gun ownership laws, as well, guys.

KEILAR: Yes. It is a terrible scene there, one that is all too familiar for Americans as they're watching what's happening in Russia. Fred, thank you.

The FBI confirming that ransomware from Dark Side, which is a criminal group originating from Russia, is responsible for the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies much of the eastern United States. Its gasoline, also its jet fuel. President Biden has said this about Russia's involvement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So far, there's no evidence, based on from our intelligence people, that Russia is involved. Although there's evidence that the actors, ransomware is in Russia. They have some responsibility to deal with this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's talk more about this now with former FBI deputy assistant director and former chief of the FBI's counterespionage section, Peter Strzok.

Peter, thanks so much for being with us. Also, you are the author of "Compromise: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump."

So you know, the FBI here, they're involved. What help might they be lending? What are the limits that the FBI has here, because this is a private company?

PETER STRZOK, FORMER FBI DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Well, that's right, Brianna. There are a couple things that the FBI is doing right now, and they're extraordinarily busy.

On the one hand, they have a duty to investigate. They're looking at what tools were used, the infrastructure that was used by these hackers, trying to track that back overseas and identify who is responsible and all the things about them: who they are, you know, the finances, the communications and working with the intelligence community to do that.

On the other hand, they're trying to work with not only the private company that was impacted but across the board with the private sector to -- essentially, to warn folks that, hey, this is the vulnerability. These were the tools that were used. This is the signature of those tools.

[06:20:06]

But at the end of the day, these are all private companies. So while the FBI or DHS or the rest of the government can offer assistance, they can't force companies to do that.

And what you're seeing is a real example of the tension that exists between what the government can do and offer and what private companies may or may not do in response to that.

KEILAR: And what about paying the ransom? They can discourage them. Is there anything else that the government can do there?

STRZOK: No. And that's a really difficult question, because in general, it's -- the government discourages companies from paying ransom. But at the same time, a lot of these companies, as the White House indicated yesterday, are really in a tough bind; because if they were in a spot where they might have been vulnerable, where their data was stolen, where they may not have robust backups of that data, they're in a tough spot.

And the temptation or even, in fact, the need to pay that ransom to get this data back is a very real concern. And so while the government might encourage companies to not pay it, at the end of the day, there's not much they can do to stop that.

KEILAR: So you said the government is basically warning other private companies. And so they should, because what we have seen is how vulnerable they can be to these attacks.

What are your -- and we're also seeing a lot of recent attacks, right? We're seeing that on federal agencies, local governments as well. What are you worried about? What kinds of companies, what kinds of services that they provide and you may be worried that they're going to get hit?

STRZOK: That's absolutely right. And you look at the range of actors that are vulnerable right now. It's not just states or the federal government that's being targeted. In many cases, it is groups like the energy, sector, which we're seeing right now, but that extends to things across the board, whether it's manufacturers, whether it's the electrical grid, whether it's hospitals.

Increasingly, companies are using the Internet and cloud computing, and that makes them vulnerable. And so, it isn't sufficient to say, Oh, we're a small or medium-sized company. Therefore, we're not a target. You are a target.

And so it's incumbent across industry, across the board whether they're large, medium or small-sized companies to really have a robust cyber-protective posture to eliminate the threat that is coming at them, really, across the board from these various actors.

KEILAR: We should all be concerned. We are the consumers of these products, right? This is something that could, obviously, cost us or interrupt these services.

Peter, thank you so much for giving us your expertise this morning. We appreciate it.

STRZOK: Great. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. We have reestablished contact with our team in Israel. Let me just give you a sense of what happened.

Hadas Gold and her team were in Ashkelon, which is not far from Gaza, which Ashkelon is a place that frequently is targeted by rocket attacks. They were preparing for a live shot. I think we have video and audio of this and the team. Let's play it. You know, there we go. That's Hadas, getting ready for the shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have sirens. Let's go. Let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's move. Let's move. Let's move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. That was moments ago in Israel. There it is, again with Hadas and her team running away there, just to

see it again.

We have reestablished contact with Hadas. Hadas Gold joins us now. Hadas, give us a sense of how you are, the situation around you and what is going on in general.

GOLD (via phone): So, John, we are currently sitting in a bomb shelter in the building that we were just outside of. And within the last 10, 15, maybe 20 minutes there have been at least three of those air raid sirens. And we have been -- we're being told at least 40 rockets were firing right above us. We are in the bomb shelter right now with residents of this building,

as well as other media, and as well as some military spokespeople who were here, as well, getting ready to do a live shot at a building that had been hit directly by a rocket earlier this morning, where there were several injuries, including one severely.

But it -- in the last few minutes have been a clear escalation, because these rockets are flying outside of us. Ashkelon is quite close to the Gaza border. These rockets are now flying above us and north.

And just to get you up to speed on what's been happening here in the last 24 hours, there have been now more than 300 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Israeli military says that they have struck militant targets in Gaza. They say they have killed at least 15 militants.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza say that 24 people have been killed, including nine children. We aren't sure whether those 16 militants are part of the 24 members in Israel, but there have been at least 16 people injured by rocket fire. Another 15 have been injured in other incidents of violence, because we are seeing protests and unrest throughout the country, as well.

[06:25:10]

There was also an Arab Israeli citizen who was killed in another incident of unrest where there was an incident of, allegedly, of throwing rocks at a Jewish Israeli who then shot the Israeli Arab student.

This clearly is one of the highest moments of escalation that this region has seen in years. And this, of course, comes after several days of very tense and violent clashes in Jerusalem at the Al-Aqsa compound where there have been hundreds or 500 Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli police.

And then yesterday, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) took control of the Western Wall. There was supposed to be a march through Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Israelis. At the last minute that was rerouted as part of a way to try and quell the tension so that the marchers would not be going through the Muslim parts of the old city.

Then at 6 p.m., we heard air raid sirens in Jerusalem. This has not happened for several years. And the Israeli officials cancelled that march. And throughout the evening we have basically seen a barrage of rockets targeting -- targeting the Israeli military. It's striking in Gaza, as well. Clearly, this is an escalating situation that every minute is changing here, John.

BERMAN: We did get word that Israel has now activated some 5,000 reserve troops, which is a measure they take when they expect tensions like this to last for some time.

And Hadas, as you noted, this is the worst we've seen in several years -- several years in this region. And you get the sense that it is getting worse by the hour. Have there been any steps toward mitigation by anyone?

GOLD: I think based off of the number of rockets we have seen in the last few minutes, it seems as though we are really reaching a higher and higher level of escalation here. The Israeli military have activated the 5,000 reserve troops.

And they are preparing -- there are reports they are preparing -- we are actually just now hearing another siren going off. This is number four in the last 20 minutes or so. We have so far not heard (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- they tend to go in and out, depending on when the sirens are going off, come back in here.

But this is really -- this is really intensifying here, the fact that we've had four sirens in the span of just a few minutes. Things are just incredibly tense right here. And I don't see -- we're hearing booms right now just above us. There are quite, quite heavy. I think we're going to -- we're going to stay inside this bomb shelter for a little bit longer. But things are escalating quite a bit.

BERMAN: You're hearing explosions, Hadas, any sense of how many?

GOLD: We're hearing explosions. They're interceptions. I would say we heard two explosions inside Ashkelon. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I'm thinking ten right now booms we just heard. And it's continuing, you know, as we speak. It's just air raid sirens, people coming into the bomb shelter. Hearing the explosions. The people go back out. But it seems like this is just -- this is just what's happening right now here.

BERMAN: All right. Hadas, stand by, if you will. You and your team, terrific work. Stay safe. Do whatever you need to do to be safe. We're going to come back to you as soon as we can, because obviously, this is an escalating, ongoing situation in Israel. Rocket strikes. Impacts or interceptions hard to tell where Hadas is, going on at this very minute.

Our breaking news coverage continues right after this.

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