tv CNN Newsroom Live CNN March 2, 2021 1:00am-2:00am PST
1:00 am
rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but for less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom" and i'm rosemary church. just ahead, more shots into arms. the third covid vaccine to be authorized for use in the u.s. should be administered to the public for the first time today. health officials say it's still not the time to relax restrictions. plus, joe biden meets with mexico's leader as they grapple with how to handle immigration reform and growing numbers of
1:01 am
people heading towards the southern border. they're preparing to welcome the pope in iraq. why some say this isn't the right time for a papal visit. rear' live in baghdad and rome this hour. good to have you with us. we begin with the much anticipated rollout of a third coronavirus vaccine in the united states. johnson & johnson began shipping its doses on monday and they could start going into arms as early as today, and not a moment too soon. recent declines in case numbers appear to have stalled. cnn's erica hill has details now from new york. >> now we have three important tools in our armamentarium. >> reporter: the advantage of
1:02 am
this latest tool, just one shot. no need for special freezers. >> this eases the capacity to get the vaccine where it needs to be. >> 3.2 million doses. >> that was the entire allotment. >> with promises of 20 million by the end of the month. the vast majority going to state and local health pharmacies, 4% marked for community health centers. j&j already testing a booster for variants and hoping to expand the trials to children and infants this summer. >> we are working with nih to accelerate that as soon as possible. >> reporter: the u.s. averaging 1.7 million shots a day. 10% of the adult population now fully vaccinated. hospitalizations nationwide dropping below 50,000 for the first time since november. >> we're vaccinating more and more people over the able of 60. hospitalizations should drop. >> reporter: but we're not there yet. the seven-day averaging for new cases and daily reported deaths
1:03 am
increasing. >> these data are evidence that our recent declines appear to be stalling. please hear me clearly, at this level of cases with variant spreading, we've danced completely and we stand to lose the hard earned ground we've gained. >> reporter: yet states continue to loosen restrictions. >> it's risky to say we're on our way out. >> reporter: indoor music facilities can open to 50%. florida bracing for spring break. >> we're waiting for college students in ft. lauderdale. >> reporter: experts asking for a bit more patience. >> i'm bullish where we are in may, june, july. march and april look very tough. >> reporter: on monday new york city marked one year since the first confirmed case. mayor bill de blasio calling
1:04 am
this the longest, toughest year while also noting new milestones, nearly 2 million vaccine doses administered. in new york, i'm erica hill, cnn. those johnson & johnson doses could be administered in the coming hours. this is what many health officials have been waiting for, being able to vaccinate more people. here's where vaccinations stand in the u.s. right now. according to the cdc, more than 96 million doses have been distributed to states and nearly 77 million have been administered. but less than 8% of the total population is fully vaccinated. the pandemic was among the topics discussed when the leaders of the u.s. and mexico met virtually on monday. the two presidents reaffirmed their ties and stressed the importance of a strong relationship. a source said mexico's president was to ask the u.s. for help with vaccines, but the white
1:05 am
house said it's not currently considering sharing its vaccine supply. >> the president made clear he is focused on ensuring vaccines are accessible to every american. that is our focus. the next step is economic recovery and that is ensuring that our neighbors, mexico and canada, have similarly managed the pandemic so we can open our borders and build back better. our focus is on his focus. the administration's focus is on ensuring every american is vaccinated. once we accomplish that objective we're happy to discuss further steps beyond that. >> and u.s. president joe biden is working to make good on his campaign promise to pass a covid relief bill for the millions of americans struggling right now but there's a different campaign promise that mr. biden is falling short on. our jeff zeleny explains. >> reporter: at the white house, president biden intensifying his efforts to push his signature covid relief bill through yet
1:06 am
another hurdle in congress. after returning from a weekend at his home in delaware, the president meeting virtually with 9 democratic senators whose votes he needs, along with all sen senate democrats to pass the package. >> we've reserved time to make sure he can roll up his sleeves, be personally involved, having more zoom meetings, potentially having people here to the oval office to get this across the finish line. >> reporter: with some benefits to americans expiring on march 14th, the clock is ticking for biden to make good on his pledge. there is no room for error in the closely divided senate after the house narrowly passed the measure with no republican votes. progressives are seatething on e $15 being left out.
1:07 am
they've been urged to override the decision. >> why not fight for this? why is the white house not more aggressive in challenging that and having the vice president overrule the vote? >> the decision for the vice president to overrule is not a simple decision. the president and the vice president both respect the history of the senate. they are both formerly served in the senate and that's not an action we intend to take. >> it's the first legislative test for the white house. maintain support for moderate democrats for joe manchin and kirsten cinema who do not support it without alienating others who do. the white house reconciling biden's tough talk with his decision to stop well short of punishing the saudi crown prince
1:08 am
for his role in the murder of jamal khashoggi. >> we were going to in fact make him pay the price and make them in fact the pariah that they are. >> how does this come anywhere close to his pledge to americans in november of 2019? >> the president has been clear to his team and he's been clear publicly that the relationship is not going to look like what it's looked like in the past. >> reporter: the white house insisted the relationship would be recalibrated. the move underscored how they see the partnership as too critical to break. jeff zeleny, cnn, the white house. president biden facing some pressure on multiple foreign policy fronts with the relationship between the u.s. and mexico also in focus. cnn political analyst josh rogan spoke with me about this just a short time ago. >> it's no secret that the relationship between the new american president and the existing mexican president started off in a very bad place.
1:09 am
the mexican president didn't acknowledge biden's victory until after the january 6th riots on the capitol and actually he had a much closer friendship with president trump than would be widely expected. one of the areas that they actually cooperated on was immigration. now that the biden administration is trying to revamp the u.s. immigration policy, they're finding it more difficult than when they had talked about it in the campaign. they're finding that they need mexican government help and that has caused and led to this meeting today where both sides are promising to work together on the problem, but there are no easy solutions. already the border is getting more crowded. biden's administration policy of letting in some migrants but not -- returning others has pleased nobody and right now the mexican government needs to help to sort it out at the
1:10 am
u.s./mexican border and the mexican government needs something from the u.s., more vaccine, so perhaps there's a deal to be made. >> the biden administration has had to hit the ground running on other foreign issues as well, foreign policy issues. the white house now facing considerable backlash for not sufficiently punishing the saudi crown prince for his direct role in the murder of jamal khashoggi. he said he would make them pay the price and make them a pariah. that is clearly not going to happen. why? what are the consequences of not doing what he pledged to do? >> it seems the biden administration's approach, which is to release the intelligence reports naming mohamed bin salman as responsible without punishing him has pleased nobody. it's fallen short of their own campaign promises to make them, quote, the pariah state that
1:11 am
biden said it is. there is a lot of talk inside washington that the u.s./saudi relationship is too valuable to throw away. jamal khashoggi was a con contributing journalist at the washington post where i work. it's difficult to sanction the crown prince, especially as he may become the head of state at any moment. >> cnn political analyst josh rogin talking to me there. we are learning new details about the attack on the u.s. capitol on january 6th. the justice department revealed on monday that they have gathered evidence showing the far right group the proud boys used radios to communicate during the capitol siege. cnn's brian todd has our report. >> reporter: the drag net has widened and suspects are under more pressure than ever with
1:12 am
over 300 people charged. more than 280 arrested and law enforcement tracking many more. >> the investigation into those responsible is moving at a speed and scale that's unprecedented and rightly so. those responsible must be held to account and they will be. >> reporter: thomas caldwell, an alleged leader of the far right antigovernment paramilitary group the oath keepers pleaded not guilty on monday. he is one of nine alleged associates charged with conspiracy. prosecutors say he discussed bringing weapons across the potomac on or before january 6th and dominic pezolla from the proud boys seen here breaking a window at the capitol with a police shield appeared before a federal judge as well. prosecutors told the judge on monday they've gathered new evidence that the proud boys were communicating by radio on
1:13 am
january 6th. that pezolla ordered a radio ahead of that time. it doesn't mean he was taking or giving orders during the riot. he has pleaded not guilty and is now trying to distance himself from the proud boys. his lawyer saying his association with the group was minimal. according to court records, prosecutors have used witnesses in his case to gain information about the proud boys and about pezolla. >> people are going to start to crack and we are going to get more information. when people start to go down and people start to get charged, they all think about what's best for them. >> reporter: meanwhile, an independent review conducted by russell honore could be released in a couple of days. a draft of a proposal recommends building an integrated system of walls and fences around the capitol and adding more than 1,000 officers to the u.s. capitol police force as well as establishing a quick reaction
1:14 am
force to avoid bureaucratic delays in deploying police like we saw on january 6th. sources say the review found that more officers are needed to protect members of congress when they're in their home districts. >> but there is a need to have coverage outside washington, d.c. that's when the representatives are most vulnerable is when they're outside of washington. >> reporter: and law enforcement officials have told cnn the fbi has identified a suspect it's focusing on in the death of capitol hill police officer brian sicknick. the fbi is not publicly naming the suspect as of now. as cnn has previously reported, law enforcement officials are working on the theory that he became ill from bear spray that the mob used to attack the capitol that day. brian todd, cnn. new york governor andrew cuomo under fire again today with another reported allegation of sexual harassment. those details just ahead.
1:17 am
hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, are we? no, we're having the "we're getting coverage so we don't have to worry about it" conversation. so you're calling about the $9.95 a month plan -from colonial penn? -i am. we put it off long enough. we are getting that $9.95 plan, today. (jonathan) is it time for you to call about the $9.95 plan? i'm jonathan from colonial penn life insurance company. sometimes we just need a reminder not to take today for granted. if you're age 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance starting at just $9.95 a month. there are no health questions so you can't be turned down for any health reason. the $9.95 plan is colonial penn's
1:18 am
number one most popular whole life plan. options start at just $9.95 a month. that's less than 35 cents a day. your rate can never go up. it's locked in for life. call today for free information. and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner, so call now. (soft music) ♪ hello, colonial penn? well, more trouble for new
1:19 am
york's governor, andrew cuomo, as a third woman has gone public with an allegation of sexual harassment. anna rock tells "the new york times" she encountered the governor at a wedding reception in 2019. mr. cuomo placed his hands on her face and asked to kiss her. cnn has not corroborated the allegations. cuomo apologized to two other women who accused him. >> reporter: the 25-year-old woman who came forward over the weekend with sexual harassment allegations against new york governor andrew cuomo not accepting his apology. she teemed up with an attorney. it took the governor 24 hours and significant backlash to allow for a truly independent investigation. these are not the actions of
1:20 am
someone who feels misunderstood. charlotte bennett came forward to the "new york times" with allegations that she was sexually harassed by the governor in a one-on-one particularly pointing to a one-on-one conversation that happened in june while she was working in the administration where she says the governor asked her some very personal questions like had she ever been with an older man. she took those as overtures for a sexual relationship. now the governor has issued an apology and i'll also read that to you. it says, i now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments given my position made others feel in ways i never intended. i acknowledge some of the things i said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. to the extent anyone felt that way, i am truly sorry. she is the second person in just a week to come forward as another former aide came forward last week with also sexual harassment allegations that the
1:21 am
governor has also denied. as far as the investigation goes, the ag now officially has it in their hands and they say they are going to appoint a private lawyer to look into these claims. the governor says he will cooperate fully with the investigation. in washington, election reform is a focus for both parties right now. the house of representatives is expected to consider legislation this week that would expand voting rights. democrats are backing the new measures which include provisions like same-day and online voter registrations. proponents say it would significantly reduce barriers to young people and voters of color. republicans argue the law would take powers away from states and lead to fraud concerns. many are still buying into donald trump's lies about mass election fraud which he repeated at cpac over the weekend. stacey abrams, a prominent democrat and election organizer had this to say about
1:22 am
state-by-state efforts. >> your place of residence determines the quality of your democracy, which should not stand in the united states of america. and we are seeing it play out in the most grow tesque way possib. we are watching attempts to roll back the right to vote because, to put it simply, republicans believe that too many people voted. they believe that too many eligible voters choose other than their candidate and because of that they're going to be punished by being denied the right to vote or being prevented from participating in our elections. >> the ceo of goya foods is under fire again after pushing donald trump's election fraud lies at cpac. calling trump, quote, the real, the legitimate and the still actual president. now this comes just after a month after his company's board reprimanded him for doing this very sort of thing. cnn's jason carroll has the
1:23 am
story. >> reporter: after pledging to keep his controversial views quiet, goya's ceo is again publicly making false election claims. >> the real, legitimate and still actual president of the united states, donald j. trump. >> reporter: this echos his unfounded election claims during this tv appearance in january, two weeks after the capitol insurrection. >> mission accomplished by the conglomerate of social media, big tech, big media and big government for ushering in the dawn of a new world order. this great reset with an unverified election. >> yeah. >> reporter: that caused goya's board to essentially silencing him. a person familiar with the action which includes unanue's
1:24 am
family members called them insulting and he said he can no longer speak to the media without the board's permission. the source tells cnn unanue has hurt goya's bottom line. they did not respond to several attempts by cnn to reach for comment, but at the time unanue told "the new york post", independently i've made the decision to lower the temperature and walk away from speaking about politics and religion. welcome news to this consumer who said he had stopped buying goya products given the ceo's past politically charged comments. >> when certain corporate leaders support an ex-president who basically green lighted white nationalism, racism, sexism, homophobia, then they should expect to pay the consequences. >> reporter: unanue first came under fire late last july after
1:25 am
he praised then donald trump during a white house visit. >> we're all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like president trump. >> reporter: those comments prompted a backlash from buyers #goyaaway and boycott goya trended and supporters of president trump tweeted back buycot. aoc is critical of unanue saying his words have consequences. >> it's a great disappointment whether you are immigrant, one or two generations from puerto rico. seeing that, it's a great shame. >> reporter: it's unclear if his comments have hurt sales. goya doesn't disclose figures. $1.7 trillion in 2019, that's
1:26 am
11% of the country. the president of one of the oldest latino civil rights organizations offered this advice to the censured ceo. >> you need to tone down the rhetoric. you're entitled to support whoever you want, but when you put out false information, when you put out lies to the community, there are consequences and there are going to be ramifications for your product. >> reporter: jason carroll, cnn, new york. still to come, the ceo of biontech speaks exclusively to cnn on how his company's vaccine performs against new covid-19 variants. and as more vaccines roll out and case numbers fall, parents and educators are anxious to get kids back in school. we'll see how some major school systems are tackling the problem of how to return safely. cheese till you find the perfect slice... eveven if everyone asks you...
1:27 am
another burger truck? don't listen to them! that means cooking day and night until you get... [ ding ] you got paid! that means adding people to the payroll. hi mom. that means... best burger ever. intuit quickbooks helps small businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, banking and live bookkeeping. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. our friends sold their policy to help pay for their medical bills and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned that we can sell all of our policy or keep part of it with no future payments, who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have
1:28 am
one hundred thousand dollars or more of life insurance you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. - i'm sure you've heard how grammarly improves your writing, but let me tell you how grammarly business helped my sales team. look at simon. since simon's team started using grammarly business, we've closed more deals. with suggestions to sharpen his writing clarity and overall confidence, simon's pitches always stick the landing, which leads to more of these and these. learn more at grammerly.com/business.
1:30 am
health experts are hailing the much anticipated rollout of a third coronavirus vaccine in the united states. johnson & johnson has begun shipping its doses and shots could start going into arms as early as today, but america's top infectious disease expert warns against comparing its efficacy to that of other vaccines. >> the j&j, if you look at them, particularly in things that we really care about are important, has got greater than 85% efficacy after severe disease and critical disease and there were no deaths or hospitalizations in any of the countries that were tested. remember, they tested in the united states, in south africa and in south america.
1:31 am
this is a good vaccine. i think we need to pull away from this comparing and parsing numbers until you compare them head to head. >> several variants of covid-19 have been documented around the world, and they have raised concerns about how effective current vaccines are at fighting them. the ceo of biontech told cnn it will take another six to eight weeks to get real world data that shows just how effective his vaccine is against the variant first identified in south africa. for more on this, let's bring in cnn's frederick pleitgen. he spoke exclusively with biontech's ceo. good morning, fred. what more did he have to tell you? >> reporter: in general, rosemary, he said he's very confident in the biontech vaccine. he said so far biontech had tested the vaccine against 25 coronavirus variants and it was
1:32 am
the only one in south africa where the efficacy seemed to somewhat drop. two main issues, some seem to spread quicker. that's a real concern. countries do need to step up their vaccination campaigns as fast as possible and as soon as possible. he also said that he's against storing some of the vaccine doses. he said the moment that countries get vaccines, they should administer them as fast as possible. the other big issue with these variants, the other concern with these variants, rosemary, is that they might be able to evade some of these vaccines, making the efficacy less. that's something he believes they can keep under control. here's what he said. >> the first concern is, for example, the concern related to variants like the u.k. variant, which is spreading faster. this is, of course, a relevant concern. there's also a second concern, the variants could escape the immune response. the second concern is a relative concern.
1:33 am
i'm not too much concerned about that. we believe particularly that there are vaccines and it's assigned in a way that is very robust against variants. >> to what extent do you think a single dose strategy, vaccinating everyone as fast as possible, is something that could be possible or at least stretching out the amount of time between the first and second dose? is that something that you think is fees snibl how feasible do you think it is? >> so, first of all, it is important that indeed the vaccinations go as fast as possible. the first strategy for that would be not to store the second dose but really ensure that everyone -- we don't have vaccines in the freezer but
1:34 am
vaccines are being used. >> at what point could it be used for the entire population? >> we have already vaccinated children at the age of 12 to 15 years. we are going to start clinical trials in children of ages 5 to 11 years and including younger than 5 years all in 2021. so this is important. also to support school openings. another thing that biontech is also doing, rosemary, which we learned yesterday, it massively tried to scale up their production and a new plant is going to be open fairly soon. production is already going on there. they do have to get approval from the european medical agency to actually be able to use those doses and to send them to countries. you can see the vaccines, not just biontech, but surely from other makers as well, they're constantly being analyzed and tested against variants. also, may still be better than
1:35 am
they were before. one of the things biontech is saying is they are working on a new formula to ship and store the vaccine at just refrigerator temperatures, rosemary. >> all very encouraging. frederick pleitgen bringing us the latest. slovakia is buying 2 million doses of russia's sputnik vaccine. the prime minister watched as the first batches arrived on monday. slovakia is just the second european union country to buy the vaccine. the neighbor hungary purchased it last week. the head of russia's direct investment fund says more and more european countries want the vaccine. the european commission is hoping a covid-19 digital passport will jump start travel for the upcoming northern summer. the passport would provide proof that a person has been
1:36 am
vaccinated. test results for those not yet vaccinated and information on covid-19 recovery. now that vaccines are rolling out across the united states, president biden says re-opening schools is a priority for his administration. how do you do that safely though remains a major question. but some large school districts across the country are making progress. in chicago children in grades k through 5 whose families chose in person learning were able to return to schools on monday and mayor laurie lightfoot was on hand to welcome some of them back. >> this is exactly what we fought for. this is the moment that we knew would be possible and important in the lives of our young people, in our students and that's why this giving parents an option to come back in person for their students is so
1:37 am
important. >> the los angeles unified school district is planning to vaccinate its staff and reopen elementary schools in mid april, and that's no small fete. the city is the second largest school district in the nation with more than 86,000 employees. and in philadelphia officials have agreed to start bringing back pre-k through grade 2 next week. here is a resident of upper mayfield, pennsylvania, and the parent of four children. good to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> so a year into this pandemic there's still a lot of kids out there doing remote learning, and now you and some other parents in philadelphia have decided to take things into your own hands. what are you planning to do about this? >> well, i'm planning to run for local school board in the castle rock school district here in pennsylvania.
1:38 am
>> and what are you hoping to do once you gain that board? >> one of the key focuses is to make sure that parents and children are put first and that all parents have an option for five-day in person learning and also to keep the virtual programs running but hopefully an enhanced virtual program for those parents, students that need that option because of the covid-19 pandemic. >> so it's currently four days, and that's not enough for you and for your wife and your four kiddies. so how and why? why has the school decided to only do four days? is there a particular reason that they're not able to cover that fifth day? >> well, some of the elementary schools are on a four-day in person and then fifth day is virtual while some of the other schools are five days so it's kind of a mixed bag here in this district, and i think that's the case in many of the districts.
1:39 am
i know that even like a five day option, it's really difficult when you don't have one. for example, my wife had to leave the work force this year to make sure she's staying at home and focusing on the children and their education. and that's not an option for everybody in the districts. >> what about the problem of screen time? kids are on zoom all through the school day and then on screen again with friends in the afternoon and evening or playing video games. what impact does that likely have on kids, do you think? >> yeah, i actually find it fascinating. years ago we talked about kids being on the screens too much all the time, and now we're putting on the screen for 7, 8 hours a day. and it's not healthy in my opinion. we try to limit screen time. and even when the kids are not going back to school, they're often being put on screens when they're in person as well because some of the teachers are having to try to teach the virtual students and in-class
1:40 am
students as well. even when they're in the schools they're often getting too much screen time as well. >> now that we have three vaccines available in the united states, we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, not only for the pandemic but for remote learning, but the reality is there will still be a lot of kids who will have to continue at home with remote learning for the next couple of months, possibly to the end of the school year. what do you think this generation of students lost this year? and how do they catch up? >> i think one of the biggest things they're losing is what normal socialization is. i know there was some of that that was necessary. my first grader, you know, told me the other day that, you know, not interacting with children and talking and staying away from kids is the normal thing and the good thing to do. so i think they are going to struggle as they adapt back to normal socialization skills once they come back together. i think we're really putting
1:41 am
kids in a tough spot here because, you know, kids are having two different experiences now. you have groups of kids staying at home doing virtual learning, you have some kids going back to schools and quite frankly different schools are handling it differently in terms of the way they interact at school as well. >> kevin gessner talking to me earlier. still to come here on cnn, a look at major concerns surrounding the pope's trip to iraq on friday. live reports from rome and baghdad when we come back.
1:44 am
1:45 am
the kidnappers. the girls' abduction is the latest in a string of similar kidnapping cases in nigeria. pope francis is determined to visit iraq on friday despite threats from covid-19 and dangers of terrorism. it will be his first trip outside of italy since the global pandemic started and the first ever papal visit to iraq. the vatican says the pope's four-day visit includes multiple stops and is meant to promote peace, diversity and tolerance. some fear the nation's christian population will come out in large numbers to see him and there are worries that his appearances could become covid super spreader events. cnn' cnn's delia gallagher is covering this and ben wedeman in baghdad. delia, will it's start with you. some are questioning the pope's
1:46 am
trip. how determined is the pope to make this trip? >> reporter: well, the vatican says, rosemary, the trip is on and the pope certainly has really been looking forward to it in terms of what he has said about it in the past. it's sort of the culmination of a long chair's dream. john paul ii really wanted to go to iraq. he was never able to go. iraq has such importance in terms of its historical importance. it's the birth place of abraham. it is considered a place of one of the oldest christian communities in the world, a community that has dwindled significantly in the past decades to the point that some people are saying it risks extinction, so that is one of the major reasons the pope has said he wants to go. he's close. he's a pastor and wants to be
1:47 am
close to the christian community there and encourage the christians who have had to flee to come back and form a stable community once again in iraq. the other thing he'll be doing, rosemary, is meeting with the head of the shia muslim community there. that's an important meeting because pope francis has really made a part of his pontificate, this effort to get muslims in christians in dialogue for peace. so a lot of important reasons for this trip, rosemary. >> delia, thank you for that. iran is preparing to meet the pope. can they meet the challenges posed by the papal visit? >> reporter: in terms of security, rosemary, the iraqi military -- keep in mind that
1:48 am
isis, which at one point occupied large parts of the country, has been defeated and, therefore, the real worry is not his security. all of the events are being very carefully controlled in terms of access and numbers of people. the real worry is, of course, covid, dmeepkeeping in mind ira currently experiencing a spike in new cases. today the number of daily new cases reported is three times what it was a month ago. despite that, if you go around baghdad and other iraqi cities you might be forgiven if you were to conclude that covid does not exist here because from what i've seen, a purely subjective point of view, is that masks are a rarity, social distance as a concept doesn't seem to have sunk in and, of course, keep in
1:49 am
mind, rosemary, this is a country that over the last 40 years has seen repeated wars, occupations, almost a civil war and, therefore, the number of people who have died from covid really is relatively small to be around 1.7 million people who have died as a result of sanctions and wars over the last 40 years. rosemary. >> all right. many thanks to delia gallagher in rome, ben wedeman in baghdad. appreciate it. the biden administration is going to impose sanctions on the poisoning and jailing of opposition leader alexey navalny. it's the latest sign russia will not be getting the same treatment it did under donald trump who failed to take any action under the poisoning. the new measures will be rolled out in coordination with the european union with the exact
1:50 am
timing to be worked out in the coming days. the white house is looking to send a strong message on human rights as well as the importance of acting alongside allies. we'll be right back. do stay with us here on cnn. over 10 years. olay's hydration was unbeaten every time. face anything. find out more at olay.com chances are you have some questions right now here are a couple answers...
1:51 am
1:53 am
1:54 am
welcome back, everyone. lady gaga's dog walker is speaking out for the first time since he was shot saying he was still in recovery from a very close call from death. ryan fischer was shot in a robbery that ended with two of the singer's three french bulldogs being stolen. in a message on instagram fischer says he's humbled and grateful for the outpouring of support. he also thanked lady gaga saying your babies are back and the family is whole. we did it. thankfully, the two stolen dogs were safely returned to los angeles police by an unidentified woman. police are still searching for two men in that attack. prince philip is now undergoing heart tests along with treatment for an earlier infection. the 99-year-old husband of queen
1:55 am
elizabeth has been in hospital since february 17th. details now from cnn's anna stewart. >> reporter: it's already been the longest hospital stay that prince philip's ever had and it's getting longer. after 30 nights staying in a small private hospital in central london, the 99-year-old was moved by ambulance to this much bigger facility. saint bartz is an internationally recognized hospital and they have the largest specialized cardiovascular service in europe. he's being treated for a pre-existing heart condition and he received stent treatment for a blocked coronary artery earlier. the duke remains comfortable but he's likely to remain here until at least the end of the week. a much longer stay than anticipated. particularly concerning considering the duke is just months shy of his 100th
1:56 am
birthday. anna stewart, cnn, london. prince harry says his split with the other royals has been unbelievably tough, much like what his mother, princess diana, went through before her death. the duke and duchess of sussex spoke with oprah winfrey for their first interview since giving up royal duties last year. prince harry credits his wife meagan for helping get him through the worst of times. >> for me, i'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side because i can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago because it has been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we have each other. >> the highly anticipated interview will air this sunday on cbs. and thanks so much for your company. i'm rosemary church. "early start" is up next. have yourselves a wonderful day.
2:00 am
a new claim of an unwanted advance against new york governor andrew cuomo. what the new accuser says happened. >> please hear me clearly. now is not the time to relax. >> a critical turning point in the pandemic. health officials begging americans not to let their guard down as a game-changing vaccine rolls out. and cnn has learned democrats may change one key element of the coronavirus relief bill before the senate votes. why weekly unemployment checks
122 Views
Uploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=136363273)