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New Day Saturday

Signs of Normalcy Return As Millions Get Vaccinated, States Drop Mask Mandates Reopen Economies Amid Drop In Cases; President Biden Pitches Multi-Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Plan To Get U.S. Back On Track. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 01, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey guys. Post time for the 147 Kentucky Derby, 657 Eastern tonight.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: All righty. Well, somebody will be watching. I get nervous so you just tell me how it ends. Andy, thank you.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much. Andy. New Day continues right now.

Good morning and welcome to your New Day. I'm Boris Sanchez.

PAUL: And I'm Christi Paul. This is 100 million Americans are vaccinated. Signs of normalcy, you see them slowly returning across the country, don't you?

SANCHEZ: President Biden hitting the road to sell his infrastructure plan. In the meantime, will the booming economy help pressure Republicans to get behind him?

PAUL: Federal investigators are looking into mysterious energy attacks in Washington DC some of them just steps away from the White House.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the Kentucky Derby is back and while we could see history on the track, we will see something we haven't seen lately. 1000s of fans in the stands.

PAUL: People, you are waking up to Saturday, May 1. May 1. I know it's all just flying by, but we are so grateful you're waking up with us.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we're thankful to have you. Christi, always great to see you and it's refreshing, we could be headed for a full reopening by July 1 in the United States. Some good news for a change. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says that with deaths falling and vaccinations rising, it could be reasonable to see that reopening date.

Right now, more than a 100 million Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. And Dr. Ashish Jha said on Friday, quote, "The worst is behind us." PAUL: We know cases and deaths are both going in the right direction.

The country is headed toward that return as we said to normalcy and here's an example of it. Disneyland in California reopened yesterday. Indoor dining limits will soon increase in New York and Delta Airlines, the last U.S. air carrier to keep middle seats blocked are starting to sell them today.

SANCHEZ: Let's start this morning with CNN's Polo Sandoval in New York. Polo, we're seeing some of the lowest averages in terms of deaths in the United States in nearly a year. A lot of things are trending in the right direction.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. There are many numbers that are going in that right direction. Of course, we certainly can't ignore that we're still losing hundreds of people to Coronavirus a day here in the United States. But it's also really important to notice that those numbers are still improving when it comes to vaccinations and also the U.S. reaching its lowest seven-day average when it comes to new Coronavirus deaths, an 80 percent decrease since January.

When you hear from experts, it becomes clear that we are slowly making our way back to a post Pandemic norm.

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SANDOVAL: Throughout much of the country, Americans are seeing signs that the light at the end of the tunnel draws near. Four months since the first public COVID-19 vaccines went into arms, the U.S. crossed a major milestone Friday with 100 million Americans fully vaccinated. That may be less than a third of the U.S. population, but it's enough for a chance at more post Pandemic normalcy.

Disneyland is opened again this weekend for the first time in over a year at 25 percent capacity and to California residents only. The color clad crowds are back for this year's Kentucky Derby though masks are a must. And with a July 1 full reopening on the horizon for New York City indoor dining there is increasing to 75 percent next Friday.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY): Our health care team worked to determine what was the date that we could do it the right way. They believe in July 1. I believe in July 1. We're on track to get 5 million New Yorkers vaccinated by July 1. It's the right moment to make this move.

SANDOVAL: Across the country the state of Oregon moving forward with plans to fully open its economy by the end of June with the average number of new COVID cases there at their highest point since January, the governor says the state of emergency will stay in place until then.

And overall, it seems the worst of the Pandemic may be behind us here in the US, says Dr. Ashish Jha.

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Certainly, we are headed in the right direction. Infections are falling. Vaccinations have to continue. I think we're going to have a really good summer, but we've got to speak a little bit more careful against the big stuff right now.

SANDOVAL: The travel industry already bracing for a massive surge in summer travel as vaccinated Americans regain confidence to hit the road. TSA numbers showing a steady increase in recent weeks.

DAN VELEZ, TSA MEDIA SPOKESMAN FOR NEW ENGLAND: We expect passenger volume to rise significantly throughout the summer, Memorial Day being the official kickoff of summer travel season.

SANDOVAL: However, vaccine hesitancy remains a challenge. While the average number of COVID-19 deaths are at their lowest in months, the number of daily vaccinations administered dropped to 2.6 million this week. Come Tuesday, the United States will implement new travel restrictions for flights coming from India. That was the announcement made by the Biden Administration just yesterday. We should note that Boris and Christi that U.S. citizens, permanent residents and there are other groups that will be exempt from that.

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But like other international travelers, they will still have to have a negative COVID test before the day of travel, guys.

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PAUL: Yes, thank you for the reminder of that Polo Sandoval, we appreciate it. So, President Biden says he's on a mission to "help America get back on track." He's hitting the road to get voters and the representatives in Congress on board with his plan to spend trillions on physical and social infrastructure and create new jobs in the process.

SANCHEZ: And that his latest stop at pitch got personal. The President who for decades, commuted by train to work in Washington, stopped by an Amtrak station on - day, thanking old friends and reminiscing about falling asleep on the train and missing his stop. And of course, trying to make the case that only the government can make the kind of investments that will help the economy recover. Let's get over to the White House and CNN's Jasmine Wright.

Jasmine, where does Biden's economic agenda stand right now? Bring us up to speed.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it stands in sales pitch mode right now Boris and Christi. President Biden made his second trip in two days to make the case directly to the American people about why they need his multitrillion dollar massive infrastructure and jobs package and why it would keep the country competitive on a global scale with his eye directly on China. Take a listen to Biden yesterday in Philadelphia.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to remember, we're in competition with the rest of the world. People come here and set up businesses, people stay here, people grow because of the ability to access, access transportation, access all the infrastructure. It is what allows us to compete and with the rest of the world to win the 21st century, we've got to move.

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WRIGHT: So that's the President's message on the road. But back here in Washington, DC officials know that moderate Democrats are asking how targeted is this going to be. Should we be going this bill and they know that Republicans aren't necessarily warmed to this idea, particularly because of that everything else in it that is not traditional infrastructure.

Still, President Biden says that he wants to find bipartisan support. He has invited Republican senator Shelley Moore Capito to the White House. She led the effort on bringing that GOP counterproposal. Now President Biden was really clear this week, he said that if Republicans don't meet him halfway, it's a no go. But Boris and Christi, that Republican counter proposal came $1.5 trillion dollar short of President Biden's $2.25 trillion initial ask, and that is not halfway.

So, officials are looking for a compromise. The question going forward is where that compromise is going to be. Now while officials here in DC figure that out, President Biden will take his case, again to the American people. He and the First Lady will be out on the road in Virginia on Monday with Vice President going to Wisconsin, all to sell this bill. Boris, Christi.

SANCHEZ: Jasmine Wright reporting from the White House. We appreciate the update. Let's discuss further with Tom Perez, former Secretary of Labor under President Obama and currently a CNN political commentator. Sir, thank you so much for spending time with us this morning.

We are starting to see clear signs of a major post Pandemic economic boom. Some like Goldman Sachs predicting as much as 7 percent growth in 2021. Yet President Biden is looking to pass multitrillion dollar bills to boost infrastructure and jobs. So, make the case if the economy is already in the right direction, why should voters help pay for these enormous programs?

TOM PEREZ, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the economy is moving in the right direction. At the same time, Boris, it's important to recognize we gained over 900,000 jobs last month. We are still 8.4 million jobs below where we were pre-Pandemic. So, we need another year or so of job reports like last month to get back just to where we were before the Pandemic.

And that's not where Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want us to be. We want to - we want to be moving forward even further. And so, the American Rescue Plan was a down payment. And I think we're going to continue to see the positive impacts of that American Rescue Plan as people continue to get their checks, they continue to get their shots.

You saw more jobs gained in the first 100 days of this administration than anyone, but we've got more work to do. And remember infrastructure was brought to us originally by Dwight Eisenhower. Infrastructure has been historically a bipartisan concept. And that's why you see the President and the Vice President, taking their case directly to the American public, Boris.

Because I think there's strong support just as there was for the American Rescue Plan for these investments in infrastructure and if you go to rural America, broadband is an indispensable part of infrastructure.

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So, I don't understand why Republicans who represent these areas are not on board with this. So we got more work to do. But I think the President's doing exactly what he needs to do go directly to the American people, because there's a disconnect between Republicans in Washington. And, you know, Republicans across the country, many supports what Joe Biden is doing, and the American people overall know that we need to do this.

SANCHEZ: Yes, I think that the crux of the argument is the definition of infrastructure. So we have a graphic, let's put it up. Comparing the Biden infrastructure plan with the Republican version. You noted some rural Republicans, there is support for broadband in the GOP proposal. What there isn't support for homecare services and housing.

The Biden Administration taking this very expansive view of infrastructure. From your perspective, what is the incentive for Republicans to go along with this? Many of them have argued that the economy was doing extremely well. You're talking about getting back to those kind of numbers before the Pandemic hit?

PEREZ: Well, Boris, this Pandemic has laid bare, some realities in America. Women took it on the chin in this Pandemic, in terms of job loss. Why? Because women are caregivers, women are caring for their children, they had to leave the workforce to care for their children, they disproportionately care for our elders, and that absence of a childcare and elder care infrastructure is hurting our economy, because women are leaving the workforce.

So, there's an economic necessity. And I would argue it, there's for Republicans, women are the majority of voters, why do you continue to oppose efforts to make it easier to get back into the workforce. That's why the childcare infrastructure and the elder care infrastructure, I think, are indispensable parts of building back better. And that is why the president, and the vice president are absolutely correct in investing in that.

That's called going to school on the lessons of this Pandemic. Women took it on the chin, and we as a nation need to build a childcare and elder care infrastructure as our population ages, these imperatives are going to get greater and greater.

SANCHEZ: We do have to talk about the cost, though, because another thing that's going to grow is the national debt between the COVID rescue bill, this infrastructure plan, and the family's plan it's roughly $6 trillion in spending that Biden is asking for, within his first 100 days in office. The national debt ballooning over $28 trillion right now, do you

really believe that slightly raising taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans is going to cover all of that? How is that level of spending sustainable?

PEREZ: Well, the President has outlined a plan that will make sure that people who are making up to $400,000 are not touched by this. And that is really, really important. Corporations who have been benefiting from the windfall of the reckless 2017 tax cuts, they need to pay their fair share. I think if you had to reduce this plan to one word, its fairness.

That's what Joe Biden is trying to bring back to our tax system, fairness. And I think we can do this, and I think - and Republicans lost all their moral authority on the debt in 2017. I mean, they, that tax bill was just an absolute giveaway and all their predictions about how it's going to spur growth and pay for itself, that's just horse hooky. And then we've seen that now. So, the American people are on to this. This is about fairness.

And I think the President and the Vice President's plans are exactly where we need to go. And we just need to continue to take the case to the American people, and the President will, he wants to hear ideas from Republicans. But I'll tell you one lesson we learned from 2009 is the most valuable asset you have as a president is time. And we can't afford to waste time.

And so the President will sit down and hear them out. But we're not going to slow up this like they were trying to do in 2009. We learned a bad lesson there. We need to make progress and we have to have a fierce urgency of now. That's why the President's out there selling directly to the American people.

SANCHEZ: Tom Perez, appreciate your use of horse hooky this Saturday morning, Kentucky Derby Saturday. Tom Perez.

PEREZ: Boris, so funny to do that.

SANCHEZ: Thank you very much, sir.

PEREZ: Take care.

SANCHEZ: The FBI raid on Rudy Giuliani apparently has some Trump allies worried. What sources close to the former President say they fear could come next.

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PAUL: Also, federal investigators are looking into what they call mysterious energy attacks, some that were happening just steps away from the White House. We'll tell you what we've learned.

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SANCHEZ: Raids by federal agents have Rudy Giuliani's apartment and office this week is raising fears among former President Trump's inner circle. The searches are linked to a criminal probe of the former mayor's dealings in Ukraine.

PAUL: Sources close to the former president tells CNN, his allies are concerned the raids signaled the Justice Department is more willing to investigate the 45th president and his inner circle than they previously believed. Here's CNN's Jessica Schneider.

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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New details about the investigation into Rudy Giuliani and what exactly investigators are searching for. The New York Times now reports at least one of the search warrants served Wednesday sought information related to the former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

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The same Marie Yovanovitch former President Trump fired in April 2019 and who testified as a witness in his first impeachment trial.

MARIE YOVANOVITCH, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Our Ukraine policy has been thrown into disarray and shady interests, the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want.

SCHNEIDER: Investigators want to determine if Giuliani worked to get Yovanovitch ousted from her position just to help Trump or also to benefit Ukrainians' interest as he sought dirt from them on the Bidens. It's all part of the long running criminal investigation into Giuliani and an inquiry into whether he worked as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukraine, while also serving as President Trump's personal attorney.

Federal agents served a search warrant on his apartment and office Wednesday, seizing several electronic devices.

RUDY GIULIANI, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY: Well, about six o'clock in the morning, there was a big bang, bang, bang on the door. And outside were seven - seven FBI agents with a warrant for electronics.

SCHNEIDER: Giuliani insists he has never acted as a foreign agent.

GIULIANI: I can't believe that these people would actually think I would do something like this. But obviously the assistant U.S. attorneys hate me. And they hate Trump, which is probably - which is probably the whole thing. I mean to believe that I'm some kind of Russian agent.

SCHNEIDER: Giuliani's lawyer is also strenuously denying a report from the Washington Post that the FBI warned Giuliani and other Republican officials in 2019 that the Russians were feeding them falsehoods, specifically that a Russian influence operation was intent on sending out disinformation damaging to then presidential candidate Joe Biden. CNN has not confirmed the report.

He never received any such briefing, Giuliani's attorney told CNN. Giuliani was a prominent figure on the 2020 campaign trail for Trump and repeatedly floated false information about the Bidens' ties to Ukraine.

GIULIANI: The amount of crimes that Democrats committed in Ukraine are astounding. And when you say investigate and call Hunter Biden, I mean Joe Biden was the guy who did the bribe. And Joe Biden was the guy who took the bribe in order to protect Burisma.

SCHNEIDER: Rudy Giuliani was also repeatedly asked if this criminal probe could be about more than just possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. But he says he has not been told anything about the investigation by the Feds. Meanwhile, federal officials are bracing for a long legal fight over what's contained in those electronic devices that were seized with Giuliani's legal team likely arguing that much of it is subject to the attorney client privilege, Boris and Christi.

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PAUL: Paul Callan, a former New York City homicide prosecutor and CNN legal analyst with us now. Paul, good to see you. What stood out to you in that report that would be the headline for you?

PAUL CALLAN, FORMER NEW YORK CITY HOMICIDE PROSECUTOR: Well, it's always a headline when an attorney's office is rated by federal authorities. It's a very rare event. But here, it's even more unusual because Giuliani is the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and that was how he became the mayor of New York as a crime fighter for the Southern District.

The Southern District apparently now has turned on Giuliani and I think that's the headline that Southern District investigates its own its own, you know, Giuliani. So, it's a shocking development.

PAUL: Well, not only that, but there are questions, as we've reported, as according to CNN reporting within the former President Trump's inner circle as to who could be next. Do you think this raid tells you - tells you or any of us that there's more to come?

CALLAN: It's very difficult to read these tea leaves accurately. The Southern District is very tight lipped about what they're looking for. The only thing we know from the warrant is that they're investigating Giuliani on this Foreign Agents Registration Act violation. We - there are a number of other things though, of course, if you look at the Michael Cohen investigation, there were campaign finance indictments and once they start looking into your business dealings, it won't just be political things, they're looking at with respect to Giuliani.

They'll be looking at his business dealings, they'll be looking at his tax returns. Once the feds put the dogs on you, they really have the ability to examine your life under a microscope. So, it wouldn't surprise me at all if there are other crimes also being looked at whether they can prove anything is another matter.

PAUL: You mentioned Michael Cohen, the president - the former president's longtime fixer, as he was called. He at one time had said that he would take a bullet for President Trump. He flipped that obviously when the FBI raided his home back in 2018, but he is saying he believes Giuliani may do the same. I want to listen to what he told CNN earlier this week.

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MICHAEL COHEN, FMR PERSONAL ATTORNEY TO DONALD TRUMP: I think Rudy knows that he has trouble. I think Donald understands that Rudy will provide whatever information that he has to the SDNY because Rudy has no interest in going to prison and spending the golden years of his life behind bars.

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PAUL: So, nobody can get into Rudy Giuliani's mind, but based on what you know, of the man, and your time in New York, do you agree with that assessment?

CALLAN: No, I don't. I think that for a normal defendant under - a potential defendant under investigation by the feds, yes, they often do flip. It's the only way to stay out of prison. But I think Giuliani has such a massive ego. He was such an enormously powerful public figure here in New York as head of the Southern District, U.S. Attorney, and then of course, the crime fighting mayor.

And then he became even more famous after 911. Somehow, I have - I just have a hard time seeing Giuliani flipping and testifying against the president. And I also believe that Trump - and I think Michael Cohen is a good thing to look at here. Cohen was sort of the bad man for Trump for all of those years. Everybody thought when, when he was indicted, that all of this material would come out against Trump.

And what you found out was that Trump was always careful, even in dealing with his lawyers to make sure that they wouldn't have something that could be used against him. And I would be very surprised if Giuliani knew more than Michael Cohen did about the President's private dealings. So in the end, I don't know that he's going to be a rich source of information, ultimately, against the president.

PAUL: Paul Callan, I'm so grateful to have your thoughts on this. Thank you for being with us this morning. Good to see you.

CALLAN: Thank you, Christi.

SANCHEZ: Mysterious attacks that sickened U.S. embassy staff in Havana in 2016 have now been reported in the United States here in Washington DC, not far from the White House. The latest on the investigation to find the cause in just a few minutes.

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PAUL: Listen to this. U.S. intelligence is involved in several investigations into what is now called Havana Syndrome. It's these mysterious, invisible directed energy attacks that leaves people with vertigo, pounding headaches and nausea.

SANCHEZ: Yes, sounds like something out of science fiction. The new director of national intelligence though says this is a priority. Figuring out who's responsible for these attacks, both internationally and here at home where high-level government staffers have now reported being attacked.

CNN Senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt has more on the investigation.

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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's called Havana syndrome for where the strange debilitating attacks against U.S. personnel were first noticed. Now sources telling CNN about at least two more on American soil, similar mysterious incidents, including one late last year right near the White House.

AVRIL HAINES, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Thank you for your attention on this issue. It's critically important.

MARQUARDT: The country's top intelligence officials is saying she is focused on the attacks believed to be the result of directed microwaves. The Pentagon is also investigating. Multiple sources telling CNN that defense officials briefed Congress earlier this month telling lawmakers that the White House incident in November happened near the grassy oval area known as the ellipse, just south of the White House.

An official from the National Security Council was sickened. Another incident first reported by GQ happened across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia in 2019. Also seemingly directed at another White House staffer. Similar attacks have struck U.S. diplomats and CIA officials, not just in Cuba but China and Russia as well, including Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who says he was hit with an attack while visiting the Russian Capitol in 2017.

MARC POLYMEROPOLOS, FMR CIA SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: I woke up in the middle of the night with an incredible case of vertigo. The room was spinning. I wanted to throw up.

MARQUARDT: Polymeropoulos served in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Because of the Moscow attack, he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and had to retire from the CIA.

POLYMEROPOULOS: I've had a headache every day since that night in Moscow, it's never gone away day and night.

MARQUARDT: A study this year by the National Academy of Sciences found the most likely cause of the symptoms was directed pulsed radiofrequency energy. Symptoms include ear popping, vertigo, pounding headaches and nausea. Alongside the Pentagon, the State Department and CIA have also launched investigations.

WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR NOMINEE: I will make it a extraordinarily high priority to get to the bottom of who's responsible for the attacks.

MARQUARDT: And who is responsible remains a major question. U.S. officials have said it could be Russia. It could be China, they simply do not know. I want to underscore how extraordinary an attack here at the ellipse would be. This is the ellipse just south of the White House which you can see right there.

This is one of the most secure places in the country. You have U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Park Police, DC Metropolitan Police, and yet a White House staffer may have been targeted just steps from the White House. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

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SANCHEZ: Alex, thanks for that reporting. Joining us now to discuss the investigation is CNN Counterterrorism Analyst Phil Mudd. He's a former CIA counterterrorism official and FBI senior intelligence adviser. Phil, always great to see you. We appreciate you sharing some of your weekend with us.

These accounts are disturbing. The attacks first happened in Havana back in 2016, I believe. Now they've happened twice, reportedly here on American soil near arguably one of the most secure places on earth. That's alarming. I'm curious from you how these attacks actually work? What kind of defenses might prevent them?

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PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: I mean, one of the problems you're looking at in terms of preventing them is we don't know who's doing them. We don't know why they're doing them. And we still don't know exactly what's happening there.

As you heard in the report just a moment ago, the National Academy of Sciences did not say they were certain. This is what - this was directed energy. They said, that is the most probable explanation. When you're looking at brain scans of some of these individuals, including Marc Polymeropoulos you just heard from, there's brain damage from some of these individuals.

So it's not just somebody making up a story, something is happening. But my point is, if you don't know when, you don't know where, you don't know why, and you don't know how, it's not clear to me how you come up with a preventive policy to stop this from happening. We don't even know what's going on yet.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Phil, correct me if I'm wrong, but the United States typically leads the world when it comes to Military innovation and hardware. So what's your level of concern if the enemies of the United States are using technology that at least publicly appears to have baffled the highest levels of Washington? MUDD: I think my level of concern would be on two fronts. The first is

what you're talking about the scientific front. That is, if we don't understand what's going on here in the future, if people become more aggressive in using this, how do we counter this if it's available in every place, and you heard it today from the ellipse in Washington, there are reports about this from Miami.

It's called the Havana Syndrome, because obviously, it started in Havana about 2016. Is it Russians? Is it Chinese? I think the other question, though, that concerns me even more is the why. If someone is willing to do this in American cities in peacetime, what are we likely to see next year, the year after this?

What is the motivation of the people who are doing this? And might they expand in the future? We have no idea.

SANCHEZ: According to our reporting, there appears to be a lack of coordination among agencies investigating this, at least up until recently. A former defense official telling CNN that during the previous administration, the CIA and the State Department, they were not taking the situation seriously enough. Shouldn't there be more urgency with these incidents?

MUDD: You raise a critical question. I think there should be but you're seeing it now. Initially, going back to the beginning this five years ago, the reports and I think they're probably accurate that the U.S. government questioned some of the individuals involved in this. This is so weird, that the U.S. government is stepping back saying, are we confident that there's any there, there? Or are these just individuals who are having unusual symptoms?

I think, given some of the congressional hearings, given how long this has been going on, people, partly because of congressional pressure at the CIA, the State Department, the Defense Department, are taking this on directly. I will say that defense officials who are saying the rest of the government didn't take this seriously. When you work in government, your responsibility is to say let's all work together as a team.

Let's not criticize other members of the team. If I were in government now sit over at the White House and figure it out together, enough complaining.

SANCHEZ: And Phil, I want to dig a little bit deeper into what you presented about the difficulties in investigating this. There had been reports that troops overseas had been affected. After further investigation, it turned out that it was actually food poisoning. It's sort of it leads to a conundrum to try to figure out whether this was actually caused by an attack, or whether this is something else.

Walk us through the process of sorting out the facts that indicate one or another.

MUDD: Let me give you a couple of basic aspects of intelligence and why I would be concerned about some of what I've seen so far. The two basic access aspects of intelligence would be technical. If you see an intensification of attacks in places like Cuba or Moscow, is there some way you can put up a system to sort of collect technical information about those microwave attacks? Think about one of those red laser pointers, you see, occasionally.

Can you pick up information like that, if it's used against an individual? I'm a little bit skeptical because of how inconsistent these attacks have been. So let's go to the second aspect of intelligence, human intelligence, the fact that we don't know what's happening here so far means to me that if this is say Cuban, or Russian, or ability to access Military or intelligence officials in those countries who are working on this is limited.

If you can't get the technical stuff, let me cut to the chase. You got to get a human source who can talk about that? And evidently, we don't have that yet. One final quick comment. The gap between an intelligence what you think and what you know is huge. Let's remember so far, people are saying we think this is directed energy.

I learned because of a lot of mistakes in my career. There's a big leap between that and saying we know it's directed energy. We don't know a lot right now.

SANCHEZ: Man, this is weird. Phil Mudd, we appreciate you walking you through us - walking us through this. Thanks so much. Stay with CNN. We're going to be right back after a quick break.

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PAUL: Happy to have you here on a Saturday morning. Coming up on 45 minutes past the hour, I want to tell you about what's happening in India. 18 people have died after a fire ripped through a hospital's COVID-19 ICU ward. According to officials, 16 of those people were patients, two were staff. Right now official say a short circuit may have started that fire.

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There is an investigation going on and staying in India here. The crisis there is prompting the Biden Administration to take action announcing new travel restrictions for people traveling from that country. Starting on Tuesday, only U.S. citizens and permanent residents will be allowed into the U.S. Travelers will still be required to show a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination upon arrival.

SANCHEZ: Back in the United States, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem is suing the Biden Administration over a permit for a July 4 event at Mount Rushmore. The Interior Department denied Noem's request to hold a celebration and firework show at the National Monument, citing safety concerns as well as tribal opposition to the fireworks display.

And finally, how early is too early to start sipping on that Mint Julep. The 147th Kentucky Derby kicking off tonight, and after missing last year because of COVID restrictions spectators are back at Churchill Downs for the race. Capacity is limited in the stadium.

A spokesperson says they are expecting between 40,000 and 50,000 fans in the stands wearing their absolute best.

PAUL: Apparently Boris already has his drink. There's that too. It's not a bad thing, Boris. It's not a bad thing. And you know what that leads me right into the reset? Are we giving ourselves what we need to get through this Pandemic and to have that reset?

There's a mental health counselor, I talked to who tells us what she actually had to learn and what she says is going to help you most. Stay close.

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PAUL: Let's talk about the reset. Basically what we've learned about ourselves and our priorities since. COVID mental health counselor Faith Broussard Kade shared this on Instagram recently. "When my mind and body say enough, I will honor them by listening and resting." Here's the question, do you do that? I know I don't always. These notes that Faith writes, reflect her reset. How she's reprioritized her life since COVID.

And unlike the rest of us, this is her second reset. Her first was after an accident several years ago that left her with traumatic brain injuries and a whole new perspective about what priorities look like.

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FAITH BROUSSARD CADE, MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR: Most things will seem important, but not everything is a priority. And so what is a priority? Making sure that my family is taken care of, that they feel loved, that they feel seen, that they feel heard. I can do it all. But it doesn't mean that I should. And it doesn't mean that it's healthy for me to do it all.

And it doesn't mean that this pace that I'm going is sustainable.

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PAUL: This is when she says we just need to give ourselves grace.

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BROUSSARD CADE: Every day, my best may look different. But every day, my best is enough. Today, I know I've done my best. Today, if my best was getting up, teaching my kids, and then watching cartoons with them for the rest of the day. That's enough.

Tomorrow, maybe I can file for a 5k and educate my kids and feed them organic meals. But today, it's just school and cartoons. And that's enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PAUL: She says when we look for fulfilment and things outside of

ourselves, we're never going to find it. And that gratitude is the magical way to shift our mindset and see how far we've come.

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BROUSSARD CADE: The things that maybe we wrote down in a journal 10 years ago that actually have come to fruition, answered prayers, the fact that we have a home to come to every day.

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PAUL: And I had to ask her about one post in particular that caught a lot of people's attention. You put one up recently that said, God will get in it when I take my hands off of it. How do we learn to take our hands off?

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BROUSSARD CADE: We by nature like to feel like we are in control. And I think we also lose sight of what it means to do our part and then let the rest be. If I've done what is within my power to do, then I'm going to be at peace with that. I think we have to get to a place where we set boundaries with ourselves and we say this is the part of it that I'm going to do and this is the part of it I'm going to handle and then I'm going to let the rest go.

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PAUL: Oh thank you to Faith there. Tell me how the Pandemic has changed you and your approach to life. You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and I love to hear from you.

SANCHEZ: United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell returns tomorrow night at 10pm. He is tackling a very important and sensitive issue. Defunding the Police. Here's a preview.

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W. KAMAU BELL, HOST, THE UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: It's time for a new season of The United shades of America.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't have a conversation.

BELL: We have a conversation. That's all I do. You know, we got a lot to talk about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does matter that you are not harming anybody but also that you're proactively being anti-racist.

BELL: Oh Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I say white supremacy, I'm not just talking about white people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I shouldn't be going out there with pepper spray and a baton just to keep myself safe for preaching that my life matters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The system is broken. It needs to be completely stripped down bare bones and rebuilt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not just fighting against something, we're fighting for something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's about research to collect the evidence.

BELL: And then how do you put that out into the world?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a website.

BELL: Oh OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're asking questions people haven't thought about before.

BELL: I'm having some virtual reality low self-esteem.

ANNOUNCER: A new season of United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell premieres tomorrow at 10 on CNN.

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SANCHEZ: Tomorrow night at 10pm. Join us again, we'll be here in an hour after Smerconish. Got to leave some plausible deniability about the Mint Julep, Christi. I can't confirm whether or not there's one at the desk right now. Maybe I'll tell you at 10 o'clock.

PAUL: That's true. I didn't mean to try to incriminate you. That is not the case. That did not happen. It will just be readily available for him after we're done. And we'll see you in an hour.

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