Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Sunday

Activists Fight Back Against "Anti-Riot" Law In Florida; This Week: Biden Hits The Road To Sell $4 Trillion Economic Plan; Four SpaceX Astronauts Return From Record-Breaking Mission; Sen. Romney Booed At Utah Republican Party Convention; Number Of Children In CBP Custody Drops 84 Percent From Peak In March; More Than 100 Million Fully Vaccinated Americans Are Helping The U.S. Reopen. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 02, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and welcome to your NEW DAY.

[07:00:00]

I'm Boris Sanchez.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christi Paul.

Take a look here, the SpaceX Dragon crew returns to Earth this morning under the cover of course of darkness, following a history making mission here.

SANCHEZ: And President Biden hitting the road to pitch his infrastructure plan directly to the American people. The question still remains, though, can he get enough Republican lawmakers to buy?

PAUL: The Biden administration touting progress in dealing with the border crisis. What is the long-term plan some are asking. We're going to ask one of the president's senior advisers that question.

SANCHEZ: Plus, not ready to return. Hundreds of New York City workers protesting the city's plans to get them back into the office starting tomorrow.

(MUSIC)

SANCHEZ: We are so grateful that you are with us this Sunday, May 2nd. Thanks for waking up with us.

Christi, always a pleasure to be with you as well.

PAUL: I'm so glad you're here for us.

So take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I don't know if you can hear the applause. But we have visual confirmation of the Crew 1 Resilience capsule. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's excellent news. We are splash down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: It's funny how he said I don't know if you could hear the applause, that's pretty much all we could hear.

The four astronauts just made a safe return to earth. This was a record breaking mission in space, folks, the SpaceX crew splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico. You see there, here's the capsule, it was pulled out of the water, and it made its way to the recovery vessel, and then here in just a moment, as we get to the video, you're going to see the commander of Crew-1, there he is, stepping on to Earth for the first time since getting to the International Space Station back in November.

That is the longest time ever in space for a U.S. crew, launched from an American built spacecraft. Big applause here for them as well. Everything that they did, and a good recovery wish to them as well because we know that it's going to take a little time to readjust.

SANCHEZ: Oh, for sure. Congratulations on a successful mission, and welcome back to Earth.

Of course, the big story that we're looking forward to here on Earth, at least in the United States in the coming week, is President Biden taking on the role of salesman in chief. He's hitting the road to pitch his view that thanks to big government, the country is in recovery and that new multitrillion dollar investments are going to be needed to keep it going and to compete with the rest of the world, specifically China.

PAUL: Yeah, with the first 100 days in the rearview mirror, President Biden and other key White House voices will be on the road this week talking about what's next. The administration is vowing it $2.4 trillion agenda will overhaul infrastructure and create jobs. The tour, however, will be a test of how he plans to sell the country on the cost.

The impact on the economy, whether bipartisanship on Capitol Hill is possible, to get it all done. Those things all in question.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, let's get over to the White House, and CNN White House reporter, Jasmine Wright, who joins us live.

Jasmine, it doesn't look like you're at the White House. I think you're in Wilmington, Delaware.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah --

SANCHEZ: What is on the president's agenda in the week ahead? Yeah.

WRIGHT: Well, Boris, and Christi, President Biden has a jam-packed week. He will crisscross the country all to sell his American Jobs Plan, American Families Plan to the American people, trying to convince voters that they need this investment in their lives. And the idea is that if he's talking directly to the American people,

convincing them, they will, in turn, turn to their lawmakers and urge them to cut a deal to come to the table.

President Biden laid out his central argument of why this jobs bill is necessary. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to provide jobs. It will also accommodate jobs. And what this means is that towns and cities that have been in danger of being left out and left behind will be back in the game.

We have a huge opportunity here to provide fast, safe, reliable clean transportation in this country. And transit is part of the infrastructure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So that was President Biden on Friday in Philadelphia. This week, the travel starts on Monday. Both he and the first lady will visit Yorktown, Virginia, where they will visit schools, no doubt touting the educational component of his plans, and that includes free pre-K, free community college tuition.

And on Tuesday and Wednesday, we will see Vice President Harris visiting Wisconsin and Rhode Island, and then on Thursday, we will see President Biden headed to Louisiana where he will be making two stops. In that state, there's a Democratic governor and two Republican senators.

Now, President Biden has been really clear that he wants to find compromise on both sides, right? We know that moderate Democrats are kind of skeptical of this plan.

[07:05:03]

And we know that Republicans aren't all the way forward, if some of them aren't at all.

So, President Biden wants to find compromise. He says that he wants Republicans to meet him halfway. So he has invited Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito to the White House. She offered that counter- proposal from Republicans, and that meeting could come as soon as this week -- Christi, Boris.

PAUL: Jasmine Wright, we so appreciate it. Thank you.

So we're seeing more signs of internal strain in the Republican Party. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BOOS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That is awkward, fellow Republicans booing Utah Senator Mitt Romney as he was introduced at the state's Republican Party convention. Loud boos raining down on the former presidential candidate throughout his remarks, including when he talked about his history of disagreeing with former President Trump. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I don't hide the fact that I wasn't a fan of our last president's character issues, and I'm also no fan --

(BOOS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Show some respect.

ROMNEY: Aren't you embarrassed?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN's Daniella Diaz is with us now.

So a vote to censure Senator Romney last night failed. We need to point that out. But it's still obvious the Republican Party is dealing with some serious divisions.

What do you know this morning, Daniella?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Christi, and it's only the latest chapter of infighting in the Republican Party. On one hand, you have Senator Mitt Romney, those clips that you just played where he was booed at the Utah GOP convention, he has been a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump. He also voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, and Republicans are clearly against some of the actions that he's made against the former president.

And then on the other hand, you have Congresswoman Liz Cheney who is also a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump, and blasted her colleagues in the Senate for voting or working to overturn the election results on January 6th. And she faced criticism from members of her own party for greeting Joe Biden at his address to the joint Congress this week.

You know, she defended her actions greeting former -- or current President Joe Biden at the address, saying that they are both Americans and they're not sworn enemies. She stood by her decision to do that.

But this is part of an issue that's been happening in the party. You know, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stands by former President Donald Trump, so does Minority Whip Steve Scalise. They say that they believe Trump is the leader of the Republican Party.

And there has also been many members of the party who have weighed in on this issue of whether Trump is leading this party this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARSHALL ROGER (R-KS): We have come a long way since Senator Romney was the presidential nominee. It is a different party today. It's much more progressive.

JEFF FLAKE (R), FORMER ARIZONA SENATOR: There is certainly a place for Republicans to do well in the midterms but we've got to shed, you know, this fringe element.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: You know, this is part of a problem that has been happening in the Republican Party since Trump left office. You know, you have members of the Republican Party who believe that Trump is still leading the party, still setting the tone for what they want to work on, and then you have members such as Cheney who believe her disagreements with the former president are bigger than her. She believes this is a battle for the soul of the Republican Party -- Boris, Christi.

SANCHEZ: Daniella Diaz reporting from Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

New data shows a significant drop in the number of unaccompanied migrant children in Border Patrol facilities. At the end of March, there were 5,700 children in the custody of Customs and Border Protection. But a month later, that number has dropped to 790.

There is progress being made on immigration, but critics on both sides have argued the administration is not doing enough.

So joining us now to discuss is Amy Pope. She's a senior adviser for migration to the Biden administration.

Amy, we really appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

Let's start by playing some sound from the president, his response to whether there is a crisis at the southern border. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: It's way down now. We've now gotten control. For example, we have -- they didn't plan for, which it comes every year, this flow, whether it's 22,000 or 10,000. They didn't have beds that were available. They didn't plan for the overflow.

[07:10:01]

They didn't plan for the Department of Health and Human Services to have places that take the kid from -- from the Border Patrol and put them in beds where there's security, and people that can take care of them. So, there's a significant change right now, significant change in the circumstances for children coming to and at the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So Biden arguing that the Trump administration had not done enough to prepare an influx in migrants, though in his first press conference about a month ago, nothing has changed, it happens every single solitary year talking about that influx.

So, if the president felt the Trump administration hadn't taken proper steps to prepare for that influx of migrants that happens, in his words, every single year, why didn't the White House do more to prevent problems we've been seeing at the southern border.

AMY POPE, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER FOR MIGRATION: Thank you for asking the question, and thank you for having me.

You know, look, this is an issue that has been going on every single year, 2014, 2016, 2019, even despite President Trump's really, really tough and often draconian policies involving children and their families coming across the border. But, you know, it takes time to rebuild a system that's been destroyed, and that's what we saw in the months from January until now.

We had to put bed online as the president discussed, so that children who are coming in to Customs and Border Patrol facilities could be transferred over to the Department of Health and Human Services, and ultimately to sponsors.

And that's not something you can just turn on within a moment's notice. It takes time to find appropriate facilities. It takes time to find appropriate staff. It takes time to vet sponsors, and make sure that they are appropriate care givers for children. And you know, really that's where we are. We started with very, very little, and today we're in a moment of time where we can manage the flow of people coming across the border.

SANCHEZ: Some of the frustration toward the White House from both parties is the perceived lack of a specific coherent, concise policy, when it comes to immigration. There's a belief that Biden is trying to have it both ways, maintaining some Trump policies while ending others, and not fully lifting, for example, the cap on the number of refugees that can enter the country.

Could you summarize in as few words as possible, the Biden plan for us, his approach to immigration.

POPE: Sure thing. I mean, first and foremost is to restore fair, orderly, humane immigration processing. That has been held down by the Trump administration, and we need to restore it. We need to advance it.

Second is to advance the root causes of the migration in the first place. People don't leave home if they don't have a reason to. So, the president is seeking a fairly significant investment in Central America to make sure that people are not compelled to leave their home countries.

And then, really, it's to address the very, very long-standing issue of immigration reform, which has gone untouched, frankly for far too long, and working with Congress to pass a system that addresses the question of the many people who have been living and working in the United States for many years.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, Amy, some would argue that it's become politically expedient for both parties to not get anything done on immigration. I do want to dig into something you said about addressing the root causes of immigration. President Biden proposed $4 billion worth of spending to address those issues, a lot of that in the form of financial assistance to specific Central American countries, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to fix corruption and violence and poverty.

There are millions of Americans who are struggling right now, and were struggling before the pandemic. How would you make the case to them that this spending is necessary if it appears that for years these concerns, despite receiving aid from the United States have not been able to get a grip on these issues?

POPE: I would just ask them to look at what we're otherwise spending at the U.S. border, frankly, it's a far better investment to the American people to invest money and address root causes in a place like Guatemala. In some cases, it's very straightforward, getting them food aid in the case of significant droughts and in response to two hurricanes that have gone through the country just over the last several months.

So, you know, if you're looking at benefits for the dollars that you're investing, the dollar is going to go a lot farther in Central America than it does at our border. And ultimately, what's happening at our border is just a symptom of something that's much more significant happening in the region.

SANCHEZ: Amy, one final question for you. The president has made clear, at least he did on Wednesday night, that he wants Congress to act.

[07:15:02]

Given what I noted before, that for both parties, it appears that this issue has been beneficial for them every two years, every four years when it comes to election time. Do you actually believe that immigration reform is something that can feasibly happen, especially when you have so many Republicans pushing this as an issue that they believe they can win?

POPE: I do know that there are Republicans who have worked with Democrats in the past to advance immigration reform. Ultimately, this should not be a partisan issue. This is an issue that is important to people who have been living and working in the United States.

It matters to American businesses to make sure that they have the labor they have. It matters to the security of our border to make sure that we have appropriate investments in technology and solutions that work.

It's an issue that matters across the board, and it's my hope that, and it's President Biden's hope that Democrats and Republicans will find a way forward because frankly it's just gone on for too long that we failed to act, and that's in nobody's interest.

SANCHEZ: I lied about that being the last question. I have one more for you. Do you have a concern that if something doesn't get done on immigration, this is going to be a weak point for Democrats in 2022?

POPE: I think it should be a weak point for all members of Congress. This is not -- again, this is not an issue that's specific to Democrats, coming up with a sensible, bipartisan response, solution, is something that is in the interest of the American people.

And frankly, I don't think that the Republicans can skate by on this one, if they don't take it seriously and become part of the solution.

SANCHEZ: All right. Amy Pope, we appreciate having you this morning. Thank you so much for the time.

POPE: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: COVID cases in the United States are now at the lowest levels they have been in more than six months. Up next, we'll tell you what's contributing to that steady decline and the new freedoms it is allowing us.

Stay with us. We'll be back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:21:08]

PAUL: So tomorrow, thousands of city employees in New York are expected to go back to in-person work. Good signs, right, as the country begins to see a return to normalcy here.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, well, it might feel like the United States is slowly making its way out of the pandemic. Official says there's still an ongoing race to vaccinate as many Americans as possible.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. crossed an important milestone this week. Nearly one-third of the population, more than 100 million people are now fully vaccinated. Nearly loosening restrictions on indoor and outdoor activities brought out those excited to get their pre-COVID life back.

Fans gathered at the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Mayor Greg Fischer says Louisville is prepared to host up to 50,000 people at one of the first large events since the COVID crisis started. The derby normally draws up to 150,000 people.

MAYOR GREG FISCHER, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: It's not kind of the pandemonium and craziness it always is, but it's nice to feel things coming back with energy, and people smiling. SANDOVAL: The CDC continues advising those attending crowded outdoor

events to wear masks even when fully vaccinated and release the list of both indoor and outdoor activities vaccinated people can participate in.

COVID cases are down almost 28 percent over the last two weeks according to Johns Hopkins University. The deaths are at their lowest counts in months. But one of the best ways to keep the death rate down is to increase vaccination efforts.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think we should do like people did the vaccine selfie, we need to have selfies now of people going to bars and restaurants with other vaccinated people to show what a return to 2019 pre-pandemic life could really look like.

SANDOVAL: However, vaccine hesitancy remains a big problem. Daily vaccinations administered dropped to only 2.6 million last week.

WEN: What I worry about is those people on the fence don't get vaccinated, we don't reach herd immunity come the fall and with the winter because coronaviruses are winter respiratory virus, we have a big resurgence, maybe we have the variants coming in from other countries.

SANDOVAL: The CDC now pushing teens to get their vaccine as the Pfizer shot is authorized for teens 16 and up. Vaccine makers Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are working to gain emergency authorizations for the use of vaccines in teens 12 and up by this summer.

DR. RICHINA BICETTE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: This pandemic isn't over until it's over. What we're trying to do is get as much of the population as vaccinated as possible.

SANDOVAL: And while things are looking up in the states, India is in crisis. The number of daily cases surpassed 400,000, the highest for any nation during the pandemic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (on camera): Back here in the U.S. with falling cases and a slowed but ongoing vaccination effort throughout the country, the head of the CDC said just last week that this idea that we could potentially see a full reopening of businesses, Christi, by July 1st, she said that would be reasonable but warned that we have been tricked by this virus before. We still have not achieved full herd immunity, and as you just heard, Dr. Wen mentioned, there is still that concern that we could see a resurgence come this fall -- guys.

PAUL: All righty. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Uh-huh.

PAUL: So the U.S. has hit this milestone when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations. According to the CDC, herd immunity, we still have a long way to go here. We're at 31.2 percent. We need, according to the CDC, at least 75 to 80 percent to hit herd immunity. My next guest says guess what, we don't have to wait for herd

immunity. She says in part, a strategy of minimizing risk, not eliminating it, can help Americans reclaim normalcy.

CNN national security analyst and former assistant secretary at the Homeland Security Department, Juliette Kayyem, is with us this morning.

Juliette, it's so good to see you.

Talk to me about what you -- what you mean by the fact we can minimize the risk but don't necessarily have to eliminate it in full.

[07:25:05]

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. So, I'm not a doctor, obviously. I work on planning around what the doctors and the smart public health officials are telling us, and I look at the incredible data in no small measure to the Biden administration and the rollout of the vaccine, and the reduction in infections.

And I think the American public is a little bit confused. And so, what I tried to do is just explain in English, maybe in more security terms, where are we right now? We keep hearing about this term herd immunity, and that we are pretty far away from it. And it may be that we don't get to it.

The truth is the scientists don't know, right? I mean, the numbers always range between 80 and 85 percent or the WHO's numbers are lower. Israel looks like it hit something pretty good with just about 60 percent vaccination rate.

So, we're looking at a big range here. And so, instead, we just have to look at we're in the stage of risk minimization. We are going to -- we should push the envelope at this stage.

We need to let people get out. We need to let the economy run. We need to promote vaccinations as it's being done and we take seriously vaccine hesitancy.

Look at issues, related to vaccine hesitancy. I'm a big fan of closing some of these big mass vaccination sites and, you know, doing the pop up thing and showing up at bars or sports stadiums, which is happening now, and sort of envision a world in which we're just reducing the risk.

Every shot does it, but we're not -- there's no finish line that we have to wait for, and so that's me in English. I think it was getting very confusing for people, and frustrating because we seem to be waiting for something that might not happen for a while to get our population vaccinated.

PAUL: And the science seems to be so fluid, you know, we have had mixed messages through this, that's just the natural part of a pandemic and learning about it. We have to make that point. I wanted to ask you, too, because one of the things you mentioned in

the op-ed, which is really interesting is what Israel is doing. Talk to us about that, and what you think the U.S. can learn from Israel.

KAYYEM: So, there's a lot of frustration with the vaccine hesitancy and the anti-vaxxers. So, Israel had a very, very aggressive vaccination campaign. It went very intimate. It went to, you know, the pop up sites, the local sites, which is what we're starting to do now.

It looks like it got 60 percent. It's getting higher. Some complications there. It's a country that it's hard -- you know, it's a small country comparatively.

But one way to think about the future, instead of being angry that people aren't getting vaccinated and look at punishment, right, which we often talk about, we should look at a rewards system that benefits people, the unburdened people, I call them, that benefits people that haven't been vaccinated.

So, think of the TSA pre-clear line. You know, someone like me, when I used to fly, would get pre-cleared. I get my information beforehand, it meant that I could be unburdened. I would just get through that security line.

And I think you're starting to see that play out now. You're seeing it in the colleges and universities saying no vax, no registration, E.U. said, yeah, America we want you but you have to be vaccinated. We're seeing it with sporting events.

And I think then we'll get the unburdened people -- I mean, excuse me, the burdened people, the people who have not been vaccinated to say, hey, the world out there looks pretty good if I get this shot. So, we look at access issues and then we look at our communication strategy.

And in the meanwhile, we just pivot, exactly what you said. The science -- people think science has an answer, like we're here, and I think that's -- and scientists don't admit that, right, scientists know the data is changing.

But one of the things that has captured American imagination I think is this idea that herd immunity is some sort of on/off switch and to a layperson who is reading the data and helping, you know, cities and states and corporations figure out how to do this, it became clear to me that's just -- that's just not an accurate way for the American public to be thinking about it in this stage.

PAUL: Yeah, and you bring it up because herd immunity has been seen, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, as the panacea of this whole thing.

KAYYEM: Yeah.

PAUL: And I think we're seeing -- we don't know we're going to get to that. So, how do we do -- how do we move on from there?

Juliette Kayyem, it's always good to talk it with you. Thank you.

KAYYEM: Thanks.

PAUL: Critics of an antiriot law say it punishes protesters, while others say it protects police. We'll take a closer look after a quick break.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:47]

PAUL: So there are so called anti-riot bills pending now in multiple states, but one is law in Florida this morning.

In a new editorial, here's how "The Miami Herald" puts it. Heaven help us if court upholds Governor Ron DeSantis's assault on free speech in Florida.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, and they go on to call the law insidious, anti- democratic, and an edict that some autocrat might have kicked up.

CNN's Leyla Santiago walks us through what this legislation does and how activists are fighting back.

(BEIGN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOWSON, MEMBER, BLACK LIVES MATTER ALLIANCE: Tear gas comes out. The bean bags come out. And it's really hard to understand, like, why? Why did this happen?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly a year later, Michael Howson still struggles to make sense of what happened here in Fort Lauderdale when police clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters following the murder of George Floyd.

Now, another worry, a new state law that he believes targets just these kinds of necessary protests.

HOWSON: I believe this was about prosecuting black people for having the nerve to stand up and call out systemic racism and fight against it.

[07:35:01]

SANTIAGO: In Florida, the so-called anti-riot law prohibits damaging memorials or historic property. It prevents defunding police, and increases penalties for crimes during a riot, which it defines as three or more individuals who shared intent to engage in disorderly and violent conduct results in imminent danger of property damage or personal injury or actual damage or injury.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: It is the strongest anti-rioting, pro law enforcement piece of legislation in the country. There's just nothing even close.

SHEVIN JONES (D), FLORIDA STATE SENATE: Deal with the real problem, deal with the systemic racism. Deal with the real issues before you start legislating against a group of people who are speaking out.

SANTIAGO: Florida is not alone. Republicans in more than 30 states have introduced more than 81 bills targeting protesters in the 2021 legislative session. That's according to the International Center For Not-For-Profit Law.

Since the murder of George Floyd sparked protests across the country last year, they tell us more than twice as many bills have been introduced and more are on the way.

ELLY PAGE, SENIOR LEGAL ADVISOR, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR NOT-FOR- PROFIT LAW: It's fundamentally anti-American to respond to protests by seeking to silence them. It seems like state lawmakers are reaching for a tool that's commonly reserved to repressive governments.

SANTIAGO: In Indiana, GOP lawmakers want to penalize people for funding protests. Another bill in Minnesota would cut off many public benefits like state loans or assistance to a person convicted of an offense during a protest. And in a move that critics say evokes painful memories of the deadly 2017 car attack on peaceful protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, Republicans in Iowa have proposed granting immunity to drivers who hurt protesters convicted of unlawful assembly or blocking traffic.

Democrats worry the new Florida law's broad language could lead to peaceful protesters being detained in silence, while Republicans here cite some of the more violent demonstrations in recent years in other states, and praised the measure for halting violence and protecting police.

SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: Look at Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, that's no way to treat the community. That's no way to treat those that put their entire life into building their business.

HOWSON: Well, that's interesting because, you know, we don't want to be killed by police officers.

SANTIAGO: The new law is being challenged in court in Florida. For now, the Black Lives Matter Alliance says it will focus on educating protesters about the new law.

Does it stop you?

HOWSON: It's not going to stop us, no, because we know what our First Amendment rights are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANTIAGO (on camera): And the Black Lives Matter Alliance tells me that they plan to reach out to every local law enforcement here in Broward County, requesting that they not enforce this new law -- Boris, Christi.

PAUL: Leyla, thank you so much.

President Biden needs $4 trillion to pay for his infrastructure plan. Where's that going to come from? We're talking to a financial expert.

Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:59]

PAUL: Forty-two minutes past the hour.

You're going to see a lot of President Biden, he's hitting the road this week, crisscrossing the country with other key White House voices. You can see on the map where they'll be pitching his $4 trillion economic package and sell directly to the American people he hopes his ambitious agenda to greatly transform the role of government.

Ted Jenkin, financial analyst and CEO of oXYGen Financial and is with us right now.

Ted, it's good to see you.

I know that you were watching the president's speech this week, and as a money guy, I want to know what stuck with you, what did you take away from it first and foremost?

TED JENKIN, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Well, good morning, Christi, and good to be with you.

Mostly I took away this $2 trillion infrastructure plan, Christi, because we need jobs. Why? Look, one out of five people renting right now, their back rent they owe is $5,600, and when it comes to the unemployment checks, the $300 extra, that's going to end on September 6th.

When you look at things in the proposal like $174 billion to make some 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, that's going to create jobs, and maybe only 2 percent of Americans own electric cars right now, but, Even, Cadillac, they said by 2030, they will no longer make gas cars, it will certainly not be your daddy's caddy, I'll tell you that.

PAUL: So, that was a good one. The glaring question that I feel is always asked is, okay, you've go this plan, how are you going to pay for it. It comes down to taxes quite frankly, doesn't it?

JENKIN: I mean, it does Christi, look, the government doesn't sell cheese burgers. They're going to raise the corporate tax, at 21 percent right now. It might go as high as 28 percent. I think it will fall out at 25 percent.

Capital gains taxes will go up I believe on people that make a million dollars or more, possibly from 20 percent, all the way to 39.6 percent f. We have a broke Social Security system, for people making more than $400,000, you probably will see an additional 6.2 percent tax in perpetuity, and an overall of inheritance taxes, gift taxes.

[07:45:05]

That will be in part how the president plans to pay for this proposal.

PAUL: Well, not just that, we're on our third round of stimulus checks as well, we should point out.

What evidence do you see that this is or is not working as well as planned?

JENKIN: I mean, I think it is working right now, Christi, as kept millions of Americans afloat right now. It's two stories, haves and have-notes. Real estate at an all-time high. Car prices, they're at an all-time high.

$83 billion of credit card debt was paid off last year, Christi, that's great, but on the other hand, when the dust settles, minimum wage is at $7.25. People are talking about $15. How about an inflation adjustment? That hasn't happened since 2009. Let's get it at least to $10 or $11.

And for women, and especially women of color right now, the unemployment numbers are higher than the 6 percent national average. It's a tale of two stories right now, Christi.

PAUL: Ted Jenkin, thank you for walking us through it. Good to see you.

JENKIN: All right. Good to see you, Christi.

PAUL: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: It's going to be a stormy Sunday for millions of people across the South. So how bad is it going to get? Stay tuned for your forecast just a couple of minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:39]

SANCHEZ: Parts of the south could see some severe storms today. More than 15 million people under threat of high winds, hail and staring down the possibility of tornados.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking all of that for us.

Allison, what are you seeing?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, good morning, Boris.

We're taking a look at where the storms are now. We have some ongoing right around Baton Rouge, New Orleans, heading into Jackson, and even around the Ark-La-Tex area. And some of these areas, particularly eastern Texas, they don't need anymore rain. Look at the amount of rain that's fall no one just the last 48 hours. Widespread, 2 to 4 inches, some of these areas have picked up 5 or 6 or more inches of rain in the last couple of days. Today, more rain is expected but it begins to shift a little bit

farther to the east. Most of the flash flood watches are in places like Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. But it doesn't mean other places won't get rain.

And some of these areas have the potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms, areas like Jackson, Mississippi, Mobile, Little Rock, stretching down towards New Orleans. We have a secondary section for severe weather in portions of eastern Colorado and western Kansas, again, separate systems here but both causing the potential for some severe weather.

You'll notice again, once we start looking at the Southeast, a lot of the moisture pulling up from the Gulf of Mexico, fueling a lot of those strong to severe thunderstorms, and even the potential for flash flooding.

However, the Western system, that's going to be a combination of rain and even snow for the higher elevations there. Because of those systems, we're going to have multiple days of severe weather here. Monday it shifts farther to the north, Tuesday shifting a little bit farther to the east and in some cases hitting the same spots over and over again.

Here's the two systems, the one in the Southeast, that's going to slide up to the north and east over the next couple of days. The second system, the one over the Rockies right now, that's going to continue to slide to the East, Monday, Tuesday and even Wednesday into the upcoming week, and really kind of takeover the other system.

Overall, the look at the amount of rain that we are talking about for so many of these areas, widespread, 2, 3, 4 inches of rain. But notice some of the pockets, Boris and Christi, where we're talking 4, 5, 6, even as much as 8 inches of rain over the next several days. This is certainly going to be something we're going to have to keep a close eye on as we start off the rest of the week.

PAUL: Yeah, looking at that map, it looks like we're not going to be able to not keep an eye on it. Thank you so much. Appreciate it, Allison.

Time for some good stuff here.

The finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Services to America Award, also known as the Sammies are announced today. They're known as the Oscars of public service honor federal workers and their contributions. And I want to highlight a few of them.

Kizzmekia Corbett and Barney Graham who conducted research that led to the development of coronavirus vaccines that are now protecting millions of us.

Also, Kenneth Graham, the current director of the National Hurricane Center who helped coordinate response to the 2020 hurricanes amid this pandemic. There's also Ian Brownlee, working for the State Department. He helped

to get tens of thousands of Americans who are stranded overseas home as countries began going into lockdowns, remember that?

And Zach Schwartz working for the census bureau. He helped lead a team that worked to combat misinformation related to the census.

Also, Ryan Shelby helped people in Haiti rebuild thousands of hour or homes rather damaged by hurricanes. Those awards, by they, given out -- will be given out in October but announcing the winners here.

Thank you so much for joining us. Congratulations to all of them.

"INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY WITH ABBY PHILLIP" is next. We hope you make good memories today.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, we're going to see you back here next weekend.

Of course, we go, we do want to share a quick programming note for you. The all-new CNN original series "THE STORY OF LATE NIGHT" premiers tonight. Here's a preview before we go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, look, don't start anything you can't finish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The laugher, the joke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brought all of this energy into the room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This could be a game changer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Johnny Carson was the one that made late night TV important.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no rules. Nobody knows what to expect. Anything could happen.

[07:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Late night became this ritual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just felt like one big party.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's electric.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's part of American culture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You really realize the power of these shows to inform and to uplift.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "THE STORY OF LATE NIGHT" tonight at 9:00 on CNN, followed by a new episode of "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA". You will not want to miss that.

As we say good morning to the nation's capital and the White House, we hope you have a great rest of your day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)