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Voters Weigh in On Biden Presidency at Six-Month Mark; Newly Released Videos Show Violence Against Police; Study: India's Covid Deaths May Be 10 Time Official Count; French Health Pass Required for Many Popular Activities; Milwaukee Bucks Win First NBA Title in 50 Years. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 21, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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


[04:30:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The games of the 35th Olympics are awarded to Brisbane, Australia.

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ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: A developing story coming into CNN. Brisbane, Australia has been successful in its bid to be the host city of the 2032 Olympic games. You can see there this is just a few moments ago, as you can see there how excited and euphoric they were to get to hear that announcement from the committee. Of course many expected the committee to award Brisbane for the event, as it meets in Tokyo as they are meeting for the current games, as you well know kicks off Tuesday. 2032 will be the third time an Australian city hosts the summer games. The 1956 games were held in Melbourne and the 2000 summer Olympics were held in Sydney. So Brisbane just finding out Australia to host, the official winners, the hosts of the 2032 Olympics. And congratulations to them.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to stay vigilant especially with the delta variant that's out there. While COVID-19 cases are rising, virtually all of the COVID deaths, virtually all of the COVID deaths and hospitalizations are from unvaccinated people.

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SOARES: That is U.S. President Biden there talking about some of the challenges facing the country right now. He presided over his second official cabinet meeting on Tuesday held for the first time in an actual cabinet room, meant to symbolize really a return to normalcy. As the president marks six months in the Oval Office this week, there is a cloud of uncertainty over his agenda.

Later tonight he'll take part in a CNN Town Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our Jeff Zeleny is already there talking to voters about the president's promises. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALICIA REECE, VICE PRESIDENT, HAMILTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: I think they heard from the election that hey, we don't have time to play around. We've got to move and the people want action.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alicia Reece is sizing up President Biden's first six months in office.

REECE: I'm not saying that the administration is perfect. We got other things we got to work on. Certainly, voting rights is got to get done, criminal justice, the George Floyd bill's got to get moving.

ZELENY (voice-over): Here, in Cincinnati, some early promises from the Biden administration, like economic relief from the pandemic, have been delivered, and other pledges, like improving infrastructure, are teetering.

REECE: If we keep the theme of delivering for the American people, I think we'll be OK. But if we get back to the old days of Washington, bickering back and forth, while the American people watch it, and say, hey, they're totally disconnected from us, then we'll be going backwards.

ZELENY (voice-over): That sentiment from Reece, Vice President of the County Board of Commissioners, sums up the challenges facing Biden, as he tries advancing a bipartisan infrastructure deal, testing whether Washington can still work.

(04:35:00)

One face of America's failing infrastructure has long been right here, the Brent Spence Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River on one of the busiest trucking routes in the country.

ZELENY: If the infrastructure bill does not go through, how much of a disappointment will that be?

REECE: I think it'll be a big disappointment because we heard over and over that infrastructure is important, and the Brent Spence Bridge is so important.

ZELENY (voice-over): Six months after taking office, Biden has entered the long hard days of summer.

BIDEN: There's much more to be done, and so much more to do.

ZELENY (voice-over): A critical stretch on which the success of this presidency will rise or fall, amid a COVID resurgence, inflation worries, and complex foreign policy challenges.

Allen Fleury voted for Biden, and so far is generally pleased with his new president.

ALLEN FLEURY, OHIO RESIDENT: President that is working with others, consulting with others, feel like he's -- has more strategic direction, less shooting from the hip.

ZELENY (voice-over): Biden admirers point to his character in kindness as a welcome respite.

KIM GREEN, OHIO RESIDENT: I think he advocates justice and equality for all people. So far, he's doing really good.

ZELENY (voice-over): But in a country deeply divided, other Biden supporters want him to use the power of the Oval Office, while he has it.

JOE MALLORY, PRESIDENT, CINCINNATI NAACP: No, I'm not running out of patience. You know, it's a tough job. I know he's got a tough job. I think there are some things he can do to be more forceful.

ZELENY (voice-over): Joe Mallory is President of the Cincinnati NAACP. He's waiting for Biden to speak more forcefully on protecting voting rights by eliminating the Senate filibuster, and police reform.

MALLORY: He has a lot of room for improvement, you know, because this is just the beginning part of his term. But we're still going to be pressing for more.

ZELENY: And even though the president is only at the six month mark of his term, there is a sense of urgency in the West Wing. A senior adviser telling me the clock is running. We all know that the president certainly knows that. That explains why the next few weeks are so critical for infrastructure, fighting back COVID-19 and of course handling the variety of other crises impacting the White House. The president certainly now entering a new phase of his first year in office.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Cincinnati.

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SOARES: And be sure to tune into the Biden Town Hall, CNN's Don Lemon moderates the discussion on a wide range of issues including coronavirus pandemic. That's live Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. in New York, 8:00 a.m. Thursday on Hong Kong, only right here on CNN.

Well as Democrats and Republicans prepare for next week's hearing on the January 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Justice Department released new videos of the riot showing a former special forces soldier assaulting police. CNN's Brian Todd has the details and a warning some of the images you are about to see are disturbing.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get back!

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just a few seconds into this video, after one rioter swings an American flagpole violently at a police officer and another rioter throws a flag at police, a female officer is assaulted hand to hand. Her grimaces of pain clearly audible. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got any water.

TODD (voice over): Four new video clips of the assault on the Capitol on January 6th just released by the Justice Department. The man that officials say is assaulting police in all of them, Jeffrey McKellop, a retired U.S. Special Forces officer. He's wearing a helmet, gas mask, a Kevlar vest with a patch that looks like the flag of the country of Georgia. Here, prosecutor say, McKellop lunges at an officer, he's pepper sprayed and melts into the crowd.

In this video, the female officer, who officials say McKellop attacked, is seen grabbing her face in pain, being helped by other officers.

In this clip, watch the officer in white. Officials say this is McKellop hitting a D.C. police captain in the head with a flagpole, then throwing the pole at him. Prosecutors say the captain was cut near his left eye.

These battles took place in the inauguration staging area outside the Capitol, the scene of some of the most violent combat that day and where the police line eventually collapsed. McKellop, the man who officials say attacked the officers so viciously served in the Army for 23 year, spending time in the Special Forces and was deployed twice to Afghanistan, twice to Iraq, according to the Pentagon.

TODD: Federal judges have ordered Jeffrey McKellop to stay in jail while his court case progresses. He is charged with 12 federal crimes including felonies for attacking police. McKellop has pleaded not guilty.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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SOARES: Search crews, in Surfside, Florida, are nearing the bottom of the rubble pile left behind after last month's condo tower collapse.

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A Florida State Senator shared these photos on Tuesday. At least 97 people were killed when the building collapsed nearly a month ago. Since then crews have been working around the clock to find all the victims. Once those search efforts wrap up, officials say the focus will shift to figuring out what caused the collapse in the first place.

Well India's COVID death toll could be far worse than the world realized.

And the new French health pass is now in effect. What that means for people hoping to go to crowded places. We're live in New Delhi and France after this very short break. Tuesday right with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOARES: Children are less likely to get sick from COVID, but the virus

is harming them in a heartbreaking way. A new study shows 1.5 million children worldwide have lost a parent, grandparent or other relative responsible for their care, and this is due to the coronavirus. That is according to researchers from the CDC, World Bank and elsewhere.

India has recorded well over 400,000 COVID deaths, the third highest death toll in the world. But a new study suggests the true tally could be in the millions. The U.S. Center for Global Development says several million excess deaths with are reported between January of last year and this past June. On Tuesday, the U.K. reported its highest number of daily COVID deaths since March, nearly 100 just a day after England's reopening.

And in France, a COVID health pass providing full -- in proving full vaccination of recent tests is not mandatory for crowd activities involving more than 50 people. The measure announced by the French President has just gone into effect as health officials warn the delta variant is spreading faster than ever in France.

CNN's Jim Bittermann is tracking this live from France. And our Vedika Sud is standing by New Delhi. I want to go first to Jim. Good morning, Jim.

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Let's talk about this health passport being introduced as we see the rise in COVID infections. How is it being received by the public? Because I can tell you that the debate over a COVID-19 passport here in the U.K. has been somewhat controversial.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Isa, they've made it pretty easy. They made it is easy as possible for people to prove that they have had vaccinations or have tested negative. This is my health pass. It's a very small little document to carry around in your wallet. You can also put it in your iPhone, it has a QR code on the back. Basically it shows -- attests to the fact that you have indeed been tested as healthy or you have the vaccinations. And it's now as of today going to be required to get into any location where there is going to be more than 50 people gathered inside. The museums, theaters, cinemas and even in some instances places of worship. So it's one is become a part of life here. There's no question about it.

And the reason is of course what you said what the health minister said yesterday in Parliament. Basically that the caseload here is skyrocketing. 18,000 cases in the last 24 hour reporting period, that's 150 percent increase over just the last week. So a lot of people are very alarmed about that. This health pass I think people will him get them through these things.

Now course the question comes up, what happens if you are not French, you don't have these apps in your phone, you are coming as a tourist, something like that. Well, in fact there have been testing centers now set up near locations where tourists are likely to gather. The Eiffel Tower for example, so you can get tested with an antigen test almost immediately and get the result in probably 10 or 15 minutes. And then access to those sites that you might want to go to -- Isa.

SOARES: And Jim, do stay with us I want to go to New Delhi. Governments, as well as administrations across India -- correct me if I'm wrong -- have been accused throughout this pandemic of really undercounting some may say purposely COVID-19 deaths. What is their reaction to this latest report and especially the image it paints?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Well, Isa, staggering numbers coming in indeed from that study. But at the very out set the authors of the study mentioned two things. The first is that the estimates could not be exact figures because they based it on data that's come in from the country essentially. And secondly, also that all the deaths are reported to assess that are not all COVID related.

No very quickly, they talk about estimates of excess stats between 3.4 million and 4.9 million. And this, like you mentioned, is a study that started in January 2020 until about June 2021. So 5a few of the pre- pandemic months have also been added to the study, essentially two, which is January and February of last year. Now this study has of course really gone ahead and extrapolated numbers from the data that was present through civil registry systems, which is a system here in India that records the birth and death of people. Along with that surveys and a survey that interviewed about 800,000 individuals and 3.4 million, 4 million and 4.9 million are the figure that the study comes and projects essentially as a part of their study.

Now interestingly, it was yesterday that the study came out. And yesterday in Parliament as well on Monday, but the health minister responded to a question on the possibility of underreporting of deaths in the country. To which he said, why would the Indian government hide these numbers. We haven't asked authorities to underreport on the fatalities due to COVID-19.

Also interestingly, a similar survey by the ICMI, which is a government funded medical research institute, with figures that 68 percent of the population above the age of 6 have been infected by COVID-19 until now, and 400 million people of the 1.3 billion population that India has is still vulnerable to COVID-19 -- Isa.

SOARES: Staggering figures from that study there. Vedika Sud in New Delhi, thank you very much. Jim Bittermann for us in France, thank you very much to both of you.

SUD: Thank you.

SOARES: Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the coronavirus is largely to blame for a drop in life expectancy in the United States. A new study shows between 2019 and 2020, life expect in the U.S. dropped by a year and a half Americans are now expected to live just over 77 years. That's the lowest level since 2003. Researchers say Hispanic Americans were the largest decline in life expectancy, followed by black Americans.

Still to come right here on CNN NEWSROOM, the championship fight decades in the making. The Milwaukee Bucks and their fans are celebrating the end of a title drought. We'll bring you that story next.

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SOARES: Now disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is in California to face trial for more sexual assault charges. The 69-year-old was extradited from New York to Los Angeles on Tuesday. Weinstein faces 11 counts of sexual assault involving five women. He's already serving a 23 year sentence in New York after being found guilty for sexual assault as well as rape. He is appealing that conviction and has denied all previous allegations.

Well 50 points for the MVP helped the Milwaukee Bucks bring home their first NBA championship in 50 years. CNN's Patrick Snell has that and more in our minute in sports for you.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well thanks Isa. Half a century in the making, the Milwaukee Bucks NBA champions for the first time in 50 long years. The Buck needed game six against the Suns to seal it. And what a performance from Greek superstar Giannis who delivers a performance for the ages in his team's 105-98 victory. The 26-year-old from Athens with 50 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks, the Bucks' first title since 1971 and one very emotional Giannis reflecting on it all afterward.

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, NBA FINALS MVP: I want to thank Milwaukee for believing in me.

(04:55:00)

Thank my teammates, man, they played hard every fricking game. You know, I started this game, I wanted to do it here in this city. I wanted to do it with these guys. So I'm happy. I'm happy that we were able to get it done.

And the Tokyo 2020 summer games don't officially start until Friday, but we can tell you competition now under way at these Olympics. Softball making its return to the games amid a plethora of empty seats though. Japan winning the open against Australia very convincingly 8- 1.

Meantime another example is very clear and present reminder of the ongoing owing COVID situation there in Japan with the CEO of Tokyo 2020 no less not ruling out an 11th hour cancellation of the games amid rising COVID cases.

And just there a thought for those Polish swimmers sent home from Japan following admin error, while their country's swimming federation, the European nation had originally sent 23 swimmers to Japan, but that number had to be cut down to 17 based on qualifying rules. Emotional scenes there. And with that, Isa, it's right back to you.

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SOARES: Thanks very much Patrick, and congrats to the Bucks.

Now a police officer in the United States is being hailed as a hero after helping a family escape from a house fire. He was responding to another call when he was alerted to the fire. After running to the scene, the officer told the trapped family to jump from a window and caught them as they fell. All

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people in there? What is the address here, what is the address? Come on, I got you, I got you. Come on. Nope, I got you. I got you. OK.

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SOARES: The family was treated for smoke inhalation, but no serious injuries. A GoFundMe campaign was set up for them and has raised more than $5,000.

And that does it for this hour for me. Thanks very much for joining us on CNN NEWSROOM. I Isa Soares in London. "EARLY START" with Laura Jarrett, as well as her Julia Chatterley is up next. Do in the meantime do stay right here with CNN.

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