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New Day

Heavy Rain on West Coast; 10-Year-Old Arrested over Drawing; Anthony Fauci is Interviewed about Mandates; Laundrie Attorney Speaks of Last Known Moments. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 22, 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]

DANIEL OATES, FORMER AURORA, COLORADO, POLICE CHIEF: In police training and I would assume in Hollywood, every gun should be treated as it's loaded, all the time, and that it's dangerous all the time. And that's -- you know, that's the best possible way to proceed to avoid accidents. But, you know, clearly even prop guns are dangerous at a close range and they have an explosive charge and that can result in, you know, real harm to someone.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Daniel Oates. Chief, as you said, there's so much we still need to learn about this. Where were they standing? What were the protocols? Who knew what about -- about the device itself?

OATES: Yes.

BERMAN: I appreciate you helping us understand some of the issues at play.

OATES: OK, thanks, John.

BERMAN: So, this morning, all eyes on Attorney General Merrick Garland. Will he charge Steve Bannon with criminal contempt for defying a subpoena from the January 6th committee?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a 10-year-old black girl arrested and kept in handcuffs for hours after a drawing she made upset another child's parent. Her mother joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:37]

BERMAN: Much needed rain and snow bringing drought relief to the West Coast as the East Coast braces for falling temperatures.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

Hey, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John, this is like watching a western, like the Pondarosa in "Bonanza" when it finally rains. It's been 200 days since some of these places out west have seen any rain at all. And now finally they're going to see a lot. Isn't that always the way. Even flash flood watches in effect for the areas out west.

They need the rain. It's been months since any rain or snow has fallen out here in the West. So we'll take it where we can get it. It's already raining right now. More rain over the weekend. A bigger storm even on Saturday could put down two to four inches of rain. And that actually could cause some flash flooding because these areas that have burned, it's like searing a steak. You know, you don't want the juice to come out of your steak when you put it on the grill, so you get it really hot. And that searing is the same thing that's happened to the ground. The same reason why the juice doesn't come out of your steak is the same reason why water doesn't go into the ground.

We could see some severe weather here -- out here in the Midwest. But as you mentioned, too, the chance for some cooler weather out into the Northeast. Cooler than normal for a very big change. Maybe some leaf watching this weekend for you if they're not already gone, John.

BERMAN: Is that a New York strip you're talking about there, Chad, or a filet?

MYERS: It's a Kansas City strip because it has the bone in.

BERMAN: OK.

Chad Myers, thank you very much.

MYERS: You bet.

KEILAR: The ACLU is demanding reform after a 10-year-old African- American girl was arrested at a Hawaii school after a drawing that she made left another child's parent upset. They say that she was handcuffed in front of her classmates and questioned by police without her mother present. The school has so far not responded to our request for a statement at this time. But let's talk now with Tamara Taylor. She is the mother of the girl, the 10-year-old who was arrested, and Matao Caballero, who is the Taylor family attorney.

Tamara, thank you for being with us this morning.

Can you just tell us about your daughter's arrest and what preceded it?

TAMARA TAYLOR, 10-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER ARRESTED IN SCHOOL OVER A DRAWING: Well, thank you.

Well, the day started out like any other normal day. So, we definitely did not expect to -- for it to end as it did.

But we woke up, you know, prepared for school, prepared for work. I dropped her off to school. I went to work. And, eventually, I received a call from Honowai Elementary just explaining that the children were having a dispute, a drawing, and the possibility of police being called.

And at that time I was like, no, don't do that. I am on my way.

But, surprisingly, when I arrived at the school, the police were already there.

And it was really hard to navigate the situation because the very first greeting to me from one of the officers was, you know, sometimes some parents just take things out of proportion.

From there we were led into a room, I'm assuming to discuss the situation. However, what happened previous to lead up to where we were at that moment was never explained to me. So I really didn't know what was going on in that point in time.

I did ask for the whereabouts of my daughter. And at that time, too, you know, I tried my best to express my discomfort and -- and -- with not knowing what's going on as well and I wanted to exit, one, to call my family, my mother and my backbone so I can receive the support I needed in that situation for myself and my daughter, and then also to her father, because he needed to know what was happening at this point.

KEILAR: Did you know at this point, you were told that she had been handcuffed? How long was she handcuffed?

TAYLOR: Not at --

KEILAR: What did -- when -- tell us about her being handcuffed.

TAYLOR: Well, I was placed into a room. I was not allowed to leave at all. So I was basically in that room pacing back and forth just waiting for something. And when the door was finally opened and I was escorted outside, my daughter -- I could see the cop car driving off. She was already in the car. So I really, truly, have no whereabouts for -- for that extended time that she was in handcuffs. Like, I don't -- so I wish I had a better answer for you. This -- this information was (INAUDIBLE).

KEILAR: So -- no, that's OK. Look, I know that there are some details outside here.

Mateo, you all have said that this drawing was offensive and, you know, not to say that any drawing would warrant a 10-year-old being arrested, but what was on this drawing?

[06:40:12]

MATEO CABALLERO, TAYLOR FAMILY ATTORNEY: So, look, ultimately, it doesn't matter what there was in that drawing. And we don't want to characterize it, both to protect the privacy of Ms. Taylor's daughter, and also the other kids who were involved. There were a number of kids that were involved in making this drawing. And Ms. Taylor's daughter didn't want to turn over other kids.

KEILAR: So do -- do you think -- so you say she didn't want to turn over the drawing. Do you think that she was singled out because she was black? Were there other children who were black involved in this? Are you -- is that what you're saying, they were not?

CABALLERO: They were -- they were not black. And, in fact, we do know that, you know, schools harass (ph) -- disproportionately target students of color and disabled students. And here Ms. Taylor's daughter is both.

And given really the outrageous actions of the police and the school administrators that they -- treating Ms. Taylor and her daughter as really second class citizens, it is hard to believe that they were not treated that way because of their race. Even though several kids participated in the drawing, you know, she -- she was really the only student who was investigated, disciplined, interrogated and arrested. And she was also the only black student.

KEILAR: Was -- was the drawing threatening?

CABALLERO: Look, I can't -- I -- you know, they were 10-year-old kids and they -- they were -- Ms. Taylor's daughter had been bullied. She was essentially, you know, making a drawing with a bunch of other kids. She didn't want to turn over until --

KEILAR: OK, so I want to ask this then -- I want to ask this of Ms. Taylor.

It sounds -- Ms. Taylor, it sounds like they're -- look, this may have been a threatening drawing. At the same time, your daughter is a 10- year-old, OK. Your daughter is a 10-year-old girl. And probably without any means, I would imagine, to carry out any threat. And I wonder, you know, what the school told you because there is a -- there's a big leap between a drawing, even if it is threatening, and being carted away by the police, right?

TAYLOR: Yes. Yes, I do understand where you're coming from.

However, the drawing was not the motive -- the motivation for my daughter's arrest. And so I think that's what we're losing focus of when it comes to the drawing. That is just a secondary part of the situation. It is not really what led up to the actual arrest of my daughter.

And with that being said, too, that is the section, the response of the DOE and HPD of this situation of why my daughter was arrested.

KEILAR: Yes, look, this is a complex situation. There are very important questions here. And we know that they still have to be answered.

Ms. Taylor, I really appreciate you being with us.

Mateo, thank you as well.

TAYLOR: Thank you for having us.

CABALLERO: Thank you very much.

KEILAR: A Republican congressman writes a letter claiming that he is the ranking member of the January 6th committee. He is not. We're going to talk about the chaos in Congress ahead. BERMAN: Plus, there are now three CDC approved booster shots available

in the U.S. How should you decide which one to get? Dr. Anthony Fauci answers all your questions, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:22]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "AC 360": Should police officers, emergency responders be mandated to get vaccines? And, if not, should they be -- stay at home or let go?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes and yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: President Biden expressing his support for vaccine mandates for police officers and emergency responders during CNN's townhall last night.

Joining me now, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief COVID adviser to the president.

Dr. Fauci, always great to see you.

Listen, many of these police officers, EMTs, medical workers have been on the front lines of battling COVID for the last 18 months. How do you feel about the fact that some of them could lose their jobs over vaccines?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Well, no one is comfortable about a person losing their job, John, that's for sure. But, you know, one of the facts that I think people need to understand, that more police officers have died from COVID-19 disease than from gunshots and violence in their jobs. So it really is a considerable risk for people, particularly people like police officers who put themselves out every day on the front line in public. So it's understandable mandates are not comfortable things. You don't want to be telling people what to do. But sometime the good of society has to trump individual feelings about what you can and cannot do.

BERMAN: A lot of news about booster shots over the last 24 hours. Pfizer released some data, it hasn't been peer reviewed, in a study that they did over a third dose of their vaccine and they found it to be 95.6 effective against symptomatic disease, 105 people in the trial that took the placebo got COVID, only five who took the booster got COVID. That's pretty effective. I mean I'm not over 65. I'm not in a high-risk group. Why wouldn't I want to get a booster that's that effective?

FAUCI: I believe, John, that what's going to happen is that we -- as we get more and more data from our own cohorts and from Israel, which is about a month or so ahead of us in getting information about vaccines and boosters, that the age limit, you know, the boosters now are recommended, particularly if it's an mRNA booster, people 65 years of age or older or 18 to 64, either who are -- have an underlying condition or who are in an occupation or place where they live that put them at high risk. I would be rather confident that as we get further and further over the next weeks to month that the age limit of it is going to be lowered. And you might soon fall into the age category where you can get eligible for a booster. I would not be surprised if that's the case within a reasonable period of time.

[06:50:00]

BERMAN: How much evidence are you seeing of waning immunity for people with two doses right now?

FAUCI: Oh, well, there's no question about that, John, that that occurs. We've seen it in our own cohorts. And as I mentioned, Israel, which is about a month ahead of us in the timetable of it, is seeing substantial waning of immunity over several months, first against infection, and then, in some age groups, against severe disease, which is the reason why we're giving boosters and why Israel, for example, is much, much more proactive in giving boosters to people.

BERMAN: I had two doses of Pfizer. When I'm eligible for a booster, which one should I get? It's tempting to get Moderna, for instance, a different booster. Is there a sense of which might be more effective?

FAUCI: Well, it's generally recommended that you get the booster that is the original regimen that you got in the first place. But for one reason or other, and there may be different circumstances for people, availability or just different personal choices, you can, as we say, mix and match. And those are the data that were discussed and were acted upon yesterday that you can now mix and match one with the other. But, in general, it just makes sense to go with what your original regimen was.

BERMAN: You have enough to worry about in the United States, so forgive me, I'm going to ask you about the United Kingdom right now, where over the last week they've seen an 18 percent increase in cases, a 15 percent increase in hospitalizations and an 11 percent increase in deaths. Adults there are 80 percent vaccinated right now. So why do you think we're seeing that increase?

FAUCI: Well, that's a very interesting question, John. I spoke with my British colleagues just several days ago trying to find out what that's all about. It's at least partially explained by the fact that they don't vaccinate their children, the younger children. And what they're seeing is spread among children, which, for the most part, at least 50 percent, is without symptoms. But children are then spreading it to members of the family. So they're seeing people getting infected. So right now they're reexamining what their policy is going to be about vaccinating children.

BERMAN: Are we going to end up where the U.K. is?

FAUCI: Well, I would hope not. I believe that if we continue to get more and more people vaccinated, you know, we are doing pretty well with vaccine. But as I mentioned several times, John, there are about 65 or so million people who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not yet gotten vaccinated. If we vaccinate the overwhelming majority of those people together with the vaccination of the younger children, which is just now been shown to be effective and safe, then I don't believe that we will see a surge. It will really be up to us. It's how well we do about getting vaccinated.

BERMAN: Talking about kids, ages five to 11, and that's something that will be considered very soon and perhaps given an Emergency Use Authorization very soon. How concerned are you that parents are going to stand in the way of children getting these vaccines?

FAUCI: Well, I hope not. I mean that's one of the reasons why we want to make sure that we outreach to the parents with trusted messages, particularly some of the most trusted messages are the family pediatrician, who most parents have a good deal of confidence in. And we're trying to get people to realize it is for the benefit of the children, as well as for the entire family unit, to get the child vaccinated. The vaccinations and the vaccines in question are highly, highly effective and safe. So there's really no reason not to. But it is understandable how some patients may be hesitant, and that's the reason why we're reaching out to them and making the vaccine readily available in pediatric offices, in children's hospitals, in community centers.

BERMAN: Dr. Anthony Fauci, as I said, always a pleasure to speak to you. Thanks for waking up.

FAUCI: Thank you very much. Good to be with you.

BERMAN: All right, we have much more on our breaking news.

Alec Baldwin accidentally shooting and killing a cinematographer on the set of his film. How did a prop gun turn deadly?

KEILAR: Plus, we have some new details about the last time that Brian Laundrie's parents saw him alive.

And Queen Elizabeth forced to spend the night in the hospital. We are live outside Windsor Castle.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:58:32]

KEILAR: New this morning, an interview with the lawyer for Brian Laundrie's parents after police confirmed that the remains found in a park Wednesday were indeed his.

CNN's Nick Valencia is live for us in North Port, Florida, with more.

Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna.

After more than a month, the manhunt for Brian Laundrie is officially over. The FBI field office in Denver verifying what was long speculated, that those partial remains found earlier this week were indeed that of Brian Laundrie. They used dental records to make that positive ID. So it would appear as though at least a portion of Laundrie's skull was found.

With Laundrie now confirmed dead, the public's interest has zeroed in on his parents, who have refused to make any public statements about this. Their family attorney addressed that earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN BERTOLINO, LAUNDRIE FAMILY ATTORNEY: The reason you haven't heard from the Laundries is because I told them not to talk to anybody.

This is the job and the role of a defense attorney. You tell your client, do not talk to law enforcement, period, end of story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did your -- did your clients know their son, Brian Laundrie, was going to disappear when he left the house that day?

BERTOLINO: No, they did not.

What I can tell you is that Brian was very upset when he left and Chris conveyed to me several times that, you know, he wished he didn't let him go, but he couldn't stop him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Bertolino went on to say that any conjecture that Laundrie's parents helped him get away is simply not true. But those words are unlikely to be of any comfort to Gabby Petito's parents, who have speculated that the Laundries know more than they're letting on.

[07:00:06]

Their family attorney released a statement after the news of the positive.