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New Day

Proposal at Utah Jazz Game; Mayor Bill de Blasio is Interviewed about Covid in NYC; Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired December 22, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

MICHAEL WALDMAN, PRESIDENT, THE BRENNAN CENTER: Happier if Congress had dealt with this earlier, because I do think it is something of a crisis for our democracy in so many places.

Look at the issue of redistricting. States are drawing their legislative maps, as they do every ten years after the census. Eighteen states have already drawn their legislative maps. And in eight of them, it's severely gerrymandered. Seven of those states benefiting the Republicans and one benefiting the Democrats.

These federal laws would actually make those maps illegal because they require fair districting that represents everybody and they will be enforceable in the court. But time is running out. I think the senators know this. This isn't something that they can dillydally around with and expect to really save the vote and save representation and save the constitutional vision that we all have.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: You know, there's been a push by Martin Luther King III to make MLK Day this year more of a day of action. Do you think efforts like that, and specifically to deal with the erosion of voting rights, and to -- and to push, right, lawmakers to act in Washington, do you think those kind of efforts will have an impact?

WALDMAN: I hope so. And I think so. I think it's a terrific thing. There has been so much going on, so much activity. There are hunger strikers right now or have been in recent weeks demanding action. There is a real democracy movement, all across the country, recognizing that if you care about racial justice, if you care about our democracy, then it's time to act. Time not to just to talk, but to act.

I -- I have not seen a broad push for voting rights legislation like this in decades. And it's really urgently needed. So I think that what the King family is urging is really terrific.

HILL: Michael, appreciate you joining us this morning and appreciate all of the work that you're doing as well. Thank you.

WALDMAN: Thank you.

HILL: And happy holidays.

And here's a look at what else to watch throughout the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ON SCREEN TEXT: 10:30 a.m. ET, Biden meets CEOs on supply chain.

12:30 p.m. ET, White House press briefing.

3:00 p.m. ET, White House Covid briefing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The new crackdown targeting unruly plane passengers.

HILL: And what not to buy for your holiday dinner. A new recall to tell you about just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:37:24]

BERMAN: Time now for "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."

President Biden telling Americans who are vaccinated and boosted to go ahead with their holiday plans despite the Covid resurgence. He says the country is better prepared now to fight and contain the omicron variant. He says the millions of unvaccinated Americans have a patriotic duty to get the shot.

HILL: CVS and Walgreens now limiting the number of at-home coronavirus tests you can buy due to huge demand. Walgreens imposing a limit of four at-home tests per purchase. At CVS you can buy six. Those limits apply instore as well as online.

BERMAN: Day three of jury deliberations in the trial of ex-Minnesota Police Officer Kimberly Potter charged with manslaughter in the killing of Daunte Wright. Jurors have met for 14 hours so far without reaching a verdict. On Tuesday, they asked the judge for guidance if they cannot reach a consensus. The judge told them to keep at it.

HILL: The FDA is investigating a listeria outbreak in eight states. It's been linked to packaged salads made by Fresh Express. One person has died, ten others have been hospitalized in the outbreak. The company is recalling salad products made at its facility in Illinois. They were sold in the northeast, the Midwest and Canada.

BERMAN: The FAA and TSA teaming up against unruly airline passengers. Under their new partnership, passengers behaving badly could lose their TSA precheck privileges. The agencies will share information on passengers who face fines for belligerent and often violent behavior on flights. That seems to make sense.

HILL: I think it does. Yes. And I don't want to lose mine, so I'm going to continue to behave well.

That's the "5 Things to Know for Your New Day." You can find more on these stories all day on CNN and cnn.com. And don't forget to download the "5 Things" podcast every morning. You can do that at cnn.com/5things. And you can also find it wherever you get your podcasts.

BERMAN: You're the nicest person on earth. I can't imagine what an unruly Erica Hill would even look like.

HILL: Oh, Berman, you do not want to know. It's not pretty.

BERMAN: All right. So, will Covid force New York to cancel New Year's Eve? Mayor Bill de Blasio joins us live next.

HILL: Plus, one of our favorite stories of the week, a surprise marriage proposal on a basketball court with a dance routine. Would she say yes?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:33]

HILL A sweet surprise. A midgame proposal stunned a dancer for the NBA's Utah Jazz. That moment now going viral. Oh, it's a little something we all need right now.

So midway through the routine, dancer Danielle Bush noticed the music had changed. Her teammates were performing a routine that she didn't know and then her boyfriend, then he was her boyfriend, stepped on to the court, dropped to one knee and proposed. As you can guess, perhaps, by those images, Danielle said yes.

Danielle Bush and her fiance, Brandon Heiser, joining us now.

Congratulations, you guys.

BRANDON HEISER, PROPOSED TO GIRLFRIEND AT CENTER COURT DURING UTAH JAZZ GAME: Thank you. Appreciate it.

DANIELLE BUSH, UTAH JAZZ DANCER: Thank you.

HILL: I mean you've got -- so you've got two sort of major things happening. You have, hi, you're engaged, this is super exciting, and, oh, my God, the entire world saw that moment and they're watching it over and over again.

Has either one of those sunk in yet, Danielle?

BUSH: It still hasn't. No, I'm still getting texts multiple times for the video. And, yes, it's just really, really going viral. It's overwhelming, but it's also really, really exciting at the same time.

BERMAN: So, Danielle, here's the thing, when I watched -- and I can't get enough of this video, I think it's amazing. And, Brandon, kudos to you for coming up with this devious plot.

HEISER: Thanks. I had lots of help.

BERMAN: But the part of it that I can't get past is all of a sudden you're doing this dance, you know, with your colleagues, and you don't know what's going on because they're doing a dance you've never seen before and the music changed. And for that split second, I'm going, like, that must be the worst feeling in the world.

[08:45:05]

It's as if you've gone into the bizarro universe where everything changed with no one telling you. What was that second like?

BUSH: The moment that the music changed, I thought to myself, OK, keep on going. But it was really, really slow, the music change, and everyone else just started to dispur (ph) into different directions. So I was, like, OK, I'm just going to catch on. But my first thought was, my coach is going to be so upset with me. I may lose my job. Yes, this is going to be really, really bad. So I thought I'd try catching on by following our captain, Lexi, and I could not pick up the choreography quick enough.

HILL: Well, little did you know your coach was in on the whole thing thanks to Brandon.

So, Brandon, when you first contacted the coach, what was the reaction?

HEISER: So she -- she told me, she's, like, we usually don't do this sort of thing, but we will -- I'll talk to my superiors. And she talked to Peyton (ph) and they were able to get it done. And really all I did was just ask. Ashley (ph) did everything. It was -- it was pretty amazing, all the strings that she pulled and how the dancers kept the secret to Dani for almost a whole month. So she has some severe trust issues with her -- with her dance partners now.

BUSH: I love them. My goodness, wow.

BERMAN: So, Brandon, were you convinced, after everything you just did to her, that when you got down on that knee, were you convinced what the answer would be?

HEISER: Oh, yes. We've talked about this for a while now. So it was not like, I'm going in their blind. Like, oh she's going to say yes, is she going to say no. It was, she's going to say yes. I mean I told her, like, last week, like, hey, this would be a good time to get your nails done. So she knew it was coming. And so it was -- it was awesome and I just can't believe how much it blew up. I never would have expected this, you know, three days ago.

HILL: Danielle, quickly, when he said to you it's a good time to get your nails done, did a little -- a little alarm go off in your head like, hmm, maybe it's coming, holidays are here, this could be it?

BUSH: A little bit, yes. So, I was thinking that he was going to do it in Texas, because that's where my family is from. And we were going to go there for the Christmas break. And nails last, you know, two and a half weeks to three weeks tops. So I didn't think that it was going to happen before we left at all. Yes, I was completely speechless.

BERMAN: So, Danielle, what's that next dance going to be like with your fellow dancers?

BUSH: It will be the way we rehearsed it last night in practice. It will be exactly the way it's supposed to be. There is -- there's no tricks to it at all. I promise.

HILL: Danielle and Brandon, congratulations to the two of you. We wish you a long, happy, happy life together, with a lot of fun surprises and a lot of laughter. And thanks for bringing us all some much needed joy this week. It's so great to see and so great to see just, you know, how thrilled the two of you are as well.

BUSH: Awe, thank you for having us.

HEISER: Thank you for having us. Yes, thank you.

HILL: Happy holidays. Here's to your new year. I think it's going to be a good one.

HEISER: Yes, it will. Happy holidays.

BUSH: Thank you.

BERMAN: And good luck to them. I love this story. It put the biggest smile on my face. Thanks so much for that.

So, other news, New York City will be getting help from the federal government to address shortages of Covid tests that have caused long lines and wait times ahead of the Christmas holiday. This as the city announced an $100 incentive for residents to get booster shots before New Year's Eve. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joins me now.

Mayor, any sense on how successful the $100 incentive has been so far?

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: Well, John, every time we've issued an incentive, people pick up on it quickly. And I think this is going to make a big difference. You're going to see tens of thousands of New Yorkers come out, get that booster shot before the end of the month. And we need them to.

I mean, omicron is here. It's coming on like a freight train. But what we know from our healthcare leaders is the booster makes a huge difference in minimizing the effects of omicron. So I think this incentive is going to help.

And then on Monday, we put in place our mandate for all private sector employees to get vaccinated. And that is the difference maker we're looking forward to, having everyone vaccinated.

BERMAN: So omicron is coming on like a freight train. How do you feel about people coming to New York City, to shop, to celebrate the holidays, to eat in restaurants, while this freight train is barreling through?

DE BLASIO: I feel great about people who are vaccinated. That's just the bottom line. We have had strong vaccine mandates here in this city, including for

indoor dining and entertainment. It's one of the reasons this city has been one of the healthiest places in the country.

[08:50:01]

We -- obviously, we're all feeling the effect, this sudden surge from omicron, but our doctors say it will be a brief -- a very tough few weeks, but a brief few weeks. So the key is to keep getting folks vaccinated and getting people to get those booster because that's what gives us freedom. Vaccination equals freedom at this point.

BERMAN: Yes.

DE BLASIO: And we got to get past this period, but the only way to do it is to really deeply expand vaccination.

BERMAN: I get that. And we're talking about people getting shots that have an effect two weeks from now, the booster as well.

But I really do want to know about today, tomorrow, Friday. What kind of behavioral changes are you calling for among vaccinated and/or boosted people?

DE BLASIO: John, it's important to say this clearly. We are not telling people to hide or hunker down or surrender to this situation. We're telling people, be smart. If you're not feeling well, stay home for sure. If you might have been exposed, get a test and act accordingly depending on result, of course. If you're a vulnerable person, older, with serious pre-existing conditions, limit the kinds of things you go to. But we're not telling vaccinated people to stop living their lives. We're saying, if -- take -- you know, climb that ladder of vaccination. If you haven't done the full vaccination course yet, go do it. Keep living because we're not going to shut down. I want to be very clear. We -- I do not believe in shutdowns. Shutdowns are counterproductive at this point. Vaccination is the key, and there's still plenty more people who could get vaccinated or get that booster.

BERMAN: So, CVS and Walgreens just announced they're going to limit the number of rapid tests that you can buy. I know the president announced that he's going to try to flood the zone with 500 million tests but that won't come until January. I mean the bottom line is, and I keep saying this, we need those tests yesterday, Mayor. I mean how much of a shortage is there right now between demand and need?

DE BLASIO: We really need those at-home tests. It's -- it's a problem we don't have them. And I think the president should take the Defense Production Act and take it to the maximum because we're going to need billions over the next few months. Billions of at-home tests. But, for now, thank God, John, we have 112 test centers open that are city run, in addition to many, many more that are private. Sure, there's lines, but you can get a test for sure. You can get a test in New York City.

And you can definitely get vaccinated. You can definitely get a booster. Places all over the city, for free, we'll even go to your home. I want you to hear this, we'll go to your home in New York City, vaccinate any family member who needs a first, second, shot or booster, and give each one $100 incentive for getting vaccinated. That's how aggressive our effort is.

BERMAN: You said you're against lockdowns and people shouldn't hide from this. The mayor-elect, Eric Adams, has canceled his inauguration ceremony. Given the fact that you say we shouldn't lock down or change our behavior if you're vaccinated, are you saying that's a mistake?

DE BLASIO: He and I have talked about each of the steps we're taking. We're working really, really closely in transition here. And his was going to be an indoor event and he felt it did not make sense in this environment. I understood that.

But what I can say is, what we're finding, first of all, all the outdoor events, obviously that's preferable. But, second, when you have a vaccinated only setting and a lot of other health and safety measures that have been put in place, that's how we get through these tough few weeks of omicron. We have the tools. We've got to use them very consistently. Vaccinated only settings are so important at this point.

BERMAN: Let's talk about New Year's Eve, because the New Year's Eve celebration was always going to be a vaccinated only ceremony and it was going to -- it is, I guess, or was, I don't know, going to be outdoors. You said you're going to make a decision about whether to allow this mass celebration in Times Square, you're going to make that decision by Christmas. Where are you in your thinking this morning?

DE BLASIO: So we're working with the sponsors of the event, working with our healthcare leaders. Right now two great virtues, all vaccinated audience and outdoors. We're looking to add additional measures to make it even safer.

So, we're still in discussion. The goal, of course, is to keep it going because it's such an important event for New Yorkers and for the whole world. But if we're able to figure out the right formula to keep people safe, that's what we're working on right now.

BERMAN: What additional measures are being discussed?

DE BLASIO: I don't want to go into the details because they're under discussion, but there's always additional things we can do in any setting. And the important thing is, of course, to listen to our healthcare leaders about what tools will work. But what I feel is, this is just one example of so many other things. We should not assume the answer to omicron is shutdown. We should assume the answer to omicron is find the measures that work to keep things moving.

BERMAN: Sounds like you're telling me it's going to happen one way or another.

DE BLASIO: I'm hopeful. We've got more work to do, and the jury's not back yet, but I'm hopeful.

BERMAN: Let me ask you, you talk about the vaccine requirement on December 27th. That's for two doses or one dose of J&J. You're not going to be mayor in a few weeks anymore. But if you were, would you make that requirement include booster shots as well?

[08:55:02]

DE BLASIO: Well, John, the way we've structured the requirement is, if you haven't had any vaccination at all, then get that first one. And get the second one when the timeline is appropriate, a month later or so.

But I think there's a great argument for boosters being part of such a plan. We're talking about that right now. We're talking with the new administration coming in. We'll have more to say on that.

But I think the bottom line is, we have seen the power of vaccine mandates. There's 90 percent plus of adults in New York City have had at least one dose and mandates were a big part of that. We want to make sure -- it's full protection, and boosters, obviously, are making a big difference, particularly against omicron.

BERMAN: Mayor Bill de Blasio, we appreciate you being with us this morning. Merry Christmas if we don't see you. Happy New Year, one way or the other. Thank you for your time.

DE BLASIO: A very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to you, John.

BERMAN: All right, just ahead, President Biden's message for Americans who are vaccinated and those who are not.

CNN's coverage continues right after this.

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