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China Reports 17 New Cases, Five in Wuhan; Spike in South Korean Cases Linked to Nightclubs; Farmers in U.S. in Dire Need of Assistance; Asia Markets Rise on Recovery Hopes; Elon Most Threatens to Move Tesla HQ Out of California; Shanghai Disneyland Reopens with Limited Visitors; Justice Department Asked to Investigate Handling of Arbery Case; COVID-19 Shuts Movie Production Down Across India. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 11, 2020 - 04:30   ET

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


[04:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Fresh lockdown measures were announced for Shulan City in the northeastern Jilin Province. Five of the new cases are in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Wuhan had not reported a new case since April 3rd.

Well speaking of new cases, South Korea reported its biggest single day jump in coronavirus cases since early April. At least 86 new cases are believed to be linked to Seoul's nightclub scene, and specifically one man who visited several establishments.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul. She joins us live. Good to see you, Paula. So South Korea had been hailed a great success due to its handling of this pandemic and now this. What more are you learning about the man behind this new spike in cases?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, at this point officials are trying to track all of the people that would have been in this area over a two-week period. This was a 29-year-old man we understand that visited the nightclub district of Itaewon in Seoul back on May 2nd and he went to a number of different clubs.

Now according to officials, they have 5,500 names that they are looking at, at this point and they want to test all of those people to make sure that they can try and contain this outbreak. They say they've tested more than 3,000 so far. They're still trying to trace some of the others. But so far 86 confirmed cases have been linked to this individual.

Now certainly officials say they are very concerned about this recent cluster and this recent outbreak. The Seoul City mayor says the next two to three days will be critical in trying to contain this new outbreak. Also saying that if Seoul falls, the country falls. So this is really the focus at this point.

And we heard from the South Korean President Moon Jae-in as well on Sunday. He spoke about this saying that it's not over until it's over. That we can't let our guard down as experts have clearly said, that there will be a second wave. He said that second wave could be in the autumn or the winter according to experts, but there are clearly some concerns that we are seeing a second wave here now -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: It is a wake-up call to all of us. Paula Hancocks, many thanks to you bringing us that live update from Seoul. Appreciate it.

Well the Trump administration announced that starting this week the U.S. will purchase $3 billion worth of dairy, meat, and produce and it couldn't have come at a better time for some communities.

CNN's Gary Tuchman visited a family of hog farmers who are running out of room and money thanks to dwindling demand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alex Hoehm is a sixth- generation farmer. He, his wife and his father are proud hog farmers who are getting ready for a traumatizing experience.

I never imagined having to do this.

TUCHMAN: What they are going to do is a result of the closing of American pork plants. There is no place for these pigs to go.

(on camera): Each of these hogs should have been out of here two to three weeks ago, sent to market, but it looks like they never will. So the decision has been made to humanely euthanize most if not all of them and that will happen as early as this week.

(voice-over): All of this Minnesota family's fully grown pigs go to market to one particular pork plant in South Dakota. But the Smithfield facility in Sioux Falls was shut down in the middle of April with more than 800 employee COVID cases linked to it.

With so many plants closed and such a backlog of pigs, some of which weigh up to 340 pounds, the Hoehm family is desperate. Before COVID-19 they would typically send off about 700 hogs every week. They say they now have about 3,500 ready to go and nowhere to send them.

And these are the family's baby pigs. About 3,000 of them in an overcrowded nursery barn that usually has around 2,400. The fully grown pigs being euthanized by gunshot will leave room for the little ones as they get bigger, but the babies could face the same fate in a few months. Doc Hoehm is the patriarch of the family.

DOC HOEHM, HOG FARMER: We put down sick pigs because you feel sorry for them. But to have a healthy pig and to take a rifle and shoot it, it's unreal (SOBBING).

TUCHMAN: This family is saddened, but they are also financially stressed. They say what's made this all worse is their government.

These trade wars for the last three years have just killed us.

TUCHMAN: The Hoehm's and many other hog farmers say they are desperate for federal assistance. ANDREA HOEHM, HOG FARMER: If we don't get help, I truly think that we

are looking at bankruptcy. That this is going to be the end of our family farm.

[04:35:00]

TUCHMAN: Even if every shut down pork plant opened quickly with all the employees coming back to work, which is not going to happen, including in South Dakota where Smithfield reopened Monday with less than 1/10 of their original employees, many farmers say there are just way too many hogs backed up in the pipeline.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there's just a lot of people will not survive this.

TUCHMAN: Does this family see any realistic chance?

A. HOEHM: No, but I'm surviving solely on hope.

TUCHMAN: That may not be enough.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Waseca, Minnesota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, after the U.S. reported a record 20 million jobs lost in April, Trump officials are warning the unemployment numbers could be even worse in May. So let's take a look at U.S. futures as we begin a new week. We're seeing positive territory at least there. The Dow futures up .3 percent.

All right. The trading day is wrapping up in Asia so let's turn to CNN's John Defterios. He's tracking it all for us and he joins us now live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, John. So are stock market investors worldwide discounting the threat of the coronavirus near term and looking perhaps at a longer-term recovery?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, I think it's best described, Rosemary, as dual worlds if you will. There's the clear and present danger of coronavirus and the potential snap back that we could see as we go back into the economy and reengage our workers around the world. And that the same time investors saying, OK, 6 to 9 months down the road what's life going to look like? And that's the predominant theme. We saw that on Wall Street on Friday. We see that with futures. The European markets have opened slightly higher.

But let's take a recap of what we see in Asia. And both Japan and Hong Kong seeing gains of 1 to about 1.5 percent. Not as enthusiastic in Shanghai and South Korea. But some solace here for the markets that China Central Bank in Beijing is suggesting that it's time to look more aggressively at a stimulus plan going forward. Certainly not in the level we see in the United States which has been $3 trillion. And a debate on Capitol Hill, should we go back again. The Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin pushing back and saying let's give it a few more weeks. But overall globally there's been $7 trillion by the G20 countries

allocated and there'll be more to come. What we see in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, because of the drop in oil prices and oil demand, coming back then putting forth austerity. Tripling the V.A.T. or sales tax to 15 percent. That was only put in place back in 2018. Government subsidies being cut. And some of the major programs put forward by the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman -- is in his mid-30s -- now getting reeled back a little bit. Because of the crisis that were seeing in the Middle East and exports for oil slowing down and the price hovering around $30 a barrel.

CHURCH: And, John, Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems to be flexing his muscles right now. He's threatening to leave California unless he can reopen his factory quickly. How's this likely to play out?

DEFTERIOS: I like the way you put that, flexing his muscle because that is the case here, my home state of California. Elon Musk is seen as an entrepreneur, a job creator. Somebody looking towards the future with electric vehicles. And saying to Alameda County that you're making a power grab because Gavin Newsom, the governor in California is saying, it's time to ease manufacturing facilities back open. Tesla claims that it put forward its plan for health and safety to the county and that it's slow to react and in fact, pushing back against Tesla overall.

Now California is very innovative as a state but its onerous in terms of regulations when it comes to health and safety, labor regulations and also environmental regulations. And that's what Musk is talking about. And he's suggesting, if you don't come my way, I'm looking at Texas and Nevada. And he took a case to court in San Francisco pushing this issue so he can get the factories reopened. It's not helping Elon Musk by the fact that he may be the beneficiary of a $700 million bonus if he hits certain targets in 2020. And some say that's why he's rushing to get his factories reopened -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, we'll watch to see what happens. Always a pleasure to chat with you. John Defterios joining us from Abu Dhabi, many thanks.

DEFTERIOS: Thanks.

CHURCH: Well in China, Shanghai Disneyland is reopening after being closed for over three months because of the pandemic. It's the first of Disney's theme parks to reopen in limited capacity. Tickets were listed online Friday and sold out in minutes. Visitors must wear facemasks and follow other strict guidelines before they go in. CNN's David Culver has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's often referred to as the happiest place on earth. However, some of the leadership here at Shanghai Disneyland say they are the most cautious place on earth as of now. Because they have reopened, albeit in a far limited capacity.

[04:40:00] Well under 30 percent which is the cap of capacity they had put. And they're testing this out in many ways.

They've a different procedure for folks who are coming in. For one, they require you to have the Shanghai local QR code which is the health code that essentially tracks your contacts and prevents exposure to the virus. If you have a green one, they feel that they can assure folks that you are coming in and that you're safe. They still do temperature screenings. And then once you're in here -- while we're on an elevated platform right now, if you are on the ground and going from attraction to attraction, you've got to wear a facemask.

You'll also notice even as you get off the attractions, they have several different hand sanitizer stations. Some of the staff even go around with hand sanitizer to pump it into your hands. All of this is an effort to try to reopen from a business perspective but also try to maintain that health security. We spoke with the senior vice President of operations here at the park, Andrew Bolstein. He gave us an idea as to what else is changing here.

In noticing that parade go by obviously at a distance but you can still see the characters.

ANDREW BOLSTEIN, SVP OF OPERATIONS, SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT: Yes.

CULVER: Not the big hug and high fives, right?

BOLSTEIN: Exactly. More of a selfie moment and take the photos. But again, it gives the guests that ability to have the emotional moment and that connection.

Every other table or so has a table card on it which asks for the guest's understanding for health and safety the table is unavailable. So basically, we're asking the guests not to sit here, sit there. And again, it creates kind of that separation.

CULVER: One of the things stressed there by Andrew and some of the other leadership is that Shanghai, and arguably China, is in a very different place than the other parts of the world, particularly where the 11 parks are that Disney owns and operates. And for that matter they feel that they can cautiously embark on this reopening. It is a bit different. It takes a little getting used to and yet at the same time, it's still that escape to find a little bit of joy in what has been a very dark period.

And that's one of the things they're trying to balance is the celebratory mood while at the same time respecting and acknowledging where the rest of world is at infighting this outbreak.

David Culver, CNN, Shanghai, Disneyland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Coming up, cell phone video showing the death of a jogger here in Georgia shocked the world. Now the U.S. Justice Department will investigate how the case was handled. [04:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Georgia's Attorney General has asked federal authorities to investigate how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled. Arbery, an African-American was shot while jogging in February. His death was filmed on cell phone video but no charges were filed for more than two months.

CNN's Martin Savidge has all the new developments. But we must warn you his report contains graphic video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Georgia attorney general has now asked for the U.S. Department of Justice to formally step in and do a thorough review of the entire case when it comes to the investigation of the death of Ahmaud Arbery.

The reason for that is obvious. It's the fact that it took over two months for local law enforcement to look into this case, and hardly anything happened. And then you have state law enforcement officials coming in and in less than two days, they have made two arrests. The question that has come up in many people's minds, is one of those under arrest is Gregory McMichael, who for a long time, worked as an investigator in the local district attorney's office.

So the question being asked by many is did local law enforcement give him some sort of favored treatment and to his son, delaying any kind of arrest, because of the work that he used to do in the D.A.'s office? Clearly, that's just one element that's going to be investigated.

Now new video that's come to light. It's not new to investigators. It's new to the public.

What it essentially shows is Ahmaud Arbery on the day died, in the community where he was killed, walking into a home that was under construction. It was captured by security cameras. We know it's Ahmaud Arbery because his family has also seen this video. And they have positively IDed him in the video. It's a short clip. He walks around for a little bit. Then he leaves and goes off at a run. He doesn't take anything.

And many of us have walked into a home that's been under construction and sort of, out of curiosity, looked around. The most significant that would be is trespassing. That's a misdemeanor. It is not any kind of serious offense that would warrant George's hot pursuit or citizen's arrest kind of a law being put into effect.

And then lastly, I will point out that there were threats that have been made online. The GBI was investigating, alleging that if there were any future demonstrations in support of Ahmaud Arbery, something bad would happen. Well, in less than 24 hours, the GBI, with the help of the FBI determined who had made those threats. They were using someone else's online identity to do it. They have now been taken into custody. And it just shows you how even now, emotions continue to run very high.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Glen County, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The mayor of Atlanta had strong words about Arbery's death on CNN. Keisha Lance Bottoms says the killing was similar to those that occurred in the south during segregation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, ATLANTA MAYOR: This was a lynching of an African-American man and I think that, you know, my heart goes out to his family. But I think, again, it's part of this bigger issue that we are having in this country. With the rhetoric that we hear coming out of the White House in so many ways I think that many who are prone to being racist are given permission to do it in an overt way that we otherwise would not see in 2020.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The mayor also said she did not believe arrests would have been made in the video of Arbery's death had not come to light. And we'll be right back.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The coronavirus has closed theaters across the United States and the blockbusters set for the summer are getting new release dates. The long-awaited sequel to "Top Gun" has been pushed back from its original June opening to December. And fans will also have to wait for the return for the "Wonder Woman" franchise which has been delayed until late summer. Many theaters shut down in mid-March are expected to stay dark until June. That's about 33 percent of the yearly box office and about $4 billion in the U.S. based on last year's totals.

And another country is being hard hit. India where movie production has closed down entirely. The pandemic has reportedly cost Bollywood more than $330 million in lost revenue. Vedika Sud shows us the blockbusters that moviegoers in India will just have to wait to see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN FIELD PRODUCER (voice-over): It has all the makings of a blockbuster. But movie goers in India will have to wait until the lockdown is lifted to see this mega action movie. "Sooryavanshi" was just days away from opening when theaters around the country, roughly 9,500 of them, all closed down because of the coronavirus. Bollywood, known worldwide for its flashy music and dance films has gone dark.

VIKRAM MALHOTRA, CEO, ABUNDANTIA ENTERTAINMENT: This is a black swan event for our industry. We have not seen anything of this scale or this intensity hit our business ever.

SUD: Almost all film production has halted. Not just in Mumbai's Bollywood but in film production centers in other languages around the country. It's an industry that normally makes about 1,200 films a year. Experts say it could at least take two years for it to get back on track.

[04:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very emotional and outside I'm very happy.

SUD: Some films releasing online like " Angrezi Medium." Which is the final film of actor Irrfan Khan, who recently died of a rare cancer.

Other films have been pushed back like the much-anticipated film "83"about India's World Cup winning cricket team. The film's director says it's disappointing but unavoidable.

KABIR KHAN, DIRECTOR, "83": Today is on stand still so then I think watching a film becomes a much lower priority mode.

SUD: Mumbai, the heart of Bollywood's film production makes up about 1/5 of the country's coronavirus cases. And while some of India's famous faces may no longer be on the set, some are still using small screens to help fight the coronavirus.

AMITABH BACHCHAN, ACTOR: So don't be scared. Don't panic. Be safe. This, too, shall pass.

SUD: A shuttering of India's film industry that will have to remain on pause until theaters reopen and cameras roll once again.

Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well more than 4,000 employees of a large New York City hospital are getting a free vacation. Hospital staff at NYC Health and Hospitals Elmhurst are getting a complementary three-night get away courtesy of Hyatt and American airlines. The gift is being given to all staff from doctors to food service teams. And they can choose destinations across the U.S. and the Caribbean. A well-deserved gift for their incredible work. We salute them all.

Thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "EARLY START" is coming up next.

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END