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New Day Saturday
FDA Advisers Vote to Recommend Booster Doses of Moderna and J&J COVID-19 Vaccines; Chicago Police Union: Up to 50 percent of Officers Could be put on Unpaid Leave Under City's Vaccine Mandate; Biden's SCOTUS Commission Looks at Term Limits and Expanding Court; Astros Grab Emotional Win Over Red Sox in ALCS Opener. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired October 16, 2021 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:00]
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm Boris Sanchez.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christi Paul. We have more COVID booster shots on the horizon now following FDA approval of two vaccines. Why one group in particular could be eligible for a booster right away.
SANCHEZ: And new video from the Justice Department reportedly showing the moments that rioters first breached the Capitol. We're also getting new details about a Capitol police officer charged in connection with the riot.
PAUL: And the Parkland school shooter says he now intends to plead guilty to murder charges in connection with that shooting. What it means for the case against him.
SANCHEZ: Plus, gas prices are soaring from coast to coast. Why analysts say that despite no shortage in supply, it is only going to get worse.
We're so grateful that you're with us this Saturday, October 16th. Good morning, Christi. Great to see you as always.
PAUL: Yes. You too, Boris. Looking sharp. I love that tie.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much.
PAUL: All right. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we need to talk about the FDA's vaccine advisers. They unanimously voted now to recommend booster shots of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine to everyone 18 and over who received their last shot at least two months ago.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And on Thursday, the same committee backed emergency use authorization for booster shots of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. That booster would be intended for people over 65 and for those who have a heightened risk and it's to be administered six months after their most recent shot. The move comes amid new guidance from the CDC on Friday that masks and outdoor gatherings are the best way to make holiday gatherings safe this year. Their biggest advice of course what we've heard repeatedly: Anyone who can get vaccinated should get vaccinated.
PAUL: Yes. And even as vaccinations do tick up, there are battles that are playing out across the country over the mandates. One of the most intense right now in Chicago as the city's police union is going head- to-head with the mayor. Here CNN's Jean Casarez.
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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (Voice over): Advisers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously to recommend emergency authorization of a booster dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and a day later did so again for a booster of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do have 19 out of 19 unanimous yes votes.
CASAREZ (Voice over): The group voted Friday to authorize a booster shot of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine for Americans 18 and older at least two months after they get their first shots.
DR. PENNY HEATON, GLOBAL THERAPEUTIC AREA HEAD FOR VACCINES, JANSSEN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: It will increase the efficacy against severe disease, it will increase the efficacy against all symptomatic COVID and it will increase the breadth of the immune response against variants.
CASAREZ (Voice over): Johnson & Johnson says studies showed boosting at two or six months can bring effectiveness up to 94 percent.
DR. PAUL OFFIT, FDA VACCINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE: I think this, frankly, was always a two-dose vaccine. I think it's better as a two- dose vaccine.
CASAREZ (Voice over): More than 9 million people have received a booster dose of coronavirus vaccine according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is nearly 5 percent of those who were already fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated adults are 19 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die.
In Chicago, Illinois, police officers must submit to testing or prove that they are vaccinated.
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT, (D) CHICAGO: What we've seen from the Fraternal Order of Police and particularly leadership is a lot of misinformation, a lot of half-truths and frankly flat out lies in order to induce an insurrection and we're not having that.
CASAREZ (Voice over): Their union says half of the cops haven't had their shots.
JOHN CATANZARA, PRESIDENT, CHICAGO FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: But even the ones that are still, like myself, believe that a forced mandate is absolutely wrong.
CASAREZ (Voice over): Friday evening, a court granted the city of Chicago's request for a temporary restraining order against Fraternal Order of Police president John Catanzara, prohibiting him from making public comments to media or on social media encouraging Chicago police officers to refuse to comply with the city's vaccination order. "Data isn't available yet to know whether COVID-19 vaccines will need to be given every year as influenza vaccines are," National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins said Friday.
"Starting on November 8th, foreign visitors who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to travel to the United States," the White House said Friday.
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That is good news for the U.S. tourist industry. Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.
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PAUL: Let's talk to primary care physician and public health specialist Dr. Saju Mathew. Dr. Mathew, it is so good to see you again this morning. I want to ask you first of all about this news CDC data on that unvaccinated adults face an 11 times higher risk of dying from COVID than fully vaccinated adults. What are you seeing regarding patients who are still on the fence about vaccinations? I mean, does this kind of news -- does it help them at all?
DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARY PHYSICIAN AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: Yes. I think -- you know, good morning, Christi. Listen, we need all the reaffirmation to try to convince 16 million unvaccinated people in this country to roll up your sleeve and get the shot. I mean, this is exactly what I'm seeing at work. I'm seeing a good number of my patients who are vaccinated, a good number unfortunately still that are unvaccinated and they're falling sick.
I saw a 41-year-old male in great shape, no medical issues, spent four weeks in the ICU. I'm applying for disability for him this week. Forty-one. He was supposed to get married in December. So I think situations like that show me how humble we need to be regarding this virus. And I know people are tired of hearing this, but ultimately it's get vaccinated or get infected.
PAUL: So on that point, there are a lot of people who are concerned about the mix and match scenarios, getting a -- getting their regular vaccine, say, from Pfizer and then what kind of booster shot can they get? Can they mix the brands there? What evidence have you seen that might drive your safety to being able to mix and match?
MATHEW: Well, actually it's ...
PAUL: Particularly for Johnson & Johnson. I know that's a concern for people.
MATHEW: Right. Yes. Fifteen million people, you know, Christi, have gotten Johnson & Johnson vaccine and for a long time, it was just crickets. They weren't guided by, you know, is their vaccine working? How does it compare to Madonna and Pfizer? I've always said as a scientist that if you look at the data, if you look at the efficacy rate of J&J, it's not as protective as Moderna and Pfizer.
And this small study that the FDA looked at -- they didn't really comment on it -- show that if they're boosted, if the J&J vaccine recipients are boosted with another J&J, they get a four-fold rise in antibody protection, but if they're boosted with an mRNA vaccine, Moderna or Pfizer, we're talking about a 40 to 70 boosting of the antibody levels. So I would like to see J&J vaccine recipients have that option of getting boosted with an mRNA vaccine.
PAUL: We're sitting in this window that seems rare right now because we're not talking or having a lot of warnings about any variants and, you know, the unpredictability that that brings. Do you feel a renewed sense of urgency to be aggressive about vaccinations now while we have this window?
MATHEW: One-hundred percent. I've tweeted and talked about that a lot on TV, Christi. This is actually the time to rev up restrictions, not to pull back on restrictions because just like you said, we have that window once again in this country. We've missed many opportunities, but once again we have the opportunity to crush this virus. Cases are going down in most parts of the U.S., hospitalizations are going down.
So instead of pulling back, I think we should mandate vaccines, we should mandate masking and really try to get to that finish line and be hopeful. I am.
PAUL: Dr. Saju Mathew, we appreciate everything that you do and especially getting up early on a Saturday or a Sunday morning for us. Thank you.
MATHEW: Thanks, Christi.
PAUL: Of course.
SANCHEZ: We've got an update for you now on former President Bill Clinton. He's spending a fourth night in a California hospital after being admitted for an infection. Doctors at the University of California Irvine Medical Center say that Clinton is being treated for a urinary tract infection that spread into his bloodstream. The former president's doctors say that those infections are very common in older people and fortunately, they're easily treated.
According to hospital staff, the 75-year-old former president has been in good spirits, talking to family and staff and has been up and walking around.
PAUL: Coming up, the Democratic divide stalls the president's agenda. A lot of people are wondering where do we go from here? We'll talk about it.
SANCHEZ: And the Justice Department releasing new video of the January 6th riot. We'll show you some of the first moments that rioters breached the Capitol, just moments away.
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PAUL: Thirteen minutes past the hour. Good Saturday morning to you. So Senator Joe Manchin is pushing back on criticism from fellow Democrat Bernie Sanders. Democrats are really struggling to pass this massive spending plan.
SANCHEZ: Yes. That's right. Yesterday, President Joe Biden laid out areas of potential compromise in his 10-year $3 trillion Build Back Better plan, but negotiations have dragged on as progressives and moderates are fighting over the price of the package. Let's get out live to Capitol Hill and CNN's Daniella Diaz joining us now. Daniella, Sanders published an op-ed in Senator Joe Manchin's home state of Virginia. Manchin responded by saying he's not taking orders from an out-of-stater. They're not any closer to a compromise.
DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN REPORTER: That's exactly right. If there's one thing, Boris, that you can't do its tell Manchin what he needs to do behind any sort of bill that needs to pass Congress. I want to read a little bit from Manchin's statement. He had really harsh words for Senator Bernie Sanders. He did not like that Senator Bernie Sanders did this op-ed in the biggest newspaper in West Virginia.
This is what he said, "This isn't the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what's best for them despite having no relationship to our state.
[06:15:04]
Congress should proceed with caution on any additional spending and I will not vote for a reckless expansion of government programs. No op- ed from a self-declared Independent socialist is going to change that." Really strong words here from Manchin to Senator Bernie Sanders who put this op-ed in the biggest newspaper in West Virginia trying to advocate for this $3.5 trillion price tag for the economic bill that would expand the nation's social safety net.
I want to talk a little bit about the divisions that are happening here in the party. You know, Senator Joe Manchin also joined by Senator Kyrsten Sinema, two moderate Democrats. They don't agree with this $3.5 trillion price tag. That's the problem here, but Senator Bernie Sanders wants that. He doesn't want to cut any programs from a bill they've already written that they want to pass through Congress.
Now, one of the biggest sticking points here for Manchin is that the bill actually includes a provision that would substantially slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. He does not agree with that, he does not want that and that is why one of the sticking points that they can't agree on because progressives want provisions that would help and combat climate change. So that is a problem here for these moderate Democratic senators and progressives that want to pass this bill and of course didn't even mention they're holding up a separate bipartisan infrastructure bill that has already passed the Senate, has not passed House to go to President Joe Biden's desk and that is the problem here as progressives won't support that bill until they finalize details for the economic bill.
So bottom line here is there's still a lot of details that both of these divisions, these factions of the Democratic caucus, progressives and moderates, need to iron out before they can proceed on this bill and of course the deadline being -- the next self imposed deadline by Democrats being October 31st to figure this all out. Boris, Christi?
PAUL: Yes, not a lot of time. Daniella, we appreciate it so much. Daniella Diaz for there. Thank you.
Listen, want to share with you something that we're seeing now, new video that the Justice Department says captures one of the first successful breaches of the Capitol building. This was of course on January 6th. Take a look at the video here.
In there you see it. The rioters smashed through that glass door, they rush into the Capitol. The video was released after one man in that video, Brian McCreary, pleaded guilty to illegally entering the Capitol. This video later shows -- take a look at it here -- a swarm of rioters storming through a hallway.
They are facing off there, as you can see, with Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman and you can see how really overwhelmed he seems to be as he's backing off from them and you can hear them, in fact, demand to know where lawmakers are, quote, "Counting the votes."
SANCHEZ: We should note there was a Capitol police officer that was indicted this week in connection to the January 6th insurrection. Prosecutors alleging that Michael A. Riley obstructed justice when he told a rioter to remove posts on social media showing that they were in the Capitol that day.
Riley is a 25-year member of the force and he's been placed on administrative leave. He was working in the canine unit on January 6th, but he wasn't actually in the building during the attack. He's not yet entered any plea in the case and he's scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.
Let's take a step back and talk all things politics with our guest. CNN political commentator Errol Louis is with us this morning. He's a political anchor for "Spectrum News" and host of the "You Decide" podcast. Errol, as always, appreciate you getting up bright and early for us.
Let's talk about what President Joe Biden told my colleague, Kaitlan Collins, last night. He said that he thinks that those who refused to comply with subpoenas from the January 6th committee should be prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Let's listen to exactly what the president said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Should they be prosecuted by the Justice Department?
BIDEN: I do, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: No nuance there. He's very direct. During the Trump era, though, Errol, we repeatedly talked about the dangers of a president directing DOJ and how it should do its work. How is this different from what Joe Biden is doing and how could his comments be misconstrued?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, good morning, Boris. This is a little bit different because of the video you just showed a minute ago. This is people trying to overturn the democracy. These are rioting people who were trying to literally hunt down members of Congress as they were certifying the last presidential vote. That's quite a bit different from sicing the attorney general on one's political opponents.
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This is really about making sure that, at a minimum, they respond to a subpoena. This is just asking for information. It's not about, you know, going after somebody like a Steve Bannon. It's just about having them respond to their legal obligation to tell the truth when asked about what they did in connection with that very serious attack on our democracy.
SANCHEZ: Errol, CNN is reporting that some Republicans are tiffed that former President Trump continues his promotion of the Big Lie because it might wind up hurting them come 2022. Trump again suggested this week that Republicans shouldn't vote in the next election. he made more false claims about fraud. Leadership in the Republican party has mostly just brushed this off.
They know how popular Trump is with the base so they're hesitant to criticize him, but we've heard concerns, even from Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, that the Big Lie back fired in two Senate races in Georgia, for example. So what are the chances that Trump's lies might again hurt turnout?
LOUIS: Listen, the best thing the Democrats have going for them now as they try and work through their own series of internal fights and dilemmas, the biggest boost that they have potentially are the actions of Donald Trump. If he wants to hold the entire party captive and demand, as a test of loyalty, not just that they support him, but that they deny what we all saw with our own eyes, which is that he lost, by a sizeable margin, the 2020 election and with it control of the Senate, if he's going to insist on that, I mean, again, Mitch McConnell here is right.
If they want to go down that road again, they have a very good chance of at least not maximizing the political advantages they might otherwise have and at worst, they might continue to be out in the wilderness with the Democrats in control of both houses of Congress and the White House itself.
SANCHEZ: And, Errol, I do want to ask you about a back and forth not between Manchin and Sanders, but Terry McAuliffe and the White House. He's repeatedly emphasized that he wants to see the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed as soon as possible. Obviously he's running for governor of Virginia and he implied to the "AP" that he includes President Biden in a category of politicians that he's been urging to get their act together to move the country forward.
We just heard that report from Daniella about how far apart two wings of the Democratic party are. What else can the president do at this point and what could be the potential implications for candidates like McAuliffe if these bills fall short?
LOUIS: Well, you know, there's an interesting local situation there, Boris. I mean, Terry McAuliffe has got problems that have nothing to do with infrastructure or President Biden. He's gone from a 6.6 lead down to barely 2 percent. He's calling for help from every corner that he can imagine and that includes sort of throwing some mud at the White House and trying to make himself more palatable to Independents and even some Republicans in a race that he seems poised to perhaps lose. I think that's what's going on there.
What it means for the president, though, is that, you know, even though nobody likes being criticized, the Biden White House has got to try and rescue Terry McAuliffe because the big story will be -- if he should lose, the big story will be that Virginia is a harbinger of bad things to come for Democrats, that it means -- it signals that they're going to lose the midterms, it signals that they're going to lose the White House, it signals that the Biden agenda is not popular in a swing state that has gone Democratic for the last couple of cycles.
So, you know, one way or another, these two are going to have to work this out. Terry McAuliffe, though, trying to tack to the center, get some quick and easy points by bashing the White House a little bit as well as getting some infrastructure wins under his belt in these closing weeks. A very tense political situation down there with a lot at stake for both sides.
SANCHEZ: And also getting some Democratic loyalty, we should point out, watching some major candidates like Barack Obama and others campaign for him over the weekend. Errol Louis, we got to leave the conversation there. Always appreciate your perspective.
LOUIS: Thank you, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
PAUL: It's the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Well, now the Parkland High School shooter is said to be pleading guilty. The latest on that case next.
Plus, conspiracy theories have always been around, but now with social media, they're reaching millions of people. On an all-new episode of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING," learn how algorithms are designed to make money and control the information that you receive. You can watch that tomorrow night, 10:00 P.M., right here on CNN.
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SANCHEZ: It was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history and now the person charged in the 2018 massacre at Parkland High School plans to plead guilty. The attorney for Nikolas Cruz made the announcement during a hearing related to a fight that he had with a prison guard. He says Cruz will plead guilty in the shooting rampage that left 17 students and faculty members dead and more than a dozen others wounded.
Cruz's defense team had previously offered a guilty plea in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole, but prosecutors rejected that saying they were seeking the death penalty. Let's bring in CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson. Good morning, Joey. Always great to see you. This decision by Cruz and his team kind of seem to come out of nowhere. He confessed to police about the shooting, but he pleaded not guilty and there's been no indication from prosecutors that they would move off their intent to seek the death penalty. So why do you think this is happening now?
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JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Boris, good morning to you. You know, I think it's a strategic play by the defense. Remember what the end game here is, and has always been. From the defense perspective, Boris, the end game has been to preserve his life, right? Notwithstanding the fact that he took 17 others and of course, attempted to kill 17 additional for that. But in the event that the defense worked to have a trial, right, everything with respect to what he did back in that February 2018 day to all the people in that school to the community, to the country would come about.
And then in the event he was established to be guilty, which the evidence is compelling, there's no reason to believe that he would not, right, have been found guilty. Now, you have to have a penalty phase in which you are arguing for his life and all the redeeming qualities. So, I think this is the defense's way to kind of blunt that and to say to the prosecutors, if you want to have a trial because you want to have the penalty phase and you want to bring about what we call the aggravating factors to show that, that penalty is warranted, do so.
But our argument is going to be consistent, and that is that, he is remorseful for what he did and that he deserves to live. And I think that's the basics to your question as to why now, he has chosen without plea negotiation, without prosecutors' approval to say, I'm pleading guilty, I accept responsibility.
SANCHEZ: So, his change of plea hearing is set for Wednesday, walk us through that proceeding. What is it going to look like?
JACKSON: And so, what happens is, is that initially, of course, we know that he pled not guilty for the charges that he was facing. In the event that you want to change that plea, you want to ensure that it's voluntary and that it's knowing as we look there at the counts that he's facing with respect to the lives that he's taken in addition to the lives that he had attempted to take. And in the event you want to alter that plea and you want to accept responsibility, there's a number of things you have to do. You have to of course, demonstrate that you're doing it in a knowing way, that you have your wits about you.
That there's no mental infirmities which are impairing your judgment to make that decision, that you're pleading guilty voluntarily. You're pleading guilty because you know you are guilty, that you understand you have the right to trial and are waiving that right, that you understand that your lawyers have the right to cross-examine witnesses to establish that you're not guilty under our constitution, and to the extent that you can do that and fully what they call bars allocute, what did you do?
When did you do it? How did you do it? Was it premeditated? Then of course, you're allowed to change that plea and to enter the plea, and that would effectively end the trial itself which would have established its guilt, but not the penalty phases I noted, which then could go on so prosecutors continue to pursue the death penalty.
SANCHEZ: And if prosecutors were to do that, I'm assuming that we would have a chance to hear from the families of victims and survivors, so they may still get their day in court, right?
JACKSON: Yes, you know, Boris, that's a tough portion of this. You know, it's one thing of course for prosecutors to establish by virtue of the penalty faced, what happened, when it happened, how it happened, you know, potentially, why it happened regarding his past history and what he was premeditating, and the videos we know he made prior, it's quite another to listen to really, victim impact statements. You know, every life that's taken was a meaningful life. They meant so much to so many, their family, friends, communities, and it's just as riveting, compelling testimony in many times and many instances just a lot to stomach and a lot to go through.
SANCHEZ: All right, we've got to leave the conversation there, Joey Jackson, thank you so much for the time.
JACKSON: Thank you, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
PAUL: Coming up, under pressure. For months now, many Democrats have been calling on Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire so President Biden can appoint a younger liberal judge to the bench. Now, Justice Breyer is responding in a one-on-one interview with CNN. We'll tell you what he says.
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[06:35:00]
PAUL: So, here's something we don't see often. President Biden's Supreme Court Commission is leading to a rare bipartisan consensus, no one is happy with it. Liberals say current drafts don't go far enough to drive change on the court. Two conservatives just quit the panel in fact, saying it isn't necessary.
SANCHEZ: Yes, and even on the one topic that proved popular on both sides of the aisle, term justices -- or term limits for justices, President Biden now says he doesn't support it. CNN's Joan Biskupic sat down with liberal Justice Stephen Breyer earlier this week to talk about the pressure he's facing to retire and the future of the Supreme Court.
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning Boris and Christi. I had a chance to sit down with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer this week for a candid and wide-ranging interview. We met at Georgetown Law School where you can see that its supreme court institute has a moot courtroom that looks like the real thing. Justice Breyer immediately felt at home. We covered topics such as his continued faith in the institution at this polarized time, proposals for changes at the court, and of course, the big retirement question.
Many Democrats want the 83-year-old senior liberal to retire soon, so that President Joe Biden can appoint a younger liberal justice while the Senate is in Democratic hands. That issue has clouded Breyer's efforts to promote his new book in which he cast the high court as a non-political institution. Justice Breyer resisted my questions about all the pressure on him, including some that emerged when I had interviewed him earlier at his Mycenaean forum where hecklers enthralled a "retire Breyer" banner.
[06:40:00]
Listen to what he said this week in the CNN interview when I asked him if he found it all rather annoying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN BREYER, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: That, does it irk me? I'll tell you, the truth I think is, there's always your -- you know, you can always hope for your more mature self which is there, sometimes. And this is a country in which every day I see this in this document, but number one is called freedom of speech. That means freedom of thought.
BISKUPIC: So, you think let them -- let them --
BREYER: Freedom of expression --
BISKUPIC: What they want.
BREYER: Oh, I do believe that.
BISKUPIC: But are you really -- but you must be irked somehow. This must drive you nuts a little bit, right?
BREYER: If you can, I mean, please. Was that --
BISKUPIC: I didn't mean to slip into an informal way of asking you a question, Justice Breyer --
BREYER: No, it is fine, I was thinking of Harry Truman, if it's too hot, get out of the kitchen or something like that --
BISKUPIC: Yes.
BREYER: It's far from the worst thing in the world to have people say mean things or nice things or this thing or that thing about you. And really, if you're not prepared, of course, people will get upset about all kinds of things. That's why we have this First Amendment. We have it there so people will say things that you might not like and that I might not like, that's why it's there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BISKUPIC: Yes, Justice Breyer does indeed look on the bright side. He does that with the court as an institution too. He knows that he's grown controversial, divided as it is now, with six Republican- appointed conservative justices, three of them named by former President Donald Trump and only three remaining liberals, all appointed by Democratic presidents. Justice Breyer says the American public should have faith in the court despite orders such as the one just in September that led a Texas ban on abortions at roughly six weeks of pregnancy to take effect.
He says segments of the public have always disliked some court decisions. Yet, Americans have abided by those decisions. He's discouraged proposals for major change at the court, and here is what Justice Breyer said when he addressed the idea of expanding the number of seats which is sometimes dubbed court-packing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BREYER: Before people make major changes in the court, I would like them to read or otherwise understand what I've written and to think about it pretty deeply. And it is an institution -- and I'll just repeat this, it's an institution that -- fallible though it is, over time has served this country pretty well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BISKUPIC: Throughout our interview, he returned that theme, the court is not perfect, it's not infallible, but it has served the country pretty well. That's Justice Breyer in his 28th year and not yet ready to give up this Supreme Court. Christi, Boris?
SANCHEZ: Thanks to Joan Biskupic for that report. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the island of Bali, tourism, the driving economic force in the region practically came to a halt. Thousands of people were left out of work and at risk of going hungry. This week's CNN Hero found a way to help his community by implementing a simple plan, empower people to trade in collected plastic waste for rice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I keep going with this mission because people empower, because people get excited because of the community that responded to this initiative. I see the smile in their face. I see the cleaner environments, and also I see they can provide for their family. This initiative is so simple and we can do this in every community. We clean the environments, we feed the people and I'm proud doing this. My goal is to really spread this movement, I want to inspire people that everything is possible. There is no small dream. If you believe and you do it with the community, you will succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: To learn more about this and all the other CNN Heroes, go to cnnheroes.com. We'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: The Houston Astros pulling off an incredible, emotional, comeback win last night over the Red Sox to start the American League Championship Series.
PAUL: Yes, Carolyn Manno is here. Good morning to you, Carolyn. Tell us about it.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you both. Well, this is the fifth straight season that Houston's made it this far largely because of moments like what we saw last night and the players that they had. You have to give Enrique Hernandez credit for Boston, he played the lights out, but the Astros came back, they -- Houston down 2 in the sixth with the runner off when the smallest big man in baseball, 5 foot 6 Jose Altuve putting a charge into this one.
Homerun deep into the short porch at left field to tie things up. Altuve just the fourth player in history with 20 career playoff homeruns tied with Derek Jeter, Carlos Correa would give Houston the lead in the seventh, no doubt about this one.
[06:50:00]
He knew it as soon as he made contact. Correa saying you know what? It's my time, and I think Houston feels that way, they've taken more on game two set for tonight. So, the National League Championship Series, guys, also getting under way tonight in Atlanta between the Braves and the Dodgers. You can catch that one on our sister network "TBS" as well. And this week's difference maker is NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, he came into the top circuit in NASCAR four years ago, and a couple of weeks back won his first race at NASCAR's top tier. It was a big moment for him, it's been nearly 60 years since a black driver walked away with that checkered flag.
And recently, he spoke with our Coy Wire about his importance in the sport.
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BUBBA WALLACE, NASCAR DRIVER: Sports are tough. Any sport I can imagine at the top level, it was tough for sure, and it took me 143 races, I believe. I scrapped my first win and it's a long time, you know, I've been winless since 2017 and no, nothing motivated me more than having a zero in that column.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: You felt like quitting at times. What were some of the factors that led into that?
WALLACE: Being winless. You know, getting chewed up and spit out each and every weekend. But I appreciate people that still believed in me, or the people that are behind the scenes that are pushing me to be better, on and off the race track, and then people at the shop. And you know, I naturally didn't have that confidence, but it's nice hearing other people, you know, make you feel good and it brings some confidence for you. So, surround yourself with the right people, it brings out the best in you.
WIRE: You're not just any other athlete, you know, how heavy has that crown weighed on you?
WALLACE: That's what my pinned tweet is all about. I'm going to be labeled as the black driver. I've accepted it. So, I'm telling you, I'm telling all the people that are coming into the sport that are necessarily tired of hearing of the black driver, it's like, hey, that's -- it's going to be talked about. So, if I've accepted it, I encourage you to accept it and just roll on with it because it's going to be talked about for really a long time.
WIRE: How do you hope that your win, your accomplishment inspires future generations?
WALLACE: Man, you know, representation matters, so, I hope a little boy or girl, they would witness what happened and encourage their parents to go out and buy a go cart, go out and compete. That's what it's all about, I mean, you start about when they're young, get them exposed, whether they're at the race track or watching on TV, pick a favorite driver, get hooked, understand the sport and then if any should come up. We got a lot of positive influencers coming and wanting to be a part of our sport, grow our sport, get out to the urban markets, and show them like, hey, NASCAR is cool.
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MANNO: You know, Saints running back Alvin Kamara, guys, came on in June with NASCAR's -- their growth and engagement officer to continue to work towards solutions for engagement in the sport. And Bubba Wallace drives for a team owned by Michael Jordan, so all of them working together to fix this issue, and Bubba, a role model for so many. Great stuff there from Coy. PAUL: No doubt about it. Carolyn Manno, always good to see you, thank
you.
SANCHEZ: Thanks Carolyn. Still ahead, pain at the pump. Across the country, gas prices are skyrocketing. We'll tell you what's behind the hike and whether any relief is in sight.
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[06:55:00]
PAUL: We're pretty sure you've noticed that gas prices skyrocketing across the country.
SANCHEZ: Yes, on average, it's costing Americans an extra $16 every time that you fill up the tank compared to just a year ago. So, what's behind this price hike? CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.
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VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From coast to coast, there's a consensus.
(on camera): What do you think of the price that you're seeing right now on the pump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's getting pretty high.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gas is bad, prices really high.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): The price of gas per gallon, the highest in seven years, topping $4 in some states. The price of crude oil, the largest driver of gas prices went negative last year, and now over $80 a barrel this week, and it may only get worse.
ROBERT SINCLAIR JR., PUBLIC AFFAIRS, AAA: We haven't peaked this year as yet, we're seeing the highest price of the year right now.
YURKEVICH (on camera): We're not at the peak, what does that mean for you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that means I might travel closer to home.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Gary Christensen(ph) stopping for gas in New Jersey while on a road trip to Maine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is another 50 cents higher than what I paid for in Virginia.
YURKEVICH: He says it's only gotten more expensive as he makes his way north.
(on camera): Do you remember a time in history when gas prices were this high?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I remember Jimmy Carter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to have to close earlier than usual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jimmy Carter, you are waiting in even odd days going in to try to get gas.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): That was in the 1970s when an Arab oil embargo and conflict in Iran led to a shortage of oil, doubling the price of gas from under 50 cents a gallon to over $1 in just a few short years. In 2008, global demand for gas and supply chain concerns set prices to a record, and in 2014, more global unrest in the Middle East sparked another gas shortage, sending prices sky high.
SINCLAIR JR.: We're in a very different place. There's plenty of gasoline, plenty of products, you just can't get to it.
YURKEVICH: That's because OPEC, the biggest oil producing nations aren't increasing the amount of oil they released into the global economy. So, as demand rebounds in the U.S., Americans are paying about $16 more to fill up their tanks than a year ago.
