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Coronavirus Reaches White House West Wing; Lifestyles May Change until Cure Found; Barcelona Reopens Beaches; U.K. Prime Minister to Announce Next Phase of Pandemic Response; PPE Profiteers; Two Men Jailed in Death of Jogger; Victory in Europe Day; UFC Fighter Pulled after Positive COVID-19 Test. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired May 09, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New concerns about safety at the White House, an aide to the vice president tests positive for coronavirus.
Ordinary Americans overwhelmed, unemployment soars but so does the death toll.
Also --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anytime there is a pot of money, dishonest people will have their hands in it. Even in times of emergency, for some people, there's just no bottom.
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ALLEN (voice-over): The mad scramble for medical supplies made much worse by fraud.
We're live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, we appreciate you joining us, I'm Natalie Allen, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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ALLEN: Our top story: a senior aide to U.S. vice president Mike Pence is the latest instance of the coronavirus slipping into the inner circle of the Trump administration.
Katie Miller, who is married to Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, serves as the vice president's press secretary. She tested positive on Friday, one day after a personal valet to President Trump also tested positive and a personal assistant to Ivanka Trump also tested positive.
The White House says the staffer has been working remotely for two months and has not had any contact with the president's daughter in weeks.
Also the head of the FDA, Stephen Hahn, is self-isolating is for two weeks after he had contact with someone who tested positive.
Across the United States, both the virus and unemployment are taking a heavy toll. The U.S. government reports a staggering 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April. Wall Street would normally take a dive on such news.
But investors pushed the Dow up more than 450 points, perhaps optimistic the U.S. will soon reopen. We get the latest on that from Nick Watt.
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ARMAN SARIAN, OWNER, CUSTOM ZONE PRINT SHOP: I have two teenagers to raise up, we have to keep up the good spirit but we're all scared.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 20 million American jobs vanished in April alone. The worst jobs report in American history.
In only 15 states, our new case counts consistently falling but still, 47 states are now partially reopening through the weekend. Some restrictions remain, which not everyone likes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a right to buy groceries without being forced to participate in (INAUDIBLE) terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me, you need to wear a mask.
Do you understand that?
To come into the store.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) my constitutional --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, well, this is private property.
WATT (voice-over): Today in California, it's some nonessential retail opening, curbside pickup and delivery only.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are still trying to understand what curbside actually means.
WATT (voice-over): Here at the Brentwood Country Mart, it means they've hired runners to bring merchandise to you in your car. But reopening places like this isn't just about retail, it's about life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a community hangout. It's your local that you hit before you go home and put your family to bed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One question is how long are we going to be wearing masks. And I think for a very long time, right. I'm not wearing one right now because I'm talking with you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How have you managed to survive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that is yet to be seen, whether we survive.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Roughly 70 percent of the economy in the state of California can open with modifications into this next phase. I know 70 percent is not 100 percent and it is so important that we provide support.
WATT (voice-over): Tomorrow, restaurants can open in Nevada and campgrounds in North Dakota. In Texas, hair salons now a go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is concerning here is this is an experiment. No one knows what is going to happen.
WATT (voice-over): There is a potential problem with such uneven openings. A new study of cell phone data found that after Georgia started opening earlier than surrounding states, more than half a million people traveled into Georgia every day, a 13 percent spike. There is spread potential.
As this Tyson meat processing plant reopens in Waterloo, Iowa, the number of confirmed cases among workers doubled to over 1,000. One worker, reluctantly returning today, told CNN he has no choice.
"I cannot beat Donald Trump and Tyson. Both of them are billionaires.
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WATT (voice-over): "I'm not a billionaire. I'm broke."
The good news, the NFL just laid out a full schedule for the fall, unclear if there will be fans in the stands.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Spectator less sports, that's something we can add to the lexicon with flattening the curve and social distancing.
WATT (voice-over): Social distancing enforcement, clearly a work in progress. This arrest in New York City has sparked an internal investigation. And Brooklyn's DA tells CNN that, of the 40 people arrested for not social distancing through Monday, 35 are black, four Hispanic, just one white person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we see disparity, we will address it.
WATT (voice-over): Still no vaccine, of course, and remdesivir, that drug found to shorten COVID hospital stays by about four days?
Well, there is only about 200,000 courses available right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there was that excitement and then there was sadness and disappointment. It's not every day that you get a drug and it means that more patients will potentially do badly. WATT: California just announced that every registered voter in the
state will also get a mail-in ballot for November's presidential election. There will still be in-person voting but any person can do it by mail if they want to. The secretary of state says that this could be the most consequential election of our lifetime -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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ALLEN: Testing is ramping up at the White House as the coronavirus hits home.
So why aren't the president and his advisers wearing masks?
Jim Acosta has that.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the second straight day, the White House is confirming that a staffer has contracted the coronavirus. This time, a senior official. Vice president Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller.
TRUMP: She is a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time, then, all of a sudden, today, she tested positive. She has not come into contact with me.
ACOSTA (voice-over): With the potential that the West Wing has become a hot spot for the virus is now real. Miller is married to one of the president's top aides, speech writer and domestic policy adviser, Stephen Miller.
Word of Katie Miller's test results came one day after the president acknowledge that one of his military valets came up positive, too.
TRUMP: We know who he is, a good person but I've had very little contact. Mike has had very little contact with him.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Yet, the White House seems to be stubbornly avoiding some precautions like masks.
The president greeted World War II veterans on the National Mall without wearing one.
TRUMP: We were very far away, you saw. Plus, the wind was blowing so hard and in such a direction that if the plague ever reached them, I would be very surprised. It could've reached me, too. But you didn't worry about me, you only worried about them and that's OK.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Neither were Republican members of Congress meeting with the president, though one lawmaker noted that they were tested for the virus before the event.
The virus is hitting home at the White House as the president is grappling with a staggering new unemployment rate, 14.7 percent. The highest on record since the Great Depression. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow noted that Wall Street does not seem to be too worried.
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: If you had told me that I would go on the air, on a day where we lost 20 million jobs and the stock market would go up 400 points, I would've been very interested.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Another economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, says more devastating numbers are on the way.
KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: I'm just want to say how heartbreaking it is to see a report like this. Probably the next number will be higher than this.
ACOSTA: What is the president's plan to get this country out of this ditch?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: Yes, you know, this president is the jobs president. This president got us to the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
ACOSTA: What's the plan?
MCENANY: There are a lot of proposals to entertain. I don't want to get ahead of the president.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The administration has another big problem as a federal investigative office found that a top vaccine official, Dr. Rick Bright, may have been retaliated against, raising questions about the White House response to the virus.
Rights lawyers say that they've been informed that the Department of Health and Human Services violated the Whistleblower Protection Act by removing Dr. Bright because he made protected disclosures in the best interest of the American public. The president brushed off the Bright case.
TRUMP: To me, he looks like a disgruntled employee.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But the president is not trying to deny what has become painfully obvious, that the number of dead in the U.S. from the virus will keep climbing, perhaps, by the tens of thousands.
TRUMP: We may be talking about 95,000 people, ultimately, we may be talking about something more than that.
ACOSTA: As for the vice president's press secretary testing positive for the coronavirus, a senior White House official said other staffers who are in contact with Katie Miller have been tested and, so far, all of those tests have come back negative -- Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
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ALLEN: President Trump and many others would like to see a speedy return to normal daily activities.
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ALLEN: But a senior official at the World Health Organization cautions it is unlikely until there is a cure.
DR. MICHAEL RYAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: There is a path out but we must remain ever vigilant. And we may have to have a significant alteration to our lifestyles until we get to a point where we have an effective vaccine and effective treatments.
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ALLEN: Let's bring in virologist Dr. Muhammad Munir at Lancaster University in England.
Good morning, thank you so much for coming on.
DR. MUHAMMAD MUNIR, LANCASTER UNIVERSITY: Good morning, Natalie.
And we just heard from the World Health Organization, saying that the world could face significant alteration to our lifestyles until there is a vaccine. And then we just saw the encouragement from the president, that he wants to open the economy.
It is the push and the pull because, how can there be a quick fix, as much as people would want that, when there are so many unknowns with this virus, to safely say let's just go back out there?
MUNIR: Absolutely. I think the World Health Organization's statement about lifestyle alteration until the vaccine, I think that we need to take it even beyond that because even if the vaccine would become available, still we need to follow some of these restrictions and effective social distancing measures.
Because the vaccine is really a long-term thing. But coming back to Boris Johnson and the opening up in the U.K., I think a fair proportion of people are uninfected and probably this is not an appropriate time to open up at that scale we're already thinking of.
And the primary reason is that we still don't know what proportion are immunized. In the U.K., unless we don't have 40 percent of people already having antibodies, we can't for sure say that the transmission will be stopped.
And until we get to 60 percent of the immunity in the population, the chances for it to come back would be significantly higher. And we can't afford a second wave of the outbreak.
ALLEN: Right. He's expected to address the country, the prime minister, and very likely we will not expect changes from the coronavirus lockdown right now.
I want to talk about the fact that you're a virologist; you collaborate with national and international cohorts in your research. The U.S. has resisted joining the E.U. and the World Health Organization in a coordinated international response.
Is that hurting getting ahead of this and trying to get toward a cure?
MUNIR: Well, this is not really a time for national policies. What we need to do is have international cooperation so that we can tackle this infection, which is not specific to any country, but it is a common enemy.
And the matter of the fact is that, if the disease were to be staying in any country of the world, for example, if the virus can travel from China to the rest of the world, it can travel deep into Africa.
So the effort has to be at such a scale that not only a country would be separated but also have a global response in such a way that, if the treatment or the vaccine would become available, it would be deployed at the international level.
And right now, there has been a certain level of national efforts; there is a lack of international cooperation and leadership. And this is a good time to emphasize the fact that we need that.
ALLEN: Absolutely. Because this virus continues to trick doctors, the twists and turns it keeps bringing about, more things that are unexpected, what do you think about that aspect of this virus?
MUNIR: The thing is that, although we are four months into this disease, still there are a lot of things that need to be explored. For example, now we see that 20 percent of the patients were not having upper respiratory signs but they can still show some cardiac injuries.
And this is really something that we've been looking before, is that the receptors which are the molecules that are required to allow the virus to enter into the cells, those are located in the respiratory tract and also in the heart, blood vessels, digestive tract.
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MUNIR: So if the virus has a chance to enter into that system, multiorgan failure would be a more prominent feature that could lead to more damage than we anticipated. So certainly a lot more needs to be explored and we don't have all that information, so difficult to assess the impact on the body.
ALLEN: And as you say, never a more important time for a cohesive, coordinated international effort on this. We thank you so much for your expertise, Dr. Muhammad Munir.
MUNIR: Thank you very much.
ALLEN: Well, much of Spain gets the green light to begin lifting more restrictions. We're live in Madrid, next as the country chips away at its strict coronavirus lockdown.
And people around the world used social media Friday to pay tribute to Ahmaud Arbery, a black jogger, gunned down in Georgia. We'll have the latest developments in this very disturbing case.
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ALLEN: Soaking up the sun on Barcelona's beaches is once again allowed.
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ALLEN: They reopened Friday to allow morning exercise in one of the latest steps toward normalcy in Spain.
But while most of the country is set to move on to the next phase of its reopening plan on Monday, Barcelona and Madrid will have to wait a little longer. Scott McLean is joining me now live from Madrid with more about what is next for these cities.
Good morning, Scott.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
So in barely half of this country on Monday, stores, churches, restaurant terraces, they will all be allowed to open at limited capacity. People will even be allowed to have small gatherings of 10 or less.
As Spain gradually starts to ease its restrictions, Spaniards may find it tough to make sense of the constantly changing rules. On a recent trip, we found that some of the rules, when it came to travel, were plainly contradictory.
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MCLEAN: There's less than 300 miles between Madrid and the Formentera Island but in the age of coronavirus, it took our crew two flights, a ferry and a lot of bureaucracy to get there.
LAURA PEREZ MAESTRO, CNN PRODUCER: These are CNN authorization forms that we've got to be able to take this flight.
MCLEAN (voice-over): It asked if we had any coronavirus symptoms. Amidst the worst outbreak in one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, walking alone at the wrong time of day will surely get you fined. Yet cramming yourself onto a hot airplane next to strangers is still perfectly OK.
So we are on the plane. We have our goggles on, we have our masks because there is not a lot of social distancing going on.
The real crime, we found out, was documenting it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
MCLEAN (voice-over): After we landed, a flight attendant gave my producer, Laura, and I a choice, to leave the videos or he would call the police. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
MCLEAN (voice-over): Sure enough, a uniformed Spanish civil guard officer was waiting for us on the tarmac. A major airline lobby, the IATA, says there is little evidence of COVID-19 spreading on aircraft, though there is also very little research.
The airline, Air Europa, said there are no regulations applicable to all airlines that require flying with capacity reductions. That is true. Spanish transport ministry told us that it merely encourages airlines to ensure the maximum possible separation between passengers, failing that, everyone else must wear a mask.
On a ferry trip to the island, the paperwork was the same, the rest could not have been more different.
MAESTRO: We have just been told that we have to go to the main port again to get some kind of test.
MCLEAN: Me and the team (sic) just got the coronavirus test, it was just a finger prick and they drew a bit of blood.
Moments later, the results.
Negative. Perfect, thank you.
As Spain slowly moves towards the new normal, the rules seem wildly inconsistent, for now, it seems like safety first on the streets and on the water and a much different experience in the sky.
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MCLEAN: So, Natalie, as you mentioned, Madrid, Barcelona and large swaths of the rest of the country will be stuck in what the government is calling phase zero, that means that the stay-at-home order remains in effect, with few exemptions for specific times to walk outdoors or to exercise.
Health officials say that the reason these regions aren't allowed to move to the next phase of reopening is because they haven't met the health criteria. They haven't had a low number of cases, the ability to track new cases and the health care capacity to deal with a possible second spike.
And at least in theory, even on Monday, when Spain moves toward this new phase in some parts, travel between regions will still not be allowed, regardless of what phase each region is in.
ALLEN: All right. Phases are important right now for sure. Scott McLean, thank you so much.
The British prime minister is expected to speak Sunday about the country's next steps in dealing with the pandemic there. The U.K. is reporting the most coronavirus deaths in Europe. Boris Johnson has said that he will outline which restrictions the government is going to lift but some ministers are trying to manage expectations. Hadas Gold is joining me from London, she'll be watching to see any
hint of what is expected from the prime minister.
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, on Thursday I think a lot of hopes were raised, with a bunch of newspaper headlines saying that Monday was going to be essentially freedom day, that the lockdown would be severely lifted. But then we saw a walk back, ministers trying to tamp down expectations.
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GOLD: Now we're hearing that tomorrow evening's address by Boris Johnson will lift some measures. But they will be pretty minor. For example, we're expecting that gardening shops will be open. They're outdoors, it's springtime, the weather is beautiful. People want to start planting their flowers and vegetables. That will be allowed.
So will potentially exercising more than once a day. Right now, we're only allowed to go out once a day for exercise. That could potentially be increased.
We're also waiting to see whether the recommendation that people wear masks in public and at workplaces will be put out there. We're not expecting that to be a requirement like we've seen in other places. But it is possible that the U.K. could finally actually put forth some sort of opinion on face masks because, thus far, they have resisted saying that face masks are a good idea for people to wear out in public.
But one of the biggest consternations here in the United Kingdom is the possibility that anybody entering the U.K. will be forced to do a 14 day self-isolation quarantine. We're seeing reports that when entering at an airport, that people have to give a specific address and say, this is where I will quarantine for 14 days.
The U.K. Airline Association have been telling media outlets that this will severely affect their already hurting industry and they hope it won't happen. But it is pretty clear that if people were hoping that this would be a freedom day, that clearly is not going to happen.
ALLEN: Right. We'll wait and hear what the prime minister has to say. Hadas Gold for us.
Coming up, taking advantage during a crisis, how states become ripe targets for pandemic profiteers.
And 2.5 months after a black jogger was killed in South Georgia, two white men charged with his death appear in court. And now questions are being raised about another man at the scene. We'll have the latest.
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ALLEN: Welcome back. I'm Natalie Allen. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Two White House staffers have tested positive for the coronavirus during the past two days. Katie Miller, who is married to Stephen Miller, is press secretary for the vice president. She tested positive on Friday one day after one of President Trump's personal valets also tested positive.
And a source tells CNN that personal assistant to Ivanka Trump has tested positive but the staffer has been working remotely and has not had any contact with the president's daughter in weeks.
As coronavirus cases have risen in the U.S., many states have desperately tried to get protective gear for their medical workers and they have paid out tens of millions of dollars for it.
But as CNN's Drew Griffin explains, that has quickly become fertile ground for profiteers.
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DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While coronavirus was overwhelming hospitals, governors across the country were in a mad scramble to find supplies and a lot of people were making a lot of money.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): I can't tell you how many orders we placed with vendors who were acting basically is brokers who just started businesses in the middle of this pandemic because they saw an opportunity.
GRIFFIN: From New York to California to Louisiana, hundreds of millions of dollars in ventilators, masks and other personal protective equipment were ordered, but some of it never showed up.
After stalled deals, the governors of both California and Maryland say they are looking into deals with Blue Flame Medical, a pop-up medical supply company started by two Republican operatives.
GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): Unfortunately, across the country, there have been some cases of fraud. It is unconscionable that anyone would try to exploit this pandemic for profit or for personal gain.
GRIFFIN: An attorney speaking on behalf of Blue Flame told CNN the company fully intends to honor the contract for a million-and-a-half masks and 110 ventilators to Maryland and says that the Chinese government interfered with its ability to fulfill the shipment.
In Louisiana, at the height of New Orleans' pandemic crisis, $7 million of PPE supplies never showed, the third-party supplier now being charged with defrauding the VA.
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig says, a crisis with billions of dollars being spent quickly is the perfect environment for wide-scale fraud.
ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Any time there's opportunity, any time there's a pot of money, dishonest people will have their hands in it, even in times of emergency. For some people, there's just no bottom.
GRIFFIN: Adding to the issue, the lack of federal leadership on supplies that forced states to fend for themselves, scouring the Internet or relying upon unknown suppliers.
Case in point, New York state.
A. CUOMO: Competition among states. There were competition among private entities to get this equipment. The federal government was trying to buy it.
GRIFFIN: The one that's received the most attention is a deal for 1,400 ventilators from a Silicon Valley engineer. The state paid $69 million, but the ventilators never arrived.
A spokesman from Governor Cuomo's office said: "HHS referred us directly, confirming they were vetted and approved by the federal government themselves."
The engineer behind the failed deal did not return CNN's calls. And though most of the money has been returned, $10 million is still under negotiation.
A. CUOMO: As a nation, we can't go through this again.
GRIFFIN: To fight fraud and better their bargaining position, new York and six other Northeast states have now joined together to stabilize the supply chain and combat the fraud that is also spreading like the virus itself.
GOV. GINA RAIMONDO (D-RI): In an ideal world, you would have had the federal government stepping up earlier. That's not happening. So, governors are getting it done.
GRIFFIN: The fact is the federal government and a group of volunteers organized by Jared Kushner were behind the referral for the failed New York ventilator deal according to "The New York Times," so it is not just about getting federal help, it is about getting experienced federal help.
States say that is not happening so they are going it alone -- Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Now we turn to a case that is captivating this country.
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ALLEN: To the state of Georgia now right here where two white men accused of killing a black jogger outside Brunswick, that is on the Georgia coast, are in jail now without bond. This video obtained by CNN shows 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and his
34-year-old son, Travis, being arrested by authorities Thursday afternoon. Martin Savidge is South Georgia with the latest.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Gregory and Travis McMichael, the father and son arrested in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, had their first appearance in court today done by video link from the county jail. It was a pretty simple affair.
Their rights were read to them, the charges were also read against them. And it was also said that there was no bond at this particular time. They were done individually and each one took less than two minutes. And they really didn't have anything to say other than to acknowledge when their names were called.
Outside of that very same courthouse earlier in the day had been a huge protest. In fact, one of the largest that has taken place in this tragedy. Many of the attempts to try to have protests before had, of course, been limited due to the pandemic and the limitations put on crowd gatherings.
But today there were hundreds of people and it was a very mixed crowd that represented the diverse nature of the Brunswick community. This had been planned before the arrests and no one was saying that this was the time to celebrate. In fact, they said this is just the first step.
And there is still a great deal of frustration. Many are still deeply troubled by the fact that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can come in and, in less than two days of looking at the evidence, determine that an arrest is warranted on the charge of murder; whereas the local authorities spent over two months investigating and did nothing.
There is also a frustration about the potential for a third person that may have been involved and whether or not they will be brought to justice. That person is William Bryant. He is the person taking the video. Interestingly enough the fact that, of course, without that video, many people believe we wouldn't be where we are today with the arrest.
But at the same time in police reports, he has been depicted as either a witness or a participant. And so it was asked of the GBI what is his status, could he be arrested. The head of the GBI said at this time their investigation continues and there is the possibility of more arrests -- Martin Savidge, CNN, Glynn County, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Arbery and he father spoke with Chris Cuomo Friday night and he said his son was good hearted and that the circumstances of his death amount to a lynching.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARCUS ARBERY, AHMAUD'S FATHER: I just want people to know that he was a very good young man and he loved people and I just want people to remember him as a good hearted young man and he was the type of young man if he had one dollar and you needed that one dollar, he would give it to you. That is just how good his heart was.
And I done see him work the whole week 40 hours and if you needed his whole check, he gave it to me. And I told my son, don't work and give your whole check-up, you know. But that is just how good a heart he was.
Everybody loved him. If you know him, you could see he was a very amenable, good young man. And to see him just get left like that by a racial mob like that, that is just devastating to our family.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: These are heavy words for you to use.
Why do you see it as a lynching by a racial mob?
ARBERY: When you come at a young man, you jump on the back of a pickup truck with a pop shotgun and a .357 Magnum in a pickup truck like front of racial mobid (ph), and you follow him like he was an animal and gun him down like he was an animal, he's trying to -- and all he's doing is running.
And he tried to avoid you all and he just tried to stay out of you all way. You all just kept on pursuing him and blocking him in with that truck and he didn't have no chance. All he did is just try to defend himself. He had no win.
Three men with guns, an unarmed black African American man, didn't give him no chance because of the color of his skin. That just -- that just -- I'm a recall for racedness (ph), hatreds and that's no place in this Brunswick for that. That is just (INAUDIBLE). That's just getting around him. That is why I want these men to stay in jail. I don't want them to bond out.
[04:40:00]
ARBERY: I just want them to get a life sentence. We just don't believe in killing. I just want them to suffer that how my family is suffering. I want them to see my son's face every day they do time. I want them to see his face. I just want them to just suffer hard because I just don't believe in no death, you know what I'm saying?
I just want you to stay locked up so these mad monks (ph) don't get out here and kill nobody again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Well, Ahmaud Arbery was honored all over the world Friday, which would have been his 26th birthday. People ran 2.23 miles to symbolize the day he was killed, February 23rd. They documented their runs and then posted to social media, using #IRunWithMaud, his nickname. His high school football coach organized the event. He posted his own message Friday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON VAUGHN, AHMAUD'S HIGH SCHOOL COACH: Maud, I'm standing in the same spot the last time I seen you take a run. I will not get tired until we get justice, until your family finds peace. I want you to know this morning, Maud, that you got a whole community behind you. #IRunWithMaud."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: We'll be right back.
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ALLEN: Britain's Red Arrows aerial acrobatic team painted the sky over London with the colors of the Union Jack to celebrate Victory in Europe Day, the defeat of the Nazis in 1945.
Isn't that beautiful?
And check out this unique view from the cockpit of one of those Hawk jets, provided by the U.K.'s defense ministry, as the nation recalled the end of World War II in Europe 75 years ago.
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ALLEN: Across Europe, there were somber commemorations of the end of the conflict. German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron laid wreaths in their respective capitals.
And British Prince Charles laid a wreath at a war memorial in Balmoral, Scotland, in memory of those who died.
Russia and Belarus have just held their commemorations, but they looked very different. Let's go to our Matthew Chance for more on that.
Good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Natalie, but Russia and Belarus, as former parts of the Soviet Union, celebrate what they call Victory Day the day after Western Europe, because the surrender was signed after midnight on May the 9th, not May the 8th.
And normally in Russia, of course, it is a major military parade, an opportunity for the Russian leadership, Vladimir Putin in particular, to instill a sense of national pride in the country's citizens and to showcase the country's best, most up-to-date military hardware, including continental ballistic missiles, latest battle tanks, things like that. This year it was very different, a much scaled down version. There was
still an aerial show with some high-tech aircraft and some Soviet-era aircraft going through the skies over Moscow in formation.
But there was none of that trundling of armor through the streets of the capital. It was not what we traditionally see. They held back because of the coronavirus pandemic.
There were aerial parades over 47 Russian cities as well at the same time, around about the same time, to commemorate Victory Day in that country you. But the commemorations were vastly scaled back again because of the pandemic.
And across the border in neighboring Belarus, which is still much more kind of Soviet than Russia in many ways, the parade went ahead as normal. Alexander Lukashenko, who has been the president for many years, has basically, you know, not taken the same stance towards the virus as Russia or as indeed any other countries in Europe.
Basically, saying that, look, it is not a major threat to us, he advocated drinking vodka and take saunas to stave off the effects. And people have criticized that and his response to the pandemic.
But the Victory Day parade went ahead as usual. People on the ground, tanks going past in the streets, as if there was no acknowledgement at all that the country and the world is engulfed in this viral pandemic. And so two very different scenes we saw there in Russia and in Belarus commemorating the same event.
ALLEN: Absolutely. It looks quite strange. That vodka comment, my goodness. All right. Thanks so much, Matthew.
The coronavirus is affecting tomorrow's first UFC fight since this pandemic began but that and jabs of criticism apparently aren't going to stop the show. We'll have a sports report next.
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ALLEN: The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the first sport to resume in the U.S. But not without setbacks. UFC fighter Ronaldo Souza has been pulled after he and two of his corner men tested positive for coronavirus.
The organization says they are the only ones who have, so there will be fights on Saturday. But as Patrick Snell reports, that has put the UFC president under intense scrutiny.
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PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's brash. DANA WHITE, UFC PRESIDENT: There are no guarantees in life, nothing is
100 percent, it's not 100 percent guaranteed that I'm making it home safe driving home after this interview.
SNELL (voice-over): He is unapologetic.
WHITE: If you are a critic, you will always find ways to criticize this. I don't care what your opinion is or what you think.
SNELL (voice-over): And Dana White is bringing his sport, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, back first in the U.S. after the global pandemic shuttered sport around the globe.
WHITE: I believe that we can pull this off and do it safe. I don't think that you will see crowds back at live sports for a while.
Listen, we have families, too. I have a family. I don't want to hurt my family. I don't want to die. This is well thought out, you know. I'm flying down to Florida, I'm staying there for 10 days. I'm sleeping in the hotel. I'm doing everything that everybody else is doing.
SNELL (voice-over): White tried to bring back the UFC in April but their media partner ESPN shut it down. Meantime, among White's other roles these days is one that is helping to advise Donald Trump on reopening the economy.
WHITE: Everybody is motivated to try to figure this thing out and bring back sports. And the president feels like sports are probably the first thing that needs to be figured out. Get some sports back on TV, then we figure out how to get people back to work safely and then you figure out how to get kids back to school.
SNELL (voice-over): Three fight nights in eight days will take place in Florida with the blessing of local and state authorities. But while other sports are too concerned about spread to host any kind of competitions just yet, the UFC president has also been keeping one eye on the future, with plans for his much vaunted Fight Island remaining on track to begin in mid June.
WHITE: The island was a concept we came up with where we could get people in from anywhere in the world. We could bring people from the United States, from Russia, United States, from Russia, from China, to this island.
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WHITE: Set up the infrastructure where we can do the proper, you know, everything is clean, you know, the testing and everything that we need will be done there. And, you know, it is basically for our international fights.
SNELL (voice-over): Trying to return during the pandemic comes as a high profile risk but White sees UFC as up for the challenge.
WHITE: These are the times that you find out who is real and who is not.
Who do you want to be in a foxhole with, with me or with some of these other guys?
I can stay home right now, I could be in my swimming pool, hanging out playing with my kids at home. I'm not. I'm out here trying to figure this thing out. You know, this is very expensive, it is not cheap. That is why other people don't want to go right now. It is expensive.
Nobody that is working this event is somebody that doesn't want to work. They want to work. The fighters want to fight. We haven't laid off one employee at the UFC, so this isn't a matter of, oh, I need to get a paycheck. It is a matter of us trying to get back to some type of normalcy and figuring out a safe way to do it.
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ALLEN: The COVID crisis also claimed the life of one of the most flamboyant performers on the Las Vegas Strip. Roy Horn was half of the spectacular magic act Siegfried & Roy. It featured wild animal illusions until 2003, when a tiger attacked Roy, severing his spine in front of a horrified audience. He never fully recovered.
His publicist says Horn died at the age of 75 of complications from coronavirus. His partner, Siegfried Fischbacher, called Horn one of the greats of magic and said, "I have lost my best friend."
Another hour of CNN NEWSROOM is just ahead.
