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New Day Saturday

Houston Fire Chief: 8 Dead, Scores Injured at Astroworld Festival; Congress Passes $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill; 13 Republicans Join Democrats To Pass Infrastructure Bill; Dems Hold Slim Margin Going Into 2022 Midterm Elections; COVID-19 Antiviral Pill Can Cut Severe Illness By 89 Percent. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 06, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Buenos Dias, good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm Boris Sanchez.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Boris. I'm Christi Paul. Developing overnight, we have some tragedy in Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're working to identify all the victims. But what has been made clear the folks that were transported some as young as 10. And so, really tonight is about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: At least eight people are dead after a chaotic scene at a music festival late last night what we're learning about how it all happened.

SANCHEZ: Plus, a big win for President Biden. Congress passing that nearly $2 trillion infrastructure bill, we'll get your reaction from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

PAUL: And a high stakes trial underway in Georgia as prosecutors lay out their case in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Our legal team weighs in on the arguments and concerns over the makeup of the jury.

SANCHEZ: Good morning, and welcome to your NEW DAY. We're so grateful to have you. It's Saturday, November 6.

PAUL: No doubt. Yes, Boris, good to see you. And thank you so much waking up early with us on this Saturday morning.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and we're staying on top of breaking news that tragedy in Houston at least eight people killed after crowds rushed the stage at a sold-out music festival. As many as 50,000 people were attending the first night of the astral world music festival when crowds began to push toward the stage causing panic and crushing those in front of them.

PAUL: Now, at one-point, medical personnel were so overwhelmed that some audience members began helping fellow concert goers nearly two dozen patients were taken to area hospitals and investigators say at last check the youngest patient, a 10-year-old was still in critical condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some of the best hospitals here in the city of Houston. I know they're, they're getting the best care they can but they are that patient was in critical condition. And it was just tragic situation. You know at this moment our hearts go out to the families that that lost a loved one because they went out there for to have some fun. Enjoy the concert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro is following this story. He joins us live right now. Evan, what else have you learned this hour?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, this is an ongoing story. And one of the scariest and saddest parts is victims are still being identified. That just in the last hour, the Houston Office of Emergency Management has announced a hotline for people to call if they're missing people and trying to find people who were at that after World Festival when this tragedy struck. There's a lot to learn about what happened.

We don't know exactly what happened. But what the early indications are is this is a story about crowd control failing and what can happen when a large group of people gets out of control. Authority say, around 50,000 people were attending the astral world Festival at the NRG stadium complex in Houston last night, and there was some kind of crowd surge that led to this mass number of casualties. The fire chief took us through it earlier on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage or towards the stage which, which caused the people in the front to be compressed and what they were unable to escape that that situation that that incident caused a lot of additional panic in the crowd and, and as people began to fall out and be compressed, and it quickly overwhelmed the, the security that was that was hired for that venue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTORO: Just horrifying to imagine what that must be like to be in a situation like that. And as you reported earlier, at least eight dead in that incident. So far. Like I said a lot of questions still to be answered. But those questions will need to be answered by the people whose job it was to keep this event safe. It seems clear at this point, they failed. Boris and Christi.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and apparently something similar happened just about two years ago at the same festival. So, there will be questions about accountability and hopefully some answers for those families whose loved ones were impacted. Evan McMorris-Santoro, thank you so much.

PAUL: So, to the political arena we go here and a significant victory for President Biden's economic agenda after months of negotiations that were painful, some might say, and hours of delays last night. Congress finally passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

[07:05:00]

SANCHEZ: Yes, the legislation represents the single largest infrastructure investment in the last 10 years. And it includes money for us roads, bridges, and mass transit. Our team is covering it all this morning. We begin with CNNs Eva McKend on Capitol Hill this morning. Eva, tell us more about what is in the bill and the process of getting it passed.

EVA MCKEND, CNN REPORTER: Now Boris and Christi, this is a bill that invests in America's crumbling infrastructure in a robust way. It includes things like expanding high speed Internet, funding new climate initiatives, addressing water quality, creating new charging stations for electric vehicles.

There's money in there to upgrade airports, and also investments in public transit, as well. And the vast majority of Democrats did support this bill last night after President Biden implored them to do so calling on them, leaning on them pleading on them to support this six progressive Democrats did not. But 13 Republicans actually joined their Democratic colleagues in supporting the bill.

These are moderate Republicans who want to be able to go back to their congressional districts and when they are boots in the ground and roads and bridge construction projects underway, want to be able to take credit for that work being done. Take a listen to what members have to say, during the vote last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DON BACON (R-NE): The hard infrastructure bill, I thought it was good for our district I thought was good for our country. It was perfect already to be focused right into the thick of it would have made it a little better myself. But I think in the end, it was good for the country. And I just got to follow my conscience and I committed to do it back in March and April.

REP. PRAMILA JAPAYAL (D-WA): The country needs to continue to move forward. And so, we feel like we got the best of all worlds. We got a commitment on this vote which and every single one of those individuals looked us in the eyes and said they are voting for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: Now, not that this was any cakewalk for Democrats, but now comes a much heavier arguably heavier lift in trying to pass in Democrats trying to pass the rest of President Biden's domestic policy agenda in the days ahead. Boris, Christi.

SANCHEZ: Eva McKend, thank you so much.

PAUL: Thank you, Eva. Jasmine Wright with us now in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where President Biden is headed later today. So, the White House Jasmine says the President is planning to speak later this morning was supposed to hear from about 930 About the passing of this bipartisan infrastructure legislation. What do we expect at that time?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, we can expect a victory lap. Look, when President Biden heads down here to Rehoboth where I am, where his home, one of his homes are, he will have a massive win under his belt. And now of course, it comes after really months and months of painstaking negotiations we just heard even get into a bit of it.

But he's going to come here really hours after one of the best days of his presidency and starting that victory lap. He released a statement late last night and I want to read a bit of it to you. He said tonight we took a monumental step forward as a nation. Generations from now people will look back and know this is when America won the economic competition for the 21st century.

Now, this bipartisan infrastructure bill, it brings things like roads, bridges, transportation, clean water, broadband, to the American people, but it should also bring jobs. I think that President Biden really took the effort to tout months and months in these negotiations. And it's something that he really got to tout yesterday, when he talked about those robust jobs report.

Now he hopes that this bipartisan infrastructure bill will add to that continuation of the economy adding more jobs. But of course, this did not come easy for Democrats and officials have told me and my colleagues over the last few months about President Biden's influence and interference trying to get both sides progressives and moderates who deal specifically yesterday.

He took a real hand in calling both sides multiple times calling the Progressive Caucus calling the moderates really trying to forge a deal that was after the progressives said that they were going to hold their vote on the bipartisan infrastructure part when moderates said that they weren't going to vote for the larger social spending package. So, President Biden set a deadline, something that he had been reluctant to do up until yesterday saying that now is the time to vote in lawmakers answered their call really giving President Biden something that was elusive two presidents before him, his predecessor.

I remember all of those infrastructure weeks now President Biden has this infrastructure bill really submitting his legacy but as Eva said, it is Not all done yet he needs to get past, past the second part of his economic agenda that social safety expansion package and that will he that's what he will be working on after this victory lap concludes after he signs this bipartisan infrastructure deal today. Boris, Christi.

[07:10:20]

PAUL: Jasmine, right. We appreciate it so much. Thank you. For some more perspective on the passage of the infrastructure bill and other political headlines. Politico Playbook Co-Author Rachael Bade, joining us. Rachael, good morning to you. So, talk to us about the significance of this because as Jasmine laid it out, President Biden was the leader, he was walking the line, he is the one who influenced to the votes. He gets credit for this, is that accurate?

RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, look, he certainly leaned in this time where he hadn't in the past few times. I mean, if you'll recall, they've tried to pass this bipartisan infrastructure bill through the House three times. Third time's a charm. They tried to do it at the end of September, President Biden didn't lean in, and in fact, frustrated.

House Democratic leaders, same thing happened right around Halloween when they were trying to get it done, then. But look, I think, you know, after Tuesday's huge election embarrassment across the country, Democrats felt like they really had to get something done. And Nancy Pelosi working with President Biden really used that moment to put the pressure on these members who have been fighting for months.

And so, you know, with the speaker, who obviously, is really known for her work behind the scenes, she's pretty good at twisting arms over her legislative career, and an asked by President Biden to progressives to support this, obviously made a difference. However, we have to acknowledge that this would not have passed had not been for Republicans, Pelosi and Biden actually lost six Democrats and they could only lose three.

But there were about a dozen House Republicans who ended up supporting this bipartisan bill. In the Senate, there were obviously many more a huge a larger percentage of the Senate Republican Conference, but this would not have happened if it weren't for some Republican support. So, big day for Democrats, I do think there's a little frustration that this happened in the dead of night on a Friday when nobody's paying attention.

And you know, President Biden's going to try to do a victory lap today. But how many people watch TV on Saturdays? I don't know. Hopefully, they're watching us. But anyway, this is -- they really want to tap this, and he's going to try to bring attention to it.

PAUL: So, I, I'm listening to you, talking about how what happened on Tuesday, could be the very reason that we're seeing what happened overnight here with the passage of this bill. With that said, how do you think Tuesday's election not only shaped what we saw in the last 24 hours? But what how it may play a role, if at all, in the next fill in the Build Better Back -- or Build Back Better Act?

BADE: Absolutely, I think, you know, across the Democratic caucus, and that's both with liberal members, progressive members and with moderate members, people saw it as a wake-up call, that they needed to get something done that they'd spent too much time bickering amongst each other, that they had no legislative wins, and they needed to tout something.

The interesting question I have is whether passing these bills, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better, will actually help them in the midterms. You know, the clear message I took away from Tuesday was that voters feel like Democrats are out of touch. They're not talking about the issues that voters care about. The thing that are top of mind for Democrat for most voters right now are things like inflation, why they can't you know, why they struggle to buy, you know, gas for their cars and milk for their fridges. That's the thing that really worries people right now.

And you know, Democrats right now, they're talking a lot about infrastructure. They're talking about paid family leave. That's, that's something that's popular with voters. But a lot of the stuff, it seems to be secondary to other concerns that Americans have right now. So, even though this is giving the Democratic Party momentum, I do think there's a question still, of whether this will really help them in the midterms in terms of keeping their majorities in Congress.

PAUL: And as you noted, they had a lot of Republicans on board. They had 13 Republicans on board this time around, no indication that they will have that support on the second bill. Thank you so much, Rachael Bade, good to see you.

BADE: Good to see you.

SANCHEZ: It is the first full weekend that young children could be vaccinated against COVID-19 and now it's just up to parents to take them for the shots. That story up next.

[07:14:40]

PAUL: And a little bit later, only one African American man seated on the jury in the trial for the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery. A lot of people are asking can justice really be served? Our legal experts are ahead this our; stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I don't know if you're going to be in line or not today, but Walgreens pharmacies across the country are beginning to administer Pfizer vaccinations against COVID-19 for children ages five to 11 as of this morning.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and as the nation begins to feel hopeful that the end of the pandemic is near, there's another potential sign of progress. Pfizer now says, its experimental COVID-19 pill can prevent death or severe illness. CNN's Evan McMorris Santoro has your latest COVID headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTORO: As younger children began to receive Pfizer vaccines this week, the pharmaceutical giant has been working on something new, an experimental new treatment for the virus. An interim analysis from Pfizer showed that when their experimental pill is taken in conjunction with another antiviral within three days of symptoms appearing, there was an 89 percent reduction in the risk of hospitalization or death. The company's hope is that people would take it at home for becoming

sick enough to go to the hospital, but the pill is still far away off from reaching patients. Pfizer's data has not been peer reviewed, published, or submitted to the FDA yet.

ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: It is significant, that means that instead of having a moment among this group of people, 10 going to hospital, only one will go. And likely, very few if any will die, so the production of this pill will save millions and millions of lives.

[07:20:23]

SANTORO: With nearly 60 percent of the US population fully vaccinated, the government's emphasis has turned to vaccinating children between the ages of five and 11. They began to receive their vaccines earlier this week with more shots rolling out for that age group this weekend at Walgreens locations and other sites throughout the country.

BIDEN: We're preparing for this moment by securing enough vaccine supply for every single child in that age category in America. Those doses have started to arrive at thousands of pediatricians, offices, pharmacies, schools and other sites. Starting next week, our kids' vaccination programs will hit full strength, with about 20,000 trusted and convenient places for parents to get their kids vaccinated.

SANTORO: But vaccine hesitancy is still with us. NFL Star Aaron Rodgers said he's unvaccinated and consulted with podcast host Joe Rogan about a course of treatment when he caught the virus. He says he took several treatments, including the drug ivermectin, a medication that is not a proven treatment for COVID-19.

Here in New York City, where tensed battles over vaccine mandates for municipal workers led to protests last week. The vaccination rate for city employees continued to inch up, now about 92 percent. Approximately, 80 percent of the city's firefighters have been fully vaccinated. 86 percent of New York City Police Department have received their shots.

Only 130 People have been put on leave without pay. But about 6000 uniformed and civilian officers have requested exemptions from the mandate. Commissioner Dermot Shea telling CNN's Jim Scuitto, the department is handling each of those cases individually.

DERMOT SHEA, NYPD COMMISSIONER: The impact comes from the uniformed and civilian members that have not requested an accommodation and were put out leave without pay. It's manageable. You know we're able to move resources around, stop training in certain areas, do things behind the scenes by trying to get those people back to work.

SANTORO: Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And be sure to join Big Bird, Elmo and other friends from "Sesame Street" for this special townhall this morning. It's at 8:30 Eastern, and they have questions for our Dr. Sanjay Gupta and younger kids and about younger kids, I should say, in the Coronavirus vaccine, so don't miss the ABCs of COVID vaccines right here on CNN.

SANCHEZ: A nearly all white jury will decide the fate of three white men accused of shooting and killing a 25-year-old black man last year. That's over the judges own reservations. How was only one black person seated? We'll talk to our legal experts after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:09]

SANCHEZ: Opening statements began Friday in the trial of three white men charged with the killing of a Ahmaud Arbery, who was jogging through a neighborhood.

PAUL: Motions were high in the courtroom, particularly as you can imagine for Arbery's family after prosecutors played video of the shooting in its entirety. CNN's Martin Savidge has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE TIMOTHY WALMSLEY, SUPERIOR COURT STATE OF GEORGIA: The state of Georgia versus Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William R. Bryan.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a trial where race and racism take center stage. The nearly all white jury heard two very different accounts of how a 25-year-old black man, Ahmaud Arbery, was chased and killed by three white men as he was running in a coastal Georgia neighborhood.

LINDA DUNIKOSHI, PROSECUTOR: They started to take off running and the pickup truck goes to follow him.

SAVIDGE: In their opening statement, the lead prosecutor described Arbery is under attack by the three defendants who say they believe that he had committed a crime.

DUNIKOSHI: In this case, all three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions. Not on facts, not on evidence, on assumptions, and they made decisions in their driveways based on those assumptions that took a young man's life.

SAVIDGE: Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and a neighbor William Rodney Brian Jr. are facing life in prison on murder and other charges if convicted. It was Bryan who captured the killing on a cell phone. In their opening statement, prosecutors played the cellphone video. Among those watching and listening in the courtroom is Arbery's mother, who said she had never seen it in its entirety and was clearly emotionally overwhelmed.

WANDA COOPER-JONES, AHMAUD ARBERY'S MOTHER: I decided to remain in and start to get familiar with what happened to Ahmaud the last minutes of his life.

SAVIDGE: At no time during the five-minute chase, the prosecutor says did the defendants tell Arbery they were performing a citizen's arrest. Instead, prosecutors say Gregory McMichael shouted threats.

DUNIKOSHI: So, how do you know Mr. Ahmaud Arbery was under attack by strangers with intent to kill him? Because Michael told the police this, "Stop or I'll blow your (BLEEP) head off."

SAVIDGE: In the defense's opening statements. Travis McMichael's attorney portrays a very different story.

ROBERT RUBIN, TRAVIS MCMICHAEL'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This case is about duty and responsibility.

SAVIDGE: Describing Travis McMichael not as a vigilante, but as a 10- year veteran of the Coast Guard who felt a duty and responsibility to protect his neighborhood using his training.

RUBIN: It is scenario-based training you're relying on muscle memory.

SAVIDGE: The defense maintains Arbery was seen on video on multiple different occasions in decided to neighborhood home under construction without permission including the day that Arbery was killed.

[07:30:05]

RUBIN: The evidence shows overwhelmingly that Travis McMichael honestly unlawfully attempted to detain Ahmaud Arbery according to the law and shot and killed him in self-defense.

SAVIDGE: Gregory McMichael's attorney also argued his client's actions were well within the law.

FRANK HOGUE, GREGORY MCMICHAEL'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Greg McMichael was absolutely sure this was the guy. The same guy he had seen on surveillance videos inside the house multiple times where Greg had sound reasons to believe theft had occurred.

SAVIDGE: The state's first witness was the second police officer on the scene, the day Arbery was killed. His bodycam video shows such a gruesome scene. Judge Timothy Walmsley delivered a warning to the courtroom when it was played.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what did that man, covered in blood, seen it over there say to you and you asked him, are you OK?

OFC. WILLIAM DUGGAN, GLYNN COUNTY POLICE: He -- it was a quick reply of basically, no, I'm not OK. I just -- I think killed somebody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE (on camera): Friday was a very difficult and a very painful day and it was also just the first day of testimony in this trial. It will resume, 9:00 a.m. Monday morning. Boris and Christi.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Martin Savidge, thank you so much.

Criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson with us now, as well as former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Elie Honig. Gentlemen, we appreciate both of you being here.

Joey, I want to ask you, first and foremost. When we see these jurors, and we know that the defense was pivotal in the makeup of these jurors, they were able to remove eight potential black jurors.

I think a lot of people look at this and they think, how does this happen? How do you answer that?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST (on camera): Yes. Christi, good morning to you. Good morning, Elie.

It happens because you had a situation here where the judge acknowledged that in his view, there was intentional discrimination, but fail to fashion a remedy. In the event that you have a court indicating that there's the appearance that something is amiss, I think then you are incumbent as a court to do something about it. Right?

Clearly, you acknowledge there's a problem. And so, that's how it happens. It happens prior to that, because both sides have what are called challenges. You can strike a juror for any reason or no reason at all, provided that reason is not discriminatory.

And so, here we had a judge while saying absorbing and saying you know what, yes, the composition may be off, you may have used your challenges in a way that's intentional and it's discriminatory, but nothing to see here. Let's go forward.

And I think that's a mistake and undermines confidence in the system. And to the extent or in the event that there's an acquittal, I think there'll be many questions in the system as to whether this was a receptive jury.

We're a long ways away from that. But I think something more could have been done. It was not.

PAUL: So, Elie, with that said, what does your experience tell you about where this might go? I mean, prognosticate what you can for us here.

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST (on camera): Yes, so, Joey is correct. The jury selection process is highly imperfect. Even in a case like this, where a judge suspects there may have been racial discrimination in the selection of the jurors, the judge then has to do something about it.

Take away some of the jury strikes from one side, declare a mistrial, and start all over. Here, the judge has said: Look, I sort of have problems with the way this went down, but we're going to move ahead.

This case, ultimately, from the defense side will come down to two things. One, the defense will argue that the defendants were entitled to try to make what's called a citizen's arrest on Ahmaud Arbery.

That was the law in Georgia at the time, it's no longer the law. It's been repealed largely because of this incident. And then, they will argue that they acted in self-defense against an unarmed man, I think that's going to be a difficult claim to make.

But remember, we have to have a unanimous jury either way for conviction or for acquittal.

PAUL: Joey, you and I have talked about this many times. Do you have any expectation that any of these three accused will take the stand?

JACKSON: You know, it's always too early to tell, Christi. And I say that because what you do -- and I don't even think they know, in all candor, whether they're going to testify. I think what you do as a defense attorney is you prepare your client for that eventuality so that if they do, they're ready. But I think you have to see how the prosecutors present their case.

Did we present enough doubt? Do you need to testify? Has information come out with respect to your conduct and the justification of your conduct that we don't need to put you in harm's way?

They've made statements, those statements have been already indicated by the prosecutor. So, I think we're a long ways off, Christi. I think we can make that assessment or I have a better prognostication as the trial moves forward depending upon whether they are able to raise that as a defense reasonable doubt.

[07:34:58]

PAUL: All right. I want to move real quickly if we can before we run out of time to the Kyle Rittenhouse situation, Elie. We have this new FBI infrared surveillance video that is being shown of what happened right before that shooting.

Remember, Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of murder and shooting and killing two people and injuring three others after the shooting of Robert -- Jacob -- excuse me, that shooting of Jacob Blake.

What is the impact of the video on Rittenhouse's self-defense claim?

HONIG: Well, I think the video helps ultimately Rittenhouse's self- defense claim but it doesn't get him all the way there. I think the most important takeaway from that video is in the moments before Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum, the first victim -- Rosenbaum was chasing Rittenhouse and Rittenhouse was running.

However, that doesn't necessarily entitle somebody to turn around and start firing. So, what Rittenhouse's defense team has to do here is establish enough basis for self-defense.

And I think we're going to hear them argue one or two of these two things. One that Rosenbaum reached for his gun and he had to shoot in order to stop that. There was a witness who said something along those lines.

And number two is that Rittenhouse essentially heard a shot fired elsewhere and believed it was Rosenbaum. The prosecution's response is going to be neither of those things was a reasonable belief, his conduct was not reasonable, and he started this situation. He -- Rittenhouse created the dangerous situation by getting a gun illegally, by traveling 30 miles to Kenosha, to be there by walking around with it on an open display.

Nobody else they've argued was involved in any kind of shooting other than Rittenhouse. So, that's going to be the back and forth here.

PAUL: All right, Joey, real quickly, we talked about the judge in the Arbery case. I want to ask you real quickly about the judge in this one because he banned the prosecutors from calling Rosenbaum and Huber, who were the two that were shot and killed. Victims cannot call them victims but may be able to call them rioters and looters if the defense can prove that to be the case.

One, how do they prove that? And two, how unusual or how rare is it to not be able to call somebody who was shot and killed a victim?

JACKSON: You know, Christi, it speaks to briefly the control that judges have over cases with respect to what they admit into evidence with regard to what they allow things to be said.

And so, when you have a situation where you have a judge saying, well, what this -- you can't even refer to them, Christi, not only as victims but alleged victims, if judges saying.

And so, that controls the narrative. It really controls what you have the ability to say and do. And I think ultimately, you know, could influence the outcome. Words matter, characterizations matter, presentations matter, and the manner in which jurors absorb that information matters.

And so, I think that was a big thing for the judge to do and not necessarily a legally proper thing for the judge to do.

PAUL: Joey Jackson, Elie Honig, always appreciate your expertise and the fact that you wake up early for us on a Saturday morning. Thank you both so much.

JACKSON: Always. Thanks, Christi.

HONIG: Thanks, Christi.

PAUL: Thank you.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Christmas is just seven weeks from today, but your presence may not make it under the tree in time. They might be stuck on a barge floating in the Pacific Ocean.

Up next, we're going to talk to a business owner struggling to get products needed before the holidays and stock.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:54]

SANCHEZ: I hope you send your list to Santa at this point because Christmas is fewer than 50 days away. And finding that favorite toy or a special gift for your loved one might be a challenge.

Because of a global supply chain crisis, companies are scrambling to get their products to stores in time. One of those businesses is Chicago-based fishing company Catch Co.

Joining us now is Catch Co.'s Chief Operating Officer Tim MacGuidwin. Tim, good morning. We appreciate you coming on with us.

A New York Times article on your company highlighted a time-sensitive product that you're counting on this holiday season. It's an advent calendar for fishing. I think that might be it behind you. It's about 15 percent of all your sales, but you're having trouble securing them.

TIM MACGUIDWIN, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, CATCH CO.: Yes, so this is the Mystery Tackle Box 12 Days Of Fishmas Advent Calendar that we are trying to get onto the shelves at 2600 Walmart for the holiday season this year. And I've had lots of trouble in terms of getting through the overall global supply chain.

SANCHEZ: And what's the biggest issue?

MACGUIDWIN: So, we, source and manufacturer of these products with our manufacturing partners overseas mostly, which are in China. So, they're brought together in a facility and then brought from the Chinese factory to the port, from the port onto a boat put into the -- onto a container ship into the Port of Los Angeles. From the Port of Los Angeles, then, trucked to a facility in Fort Worth, or Nashville or Kansas City. And then, they're packaged into a display which is ultimately sent to the Walmart warehouse, which then gets sent to the actual Walmart stores.

Every single one of those steps in the supply chain is experiencing a delay.

SANCHEZ: So, what happens if you can't get to retailers in time for the holidays? What kind of a financial loss you're looking at?

MACGUIDWIN: I mean, be very significant. One of the things with the -- a product like this is this is a holiday product. This is something that is meant for to be under the tree at Christmas. And if it -- if it's not there, it's a huge loss of inventory basically becomes a scrap product at that time, so, it's a big financial loss.

[07:45:04]

SANCHEZ: And other than perhaps some very sad fishermen, what are the consequences potentially for your workers if you have to try to reduce costs?

MACGUIDWIN: So, it would definitely -- it would impact the company overall. The main thing is that the inventory itself is -- because it's a holiday Christmas product, after December 25th, it's not really -- you can't sell it anymore, especially because this product says 2021 on it.

So, there would be a financial impact because most of these are not going to be able to be used after that -- after that time. So, it would impact us in a big way.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the White House is launching a supply chain dashboard trying to keep track of an enormous backlog. They've also called for more ports to operate 24/7. How much do you think that will help? And what else would you like to see the federal government do?

MACGUIDWIN: So, I would say that it's a -- it's a great step. Anything that's going to add capacity to things like more, more truckers on the road, more hours at the ports, more people working in warehouses, and fulfillment centers, any of those things will help the overall global supply chain.

I would say for right now, for impacting Christmas sales, especially for us, it's kind of too late. Most of these products -- most of our products that needed to get to the shelf in time for Black Friday, and -- you know, for the holiday season. It already needs to be through the port. It's because there's such a long time that it needs to get from the port to our warehouse, to Walmart's warehouse, and other retailer warehouses before it gets to the shelves.

So, it will help. I'm not sure it will help for the holidays.

SANCHEZ: So, essentially, you're not optimistic about the advent calendars getting there on time.

MACGUIDWIN: No, actually, we are very optimistic or we have been successful in terms of -- we put a lot of time into ensuring there was enough lead time to get the products to the shelf.

So, normally it would take 60 to 75 days that entire process, but it took about 130 in this time. But luckily, we put enough time and effort into making sure that it has made it to the shelf.

I can -- I can promise that these are going to be on the shelf at Walmart this year. For anybody who's excited about fishing.

SANCHEZ: I'm glad to hear that they will be there on time or at least, we're forecasting that they'll be there on time. It obviously is a huge issue for so many people and we appreciate you, Tim MacGuidwin, coming on and talking to us about your personal experience with these supply chain problems. Thanks.

MACGUIDWIN: Thanks for having me.

PAUL (voice-over): There's some dicey weather out there. Yes, that radar doesn't look good there. So, we'll tell you more about exactly what it means for you. Stay close.

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[07:52:21]

SANCHEZ: People across the coast in the southeast are waking up to the threat of flash flooding.

PAUL: Yes, and we're talking from northern Florida to the Outer Banks. Look at some of this video we're getting an isolated flash flooding is possible due to some heavy rain expected this weekend.

We're talking about cities such as Charleston and St. Augustine that are already feeling what's happening there, as you can see it and hear it in that microphone.

CNN's meteorologist Tyler Mauldin has an update for us. Hi, Tyler.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Hey, good morning, guys.

Northeast Florida has picked up already in just a couple of days, nearly a full month's worth of rainfall. We are seeing this area of low pressure slowly moved to the northeast, and as it does, so it's going to -- it's going to spread that rainfall across portions of Georgia and the Carolinas too.

And on top of that, we're also dealing with 40 to 50 mile per hour wind gusts too. So, flood alerts are up from Florida all the way to the Outer Banks. We could see an additional -- I would say, four inches of rainfall in some parts of the region. This system is going to push up to the north, it's going to slowly push off to the east though. Eventually, once we get to early Monday. And that's when the rainfall begins to taper off.

As I mentioned, we will see an additional four to six inches of rainfall in parts of Georgia, and also Florida. And then, you can see up here near the Outer Banks, possibly four inches of rainfall there right along the coastline.

In addition to that, here is what else we're watching around the country. Up here across the Pacific Northwest, we have an area of low pressure that's going to bring rain and snow to them. And then, sandwiched in between to those two systems is above-average temperatures across the plains. And then very chilly weather, temperatures about 10 to 20 degrees below average across the southeast.

PAUL: All right. Tyler Mauldin, we appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

MAULDIN: Got it.

PAUL: So, NEW DAY is going to be back after a quick break.

First, though, all this story of survival and determination. Here is CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, bringing us the human factor.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 2003, Dan Bigley was a free spirit and a backcountry guide in Alaska. That summer, the 25-year-old and his friend headed out on a fishing trip. Bigley said goodbye to his girlfriend,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN BIGLEY, BEAR ATTACK SURVIVOR: And I told her that I would call her when I got off the river. And unfortunately, you know, that was a promise that I was unable to keep. I had, had lots of bear encounters. And this one was very, very different, very unique. The bear comes ripping around the corner and was upon us. She was standing on top of me basically with either claw digging in and she cocked her head sideways and bit down across my face.

Every single bone in my head had been broken, except for my mandible.

[07:55:02]

GUPTA: But they were so remote, it would be 5-1/2 hours before Bigley got into surgery.

BIGLEY: I always remember them telling me that I would always be blind. I realized early on, it would be easy to slip into a life of bitterness.

GUPTA: Waking nightmares haunted him for years. He got therapy and made up his mind to reengage in life.

Six years after the attack, Bigley got his master's in social work. And today, he's a clinical director working with families dealing with trauma.

BIGLEY: These experiences oftentimes cause people to disengage from life, but what I've learned is that the more engaged the less disabled.

GUPTA: Bigley and his girlfriend got married and had two kids.

BIGLEY: The bigger my life gets, the smaller my disability gets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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