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EARLY START

Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris As His Running Mate; Coronavirus Cases Spiking Among Children; Lebanese Leaders Were Warned Two Weeks Before Blast. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 12, 2020 - 05:30   ET

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


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[05:33:31]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris -- their first appearance together as running mates just hours from now.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A tale of two Americas as Main Street struggles during the pandemic while Wall Street soars. What's the reason for the disconnect?

Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's 33 minutes past the hour here in New York.

And in just hours, we will hear for the first time from Joe Biden and his newly-picked running mate, California senator Kamala Harris.

In an e-mail to supporters yesterday afternoon, Biden called Harris the best person to help me take this fight to Trump and Mike Pence, and then to lead this nation.

He went on to say, quote, "I first met Kamala Harris through my son, Beau. They were both attorneys general at the same time.

He had enormous respect for her and her work. I thought a lot about that as I made this decision. There is no one's opinion I valued more than Beau's and I'm proud to have Kamala standing with me on this campaign."

CNN's Arlette Saenz has more now from Biden's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and Laura.

Well, the Democratic ticket is set as Joe Biden selected California senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Biden informed Harris of his decision over a Zoom call from his Delaware home on Tuesday. Now, Biden and Harris had faced off against each other in the Democratic presidential primary, including that heated debate moment over school busing. But ultimately, Biden has said that he doesn't hold grudges and decided to go with an experienced campaigner as his partner on the Democratic ticket.

[05:35:04]

Now, Harris is one of only three women to make it to the vice- presidential slot for a major party, following Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin back in 2008.

But she's also making history of her own as the first woman of color to be vice-presidential nominee for a major party. Harris is the daughter of immigrants -- her mother from Indian, her father from Jamaica. So this is quite the historic ticket as Biden had faced some pressure to select a woman of color as his running mate.

Now, Biden and Harris will appear together for the first time as the Democratic ticket here in Wilmington, Delaware. They are delivering remarks later in the day, on Wednesday. And following that, they will hold a grassroots virtual fundraiser with their supporters, as they are trying to energize Democrats and all supporters heading into the November election -- Laura and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Arlette, thank you so much for that.

It did not take long for President Trump to offer his assessment of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's running mate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was a little surprised that he picked her. I've been watching her for a long time and I was a little surprised.

She was extraordinarily nasty to Kavanaugh and I won't forget that soon.

So she did very poorly in the primaries and now she's chosen, so let's see how that all works out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He has been watching her for a long time. He donated to one of her campaigns.

The president also described Sen. Harris as the meanest and most horrible person but struggled to come up with a more consistent line of attack against her.

More now from CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Laura and Christine, it wasn't long after Joe Biden had announced his pick that the president came out to the briefing room yesterday and was asked what he thought about him picking Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice president. And the president seemed to do something that often he did not do in 2016, which is he struggled to land any kind of line of attack against Sen. Harris.

He talked about her record on fracking. He mentioned how she grilled Justice Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. He said he believes she was, quote, "disrespectful" to Joe Biden that time, of course, when they got into that heated dispute on the debate stage. But other than that, the president really did not have one line of attack against Sen. Harris.

And he appeared to be reading off his bullet-point list while he was sitting there in the briefing room. And instead, later he was asked other questions on other topics -- he'd circle back to Harris naming off just multiple things.

And really, this is what we're been hearing -- what we've been hearing from campaign advisers that actually, though the president said she was his, quote, "number-one draft pick" she actually is the one that they probably wanted the least out of several of the candidates that Joe Biden was interviewing because they're not sure how to attack her.

And you could see that in the first statement that they put out yesterday where they were saying -- essentially portraying her as this overzealous prosecutor back during her days as a prosecutor but now, also arguing that she's anti-police and trying to make this argument that they've also tried to make with Joe Biden.

So where that ends up, it still is to be determined. But right off the bat, they did not have a successful line of attack against Kamala Harris.

And, of course, one of the biggest sticking points of that is that Donald Trump has donated to her campaigns in the past. So has Ivanka Trump and so has the Treasury secretary -- and that was a question at the briefing yesterday. We tried to ask the president but he did not answer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right, Kaitlan. Thank you so much.

We turn now to coronavirus, with Florida and Georgia reporting their highest single-day death tolls since the pandemic began. More than 1,300 Americans died on Tuesday and scientists are seeing some disturbing new trends.

We get more on this from CNN's Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Laura.

New startling statistics about COVID-19 among children and the elderly. COVID cases among children jumped 90 percent over the last four weeks, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, soaring 137 percent in the state of Florida alone. The Florida Department of Health says the total number of children who have been hospitalized due to COVID has also more than doubled.

The new data on COVID and children adding to the concern surrounding COVID cases at schools in Mississippi, Georgia, and Indiana as COVID deaths among children are fast approaching the yearly death toll from the flu.

Dr. Anthony Fauci pushing for the kind of simple but effective measures some state and local leaders continue to resists.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: I feel that universal wearing of masks is one of five or six things that are very important in preventing the upsurge of infection and in turning around the infections that we are seeing surging.

JONES: That upsurge in cases being led by the south while new cases are growing fastest in Hawaii. And even as new cases are holding steady in most states, deaths nationwide averaging over 1,000 a day for most of the past four weeks now.

Meanwhile, a new report by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living says community spread is to blame for an alarming new spike in nursing homes -- a 58 percent jump from mid-June to mid-July -- Christine, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:40:06]

ROMANS: All right, Athena. Thank you so much for that.

A new uptick in cases in California, although officials say the underlying numbers are improving. And an amusement park worker is punched in the face for enforcing its mask policy.

CNN reporters are covering all of the latest developments.

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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kyung Lah in Los Angeles where the numbers are improving in certain parts of this state. In San Francisco, the numbers are down when it comes to hospitalizations, about 25 percent since the peak in July.

Now, overall, the state did report a slight uptick in the numbers -- 12,500 new cases on Tuesday. But that does include a backlog of cases because of a computer glitch last week. Now, the state does anticipate reporting new cases because of this backlog over the next few days.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Jean Casarez in Pennsylvania.

Police are saying a teenage employee of a children's theme park in Philadelphia, Sesame Place, was aggressively punched by two guests while he was trying to enforce the park's mask policy.

Police are saying the 17-year-old employee saw that two people, a male and a female, didn't have masks on, went up to them, reminded them to wear them -- a little while later noticed they still have didn't have their facial coverings on. He went up a second time and that is when police are saying he was hit.

CNN affiliate WPVI is reporting that surgery was required of the victim of his face and his jaw. A spokesperson for Sesame Place is saying that violence is never acceptable.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Manu Raju on Capitol Hill.

Now, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as congressional gridlock, could lead to dozens of cafeteria workers from losing their jobs as soon as October. They have been threatened with layoffs because of the failure of Congress to pass a funding agreement that would essentially allow them to keep their jobs, as well as the fact that a number of these restaurants have been closed on Capitol Hill.

A number of these workers live paycheck-to-paycheck. They don't have enough money if they do get laid off, and they're concerned about the expired jobless benefits in this country and questions about the effectiveness of the president's own executive actions.

Now, things could change if Congress does reach an agreement before October. But a number of workers here on Capitol Hill -- people who serve the senators their meals on a daily basis -- are concerned that they would have trouble feeding their own families. As one worker told us, it's in God's hands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right, thanks to our correspondents for all of those updates.

Lebanese leaders were warned about the dangers of its stash of explosive ammonium nitrate two weeks before the deadly blast in Beirut. Reuters has obtained a letter from security officials alerting the president and prime minister to the potential for disaster in the capital city.

CNN's Arwa Damon is live for us in Beirut. Arwa, what more are you hearing about this?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that has obviously just added to the already magnified anger of the population and the protesters who, for four nights in a row now, have been trying storm into Parliament and clashing with the security forces.

This country, this city still cannot come to terms with what it has been going through. The fact that not just this government, but previous governments beforehand were also warned about the dangers of storing ammonium nitrate like this.

And it's not just the physical loss here. There is obviously also the loss of loved ones. The thousands -- 6,000 people were injured.

And then there's the trauma of it all. And, you know, we've been talking a lot about trauma and how it manifests itself. Despite the fact that this population does know what war is, this is entirely different.

You know, we met a family yesterday and the mother, Lana (ph) -- I mean, she was still in shock and she was angry because she didn't know how to explain this to her children who were absolutely terrified. She, herself, was pretty seriously injured. And she was just saying that for her and for her kids, right now, the night is blood and they don't know how they're going to get through this.

But one thing is very clear right now. The status quo cannot be allowed to continue.

JARRETT: As you say, just the trauma for so many of these families. Thank you for telling their stories, as always, Arwa.

ROMANS: All right, 44 minutes past the hour.

The U.S. economy is mired in a coronavirus recession, but it's sunny skies for stock market investors.

[05:45:00]

The Nasdaq is up 20 percent this year. The S&P 500 up almost four percent, nearing a record high. The Dow has been up seven days in a row before faltering Tuesday.

You know, it's a remarkable split-screen. Bankruptcies are rising, almost 13 million jobs are gone over the summer, and 32 million people are receiving some form of jobless benefit.

A big reminder, though. The stock market is not the economy. Stocks measure the earnings expectations of the companies listed. It's about the health of those companies -- their bottom line, not citizens'.

It's interesting, this rally, in particular, also doesn't reflect the well-being of the stock market as a whole. The summer really has been driven by the great success of a few big companies -- the so-called FAANG stocks. That's Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google.

Those are rallying despite the pandemic and in some cases, frankly, because of it. Almost a quarter of the stock market advance is just five stocks -- these five stocks.

It's also against the backdrop of $12 trillion of stimulus from central banks and governments around the world.

Here is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon explaining the disconnect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, JPMORGAN CHASE: When you have 13 million people out of work and you've got people suffering and small businesses suffering, that's far more important than the vicissitudes of Wall Street. And I think -- so I'm much more sympathetic to them. That's who we should worry about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: It's so interesting, Laura. I hear more and more from people like wait a minute, I walk down my street at home and there are closed businesses. And I know people who aren't working and they're waiting to find out what kind of jobless check it's going to be from the government, and Wall Street is doing so well. How can that be?

It's possible that both stories can be true that stock market investors are looking forward to a rebound next year -- all of this support from central banks around the world -- and on Main Street, you can really be hurting.

JARRETT: It's so important that you are shining a light on that, as always, Christine.

ROMANS: Thank you.

JARRETT: All right. Coronavirus has some U.S. lawmakers taking aim at e-cigarettes. We'll tell you why, next.

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[05:51:14]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

Lawmakers are calling on the Food and Drug Administration to temporarily remove e-cigarettes from the market during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jacqueline Howard has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Christine and Laura, some lawmakers are urging the FDA to clear the market of all e-cigarettes, temporarily, for the duration of the COVID crisis.

The House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy sent a letter about this to FDA commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn. And the letter points to some emerging research that suggests there could be a link between vaping and an increased susceptibility to COVID-19.

A new study that included data on more than 4,300 people between the ages of 13 and 24 found that those who vape are five times more likely than non-vapers to report that they were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Researchers say the reason why is unclear. It could be from sharing vape devices. It could be the impact that vaping may have on lung health. Researchers say this is an area that warrants further study.

But for now, lawmakers are asking the FDA commissioner to confirm by August 18th whether or not the agency will clear the market of all e- cigarettes -- Christine, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Jacqueline. Thank you so much for that.

Let's get a quick check on CNN Business this Wednesday morning. Looking at markets around the world, pretty much a mixed performance here. Looking at the U.K., it's not officially in a recession. New data from Britain's Office of National Statistics shows the economy shrank 20.4 percent in the second quarter, a record.

On Wall Street right now, taking a look at futures this week, moving higher here. It looks like they'll be an advance. The Dow fell 104 points Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell just short of a record high, and the Nasdaq closed lower as well.

If the S&P hits a record high in the next few days it would make the 2020 bear market the shortest in history, just five months long.

You can now add Dr. Pepper to the list of pandemic-induced shortages. The soda is widely unavailable in some parts of the country. In a tweet, Dr. Pepper said the shortages apply to every flavor.

Keurig Dr. Pepper, the company that owns the brand, says it's working with the distribution partners to meet the demand. It's not clear if other soda brands will be hit by these shortages.

JARRETT: Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate could mean a whole lot more work for comedian Maya Rudolph.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYA RUDOLPH (PORTRAYING KAMALA HARRIS), CAST MEMBER, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": The Democratic Party needs to stop taking black women for granted -- specifically, one black woman -- me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Rudolph earned an Emmy nomination for her impression of Sen. Harris on "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE." Her first reaction to yesterday's news can't be repeated on morning T.V., but let's just say she seemed caught by surprise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDOLPH: Any excuse I can get, I love. I just didn't really anticipate traveling during a pandemic. But if there's anyone that can work it out, I'm sure Lorne has some sort of invisible helicopter that can get me there.

I'm as surprised as you are, guys. That's spicy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Well, I think we can all agree more Maya Rudolph is a good thing.

ROMANS: Yes, she's very talented -- love her.

JARRETT: All right, thanks so much for joining us today. I'm Laura Jarrett.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Have a great day, everybody. "NEW DAY" is next.

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[05:59:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: The Democratic ticket is set with Joe Biden selecting California senator Kamala Harris as his running mate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is Joe Biden's race to lose. He felt like she was the best person to lead come January 2021 if he wins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Kamala Harris, he has someone who is tough, who has run for president, and who is seen as being ready for the job.

JONES: COVID cases among children jumped 90 percent over the last four weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When school starts, we think we're going to see an explosion of cases in September that will far surpass what we saw after Memorial Day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would think objectively, anyone looking at this would see it as a disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Wednesday, August 12th, 6:00 here in New York.

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill completely in charge this morning.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.

BERMAN: You like that?

HILL: John Berman, you just became my new favorite person. I mean, you were on the list but you're at the top now.

BERMAN: All right. It is, in fact, a big day, a historic day, a day of firsts. For the first time, you'll see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris appear together as running mates.

END