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EARLY START
Pandemic And Poverty Spark Violent Protests Across Colombia; NBC Won't Broadcast 2022 Golden Globe Awards; Attorneys General Urge Facebook To Stop Plans For An Instagram For Kids. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 11, 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: Indoor dining and some international travel are on track to restart May 17th in England when restrictions are lifted there.
In Spain, fiesta time. Crowds in the street celebrating the state of the emergency there has ended.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And the fight against COVID in the U.S. about to get another big boost. Pfizer's vaccine authorized now for younger teens, which could pave the way to more reopenings this summer and get parents back in the office this fall.
EARLY START has the pandemic covered coast-to-coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER (on camera): I'm Jacqueline Howard in Atlanta.
Doctors are urging parents to get their kids caught up on their childhood vaccinations, especially since the FDA just authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for ages 12 to 15 and we potentially could see even younger ages down the road.
So doctors worry it will be a balancing act to get kids caught up on their routine shots and also scheduled for a COVID-19 shot. And that's because the CDC recommends people wait two weeks after getting any vaccine before getting a COVID-19 shot and vice versa.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (on camera): I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.
In an effort to increase vaccination rates, New York State is setting up pop-up vaccination sites at subway and train stations this week. Among them, recognizable names like Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the new sites will provide Johnson & Johnson vaccines. He also sweetened the deal by offering free seven- day Metro cards or two free one-way trips to anywhere in the service area for the Long Island Railroad. The state also announced that all 64 state universities of New York campuses will require COVID-19 vaccines for students beginning this fall.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Isabel Rosales in Washington where the mayor is lifting most COVID-19 capacity restrictions by mid-May. This is a big deal for the city.
By May 21st, most COVID-19 capacity restrictions will be lifted, including in places like gyms, schools, offices, restaurants, and more. And by June 11th, every other place -- those capacity restrictions will be totally dropped, including in places like bars and nightclubs and large sport and entertainment venues.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Vanessa Yurkevich in New York.
Get vaccinated, get free ice cream. That's what Unilever is offering to people who get vaccinated at several sites across the country.
Vaccine hesitancy is increasing while the number of people getting vaccinated is on the decline. Ice cream is just one of the latest freebies to promote vaccines, which have included Budweiser giving out beer, Krispy Kreme offering donuts, and White Castle handing out free hamburgers for anyone who shows their vaccine card.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Thanks to all of our correspondents for those reports on what's happening in the U.S.
Elsewhere, the pandemic shows no mercy. In India, COVID deaths are up, oxygen is down. At least 24 of India's 36 states and territories are now under tight restrictions.
Meantime, the president of the International Olympic Committee's visit to Japan next week ahead of the summer games has been postponed in light of the extension of the state of emergency.
And this morning, CNN has learned the Biden administration is open to sharing coronavirus vaccines and other humanitarian assistance to help North Korea combat the pandemic.
ROMANS: The global economy could pay the price for the wave of coronavirus hitting India. More than 200,000 sailors on hundreds of cargo ships around the world are from India but many companies are banning flights from India, making it impossible to swap crews on those cargo ships.
India also home to the world's largest vaccine maker. The Serum Institute had agreed to manufacture up to 200 million COVID vaccine doses for 92 different countries, but now it's had to shift its focus to Indian citizens.
There could also be supply shortages in the pharmaceutical industry. India is the world's largest supplier of generic drugs in the U.S. One in every three pills taken by Americans is produced in India.
And major banks scrambling to keep their businesses online running. About 4.4 million people in India work in I.T. and other back-office jobs.
JARRETT: Meantime in Colombia, the pandemic is just one of the triggers behind the growing unrest there. Poverty, violence, and the government's mismanagement of this have people facing devastating consequences.
CNN's Polo Sandoval is on the ground in Bogota with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the release of decade's worth of repressed anger and dissent. For nearly two weeks now, frustrated Colombians have been taking to the streets. Tensions started rising April 28th over government tax hikes proposed to ease the strain from the pandemic on the economy.
Colombian President Ivan Duque withdrew his plan days later but a wave of anger was already sweeping across the nation -- one too late to contain.
GERALDINE LOPEZ, BOGOTA PROTESTER: This tax reform was an opportunity to loud our voices and say no more.
[05:35:04]
SANDOVAL (voice-over): But for Geraldine Lopez and her fellow protesters packing into parks and some blocking roads, the movement has evolved into something else. Activists want to expose what they say is excessive force from Colombian police directed at protesters -- much of it in the city of Gali, the heart of the movement.
LOPEZ: We really need the international community to see what is happening in Colombia.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): One thing she wants the world to know about, the police shooting of protester Marcelo Agredo on April 28th, the first day of protests. Widely-shared video shows the 17-year-old kick an officer on a motorcycle. As he runs away, the officer shoots and kills the young man. A senior member of Colombia's national police tells CNN this case is now in the hands of prosecutors.
The U.N. secretary-general calling on authorities to exercise restraint amid reports of human rights violations. At least 27 protesters have been killed, according to the government, but one human rights group reports as many as 47 dead, 39 of them by security forces.
JUAN PABLO RANDAZZO, BOGOTA PROTESTER: The way that they decided to take this thing is to bring the police forces and the military forces against their own people. That's why we're all here. We are not prepared to hear the next day that one of our friends, that one of our family, that one of our brothers is the one who's getting killed. SANDOVAL (voice-over): Government officials maintain that leftist militants and illegal armed groups are behind some of the violence.
Meanwhile, Colombians are sinking deeper into poverty. Government statistics show the poverty rate increased from 36 percent in 2019 to 42.5 in 2020.
In the once-bustling colonial tourist town of Zipaquira, Marlon Perlata was forced to go from business owner to waiting tables to support his family, waving down the few visitors who drive past his mostly empty tables.
MARLIN RINCON PERLATA, SERVER, FATHER OF FIVE: (Speaking foreign language).
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Perlata tells me he's never his country in such a dismal state. He feels the pandemic only helped to make the rich richer and the poor poorer due to Colombia's economic inequality.
The husband and father of five gets emotional, saying that he feels he may be a rich man when it comes to his health and his family but financially, he's at his worst.
From the quiet streets of historic towns to the protester-packed avenues in the nation's capital, there is hope among Colombians that things will get better, but in a persistent pandemic and violence-torn country, the only question is when.
Polo Sandoval, CNN, Bogota, Colombia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Polo, thank you so much for that report.
Well, a man whose lawyer claimed that "Foxitis" prompted him to storm the U.S. Capitol is now speaking out to CNN. Unlike many of these other defendants, Antonio -- Anthony Antonio says he's realized he's been misled a few days after the insurrection. He says he takes full responsibility for participating in it and he says he made a huge mistake putting his faith in Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ANTONIO, PARTICIPATED IN CAPITOL RIOT: I put my faith in something other than God and Jesus Christ, and that is the God's honest truth. But I felt like, you know, maybe I believed that America was being robbed of a president, and I now know that was a lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Antonio had lost his job at the beginning of the pandemic and for the next six months watched Fox constantly. His lawyer says he believed what was being fed to him.
ROMANS: A make-or-break moment for President Biden in his bid to secure bipartisan deals on his top priorities. I want to bring in Jasmine Wright at the White House for us this
morning.
I know there's been so much going on in infrastructure and trying to hammer out a deal on infrastructure. There's also a tentative deal on police reform. What can you tell us about the police reform piece of this?
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Christine, they are in serious negotiations over on the Hill. Those are led by key lawmakers -- Republican Sen. Tim Scott, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, and Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass. And so they have reached some sort of an outline -- it appears to be a tentative agreement, CNN learned, and it's focused on a few things.
One, it sets federal standards for no-knock warrants. It bans chokeholds except in life-threatening situations. And it limits equipment the Department of Defense can give to local and statewide police stations.
But there are some sticking points that are stopping it from getting from where it's at now to on paper, and that includes qualified immunity -- that law that critics say protects police officers and shields them from accountability. And section 242 -- that federal statute that makes it harder to criminally prosecute police officers.
Now, the question going forward is whether or not they come to a consensus on those things or whether they drop it from the bill.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn weighed in over the weekend on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" and he said that if they can't reach a consensus they should drop it because they should not forfeit a good bill for a perfect bill.
But let's make no mistake about this, Christine. If they do drop it from the bill and get it up to votes it would still be a major disappointment for some criminal justice advocates who say that this whole thing is about requiring --
[05:40:08]
ROMANS: Yes.
WRIGHT: -- accountability for police officers.
ROMANS: All right. Republicans, meantime -- they're ready to fight against a Democratic bill that would deliver the largest overhaul of U.S. elections in a generation, Jasmine. What's the latest on that?
WRIGHT: Well, any way that you flip it, Christine, this bill -- the For the People Act that's already passed the House -- it does not have 60 votes in the Senate.
Still, Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, has said that he will bring it up for a vote now that Congress is back in front of the full Congress. And it's not because he thinks that it could somehow miraculously pass, but it is because if it does fail it then reignites the conversation for left-leaning senators about getting rid of the filibuster -- that rule that requires 60 votes on most major legislation.
And look, that rule is what is coming in between a lot of President Biden's promises, including voting rights, policing, and actually getting them done, turned into a bill, and getting them passed and signed on his desk.
So that is going to be a vote that we watch very closely in the coming weeks and months to see what happens because these are things that President Biden has promised -- he said that he wants to get done -- but right now, they kind of hang in the balance.
ROMANS: All right, Jasmine. Thank you so much. Nice to see you this morning -- Laura.
JARRETT: All right.
So as we talk about police reform, the city of Alameda, California, just outside San Francisco -- it's changing the way 911 calls are handled. The City Council ordered 911 dispatchers to route mental health and other non-violent to the fire department and the paramedics instead of police.
The changes come after Mario Gonzalez Arenales (sic) died in Alameda police custody after he was restrained face-down on his stomach for five minutes.
ROMANS: All right. It turns out the Tesla model that crashed in Texas last month killing two men may not have been on autopilot.
Local police said nobody was in the driver's seat, but a preliminary NTSB report says surveillance video shows the driver and his friend getting into the two front seats. The report also says it would have been hard for the car to be on autopilot because there were no lane lines where the car crashed. The report does not explain why authorities found no one behind the wheel.
JARRETT: A lot of questions there.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signing a bill that repeals the state's citizen's arrest law from the Civil War era. The repeal was passed in response to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery -- that 25-year-old Black man who was shot while jogging last year by white men who told police they suspected he had committed a burglary. The men are now facing murder and hate crime charges.
Still ahead, NBC pulling out of next year's Golden Globes. Tom Cruise is giving back all three of his trophies. The controversy, the protests -- that's next.
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[05:46:58]
ROMANS: All right.
NBC pulling the plug on its coverage of the Golden Globe Awards, the latest blow to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has been mired in controversy for its lack of diversity and questionable ethics.
JARRETT: CNN entertainment reporter Chloe Melas joins us now. Chloe, good morning. Nice to see you.
So lay it all out for us. What is exactly going on here and why are they pulling out now?
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (via Cisco Webex): Good morning. This is huge news -- I mean, of like momentous proportions when it comes to Hollywood.
So, as you know, awards season has the Oscars and the Golden Globes. The other ones are there and they're great but, like, these are the ones that people tune in to watch. The Golden Globes has been around for 78 years.
Well, what happened guys is that right before the last Golden Globes in February, it came out that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that puts on the Golden Globes, that is filled with press and journalists from all over the world that vote on these categories for the winners -- they don't have one Black member. Can you believe that? So obviously, people were up in arms, outraged.
So during the actual Golden Globes ceremony, several key members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association came out on stage and promised that there would be reform and change and more inclusion.
Well, the clock is still ticking --
ROMANS: Yes.
MELAS: -- and that hasn't happened, so NBC decided to cut ties and pull the plug. Tons of people in Hollywood are outraged and releasing statements.
But this is what the HFPA has said in a statement. They said regardless of next year's air date of the Golden Globes, implementing and transformation -- implementing transformational changes as quickly and as thoughtfully as possible remains the top priority for our organization. And they also released a timeline, Christine and Laura, of things that they plan to do but people are saying that is not enough.
ROMANS: Not enough.
You know, I don't know if you've seen the front page of the "New York Post" this morning -- "Hollywoke" -- and saying that some of the Hollywood stars also, Chloe, coming out against the Foreign Press. Tell us more about that.
MELAS: Tom Cruise -- he's returned all three of his Golden Globe awards -- sent them back yesterday to the HFPA. Scarlett Johansson, who hasn't won a Globe but she's been nominated multiple times -- she released a statement and she's been calling for Hollywood to boycott the Globes.
And I don't think even if they make reform and changes that we're going to see any network airing it. Our own parent company WarnerMedia cut ties with them as well. And I could see this lasting for years.
JARRETT: So interesting. As you said, this is huge, huge news, obviously. Everyone watches the Golden Globes.
Although, Tom Cruise, I should mention, has not gone back on his support of Scientology even though he is giving back those trophies.
ROMANS: And ratings are down, too, right? I mean, ratings have been down for award shows in general, but we shall see.
Chloe Melas, nice to see you. Thank you.
JARRETT: Thanks for getting up with us, Chloe.
MELAS: Thank you -- of course. Thank you.
JARRETT: All right.
Later today, the family of Andrew Brown, Jr. will view the portions of the body camera video from his fatal police shooting last month. The judge's order limits what the family can see of the encounter, though. It occurred when deputies in Elizabeth City, North Carolina served a search warrant at Brown's home.
[05:50:08]
The family will have access to 20 minutes of nearly two hours of footage. The judge says the parts being withheld don't contain images of Brown.
ROMANS: All right, there's a tiger on the lam. Police in Houston are asking for help tracking down a Bengal tiger that may be on the loose in the city.
Officers on Monday responded to a report that 26-year-old Victor Cuevas, a murder suspect out on bond, had a tiger in his yard -- that's illegal. When police arrived, Cuevas fled with the tiger in his SUV. He was captured; the big cat wasn't.
JARRETT: Yikes.
OK, how much is this worth to you? This sketch of a bear's head by Leonardo da Vinci is expected to sell for more than $16 million at auction. Officials at Christie's say it's one of only eight drawings by da Vinci still in private hands. They expect the "Head of a Bear" sketch to top the previous record of $11 million for a da Vinci work when it is sold in July.
ROMANS: Incredibly rare. All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this morning.
Looking at markets around the world, Asian shares have closed mixed here. The Tokyo and Hong Kong both lost more than two percent there. Futures -- you can see stocks in Europe are also lower here this morning. The stock index futures falling at this moment.
Stocks closed lower to start the week after analysts downgraded some big companies, including Google and Facebook. The Dow fell 34. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also down.
More money on the way to help the economy recover from the pandemic. The Treasury Department launched a billion-dollar program to deliver $350 billion to states and local governments Monday. The money can be used to cover revenue shortfalls and help struggling households with food and housing.
Vaccinated and ready to eat out, Americans are hungry for reopening and fast-food chains are struggling to find workers.
Chipotle wants to hire 20,000 employees ahead of the summer. Chipotle lifting average pay to $15.00 an hour -- $11.00 starting -- and rolling out a $200 employee referral bonus.
Taco Bell hopes to hire at least 5,000 people during a recent nationwide event. McDonald's wants to hire 25,000 in Texas alone. And IHOP needs 10,000 new people.
Low pay and toxic workplaces are driving many workers away from the restaurant industry and into careers in tech and finance.
A version of Instagram for kids is getting more backlash. Forty-four attorneys general sent a letter for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging him to stop plans for an Instagram for kids under 13. The attorneys general said social media can be detrimental to a child's health and noted that younger children aren't able to navigate the challenges of having a social media account. I would argue a lot of adults can't either.
Facebook says the service will give parents more control over their kids' online activity.
JARRETT: I'm pretty sure a lot of them already have an Instagram account, Christine -- I know much to your chagrin.
ROMANS: I know.
JARRETT: All right.
Former NFL player Brandon Bair has gone from saving touchdowns to saving a life. Bair pulled a man from a burning semi-truck last week minutes after he had been hit by a train. Look at that.
The 36-year-old former defensive lineman was driving in Idaho when he witnessed the accident. He climbed halfway into the flaming vehicle and pulled 25-year-old Steven Jenson through a rear window. Within seconds, the roof collapsed and the cab went up in flames.
Brandon Bair will join "NEW DAY" live in the 8:00 hour on this. Just incredible.
ROMANS: All right.
We all know what Leonardo DiCaprio looks like, but the "New York Post" seems confused. The paper tweeted out this photo of Leo sitting down at a table on the set of his new film. They called the Oscar winner unrecognizable. You can judge.
But it didn't take Twitter long. "The only way Leo is unrecognizable in this photo is if he's playing the woman, the bowl, or the salt shaker."
I think it looks just like him.
JARRETT: I think he looks just like himself.
ROMANS: I don't get it. I just don't get it. Anyway, there he is.
Thanks for joining us. You know, Twitter's always good for some random diversion during the day. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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[05:58:41]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman alongside Brianna Keilar.
On this new day, a potential game changer in America's fight against coronavirus. What vaccines for kids mean for the end of this pandemic.
Plus, she chose truth over party. Now, as Republicans get ready to oust Liz Cheney, we're learning that she's going down swinging.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: From Jerusalem and Afghanistan to Iran and Russia, the world is on edge right now with new violence and new threats rising. CNN is there live.
And a riot suspect says he took the word of man over Jesus. Hear from the alleged insurrectionist who is using "Foxitis" as his defense.
BERMAN: Good morning to viewers in the United States and around the world. It is Tuesday, May 11th.
And a pivotal moment in the fight to crush COVID -- a development that could enable millions of young people to safely return to sports and summer camp. The FDA has cleared the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in 12- to 15-year-olds. That means my kids. That means 85 percent of the U.S. population can now get vaccinated -- hallelujah.
KEILAR: Hallelujah, indeed. Very exciting news. And this is a decision that increases the likelihood that more schools can reopen for in-person learning.
