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New Day

IRS Commissioner Vows to Clear up Backlog; Inside A Supervised Drug-Injection Site; Tornado Threat in the South; Julius Jones Discusses Life Behind Bars. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 17, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:33:26]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: If you are expecting a tax refund this year, get in line. Perhaps have some patience. Don't count on it immediately perhaps because the IRS is in crisis mode with millions of Americans still waiting for refunds from last year. You heard that right.

Gabe Cohen here in Washington with more on this.

Gabe, last year -- they're waiting from last year.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna. And the numbers are still staggering. As many as 24 million taxpayers are still waiting for the IRS to file last year's return. Most o them, they should be getting a refund. They have no idea when it's going to show up. And that could be a sizable chunk of money that they need to pay bills or to even put food on the table.

And now we're hearing new concerns that some of those same people could actually see the IRS take a chunk out of this year's return if they still have some sort of unresolved balance from last year with their paperwork still sitting in that backlog.

Now, all of that should eventually be sorted out, but it could hit some families hard in the short-term. And so that's going to be the focus of today's Senate hearing, when we're going to be hearing from the head of the taxpayer advocate service about this -- about resolving this massive backlog.

And the IRS, they are the first to admit that the whole agency is in crisis. Their budget and their staff have been cut by nearly 20 percent over the past decade. They don't have enough staff to work through that paper, the backlog. They don't even have enough staff to answer the phones. Last year they only picked up about 11 percent of customer calls. So not only are people not getting those refunds, they can't just call in and figure out what's going on.

So, the IRS commissioner has now vowed he is going to clear up that backlog within a year with the help of his staff.

[06:35:04]

But the big concern now is, how are they going to hire and train enough people quickly enough to pull it off, especially with Build Back Better, which includes funding for the IRS, still stalled in the Senate.

Now right now the agency is instituting some new policies. They're putting in place mandatory overtime for employees and they are moving more than 1,000 of those staff members from all over the IRS into really entry-level roles. They're going to be processing paperwork, manually entering people's information into the system and literally answering phones. The tasks that the IRS can't seem to get done right now.

And they are offering a little bit of advice from the agency to taxpayers. If you want to avoid a delay on your refund this year, they say file early and electronically and make sure that you pay extra attention if you received those economic impact payments or an advanced child tax credit last year.

Now, the deadline, Brianna, for most Americans still set for April 18th for their taxes. And there's no indication that will get delayed even if many of those refunds might be.

KEILAR: Eleven percent of calls picked up?

COHEN: Yes, it's unbelievable

KEILAR: That's f minus, minus, minus, minus.

COHEN: And we've heard from so many frustrated people who say, I get that there's a problem, I get that there are these staffing issues and I want to, you know, work with you on it, but they're frustrated when they call in and can't get somebody to pick up their phone and they don't know, is there an issue with my return, did you get my forms I sent in. People are just confused.

KEILAR: Yes. It's infuriating. Well, let's hope and let's keep tracking it. We know you will.

Gabe Cohen, thank you so much.

COHEN: Thank you.

KEILAR: Up next, CNN going inside a New York City supervised drug injection site that welcomes drug users to use their own drugs in order to prevent overdoses.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And two of the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery repeatedly used racial slurs in text messages and social media posts. What more is being revealed in their federal hate crime trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:43]

BERMAN: New CDC data shows a record number of drug overdose deaths with the number doubling over the past six months. The nation's first two supervised drug injection sites say in just two months they've saved dozens of addicts from fatal overdoses. But critics of the sites argue they encourage illegal drug use and burden neighborhoods.

Our "Addiction in America" series continues now with CNN's Jason Carroll, who has an inside look at how this all works.

Admittedly controversial.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. You know, we've spent some time at these facilities. People who work there say there is a desperate need for what they do. They know they're going to have to get over a legal hurdle. But, again, critics are saying that these are the types of sites they do not want in their neighborhoods.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice over): For Monica Diaz, every day is a struggle. She's homeless. And much of what she owns, she carries with her. But, she says, it is the weight of her addiction that at times is too much to bear.

CARROLL (on camera): Have you overdosed in the past?

MONICA DIAZ, SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITE PARTICIPANT: In the past. Not here, but in the past I have.

CARROLL: OK.

CARROLL (voice over): This is the place Diaz credits with helping her cope. It's a supervised drug consumption site, the first of two to open in the country.

CARROLL (on camera): How often do you come?

DIAZ: They're open five days a week. I'm here every day.

CARROLL: On the days that they're not open, what do you do?

DIAZ: Improvise.

CARROLL (voice over): Both locations are in New York City. This one is in Harlem. The other in Washington Heights. Here, users take illegal drugs with clean supplies without risk of arrest. To be clear, they are not given illegal drugs here, it's where they use drugs already in their possession.

PIA MARCUS, DIRECTOR OF SYRINGE ACCESS & PROGRAM INNOVATION, ONPOINT NYC: When somebody first comes through the door, we're going to ask them what they're using and how they're using it.

CARROLL: In the east Harlem location, it's all done under the supervision of these medical professionals.

MARCUS: This is all of our injection and sniffing equipment, as well as our smoking equipment up here. So people can take anything that they need. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you guys OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're great.

CARROLL: In Washington Heights, the same protective protocols are in place. But here, many of the trained staff are also recovering addicts, like Clara Cardel (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see you need a water.

CARROLL: Sam Rivera is the executive director of the program. He says they have averted more than 130 overdoses since the site opened in November. So far, Rivera says, no one has died under the staff's watch.

SAM RIVERA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ONPOINT NYC: This wouldn't be happening if you don't show up the way you guys show up, man.

The goal is we want to keep people alive. And if we want people to recover and get a better life, if they're dead, they can't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you OK, sweetie?

MARCUS: We're checking on people constantly. If we start to see eyelid drooping or any kind of slouching, we're going right over and we're going to agitate them with a sternum grind. If we're seeing more serious overdoses or the overdose is starting to progress, we're going to be going over to the crash cart. Our crash cart has oral airways, ambu (ph) bags, two different kinds of Narcan.

CARROLL (on camera): When you look at a facility like this, your immediate thought is, what are you doing to get these people off drugs?

RIVERA: We're giving them every opportunity possible to stop. Once someone says they're interested, we get them picked up, right into detox.

JOSHUA CLENNON, GREATER HARLEM COALITION: Around this corner you'll find the supervise injection site.

CARROLL (voice over): Joshua Clennon is a member of the Greater Harlem Coalition. His organization is concerned that the neighborhood is already too saturated with over a dozen drug-related facilities.

CLENNON: We really need other communities to take on some of this burden.

CARROLL: Clennon says he's not surprised an attempt to open a similar type of facility in Philadelphia failed after community backlash there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want this in my neighborhood or anybody else's.

CARROLL: These centers remain illegal under a federal law that states you cannot operate, own or rent a space for use of illegal substances. But when these New York City locations opened, the city's former mayor, Bill de Blasio, penned this letter of support.

RIVERA: So the agency stand ready to insure the successful launch, which includes the commitment to not take enforcement action against their operation.

CARROLL: And, recently, the Department of Justice announced they're evaluating whether sites like these could be opened nationwide.

CARROLL (on camera): Do you have concerns that the federal government will look and say, we saw what you did and we don't a approve?

[06:45:02]

RIVERA: I don't because this is a health intervention that's working.

CARROLL (voice over): For now, people such as Monica Diaz are glad there's a new, safer place to use. As for the day when she doesn't have to.

CARROLL (on camera): Do you have thoughts about getting clean?

DIAZ: They seem distant, but --

CARROLL: OK.

DIAZ: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (on camera): People on both sides of this issue now wondering, what is the future of these types of sites. New York City's current mayor says he's on board with having these types of sites in the city. But, again, ultimately, it is up to the Department of Justice to make the final decision on whether or not these sites stay or go.

BERMAN: There's some brutal honesty among the people you talked to.

CARROLL: Yes.

BERMAN: And they all seem to know this is very complicated.

CARROLL: It's very complicated. And it -- as we were saying before, it really takes a lot of political muscle in order to be able to get something like this through.

BERMAN: Right.

Jason, what a terrific story. That you so much for that.

So, a black teenager and a white teenager got into a fight at a mall. But it's what the police did next that is sparking outrage, raising concerns about the racial disparity.

KEILAR: And in a few moments, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is set to speak at NATO headquarters in Brussels as the crisis in Ukraine intensifies. CNN is live from Belgium, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:51:11]

KEILAR: This morning, more than 11 million people are facing the threat of violent tornados as a powerful storm system is sweeping into the south. So, let's get the latest from meteorologist Chad Myers.

What are you keeping your eye on here?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Brianna, storms in the southern half of the country and snow in the northern half. A typical spring-like pattern.

This weather is brought to you by Safelite, your vehicle glass and recalibration experts.

So, let's get to it. There's a lot to cover here.

Temperatures are warm on the East and it's cold in the Midwest. That's the clash we always talk about with the potential for severe weather. That's the area here in the central part of the deep South that we're talking about. The hatched area here, that's the area that could see EF-2 tornados or greater with this storm system today.

Now, on the north side, it's raining. But that rain is going to change over to freezing rain, going to change over to sleet, and then change over to snow.

Now, for some of you that's already happened. The wind across the East is going to be something else we're going to look at. Fifty to 60- mile-per-hour gusts up the East Coast, all the way even into New England. So we're going to keep an eye on that.

This is what the forecast radar is going to look like. You notice there's a lot of rain on the map. But all of a sudden now the cold air comes in and it gets colder and that rain changes over to snow. There will be a layer of ice under some of your snow depending on where you are in this pattern.

Now, by tomorrow, it's completely gone, but very heavy snowfall. Could be four to eight inches of snow in many areas, could be a foot in other places. Also, southern parts of Ontario, also into Quebec, very heavy snow for you as well.

Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Chad. Look, we'll keep our eye on it because, obviously, this threat is very severe. Really appreciate the forecast.

There is a video that shows police officers breaking up a fight between a black teen and a white teen at a mall in New Jersey, and it is triggering outrage this morning. The video shows the teens coming to blows after a brief argument. But it is the response of two responding Bridgewater Township police officers that is causing all of this controversy.

You can watch as you see a black teenager there pinned to the ground and handcuffed by the male officer, while the female officer placed the white teenager on a couch and then leaves him there, alone, while she helps kneel on the black teen's back.

So that black teen, whose name is Kye, says that this ordeal left him puzzled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYE, HANDCUFFED BY POLICE: I was confused. Like, why they saw me as the bad person. If they don't know how to treat the situation and deal with the situation equally and fairly, then they shouldn't be able to deal with the situation at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So Kye and his mother want the two police officers removed from duty. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says he is deeply disturbed by the video.

BERMAN: Again, a lot of people involved, including some of the white kids who were there. Like, what?

KEILAR: That's right. The white -- the white victim -- not the white victim. I would consider these two victims who are fighting, whatever, it's hard to tell who. But the white kid who was in the fight was puzzled as well as Kye was puzzled. It was wild.

BERMAN: All right. We'll watch that one carefully.

So, Julius jones was convicted and sentenced to death for a fatal shooting during a 1999 carjacking in Oklahoma City. Late last year, hours before Jones' scheduled execution, the governor of Oklahoma announced he had granted Jones clemency. His sentence -- you know, clemency, he was not executed. Last week, journalist Mara Schiavocampo spoke to Jones about life behind bars since the commute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO: People were celebrating. What were you feeling in the aftermath of the governor's order?

[06:55:00]

JULIUS JONES: Crushed. Angry. Literally just crushed and angry. Like, people say, oh, you got another day to fight. I have another day to fight. No, that's another day of suffering for me

Joining us now is Mara Schiavocampo, host of the "Run Tell This" podcast.

And, Mara, you've spoken to him a number of times. And you said his mood has changed. MARIA SCHIAVOCAMPO, HOST, "RUN TELL THIS" PODCAST: Yes. So, I spoke to

him a number of times leading up to his scheduled execution date. And he was also positive and upbeat and hopeful. In this recent conversation that we had, he was a different man. He is angry. He is despondent and he is hopeless.

And let's be clear about why he feels this way. The order of clemency came with the condition that he would never be able to seek clemency, pardon or parole again. So he is essentially, as far as we can tell in our records, the only person in U.S. history to ever be banned from seeking release. So this puts him in an unprecedented, legal position. And there is no clear legal path forward.

He believed that November 18th was going to be the end of his sentence, one way or the other. Either he would be released, or he would be put to death. And he said he was prepared for death and not afraid to die. But now, Julius Jones finds himself in this unprecedented, legal purgatory with no clear way forward.

KEILAR: And also, it's, Mara, the conditions that he's in, right, that he's talking about and saying are worse than the conditions that he faced before he was expecting to be executed?

SCHIAVOCAMPO: Yes. So, he's in a transitional facility right now. And he says that the conditions are inhumane. He says that he's being held for 23.5 hours every day in isolation. He's only allowed out to shower. He says that there is no heat or hot water in his cell. It's February.

Now, as a reminder to folks, this is a transitional facility. So, this is not where he will be permanently housed. And it is his priority to get to a medium security facility. And I should also note, the Department of Corrections says that his claims are not accurate. They say the conditions are fine.

BERMAN: You could hear the pain in his voice when he was talking to you.

All right, there's a federal hate crimes trial for the me convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. And we are now in open court for the first time seeing some of the text messages and social media posts from these convicted murderers. And I have to say, they're shocking. And I just want to read a couple of them. Going to read them carefully here.

This is a text message. It says, quote, they ruin everything. That's why I love what I do now. Not an n-word in sight.

Here's another one, a text message. Yeah, she has her n-word right now. I've been calling that for a while now. Not surprised.

SCHIAVOCAMPO: Yes, these messages are shocking because of how blatantly racist and disgusting they are. But it's not shocking that these men were sending these messages based on what we saw in the tape.

A lot of people instinctively felt that Ahmaud Arbery would not have been hunted down by these three men and shot in the street at point- blank range with a shotgun if he were not black. In fact, the only reason that they took notice of him that day is because he was black. And we know this because a white neighbor testified that he runs through the neighborhood all the time and no one ever bothers him.

So, a lot of people instinctively knew that these men were racist. These messages now prove that. But prosecutors have to go a step further. They can't just prove that they're racist, they have to prove that the racism motivated their actions on that day. That's a higher bar.

KEILAR: The defense has an interesting, I think, attempt that they're trying here, Mara, which is to say, yes, their client used racist language, but their actions against Ahmaud Arbery, murder, were not racist. How can they do that?

SCHIAVOCAMPO: Yes. So, they can't dispute that these men are racists because the messages -- there's no other way that you can --

BERMAN: They speak for themselves, yes.

SCHIAVOCAMPO: They speak for themselves. If you're not a racist, you don't send messages like that. So they're not even trying to fight that.

What they are trying to do is really put the focus on this high bar that the prosecution has, which is, OK, fine, they're racist, but did they hunt Ahmaud Arbery down because he was black or was it because, as they claim, they thought he was burglarizing the neighborhood, which is -- you know, there's no evidence to support that too.

BERMAN: Mara Schiavocampo, thanks so much for coming in. Great to see you today.

SCHIAVOCAMPO: Thank you. Good to see you.

BERMAN: NEW DAY continues right now.

KEILAR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. It is Thursday, February 17th.

And at any moment, we are expecting to hear from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He is meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. According to the Biden administration, there is no sign of a Russian de-escalation. In fact, quite the opposite.

A U.S. official says that Russia has added 7,000 troops along its border with Ukraine, despite claims of a pullback.

[07:00:00]

At least 150,000 Russian troops are now positioned to invade.