Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

War for Talent: U.S. Companies Offer Perks to Lure Employees; Civil Trial Gets Underway Against "Unite the Right" Organization. Tom Brady Shares Moment with 9-year-old Cancer Survivor. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 26, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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


JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: What's happening in the literal corporate world for job seekers is really almost just as good. CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans joins us now. Romans.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, John, it even has its own nickname, The Great Resignation. This is issue number one for companies. COVID has reshaped the jobs market. A census survey found nearly 5 million people are not working because they're taking care of their kids, 3 million people are worried about getting or spreading the virus, a record number of people simply quitting their jobs. And they say they want better pay, better working conditions, and more flexible working arrangements.

Companies now are scrambling in a war for talent. They're offering higher wages and signup bonuses to attract and keep workers finding skilled workers. The number one concern of chief financial officers topping this supply chain nightmare and rising prices and concerns about the health of the economy.

And here come the holidays guys, Amazon is offering a $3,000 signing bonus for its temporary workers and $18 an hour starting wage. Companies are beefing up their perks. They have tuition assistance, student loan repayment, better paid leave, wellness programs, paid time off for volunteering, IVF coverage, even pet insurance.

And then there is this, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, she signed this big $1.2 billion deal with Blackstone, you know what she did you guys, she gave each of our employees two first class plane tickets to anywhere in the world and $10,000 to spend on their trip. That's more of a thank you, right? But it just shows you how really the war for talent, the war for their employees is issue number one right now.

BERMAN: I won't get Spanx for that. Where would you go?

ROMANS: To Haiti, but I don't know. Can I get to Haiti?

BERMAN: Boston, go straight to Boston. All right, Christine Romans, thank you very much.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Jury selection resuming this morning in Charlottesville, Virginia, where organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right rally face a civil trial. The rally was a stunning display of hate and extremist violence as white supremacists descended on Charlottesville.

CNN's Elle Reeve was there four years ago, and she is back now covering the legal fight. She joins us now live from outside of the Court House. This may ultimately close this book, but also, I think, open a lot of questions, Ellie.

ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So yesterday during jury selection, one of the defendants wanted to probe potential jurors on whether they thought anti-white racism could exist, or whether Antifa was a violent organization. But neither of those questions as at the heart of this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TANESHA HUDSON, LOCAL ACTIVIST: I've never, ever seen anything like this.

REEVE: It was crazy. It's so violent.

HUDSON: It was like a civil war happening.

REEVE: On a Saturday.

HUDSON: On a Saturday morning.

REEVE: Tanisha Hudson and I came within a few feet of each other on the morning of the Unite the Right rally in 2017 hours before a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd killing a woman and injuring many people. I interviewed her after.

HUDSON: This is the face of supremacy. This is what we deal with every day being an African American.

I just knew something bad was going to happen that day. I think free speech ends when violence began, right? I can say what I want. I can't do what I want.

REEVE: That's at the center of Sines v. Kessler, a federal civil lawsuit against the organizers of the rally that goes to trial this week.

AMY SPITALNICK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTEGRITY FIRST FOR AMERICA: Many of the plaintiffs in our lawsuit were here that evening. They had been peacefully standing there, protesting white supremacist coming to their town.

Surrounded, beaten, punched, kicked, all while these extremists were chanting things like Jews will not replace us and a variety of other violent, anti-Semitic chants.

What happened that weekend was in many ways intended to be a surprise, the violence was planned in these closed discord chats where they discussed everything in advance from what to wear, what to bring for lunch, how do you best so a swastika onto a flag? How do you use free speech instruments to attack people? "Cracking commies skulls," that is a racially motivated violet conspiracy. And that's not anything that's protected by the First Amendment or by any other sort of right that people have.

REEVE: The defendants or men who made themselves white power brands, Richard Spencer, Chris Cantwell, Jeff Schoep, Matthew Heimbach, Andrew Anglin, Jason Kessler, and more. They've argued there was simply engaging in their First Amendment right to speech and protest and that the violence is the fault of the police for not separating them from the counter protesters. But what made the alt right grows so quickly, the internet, has been its undoing in this case, because the defendants left behind an enormous paper trail of what they say were jokes about racial violence.

[07:35:00]

KAREN DUNN, PLAINTIFFS' LAWYER: With an event like Charlottesville that was national news people may have seen the torch March. They might have seen the car attack on the news. But if you look beneath the surface, there's just so much more. And with that evidence shows is that there was a conspiracy to commit racially motivated violence.

REEVE: The discovery process has turned up documents that beyond what they might mean for this lawsuit, reveal to the public how this movement worked.

The exhibit list contains text messages that show extensive planning among leaders who have tried to distance themselves from each other since 2017. They show an embrace of violence, and they show they weren't just jokes. This felt like one comment that's stands out to you?

DUNN: The image that has stuck with me ever since the beginning of the case was one of the discord, post pictures. It shows a tractor running people over and it's called the Protester Digester. Look, there's many, many posts in this case about running over people with cars prior to the car attack on August 12. But that one to me was, like, I can't get it out of my head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hundreds of fascists on all sides.

MARY ANNE FRANKS, LEGAL SCHOLAR: If you're saying organized violence, on the one hand is not protected by the First Amendment. But speech that does talk about violence is protected. There's obviously going to be a question of where along that spectrum, can you say, the law should step in, or the First Amendment doesn't protect you? And that's what this case I think is interestingly going to be about, which is what is that line? You have to understand the nature of internet communication and how much that changes the nature of incitements.

REEVE: In essence, like, no matter what the verdict is, you have already won because Richard Spencer said was financially crippling, Heimbach has quit white supremacy at least officially says Jeff Schoep. They don't hold public rallies anymore whatever they might be doing behind the scenes, they're not able to get numbers in public. What do you think about that?

ROBBIE KAPLAN, PLAINTIFFS'LAWYER: People really need to understand that this is real, that it's out there, that it allows people from all over the country in the world to organize in ways that were previously impossible. And that's a real and present danger.

REEVE: Tanesha says that, despite all the national attention, Charlottesville got after 2017, it didn't change the systems that benefit white men, that there are two systems and two sets of standards, whether that's for leaders in city government, or people fighting in the streets.

HUDSON: You know, I probably could have literally kicked one of their asses that day. But if I put my hands on them, I'm going to jail. But they did it all day, and they got to go home free.

REEVE: Well, it's very interesting that this civil lawsuit has been the biggest consequence for those organizers not facing like criminal charges.

HUDSON: Right.

REEVE: What do you think about that?

HUDSON: I knew nothing was going to happen to them. Why would it the police on their side? I mean, we just watched this replay again on January 6, and I remember posting when the insurrection happened in the Capitol, hey, DC, Charlottesville told you so, you believe us now? This is what they did to us. They invaded us. But now that it happened at the Capitol, oh, my goodness, they need to go to jail. Well, we told you they needed to go to jail here. They didn't go to jail. Charlottesville kind of did the right thing and made such a big statement. And they did it. Charlottesville filled us. And then after Charlottesville filled us our president failed us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REEVE: So, the defendants are expected to argue that, yes, they're racist, but they didn't conspire to commit violence. The child is expected to last four weeks.

KEILAR: Four weeks. All right, Elle, thank you so much, Elle Reeve. We know you will be tracking that trial.

And coming up, a Georgia police chief is under fire for training his officers to avoid shooting vital organs. He believes it can make a difference. And my next guest though, says it's problematic.

BERMAN: And ahead --

DAVE CHAPPELLE, COMEDIAN: To the transgender community, I'm more than willing to give you an audience. She will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody's demands.

BERMAN: Comedian Dave Chappelle speaking out about the controversy surrounding his Netflix special what he plans to do next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:28] BERMAN: Will he or won't he? The prospect of Donald Trump running for president again. In a new column for the Los Angeles Times, Doyle McManus is betting on will, the reason because it may help Trump stay out of jail. Joining us is the author of that piece and the Director of Georgetown University's Journalism Program, Doyle McManus. An honor to have you on this morning. So why are you convinced he's running?

DOYLE MCMANUS, WASHINGTON COLUMNIST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: Well, there are a lot of reasons Donald Trump may want to run and everybody's been debating them. He's first in the Republican polls. He's a man with an ego. He loves to compete. It's a good way to raise money. But I was talking with lawyers and investigators around all of these inquiries into Mr. Trump's conduct around January 6, and they actually raised another issue here and that is, Mr. Trump faces investigations in at least three jurisdictions, saying he's going to run for president, helps fend off the prosecutors. It's a political argument when he says this is a witch hunt. That's going to make every prosecutor and every attorney general think twice or three times before moving ahead.

BERMAN: It's a political impact, not a legal disqualification for a criminal investigation, correct?

MCMANUS: No, that's right. There's certainly nothing to prevent any prosecutor including the Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland from investigating a former president. Technically Donald Trump is just a retired guy living in Florida. But every time he says, I'm thinking about running for president, the Democrats know that. This is a witch hunt. This is trumped up by Nancy Pelosi and my political adversaries. That is kind of a brushback pitch that tells them if you want to tangle with Mr. Trump, you're in for a lot of political trouble, not just legal trouble.

[07:45:24]

BERMAN: We put up on the screen here are some of the different investigations that are going on right now. There's the Georgia election tampering case that's directly related to the election and what happened after that. There's a case in Michigan, there's obviously the criminal investigation into the insurrection itself out of D.C. And there are other things here as well.

Now, the Congressional investigation, by the way, he may not even need to run in 2024 to make that go away. He just needs Republicans to take over the House in 2022. And the select committee goes poof.

MCMANUS: That's right. That is a great point. A lot of what you're seeing now, for example, Steve Bannon, Trump's former adviser who has been subpoenaed, but he's refused to respond to the subpoena. He has stonewalled completely, and Mr. Trump has publicly called on his former advisors to Stonewall those investigations. That may simply be a strategy of delay, if they can slow walk this investigation in the House and keep anything from happening until two until 2022 if Republicans win that election, and Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker of the House, poof, that investigation goes away. First thing a new Republican Speaker would do would be to kill that investigation. BERMAN: Doyle McManus one of the best reporters out there for decades, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you very much.

MCMANUS: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: So, Tom Brady made his day. Why this young fan was overwhelmed? He'll tell us about the special treatment, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:03]

BERMAN: On the same night, Tom Brady threw his 600th touchdown, pass a huge milestone. He managed to create an even more important moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carry 18 for 100.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that official? Why did the 99?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little boys so excited. He's crying. He got to meet Tom Brady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, you can see it right there. Brady took a few minutes after the game to give a hat to that young fan crying tears of joy after he saw a sign that read, "Tom Brady helped me beat brain cancer."

Joining us now from Utah is that remarkable young man, Noah Reeb and his father, James. Noah, it is so great to see you. And I'm jealous. Tom Brady is my favorite. Tom Brady is my favorite also. You got to meet him. Just tell me what that moment was like after the game when he came over?

NOAH REEB, CANCER SURVIVOR WHO RECEIVED VIDEO FROM TOM BRADY DURING TREATMENT: It was it was like it was crazy. I was in so much shock. It was crazy. Like, it was just mixed in -- it was just mixed emotions. Like I had like, I was had excitedness. I had like, I was like shocked. I was like, sad. I was like really happy. It was weird. But I'm so blessed. And I'm so grateful that they were able to make that happen.

BERMAN: What did he say to you?

N. REEB: I don't really remember what he said to me, but--

JAMES REEB, NOAH'S FATHER: It was pretty loud.

BERMAN: But you got to shake his hand, which is so wonderful. And after such a big game for him.

You know, James, walk us through what this journey has been like for you with the diagnosis, and the role, frankly, that Tom Brady already played in this journey you've been on? J. REEB: Yeah, no. So, you know, Noah is 10 now and we're about age six, or about age six he asked me, dad who's the best quarterback. And I just said, well, Tom Brady, and ever since then he's kind of been fixed on Tom and then kind of everything around him. And so of course Patriots, Rob Gronkowski and Edelman and all of that program and then, he was a big football fan. Then we had the diagnosis, I mean solid diagnosis in February of this year. And once that hit, you know, obviously there's a man that was talking about shock, you know, that's a nightmare. But we've learned almost immediately just from the outpouring of love and support from family and friends and the neighborhood and the school and church, et cetera. How wonderful people can be and then lay -- the layer over the top of all of that, especially in those really difficult times when, you know, as a parent -- there just aren't enough stuffed animals or hugs to give at some point what we noticed was that no would gravitate toward, you know, it was always football and then especially Tom Brady and he has a lot of athletes that he looks up to in football programs between college and pro.

But there were moments really difficult dark times when Noah just needed football and specially to watch Tom and what we noticed is that that would just elevate him, just lift his spirits, help with morale. and help him stay motivated and help him have that little extra push to kind of get through those really difficult times.

[07:55:00]

BERMAN: Noah, you were holding a sign that said, you know, Tom Brady helped me beat brain cancer. But I have to say I think your courage is helping so many others around the country right now. So, what do you want people to know? What's your advice to others going through tough times?

N. REEB: I'm just keep fighting, just -- I don't know.

J. REEB: Listen, your mother?

N. REEB: Yeah. Listen to your mom.

BERMAN: That's good advice, always. Let me tell you that. What about the hat? He gave you a hat, yes?

N. REEB: Yeah.

J. REEB: Show them.

BERMAN: Let's see it. That's sweet. What are you going to do with that?

N. REEB: I'm probably going to hang it in my room.

BERMAN: I'll give you six bucks for it. If I send you $6, will you send me the hat?

J. REEB: He's already been offered 20 by a sister. BERMAN: Oh, man, you're bidding me up here on national TV. So, Noah, you know, do you think you'll get a chance to see him again? Or what do you want to say because that moment was so quick and was so loud there? If you could say something to Tom Brady right now this morning? What would that be?

N. REEB: Thank you. I just want to tell him, thank you. She's helped our family so much.

BERMAN: You were one courageous young man who's got fantastic tastes and football. Noah, I really, I can't tell you how great it is to meet you to see how well you're doing and to share in this joyful moment that you had. So, thank you for being with us.

And James, can I just ask you also, did Tom Brady send a video also over the course of the treatment?

J. REEB: He did. I mean, that was why this thing was so full circle. And that was just because, you know, you're never more than just a couple of touches away from anybody really. And people know, family members, friends know, just of Noah's sort of passion for football and his -- in the love of Tom Brady, and so I'm not sure exactly how it happened. I've got a second cousin, Todd, he played for the Ravens. And I know he was instrumental in that process somehow.

And my wife, Jackie, received a video message from -- just hit her phone out of the blue one day, it came at a very pivotal moment, Noah was having a really tough time and they were sitting in the driveway in the car kind of talking it through and boom, this message hit. Jackie opened the phone and looked and there was Tom with a very personalized very sweet message for Noah, a message of encouragement and faith that he was thinking about him, praying for him, and he knew it would be OK. And that's why we were just like, you know, we want to just to be sure to say hey, that was super helpful, and he is OK. And, you know, here he is.

BERMAN: It's just wonderful. You know, Noah, football matters, touchdowns matter. But what matters more is kindness. And Tom Brady showed that to you and courage which you're showing to the world. Can I get one go bucks go Patriots right now, or go Brady, give me a go Brady shout?

N. REEB: Go Brady.

MELBER: All right, go Noah. Noah Reeb, James, thank you so much for being with us. You put a smile on our face that will last a long, long time.

J. REEB: Oh, thank you.

N. REEB: Thank you.

KEILAR: I just love that. I'm totally crying by the way.

BERMAN: It was lately.

KEILAR: What a sweetheart.

MELBER: His reaction, he's like it, what was it like when Brady came over? He was crazy.

KEILAR: It was crazy. And also, I love how he described all of his different emotions and that he's so in touch with knowing what all of them were. And you saw it all on his face. You know, I mean, it was just beautiful. But I also just love how much it speaks to, you know, it's not just football. It's not just whatever other sport it is. But these are things that keep someone like Noah going and it's amazing. It just reminds you how important it can be.

BERMAN: In the video that Brady said, I mean, you know, it is not easy dealing with what Noah and the Reeb family has dealt with, and it was at a low moment, and they got that video Tom Brady and it really, really helped, kindness helps.

KEILAR: Kudos to his parents. You can tell that they have really, really, you know, marched with him through this. It's amazing.

BERMAN: All right, go Noah.

KEILAR: Go Noah. New Day continues right now.

BERMAN: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, it is Tuesday, October 26, I'm John Berman along alongside, Brianna Keilar. And we have new revelations this morning about events leading up to the tragic shooting on the New Mexico set of the film, Rust. According to the wrap, crew members use prop guns with live ammunition for target practice, a pastime called plinking just hours before a cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.