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EARLY START

Closing Arguments Today In Trial For Murder of George Floyd; Obama, Shaq, And Barkley Urge Communities Of Color To Get Vaccine; Activists Call For Health Warnings For Oil Companies. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 19, 2021 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Be carbon neutral by 2030, joining a growing list of major companies with similar goals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA JACKSON, VICE PRESIDENT ENVIRONMENT, POLICY, AND SOCIAL INITIATIVES, APPLE: What we're really saying with the restore fund is here is a way for us to invest in doing forestry the right way. And that supports the planet; yes, it supports returns; and it supports the communities -- the people who work in the forestry industry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Jackson applauded the green energy efforts on President Biden's infrastructure plan but she wouldn't comment on whether Apple supports those higher corporate taxes to pay for it.

President Biden will bring 40 world leaders together for a two-day climate summit this week.

EARLY START continues right now.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, this is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.

ROMANS: Good morning, Laura, I'm Christine Romans. It is half past the hour -- 30 minutes past the hour this Monday morning.

And Minneapolis and cities across the country on edge as closing arguments begin this morning in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. He faces three charges for killing George Floyd by pressing a knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. A verdict could come as soon as this week.

CNN's Josh Campbell live again for us in Minneapolis this morning. What's the feeling this morning, Josh?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is quite tense here, Christine, and this isn't a Minneapolis that most people would recognize. It is turning into a fortress day by day with plywood going up on businesses downtown. All five of the city's police precincts are now surrounded by fencing, including razor wire. And there are members of the National Guard that are posted in and around the city -- again, out of an abundance of caution.

Now we saw already an incident that would raise those tensions over the weekend, and that is two of these Guards members were fired upon, authorities say, early Sunday morning -- two of them injured, non- life-threatening. But it just shows you what authorities here are grappling with.

And again, it all comes down to what that verdict will be in the trial of this former officer. Everyone here and, indeed, around the world watching for that.

Now, the governor here in Minnesota spoke out, describing some of these tensions, describing what this verdict could mean. I'll read you what he said.

"The verdict is going to be a pivotal point in our state's history, and how we respond to that is going to shape us," he said. "It is the assessment of public safety folks, after we did the after-action last summer, to try and understand what it was going to take. The advantage here is we had no preparation time last summer. This time, we do."

And the point he was trying to make there is that, of course, we saw those protests last summer after George Floyd's death, some of them turning very violent. Authorities were slammed for not preparing and not having enough resources here. This time, authorities leaving nothing to chance.

Again, this city turned into a variable fortress right now, unrecognizable, with members of the National Guard and police here bracing for that's to come -- Christine, Laura.

ROMANS: All right, Josh Campbell in Minneapolis for us. Thanks, Josh. Keep us posted.

You know, Laura there was so much emotional testimony --

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: -- over the course of several weeks. What should we be looking from here from both sides of these closing arguments?

JARRETT: So, I think you want to look for the defense to do what it's been doing all along -- deflect, distract, and do anything to insert doubt here. Because they know they are faced with the video of Officer Chauvin bearing down on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. You can't get past a video like that.

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: The jury has seen it so many times now.

But remember, the prosecution still has to prove its case on each of those three charges. And a phrase that you're going to hear a lot today is substantial causal factor. Look out for that term because what it basically means is they have to show that this former officer was the substantial cause in Floyd's death.

You might look at that video and say that it's obvious, but you've heard the defense team inject all of this doubt about his drug abuse, about his heart condition. So they have to figure out how to package this for the jury so that it doesn't get distracted by all of those other issues.

ROMANS: Substantial causal factor.

JARRETT: You're going to hear it a lot.

ROMANS: Got it.

It's time for three questions in three minutes. Let's bring in CNN senior political analyst John Avlon. Good morning, John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.

ROMANS: You know, we're really confronting America's culture of violence here.

AVLON: Yes.

ROMANS: You know, government failing at a basic core objective to keep its citizens safe, and here's what I mean. Fifty mass shootings in a month, 150 this year. The polarized cultural and ideological divides making it impossible to address any of this adequately. I mean, you can wrap all of these storylines together and it comes down to the fact that we have this culture of violence in this country.

AVLON: We do, and you can't look at those numbers -- at that scroll which is still continuing -- and not say there's a problem. But, of course, we get numb to it. This doesn't happen in any other country. That said, don't give up the belief that it is impossible to improve this, however incrementally.

You know, you look at gun background checks. It was a sign (ph) that the support of 90 percent of the people, which is why it's so infuriating that Congress has been unable to do anything -- specifically, the Senate. Well, Pat Toomey, a Republican, and Chris Murphy, a Democrat, came forward to say they thought that could go forward.

There are things the federal government can do. The NRA, once so powerful, is now hobbled by its own malfeasance.

[05:35:02]

So there is a chance that we can make progress against these issues but it's not going to come from absolutists and maximalists on either side -- folks who want to discard the Second Amendment or folks who think there is no room for reasonable restriction on guns because there is, so said Justice Scalia.

JARRETT: So, John, one familiar face addressing this issue of polarization in the country is former President George W. Bush.

AVLON: Right.

JARRETT: He's got a new book out, he's giving interviews. He's talking about how immigrants are treated in this country. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The problem with the immigration debate is that one can create a lot of fear -- you know, they're coming after you. But it's a nation that is willing to accept the refugee or the harmed or the frightened, to me, is a great nation -- and we are a great nation.

I don't want to be prescriptive. I don't want to tell Congress how to do this or that. I do want to say to Congress please aside all the harsh rhetoric about immigration. Please put aside trying to score political points on either side.

I hope I can help set a tone that is more respectful about the immigrant, which may lead to reform of the system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: John, the former president says he wants a more respectful tone, but his party isn't heading that way. This is a world where white replacement theory is being talked about openly by some on the right, advocated by some on the right.

Meanwhile, progressives are mad at the president for how he's handling the situation at the border. They're pushing him to raise the cap on how many refugees are admitted. He basically capitulated on that.

So how do you move on anything when this is the dynamic at play?

AVLON: You don't let the extremes dominate the debate.

You know, just listening to George W. Bush and remembering how much he was demonized by folks on the left at the time, I think has a force of revelation. That's what a compassionate conservative sounds like. They're basically an endangered species right now and possibly a tribe of one.

But he was also a border state governor. There is room for progress on this. It may be a comprehensive immigration reform that folks don't like. It may be a skinny bill like DACA.

But remember, this passed a -- a bipartisan bill passed the Senate with eight Republican votes within a decade. It can happen again. It's going to take presidential leadership but it's also going to happen -- it's going to require the maximalists in either party realizing that they're not going to get to determine the policy moving forward.

Otherwise, this continue will -- will continue to be a contradiction in the American character and something that irritates our divisions even further, when it should be something that unites us. It's a matter of shared heritage if you stand back far enough.

ROMANS: Yes.

John, it seems -- it almost seems like the Republican Party has a new doctrine, hesitancy -- vaccine hesitancy --

AVLON: Yes.

ROMANS: -- especially among Republican men. The GOP has been hesitant to evolve on guns. Hesitant to evolve on the economy and the wealth gap. We talked about the border.

And now -- OK, explain to me this -- this America First caucus lasted basically a day --

AVLON: Which you're qualified to explain that, Christine.

ROMANS: -- pushing for an Anglo-Saxon political --

AVLON: Yes.

ROMANS: -- tradition. Apparently, a hesitancy about -- oh, say, today -- current status of the -- of the world. What's going on here?

AVLON: I mean, basically, a resistance to actual American history and intends to fetishize the past, which I think is fairly revealing.

This goes way beyond hesitancy. Let's be honest about this. This is about, actually, an anti-science impulse. It's an impulse to actually demonize the actual and fundamental diversity of America, which has been perpetual, by the way.

And -- but it is revealing when the curtain gets pulled back. If you don't like science in the middle of a pandemic, if your definition of freedom is about being hostile to public health, if you can't think -- balance the community and the individual adequately and you're sending around position papers talking about an Anglo-Saxon caucus, you might be the problem.

JARRETT: Otherwise known as it's an issue about white supremacy.

AVLON: That, too.

JARRETT: I think that's one way to put it, too.

All right, John, thank you. Appreciate seeing you.

AVLON: Thanks, guys.

JARRETT: All right, now to this.

Mexico putting forward a new proposal that ties together solutions for the climate crisis and migration. The plan would require essential Americans and Mexican immigrants who come to the U.S. to work planting trees and crops across Mexico for three years. In return, they would receive a six-month U.S. work visa with a path to eventual U.S. citizenship.

Mexico's president will present the proposal during Thursday's virtual climate summit convened by the president.

The Biden administration recently sealed an agreement from Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala to tighten their borders.

ROMANS: All right, a historic first overnight -- a helicopter flight on Mars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:43:49]

JARRETT: Coronavirus cases skyrocketing in India -- more than a million new cases reported in just the last five days. Now, there were nearly 274,000 cases Monday, a new record high and the fifth consecutive day of more than 200,000 new infections.

India's capital, Delhi, faces a severe shortage of ICU beds. In some cases, coronavirus patients are having to share beds in hospital emergency wards, Christine.

ROMANS: Wow, that's just so sad.

All right. The long-awaited Australia-New Zealand travel bubble opens today. Visitors between those two countries -- they don't need to quarantine on arrival. Tearful reunions filling New Zealand's airports. Residents from Australia are finally free to travel there for the first time in a year. This is also expected to help struggling travel and tourism business.

JARRETT: Former President Barack Obama and NBA greats Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal joining forces to urge people to get vaccinated against coronavirus during an NBC special Sunday.

As Black Americans have been hit particularly hard by this pandemic, President Obama highlighted how certain underlying health conditions make communities of color more vulnerable to the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to make sure that our communities, particularly ones African-America, Latino, as well as young people -- understand that this will save lives and allow people to get their lives back to normal. And the sooner we get more people vaccinated, the better off we're going to be.

[05:45:15]

CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA ALL-STAR: Mr. President, I get my second vaccine shot tomorrow.

OBAMA: Good.

BARKLEY: I cannot wait. I think it's important for us to keep talking about the vaccine so I'm

telling all my friends forget what happened back in the day. Every Black person, please go out and get vaccinated.

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, FORMER NBA ALL-STAR: I am vaccinated. My family has underlying conditions and they are also vaccinated. But I'm not worried about me and my family, I'm worried about the average mom and dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Starting today, the average mom and dad -- nine states and Washington, D.C. are expanding vaccine eligibility to all Americans ages 16 and older to meet President Biden's deadline.

In New Hampshire, schools are reopening for in-person learning five days a week. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is providing free transportation to people traveling to and from vaccination appointments. Meantime in Georgia, Atlanta public schools are resuming in-person learning after a week of online classes. Seattle and Chicago public schools are returning to in-person learning as well.

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this morning.

Taking a look at markets to start a new trading week, slight gains in Asian shares. Shanghai closing up more strongly. London, Paris, Frankfurt mixed right now.

On Wall Street, pulling back a little bit from those record highs hit last week. Record highs hit on strong signs in the economy, folks. The Dow, for the year, is up nearly 12 percent. The S&P 500 up 11.4 percent.

All right, the latest episode of the cryptocurrency soap opera. After record highs last week, Bitcoin plunged nearly 14 percent in less than an hour before rebounding. An unconfirmed Twitter rumor that the Treasury Department was planning to crack down on money laundering schemes involving crypto seems to have triggered this tumble. The agency did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.

You know, the decline is the latest example of how the crypto market is still very volatile.

Airlines preparing for a busy summer as more people are vaccinated and more people ready to travel. American Airlines calling back 200 flight attendants who are on voluntary leave because of the pandemic. Southwest will recall more than 2,700 flight attendants by June. And, United will restart the hiring process for new pilots. The exact number of pilots will depend on its recovery.

Climate activists say commercials for oil companies should come with a health warning. Environmental law non-profit ClientEarth is accusing some of the world's biggest oil firms of misrepresenting the role they play in the climate crisis. The group wants the companies banned from advertising on T.V. and social unless they include a climate health warning. ClientEarth argues fossil fuel advertising should be regulated like tobacco, with warnings that identify fossil fuels as the main contributor to global warming.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:52:34]

ROMANS: Welcome back.

Two men are dead in Texas after a Tesla crashed into a tree with no driver behind the wheel. One person in the passenger seat and another in the back seat were killed when this driverless vehicle hit a tree and burst into flames. Authorities struggled to put out the fire because the batteries kept reigniting. Police say the car, traveling at a high speed when it failed to negotiate a cul-de-sac and ran off the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

World War II airplane making emergency landing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: All right, that has got to be what the pilot was thinking there when that World War II airplane had to make an emergency landing in the shallow water off Cocoa Beach, Florida. The single-engine TBM Avenger had a mechanical problem while taking part in an air show. The pilot was able to bring the plane in for a nice, soft landing as those on the beach looked on stunned.

ROMANS: That was some kind of skill to be able to land that.

All right, the Vancouver Canucks return to the ice for the first time in nearly a month after a COVID-19 outbreak decimated their roster.

Our Andy Scholes has this morning's Monday morning Bleacher Report. Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (via Cisco Webex): Yes, good morning, Christine.

So, you know, the Canucks was one of the worst outbreaks we've seen in all of sports since the pandemic started. They had 25 members of the organization, including 21 players, test positive for COVID-19 over the last several weeks.

And they were finally back on the ice last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time since March 24th. The Canucks -- they were originally supposed to return on Friday but the NHL did postpone that game after a player voiced his concern, saying the team just wasn't ready. They got back on the ice and Vancouver would win in overtime yesterday, three to two.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS GREEN, HEAD COACH, VANCOUVER CANUCKS: And this isn't just a regular win during the regular season -- you know, it's a special win. We've gone through a lot here with our -- with our group over the last few weeks.

BO HORVAT, CAPTAIN, VANCOUVER CANUCKS: I couldn't be prouder of our guys in that room -- not only the guys and the organization, our families. You know, it definitely felt great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, huge news in the soccer world overnight. Twelve of Europe's biggest and richest soccer teams have agreed to form a new Super League that would change the landscape of the sport. Top teams in England, Spain, and Italy have agreed to join, and that means they would no longer take part in the Champions League. The new Super League would have 20 teams and be governed by the founding club.

[05:55:07]

The plans were met with immediate condemnation from politicians, fans, former players, and the sport's governing bodies. The new league plans to start in 2023.

All right, the Lakers, meanwhile, will not be visiting the White House next week to celebrate their title with President Biden. A White House official telling CNN that it's being postponed because of COVID-19 protocols and scheduling issues.

The NBA champions have not visited the White House to celebrate the title since 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers met with President Obama.

All right, in the meantime, today's scheduled game between the Minnesota Twins and Oakland A's has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 issues within the Twins organization. This is the third Twins game to be called off since Saturday. Major League Baseball has now been forced to postpone a total of seven games this season due to COVID-19 concerns.

All right. And finally, Stewart Cink is having an amazing comeback year on tour. The 47-year-old winning the RBC Heritage Tournament for the third time yesterday, the first since 2004.

Late last year, Cink and his wife Lisa, who is a cancer survivor, both battled COVID. This win he had yesterday extra special because Cink's son Reagan was his caddie and his family was there cheering him on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART CINK, RBC HERITAGE TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: It's just so great to have this whole family here. They mean so much to me. It's just a really -- a blast this week. I just can't explain it. LISA CINK, STEWART CINK'S WIFE: It's just an amazing blessing. God has blessed us beyond words and I'm just super grateful and I love him so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: I'll tell you what, Laura. So awesome to see him win again at the age of 47 -- second win this season. The first golfer in 50 years to get two wins in a season at 47 or older. So congrats to Stewart Cink and cool to see his family there on (INAUDIBLE).

JARRETT: Yes. If your son is the caddie, you can't lose, right? It's so great to see.

SCHOLES: Yes.

JARRETT: All right, thanks, Andy -- appreciate it.

SCHOLES: All right.

JARRETT: All right.

Luke Bryan winning top honors Sunday at the Academy of Country Music Awards, named Entertainer of the Year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUKE BRYAN, COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER: We've missed touring. We've missed being on the road with everybody that makes me an entertainment -- my bus drivers, my band, my crew. What a challenging year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: But it was very much ladies' night at the country music ceremony. Maren Morris winning two awards for Top Female Artist and Song of the Year.

Carrie Underwood brought down the house, performing a dynamic duet along gospel legend CeCe Winans.

And Miranda Lambert, the most decorated winner in the awards show history, performed three times during the show.

The Academy of Country Music also made history with four Black nominated artists and Mickey Guyton was the first Black woman to host the awards show.

ROMANS: All right, cool stuff.

All right. A historic flight on Mars. NASA, overnight, launching its Ingenuity helicopter into the Mars atmosphere, the first-ever controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. The helicopter landed on Mars with Perseverance rover back in February. Its first flight is designed to test conditions in the atmosphere.

As for how Ingenuity performed, NASA waiting for data from the flight to reach earth.

JARRETT: Don't you wonder what they're going to find? It's just fascinating to me. I don't want to go there. I don't really want to ever go to space, actually, but I just find it all so fascinating.

ROMANS: I think if we can solve problems like that, there are a lot of problems we can solve here, too.

JARRETT: Well, here, here, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes.

JARRETT: All right.

ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" with John Berman and Brianna Keilar starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman alongside Brianna Keilar.

On this new day, American cities on edge bracing for a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. Closing arguments set to begin in just hours.

Plus, new reporting just in on the Biden administration's efforts to vaccinate the entire country despite hesitancy among many Americans.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: He's said to be dying behind bars in Russia, a foe of Vladimir Putin's. Now the U.S. delivers a new warning should Alexey Navalny die.

And, QAnon conspiracy theorists get a backer from on high -- the man who played Jesus.

BERMAN: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Monday, April 19th.