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New Day Sunday
CDC: At Least 104 Million Americans Have Received First Dose Of Vaccine; Health Experts Warn U.S. May Be On The Cusp Of Another COVID- 19 Surge; Biden Launches Push On $2.2 Trillion American Jobs Plan; Officer Injured In Capitol Attack Released From The Hospital; George Floyd's Sister Joins Call For Police Reform; Testimony Resumes Tomorrow After A Week Of Compelling Witnesses In Derek Chauvin Trial; Vatican Celebrates Easter Under COVID Restrictions; Hunter Biden Opens Up About Addiction, Ukraine Company Board Seat. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired April 04, 2021 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:20]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Every day that you get 4 million, 3 million people vaccinated you get closer and closer to control.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 60 or 70 percent of American adults have zero immunity to COVID-19. They are ending up in my E.R. and in my hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emotional testimonies seemed to drive the prosecution's case.
CHARLES MCMILLIAN, EYEWITNESS: I don't have a mama either. I understand him.
SGT. DAVID PLOEGER (RETIRED), MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: When Mr. Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers they could have ended their restraint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baseball has (ph) told, Georgia, you change your laws or you make some modifications we'll come right back there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor Kemp saying Major League Baseball caved to cancel culture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gonzaga has time to do something. Suggs for the win. Oh, yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy Easter to you. I'm Victor Blackwell.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Easter to you. I'm Amara Walker in for Christi Paul. BLACKWELL: So today if you are fully vaccinated you could be with your family without a mask and, of course, that's right on time because it is Easter. That's the guidance from the CDC. It includes actually unvaccinated people in some circumstances, but they warn that you still have to be careful.
WALKER: That's right. Nearly 60 million Americans have been fully vaccinated. That is more than 18 percent of the population. Dozens of states have now expanded eligibility to everyone 16 and older. Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. has been doing extremely well with the vaccines.
BLACKWELL: All of this is great news, but health experts warn the U.S. may be on the cusp of another surge. Several states are seeing alarming trends, including Michigan. That state has now reported the second highest number of U.K. variant cases. Let's start right there.
CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the latest from Michigan where they're seeing that additional surge -- Polo.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, good morning to you. You know just about a year ago pews were mostly empty across the country where in the early stage of the pandemic. Well, today you have churches across the country and, of course, here in Detroit that are preparing to hold those in-person Easter services because of that incredible increase in COVID numbers here in Michigan I can tell you that there are many faith leaders in this part of the country.
They are preparing to continue requiring masks, continuing with social distancing to make sure that worshippers can at least come to services in relative safety.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FAUCI: That's coming, Jim, trust me. It's coming.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): The nation's top infectious disease expert telling CNN's Jim Acosta, the country is slowly but surely heading towards normalcy, Dr. Anthony Fauci says. CDC's promise with over 4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses having been administered Friday alone, a record reporting day tweeted the Biden administration's COVID data director.
Dr. Fauci also renewed his call for people to keep their guard up even after 104 million Americans have already received at least one vaccine dose. Dr. Fauci said researchers are getting closer to confirming that it's highly unlikely that vaccinated people can infect those who haven't received their shot. But we're not there yet, he says.
FAUCI: I wouldn't be surprised if it'd show that vaccinated people do not transmit infections to others even when they have asymptomatic breakthrough infections.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: And a lot of that --
FAUCI: When those data come in, Jim, then -- yes, you're going to see a turnaround in the recommendation.
SANDOVAL: For now the bottom line recommendations say the medical experts, mask up even if you're among the more than 18 percent of Americans now fully vaccinated.
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We will get there faster with less damage if we keep wearing the masks while we're getting vaccinated. That makes good sense to us. I know it's kind of hard for people to keep those two apparently conflicting notions in their head at the same time, but hang in there with us.
SANDOVAL: Michigan continues serving as a reminder of how young people can contribute to a surge in infections. Yesterday, Michigan reported over 8,400 new COVID cases when a mere two months ago that number was 563. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is deploying over three dozen pop up COVID testing sites through mid April and recommending families and students who travel to spring break use them before and after their trips.
As New York State surpassed 10 million vaccine doses given Broadway came back to life for only a brief performance on Saturday. The St. James Theater became the first to open to limited crowds since all Broadway venues closed in March of 2020 due to the pandemic. It was for one of 10 scheduled pilot performances ahead of a planned wider reopening in September.
[06:05:02]
SUSAN SLOTOROFF, BROADWAY WORKER: Broadway is the heart of New York City. New York City is not what it is without Broadway.
SANDOVAL: It's one of the many signs of normalcy across the country as vaccinations and the virus run simultaneous races.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: And tomorrow is expected to be a big and significant day for Michigan State's fight against the pandemic because they will be now offering the vaccine to all residents ages 16 and above, Amara. They will also be doubling their goal of daily vaccinations from about 50,000 a day to 100,000 a day.
WALKER: All right. Polo Sandoval reporting live for us there. Thank you so much.
Joining me now to talk about all of this is epidemiologist -- I always have a hard time with that word -- Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former Detroit health commissioner. Good morning to you, doctor. Let's first talk about the good news. And I'm sure a lot of people are excited. They can finally see their families for the first holiday, really, with some not having to wear masks.
So when we talk about the guidelines, the CDC says, you can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or staying six feet apart, and gather indoors with unvaccinated people of any age from one other household, this is for the fully vaccinated. But, doctor, what should the unvaccinated people or people who got only their first shot or are just days away from being fully vaccinated, what should they be doing? They need to be taking precautions.
DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. First, thank you for having me and happy Easter to everybody.
Look, this is amazing news, and we have to credit the incredible work of federal government scientists, the work of Operation Warp Speed, and the work of the manufacturers who made this happen, and all of the public health professionals who have gotten this vaccine out. For folks who are vaccinated this really does mean that you can to some semblance of normalcy enjoy your holiday. For folks who are unvaccinated don't forget that this is still going strong.
My state of Michigan is an important reminder of what's possible particularly in the presence of these variants that are spreading far faster than even the wild type -- original COVID-19 causing virus did. And so masks, masks, masks. And if you can avoid indoors gatherings, please do so.
If you can stay outdoors, that's way safer. And if you can keep a mask on, that's really important. But I do hope that folks enjoy their holiday even despite the fact that COVID is unfortunately still with us and we have to remain taking it seriously.
WALKER: Yes. I definitely want to talk you about what's happening in Michigan. But just quickly about the vaccinations and the vaccines because we know vaccines prevent disease at a high efficacy rate. We don't know, doctor, if a fully vaccinated person could transmit the virus. And Dr. Fauci told our Jim Acosta last night that the data though looks promising. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: So it's looking like the data are gradually getting to the point where it's going to be an extremely low likelihood that a vaccinated person will be able to transmit to a person who is unvaccinated and not infected. We haven't nailed that down completely. We have started a college study --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: All right. So your thoughts on that?
EL-SAYED: Well, that's really great news. I just want to clarify things for folks. We tend to think about this disease as in ones and zeros, yeses or noes. Do we have herd immunity? Do we not have herd immunity? Are you able to transmit it? Are you not able to transmit it? But really what we're trying to do is interpret what are ultimately shades of gray.
We know that vaccinated people, it's plausible, it's possible at this point given what we understand about the data that they could transmit. The high probability is that they don't. That's why the CDC guidelines suggest that even unvaccinated people from one household can come together indoors without a mask with vaccinated people, but these are shades of gray.
And so a high probability not, but we need more evidence, as Dr. Fauci has mentioned, to be able to really say we started to -- that the answer to that is no. Similarly when we talk about herd immunity, we're approaching herd immunity every day, a little bit more herd immunity every day. But when we think about what we talk about with capital H, herd immunity, what we're talking about is the collapse of the pandemic because so many people are vaccinated.
And so I want folks to appreciate that these are shades of gray. We want to give answers with certitude, but science rarely works that way. It becomes clearer and clearer with more and more definition as we learn more.
WALKER: Yes. We still have to wait. We got to wait until more people are vaccinated. It is not certain like you said. But, hey, we'll take the optimism, right? I mean, it has been such a tough year for all of us. If there's promising signs, we'll take it.
OK. So back to your state, Michigan, it's seeing an alarming uptick in cases. The CDC says your state has the second most U.K. variant cases and more than half of the COVID cases are under 39. You wrote a "Washington Post" piece about why the surge is so scary, why is it?
EL-SAYED: Well, it's because there's nothing special about Michigan right now. It's just that Michigan was one of the first states that was hit with b.1.1.7, which we know is in every single state except for Oklahoma at this point.
[06:10:02]
And we know that it spreads up to 7.5 percent every week. And so even though we are the first deal with this variant in a real way, Florida also has a high number of b.1.1.7 cases, we know it's coming everywhere else. So I just want folks to understand that there's nothing special about Michigan when it comes to COVID-19.
It's the same brew of things happening, b.1.1.7, governors being a little quick to reopen, the circumstance where people are getting a little bit lax and getting a little bit tired of this pandemic. All of those things coming together to really infect young people.
And even though vaccines are on the way, and as we talked about, they're extremely efficacious, very effective in real life, in world -- to protecting older people, they're still just on the way, right? We're hitting right around 20 percent in Michigan who have been vaccinated. That's great, but it's nowhere near what we need to be able to say, yes, we can defeat these variants in a race.
And so folks have to keep focused on what we need to do to hopefully have a great summer. Let's beat these variants, get vaccinated, but until then masked up, back up and wash up.
WALKER: So important. Michigan, nothing special. That means we could be seeing the surge anywhere in the country. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, appreciate you joining us. Thank you. EL-SAYED: Amara, thank you for having me.
BLACKWELL: This week President Biden starts selling his massive $2 trillion American jobs plan. Now, it's an infrastructure plan. There's money for road repairs and job training, upgrades to public schools and hospitals, and expansion of broadband internet access.
Jasmine Wright is with us now. Jasmine, we've got some work to do. How will the president this week try to move the ball forward on this plan?
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Victor, the president wakes up this Easter morning at Camp David, but when he returns to the White House he faces an uphill battle trying to gain Republican support for that infrastructure and jobs plan. On Friday, President Biden talked about that effort and sounded optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Congress comes back after this Easter break, I'm going to begin meeting with Democrats, Republicans about this plan. I've spoken to Republicans on the phone. I'm going to be looking forward to meeting with them.
They all have their ideas about what it will take, what they like, and what they don't like. That's a good thing. That's the American way.
Debate is welcome. Compromise is inevitable. Changes in my plan are certain. But inaction is not an option.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: Now, President Biden said that on Friday. It was only Thursday, Victor, that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened to fight this plan every step of the way saying he didn't believe President Biden had the mandate to pass it. Now, of course it was McConnell who famously said in 2017, winners make policy and losers go home, but even members in President Biden's own party, Democrats aren't seeing necessarily eye to eye on this.
And, yes, I am talking about West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin who stalled the COVID relief bill last month. He's saying that he doesn't want to talk about Democrats going it alone. Before they try to do it via regular order. Before there is bipartisan negotiations.
Because remember, unlike the COVID relief bill, Victor, this plan that President Biden is proposing along with the second part that will come later on this month, that deals with child care and education, those things are permanent, raising the stakes. So President Biden will be selling this plan this week, trying to put pressure on Republicans by explaining to Americans exactly what it does.
We will see that on Wednesday when the White House says that President Biden will have an event on it, but before that, we'll see him on Monday talking about the Easter tradition and that's after that traditional White House egg roll was cancelled for the second time this year because of coronavirus -- Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Jasmine Wright for us there in Washington. Thank you so much.
Later this morning, be sure to watch "STATE OF THE UNION." Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm is on the show. She's one of the five cabinet secretaries President Biden has chosen o lead messaging on his infrastructure plan. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash airs today at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
WALKER: The U.S. Capitol police officer injured in Friday's attack is out of the hospital. That is according to a law enforcement source. The officer was injured when a driver rammed his vehicle to two officers near the Capitol and then hit a barrier on Constitution Avenue. Authorities say the suspect lunged at officers with a knife after getting out of the car and was killed by them. The identity of the wounded officer has not been made public.
Officer William Billy Evans, an 18 year veteran of the Capitol police force died in this attack. He is a member of the First Responder's Unit. The investigation into the attack is still ongoing.
And still to come, all week we've heard excruciating testimony in the murder trial of the officer accused of killing George Floyd. More on what we can expect when the trial resumes this week.
[06:15:01]
BLACKWELL: Plus, we've got a live look here for you, this is Pope Francis, of course, leading his second scaled down Easter mass during this pandemic. His message to the faithful this Easter Sunday, we've got that for you coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: George Floyd's sister is joining calls for police reform in Texas.
WALKER: Bridgett Floyd joined Texas Democrats in Austin yesterday calling for passage of several bills related to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. According to CNN affiliate, KXAN, one of the bills would ban choke holds and require police officers to intervene if another officer uses excessive force. Talking to the supporters, Floyd said the family is still mourning the loss of her brother who she described as a family man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIDGETT FLOYD, GEORGE FLOYD'S SISTER: We go through a lot of pain. We go through a lot of grief. Every single day.
[06:20:01]
Nobody knows what my niece go through not having her father anymore. That officer didn't know that he had a daughter that he didn't go home to, he would never see again. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Testimony resumes tomorrow morning for the man accused of killing George Floyd. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to three charges. The most serious, second- degree murder carries a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
BLACKWELL: So the trial's first week ended with potentially devastating testimony from the police department's most senior officer. CNN's Sara Sidner takes a look.
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara it has been an extremely emotional first week of testimony in the trial against former officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JERRY BLACKWELL, PROSECUTOR: On May 25th of 2020, Mr. Derek Chauvin betrayed his badge when he used excessive and unreasonable force upon the body of Mr. George Floyd.
ERIC NELSON, CHAUVIN ATTORNEY: Derek Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19-year career. The use of force is not attractive. But it is a necessary component of policing.
SIDNER (voice-over): The defense and prosecution's dueling arguments in a case the world is watching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want?
GEORGE FLOYD, VICTIM: I can't breathe. Please. Your knee on my neck.
SIDNER: The first week of testimony in the former officer's murder trial began with jurors seeing the entire bystander video that was followed by a long line of eyewitnesses.
JENA SCURRY, MINNEAPOLIS 911 DISPATCHER: My instincts were telling me that something is wrong.
SIDNER: Jena Lee Scurry, a 911 dispatcher, called a police supervisor as she watched the officer's treatment of George Floyd on a street surveillance camera.
DONALD WILLIAMS, WITNESS: I did call police on the police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you do that?
WILLIAMS: Because I believe I witnessed a murder.
SIDNER: Donald Williams was watching from the sidewalk. The professionally trained MMA fighter was overcome with emotion as he heard his own call to 911.
WILLIAMS (on the phone): You all murders, bro. You all murders Thao. You going to kill yourself. I already know it.
SIDNER: Sixty-one-year-old eyewitness Charles McMillian was there, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't win.
GEORGE FLOYD: I'm not trying to win.
SIDNER: He says he begged Floyd to comply.
GEORGE FLOYD: I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop moving.
GEORGE FLOYD: Mama, mama.
SIDNER: McMillian dissolved into sobs when he saw the video from that day.
MCMILLIAN: I feel helpless. I don't have a mama either. I understand him.
SIDNER: An off duty firefighter, an EMT walking by on May 25th, 2020, testified she begged officers to let her check Floyd's pulse or check it themselves.
GENEVIEVE HANSON, EYEWITNESS AND FIREFIGHTER: There's a man being killed, and I would have -- had I had access to a call similar to that, I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities. And this human was denied that.
SIDNER: Some witnesses' faces were shielded from the public, only the jury saw them because they were all minors when they witnessed Floyd's death, the teen who took the video that went viral and her 9-year-old cousin who testified anonymously.
UNIDENTIFIED TEENAGE WITNESS: It's been nights, I stayed up apologizing and -- and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more.
UNIDENTIFIED NINE-YEAR-OLD WITNESS: I saw the officer put a knee on the neck of George Floyd. I was sad and kind of mad.
SIDNER: A former cashier who accused Floyd of paying for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20.00 bill testified to.
CHRISTOPHER MARTIN, WITNESS: I took it anyways and I was planning to just put it on my tab, until I second guessed myself. And as you can see in the video, I kept examining it and then I eventually told my manager.
SIDNER: Soon after, police were called.
MARTIN: George was motionless, limp, and Chauvin seemed very -- he was in a resting state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw you standing there with your hands on your head for a while, correct?
MARTIN: Correct. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was going through your mind during that time period?
MARTIN: Disbelief and guilt.
SIDNER: None of the bystanders knew George Floyd at the time, only one person who testified this week did. They met at his job years ago when he noticed she was crying.
COURTENEY ROSS, GEORGE FLOYD'S GIRLFRIEND: Floyd has this great deep Southern voice, raspy, and he's like, sis, you OK, sis?
[06:25:04]
And I wasn't OK.
SIDNER: They dated for nearly three years. She testified that they shared many things, including an addiction to painkillers.
ROSS: Floyd and I both suffered with an opioid addiction. We got addicted and tried really hard to break that addiction many times.
SIDNER: Chauvin's attorney pounced, pointing out Floyd's drug use. His argument, Floyd didn't die from Chauvin's actions but his own drug use and preexisting medical issues.
NELSON: It was your belief that Mr. Floyd started using again about two weeks prior to his death, correct?
ROSS: I noticed a change in his behavior. Yes.
SIDNER: The jury also heard from a slew of EMTs and police both current and former. When EMT Derek Smith arrived on the scene Chauvin was still on Floyd, even though Floyd was unresponsive.
DEREK SMITHY, HENNEPIN COUNTY, PARAMEDIC: I thought he was dead.
SIDNER: But Smith said that he and his partner along with an officer worked to treat Floyd. Two officers criticized their fellow officers' treatment of Floyd.
STEVE SCHLEICHER, PROSECUTOR: Do you have an opinion as to when the restraint of Mr. Floyd should have ended in this encounter?
PLOEGER: Yes.
SCHLEICHER: When is it?
PLOEGER: When Mr. Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers they could have ended their restraint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your view of that use of force during that time period?
LT. RICHARD ZIMMERMAN, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Totally unnecessary. SIDNER: Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman testified he is the most senior member of the Minneapolis police force. He's been there 35 years. Now the head of homicide. Chauvin's attorney intimated that the lieutenant may not be in the best position to judge patrol officers' decisions.
NELSON: You're not out patrolling the streets, making arrests, things of that nature?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
NELSON: All right. And it's fair to say then that your experience with the use of force of late has been primarily through training?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
SIDNER: He shows up on scenes after an incident occurs. Still, with all his years of experience he did not mince words when asked if the officers used excessive force that day.
ZIMMERMAN: Pulling him down to the ground, face down and putting your knee on a neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for. I saw no reason why the officers felt they were in danger if that's what they felt. And that's what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: And while the prosecution is putting on its strongest case we have to remember that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And the defense has yet to have its turn -- Victor, Amara.
WALKER: Sara Sidner, thank you for that. Happening now, Pope Francis is leading Easter Sunday mass at St. Peter's Basilica, the second Easter mass during this pandemic. His message, coming up next.
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[06:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Right now, Pope Francis is celebrating Easter Sunday at the Vatican but again, this year the holy services are scaled back because of Italy's new three-day lockdown and curfew.
WALKER: Italy reported nearly 140,000 new COVID cases last week and more than 3000 new deaths prompting the lockdown. The Vatican's Easter Vigil service last night began two hours earlier than usual so participants could get home before Rome's 10:00 p.m. curfew.
CNN Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher joins us now from Rome.
BLACKWELL: Delia, you've reported from there so many Easter Sundays. Obviously, things are different this morning. And talk about if you would a message that Pope Francis delivered. DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, different is the word. I mean, just take a look here, Victor. This is a square which normally at Easter time would be packed with thousands of tourists. This is the biggest Christian holiday, the biggest holiday for the Vatican.
We would have tourists in the square. We would have pilgrims here. We would have the Pope in the square. Today, the Pope is inside St. Peter's Basilica. Only about 200 guests invited into the Basilica to be with the Pope. The people that are in the square, Victor, because we're in a three-day national lockdown, are Italians who are out exercising because that's one of the reasons they can go out.
But the pope at Easter mass celebrated the mass and just afterwards, just finished about five minutes ago, giving his Urbi et Orbi address. This is his address to the city and the world. And of course, he spoke about the pandemic. And he mentioned the people who had died during the pandemic, the families who had lost loved ones, the people who had lost jobs, the economic repercussions.
The Pope also talks about the world situation, he said, the conflicts that are happening in the world. And he particularly mentions the fact that there are still armed conflicts going on during a pandemic. He says this is scandalous.
And finally, the Pope spoke about vaccinations. He thinks that it's very important, and he has said it before, that poor countries have access to vaccines and that people that are poor who live in richer countries also have access to vaccines. Of course, the Pope himself in this week leading up to Easter, made sure that he offered vaccines from the Vatican.
They use the Pfizer vaccine. They are vaccinating 1200 poor and homeless around the Vatican. And he paid a surprise visit to them on Friday just to give even more support to that message. Victor, Amara?
BLACKWELL: Yes, second year with that empty square. It's just surreal to see it on an Easter Sunday. Delia Gallagher for us there. Thank you so much.
[06:35:05]
So, the economic recovery picks up speed as employers add hundreds of thousands of new jobs. What's behind that huge number and where we're seeing those gains?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: The coronavirus pandemic pushed many Americans out of work. Now, jobs are coming back at a rate better than some economists predicted.
BLACKWELL: CNN Business Correspondent Alison Kosik has more for us.
[06:40:04] ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The pandemic recovery is picking up speed. Job growth in March smashed expectations with employers adding 916,000 jobs. It's the biggest monthly gain since August. Plus, January and February's numbers were revised higher. The unemployment rate also fell to six percent from 6.2 percent, the lowest since the start of the pandemic.
What's at play here, more businesses reopened, people got vaccinated, weather improved, and schools are having kids back, allowing some parents to get back to work. As for the job gains, some were in sectors hardest hit by the shutdowns. There was a big rebound in leisure and hospitality as more people started eating at restaurants and traveling.
Education jobs jumped 126,000 as schools reopened, 110,000 jobs added in the construction industry thanks to the red hot housing market, and then substantial increases in business services and manufacturing.
But these are not new jobs. These are ones added back to the economy after millions of jobs were lost. We've still got an 8.4 million jobs hole to fill from the pandemic. And recovery continues to have a disproportionate impact on women, especially minority women. Many were employed in the hardest-hit industries or have had to leave their jobs to take care of their children.
The unemployment rate among Black women remains high at 8.7 percent and Hispanic women at 7.3 percent versus White women at five percent. The biggest risk that could undercut the recovery is still the same. The Coronavirus, cases arising again across the country as states begin lifting restrictions.
Still, as Americans received their stimulus checks and get vaccinated, economists are optimistic that this report could be the start of an acceleration of growth in the labor market.
WALKER: All right, well, President Biden's son Hunter is speaking out about his addiction and his family's emotional intervention. It's all in the lead-up to the release of his memoir. And our own Brian Stelter got his hands on a copy. He will join us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:45:00]
WALKER: President Biden's son, Hunter, looking to reintroduce himself and a new memoir. In it, he opens up about his battle with addiction and his father's unwavering support.
BLACKWELL: Now, Hunter Biden also delves into his time on the board of that Ukrainian gas company. The book Beautiful Things is out Tuesday, but Stelter already has it. CNN's Brian Stelter, our Chief Media Correspondent also the anchor of "RELIABLE SOURCES" got his hands on an advanced copy.
WALKER: Of course, he did. So, Brian, I'm curious to know how Hunter has been handling the baggage he's brought to his father's political life and his presidential campaign.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think you're going to be shocked by this memoir when it officially comes out on Tuesday. We've probably never read a book like this from a president's son. Of course, this is about the Vice President's son in the, you know, 10 years ago.
This is about five years ago when Biden's son Beau died, and Hunter describes how that sent him deeper into drug addiction into some very scary situations at points where he was, you know -- you know, should have died, he says, in this book because he was ingesting so many -- so many drugs and getting into so many dangerous situations.
At the same time, Hunter Biden also admits that he was able to achieve things in his career because of his family's name. And he says he tried to then take advantage of those opportunities and live up to those opportunities and be responsible.
But he acknowledges the complicated nature of what it's like to be a member of the Biden family, to have been the Vice President's son, and to have been a crack addict, and now to be the president's son and be in recovery and be trying to share his own story of addiction to help others.
He also talks about his dad in very personal terms, including in a new interview with CBS. Here's a part of what he said about how Joe Biden helped his son Hunter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And your father chase you.
HUNTER BIDEN, SON OF PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Yes, because I tried to get into that -- I tried to go to my car, and my girls literally blocked the door of my car. I said, dad, dad, please, I can't. No, no. This was the hardest part of the book to write. And he grabbed me, and hugged, and grabbed me. I gave him a fair hug. And he said -- he just cried. She said, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: I really think the account of spiraling out of control, seeking help at various points, and then relaxing and having the support of his family, including the now President, is going to resonate with a lot of people when this book comes out. Victor, Amara?
BLACKWELL: Yes, it certainly will. Let's turn now to the unfolding, I guess, meltdown of the career of Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, allegations of sex trafficking, sex with a minor. Not a lot of Republicans coming to his aid. And I asked this question yesterday, post-Trump, how much support does he have? Holiday weekend possibly a reprieve for Gaetz but where is he?
STELTER: That's right. This is the rare weekend when he is not all over Fox News. You know, Matt Gaetz has always -- is one of those lawmakers who's never met a camera he didn't like, who's always wanted to be in the limelight, who's really been seeking political stardom.
But now that these scandals are swirling around him, he does seem to have disappeared. And I suspect he's trying to figure out if there's any way out of these boxes that he appears to be in. Of course, his spokesman resigned from his congressional office the other day, but he has other ways to make statements. He is laying low, not commenting, not really defending himself, nor does he have many defenders anywhere else in the media.
Fox News basically ignoring this story now, even though they propped up Gaetz for years, celebrated him used him as a pro-Trump booster and a Biden attacker. And it is amazing to see how this is shifted in just a matter of days as these stories come out about Gaetz's behavior. It is stunning.
And, you know, this has to conclude one way or another whether it's with an arrest, or an exoneration, you know, a proof of innocence, or something else.
[06:50:57]
WALKER: Yes, it's really -- the allegations are just stunning and outrageous. And by the way, Brian, I do love, just right over your right shoulder, the little Easter bunny basket and the blue bunnies there.
STELTER: Oh, Happy Easter. You know, the Easter Bunny is great. The Easter Bunny is very generous, but sometimes I have to hide the Easter baskets from the kids.
WALKER: Because they're saying, where's the chocolate? I'm doing the same thing. I'm doing the same thing. Thanks so much, Brian Stelter.
STELTER: Thanks.
WALKER: And be sure to watch "RELIABLE SOURCES" today and 11:00 Eastern on CNN.
BLACKWELL: So, I didn't see the game. I woke up to all of the tweets and all of the music dubs over that final shot from March Madness last night. And Andy Scholes is in Indianapolis.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I tell you what, Victor, we waited two years for the Final Four and we were rewarded with an instant classic. And Zags' perfect season still alive thanks to a moment I'm sure they will never forget. We'll show it to you and have all the reactions coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:55:00]
WALKER: Gonzaga is headed to the national championship game on a buzzer-beater.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Andy Scholes is live from Indianapolis. Andy, you know, my favorite is the -- I guess, the now-obligatory dub of my Heart Will Go On over that final shot. We've seen that for so many. That was my favorite this morning.
SCHOLES: Yes, always so good. That works anytime there is a great sports movie guys. And this was just an incredible game. I mean incredible battle between Gonzaga and UCLA. You know, the Zags were trying to keep their dreams of a perfect season alive. UCLA, meanwhile, trying to continue their Cinderella run as an (INAUDIBLE) pick it up in the final seconds of overtime.
UCLA's Johnny Juzang driving to the hoop, gets his own rebound, and tied up with three seconds to go. Jalen Suggs then gets the ball, gets up the court and banks it in for the win. Suggs then runs over, jumps on the scores tables. He sends the Zags to the title game.
Suggs is a freshman, the highest rank player ever recruited to Gonzaga. He's expected to be a top pick in the NBA Draft, just a legendary moment for him. And here's how it sounded on Gonzaga's radio broadcasts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were tied at 9o, three seconds left. Here's Suggs, the other way, pull up, three for the win. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) to the championship game. He knocked down from (INAUDIBLE) of the buzzer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And Gonzaga's students are going nuts there back in Spokane, Washington. Zags is going to go to their second championship game in school history tomorrow. And Suggs says he's dreamt of a moment like this ever since he was a kid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JALEN SUGGS, COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYER: I just put it up. I was fading away with it and, dude, it went off the backboard and then in. I don't know. I've always wanted to run up on the table and, you know, like Colby and D. Wade and go like that. I mean, that's the first thing I did, but man, that that is something that you practice you know on your mini-hoop as a kid or in the gym just messing around. And to be able to do that, it's crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And Twitter exploding everybody from LeBron James to Patrick Mahomes just going off, definitely a game fans are going to remember forever. Now, the Zags will play Baylor in the title game. The Bears is absolutely dominating Houston. Baylor had a 25-point lead by halftime, which was the largest in a final four-game in 18 years. They'd cruise from there to a 78-59 victory of Baylor in the title game for the first time since 1948. And it's an all Pac-12 showdown in the women's title game tonight. Top
overall seed Stanford meets Arizona. Wildcats head coach Adia Barnes has her alma mater in the game for the first time ever. And Barnes says she hopes her hard work and success is going to continue to inspire others like her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADIA BARNES, HEAD COACH, WILDCATS: Being like the only WNBA player the second one. You know, being the only Black female. You know, being this, being that, being the only mom. I was like, well, getting stressed out for a second but I'm just going to do my best, do it with my heart. And hopefully, if I can inspire one person, then I'm happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes. Good luck to the women there in Texas tonight. And guys, it seems like this entire season for men's basketball, it's been all about Baylor and Gonzaga. They'd been the best two teams. They had a game in December, a big matchup that was actually canceled due to COVID. Four months later, they're now going to meet here in Indianapolis tomorrow night for the title.
BLACKWELL: All right, Andy Scholes, thanks so much. NEW DAY continues right now.
