tv CNN Newsroom Live CNN May 29, 2021 1:00am-2:00am PDT
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blocked. senate republicans put a stop to a bill, that would have created a capitol riot commission about the probe into the january-6th attack isn't over, yet. the u.s. is drawing up sanctions against belarus after it used a fake-bomb threat to force a plane to land, and arrest a political critic. and for many in the united states, the first-holiday weekend with a little less covid stress. with cases falling, the worry now is that so are the number of vaccinations. fts. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to all of you watching here, in the united states, canada, and
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around the world. i'm kim brunhuber, this is cnn "newsroom." u.s. senate republicans have kept their word. blocking a crucial bill, that would have established a commission to investigate the january-6th insurrection on capitol hill. only-six republicans sided with democrats in friday's vote. with just a few short months ago, many republicans were adamant that a 9/11-style commission into the capitol security was needed. their opposition, now, shows just how much of a grip former-president donald trump, still, has on much of his party. it's something the senate-democratic leader made sure to point out after the failed vote. >> out of fear, or fealty, to donald trump, the republican minority just prevented the american people from getting the full truth about january 6th.
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this vote has made it official. donald trump's big lie has now, fully, enveloped the republican party. >> house democrats are now considering launching a probe of their own, into the violent insurrection. cnn's manu raju has the latest. >> reporter: so after senate republicans derailed this bipartisan commission, an outside commission, that would investigate the january-6th attack. and all the influencing factors, leading up to it. the question is what is next? and house democrats are now actively considering creating a select committee. an outside committee, that would actually be led by democrats in the house. who could have subpoena power, who could schedule hearings. and could drive this investigation for, really, as long as they want to. that is something that is under active consideration. nancy pelosi, the house speaker, who will make the ultimate call on that has not said explicitly that's what she would do but she has hinted that is what she would, in fact, do if republicans were to block a bipartisan commission. now, that has been blocked by
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the senate. a 54-35 vote in the senate on friday. after just-six republicans broke ranks. they needed ten, total, to vote for it to break. a republican-led filibuster. seven would have voted for it. if the seventh senator, pat toomey, had attended the vote. he skipped the vote joining ten other colleagues from both parties who skipped the vote. but he said he would have voted in favor of it. but nevertheless, it still would have been short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. had this thing -- had this commission been created, it would have been ten commissioners selected five on each side. they would have to report by the end of the year. they would have joint-subpoena power. that's why the proponents like bill cassidy, who voted for it, a republican from louisiana, said we should do a bipartisan investigation. because otherwise, democrats will take matters in their own hands and investigate it for as long as they want. but that plea fell on deaf ears among most republicans in the senate. republican conference, including the top leader, mitch mcconnell, who told his colleagues that going that route would be potentially, politically
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problematic, come 2022. could hurt their efforts to take, back, the majority in the house and the senate when they want to focus on other issues, domestic issues. not on everything that led to the january 6th attack and create a commission that would be essentially unassailable. instead, they will paint the house effort, in their view, as a partisan endeavor. but nevertheless, that bill, the commission bill has now failed in the senate and democrats are prepared to take things into their own hands. manu raju, cnn, capitol hill. both, the mother and partner of fallen capitol police officer brian sicknick made a trip to capitol hill, thursday, to meet with republican senators and make a last-ditch plea for them to pass the bill. in a cnn exclusive, the two sat down with our jake tapper to talk about the failed vote. >> i think, you know, it's all talk, and no action. clearly, they're not backing the blue. and yesterday, having officer fanone and officer dunn there to
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talk about their experiences. i mean, i even learned more about what actually happened on that day. hearing their stories. you know, close and upfront, and live and in color. and i was absolutely appalled. so, you know, they heard it firsthand. some of that stuff has not been put out in the media. and, you know, it's -- it's devastating because, you know, they could have -- especially, officer fanone. he could have been murdered. and, you know, this cannot happen again. it cannot. so, for them to vote no is, you know, it's -- it's not protecting law enforcement. and, you know, more importantly, it's -- it's not protecting our democracy. you know, people there were not only hurting law enforcement officers. and then, of course, like i said yesterday, there is the ripple effect of trauma, that's still
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continuing today. >> oh, of course. >> many officers, you know, are struggling with ptsd. >> people should know you are a psychotherapist, so this is something you know about. >> yes, yes, yes. i work with people all the time that struggle with ptsd. so, i know how devastating and debilitating it can be. you know, and then, it's the family members that are struggling to pick up the pieces of that, daily. but it's, also, those people were there to, you know, destroy the will of the people. they could have destabilized government, as we know it. you know, the vice president was in the building. people were after the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. i mean, the -- it's just unbelievable, to me, that they could do nothing about this. and now is not the time to sit around and say, well, maybe, we'll do something in the future. the time to do something is now. and again, i mean, though there was some tense moments yesterday. i am hopeful that at least they'll be able to reflect on some of what we said, as the
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days go on. and they'll be able to, you know, start to get the ball rolling, fast. and say, we need to do something now. and i think more importantly, is to listen to the officers that were there, that day, on the ground. because there's this misconception that there was no firearms there. that those people in the crowd had no firearms. there were firearms there. and i'm talking about handguns. not just the, you know, general term weapons. i'm talking about actual handguns. people had handguns on them. so, you know, this is serious. this is serious stuff. >> and you can watch jake tapper's full interview with the mother and partner of brian sicknick at cnn.com. all right. want to bring in thomas gift, who is the director of the center on u.s. politics at university college london and he joins us now, from oxford. thanks, so much, for being here. just off the bat, did anything surprise you about the vote? >> not at all, kim.
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i mean, the first point to note is the most obvious, and, that is, the republican filibuster was not at all surprising. it's a pattern. impeachment 1.0, impeachment 2.0. the big lie. any number of intervening scandals, large and small, during the trump years. republicans, under mitch mcconnell, have always remained unified and put party interest, first. so, i think, anyone hoping that a large block of gop senators would buck that trend here, either, hasn't been paying attention the last-four years or is engaging in wishful thinking. it's worth underscoring a handful of moderate republicans did vote their conscience, including mitt romney. but most gop lawmakers continue to downplay the significance of what happened at the capitol and deflect blame for it. it's another reminder of the stranglehold trump has over the party. >> absolutely but polling has been clear. some three-quarters of republicans say too much is being made of january 6th.
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time to move on. so, aren't the republican senators who vote against the commission just -- just representing the wishes of their constituents? >> well, i think you could certainly make that case. i mean, there is lots of data, as you suggest, that many republican rank-and-file voters don't think that this is a big issue. a survey, last month by reuters, showed that more than 50% of republicans thought the capitol riot was initiated by violent, left-wing protestors trying to make trump look bad. "new york times" actually just reported yesterday on polling showing that the percentage of qanon supporters in the united states is roughly on par with the percentage of adherence to some major religions in the country. so clearly, there are some voters who will believe what they want to believe. but i think, to a large extent, what we are seeing here is that republicans are afraid of three things. the truth, donald trump, and their own voters, in large part, they are representing them. >> so what's next, then? democrats say they might launch a select committee to look into
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it. so what would be the point here? republicans would say, you know, we know what happened. there -- there are several committees that have or are looking into the security response, which is probably the main, actionable aspect of this. so, is there any point, beyond the -- the democratic-political objective of keeping this in people's minds with a view to the midterms? >> well, i do expect house democrats are proceed with their own inquiry into the capitol insurrection. invariably, however, as you suggest, republicans will cast it as a bipartisan maneuver and characterize any findings through a left-leaning media. kevin mccarthy, for example, has already talked disparagingly about a pelosi-select committee. that may be hypocritical. but really, doesn't matter. i think what the american people will then be subject to is a stream of information that's only been vetted by one party. separating partisan spin from fact won't be easy.
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so voters will just take what they want from it, and again, we will arrive at the default, kim. more partisan polarization and that's really what i envision, going forward. >> you sound very, very resigned to the inevitable here. what does this portend for the rest of biden's agenda? will it help bring reluctant democrats around to the idea of killing the filibuster? >> it could. i mean, procedural issues aside, though, i think, the major challenge here is going to be for democrats to be able to proceed on this front, without looking like they are distracted. and again, this is a challenge that we saw going back to the impeachment of donald trump. where a lot of critics just said, if democrats hang on too much to what trump has done. or this scandal or that scandal. that they are going to be perceived as not focused on the bread-and-butter issues that most voters care about. so, it's a balancing act, for sure, and i think democrats will have to toe that line, and tread
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it very carefully. >> all right. thomas gift in oxford, england, thanks so much for being with us. appreciate it. >> thanks, kim. the biden administration is now turning up the heat on belarus after last weekend's forced landing of a ryan air commercial flight. two passengers were taken off the plane, and detained. late friday, the white house announce it's working with u.s. allies to target the lukashenko regime with sanctions. the plane was en route to lithuania from greece when it was diverted and that prompted lithuania to expel two belarusian diplomats. belarus responded a short time later by kicking out two lithuanian diplomats. many international airlines are now avoiding belarus and the eu has called for a ban on flights from belarusian carriers. but president alexander lukashenko was defiant, as he met, friday, with russian leader vladimir putin. cnn's frederik pleitgen has the latest. >> reporter: national condemnation mounts against the regime in minsk, and specifically, against belarusian
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strong man, alexander lukashenko. lukashenko paid a visit to vladimir putin in sochi. and obviously, the incident with the ryan airplane and belarusian authorities forcing that plane to land was one of the things on the agenda. before the meeting even started, lukashenko and vladimir putin could be seen together and lukashenko had a briefcase next to the chair he was sitting in and he said he brought documents that he said would clarify the situation. it wasn't clear whether or not he was specifically speaking about that incident. that incident certainly did come up. vladimir putin, for his part, at least showing that he continues to support alexander lukashenko. and that support is very important and seems to be very strong, indeed. in fact, several russian politicians have come out and said they believe the explanations that minsk has been offering up for forcing that jet to land. that those are, as they put it, plausible. even as the international community continues to punch
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holes in that narrative. in fact, cnn obtained an e-mail that was allegedly sent to the belarusian authorities. and where they claim that was the reason why they told that jet to land, because there was a bomb threat onboard. but it turns out, that mail was apparently sent about 30 minutes, little less, after the plane had already been told to divert. and in fact, european countries are continuing to say that they believe that those explanations do not hold up. and they are vowing to take tougher action, against minsk. fred pleitgen, cnn, berlin. the sanctions announced by the white house, on friday, were in addition to u.s. sanctions unveiled in april that are set to go into effect next week. cnn global affairs analyst, susan glasser, says the u.s. was already upset with belarus because of its crackdown on dissent. but the ryan air incident has dramatically raised the stakes. listen to this. >> truthfully, this government had been trying to silence this
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man for a long time. and what's interesting is that belarus hasn't been on the agenda, really, so much here in washington. it's been an inward-looking moment. and, you know, the -- the crackdown that followed the election, in which lukashenko not only insisted on maintaining power, but essentially has launched a massive action of repression around the country since then. you haven't really seen a major response by united states. and so, to me, by engaging in this act of air piracy, now, you are seeing the united states talk more about human rights, as a result of that, in a way that they might not have, otherwise. so, did lukashenko miscalculate? did he understand that was going to bring down more pressure from the united states? i don't know. but i do think that that is one result, certainly, of this. washington says the cyberattack reported thursday was much bigger than previously
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thought. more than 7,000 accounts were hit, across some-350 american organizations, including many of the u.s. government. among them, the u.s. agency for international development. microsoft says a russian group linked to the kremlin could be behind it all. the same one that targeted some federal agencies last year. cnn's matthew chance is in moscow. >> reporter: well, it's the timing of this alleged cyberattack that i think is the most striking. just the few weeks before the u.s. and russian presidents are set to meet in switzerland for a face-to-face summit that's already fraught with a long list of disagreements and grievances. and russia's support for belarus, for instance, in the latest crisis involving minsk ordering down an airliner, apparently, to arrest two passengers onboard. the treatment of alexei navalny, russia's jailed opposition leader, and now, these fresh-hacking allegations to add to the historical ones that are, already, there. to make matters worse, t' only
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been a few weeks really since president biden imposed tough sanctions on russia for precisely this kind of cyberattack. the solarwinds hack targeting u.s.-government agencies and blamed by washington on the svr, russia's foreign-intelligence service. microsoft, which detected the latest hacking of usaid agencies, think tanks, and humanitarian groups, mainly in the u.s., said the same group of russian hackers are responsible, this time around. for its part, thny knowledge of espionage saying it has questions about why russia is, again, being blamed. matthew chance, cnn, moscow. there are new questions surrounding the origins of covid-19 as u.s. intel reignites a controversial theory surrounding a lab in wuhan, china. we will bring you what's next in the search for answers. stay with us.
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science. their plea comes, as the u.s. is ramping up its own efforts to flush out two theories including a possible-lab leak, in china. cnn's david culver has reported extensively from wuhan, where the virus was first identified. and he filed this report from shanghai. >> reporter: president biden, ordering u.s. intelligence to dig deeper into the origin of covid-19. putting renewed focus on the chinese city where it was, first, publicly detected, wuhan. the white house says there are two-possible origin theories. the first? a natural spread from animals to humans, possibly amplified inside this once-crowded wuhan seafood market. the second and far-more controversial possibility? a leak of the deadly virus from this wuhan lab. >> we know that china engaged a massive coverup, starting from day one, involve -- including destroying samples, hiding records, imprisoning people asking -- in china asking basic questions and placing a gag
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order. >> reporter: it has been well over a year since the initial outbreak, and still, no conclusive answers. former-president trump made claims last spring that it started in the wuhan institute of virology lab. but never provided evidence. the chinese, along with many scientists, dismissed trump's lab-leak theory, as a conspiracy. president biden took office, supporting an international approach in investigating the origin. this week, three sources, familiar with the matter, tell cnn that biden, also, shut down a trump state-department inquiry into the origins over concerns about the quality of the evidence. but now, with newly-reported intel, there are new questions of what china new, and when? "the wall street journal" reporting, this week, that a u.s.-intel report found that several researchers at the wuhan lab got so sick, they had to go to the hospital in november, 2019. that is weeks before china reported the first patient with covid-like symptoms to the w.h.o. it has led to mounting pressure
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on the biden administration to find answers. in january, of this year, we were in wuhan as the w.h.o. sent a field team in to china to investigate. visiting the now-shuttered market, once believed to have been the original-ground zero. it's, since, been wiped clean. we drove by the wuhan institute of virology. heavily, secured. and despite multiple requests, we are not granted access to enter. this was as close as we got. the w.h.o. scientists, however, were allowed in. their conclusion? that it's very likely the virus spread, naturally, from animals. and that a lab leak was extremely unlikely. >> there is no evidence of that at all. but it is something that we talked about with people at the wuhan lab, and got really honest and frank. and -- and good, informative answers to. >> reporter: but that's the issue with the w.h.o. investigation. according to some of the scientists who took part, it relied mostly on conversations with the chinese scientists,
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taking them at their word. some of the experts complain china has blocked them from crucial data. and those, like peter daszak have been criticized for their personal ties to the wuhan lab. having helped fund and take part in research in the facility before the outbreak. virologist marion koopmans was among the w.h.o. team in wuhan in january. she is careful to characterize the team's work as research gathering, not as an inspection. she also welcomes biden's efforts to get more intel on the origins, hoping he will share the findings. >> so, if -- if there's really something to it, well, then, it needs to be followed up. >> reporter: meantime, china is pushing back with its own narrative calling the u.s. efforts a smear campaign. their motive is vicious, the spokesperson says. chinese officials have relentlessly pushed an unfounded conspiracy that the virus began in the u.s., but there is no evidence of that. chinese-state media has labeled the virus as an imported threat.
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even baselessly, suggesting it came from outside china. on frozen foods. from the chaos and the confusion of the initial outbreak to the surge and panic as the number of deaths soared and the virus spread, to hopes that vaccines might bring us back to life, pre-covid 19. we are still left with the question, how did all this really happen? david culver, cnn, shanghai. so, while the u.s. digs for answers about how the virus started, it's making big strides a emerging from the pandemic. coming up, how travel is surging across the nation ahead of a holiday weekend. plus, despite europe's slow-vaccine rollout, the eu-drug regulator just approved lowering the age for getting a shot. we will go to london for details, just ahead. stay with us.
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as covid cases drop, and restrictions loosen, the u.s. is putting its new normal to the test, this weekend. millions of people are expected to travel for the long-memorial day holiday. and just in time for the unofficial start to summer is the -- in the u.s., the cdc is relaxing its guidelines for camps. cnn's nick watt has details. >> reporter: a seismic shift, for summer. the cdc just said vaccinated kids do not need to wear masks at camp. meantime, "cruella" and a "quiet place 2" are playing in open movie theaters nationwide. 135,000 fans, expected at the indy 500 sunday. this-holiday weekend, roughly one-in-ten americans are expected to travel.
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>> many airports have, already, returned or exceeded to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. >> reporter: daily-case counts are, now, falling. but so are average-daily vaccine shots. peaked at nearly 3.4 million, mid-april. just over 1.6 million, late may. most adults who want to get vaccinated have started the process, say pollsters. >> we've certainly reached the lion share of people who are eager to get the vaccine. the willing is the complicated part here. there are a lot of people, who are willing, but it's hard for them. i think we can get 'em but it's going to take a lot of work. >> reporter: california is giving away over $100 million in incentives. west virginia just announced cash prizes, college scholarships, pick-up trucks. also, emotional blackmail. >> you've got to get vaccinated for baby doll. it's all there is to it. now, she wants you vaccinated, so badly. she'd give you a high-five right
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now. but you have got to get yourself vaccinated. >> reporter: now, just briefly, back to that cdc guidance for summer camps. they have posted, on their site, guidance for camps where not everybody is vaccinated. and number one on the list of things they advise is just tell everyone to get vaccinated. nick watt, cnn, los angeles. joining me now from los angeles is anne, professor of epidemiology at the ucla fielding school of public health. thanks so much for joining us. so, heading into the memorial day weekend here, in the u.s., on one hand, as we just saw, cases are going down. and it's the first holiday in which millions of americans, about half of them, have been fully vaccinated. on the other hand, now, there are, you know, few restrictions. and we are already seeing so many people acting like the pandemic is basically over. and now, some -- some 37 million people are expect today travel
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over the holidays. it feels like a big test for the country. how are you looking at it? what -- what are you expecting? >> well, you know, i think that we have come so far from where we were, just several months ago. and we're starting to reap the benefits of seeing so many people vaccinated. 50% of the population has had a vaccine. at least one vaccine. that's fantastic news. but -- and for those -- and i would say for those who are vaccinated, it's time to really start to enjoy so many of these benefits. but for people who have not, yet, been vaccinated, the risk of coronavirus infection is, still, very real. and very, very dangerous. so, we're -- we're reaching a point, now, where people who have not, yet, been vaccinated are really starting to bear the -- the -- the burden of their decision. >> yeah. i mean, as you say, there is so many people who haven't been. they're trying to, you know, find all these creative ways to encourage people, as we saw. lotteries, scholarships,
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preferential tickets, even dating-app badges. these gimmicks. do you think they'll -- they'll work? and what message does it send to those who are the first to get the vaccine, who believed in the science, stood in line to get those shots, now seeing the most reluctant people getting rewarded for holding out? i hope i am not sounding too bitter here. >> it's interesting that you bring this up. i spent my entire career working in places like the democratic republic of congo where we have been working on these issues of vaccination and vaccine hesitancy. trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible. and i understand the peril of starting to give incentives for vaccination. the worry is what does that mean in the future? are we always going to have to incentivize people for vaccination? i hope not. i really think what's been happening here is to get people's attention, to get them over the finish line. >> thanks so much for joining us, anne, really appreciate it.
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>> my pleasure. the world health organization's european director is reportedly worried that europe's vaccine rollout is going too slowly. in an interview with afp, he, also, warned that the pandemic won't be over in europe, until at least 70% of europeans are vaccinated. but fewer than 16% of europe's population is currently fully vaccinated according to our world in data. still, europe is taking a big step toward getting children protected. so for more on that, let's bring in cnn's scott mclean, in london. scott, young people 12 and over here, in the u.s. and canada, can get a covid shot. so, when will young europeans follow suit? >> yeah. so, everything has been stamped and approved. now, it's just up to the 27-member states to actually decide, individually, when they are going to start giving the shot to children 12 and above. this got the stamp of approval from the european vaccines regulator which basically said that the data shows that it is as, or even more effective, as
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it is in older teens or younger adults. and the side effects are roughly the same. but, kim, that same regulator also conceded that this clinical trial that led to this approval is not going to show you the very rare, adverse side effects that we have seen with some of the other vaccines. those are only going to show up once you start giving it to children, in the millions. and so, they have to watch closely there. this clinical trial which was down out of the u.s., only had about 2,000 kids involved which means half of them got the vaccine. so out of a thousand kids, zero ended up with the coronavirus infection. and so, on paper, you would think that's 100% efficacy. in reality, the regulator said that could actually be as low as 75%. pfizer, by the way, kim, is also working on clinical trials involving children as young as 6 months old. they are hoping to have that data by september. before europe starting to think about vaccinating kids, though, they need to get through their adult population. which obviously, as -- is at a
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much greater risk, by and large. more than one-third of the population has had at least one shot of the vaccine. that's not bad but it still lags behind, say, the u.s. and certainly behind the uk where that number is approaching 60%. the uk, by the way, also just approved the johnson & johnson vaccine. that's the one-shot vaccine. it's one of seven shots that they had invested, early and very heavily in. and so now, remember, they made that investment when they didn't know if any of these vaccines would actually work. now, four out of those seven are approved and ready to go. though, they won't actually start rolling out the shot until later, this year. that shot, also, is facing the same kind of scrutiny or has faced the same kind of scrutiny that the astrazeneca shot has faced over these very, extremely rare blood clots. it's also not quite as effective as some of the other vaccines, though it is quite effective against severe disease and hospitalization. more than 85% there. this comes, though, as the uk is really trying to ramp up its vaccination rate, more broadly.
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yes, it is ahead of most other countries on earth but it has the threat of the indian variant, right now. in fact, if you look at the weekly totals, this past-seven days, cases are 25% higher than they were 7 -- or seven days previous. and this is a country that has a massive vaccination rate, nonetheless. and that's because of threat of this indian variant, which spreads much faster than the currently-dominant uk variant. in fact, the health secretary of this country said earlier this week, kim, that he estimates that as much as three out of every four-new infections in this country could be that indian variant, kim. so a lot of work to do, still, in the uk, despite the progress made on vaccinations. >> yeah. very worrying statistic there. scott mclean, in london, thanks so much. tens of thousands are fleeing a major city in the democratic republic of congo as fears of a second volcanic eruption create a humanitarian crisis. we will take you there, live, coming up.
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the u.s. state department is welcoming news of the release of hundreds of men in the tigray region but is condemning the fact that they are ever detained at all. a spokesperson says all those responsible for human-rights violations and atrocities must be held to account. in a cnn exclusive, aid workers say those men were set free thursday, following a cnn report into their detention that sparked international outrage. nima elbagir has been reporting extensively on the conflict, and has the latest. >> reporter: it took two statements by the united nations and a call for accountability, and immediate release by united states senator, chris coons. but hundreds of tigrayan men have now been released. the young men who had been detained, they tell cnn, tortured and beaten by ethiopian and eritrean soldiers because they say they were accused of
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being part of tigrayan rebel forces. humanitarian workers at the scene say a handful of men, still, remain in detention, whom they are seeking access to. cnn's investigation into these detentions prompted international censure. but this is just one incident. this is just one incident, that has now been resolved after the weight of international opinion was brought to bear. there are so many more incidents in tigray. so many more families seeking to know more about lost loved ones. and it really speaks to how difficult the situation in tigray has proved to resolve. that it takes this much to get ethiopia and eritrean soldiers to change course. nima elbagir, cnn, london. and the u.s. state department welcomed the news of the the release but denounced the fact that they were detained. spokesman told cnn, all those responsible for human rights violations, abuses, and
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atrocities must be held to account. the atrocities being committed are absolutely unacceptable. they shock the conscience and must end. at least three people are dead, after violent protests in colomb colombia friday. that brings the total death toll since demonstrations began a month ago to 46. the protests originally began over a now-scrapped tax-reform bill, and expanded into demands for basic income and police reform. hundreds of thousands of people have fled the city of goma in the democratic republic of congo. they are worried about a second possible volcanic eruption in a week. people are seeking safety of a shelter but many have moved to other cities and even gone across the border to rwanda. and unicef warns thousands more, including many children, could become homeless if the volcano erupts again. joining me now from just outside goma, larry, what's the latest? >> kim, it's a double tragedy
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here. one, because there is just so many livelihoods. behind me used to be people's homes. right next to where we are standing used to be a family of seven. a mother and her six children and there is nothing left of it. what you see smoldering there used to be a home. her business, her livelihood, everything she owns has been covered by this. she's been back here for the first time, overcome with emotion. she doesn't know what to do or where to start. but she is -- her neighbor next door was luckier. that the lava took down her wall but not the home, itself. the house is intact and it's made of wood so it would not have offered any resistance. and we are hearing so many stories about people and they don't even know how to restart. 80,000 people have been displaced from this. 80,000 households. 400,000 people according to the local military here. and they don't think they are going to get any compensation and they just don't know where to start. and then, on top of that, they are now being told there is a
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possibility of a new eruption from under the ground or under lake kivu that could come with little or no warning. so they just can't catch a break. >> all right. thanks so much, larry, in the democratic republic of congo. just outside the city of goma. appreciate your reporting there. inflation is creating a bump on the road, as the u.s. economy gets up to speed. but some businesses blame the pandemic, itself, for having to raise their prices. we'll explain. stay with us.
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expert here in the u.s. are advising vacationers are tock pair patience for this memorial day holiday weekend. aaa expects some 37 million people to travel more than 50 miles from home. the centers for disease control is also predicting covid cases, hospitalizations, and deaths will fall over the next-four weeks. and for those who are vaccine hesitant, some states are offering incentives to get the shot. this weekend, new york and new jersey are offering sunbathers a chance to get vaccinated while at the beach. the u.s. economy is roaring
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back to life as the pandemic eases. but there is a potential headwind. a key measure of inflation hit a 29-year high in april. and some businesses say they have no choice, but to raise prices. claire sebastian explains why. >> this is the wall of an elevator cab. the exterior structural wall. >> reporter: if you are a business that specializes in, well, things that go up, 2021 has come as a shock. >> this is made of carbon steel. carbon steel, which six months ago, cost us around 45 to 50 cents a pound and today is costing us around a dollar a pound. >> so that's more than double. >> more than doubled, yes. >> reporter: the sharp increase in the price of steel, their main, raw material, has come with sharp decreases in supply. as the steel mills that shut down during covid have struggled to ramp back up quick enough. >> this is stainless steel here. these are going to be the decorative skins for a door panel. there are real supply shortages in this. we are being told material that
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we might wait a week for could be two to three months. >> for the first time in four years, ceo jeff friedman is having to raise prices on new work. caught in the middle of a post covid supply-demand crunch. >> there are often supply constraints that are choking certain aspects of the economy. there are areas, where demand is surging for the first time, now, in 15 months. >> reporter: in april, consumer prices rose 4.2%, compare today a year ago. the biggest jump since 2008. one, major contributor, a 21% rise in the price of used cars and trucks, as global microchip shortages impacted supply of new cars. and that, along with stimulus checks, and public transport, drove demand for older vehicles. >> this toyota prius just sold for $6,000. a year ago, the price would have been more like $5,000. and he said he is having to increase prices by at least 20% across the board.
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>> these one-time increases in prices are likely to have only transitory effects on inflation. >> reporter: the federal reserve says this won't last. and they won't raise rates, until more people get back into work. economists say it will take more than just price raises to shift that view. >> i think the warning signs are does inflation get reflected in inflation expectations? i need to raise my prices if i am a business because my competitors are doing that. because my workers are demanding wage increases. >> reporter: at national elevator cab and door in brooklyn, while wages have gone up as the company works through a backlog of pre-covid contracts, its future demand that keeps the ceo awake at night. >> how many elevators will people need? you know, how fast will buildings want to replace what they have? so that's an existential question for us. the price of material is painful, we'll survive. but if people don't come back to buildings, we got a problem. >> reporter: and that's the internal wiring of the
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post-covid economy is, still, not clear. something, which will ultimately determine the prices we pay. cnn, new york. portugal is coping with an english invasion of football fans. thousands of chelsea and manchester city fans are there for the champions league final. as you will see here, english fans packed bars friday night after portugal's government eased covid-19 restrictions. 16,500 fans will be allowed into the stadium for saturday's match. european football officials moved the final from istanbul because of covid-19 restrictions in turkey. former-u.s. president barack obama is praising a young, british football stoar for his efforts to ensure children get enough to eat. obama joined england ford, marcus rashford, for a video call on how young people can make an impact on society.
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he successfully persuaded the british government to continue its free school meal program over the holidays. they talked about personal responsibility, the value of reading and education and why obama says he doesn't measure up to rashford. >> for me, being in -- in sports, i just knew that my life could change, very, very quickly. and if i wasn't, like, mature enough or, you know, at a certain level in my own head. then, it makes stuff like fame and -- and things like that even more difficult to cope with. you can -- yourself in whichever way you want. keep telling me to do this and do that. >> entire worlds are possible in books. you can grow and -- and -- and discover and make connections, that you might not, otherwise, have made. just by the simple act of picking up and opening a book. when you look at the history of big-social movements, and big-social change, it's usually young people who initiate this.
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marcus, i think, is awway aheadf where i was at 23. >> for his work, rashford has been made member of the order of the british empire. as for that call with obama, he is describing it as surreal. i am kim brunhuber, i will be back in just a moment with more "newsroom." please, do stay with us. pretty taxing. i was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. and, uh, i found cerebral.
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serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers, including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. you could take your uc treatment in a different direction. ask your gastroenterologist about xeljanz. with relapsing forms of ms... there's a lot to deal with. not just unpredictable relapses. all these other things too. it can all add up. kesimpta is a once-monthly at-home injection... that may help you put these rms challenges in their place.
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going it alone. democrats push for their own investigation into the capitol insurrection after republicans vote down a bipartisan commission. president biden unveils his $6 trillion budget next year and we will look at why the spending goes far beyond washington. airlines see more passengers returning to the skies they are seeing a rise in anger and all-out brawls. we will have a full report. welcome to all of watching in the united states and canada and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber and this is "cnn newsroom." ♪ u.s. democrats are preparing to take matters into their own hands after senate republicans blocked a
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