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EARLY START

Texas Democrats Walk Out to Halt New Voting Restrictions; Americans Hit Airports And Beaches in Return to Pre-Pandemic Life; Hat Store Faces Backlash for Selling Nazi Jewish Stars. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired May 31, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:00]

LAURA JARRETT, ANCHOR, EARLY START: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is a special holiday edition of EARLY START, we have reports this morning from Jerusalem, Florida, Berlin, Los Angeles, Delaware, Beijing and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I'm Laura Jarrett, Christine Romans is off today, it's Monday, May 31st, Memorial Day, it's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

We begin this morning in Texas where Democrats have locked a new law making it harder to vote. And they did it the old-fashioned way by walking out. Democratic lawmakers walked out the State House floor overnight leaving the GOP majority without the quorum needed to approve the bill at least for now. Governor Greg Abbott says he will add election integrity to a list of topics for a special session. He like other Republican governors in Florida, Iowa and Georgia are using former President Trump's lies about the 2020 election to make it harder to vote in future elections. But Democrats say they're going to keep fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NICOLE COLLIER (D-TX): We used all the tools in our toolbox to fight this bill, and tonight, we pulled out that last one because we are no longer going to stand and allow them to continue to push measures that disenfranchise our voters.

REP. JESSICA GONZALEZ (D-TX): And so really, this is a witch-hunt. It's a witch-hunt that is aimed at people of color. We are going back centuries.

COLLIER: We may have won the war tonight, but the battle is not over. We will continue to fight and speak out against those measures that attempt to silence our voices. They don't want you to know the truth on that bill. They don't want you to know how they don't want to see you at the polls. They don't want you to know that you have rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Now, the measure would have made mail-in voting harder in Texas by requiring voters to supply more information and by barring local election officials from sending out absentee ballot applications to anyone without they requesting one. It also would have banned the afterhours and drive-through options that black and Latino voters in the Houston area used to cast ballots in 2020, and it would have ended early voting on Sundays before 1:00 p.m., which would limit the after- church get-out-to-vote efforts popular with black congregations there.

A source tells CNN, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Chris Turner sent a text to all of his members that read this, quote, "take your key and leave the chamber discreetly. Do not go to the gallery. Leave the building."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHRIS TURNER (D-TX): Incredible resolve. And I've never blinked in our collective opposition to the harmful vote suppression measures that Texas Republicans continue to push to try to disenfranchise our constituents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: So far this year, lawmakers in 47 states have introduced bills that will make it harder to vote. Fourteen states have already passed them. Well, this time last year, most of the country was still locked down. But on Friday, the TSA screened just under 2 million people at U.S. airports. That's a pandemic record. The Summer of 2021 is here and people are ready to go out. In New York, a state curfew on bars and restaurants was lifted overnight. Mobile vaccine buses will hit beaches and parks throughout the city, and a Memorial Day parade begins at 11:00 a.m. in Brooklyn.

Despite Alabama struggles to get people vaccinated, its public COVID health orders will end today. In Pennsylvania, all businesses can go back to normal, but masks are still required for people who aren't fully vaccinated. That's until next month. In California, a dramatically different scene from a year ago, beaches up-and-down the coastline now fully open with businesses in beach side tourist towns preparing for an influx of visitors and much-needed revenue. Paul Vercammen on the water in Los Angeles for us.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN REPORTER: Laura, this Memorial Day weekend brought the return of Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles reopened again, and the famed swan peddle boats as you can see. The city of Los Angeles doing extremely well in terms of its COVID-19 numbers, very low positivity rate, few hospitalizations. And so, we're seeing more things reopen. The only sort of downside to Memorial weekend is as people got out and about, they realized they were getting killed at the gas pump. Average prices somewhere over $4.20 in Los Angeles. We talked to one man, he has a Silverado truck, it has a big tank, he says he's spending up to $100 to fill up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard, especially right now that there's not many jobs. And, you know, we're in a bad situation economy-wise. So, I feel like it's too overpriced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:05:00]

VERCAMMEN: And now, as we return to Echo Park Lake, reopened, you can see the city of Los Angeles in the distance, and everybody in California now bracing for what's going to happen, that's on June 15th. That's when most of the major COVID-19 restrictions go away completely. Reporting from Los Angeles, on Echo Park Lake, in a swan boat, back to you now, Laura.

JARRETT: In a swan boat. Thank you so much, Paul. All right, three gunmen still on the loose more than a day after killing two people and wounding more than 20 at a club in south Florida, still no word on a motive yet, but police are calling it, quote, "a targeted shooting". There have been 238 mass shootings so far this year in the U.S. This attack in Florida comes just days after nine rail yard workers were killed in San Jose. Since then, since then, there have been seven mass shootings. A fact, not lost on Miami's police chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ART ACEVEDO, POLICE CHIEF, MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, I can tell you, that's the second shooting in the greater Miami-Dade area. We had our own shooting the night before where seven people were shot and one dead. It's just an indication of the problem we have with the scourge of gun violence in this country, that we need to do much more on a federal level to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: A hundred and twenty five thousand reward is now being offered to track down the Miami shooters. CNN's Natasha Chen is on the ground in Florida with the very latest.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura, Miami-Dade police said three people got out of a white Nissan Pathfinder sometime after midnight Sunday morning and started shooting indiscriminately at the crowd. Police say they used assault rifles and handguns. Then got back in the car and fled the scene. Two people died and more than 20 people were injured. Police say a lot of people standing outside at the time included patrons of a lounge where a private concert was being held. That establishment advertises itself as a hookah lounge, billiards club and banquet hall.

Now, we've seen investigators working here, using yellow markings for dozens of shell casings, bringing in canines to assist. We've also seen a couple of families come by the scene. One woman said her nephew and son were among the 20 people injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is my son. My only son. My only child. He's not a statistic, he's a graduate from college last year, so he's educated. He was going out with his educated cousin to just celebrate the weekend. And they had not made it into the club as of yet. They said that some guys, three guys that they noticed with hoodies, and they just started shooting for whatever reason, we don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: A press conference is expected this morning at 10:00 a.m. with county officials, including the police director to give more updates on the investigation. Laura, back to you.

JARRETT: Natasha Chen, thank you so much for that report. Well, still ahead, it is the symbol used to isolate and murder 6 million Jews. But one business owner in Nashville is proving hateful rhetoric reaches far and wide.

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[05:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABRAHAM FOXMAN, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: The last couple of years, the consensus of civility in our country is gone. There are no taboos anymore. And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --

FOXMAN: From my experience, the gas chambers in Auschwitz did not begin with bricks. They began with words, ugly words. We're hearing a lot of ugly words. And we're not hearing other people stand up and say no, it's not acceptable, it's Un-American, it's Un-Christian, it's immoral.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: That was Ab Foxman, he's a holocaust survivor. He understands why the words of someone like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene matter, not because they're clickbait, they matter because she's an elected member of Congress equating the images you see on your screen there, badges, used by the Nazis to mark Jews. She's equating that with the masks used to help end this deadly pandemic. But as offensive and ignorant as that may be, Greene's views do have an influence outside of Washington. CNN's Polo Sandoval reports for us.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, good morning. The owner of the store said that they meant no disrespect and apologized for offering the offensive patches, but that's done very little to quiet the criticism and protests at National Tennessee hat store, accusing it of anti-Semitism. I will just send me back to a Friday social media post according to affiliate "WZTV" in which hatWRKS displayed and announced the sale of Star of David badges reading, "not vaccinated". Well, the yellow patches resemble the badges that Nazis forced Jewish people to wear during the holocaust.

While also on Saturday, Laura, crowds of demonstrators, they could be seen with signs outside of hatWRKS, one resident told affiliate "WSNV" that they were there to protest hate and ignorance. Another one called out the gross comparison that's being suggested between ongoing COVID vaccination efforts and what Jewish people were forced to endure during the murder of 6 million Jews. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not about vaccine or anti-vaccine. People are free to make their own decisions. But the issue is, when you take a symbol like the gold -- yellow star, that was foisted upon Jews to ostracize them and make them victims, and then they took all those people and brought them on to boxcars and annihilated them. It's a lot different than saying, well, I don't want to get vaccinated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ignorance, we can deal with that, we can fix it. But willful ignorance is inexcusable, and that's what this is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our role as part of the human race, not the Jewish people, but the human race, is that we have to put the entire community at large in front of our own individual needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Our repeated attempts made by CNN to contact the owner of the store have been unsuccessful. However, a message was posted on hatWRKS' Instagram account on Saturday which reads in part, "my intent was not to exploit or to make a profit. My hope was to share my genuine concern and fear and to do all that I can to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again. I sincerely apologize for any insensitivity."

[05:15:00]

A one major western apparel-maker joining the protest, announcing that it was parting ways with the store in light of the offensive content. A rep for Stetson wrote, "along with our distribution partners, Stetson condemns anti-Semitism and discrimination of any kind." Laura, back to you.

JARRETT: Polo, thank you for that. Well, today marks exactly 100 years since a white mob stormed a thriving black commercial district in Tulsa, Oklahoma burning it to the ground and killing as many as 300 people. The Department of Homeland Security now warning law enforcement agencies that events commemorating that anniversary of the massacre could be targets for racial violence. One major event with headline names like John Legend and Stacy Abrams was abruptly cancelled by organizers, citing only unexpected circumstances. On Tuesday, President Biden travels to Tulsa to deliver remarks and to meet with survivors who are now between 101 and 107 years old. Just incredible.

Well, tonight, CNN uncovers the hidden story behind this horrific event. The CNN film "DREAMLAND: THE BURNING OF BLACK WALL STREET" premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:00]

JARRETT: All right. After weeks of back and forth with Republicans, the White House is putting a deadline of sorts on a deal for infrastructure. CNN's Jasmine Wright is traveling with the president, she joins us live from Wilmington, Delaware. Jasmine, nice to see you this morning. So, what are you learning about this? How are they going to really push to speed things up now?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Laura, they're giving it about a week. That is what Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN's Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday, he said by June 7th, the White House wants to have a clear direction in these talks with Republicans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: I think we are getting pretty close to a fisher-cut bait moment. But I'll tell you that on the fishing side of things, the negotiations have been healthy. There's a lot of conversations going on among members of Congress who have come forward with a lot of different ideas in addition to the discussions that we've had with the group led by Senator Capito. So, we believe in this process, but also very much agree that this can't go on forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So now these conversations will continue to go on. This is already after they've been happening for a few weeks now, and still major differences remain in the scope and the definition, and how to pay for it. This comes after Republicans sent back that $928 billion proposal after President Biden amended his initial proposal down from $2.3 trillion to $1.7 trillion. But White House officials automatically kind of raised their eyebrows because it didn't call for much more new spending. And on "ABC" this weekend, yesterday, Pete Buttigieg talked about how it wants to repurpose money from about $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill passed in March, and he cast doubt saying that the White House already heard from mayors and local officials who say, hey, that's our money that you gave us in response to the pandemic, we don't want to give it back.

And then of course, on the definition, the White House says that infrastructure is anything that gets Americans back to work. And that includes making sure their children are taken care of, making sure that their grandparents, elderly are taken care of. Republicans are saying we don't want to pay for that, right. They say that we want it to be railroads, bridges, the traditional things that we consider infrastructure, and then on how to pay for it. That real question of taxes, Biden wants to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and Republicans are saying, look, that's a non-starter. We don't want to undo those 2017 tax cuts, and we want to use user fees. That would -- the White House says raise money on the middle class.

Something that they say is a red line. So, these conversations are going to continue this week. That's what Pete Buttigieg said and that's what folks are saying across both aisles. But the question really is more for how long? Because these differences make it hard to really see where a bipartisan bill can come from it. Laura?

JARRETT: How to pay for it, always the sticking point. Thanks so much Jasmine, I appreciate it. All right, now, to this rare reunion of sorts. A judge in Michigan just swore in a lawyer who stood in his courtroom 16 years earlier as an accused drug dealer. Edward Martell once pleaded guilty to selling crack, cocaine, in front of Judge Bruce Morrow. The two men stayed in touch over the years, Morrow encouraging Martell to make a change in his life, and then shared a hug at the ceremony, both saying each other taught the other lessons they will take with them for the rest of their lives.

All right, still ahead, Benjamin Netanyahu fighting to keep his grip on power as his rivals zero-in. CNN is live is Jerusalem. That's next.

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[05:25:00]

JARRETT: Good morning everyone, this is EARLY START, I'm Laura Jarrett, about 28 minutes past the hour here in New York. Benjamin Netanyahu's reign as the longest-serving Prime Minister of Israel could be coming to an end soon. A power-sharing deal involving a former ally may force Netanyahu out of office within days. Let's go live to Jerusalem and bring in CNN's Hadas Gold. Hadas, nothing is done yet, but this certainly could spell trouble for the Israeli Prime Minister, no?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Laura, we could be seeing the final days of Netanyahu's long-run as Prime Minister. Twelve years he has been in power. But his former ally Naftali Bennett last night in a televised speech saying that he will be sitting, he will be working with the opposition leaders to form a new unity government. Now, it's widely believed that as part of this coalition agreement, Naftali Bennett who only has seven seats, who only won seven seats in the last election will serve as Prime Minister first followed by the centrist leader Yair Lapid part of a rotating coalition leadership agreement.

But this new coalition will be made up of a wide swath of political parties in Israel, ranging from the far-left through the center and to the right including Naftali Bennett's party and will likely need the outside support of a small Islamist party called the United Arab List. And this will bring many questions about how will this new government survive because these parties do not see eye to eye on many of the pressing issues facing Israel today, especially in its relations with the Palestinians.

But Naftali Bennett said that he is willing to sit with these parties from the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum as his in order to prevent Israelis from having to go towards unprecedented fifth elections in two years. Now, the Prime Minister in his own speech blasted Bennett, calling -- saying that he was doing.