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Jemar Tisby is Interviewed about Rogan Controversies; News Conference on Philadelphia Bridge Collapse; "Traffic Stops: Dangerous Encounters" Airs Sunday; One Week Until Olympics Begin. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 28, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

KEITH WHITTINGTON, PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Those private companies have a lot more flexibility on their own to make decisions either to regulate speech and try to shrink the space of this kind of discussion, or to provide very robust protections for speech that don't provide very many restrictions on what people can actually say on their platforms.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you can say that again. No restrictions.

It may surprise some, there is not really a legal or legislative remedy here. Many say it's up to people like Neil Young to quote/unquote delete Spotify, right? We have not seen that take hold, Brianna, not at all.

And, you know, I had to chuckle that, you know, some people were asking, who is Neil Young. There weren't people, many people, at least, asking, who is Joe Rogan. He's incredibly influential and many people do listen to his podcast. Upwards of 10 million a day in the United States alone. And these controversies are likely to continue.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I will say, there are people out there who know who Neil Young is and they don't know who Joe Rogan is. So, important to note.

Paula, thank you so much for that.

Let's talk now with Jemar Tisby. He's the author of "How to Fight Racism: A Guide to Standing Up for Racial Justice."

Jamar, how do you see this, first off, just your reaction to what Joe Rogan puts out there, but also understanding this is a conversation that if you start talking with people about it, you know, there is the defense of free speech, there's the concerns over disinformation. How do you see the balance of these things?

JEMAR TISBY, AUTHOR, "HOW TO FIGHT RACISM: A GUIDE TO STANDING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE": Well, Joe Rogan has built an immense platform with the help of corporations like Spotify, and there comes a tremendous responsibility with that. What really bothers me about these conversations is that Rogan and his guests get on the microphone, knowing that millions of people will tune in and just pontificate on matters of existential importance, life or death matters, as if they don't have any real-world implications. I find that tremendously irresponsible, even a touch of arrogance and pride in there.

But it's not all on Rogan. It's on corporations, like Spotify, to monitor their content, and make sure that they're being responsible as well. But we know corporations are going to act in their best interests, in the interests of the bottom line. And, unfortunately, it's going to fall on other artists and consumers to hold these corporations and these podcasters accountable.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to ask you about a different subject. We've been reporting on this show how a Tennessee school board has banned the teaching of "Maus," a Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Holocaust, removed it from the curriculum for eighth graders. And you've actually written an essay for "Religion News Service" about this broader issue of banning books.

What's your take?

TISBY: So, first of all, with the Tennessee school board, if they are concerned about graphic depictions of anything, I was a middle school teacher and principal, and, let me tell you, adults are fooling themselves if we don't think kids already know all the words and all the body parts.

More to the point, the question is not, is this graphic, the question is, is it true.

BERMAN: Jemar, I've got to --

KEILAR: Jemar -- sorry.

BERMAN: I've got to step in here. I'm so sorry.

There's a live news conference now from the site of the bridge collapse in Pittsburgh.

MAYOR ED GAINEY, PITTSBURGH: Analysis of exactly what happened. But right now there's no fatalities. We did have -- we do have a collapsed bridge that we're dealing with. And we'll be dealing with it throughout the day to make sure that everybody is secure.

There was a gas leak. The gas has been turned off. It's not hazardous to the people. That's what I was told so far. So, right now, we're still assessing the situation and getting information.

But the good thing at this point is there's no fatalities. And we're going to pray that there is no fatalities and that they're doing what they need to do.

I want to thank the city of Pittsburgh, our EMS, our firefighters, our police, the county for their assistance in the state, for all coming together. You know -- you know, we were fortunate. A bus went over. And right

now we don't have no fatalities. We got three hurt. They've been looked at. And I think ten have been seen and they are -- they're OK. So, we're just going to continue to hope for the best and make sure that we get this under -- get this together.

County exec.

RICH FITZGERALD, ALLEGHENY COUNTY EXECUTIVE: Yes,

Just to echo what the mayor said, and I want to thank Senator Costa and Councilman O'Connor, Lieutenant Governor Fetterman for being here as well. The outpouring of support, the help with this has been tremendous. As the -- as the mayor said, the city paramedics and fire and police being here, county, state. I got a call from the governor. We got a call from the White House. We got a -- I mean everyone was reaching out to help.

As the mayor said, thankfully, at this point, the preliminary reports are minor injuries, or injuries that are non-life threatening might be a better way to say that, and to think about what a major, major artery this bridge is for so many people coming, you know, from the east end, from the eastern suburbs, coming on in through -- in through Squirrel Hill and on into Oakland and town. This is a major artery.

[08:35:00]

A lot of work is going to need to be done.

And, again, thankfully -- and our Peoples Gas (ph) crew that was out here getting the gas shut off. I'm sure people that were out here could smell that gas early on and the danger that could require.

But we're going to be still reaching out. People are going to need a lot of help with utilities. We just don't know what's going to be there as well. But we're going to be here to make sure that we support the folks in this community, to make sure this can be done, done expeditiously and move forward.

Mayor, you have the --

QUESTION: Now, quick question.

This bridge collapse happened on the day that the president is headed here to talk about infrastructure. I mean what does that say about some of the improvements that need to be done?

GAINEY: We need it. You know, I said it before, this bipartisan infrastructure law is critical to southwest Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh. We know we have bridges that we need to take care of. We're finding out now, when the last inspection was and everything. But with him coming today, to talk about this infrastructure bill, to discuss why this funding is so important, today is significant of that. You know, at the end of the day, we could have had some serious injuries. This is why --

FITZGERALD: And it was just two years ago or three years ago that we had Route 30 collapse.

GAINEY: Right.

FITZGERALD: Just a couple of years ago.

GAINEY: So I --

FITZGERALD: Another major artery. So, yes.

GAINEY: So, at the end of the day, this is -- this is critical that we get this funding. And we're glad to have the president coming today.

QUESTION: What can you tell us about the last inspection for this bridge?

GAINEY: We're working on that now. Chief Jones will be coming up to give that information that we have and a lot of what we're still finding out as we go. But I believe it was -- I believe it was two years ago, but we'll find out shortly.

QUESTION: Is there anyone that still needs to be rescued at this time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayor, September.

GAINEY: September? So it was September of what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: '21.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2021.

GAINEY: September of '21 was the last time the bridge was inspected.

QUESTION: Is there anybody who still needs to be rescued at this time?

GAINEY: They're looking. I know they're flying the drones over there now, taking a look to make sure that nobody else is down there. But that information, I'm going to have Chief Jones talk about and then I'll come back and answer any questions you may have, all right?

All right, Chief Jones.

CHIEF DARRYL JONES, PITTSBURGH FIRE: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

So, this morning we had a collapse of the bridge. Three to four vehicles were on the bridge at the time that it went down. We are -- we have extricated everybody off. As the mayor stated, there were ten minor injuries, three were transported, none were life threatening.

Right now we are stepping down our operations and sending some of the units back home. And we will be here for a while. We still have to do a little bit of recon to make sure that no one was under the structure when it collapsed.

There was a massive gas leak caused by the collapse. That is now under control. Several families were evacuated from their homes. They have been allowed back. We are told by the gas company that all their gas service has been restored.

So, we have the Salvation Army coming in to take care of some of the first responders. The Red Cross will be setting up a victims assistance unit at the Biddle (ph) Building down the street here for any people that want to know if their family members were on the bus or their condition. And, right now, that's where we -- where we stand.

QUESTION: Do you have any more details about the latest inspection, any issues that may have (INAUDIBLE) this bridge?

JONES: No, I do not have any of that information. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Any idea what may have caused this -- this collapse?

JONES: This was -- the cause is under investigation.

QUESTION: And, again, just kind of go over those numbers again. I know that there was (INAUDIBLE). I just want to make sure we have those numbers correct.

JONES: Yes, so there was a total of about ten injuries, all minor. Three were transported. Again, none was -- were life threatening. So, the three that were transported were from the bus, I believe. The others were some of our first responders who slips and falls and things like that and exhaustion. So -- but everybody's OK.

QUESTION: Any idea if weather playing a -- played a factor into this collapse?

JONES: Well, I know it played a factor into the response. I can't say it played a factor into the collapse. You can see the roads are kind of icy. Response was slow. You can't get in an accident trying to go help someone and no one gets any help. So, that slowed us down a little bit. I did mention that it was some slip and fall hazards on the scene because of the weather as well.

QUESTION: Can you describe what the rescue was like a little bit to -- more to us?

JONES: So -- yes, excuse me. EMS. Our EMS bureau set up for rescue. They have the heavy rescue units here. Technicians rappelled down using ropes to go down over the side. They helped the firefighters that were here initially on scene. Also did like a daisy chain with hands just grabbing people and pulling them up.

So, it was a physical rescue. Most of them are. But we have some highly skilled and highly trained professionals on the job here. Pittsburgh is lucky in that respect. So, it was handled as best as it could be handled.

QUESTION: Sounds like a pretty dramatic --

BERMAN: All right, we're just hearing from officials now at the site of this bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. The good news is, amazingly, if you've seen the pictures, no fatalities.

[08:40:01]

Ten injuries. None considered serious. Three of them were from a bus that you can actually see -- just make out there dangling from the precipice there that was leaning there. Three of the injuries were from that. But everyone basically doing OK.

The one bit of new information we did get is, this bridge was just inspected in September. September 21st. They are investigating, trying to figure out what caused this. But of note, Brianna, President Biden expected in the area today to talk about infrastructure.

KEILAR: You know, thank goodness we heard from the lieutenant governor for a school delay, right? You see the snow on the ground. There was a two-hour school delay. And it was interesting to hear him tell you, Berman, that he thought there would have been more cars and, look, possibly on that walking path underneath, there could have been a lot of people, you know, if the weather had been better.

So, thank goodness, as we look at this, what appears to really be limited in scope in terms of the injuries here. And I think this visit couldn't come, you hear that over and over, even just from people on the ground there, this visit from President Biden couldn't come soon enough. So essential here.

BERMAN: All right, much more on this as it comes in.

Also developing this morning, the East Coast bracing for this dangerous winter weather bomb. As much as three feet of snow in major U.S. Cities. A bomb cyclone.

KEILAR: Plus, some police chiefs are calling for an end to routine traffic stops after a number of deadly encounters for both officers and civilians. We have a CNN special report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:39]

BERMAN: It is the most common interaction between police and civilians. And some are calling for reform, even some chiefs of police. Traffic stops. This Sunday night at 9:00, CNN is airing a special report on these sometimes dangerous encounters. Here's a clip. And I do want to warn you, it does contain some disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE BOTTOM: The two of them grabbed my arm and my hair and threw me on the ground.

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: By your hair?

BOTTOM: Both of my arms and -- and my hair.

SIDNER (voice over): At this point, the officers are trying to get Bottom's wrists handcuffed together.

BOTTOM: They were twisting and twisting and twisting. And then -- pop.

SIDNER: She would learn later that her rotator cuff was torn and her shoulder, dislocated.

BOTTOM: Terrible. Terrible pain.

OFFICER: Ma'am, you're under arrest.

BOTTOM: Why?

OFFICER: Good gosh.

BOTTOM: What did I do wrong?

SIDNER: What Bottom had done wrong was drive about ten miles over the speed limit and failed to stop for the blue lights. For that, she was injured.

OFFICER: I'm going to stand you up, OK?

BOTTOM: (screams).

OFFICER: You're going to sit there, then.

BOTTOM: It hurts.

SIDNER: Searched.

OFFICER: Lean up against your car.

SIDNER: And nearly arrested, but she did not go to jail. She went to the hospital instead after paramedics arrived and determined she had a dislocated shoulder.

SCOTT HOLMES (ph): If you were sentenced for failure to heed blue lights, the punishment is a fine, not getting yanked out of the car by your hair and thrown to the ground and having your shoulder dislocated.

SIDNER: Scott Holmes is the supervising attorney of North Carolina Central University's Civil Litigation Clinic, and one of Bottom's attorneys. He later discovered Bottom was charged in the incident.

HOLMES: She was charged with speeding, 10 over, and failure to heed blue lights and resisting an officer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, CNN's senior national correspondent Sara Sidner.

Sara, Stephanie Bottom, the woman we just met there in this, what is she now asking of police and what do they say?

SIDNER: Look, all of the people who have had these kinds of run-ins with police have asked for justice. Bottom is now suing the North Carolina Police Department and sheriff's department involved in her stop for things like excessive force and for racial profiling.

And we did reach out to the police and the officers who have been sued. They didn't want to comment because of pending litigation. However, the sheriff's department said, look, we do stand by the actions of our deputies.

And when you talk to some police officers, they will say, look, if you are speeding and you're not heeding the lights and you're not heeding the sirens, they are concerned that you are up to something and that they may be in danger. And so there are a lot of different sides to this.

But in this particular case, this is a woman who's a 67-year-old librarian. She was headed to a funeral. She had her music on. It was loud. She just didn't see it. And certainly didn't think that the blue lights were for her.

And so it's an interesting case. And we look at a lot of different cases.

But there is an elephant in the room, if you will, and that is the race of people who are stopped far more often than their counterparts, John.

BERMAN: What do the numbers tell you in this particular location about profiling?

SIDNER: Yes, you -- we talked to researchers, several of them, and they looked at millions of traffic stops. Black drivers, they found, were twice as likely to be stopped, and four times -- about four times as likely to be searched.

What accounts for that? We took a look at the numbers. We talked to police. We talked to police unions. We talked to politicians. We talked to drivers themselves about all of this. And what came out of it is that some people are really calling for reform and some cities, John, are already doing reforms. Some of those reforms, though, very controversial.

But I do want to add this. We spoke to a lot of different people. And even those who say they were brutalized by police, even those who lost people, who have sons or daughters killed by police during these traffic stops, not one of them said that police should be abolished. All of them said we need our police. But, in their minds, they want policing to change.

John.

BERMAN: Sara Sidner, looking forward to this. Thank you very much.

[08:50:01]

And you can all watch the CNN special report "Traffic Stops: Dangerous Encounters," Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern.

Now here's what else to watch today. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ON SCREEN TEXT: 9:00 a.m. ET, Funeral for NYPD Officer Rivera.

10:30 a.m. ET, Floyd civil rights trial resumes.

2:00 p.m. ET, Biden remarks in Pittsburgh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: One week until the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Winter Olympics. How China is responding to an already shaky start.

BERMAN: And the breaking news out of Pittsburgh. This bridge collapses before the morning commute. And it happens just hours before President Biden going to the area to talk about America's crumbling infrastructure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:07]

KEILAR: We're just one week away from the Winter Olympics beginning in Beijing and the three Olympic villages officially opened yesterday for competitors who are arriving from around the world. The downside, there are now more than 100 cases of Covid found in people coming for the games, and half of those people -- half of those were from people who were actually already inside of those villages.

CNN's Ivan Watson live for us from Hong Kong.

That's a -- that's a big number.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is, especially in a country that's trying to keep the official Covid case down to zero. But look at how hard that is in China right now. We've got this map of confirmed omicron cases all across the country that we can show you. And that goes for the Chinese capital as well, in the home of the upcoming winter Olympics, confirmed and growing Covid case count, both in that Olympic bubble, in the so-called closed loop of thousands of athletes and coaches and journalists and organizers, but also outside in the general Chinese population in Beijing, which is supposed to be walled off from the athletes.

There, the Chinese authorities are struggling with outbreaks of omicron and of the delta variant, and they're using some extreme measures to try to stamp it out. Millions of people having to get tests. If you try to buy cold medicine or fever medicine over the counter in a pharmacy in China, in Beijing, you have to take a -- get a negative Covid test and register with the state.

For athletes trying to get to Beijing, it is incredibly stressful. If you can imagine, Brianna, because at least two dozen athletes had to withdraw from last summer's Tokyo Olympics because they got Covid, they tested positive. We've been talking to some athletes on the U.S. Olympic team who are totally paranoid that they could contract this and that they could lose years of training and not be able to go to the games.

They have to test negative twice before they're allowed to get on the plane. One U.S. mobile skier says she even wears an N-95 mask under her neck warmer when she's on the slopes training. And some saying they're afraid to even have dinner with their parents before they leave. So, these are all some of the measures here.

Look at this video that a Hong Kong Olympic ski skater, here in Hong Hong, sent us. This is of the plane that his Olympic committee chartered for just two or three athletes, completely empty, showing the measures, the extremes people are going to, to try to avoid testing positive and avoid having to miss the Winter Olympics.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, that is the reality of competing during a pandemic.

Ivan, thank you so much.

BERMAN: All right, we are watching this historic storm taking aim at the Northeast. Seventy-fie million people could be affected by this. Forecasts of up to 3 feet of snow in major cities. More next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)