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The Situation Room
Biden Sets New Vaccine Goal of 200 Million Shots in First 100 Days; Biden Pushes Back at Criticism of His Immigration Policy; Boulder Shooting Suspect Held Without Bail In First Court Appearance, Mental Health Evaluation Ordered; Study: Vaccines "Incredibly Effective" For Pregnant And Lactating Women; Immunity Can Pass To Their Babies; Pfizer Begins Vaccine Trial In Children Ages 5-11; Reports Of Multiple Deaths After A Tornado In Alabama; Biden Warns North Korea Of "Responses" If Ballistic Missile Tests Continue. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired March 25, 2021 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Adams prided himself on being honest and straightforward and that made a deep impression on those who knew him. To his family and friends our deepest condolences, may his memory be a blessing.
Our coverage CNN continues right now.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Pamela Brown in the Situation Room.
President Biden facing intense questioning about immigration in the crisis at the southern border and his first news conference since taking office. Mr. Biden said he makes no apologies for rolling back Trump administration policies that critics say have led to a surge of migrants. And when asked about the handling of 1000s of migrant children now when U.S. hands, the President said it will get, "a whole hell of a lot better real quick or you're going to hear of some people leaving."
But questions about gun control got a vague response with Mr. Biden saying action as a matter of timing but offering no specifics. He did set a new COVID vaccination goal saying that he now hopes to see 200 million shots administered in his first 100 days in office, twice his original goal.
And there's breaking news, just coming into the Situation Room, a tornado emergency as severe weather moves across the south right now as we speak. There are reports of injuries from at least one tornado in Alabama.
Let's go straight to CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, the President fielded questions from reporters, including you for an hour?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yep, but actually went for a little bit over an hour. This was really his first formal back and forth with the White House press corps. He's taken a few questions here and there. But we are told he spent the week preparing for this first major news conference that he was going to host with reporters, and he faced questions on multiple fronts and even set a new goal on vaccines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Please, please sit down. Thank you.
COLLINS (on camera): Tonight, President Biden taking questions from the White House Press Corps in his first formal news conference.
BIDEN: Well, I'm not been able to unite the Congress, but I've been uniting the country.
COLLINS: Two months after taking office Biden was pressed on multiple fronts and became animated over Republican efforts to limit voting rights.
BIDEN: Republican voters, I know find this despicable, Republican voter.
COLLINS: Biden also said the legislative filibuster which requires 60 votes to pass legislation in the Senate is being abused and quote a gigantic way and sounded open to reform.
John Lewis's funeral President Barack Obama said he believed the filibuster was a relic of the Jim Crow era. Do you agree?
BIDEN: Yes.
COLLINS: If not, why not abolish it, if it's a relic of the Jim Crow era?
BIDEN: Successful electoral politics is the art of possible. Let's figure out how we can get this done. And move in the direction of significantly changed in the abuse of even the filibuster rule, first. It's been abused from the time it came into being by an extreme way, in the last 20 years. Let's deal with the abuse first.
COLLINS: Facing multiple questions on his handling of the surge at the southern border, Biden said his administration is doing everything they can to process children faster.
BIDEN: They're already getting better, but they're going to get real. I got a whole hell of a lot better real quick. Are we going to hear some people leaving? OK, we can get this done.
COLLINS: The President blamed his predecessor for a lack of space for the record numbers of unaccompanied migrant children.
BIDEN: What we're doing now is attempting to rebuild. He in fact shut down the number of beds available. He did not fund HHS to get people to get the children out of those Border Patrol facilities where they should not be.
COLLINS: He also promised to let reporters into Border Patrol facilities where overcrowding is happening without saying when.
BIDEN: Will commit to transparency, and soon as I am in a position to be able to implement what we're doing right now.
COLLINS: After urging the Senate to move on House passed gun bills this week that got major pushback from Republicans, Biden offered no timeline for when he will take executive steps.
BIDEN: So we're going to move on these one at a time. Try to do as many simultaneous as we can.
COLLINS: Instead, Biden, making clear his top legislative priority is the infrastructure bill.
BIDEN: All the things related infrastructure, it's amazing. So there's so much we can do that's good stuff, makes people healthier, and creates good jobs.
COLLINS: Biden opened the press conference by setting a new goal on coronavirus vaccinations.
BIDEN: Now today, I'm setting the second goal and that is we will buy my 100th day in office, have administered 200 million shots in people's arms. That's right, 200 million shots in 100 days.
[17:05:09]
COLLINS: With 2.5 million injections happening per day, the U.S. is on track to meet that goal by day 100 of his presidency.
BIDEN: I know it's ambitious, twice our original goal. But no other country in the world has even come close. Not even close to what we're doing. I believe we can do it.
COLLINS: It's 78 years old Biden is the oldest president to ever assume the office. And he said today he plans to run again in 2024.
BIDEN: No, an answer is yes. My plan is to run for re-election. That's my expectation.
COLLINS: But when it comes to who Biden will be running against, he answered with this notable question.
BIDEN: I don't even think about. I don't I have -- I have no idea. I have no idea whether it would be Republican Party, do you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS (on camera): And Pam, the President also made some major news on Afghanistan. He said he does not think that U.S. troops are going to be out of Afghanistan by May 1 that's that deadline that former President Trump set and that agreement that he signed with the Taliban. And so when Biden was talking about this, of course, he is someone who has long advocated for the withdrawal of troops from the Middle East. But he was talking about the difficulty of it and said he does not imagine that U.S. troops will be there next year in 2022. And he said there have been meetings happening with allies right now as they are discussing the next steps forward. And when he - and then he also said, "It is not my intention to stay there for a long time."
BROWN: CNN's Kaitlan Collins, thanks for bringing us the latest there from the White House.
And now let's bring in CNN Political Director David Chalian, and CNN Senior Political Reporter Nia-Malika Henderson.
David, what struck you from this first formal news conference of the Biden presidency?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: What struck me was that this was a President Biden, who was trying to keep the focus on what he's been doing for these last many months, which is, while there may be a swirl of issues that he got asked about immigration, guns, voting rights, all important issues, all issues, he has policy goals on, he just kept saying he made his announcement on the vaccines. He wants to get the economy back going. His next focus is infrastructure. And he made a very pragmatic play, that he knows how to count votes in the Senate. He's not going to get mired down in conversation about getting rid of the filibuster right now, he clearly didn't want to part of that. He wanted to keep the focus where he thinks the majority of Americans are, which is getting through this pandemic fully, getting the economy turned around and investing in the economy for the future. And I just think he made crystal clear that he's keeping that focus, no matter what the swirl of other issues that he has to deal with this President is flying around him.
BROWN: Yeah, it was pretty revealing on other issues like gun reform, even on immigration, as you know, Nia, he was press repeatedly on immigration, the situation at the border, but did you hear anything new besides him laying blame with the Trump administration?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, one of the things he's clearly trying to do is to suggest that this is part of a pattern that is at the border of that there was a surge under the Trump administration in 2019. That was actually bigger than the surge that they're seeing now. He's spouted some figures. I think it was 31 percent during Trump's in 2019. And then it's about 28 percent now, so he's clearly trying to say, listen, it isn't because I am President Biden, I am a nicer president than Donald Trump, that isn't the reason for the surge. There is cyclical in weather patterns. And then of course, issues in these countries as well. And that any solution will have to be a pretty complicated solution that is going to take some time, as well. Some of that is going to have to be diplomacy. And it looks like a Kamala Harris is going to be in charge of that part of it, something that Vice President Biden did under Obama.
So, you know, I think he is clearly trying to push back against the criticism. And listen, say at some point, he'll have some facilities there that the press will be lit into. And we'll see actually, when that happens, but this is certainly a bedeviled his administration for the last couple of weeks. And you saw that this was a press conference that was by and large, dominated by questions about the border. And he had, I thought, pretty detailed responses as to what his response is going to be down in the border to handle this long-standing problem.
BROWN: But just a quick follow up to you, Nia, do you think that some of the reporters' questions where we heard the anecdotes of them talking to families of these children going over saying they're coming over because of Biden, Cecilia Vega with ABC, another reporter, do you think it undermined his message?
HENDERSON: You know, I think that's an excellent question. Because there were two questions, right, two anecdotes about kids who were there. One, I think was saying that the mom had sent them there. Because that, you know, Biden was a nicer president and I think at some point he said, that child will likely be sent back to their mother whatever country she is in. So, but you're right I mean, I it's a complicated picture. I thought there were some good reporting and good questions from the reporters there. And you saw Biden have to deal with it for an hour, most of the questions about the border.
[17:10:20]
BROWN: And one of those reporters, of course, pressing Biden was Kaitlan, you had an excellent question, Kaitlan on the filibuster. How can he agree this is a relic, the filibuster is a relic of the Jim Crow era and then show such reluctance to make any real reforms?
COLLINS: Well, that's going to be I think, a big factor as you are seeing more and more progressives push to get rid of the filibuster to actually get his key agenda items that aren't related to the budget passed, because they feel good about infrastructure. Of course, they got the American Rescue Plan passed through Congress and using reconciliation. But for the other things that you're going to see President Biden want to get done, this is going to be a really critical question here for immigration, for things like that gun legislation that he was just calling on the Senate to pass earlier this week. Whether or not they get rid of this is a big question. And also the idea of well, if you do believe that the characterization from Obama that this is a relic of Jim Crow does fit then how can it stay? And he said he wanted to deal with the abuse of the filibuster, first, he said it's been overused way too many times compared to when he was back in the Senate, and it was used fewer and fewer occasions. And so that's going to be a really critical part, as you start to see this becomes something that could actually really be a big part of his legacy, if they do get rid of the filibuster while he's in office.
BROWN: David, how did you interpret those remarks on the filibuster today, is President Biden leaving himself some wiggle room?
CHALIAN: That's exactly how I interpreted it. He is leaving himself some wiggle room. I mean, he made the statement that we've heard him make before, which is that he's open to some reform here, getting back to that notion of a talking filibuster, making it a more painful process that he said, he thinks it's been abused too much in recent years, to make it more painful on the people who are objecting, his hope there would then it would not be utilized as much. And there would be more opportunity to bring Republicans on board with Democrats and pass some of his proposals.
However, he did leave himself that opening that said, if it's total chaos, total lockdown on the agenda, a complete blockade of opposition from Republicans, then he may feel the need to go further. But he's not there right now. And I will just stress again, look what he said as the next priority. It's not immigration or voting rights or guns, no matter how passionately he spoke about it. I'm not suggesting he didn't. But it is this infrastructure package, this $3 trillion spending, though. He said that is his next big priority. And that's not going to be so easy to get through the Congress.
BROWN: Do you think really quick on that, that he is not willing to go there now on the filibuster, because he wants to demonstrate that that bipartisanship probably is going to happen with Republicans that they're not going to come at the table on some of these key issues?
CHALIAN: That is one theory of the case that Democrats on the Hill in the Senate and some White House advisors have, which is that if you show time and again, that the bills, the goals of the Democratic Party, and some of his stated policy goals are going to fail, fail, fail, that that's a way that all of a sudden we'll bring all the Democrats around to say, yes, it's time to get rid of the filibuster. That's not a surefire strategy. But that is one theory of the case of the way to go about this.
BROWN: And as you know, Nia, President Biden is facing a lot of pressure over the filibuster when it comes to voting and Republican efforts to restrict voting across the country. He called it sick. He called it un-American, but how much power does he have over this issue in a 50/50 Senate?
HENDERSON: Not much, right? I mean, you have this voting rights bill that is passed out of the House, looks DOA in the Senate unless they alter the filibuster. We do know that the filibuster has been used to block a civil rights, block access to the polls by African Americans and a lot of the big bills that didn't pass or had to overcome a filibuster when it comes to civil rights. So this is a big, big issue in this country. We know what's happened in Georgia with the restrictions of voting rights probably going into effect I think the bill passed. So it has to be reconciled at some point in the House as well. But this is a big, big problem of for democracy.
He says that this is un-American, is actually very American, this idea that certain people shouldn't have the right to vote while other people should. So this is going to be a big issue for Joe Biden, because he's looking at a Senate, he's looking at a House that is going to be affected by whether or not in states like Georgia, in states like Michigan, in states like Arizona, is the ballot going to be free and fair for folks in those states going forward?
BROWN: And that just puts even more tension on his answer to Kaitlan, that he does agree with Obama, President Obama that it's a relic of Jim Crow.
COLLINS: Right.
BROWN: This conversation will continue. Thank you all so much.
[17:15:00]
And coming up on this Thursday, new research on the impact of COVID vaccines on pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and their babies, plus the latest on a tornado emergency as dangerous severe weather moves across parts of the U.S. tonight, we're getting reports of injuries and damage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: President Biden spoke about his current and future priorities during his first formal news conference at the White House this afternoon. Let's discuss what we heard and what we didn't hear with Democratic Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut. He is a member of the intelligence and financial services committees.
Congressman Himes, thank you so much for coming on. We were all listening very closely to what President Biden said today during his first press conference and it was notable, he was asked about his plans for new gun control legislation in light of the awful murders in Georgia and Colorado, but he barely acknowledged the question and instead turn it started talking about infrastructure. Do you worry, do you have concern that gun control is not a top priority for President Biden right now?
[17:20:04]
REP. JIM HIMES, (D) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I'm not worried about that, Pamela. I mean, one thing I know about Joe Biden is that he feels the pain that we all felt here in the state of Connecticut nine years ago now, when we went through what we went through in Sandy Hook, which, by the way, is 30 miles from where I'm sitting right now. He understands this. But he also like me, I think is just so frustrated by the repeated failure of the Congress in the United States, and in particular, the Republicans in the Senate, because remember, the House has passed any number of bills, including recently, universal background check, a building is supported by, you know, in excess of 95 percent of Americans. And Senate Republicans just say, no, thank you. And so I suspect, he shares some of the frustration that I do, and he looks to infrastructure, which is one of those areas where, you know, we hopefully will find bipartisan support and says, you know, let's, let's make some progress on that.
BROWN: He was also asked a lot about the surge of migration at the southern border, he promised the situation would get better, but didn't lay out many specifics. Were you satisfied with his answers on that front?
HIMES: Well, I think he did lay out a fair number of specifics, including the military facilities that he's opening up for additional beds --
BROWN: Well, that's for capacity.
HIMES: Fairly detailed. BROWN: Go ahead.
HIMES: Right, right. And, you know, he did something that I haven't heard anybody do in a long time, though, which was to really tell the story of how we really stopped this from happening. And I understand it's a big political talking point for people. And immigration, of course, has been front and center in American politics for a very long time. But what we don't talk nearly enough about and which what Joe Biden did talk about today was, how bad, how horrible, how awful do things need to be in places like Honduras and El Salvador and Guatemala, that a parent would willingly send a nine year old on a dangerous, dangerous journey. And Joe Biden talked about the need to address those conditions. Because until we address those conditions, and as a parent, like it's unimaginable to me how bad those conditions must be to drive that sort of behavior, until we address those underlying conditions. We'll just be managing this terrible humanitarian problem.
BROWN: But what do you think about some of the antidotes we heard during the press conference from reporters speaking to those families asking them, why are you sending your children over alone? And one mother told ABC, Cecilia Vega that she's sending over, she sent over her children because she felt like it would be better under President Biden, do you think he needs to send a stronger message to parents not to send their children alone along that dangerous trek to the United States border?
HIMES: Well, I and the rest of America heard Joe Biden say pretty clearly that people should not send their children. He said, don't send them. So I'm not quite sure what more can be said.
Now, I do know what else can be done. We could instill the fear of God in these people. That was the Donald Trump plan, right? Donald Trump by separating families, something that will be a moral blot on this country by dealing with immigrants with brutality, in a way that turned the stomach's of the American people. Yeah, he probably did scare some people. He probably thought he probably made a number of parents think I will not subject my family to that risk, to that humiliation. So maybe people feel like Joe Biden is a more decent man than Donald Trump is. By the way, I suspect they're not the only people who feel that way. But again, you have to get back to the underlying cause of the problem here, which is economic disparity and the violence and the brutal conditions that exist in countries that would move a parent to do that.
BROWN: And that makes sense. I mean, you know, people want to make this immigration issue absolute, but it's been going on for decades, and it's not so simple. It is a complex issue. A lot of times these surges are cyclical, there has been an acceleration after Biden's inauguration. But thank you so much Congressman Himes for coming on the show sharing your perspective.
HIMES: Thank you, Pamela.
BROWN: And we're also following important developments in the Colorado supermarket shootings. Coming up, what we learned on the suspect made his first court appearance today.
We're also following breaking news in Alabama where a tornado has caused major damage near Birmingham.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:28:41]
BROWN: We're following breaking news in Alabama where we're now hearing reports of multiple fatalities caused by tornadoes. Let's go to CNN Meteorologist Tom Sater. So where are these storms headed? And what kind of damage have they caused, Tom?
TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's been a terrible day. You know, it's just eight days ago, Pam, that we had another level five out of five. I mean, it's rare to have this, but you can see the extent of the possibility of the loss of life and property from Pennsylvania down to Gulf coastal states. But we've just heard from law enforcement about 59 miles east of Birmingham, not just numerous injuries, but numerous fatalities. They can't even put a number on it because first responders are still going through the debris and these are well built brick and stone buildings on new watches now that added eight states into this tonight. And again and includes areas of Evansville and Paducah, Nashville, Louisville, but really, it's down to the south.
Areas of peak, these are all the warnings, it's not going to be over with until the cold front sweeps through that cold front is back in eastern Arkansas and Louisiana. It's not severe to the north. That's where the warm front is. But if we break this down for you, you can see all the warnings.
Let's head over into around just south of Charlotte. You can see here where Columbia, is it doesn't have the upper level support to be as strong and as wicked. So that's good news, although it could still cause a small spin up but then you get down into areas that have been moving out of Mississippi, here is Tuscaloosa, south in Tuscaloosa on the border is a town called Moundville. They had two tornadoes eight days ago and they had injuries. They had another one today but Birmingham is still under the gun with this. This is a Dyersville.
[17:30:00]
This warning in Georgia, North Georgia, this is I-75. We had numerous accidents east of Birmingham on Highway 280. South of Rome, Georgia. Cedartown is a high school, they sustained damage on the roof but no children have been harmed.
Here we go. Seven tornadoes from one supercell thunderstorm. It's been traveling over 175 miles, Pam, and it could go another 60 or 70. Not over with just yet.
BROWN: Not over with, and we will be staying on top of this unfolding story. Thanks, Tom. Stand by for us.
Meantime, in Colorado, the suspect in the Boulder, Colorado supermarket shootings made his first court appearance today. He's facing 10 counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder. CNN Senior National Correspondent Kyung Lah is in Boulder. So tell us more, Kyung, about what happened today.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was really as you see the people here gathering in Boulder still continuing to pay tribute, still considering, you know, all the loss of life here at the store. But meanwhile, they were able to finally get a look at the suspect in court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAH (voice-over): Handcuffed and in a wheelchair from a gunshot wound to his right thigh, Ahmad Alissa appeared for the first time as defendant. The 21-year-old sat alert as a judge read his rights in the courtroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, do you understand those rights as I've explained them to you this morning? We need you to answer out loud, please.
AHMAD ALISSA, SUSPECT IN THE SHOOTING AT BOULDER, COLORADO: Yes.
LAH (voice-over): That was the only time he spoke in his 10-minute hearing. He is charged with 10 counts of murder for the 10 innocent lives lost at the store. Prosecutors also filed an 11th charge of attempted first degree murder for Officer Richard Steidel, one of the first responding officers at King Soopers store described being shot at by the gunman and the arrest affidavit as he saw fellow Officer Eric Talley fatally wounded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will be filing additional charges in the next couple of weeks.
LAH (voice-over): The Boulder County District Attorney says those charges will come after investigators, still at the scene today, finished collecting all the evidence. The public defender indicated a possible future defense.
KATHRYN HEROLD, PUBLIC DEFENDER: We cannot begin to assess the nature and depth of Mr. Alissa's mental illness until we have the discovery from the government.
LAH (voice-over): Mental illness and school years filled with being bullied for being Muslim, according to Allisa's brother, who saw him growing increasingly paranoid. His attorneys today did not discuss his current mental state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What sort of state is he in right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no comment.
LAH (voice-over): A law enforcement source tells CNN investigators are scrubbing through his social media presence. Among them posts like this one where he complained, "If these racist Islamophobic people would stop hacking my phone and let me have a normal life. I probably could". Across bolder memorials to remember the victims and 10 families unable to grasp the loss, including the sister of Officer Talley.
KRISTIN BROOKS, SISTER OF FALLEN OFFICER: My mother called me and she was just screaming and she said his daughter had called her, his young daughter and said Nana, Daddy's dead. This is not OK. It's not OK that I'll bury my brother.
LAH (voice-over): In an act to mark the end of Officer Talley's watch, the Boulder Police Department use the fallen officer's handcuffs to formally place the shooting suspect into custody tweeting this, "Though this was a small gesture, we hope it is the start of the healing process that so many of us need at this time".
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH: Just minutes ago, the Boulder Police Department announced that the funeral for officer tally will be next Tuesday morning in helping this community grieve with the police department. That service will be live streamed so people can tune in. We should mention too, Pam, that as far as the suspect, he did not enter a plea in court. The prosecutor warning this community that this will be a lengthy court process. Pam?
BROWN: Kyung Lah, live for us from Boulder, thanks so much.
And let's discuss this case and what's ahead with former federal prosecutor Shan Wu. Shan, does any of the new evidence revealed by prosecutors get us any closer to understanding the suspect's motive here?
SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It sounds like from what they're revealing publicly, some of the motives might appear to be that the defendant felt he wanted to retaliate for bullying, et cetera. Although really I think that's more evidence for us of what is likely defenses going to be. I mean, they're already beginning -- his defense teams already beginning to sound the horn of looking at mental illness serve an interesting little statement that defense counsel made which is they need time to assess the mental illness. I mean, really, they haven't proving there is a mental illness yet. So there's a lot that's going to be going on behind the scenes in terms of that type of defense.
[17:35:06]
BROWN: But how would that work in a case like this particularly when you have evidence of premeditation?
WU: There are two ways that it comes into play, Pamela. The first is simply is he competent to stand trial. And that's one thing that defense counsel is going to want to establish because if he doesn't understand the nature of what's actually happening, obviously, that's a problem for them. The second way the mental illness comes into play is whether they want to mount the so-called insanity defense. And those are two very different things important for us to keep in mind.
Competency is relatively easy to establish. I mean, when I tried violent crime, sometimes we did that within 24 hours. So it's a little bit of a lengthy process of the judge giving them a month and a half to do that. I think what's really going on there is that defense wants to look at whether they have a viable insanity defense, take a look, does he have any history of treatment for mental illness medications, et cetera, and to see what evidence they're going to get from the government that might help bolster that kind of claim.
BROWN: And prosecutors say they expect to file additional charges in the next two weeks, what charges could we see?
WU: Well, right now you just have the murder charges and the attempted charge, there's probably going to be all kinds of other potential charges. There are other people that were endangered. So there could be attempted murder on other people, endangering them. The possession of the high capacity bullets may or may not be illegal, it's probably legal. It's really placing all the others that are in harm.
Types of charges, like the attempted shooting of the other officer, there, obviously a lot of people that were in the firing zone for this defendant. So they're going to look the load up on this. And for the prosecution, in a case like this, they're going to have plenty of evidence. The challenge for them is making sure they don't overstep. They want to try a proper case, not leave any holes for an appeal. They only get one bite at the apple. If they convict, they convict. But if they get an acquittal, they can't appeal from that.
So if they get their conviction, they want to make sure that it's locked up and the judge is going to be very careful about that. He wants to make sure that the case is done properly, so there aren't any problems later on.
BROWN: All right, Shan Wu, thanks so much.
And coming up right here in The Situation Room, what pregnant and breastfeeding women need to know about COVID vaccines and the impact on their babies. Plus, President Biden on the North Korea threat as Kim Jong-un launches two sets of missiles within a few days.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:41:40]
BROWN: We're following the situation in Alabama where there are multiple reports of people killed after a tornado touchdown. We're going to have more on that in just a moment. But first tonight, President Biden has doubled his original coronavirus vaccination goal, saying in his first presidential news conference that he is now aiming for 200 million shots in his first 100 days in office. And there's some important vaccine news out for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Let's get more with former CDC Director Tom Frieden. Dr. Frieden, thanks for coming on. I know that this is helpful to a lot of pregnant women who have been on the fence about whether to get the vaccine or not. Research published today shows the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are effective in women who are pregnant and breastfeeding and that women pass protective antibodies to their newborns. What should we take away from this new study?
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Well, the coronavirus vaccines are remarkably effective. They're driving down death rates around the country. And they are the way we will get through this pandemic. But they're not widely available yet. And we're looking at different groups. For women who are pregnant, there's a real choice and they need to speak with their doctor and have a discussion. What are their risks? Do they have underlying conditions? Are they frequently exposed to circumstances that might have them get infected with the virus? And then what is their personal concern for risk?
We're extremely careful about any type of medicine or vaccine for pregnant women. But it's always good to have more information showing that they're effective. I would really leave that up to a discussion between the pregnant woman and her clinician to decide what to do next.
BROWN: And the study also found that antibody levels after vaccination were strikingly higher than those resulting from coronavirus infection during pregnancy. So what does that tell you right there?
FRIEDEN: This is really interesting. And we're seeing this in a few different ways. Sometimes vaccines don't work as well as getting infected with the virus or bacteria. In this case, at least for the mRNA vaccines, it looks like the immunity at least for some period of time is even stronger than the immunity from getting the infection. We're seeing levels in some studies around 80 percent protection for young people after a prior infection. But we're seeing even higher levels with these vaccines.
Bottom line, Pamela, these are great vaccines. They're highly effective, they're safe. Get one the moment it's your turn. But even with vaccination, we need to mask up. Be careful about sharing indoor air with people not in our household and limit travel especially as we head into holiday times.
BROWN: I want to talk about the vaccine in children because this is a development. Researchers are now testing the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in children ages five to 11. Why is it so important to conduct the road trials in children rather than just assuming they can safely receive a smaller doses of vaccines tested in adults.
FRIEDEN: We're basically heading down the age group, 16, 18, 12 to 16 so that gradually we can get more and more confidence both that the vaccine works and that it doesn't have rare side effects. We've seen in kids an inflammatory reaction, even in kids who weren't sick at all after the infection. We want to make sure nothing like that happens with the vaccination.
BROWN: OK, Dr. Tom Frieden, thank you so much for joining us.
FRIEDEN: Thank you.
[17:45:02]
BROWN: And more now on this hour's breaking news, reports of multiple deaths after a tornado outbreak in Alabama. We have made contact with CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam who is on the ground in Birmingham. What are you seeing there?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, it was a very tumultuous, difficult journey to get to this point, because we saw multiple rotations with this line of thunderstorms that dropped tornadoes in and around this area. I'm just south east of Birmingham right now, just going to try and set the scene and then show you what's to come. So look behind me and you can see some of the damage to the trees, there's been a lot of social media buzz that's been talking about one of the local neighborhoods within the Eagle Point community, which is just to my right, and we don't have access to that particular location. But the tornado did rip through this area, went through a very well-established community.
And sheriff's there have already gone through to search and rescue efforts for the damaged homes and businesses that are within that particular community. But they have had to halt that because there is another line of severe weather coming through this very same location. There's a tornado warning just to our south and west, an area called Hale County. This is in Alabama, just south of Birmingham. I'm in Shelby County, so they're very close to each other, this tornado.
Officials and meteorologists from the CNN Weather Center here are concerned that this tornado may possibly be going over some of the same locations that left this damage here. So we're on heightened alert here, so are the community members. It's going to be a difficult night for them ahead because we have multiple rounds of severe weather coming through. Not to mention, the veil of darkness is also coming with sunset here just a couple of hours away. That just raises the exponential danger levels with tornadoes that are shrouded in darkness. Pamela.
BROWN: So we see cars by you, Derek, are they evacuating? What's going on?
VAN DAM: Well, what's happening right now is this was one of the staging areas that were taking some of the local community members that had the damage to their homes, and they had to usher them around this area to get to a safer location because they weren't allowing them back into this particular location because they didn't want to clog up the roadways within the Eagle Point community that suffered so much damage. And what you can see clearly is that the tornado, if you look over my head here, it actually jumped this interstate here, this is actually 280 that I'm standing on. And it went over this roadway and snap the trees, took down the power lines, took down the electricity and then moved into the community, the Eagle Point community that's just to my right.
And again, this area is concerned because another round of tornadic supercell thunderstorms are about to move into the same area. In fact, just looking at some of the latest information that I'm getting from the communication channels that I have, the National Weather Service, claiming that this is a tornado emergency for Northeastern Hale County. It's a particularly dangerous situation. It is a deadly tornado. It is a radar confirmed tornado, and a visual confirmation of this tornado. So you can imagine that's what you're hearing sirens and that's why you're seeing people move to safe cover and we're going to have to move from this location pretty quickly too.
BROWN: Yes. I was going to say go put yourself to safety. People there should not let their guard down given what Derek just laid out. Derek, stay safe.
VAN DAM: Yes.
BROWN: Thanks so much.
VAN DAM: All right, thanks, Pamela.
BROWN: And coming up here in The Situation Room, President Biden says he agrees that North Korea is the biggest foreign policy threat facing the U.S. How will he respond to the country's latest missile launches? And he calls Republican efforts to restrict voting sick on American. We'll have details of his wide ranging first news conference ahead.
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[17:53:23]
BROWN: Well, President Biden is warning North Korea of what he calls responses, following the country's launch of two sets of missiles within a few days. CNN's Brian Todd joins us with more. So Brian, these missile launches seem to be Kim Jong-un testing President Biden.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's really no doubt that he's testing the President, Pamela. Analysts are telling us that the dangerous game of nuclear brinksmanship seems to be back on now with Joe Biden in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): A warning today from President Biden to North Korea's 37-year-old dictator who just launched two sets of missiles within a few days. The latest, a test firing of ballistic missiles, nearly 300 miles into the sea.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly. But I'm also prepared for some form of diplomacy. But it has to be conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization.
TODD (voice-over): But analysts tell us tonight denuclearization is not in Kim Jong-un's playbook.
SUE TERRY, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: What they want to talk about is potential interim phrase, potentially capping their program and that's the maximum that they will go. They have said multiple times that they are not interested in denuclearization talks.
TODD (voice-over): The President was also asked about the broader North Korean threat. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Former President Obama warned the incoming President Trump that North Korea was the top foreign policy issue that he was watching. Is that how you assess the crisis in North Korea?
BIDEN: Yes.
TODD (voice-over): Experts say these missile launches are classic moves from the Kim regime, that the North Koreans love to greet new American presidents with shows of force, part intimidation, part bluster. It's a dodge and weave with specific goals in mind.
[17:55:10]
MICHAEL GREEN, FORMER NSC OFFICIAL FOR ASIA: Kim is sending the message that Joe Biden can't ignore him, that Biden has to come back to the negotiating table. And from Kim Jong-un's perspective, he would like for Joe Biden to offer what Donald Trump appeared to be offering, which is a big deal.
TODD (voice-over): But a big deal never came to pass between Kim and President Trump, despite the fanfare of two summits and a high profile meeting at the demilitarized zone in 2019. The first time a sitting U.S. president set foot on North Korean soil.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This has been in particular a great friendship.
TODD (voice-over): There was correspondence which included what Trump termed love letters between the two leaders.
TRUMP: We met and we liked each other from day one.
TODD (voice-over): Kim did draw down his missile tests for an extended period as he kept trying to leverage his relationship with Trump for concessions. But analysts say while Kim was courting Donald Trump, he continued to modernize his nuclear warheads and missile arsenals.
GREEN: They've been clearly perfecting weapons capable of hitting U.S. allies and U.S. bases in the Pacific.
TODD (voice-over): Last October, Kim displayed his biggest missile yet called a Hwasong-15, rumbling it through the streets of Pyongyang on a mobile launch platform. Experts say the red line to watch out for is if Kim Jong-un decides to test another long-range missile capable of hitting the continental U.S., specifically a missile that can reenter the Earth's atmosphere without burning up.
GREEN: And I think what you're seeing here is North Korea ratcheting up the pressure to indicate that that could be coming if the Biden administration doesn't talk to them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: And we have this just in new pictures of the latest North Korean missile launch, the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun publishing what it says are the first images of those ballistic missiles that the regime launched about 24 hours ago Thursday evening, U.S. East Coast time -- excuse me -- Wednesday evening, U.S. East Coast time, Thursday morning, North Korea time. KCNA, the North Korean news agency saying that with these missiles launched they added weight to the warheads to 2.5 tons and tested solid fuel engine on the missiles.
So Pamela, Kim Jong-un reengaging in the kind of dangerous diplomacy that he was in when Donald Trump first took office looks like.
BROWN: He certainly is. CNN's Brian Todd, thanks so much.
Breaking news up next, new reports of fatalities as tornadoes and severe weather sweep across parts of the South right now. We'll be back.
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