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Simone Biles to Participate in Balance Beam Finals; Unvaccinated Cases, Hospitalizations Rising as Variant Spreads; Florida Schools Defy DeSantis on Masks, But Worry about Funding; Should the U.S. Consider a Third Booster Shot Amid Variant?; Trump to DOJ: 'Just Say the Election Was Corrupt'; Lawmakers Camp at Capitol to Protest End to Eviction Moratorium. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 02, 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. We are facing a health crisis of the unvaccinated as the Delta variant puts hospitals under siege. New evidence that Americans refusing vaccines may be getting a wakeup call.

[05:59:45]

Plus, Florida now the worst in the nation as the state breaks its own case record for the entire pandemic.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: One lawyer describes it as the worst crime any president has committed, ever. New details this morning on how Donald Trump tried to get his Justice Department to help overturn the election.

And breaking news this morning: a big announcement about Simone Biles and her future at the Olympics after sitting out the last few events. Stand by for news.

KEILAR: A very good morning to viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Monday, August 2, and we are beginning with breaking news, that gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has just announced that she will participate in tomorrow's balance beam final.

USA Gymnastics tweeting this: "We are so excited to confirm that you will see two U.S. athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow: Suni Lee and Simone Biles. Can't wait to watch you both."

BERMAN: This is going to be something. This announcement comes after Biles pulled out of the team and all-around competition, citing mental health. This is her final opportunity to secure an individual medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Coy Wire live in Tokyo with the breaking details. Event after event Simone Biles pulled out of. The last chance to do it, and she's going to try, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORT ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Huge news, John. After pulling out midway through that team competition. As you mentioned last Tuesday, it was a day-by-day evaluation process for Team USA.

Most importantly, for Simone Biles, determining whether or not she felt well enough to compete in the four individual competitions for which she qualified.

But the day before each of those competitions, there were statements released saying that she would withdraw. But Biles was seen here earlier today in Tokyo, heading to the gym to watch teammate Jade Carey compete in the floor exercise. She won gold, by the way. Congrats to Jade Carey.

Biles also cheered on her teammates MyKayla Skinner and Suni Lee to individual medals yesterday. It was a waiting game here today in Tokyo.

The day before the event, the beam, the last chance we'd have to see the GOAT compete in these games, and it's news that she will, indeed, go again.

Remember, it was on Friday that Biles revealed a now-deleted post that she couldn't tell up from down in a practice session here in Tokyo, saying she had no idea where she was in the air or how she was going to land. It was a scary, scary video that we saw her post.

The 24-year-old said that when she's had the twisties, as she called, them in the past, it had taken two or more weeks for them to go away. Not the case now.

This is likely the last time we will see Biles in Olympic competition, so it would be great to see her out there one last time. More importantly, it's great to see and to know that Simone Biles feels well again.

BERMAN: Coy, I think that is the most important thing. Thank you very much for that.

All right. This morning, the pandemic of the unvaccinated accelerating. Thirty-five states have seen cases rise by more than 50 percent since last week. Hospitalizations surging, nearly 44,000 Americans hospitalized this morning. That's the highest number since April.

The good news -- in fact, the great news -- is the vaccines are incredibly effective. CDC data shows that 99.99 percent of the people who are fully vaccinated don't end up in the hospital with COVID. Ninety-nine point nine-nine percent, that's a lot.

And this morning the pace of vaccinations is picking up. The seven-day average is up substantially from three weeks ago.

Let's go deep into these numbers. With me this morning, CNN senior data reporter, Harry Enten.

First, Harry, give us a lay of the land of where cases are this morning. HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So we'll just start

off very quickly. Look, the seven-day average we're up, right? Look at that. We're up from the trough that we were, let's say, in early July. Not quite at the high levels that we were at the end of last year, beginning of this year. But still, we're clearly up 100,000 new cases on the seven-day average.

If we look at where those cases are, right? Where they're greatest, the red. That's bad. Look at that. The South: Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. That's where it's worse.

It's not nearly as bad as it is in -- it's not nearly that bad up in the North, but when you look at the community transmission, right, it's very high in the South, and coming up to the North, it's still not great up here.

But it's certainly far better in the Northeast where we know that there are those higher vaccination levels than it is in the South where you have the lowest vaccination levels.

BERMAN: Again, as we say this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated right now. I gave people a teaser on just how effective the vaccines are, Harry. Wildly effective.

ENTEN: They are wildly effective. So this -- there was a new study come out from the CDC through July 26. Look at this. This is among the people who are fully vaccinated.

How many have not been hospitalized from COVID? Over 163 million. How many have not died from COVID? Over 163 million.

Put that in percentage terms. Greater than 99.996 percent of folks who are fully vaccinated have not been hospitalized because of COVID, did not die from COVID. Look at that, greater than 99.999 percent have not died from COVID.

If you want to understand that the vaccinations work, look at these numbers. They work very, very well.

BERMAN: All right. That's very good news and a good reminder, Harry. Some people are upset about the breakthrough infections. That's not the real news here. The real news is that vaccines keep you out of the hospital.

New folks getting their first shot is up significantly from July 12. Just getting a little less than 300,000. So we're jumped up by 100,000. The rate jumped up on the daily. That's very, very good news.

BERMAN: All right. That's very good news and a good reminder, Harry. Some people are upset about the breakthrough infections. That's not the real news here. The real news is that vaccines keep you out of the hospital.

Where are we in the effort to get people vaccinated?

ENTEN: Yes. There are. Look at that. Up over 400,000 new folks getting their first shot right now. That's up significantly from July 12, when we were just getting a little bit less than 300,000. So we're jumped up by 100,000. The rapist jumped up on the daily. So that's very, very good news.

BERMAN: And where they're getting them is also interesting at this point, Harry.

ENTEN: It's very interesting. Look at this. So this is -- These are the states with the most new weekly cases. Most of those states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, is an exception, Mississippi included -- all ranked at 40th or below for overall new -- first vaccinations.

But in the last week, look at this. They're all in the top ten. So people are scared, and therefore, they're going out and getting vaccinated. And hopefully, that will be able to change the tide in the Southeast United States.

BERMAN: It's good to see the people reacting in this way, for sure. I'm sorry that it's taking this much fear and this much illness to make it happen.

Let's talk about Florida right now, because there's an enormous rise in cases and hospitalizations.

ENTEN: Oh, my goodness gracious. Look at this. The average new daily cases, look at that, nearly 16,000. Hospitalizations, 467 over the past week on the daily. New deaths 58.

Look at that: the weekly change, 45 percent up, 52 percent up, 51 percent up. This is crazy. This is awful.

BERMAN: Right. And it's not just cases here. This is -- this is people hospitalized, people dying. The numbers are going up there. Again, let's hope this turns the corner soon, but we're not seeing it just yet.

ENTEN: We are not seeing it just yet. I did this same exact slide last week on another show, and the numbers have gotten significantly worse since that point.

BERMAN: All right, Harry. Thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: We'll see you again a little later, get some more interesting numbers to look at -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Now, one in five new coronavirus cases are happening in Florida. It makes it the new epicenter of the pandemic, averaging over 15,000 new cases a day.

And despite this, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has barred masks in schools, overruling local governments, sparking mixed emotions with parents. CNN's Rosa Flores is live for us in Ft. Lauderdale with more. Things

are tough in Florida. And masks can keep people safe, especially unvaccinated people like kids, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, you're absolutely right. And here we are. The school year is about to begin. And every single metric that you look at here in the state of Florida is shooting up.

You look at the graphs. They are all increasing. I'm live here at an elementary school that, once the school year begins, will be hustling and bustling with kids. And you know what the positivity rate is right now in the state of Florida for children and teens between the ages of 12 and 19? Twenty-two percent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me that.

FLORES: This Azcarate family --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Swish.

FLORES: -- and the Melachrino family --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice. We like it.

FLORES: -- both have children attending Broward County public schools in South Florida. One family is for mask mandates in schools.

MICHAEL AZCARATE, BROWARD COUNTY PARENT, PRO-MASK: I think masks are the best course of action, and I think that keeps everyone safe.

FLORES: The other is for masks being optional.

CARRIE MELACHRINO, BROWARD COUNTY PARENT, AGAINST MASK MANDATE: Mandating doesn't seem fair or right. I think best case scenario, parents should definitely be given an option. I respect everybody's opinion and choices.

FLORES: It's a debate that erupted into protests here this past week as the number of COVID-19 cases in Florida jumped to more than 110,000, and the positivity rate among children and teens between the ages of 12 and 19 surpassed 22 percent.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Did you not get the CDC's memo? I don't see you guys complying.

FLORES: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has long spoken out against mask mandates, Friday signed an executive order giving parents the choice between masks and no masks.

The move big-footed Broward County Public Schools' recent decision to require masks in classrooms, leaving families with mixed emotions. (on camera): As a dad, what's that like for the governor to come in

and override your school board?

AZCARATE: Party of small government, right? It's -- it's really disheartening.

FLORES: What was your reaction to that?

MELACHRINO: Relief. And simply for my children and their wellbeing.

FLORES: The debate in Florida, playing out across the country. The three largest school districts -- New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago -- will require masks.

Others reversing course and will now require masks, too, including Gwinnett County, Georgia, and Baltimore County.

The debate landing in Texas, as well, another state where the governor banned mask mandates.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Kids will not be forced by government or by schools to wear masks in school.

FLORES: School boards there holding meetings, and the major teacher group asking the governor to reconsider his executive order.

OVIDIA MOLINA, PRESIDENT, TEXAS STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION: What we're fearful is that we are going to be in classrooms where we're going to have that student that does get too sick, that does die, and it all could have been prevented.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom is a superstar. And I'm like, terrible.

FLORES: After spending time with these two Broward County families, one thing became clear.

AZCARATE: I think we absolutely have something in common. We want what's best for our children.

MELACHRINO: Absolutely. We're all united in that way.

FLORES: Above all, they love their children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And Brianna, there is so much division on masks around the country, but as you saw in that piece, parents, American parents, have so much in common.

And I want to leave you with this, because Broward County Schools did send us a statement, saying that they are reviewing the executive order by Governor Ron DeSantis, trying to figure out if they need to make adjustments -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. We'll see what happens there. Rosa, thank you so much, live for us from Ft. Lauderdale. BERMAN: Over the weekend, thousands of Israelis over the age of 60

lined up to get a vaccine booster shot, a third shot. This after health officials said the Pfizer vaccine data from Israel points to waning immunity. The United Kingdom is set to launch a booster program starting next month.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. So Elizabeth, what about the United States? What are experts saying about the possibility of that third shot?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. This is not the first time, actually. The United States has been a little bit behind in areas related to the vaccines.

What -- this is all based on some new Pfizer data that shows that immunity, John, it does wane over time. Still, a great vaccine, amazing efficacy, but that it does wane over time.

So that 96 percent, that's how effective the vaccine is after a couple of weeks to about two months. When you get down to about four to six months, it's more like 83, 84 percent effective. That's less but still, again, an amazing vaccine.

Now, let's take a look at this third shot data. So the effectiveness of the third shot, when they gave it to people between the ages of 18 and 55, it increased the antibodies by more than 5 percent.

When they gave it to older folks, 65 to 85, it increased antibodies by more than 11 times. So five times, 11 times. This third shot really does seem to do good. So it's really just a matter of time as to when Americans will be told, you know, we recommend that you get a third shot.

You know, you mentioned Israel in the beginning of this. So the Israelis are giving third shots to 60 and over, but also for weeks, they've been giving it to people who are immunocompromised. That's -- those are the folks that are really, really vulnerable.

We know that two shots didn't work for many of those. I know that I'm hearing every day from immunocompromised people in the U.S. -- and there are millions of them -- saying, Am I supposed to get the third shot? Am I not supposed to? I could just run down to the pharmacy and get one. No one would be the wiser.

They are really, really looking for guidance in this area.

BERMAN: So, as the discussion about the third shot for some heats up, again, a lot of the focus is on getting people who don't have their first shot, but we can have both discussions at the same time.

COHEN: Right.

BERMAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

BERMAN: So tomorrow a very special edition of NEW DAY in our 8 a.m. hour, answering your questions about the new coronavirus surge.

Tweet your questions to us directly. You can send them to Brianna or me. Either one of us. Or tweet them online, or send them online at CNN.com coronavirus questions.

All right. Disturbing new revelations on how far Donald Trump went in attempts to get the election overturned. And what one lawyer calls the worst crime committed by a president ever.

KEILAR: Plus, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser under fire for something she did after reinstating her mask mandate.

And as lawmakers camp out at the Capitol to protest the hold on evictions, progressive Democrats now blaming their own party.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:12]

BERMAN: It's the worst crime any president has ever committed. That's what one famed litigator said about new evidence of former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump last December pressured acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen to declare that the election was corrupt. That's according to notes of a call Trump held with Rosen and acting deputy attorney general, Richard Donoghue.

Trump said, quote, "Just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen."

Joining us now, CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

Counselor, those words were from Ted Boutrous, saying it's the worst crime ever. That's his opinion. Instead of asking you whether it's a crime, I want to ask you, How -- how bad is it? Or what's the problem with a sitting president telling the attorney general, the acting attorney general at this time, Call it a corrupt election?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Ever since Watergate, every White House, Democrats and Republicans, has had politic -- policies in place that say, you know, when the White House officials and the Justice Department talk about individual cases, certain procedures have to be followed, because the opportunity for undue influence is so great.

This is exactly why these policies are in place. Now, those policies are not laws. They are not binding. They are simply norms, rules that all administrations have decided to follow to avoid all sorts of appearances of impropriety. This is the kind of impropriety they're trying to avoid.

So it's not a crime what Donald Trump did, I think. But it is wildly inappropriate. And you know, good for these Justice Department officials, political appointees for not following his advice.

[06:20:00]

KEILAR: So if it's not a crime, if it wouldn't prompt a criminal investigation, then Jeffrey, what is the precedent that it sets for saying whether it is OK to try to interfere in an election?

TOOBIN: Well, I mean, this sort of sums up the whole Trump presidency. You know, it is shocking but not surprising that Donald Trump violated the norms that were the -- the unspoken rules that everyone had followed.

I mean, the problem is -- is that once Trump has done this, if other presidents want to do it, it is -- it is a precedent that they can follow and say, look, you know, I'm -- I'm in charge of the Justice Department. I can tell them what to do.

That's what happened in Watergate. That's -- and that's what subsequent presidents have tried to avoid.

BERMAN: I wonder what the implications are going forward here, because I don't know -- we don't know of any criminal investigation into what Donald Trump did behind the scenes with the Justice Department there. We know there is the House Select Committee investigation.

And there's that phrase, "Leave it to me and the Republican congressmen." That seems to implicate these Republican congressmen in this scheme to try to overturn the election results.

TOOBIN: Right. And I think they -- they were willing participants.

The other thing worth remembering about this conversation with -- with the U.S. Justice Department is that he was doing the same thing in Georgia with the Georgia officials, saying, you know, Say it's corrupt. Do -- continue to do the investigation.

That is now under investigation criminally in Georgia, because even if the -- the contacts with the U.S. Justice Department don't violate any law, it's possible they violate some Georgia law.

KEILAR: Top DOJ officials, Jeffrey, said to the president in these notes we've seen, Much of the information you're getting is false.

And Trump responded, You guys may not be following the Internet the way I do. What does that -- what does that tell you?

TOOBIN: Well, I mean, I think we all know the Internet is not one source, and the Internet is -- is a source of -- often of terribly wrong information.

But you know, it just shows Trump's determination, which of course, continues to this day to inject this false narrative. I mean, again, what makes this so outrageous is not just that he was, you know, violating these procedures. He was doing so in service of lies.

The fact that the justice -- that there was something wrong with this election. But, you know, Trump continues to do it, and he may get elected president in 2022. BERMAN: I've got to say, you know, acting attorney general, former

acting Jeffrey Rosen, he's got a story to tell. He's got a story to tell, and you've got to believe that that Select Committee in the House wants to get him in.

TOOBIN: And unlike a lot of Justice Departments -- a lot of Trump administration officials, these people deserve credit for doing the right thing, which was nothing in reaction to what Trump said.

BERMAN: And they may want to talk. All right. Jeffrey Toobin, great to see you. Thank you very much.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on the Biden -- Biden administration to take action as millions faced potential eviction. A lot are calling on Nancy Pelosi to take action.

KEILAR: Plus, the huge bipartisan infrastructure bill has been finalized. But can it get through Congress before summer recess?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:38]

KEILAR: This morning, rent is due for millions of Americans after pandemic protections expired over the weekend, leaving many now vulnerable to evictions. A group of progressive Democrats led by Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush have been camping out outside the Capitol in protest.

CNN's Lauren Fox is live for us at the Capitol.

This is something that is going to affect so many Americans, Lauren. Tell us what's happening there on the Hill.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. I mean, look, millions of Americans could be affected by this eviction moratorium lapsing.

And I think one of the struggles up here on Capitol Hill is that lawmakers just weren't able to do anything.

So what you're seeing out here this morning is the scene of college students mostly still left out here from over the weekend. They've been here. You can't sleep on the steps of the Capitol, so they've literally been staying awake by sitting up and trying to, you know, just pass the time.

Because they're trying to send a message that this is going to affect millions of people and that it's crucial for Congress to act soon. One of the struggles up here is that Democrats in the House didn't have the votes to actually pass this. So they left for their recess without doing anything to stop it.

So, this is what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive from New York, said about the fact that they couldn't do anything before they left for the recess. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): House and House leadership had the opportunity to vote to extend the moratorium. And there were many, and there was frankly a handful of conservative Democrats in the House that threatened to get on the planes rather than hold this vote. And we have to really just call a spade a spade.

We cannot, in good faith, blame the Republican Party when House Democrats have a majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: Now, House Democrats did try to bring some kind of unanimous consent agreement to the floor to try to pass this, but it wasn't enough. Republicans blocked it. That, of course, is one of the obstacles that they're facing up here.

Meantime, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for the administration to take executive action, but the problem with that is the administration is arguing the Supreme Court would block that action, given the fact this was just supposed to be a temporary extension of the eviction moratorium.

You're seeing up here now that there is really an emphasis on trying to make sure that the $47 billion rental assistance that went out through COVID relief actually gets to the hands of people who need it, because one of the struggles has been getting that money to people who are in need. Only just a fraction of it has actually gone out, Brianna.

BERMAN: So I'll take it, Lauren. There's other developments.