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CNN Projects Adams as NYC Mayoral Primary Winner; Makeup of Unvaccinated in U.S.; Taliban Beheads Translator; Richardson Left off Olympic Team. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 07, 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]

SCOTT JENNINGS, CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST, "USA TODAY": Anybody using it for violence and hate and division is wrong and anybody who wants to stand and wave the flag and say, here's what it really stands for in my opinion is right. It's not political. It's not partisan. Surely we can all join together on that message.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I certainly appreciate you both having this conversation. Natasha, Scott, thank you.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

KEILAR: A winner has finally been declared in the Democratic primary for New York City's mayor. We're going to break down the numbers, next, and finally.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a new major twist in Britney Spears' legal battle. Is the pop star preparing to retire?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Developing overnight, CNN projects that Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will be the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. Adams, a retired captain in the New York City Police Department, claimed victory, running as a moderate, in a field that included many progressive Democrats.

[06:35:07]

Joining me now, Harry Enten, CNN's senior data reporter, and favorite son, I may add, of New York City, the city we're talking about right now.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, sir.

BERMAN: Talk to me about Eric Adams' victory and the way he got there through this rank choice voting, which is the first time the city has used it.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. It was the first time the city has used it. Look, if you looked at the initial ballots, right, this was the first

round, people's first choice, Eric Adams was way ahead of the field here, right, 31 percent. Maya Wiley was all the way back at 21 percent. Kathryn Garcia, 20 percent.

The one thing I'll point out, both Kathryn Garcia and Eric Adams ran more as mainstream Democrats. It was actually Maya Wiley who ran as a more progressive Democrat.

But, of course, this was the first time New York City used rank choice voting. And rank choice voting we weren't exactly sure what was going to happen. Here is what happened as we sort of jump ahead in the rounds here. So this was round six, seven and the final round of eight. And the key nugget here, round eight, you see Eric Adams, 50.5 percent to Kathryn Garcia's 49.5. A difference of less than 10,000 votes.

What I should point out that's important here is the rank choice voting almost caught Eric Adams, right? You see her, Kathryn Garcia, was actually in third in round six, jumped up to second, eliminated Wiley in round seven, still ten points back. Garcia received the vast bulk of the Wiley votes. But it wasn't enough. And Eric Adams is your winner.

BERMAN: One thing, as you look at this, Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang, all more moderate candidates in the Democratic field. You add up their numbers there, well over 50 percent. And crime became an issue and policing became an issue in this campaign. Eric Adams, a retired police captain. What are voters saying in New York City about how they feel about crime?

ENTEN: Yes, I think this number was what jumped off the screen for me. This was a pre-election poll. This -- if you believe in margins of error, this was way outside the margin of error, folks. Should there be more police on the subway? Sixty-nine percent of likely Democratic primary voters agreed that there should be more police on the subway. This was a big difference between Adams, Garcia, Yang and say Wiley and voters were very much on the side of Adams, Garcia and Yang on this one with 69 percent agreed.

Now, what's really interesting about this nugget was black Democratic primary voters who basically were the -- let's say the juice that moved Adams to victory, they were even more in agreement with this. So what you saw was Democratic voters of color much more in agreement with there should be more police on the subway than white Democratic primary voters. And that was a big reason why Eric Adams won this election.

BERMAN: Interesting. It suggests that the Democratic primary electorate may not be the Twitter primary electorate (INAUDIBLE).

ENTEN: There was one graphic that -- one nugget I saw that was so interesting was that Andrew Yang had like 10 or 100 times the amount of Twitter followers that Eric Adams had. But, you know what, the fact is, you have older black voters in your corner, they may not be on Twitter, but they're certainly in the Democratic primary electorate. BERMAN: The Bureau of Elections in New York City has come under attack

for how they ran this. A ton of problems, right?

ENTEN: Yes, I would say so. I mean this was basically a saga. You can remember like we had election day. Then June 29th, which was last Tuesday, you were supposed to get those rank choice results released without absentees, but they released them with test ballots included. So we had to wait an extra day to finally get those corrected rank choice without absentees.

Then yesterday, the New York City Board of Elections promised these rank choice with absentees close to brunch time but they released them in early evening. I'm not necessarily much of a brunch eater, folks. I actually prefer regular lunch. But the fact is, even I know that early evening is not a time for brunch.

BERMAN: And, finally, turnout, higher than we -- one of the reasons for rank choice was to increase voter interest in there and it certainly has compared to the last decades we've seen here.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. Look, there's still going to be some votes that are -- added to this, but this is the -- this is the -- this includes actually all of that. This includes everybody. And what you see here, look at this, 939,000 voters. Look at that. The next closest was 786,000, not even close back to 2001. This blasted through the year. This was record turnout.

The board of elections might have screwed up rank choice voting, but it seemed to really get voters motivated to come out and vote.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: Thank you, sir.

BERMAN: Coming up on NEW DAY, we are going to speak to Eric Adams. He will join us to talk about his apparent win.

A stern warning from Dr. Anthony Fauci as the CDC announces that the hyper transmissible delta variant is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States.

Plus, just three weeks after she visited the Holocaust Museum, Marjorie Taylor Greene is at it again, invoking Nazi Germany to complain about vaccines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:48]

BERMAN: A new CNN analysis of CDC data shows that as vaccination progress slows down, disparities remain between who has been vaccinated and who has not.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

What does it show, Elizabeth? ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, we would

expect that people would be vaccinated in proportion to their population. For example, white people represent 60 percent of the population in the U.S. You would expect 60 percent of the vaccinated people to be white. And, in fact, that is the case.

But let's take a look at what this looks like for other ethnic groups.

So for white people and Asian people, they are vaccinated in proportion to the population. But blacks and Latinos are a different story. Blacks represent 12 percent of the U.S. population, but only 9 percent of the vaccinated population. Latinos, 17 percent of the population but 15 percent of the vaccinated population. Those differences may not seem huge, but when you look at the raw numbers, that's more than 5 million unvaccinated people. That's what that represents.

These disparities are not just along racial lines. They're also along geographic lines.

Let's take a look at the southern United States. The southern United States represents about 38 percent of the population, but only 34 percent of the vaccinated population.

[06:45:04]

So that's about 6 million unvaccinated people. And so, when I talk to folks at the CDC and other places who are trying to shift this, who are trying to get the one third of Americans who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated, they said -- one of them said it is a long, slow, slog. It is tough to get this one-third of people who have not been vaccinated so far to decide to roll up their sleeves.

KEILAR: And are you seeing age group differences?

COHEN: There are. So, elderly people have really embraced the vaccine, did so very early on. But let's take a look at younger -- at a younger age group because that has not gone so well.

So among folks ages 18 to 39, they represent 30 percent of the population, but only 27.5 percent of the vaccinated population. Again, a difference that is millions of people.

So, again, there's a lot of effort to try to get messaging out to younger people. Younger people might not die as often as older people from COVID-19, but they can pass it along. They're responsible for the spread. So there's a lot of effort to get messaging to them. But I have to say, there's some real challenges here. It does not seem to always be going terribly well.

BERMAN: Come on, guys, you can do this, younger people.

COHEN: Right. There you go. That's good messaging.

BERMAN: There, I just -- I did my part.

COHEN: You did your part. OK.

BERMAN: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

BERMAN: So Tropical Storm Elsa bearing down on Florida. Landfall expected just a short time from now. We have a brand new forecast coming up.

KEILAR: Plus, CNN is live in Kabul as the U.S. withdraws nearing -- the U.S. withdrawal nears completion there. Why one Afghan translator says working with the Americans is now a death sentence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: This morning, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is more than 90 percent complete. And Afghans who are loyal to American forces are now desperate for help.

CNN's Anna Coren is in Kabul, where she spoke with the family and friends of an Afghan interpreter who was hunted down and beheaded by the Taliban because he worked with Americans. And Anna is with us now on this story.

The thing is, Anna, this isn't -- this isn't anything special. This is sort of the blanket rule when it comes to the danger that Afghans who helped Americans are facing.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna, it's not an isolated case. Afghan interpreters who worked for America during its longest war are now fearing for their lives as the Taliban carries out revenge attacks. And it comes as the militants have made significant gains over the last 24 hours. They have claimed their first provincial capitol in the northern province of Bagdis (ph). They've released hundreds of Taliban prisoners. This has been confirmed by local journalists that we have spoken to.

[06:50:02]

And this just adds to the sense of fear, uncertainty and the ongoing violence that is now plaguing this country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COREN (voice over): Standing in the Kursian (ph) Valley in Urgan (ph) province, Abdul Rashid Shirzad had just completed another mission with SEAL Team 10. The Afghan linguist working alongside America's military elite, translating for U.S. special forces. But according to Abdul, his five years of service has now amounted to a death sentence. After the U.S. government rejected his special immigrant visa, making him a target for the Taliban.

ABDUL RASHID SHIRZAD, FORMER U.S. MILITARY INTERPRETER: If they catch me, they're going to kill me. They're going to kill my kids. And they're going to kill my wife, too. It's a payback time for them, you know. COREN: The father of three says his contract with the U.S. military

was terminated in 2014 after he failed a polygraph test. But his letters of recommendation from SEAL commanders reflect a translator who went above and beyond duty, describing him as a valuable and necessary asset, who braved enemy fire and undoubtedly saved the lives of American and Afghans alike.

SHIRZAD: This is Eli. He was one of our team member.

COREN (on camera): These guys were your American brothers?

SHIRZAD: American brothers, yes.

COREN (voice over): Abdul says he has no idea what he did wrong and never received an explanation. His visa rejection letter from the U.S. embassy stated lack of faithful and valuable service.

SHIRZAD: If we had peace in Afghanistan, if I had not served the U.S. military, if the Taliban were not after me, I would never leave my country.

COREN: Around 18,000 Afghans who worked for the U.S. military have applied for special immigration visas. But CNN has learned only half are expected to be granted.

The Biden administration is in talks with a number of countries to act as a safe haven while the visas are processed. A clear sign the government is well aware of the looming threat posed by the Taliban.

But for Afghans who have been rejected, the danger is just as real.

Sahal Pad (ph), is seen here dancing, worked for 16 months as a translator for the U.S. army before he too failed a polygraph test and was terminated in 2012.

ABDULHAQ AYOUBI, FORMER U.S. MILITARY INTERPRETER: They were telling him that you -- you are a spy for the Americans. You are -- you are the eyes of the Americans. And you are infidel. And we will kill you and your family.

COREN: Thirty-two-year-old Sahal confided in his best friend and fellow translator, Abdulhaq. Both had joined the Afghans's Left Behind Association hoping to raise awareness for their cases.

But on the morning of May 12th this year, Sahal left Abdulhaq a voice message, saying he was driving from Kabul to Host (ph) province to pick up his sister for eve celebrations. On the way, the Taliban had set up a checkpoint. Sahal sped through but villages told the Red Crescent (ph) the Taliban shot his car before it served and stopped. The militants then dragged Sahal out of the car and beheaded him.

Sahal's brother takes us to his grave on the side of a barren hill. Earth and stones a reminder of a life violently taken in a country that has been left to fight this war on its own.

COREN (on camera): There are hundreds of other Afghan translators who were terminated from their contracts for what they say was unjust cause. And while the U.S. government says it won't be reviewing those cases, they fear that if they stay in Afghanistan their fate will be the same as Sahal's.

AYOUBI: We kindly request that President Biden to save us. We (INAUDIBLE) -- we helped you and you -- you have to help us.

COREN (voice over): A desperate plea from a group of Afghans who once believed America would never desert them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Yes, Brianna, a desperate plea indeed.

And in another development, Iran, interestingly enough, is hosted peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Teheran today. The Iranian foreign minister saying it is now up to the people of Afghanistan to decide their future now that the Americans have withdrawn.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Anna, thank you so much for that report.

Sha'Carri Richardson's Olympic dreams dashed after she was left off the Olympic track team entirely. Why?

BERMAN: And we have breaking news, CNN has learned that the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, will appoint Republicans to the committee investigating the insurrection. The list of lawmakers he's considering. You're going to want to see this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:37]

BERMAN: An American sprinter's Olympic dreams officially shatter after admitting to using marijuana.

Coy Wire has more in the "Bleacher Report."

Good morning, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Sha'Carri Richardson, hailed by some as the most exciting sprinter after Usain Bolt, now she won't even be making the trip to Tokyo. USA Track and Field leaving her off the women's 4 x 100 meter relay team despite it being scheduled after her one month suspension for marijuana use ends. Richardson admitted taking marijuana after finding out about her biological mother's death. Richardson tweeting that she believes her misfortune has helped women's track and field, quote, the attention that is on track now and was because of very, very few names, so if that's where fan's support lay, you can't be mad at that, unquote. Phil Michelson, at six major victories. Tom Brady, seven Super Bowl rings. But that doesn't add up to a win at the match four last night. They lost to Bryson Dechambeau and Aaron Rodgers in the made for TV event in Big Sky, Montana. The foursome raised $2.6 million for various charities. It seems there's nothing the quarterback turned "Jeopardy" host Aaron Rodgers can't do from crushing nearly 400 yard drives to clinching victory with a birdie putt all in good fun.

All right, finally, 16,000 fans on hand to see the first NBA finals game in Phoenix since Michael Jordan and the Bulls won the title in '93. The night belonging to 36-year-old Chris Paul, making his finals debut. He scored half of his 32 points in the third quarter alone. Paul joining Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan as the only players in finals history age 36 or older to score 30 or more in a game. Suns taking game one and one step closer to winning their first-ever title, a 118-105 win. Neither team has a player that's ever won a title. It's shaping up to be a very exciting finals. No super teams. No top seeds in this one.

BERMAN: I mean the Suns look like a super team right now. I mean Chris Paul has waited 16 years to get in the finals and he made it worth the wait last night, I have to say, Coy.

WIRE: Yes, future Hall of Famer out there. He's showing some pep in his step. He's walking into the arena like he's your uncle, but he is shining once he's out there.

BERMAN: My uncle was Harold (ph) and there's not much of a comparison there. Just saying.

[07:00:00]

Coy Wire, thank you very much.

WIRE: You got it.

BERMAN: Appreciate it.

NEW DAY continues right now.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, I'm John Berman, with Brianna