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New Day
Guns Used in San Jose Killings Legally Obtained; Sizzling Housing Market Sparks Frenzy; World Leaders' COVID Stunts. Aired 6:30- 7a ET
Aired May 28, 2021 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Something more in that direction, just --
DAVID E. SANGER, PART OF NYT TEAM WHO BROKE STORY ON UNEXAMINED EVIDENCE OF COVID PROBE: It might be inconclusive --
BERMAN: Right.
SANGER: Which, you know, is probably the most likely outcome.
BERMAN: They just need to go through it.
All right, David Sanger, you've got a lot of stuff this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.
SANGER: Great to be with you, John.
BERMAN: We're learning new details about the gunman who killed nine people in San Jose. What the FBI is saying about the weapons used in the workplace attack. We have new details ahead.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a Trump appointee on the board of West Point, the U.S. military academy, spreading an outrageous conspiracy theory about President Biden. Wait until you hear this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: We have new details this morning on the San Jose shooting that killed nine people. An FBI agent telling CNN, all three guns were legally obtained and registered despite a Homeland Security mem that indicates Customs officers had previously detained and questioned the suspect in 2016 and found that he had manifestos about terrorism according to a DHS official.
[06:35:11]
Josh Campbell is live in San Jose right now for us.
Josh, I know last night that you spoke with the senior FBI agent overseeing the agency's response to the massacre. What did he tell you?
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning.
We're learning new details about what is happening behind the scenes and what investigators have found. The top FBI agent here in the Bay area telling me that at the suspect's home they found a small arsenal, including firearms and Molotov cocktails. The FBI now has about 50 investigators on site, including resources that they have flown in from the Washington area. They're working alongside the sheriff's department and the ATF scouring every possible detail they can about this shooter who took nine innocent lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL (voice over): Authorities are still looking for a motive behind the deadly shootings at a San Jose commuter railyard Wednesday and whether the gunman may have targeted specific co-workers. Federal investigators are analyzing surveillance video, like this, showing Samuel Cassidy walking between buildings during the shooting, and the sheriffs said authorities discovered bomb-making material inside his locker at the railyard.
SHERIFF LAURIE SMITH, SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Inside were precursor things for explosives.
Ingredients for a device, actually. You know, detonation cords, things like that.
CAMPBELL: According to the FBI, Cassidy used three legally obtained and registered handguns in the shooting.
CRAIG FAIR, SPECIAL AGENT-IN-CHARGE, FBI SAN FRANCISCO: My understanding is that all three were used.
CAMPBELL: FBI Special Agent-In-Charge Craig Fair says investigators discovered other dangerous materials inside the home apparently owned by Cassidy, which was lit on fire.
FAIR: Firefighters would insert into the residence, try to put the fire out, and they'd have to retreat for fear that there was potential explosive material in there. What we did recover, along with our AFT partners, were intact Molotov cocktails that were made with paint thinner and alcohol and multiple weapons.
CAMPBELL: And while detained by Customs and Border Protection in 2016 after a trip to the Philippines, a Department of Homeland Security official confirming his detention and "The Wall Street Journal's" reporting, saying Cassidy had books about terrorism and fear and manifestos, as well as a black memo books filled with lots of notes about how he hates the VTA.
In San Jose, a memorial is growing, honoring the nine people who died in the massacre. One of the victims was Lars Lane, who leaves behind a wife and four children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a wonderful person. I'm going to miss him.
CAMPBELL: The community in mourning and coming together, attempting to heal, after this senseless tragedy that ended nine lives far too soon.
ANNETTE ROMO, WIFE OF SHOOTING VICTIM, TIMOTHY ROMO: Never leave home without giving your loved one a kiss good-bye, because that was the last I got.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL: Now, as authorities investigate this tragedy, they are also trying to stop the next one. That senior FBI agent I spoke with previewed for us a report that the FBI is about to release. They looked back at mass shootings since 2000. And one common factor in so many of these incidents, the shooter exhibited multiple warning signs, which is why authorities are imploring the public to not be afraid to come forward and report suspicious behavior. We know that here in San Jose, acquaintances of this shooter describe him as at times abusive, speak ill of his co-workers. Of course, we will never know the answer to this question, but it is stunning to stop and think what tragedy might have possibly been averted had someone called the police.
Brianna.
KEILAR: Josh Campbell, thank you for that report from San Jose.
NBA teams are banning fans for disrespectful behavior during playoff games. Now LeBron James is demanding that the league take action.
BERMAN: And good luck if you're planning on buying a house. The market is on fire. But is this a bubble that could soon burst?
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[06:43:03]
BERMAN: So, this morning, it's more difficult than ever to buy a home and more tempting than ever to sell one.
Vanessa Yurkevich spoke to sellers and home buyers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARA WARD, SOLD HER HOME DURING THE PANDEMIC: We put the house on the market on a Friday afternoon at 3:00 and by Sunday evening we had 12 offers over asking price.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Lara Ward's story is not unique. In a housing market so hot, buyers are gifting a trip to the Caribbean, promising to name their first-born child after the seller, or offering $100,000 in cash over the asking price just to secure a home.
WARD: It didn't even end there on Sunday evening. The people who had already bid in were bidding higher. So offers were climbing.
YURKEVICH: The pandemic fueled demand in the housing market, as did low interest rates. Now with low inventory, U.S. home prices are at a record high, up more than 19 percent in the last year. Ward listed her home in New Milford, Connecticut, for $300,000.
WARD: If we had put it on the market a year before, it probably would have gone on the market for $270,000, and we were looking at being happy with $250,000.
YURKEVICH: She accepted a $350,000 all-cash offer just days after she listed her home, $50,000 above asking.
CONNIE STRAIT, REALTOR, WILLIAM RAVEIS REAL ESTATE: Welcome to your new home.
YURKEVICH: Connie Strait has been a realtor in Danbury, Connecticut, for 45 years. She says homes are closing in record time.
STRAIT: We're selling in six hours.
YURKEVICH: This townhouse in the area sold in one day to this buyer from New York, who are often pricing locals out of their own market. A lakefront piece of land was listed for $1 million.
STRAIT: We sold it. And within 20 minutes later, that gentlemen went down to his attorney, you know, on the same street and sold it for an additional $250,000. And it was just -- I mean I've never seen anything like this, nor has anybody else in this area.
[06:45:05]
JON CORBISCELLO, REALTOR, KELLER WILLIAMS CITY VIEW: We're marketing this as -- to be turned into a duplex.
YURKEVICH: For a buyer, the market can be discouraging. Jon Corbiscello has shown his client, Breana Van Rye, half a dozen homes in her $500,000 price range in Bergin County, New Jersey. They've made several offers, but are outbid every time by cash buyers.
CORBISCELLO: The asking price is really the start at what the bid is. You know, if you're not prepared to pay 25 percent over asking price, you're not prepared to buy that home.
YURKEVICH: Open houses are like survival of the fittest. One pitted Breana against 40 other buyers.
BREANA VAN RYE, LOOKING FOR HOME: I was like, is this normal? Like -- like, this is crazy. You know, it looked like the new, you know, iPhone was on sale or something. It just was a crazy, chaotic experience.
YURKEVICH: She's adjusted her expectations and requirements, but not her budget. So the search continues.
YURKEVICH (on camera): When you find that perfect home, how do you think you'll feel after all that you've been through this past year or so?
VAN RYE: We'll be excited. We'll definitely throw a party.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YURKEVICH: Now, buyers like Breana will probably have to wait a little bit longer to find their perfect home. Inventory is down nearly 20 percent. And lumber prices are sky high, which means that any new construction is going to be extremely expensive.
And think about all of those buyers who turned out to open houses. They didn't get those houses. They're still looking. So the demand is still incredibly high.
And, John, one thing that could change this whole thing, though, is the CDC moratorium is expiring next month. So, sadly, that means there's going to be some evictions, some foreclosures, some short sales, and that will provide some inventory for buyers who are clearly trying to snap up homes any way that they can.
BERMAN: It's so stressful. I mean moving is so stressful anyway. When you have to move, you have to move, and this just adds so much pressure and financial strain I think on so many people also.
YURKEVICH: Yes.
BERMAN: Vanessa, that's a terrific report. Thanks so much for that.
YURKEVICH: Thank you.
BERMAN: So why did Boris Johnson allegedly consider getting injected with coronavirus on live TV? We're going to break down all of the stunts that global leaders have considered during this pandemic.
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[06:51:20]
KEILAR: World leaders went about their response to coronavirus in different ways. Some more logically than others. Dominic Cummings, the former chief adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament that Johnson was resistant to lockdowns and downplayed the pandemic. In February of last year, he even reportedly suggested that he get injected with COVID live on TV to show that it's nothing to be frightened of.
Now, if it had happened, the injection would be just one in a long list of stunts that world leaders used to try to downplay the coronavirus pandemic.
So let's take a look, shall we?
Joining us now is Chris Cillizza, our CNN politics reporter and editor at large, with more.
Do tell, Chris Cillizza.
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR AT LARGE: OK, I'm going to talk fast because there's a lot of them, Brianna. First of all, let me just quickly, with Boris Johnson, that was in February of 2020, as you noted. In March of 2020, he actually got the coronavirus and wound up in the ICU. He didn't get it injected into him. He got it and wound up in the ICU. So, yes, really smart stunt.
Now you know this guy, Donald Trump, former president of the United States, and you probably remember this, Brianna. This -- remember, he was at Walter Reed when he got COVID-19. He was obviously sicker than we thought. This is him driving with Secret Service agents, waving to the crowd, while he is ill with the coronavirus, exposing these agents. It makes no sense. Total stunt.
Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, now, another one like Trump, very skeptical of the virus. He just goes out and does these events where he's shaking hands. As you can see, not a big mask-wearing crowd around Bolsonaro. He goes out and shakes hands. There's one video where he sort of sneezes into his hand and then shakes a lady -- an older woman's hand, which is terrifying.
Now, in India, obviously we know about India and its situation with COVID-19, the worst outbreak in the world over the last six weeks. Their prime minister, Narendra Modi, he's been holding rallies. He's held 20 massive campaign rallies, like you see here. Now, there is masking here. He has one on. But the crowd largely unmask. Again, not one rally, 20 rallies. As you can see, not a lot of masks in that crowd.
Rodrigo Duterte, of the Philippines, this is stunning video. OK. So he wants to show people that you should get your vaccine, although he's been a skeptic. The vaccine he's getting right there, not approved to be given to anyone. He later apologized because he did that. So, yes, not exactly the way you want to handle it.
Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua has not shut down the country at all in any way, shape, or form. He has -- this is video that I will play, I will tell you what he's saying. He has essentially said that COVID is a sign from God to punish those who want to use militarism to take over the world. You heard me right.
OK, now, last one. This one is the oddest. Belarus's president, Lukashenko, OK, wait for it, here's his solution to how you stop COVID-19. Now, let me make sure my thumb's working. That's right. This is not Vladimir Putin playing hockey. This is Alexander Lukashenko playing hock. He does an interview, here it is, after this in which he says, I don't see any virus floating around, do you, to the reporter. He says that the three things that you need to do to beat COVID are play hockey, drink some vodka, and get a sauna.
So, again, this is not -- we could have made this chart a lot bigger, candidly, Brianna. We could only fit this many. But political stunts around COVID are vast. And the thing that's important to remember here, this is not a political stunt to -- with no possible consequences.
[06:55:03] Millions of people have died from this, right? And none of these people that you see here have taken it seriously enough, both either for themselves or for their country.
Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes. It would be, you know, hilarious if it weren't so deadly.
CILLIZZA: Right. That's exactly right.
BERMAN: Yes.
KEILAR: It's terrible and it's just ridiculous.
CILLIZZA: Well, especially because, just to quickly add, it's not as though any of these people didn't see what else was happening in the world, right? They knew what was happening. They still chose to handle it the way they handled it, which is cavalierly, at best.
KEILAR: At best. Well, Chris Cillizza, it's interesting nonetheless. So, thank you so much for walking us through that.
You know, after a long night of stall tactics by Republicans, Mitch McConnell is busy asking fellow Republicans for a personal favor before they decide on the January 6th commission.
BERMAN: And this morning, a new attack on America by Russian hackers. How might this affect the scheduled summit between President Biden and Vladimir Putin.
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