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Trump To Sign Modest Police Reform Executive Order Today; FBI And DOJ Review Hanging Deaths Of Two Black Men In Southern California; Beijing Reintroduces Strict Lockdowns To Contain Covid Outbreak. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 16, 2020 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: This is the same president who said to a group of police officers in New York, just about three years ago, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon -- you just see them thrown in, rough -- I said please don't be too nice. Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head -- you know, the way you put their hand over it -- like, don't hit their head and they've just killed somebody -- don't hit their head. I said you can take the hand away, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: You know, Christine, there's a lot of talk about what his views are on this. He's told us what his views are.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

JARRETT: He's told police officers don't be too nice. Don't do anything to protect the people that they are there to serve.

ROMANS: And he's been pretty consistent on this going all the way back to the Central Park Five when he was a resident of New York -- how he feels about suspects, right, and their rights. And I think his compass is very clear on this, which makes it difficult I think for the people around him to craft an executive order on something that clearly, the country is crying out for here when we know -- we know where his heart was.

JARRETT: That's right. It's about -- it's about trust -- it's about trust in policing. And although a lot of this happens at the local level the president sets the tone for the nation.

And so, officials are saying that among other things, this executive order is going to include incentives for police departments to send mental health professionals on calls related to addiction, homelessness, and mental health. Our chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta has more on all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, later today, the president is expected to unveil a new executive order aimed at curbing police brutality across the U.S. The new executive order is expected to call for a new database to track police misconduct. And the White House is also calling on law enforcement agencies to refrain from using police chokeholds.

Here's more of what the president had to say.

TRUMP: And we're going to have some solutions -- I think some good solutions.

And some of it, as you know, it's about great people. We need great people in our police departments, and we have mostly great people. I would say that. I would say that with certainty, we have mostly great people. I know so many of them -- law enforcement.

But we will do better -- even better -- and we're going to try and do it fast.

ACOSTA: And the president also weighed in on the increasing cases of the coronavirus, telling reporters that if the U.S. were to stop testing for the virus there would be few, if any, cases left. That, of course, is not accurate. The reason why there is an increase in cases is because there's also been a spike in infections -- Laura and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right, Jim Acosta at the White House. Thank you so much for that.

New dispatch recordings and transcripts released last night by the Minneapolis Police Department show callers and at least one dispatcher were concerned about officers' use of force against George Floyd.

The dispatcher, watching surveillance cameras, felt it was necessary to alert a supervisor about what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: I don't know. You can call me a snitch if you want to but we have the cameras up for 320's call. Oh, did they already put them in the -- they must have already started moving him -- and 320 over at Cup Foods.

SUPERVISOR: OK.

CALLER: I don't know if they had to use force or not. They got something out of the back of the squad and all of them sat on this man. So I don't know if they needed you or not but they haven't said anything to me yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Nine-one-one transcripts show two identified -- unidentified callers, one of them an off-duty firefighter, both saying they had just seen police officers kill a man.

ROMANS: State and federal law enforcement are now investigating deaths of two black men found hanging from trees in Southern California just 10 days apart. Their families are worried the cases will be ruled as suicides.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNA HARGRAVE, PALMDALE RESIDENT: They're lynching our black children.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Residents of Palmdale, California say it is the site of a modern-day lynching.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say his name.

PROTESTERS: Robert Fuller.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Twenty-four-year-old Robert Fuller was found hanging from a tree near City Hall early Wednesday morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a black man to be hung in a tree near City Hall, that's a message.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't understand our pain.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Residents were outraged Friday when city officials announced their initial findings.

CAPT. RON SHAFFER, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF, PALMDALE STATION: It appears that Mr. Fuller has tragically died by suicide. The full autopsy --

PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIENCE: (Shouting).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My brother was not suicidal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, there it is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wasn't.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Now, five days after Fuller was found, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which oversees Palmdale, says it's taking another look.

DR. JONATHAN LUCAS, L.A. COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER-CORONER: The initial reports appeared to be consistent with a suicide, but we felt it prudent to roll that back and continue to look deeper.

CAPT. KENT WEGENER, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF HOMICIDE BUREAU: Regarding a chair or something similar found at the scene, there was nothing.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The Sheriff's Department announced it would begin reviewing seemingly basic evidence.

[05:35:03]

WEGENER: Initially, we are going to do forensics on the rope that was involved. We look to contact the witness who located him in the park and those who may have seen him in the past few days prior to his death.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): But residents say more should have been done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it was another race -- if it was a white boy they'd be on it.

PROTESTERS: Justice, now!

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Just 10 days ago, as Black Lives Matter rallies continued nationwide, another black man, Malcolm Harsh, was discovered hanged from a tree less than 60 miles from where Fuller was found. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department says it found no indications of foul play and that the 38-year-old hanged himself. Harsh's family, like Fuller's, says no way.

NAJEE ALI, FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We believe that both these two young black men were the victims of a possible hate crime.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Now, the families of both men are calling for independent investigations, according to a sheriff spokesman.

ALI: Both families have stated both men were looking forward to enjoying their life, and both hangings make no sense whatsoever.

MALVEAUX (VOICE-OVER): Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right.

Stimulus checks, a lifeline for millions of families during the coronavirus recession -- but there are about 12 million low-income people at risk of missing out because they don't have to file income taxes.

Now, the IRS set up an online tool for these non-filers to submit their information so they can receive their cash, but it could be difficult to reach eligible recipients who still haven't used the online tool and for them to submit the information once they're contacted since that requires an Internet connection.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank, is calling states and counties to help notify people that they are eligible for money. It estimates about nine million non-filers received SNAP or Medicaid benefits, which means states or local agencies have their information on file. Meanwhile, Idaho is paying people $1,500 to go back to work. The

bonuses will be distributed on a first come, first served basis and it's expected to cover 70,000 people. Nearly 150,000 Idaho workers have filed for first-time unemployment benefits since mid-March.

Now, this incentive mirrors a proposal being floated by Republicans on Capitol Hill that temporary aid would be in place of that extension of enhanced jobless benefits. Democrats are still pushing for the extra $600 a week on top of the normal state unemployment benefits.

The money is flowing but I'm real concerned about so many of those millions of low-income non-filers who just have slipped through the cracks here, Laura.

JARRETT: Yes. It seems like a real gap that they should have kind of foreseen was going to be an issue.

All right, still ahead for us, a major global city just imposed a strict lockdown because of a new coronavirus cluster. We'll take you there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:42:23]

ROMANS: All right.

So, China is responding to a new cluster of coronavirus cases in Beijing with wartime measures. The Chinese government reintroducing strict lockdowns in the capital in an effort to contain this new outbreak.

Let's bring in CNN's Steven Jiang. He's live in Beijing with the latest. What do we know here?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Christine, the next few days will be crucial because officials now believe the earliest infections in this now-closed food market occurred back in late May. Given the incubation, people who have contracted this virus should be developing symptoms very soon. So if we see a spike of new cases in the capital in the coming days that's not going to bode well for Beijing.

Before now, the authorities were very much focusing on conducting extensive contact tracing and mass testing for anyone who had been to this market since May 30th, but it's a daunting task though, according to state media. They have already tracked down some 200,000 people in this category.

Another worry is some of the people who have been to this market, they have already left town. We are already seeing a few cases pop up in other parts of the country linked to this Beijing market. And these people, of course, have taken flights or trains to reach their destinations. So now, there are federal passengers who are being asked to report to local authorities. But still, right now, the government insists this outbreak in Beijing is localized, so given the size and population of Beijing there's no need for citywide testing or citywide lockdown. They are locking down a growing number of neighborhoods and also taking other measures like suspending long-distance bus services, closing down tourist attractions, and asking students to study from home again -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Steven, keep us posted on any developments. Thank you.

JARRETT: All right.

A landmark ruling on gay and transgender rights from the Supreme Court on Monday. The high court ruled that federal law banning discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sex also protects LGBTQ people.

The six-to-three ruling, something of a surprise given the makeup of the court, was signed by two of the court's more conservative justices, Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts.

The opinion was written by Gorsuch and says sex plays, quote, "a necessary and undisguisable role in any decision to fire a gay or transgender person." Gorsuch went on to write that by firing a person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex, an employer breaks the law.

We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR AND ANCHOR (voice-over): As the world grapples with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there are calls for renewable energy to be placed at the center of the recovery plans.

[05:45:03]

FRANCESCO LA CAMERA, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY: The oil (ph) was based on a centralized system with oil as the main vector. Now we have to build. In other words, the impact of the (INAUDIBLE) in our life has made clear to everyone that we have to build a future. There's more resilience to (INAUDIBLE) and this will bring us to renewables because they have the most right to be the most resilient way to produce energy.

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Despite suffering from its first annual decline in 20 years, renewable energy is expected to return to growth next year, especially if governments implement a clean energy recovery.

John Defterios, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:50:38]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

The Food and Drug Administration is revoking its emergency authorization for the use of hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment. Now, President Trump has touted the drug, which he claims to have taken himself, as a game changer in the pandemic.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has more now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Laura, many infectious disease experts will tell you that this authorization never should have happened in the first place.

Let's take a look at the history of hydroxychloroquine and the FDA.

In March, the FDA issued an authorization for hydroxychloroquine to be used for certain Covid patients. Then just a month later the FDA, itself, and the NIH warned not to use it.

And then in May, two major studies -- one in the New England Journal of Medicine, another in the Journal of the American Medical Association -- said hydroxychloroquine just doesn't work. In fact, the larger of those two studies also showing that it increased the chance of cardiac arrest by more than two times.

And then finally, in June, FDA revokes authorization for hydroxychloroquine. In revoking the authorization, the FDA acknowledged what those studies showed, which is that one, it didn't work and two, there was a chance of bad side effects, including cardiac side effects. So now, there's no more authorization for hydroxychloroquine.

Now, I will say doctors can still prescribe it for Covid-19 if they want to. It's on the market for other illnesses and so they could prescribe it. But in general, doctors are not in favor of prescribing this drug as they once were.

Now, you might wonder why did they authorize hydroxychloroquine in the first place. Well, Trump was a cheerleader for this drug. He called it a game changer, he touted it. He even took it, himself, when he found out that staff members of his whom he had been exposed to had Covid- 19.

But really, from the very beginning, there was essentially no evidence that this drug could work for Covid patients -- Christine, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Elizabeth, thank you for that.

Let's get a check on CNN Business this Tuesday morning. You can take a look at markets around the world, all higher here. Significant gains in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and in Shanghai as well. Looking at futures right now, they are up. It looks like a bounce again here today.

Look, stocks finished higher Monday after a rocky trading day. The Dow swung more than 1,000 points between its low and high before closing up 158 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also finished higher.

A couple of competing interests here. Investors are concerned about a spike in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and China, but then were calmed after the Federal Reserve launched its Main Street Lending Program to help small and medium-sized businesses.

United Airlines is mortgaging its MileagePlus frequent flyer program to raise $5 billion to weather the pandemic. United says between this and an additional $4.5 billion in federal loans, it will have $17 billion in cash on hand by the end of September. That's roughly three times the normal cash it carries.

United believes that these kinds of loans could become a common way for airlines to raise cash from their frequent flyer programs in the future, even beyond the pandemic. And, United said a loan should not affect any of its 100 million MileagePlus members.

Walmart partnering with Shopify to expand its third-party online marketplace as it takes on Amazon. Walmart is the nation's largest retailer but its online sales only make up a fraction of the company's more than $500 billion in total sales. Shopify sells tools to businesses to help them run their online stores. Walmart said it expects to add 1,200 Shopify sellers to its Web site this year.

JARRETT: Well, fans of Dolly Parton have an idea on how to replace all the Confederate monuments coming down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "My Tennessee Mountain Home."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: The change.org petition calls for honoring a true Tennessee hero, Dolly Parton. The petition says we need not glamorize the Confederacy but should, instead, honor Parton, a Tennessee native whose philanthropic heart has unquestionably changed the world for the better. The petition has gathered nearly 13,000 signatures at this point. CNN has reached out to Parton for comment.

Christine, I know you interviewed her --

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: -- a couple of years ago. She's a really sharp businesswoman.

ROMANS: Yes, and one of those clips was an interview I did with her. She is probably one of my favorite people I've ever interviewed. [05:55:00]

And everybody loves Dolly. And, Dolly is very careful about making sure that she's inclusive, you know? She has fans of all kinds and she's very careful about being inclusive. And so I think that -- I just -- I just love the idea of Dolly Parton statues all over America.

JARRETT: She is certainly a national treasure.

ROMANS: She gets up early, too. She watches this show, so she's an early bird -- early riser.

JARRETT: Oh, hi, Dolly.

ROMANS: Good morning, Dolly.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all round the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, June 16th, 6:00 here in New York. Jim Scuitto joins me.

The Brooks family pleading for justice this morning after the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks at the hands of Atlanta police. Brooks was honored at a vigil last night.

Overnight, Atlanta police revealed that the former officer who killed Brooks was previously reprimanded for use of force. Atlanta's mayor calls Brooks' death a murder. She is tightening the rules on what is acceptable use of force for an officer.

And today, President Trump is expected to issue an executive order on policing in America.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A key model used by the White House is now projecting a.

END