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Netanyahu Warns U.S. Not to Re-Enter Iran Deal; Negotiations Proceeding on Infrastructure Deal; McCarthy Silent on Greene's Holocaust Mask Analogy; Airlines Suspending Flights Over Belarus after 'Hijacking'; Police: Officer in Black Man's Beating Didn't Report Video Footage; Today: Biden to Host Floyd's Family on Anniversary of Murder; The Numbers Behind the Vaccinations Allowing U.S. Comeback. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 25, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar, alongside John Berman on this NEW DAY.

[05:59:32]

As the clock ticks on their power, the drum beat grows louder among Democrats to go it alone without Republicans. But will they take the lead?

Plus, it is Tuesday morning, and Kevin McCarthy is still making like Simon and Garfunkle, with the sound of silence over his conspiracy theory colleague's offensive remarks about Jews.

BERMAN: New video just in of the activist taken from a partial plane by a strongman's regime from a commercial plane as the world mounts pressure over the brazen state-sponsored hijacking.

And a surprising development overnight. The Biden Justice Department pushing back against a judge's order to release the secret memo cited in the decision not to charge Donald Trump with obstruction. Hear why.

KEILAR: Very good morning to viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Tuesday, May 25. Happening now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emerging from a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu. This is day one of the secretary's three-day Middle East tour. And the goal here is to shore up the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

BERMAN: After 11 days of carnage that left more than 250 people dead, the people of Gaza are beginning the long, painful process of rebuilding.

Let's get right to CNN's Hadas Gold, live for us this morning in Jerusalem. These meetings between Secretary Blinken and the Israeli prime minister very important, Hadas.

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We were in very important meetings, and we just heard from both the secretary of state and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, making statements after meeting for more than an hour.

The Israeli prime minister thanking the secretary of state for what he said was the U.S. support of Israel's right to defend itself, mentioning that the U.S. has supported helping Israel replenish its Iron Dome missile defense system, which helps intercept rockets that are launched by militants.

But he did warn that if Hamas breaks the calm that exists right now, that the Israeli response will be very powerful.

Now, Secretary of State Blinken, for his part, also supporting, he said, the U.S.'s right -- Israel's right to defend itself. But he did speak about the need to reduce tensions and maintain the ceasefire.

He also spoke at length about the need to help the people of Gaza with humanitarian aid that is helped there to help the people there rebuild after all of that destruction.

He did make an announcement the U.S. will make significant contributions to rebuilding Gaza. He said there will be more details on that later today.

He also spoke about the need to make sure that this aid that will be flowing into Gaza does not end up in the hands of Hamas, that they will somehow benefit from it. There's a big concern amongst the international community that this aid will end up in the hands of Hamas and helping them rebuild their tunnels or rebuild their rockets arsenal.

I think what is notable about what we heard from the secretary of state is, while there was talk about peace and calm, there was not necessarily specific talk about some sort of longer-term peace deal, peace solution or a two-state solution just yet. This is the closest the secretary came to making that sort of pronouncement. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Prime minister, I had a chance to discuss other steps that need to be taken by leaders on both sides to set a better course for their shared future. As President Biden said, we believe that Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely, to enjoy equal measures of freedom, opportunity and democracy, to be treated with dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLD: And the secretary of state will now meet with the Israeli foreign minister and the defense minister. And later today, he will head over to meet the Palestinian authority president and the Palestinians' prime minister -- John.

BERMAN: Hadas Gold for us in Jerusalem. Hadas, keep us posted as these meetings progress. Thank you.

KEILAR: And joining us now CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny and CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox, as well.

So this ceasefire right now, you guys, it's holding. Biden is very much claiming credit, it seems, for his interactions with Benjamin Netanyahu. Does he get credit here?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I think he deserves a measure of credit, because he is the U.S. president at this moment at this time. So that he -- he engaged six times over 11 days in phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu. They've had a very long relationship, some 40 years.

KEILAR: Ups and downs.

ZELENY: Not always positive, but certainly more up than former President Barack Obama. We all remember that very rocky relationship.

So look, I think he gets credit for being in place and negotiating this ceasefire, presiding over it. Largely because of the intervention of Egypt, as well.

But the Middle East was never going to be at the fulcrum of his foreign policy. He did not want to fall into this really intractable situation. So we heard Hadas reporting there that there's no talk of a longer-term peace process. The Biden administration does not want to play that role. They have their eye on other global issues, and certainly domestic issues.

So he gets the credit because he was there. And if it holds, I mean, that's a very good thing, but he did not instigate this, because he is Joe Biden.

KEILAR: No, that's right. This is a tough issue. It's not one that, you know, any president is likely to have success on. So he's not really going to go there, in part because of that.

You actually have some new reporting on infrastructure negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. Are things looking good, bad?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, last night Republicans came back into Washington, so it was the first opportunity we really had after that Friday meeting with the White House to check their temperature on how they were feeling.

[06:05:07]

And they're feeling like negotiations could be going much better than they are. And I think, in part, what we heard from someone like Shelley Moore Capito, who's the lead Republican negotiator right now, is that we have told the White House, or at least this is her own words, we have told the White House over and over again, there are certain things we think are infrastructure, and there are certain things we do not think are infrastructure. And yet, the White House continues to include those kinds of items in their package.

I think this is a really do-or-die weekend for -- or week, excuse me, for what happens on infrastructure, in part because these bipartisan negotiations only had so much time. There is a clock ticking. And I think that there's a lot of folks on both sides of the aisles waiting in the wings to let Democrats either go it alone or, at the very least, throw up their hands on the Republican side and say, Look, Biden wasn't very serious about being a bipartisan president.

KEILAR: Well, this part -- This always seemed a little bit like kabuki theater to me, that this was likely not to yield anything, and it was just kind of an obligatory overture. Is that -- do you think it's shaping up to look like that?

FOX: Well, I think the key question is what do the moderate Democrats who required this bipartisan effort, what are they thinking?

KEILAR: Yes.

FOX: And, you know, I asked Senator Joe Manchin yesterday very briefly as he was walking onto the floor, are you ready to give up on bipartisanship? Are you ready to move forward?

And he said, It's always a good day to do bipartisanship, which of course, is a very Manchin thing to say.

But you know, I also talked to Senator John Tester, who is a moderate Democrat from the state of Montana, who told me, Look, I will give this more time. Now, I'm not the leader, so I don't make that call, but I would give this a little bit more time.

So that soft deadline coming up this weekend, that might slide a couple of weeks if I had to make my prediction.

KEILAR: You're a Tester, you have to say you want a little more time for bipartisanship.

I want to talk about -- I mean, I don't really want to talk about Marjorie Taylor Greene, but I think that what she has said about the Holocaust, it's an important topic to talk about because of how leadership for House Republicans -- how they're not responding.

I mean, Kevin McCarthy still has not said anything. I think back to, you know, the Ilhan Omar debacle of 2019, and I think, who are these Republicans who are saying nothing about what she said?

ZELENY: Look, they doubled down and sided with her months ago. And now they're stuck with her.

So Kevin McCarthy, of course, the leader ,is going to try and keep dodging questions. My guess is that Lauren and others on Capitol Hill will get him at some point, he may say something, but that's really not the point if you say something eventually. He's missed an opportunity.

And this is also an issue that concerns and worries and really angers Republicans. This is not just a -- a partisan issue down the middle here.

So, look, but this is something he does not want to get cross ways with President Trump, or anyone who is in that lane or vessel. And that's where she is here.

So they've made the decision. She is with them. She is part of their organization, the House Republicans. He had his chance to distance themself. They did not take that chance.

KEILAR: Yes. She's the gift that kind of keeps on giving for them. I think we can say that will be true here in the future.

ZELENY: For herself, too.

KEILAR: Yes.

ZELENY: In terms of raising money, as horrible as that is. Every time we talk about it, it's discussed, she's raising more money, which is really pretty extraordinary.

KEILAR: Jeff and Lauren, good morning. It's great to see you back. Thanks for coming on.

ZELENY: Good to see you.

FOX: Thanks.

KEILAR: John.

BERMAN: This just in overnight. A first look at detained Belorussian journalist and activist Raman Protasevich. He was taken into custody after the government diverted his commercial flight in order to arrest him. This was a forced landing by fighter jet, basically a state- sponsored hijacking ordered by a dictator.

Now, experts believe Protasevich may have been forced to go on camera, what you're watching right now, which is despicable.

CNN spoke with his father. He fears the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PROTASEVICH, FATHER OF RAMAN PROTASEVICH (through translator): We are very worried, as we expect torture and physical abuse, although we hope that that won't happen. But knowing the KGB methods, we hope that he will be strong enough and have enough willpower to endure all that awaits him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: In response to the detention, the E.U. has announced new sanctions against Belarus. Our senior international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen joins us now.

You know, Fred, the Belorussian dictator already a pariah but now entering this, I think, really new area.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think you're absolutely right. And I think parading Raman Protasevich there on that pro-Belorussian government Telegram Channel and Belorussian state media, that certainly made things even worse for the Belorussian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.

In fact, a lot of folks in the Belorussian opposition are calling this a hostage video, essentially. His dad actually went on to say a couple of other things, saying he believes that his son has scars on his face and might even have a broken nose in that video. He said there was a lot of powder on his face, and that's certainly not exactly what he remembers his son to look like.

[06:10:02]

So certainly, a lot of condemnation coming also from the Biden administration, as well. President Biden putting out a statement also saying that this was an outrageous incident, both making that plane land and that video, as well.

The E.U. also taking steps against the Belorussian regime, as well. I want to listen in to what the head of the European Commission had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: This is an attack on democracy. This is an attack on freedom of expression. And this is an attack on European sovereignty. And this outrageous behavior needs a strong answer. Therefore, the European Council decided that there will be additional sanctions on the individuals that are involved in the hijacking, but this time also on businesses and economic entities that are financing this regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: There you have it. New sanctions by the European Union. The Europeans also banning the Belorussian flag carrier Belavia from flying into E.U. airspace. And also European airlines being urged not to fly over Belorussian airspace or into Belorussian.

Sort of keeping a track of what's been going on with Belorussian airspace earlier today very, very few flights, and a lot of European carriers already avoiding that airspace, guys.

BERMAN: It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few days. Fred, please keep us posted. Thank you so much for your reporting.

AS the U.S. marks one year since the murder of George Floyd today, CNN investigates what has changed and what hasn't over the past 365 days.

KEILAR: Plus, did a move by the United States just put the Olympics in even more jeopardy?

And a surprising development: the Biden Justice Department appealing a judge's order to release the secret memo used to explain why Donald Trump wasn't charged with obstruction. This is NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:09]

KEILAR: We have new reporting this morning that police in Louisiana may have tried to cover up the death of a black man who died in their custody.

CNN has learned the senior officer on the scene of Ronald Greene's deadly arrest in 2019 failed to initially report his own body camera footage.

Lieutenant John Cleary arrived after state troopers had been in a high-speed chase with Greene and then punched, kicked, and tased him. Greene was still being held to the ground when Clearly shows up. His body camera shows troopers saying they didn't want to sit him up, because they were afraid he'd spit blood on them.

You will recall that Ronald Greene's family was originally told, they say, that he died in a car crash. CNN has been unable to reach Lieutenant Cleary, and an attorney did not respond to our request for comment.

BERMAN: Today marks one year since George Floyd died in the hands of police. President Biden will meet privately with members of Floyd's family at the White House today. Now Floyd has become a powerful symbol in the fight for police reform and racial justice, but how much has really changed over the past year?

CNN's Omar Jimenez live for us in Minneapolis this morning.

Omar, it's great to see you there. Obviously, you've been there so much and had an opportunity with such great reporting over the last year. You know, it's a poignant anniversary.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really is. It's hard to believe, almost, how much has happened over the past year here in Minneapolis, from the trial and even the protests. They have long subsided, but now leaders can hope the energy there can turn into meaningful policy.

But there's disagreement on how to move forward. There's no perfect solution. And many of these same issues have been points of contention for nearly two decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say his name!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say his name!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Floyd.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): They were unforgettable images.

GEORGE FLOYD, MURDERED BY POLICE: Please, I can't breathe.

JIMENEZ: Born from an unforgettable video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put that before us at this time.

JIMENEZ: Now a year later, activists meet in the basement of this Minneapolis church with a singular mission.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief Arradondo's Vision Reform.

JIMENEZ: The Unity Community Mediation Team, as they're known, has been working directly with the Minneapolis Police Department in hopes of turning it into a better one.

(on camera): What is different here in Minneapolis? And what is different in the fight that you all are trying to wage?

PASTOR IAN D. BETHEL, UNITY COMMUNITY MEDIATION TEAM, NEW BEGINNINGS BAPTIST MINISTRY: The difference now is that there is more awareness of the atrocities that the Minneapolis Police Department has been getting away with for decades. That's the difference.

JIMENEZ: Back in 2003, this group negotiated a federally-mediated memorandum of agreement, detailing concerns over use of force, police community relations and more. A document then-Sergeant Medaria Arradondo helped negotiate.

AJ FLOWERS JR., CO-CHAIR, YOUNG PEOPLE'S TASK FORCE, UNITY COMMUNITY MEDIATION TEAM: The future is what matters. We all got children, and we all got younger people out here. And it's even 7, 8-year-olds who's afraid when they see police.

JIMENEZ: But strategies over how to proceed with police have been divided at times. City council President Lisa Bender and others have led attempts to dismantle the police department in favor of a wider encompassing community safety department.

LISA BENDER, CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT, MINNEAPOLIS: We have invested, like so many cities, for years, for decades in policing as basically the only way we're investing in keeping people safe. So people think of policing as synonymous with safety. But it isn't working.

JIMENEZ: The mayor of Minneapolis sees it differently.

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: These programs need to operate as supplemental to the work that is underway already in our police department. You need law enforcement and you need the community-driven approach working simultaneously to see safety.

JIMENEZ: Frey pointed to changes they've made in the past year: Bans on chokeholds, requiring intervention on unreasonable uses of force by officers, and more.

[06:20:02]

But overall, it's been a process that's been ongoing for decades.

Meanwhile, names. Hashtags, Jamar Clark, Breonna Taylor, Philando castile. Black faces begin to run together.

JOHN THOMPSON, MINNESOTA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Kids runs up to me, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Thompson, they just killed someone in Brooklyn Center.

JIMENEZ: State Representative John Thompson's friend, Philando Castile, was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer in 2016. That officer was never convicted on any charges.

THOMPSON: We could have saved George Floyd's life in 2016 when Philando was murdered. We could have saved Daunte Wright's life when George Floyd was murdered, had we just, like, looked at police accountability pieces seriously and said we're going to put an end to this right now.

JIMENEZ: The stakes, after decades of attempts, are as high as human life.

BETHEL: We have to be serious about being at the table and making some concrete decisions about reform that will last generationally.

JIMENEZ: A year after one video shook the world, the effort to bring about long-term change continues so future generations won't have to watch new ones.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Omar, like I said, it's great having you there. You've been there all year, and your reporting has been so terrific.

And the city has seen a lot of different things over the last year, including a surge in violent crime. So how are officials responding?

JIMENEZ: That's right, John. So amid calls to reform police, the dynamic we're seeing right now is more police. We've seen an increase in violence over the past year here in Minneapolis.

And the major, Jacob Frey, has called in for additional state and federal law enforcement resources to help with that public safety effort. And they've been hurting for officers at the local level. When you look at 2019 to January or late January of this year, they are down 200 -- just around 200 officers available to work. That's a little over 20 percent of their entire department.

And all of it comes amid an ongoing Department of Justice probe into patterns and practices at the department. So again, you're bringing in more police to bring in to deal with the issue now, while they there are efforts to reform the police in the long run.

Again all year after George Floyd was murdered on that video now seen countless times around the world -- John.

BERMAN: Omar Jimenez, thank you so much for being there for us. Appreciate it.

We should note George Floyd's brother, Philonise, and family lawyer Benjamin Crump will join us exclusively in the next hour. Philonise is among the family members meeting with President Biden today.

The State Department warning Americans not to travel to Japan just weeks ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. So what does this mean for the future of the games?

KEILAR: Plus, together again. A family reunited after coronavirus restrictions trapped in New Jersey man in India. He and his wife will join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:11]

BERMAN: As of this morning, nearly 40 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated. And as vaccinations increase, so too, though, do the disparities among Americans willing to get the vaccine.

CNN senior political writer and analyst Harry Enten joins us now to explain the split that you're seeing. Harry, socioeconomic divide, really.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: A big socioeconomic divide. So take a look, these are the top 25 vaccinated states by poverty status. A lot of yellow. That means below average. That means the states that have the lowest poverty levels have the highest vaccination rates. In fact, only two, New York and New Mexico, have above average poverty status for those in the top vaccinated states. So we're seeing, you know, a not necessarily surprising pattern here.

BERMAN: You know, I said hesitancy and willingness to get the vaccine. We don't know that. In this case, it's just people not getting the vaccine, and it may be because there are structural barriers --

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: -- to them getting it. And it's very important to make that distinction. The African-American population in this country still lagging behind in terms of vaccination rates. Correct?

ENTEN: Correct. You know, I think all of this is sort of intertwined. Right? So take a look here.

Again, the top 25 vaccinated states by broad population. Above average in the red, below average in the orange/yellow color. And again, a lot of orange/yellow. And what this suggests is that, in the states that have the fewest number of African-Americans, they tend to have the highest vaccination rates, which matches the polling data which shows that African-Americans have been lagging behind in their vaccinations. BERMAN: Some of the racial disparity is closing across the country,

yes?

ENTEN: Yes, it absolutely is. So take a look here. This is data from the CDC. And what we see is this is the race and ethnicity of those with one plus dose.

Overall, look at this, 62 percent are white, but take a look in the last two weeks: just 50 percent who have gotten their first-plus dose are white. African-Americans up from 9 to 10 percent.

And we've seen a large jump among Hispanics, 14 to 23 percent. That could be because some of the younger folks are getting vaccinated. Hispanics tend to be concentrated in that lower levels.

But still, this is an encouraging sign, given that we've seen this divide with white people being far more likely to get the vaccine so far.

BERMAN: Let's hope that sort of continues.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: We are seeing gains in terms of Americans vaccinated, correct?

ENTEN: We are absolutely seeing gains. So you know, I'm all for the positive stuff, because there's a lot of it right now.

All Americans with one-plus dose right now, it's 49.4 percent. The increase in the last week, 1.8 points. So do some simple math. What does that tell us? We'll reach 50 percent plus if the rates hold, with at least one dose nationwide this week. And I think that's something really, really to celebrate.

BERMAN: We're also on track to reach the 70 percent threshold by July 4, which is what the president called for.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. Looks like -- I did the math last night. Looks like we'll be around 72 percent, if in fact, the rates hold.

BERMAN: That's a good number. For all the talk about hesitancy, 72 percent is a good number.

ENTEN: It's absolutely a good number. It will be far ahead of where I thought we might be in January, given the numbers. Clearly, more and more people have been convinced to get their vaccinations.

BERMAN: Let's look at case rates around the country.

ENTEN: Yes. Look, I showed you bad maps. Look at this. Coronavirus in the U.S., new cases in the past week versus previous week, a lot of green. That means that the coronavirus cases are dropping. Only three states have seen an appreciable increase, and most of those not very well.