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New Day Sunday
Obama Slams Trump Administration's Pandemic Response; Crowds Gather As U.S. Beaches Reopen Ahead Of Holiday Weekend; At Least 48 States Partially Reopening Or Easing Restrictions By Monday; At Least 11 Firefighters Injured In Downtown L.A. Blaze; Eight Sailors From USS Theodore Roosevelt Who Previously Had Coronavirus Test Positive Again; Chinese Medical Expert Warns Of Second Wave Of COVID-19. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired May 17, 2020 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:15]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The former president with a tough condemnation of the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: More than anything this pandemic is fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The White House press secretary saying in a statement, "President Trump's unprecedented coronavirus response has saved lives."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels like a regular summer right now.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At least 48 states are partially reopened, Connecticut and Massachusetts being the last holdout.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's finally time that everyone gets out and enjoy themselves and finally have some fun.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning to you. We're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good morning to you.
PAUL: Nearly every state in the U.S. is reopened to some degree this morning.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Just Connecticut and Massachusetts are holding out on easing restrictions. Crowds are back, you see here on the Jersey shore in Ocean City, but you can see here that it appears that people are following the social distancing guidelines on the beach. A little harder to do, though, on the boardwalk.
Next door in New York, the governor wants people to be smart, be diligent, do not underestimate this virus.
PAUL: Places are opened this weekend in Los Angeles County, as well. Law enforcement was reminding people of the new rules there including, listen, beach goers they say wear masks unless you're in the water. And the states really try to handle how to stay safe under these new rules. For the second time in just a little more than a week, former President Barack Obama is criticizing the U.S. response to the pandemic, while not mentioning his successor by name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Doing what feels good, what's convenient, what's easy, that's how little kids think. Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: That's just some of the comments from the former president and now we are hearing from the current administration as well.
PAUL: Yes. We want to go straight to the White House for more with CNN's Kristen Holmes who is there. Kristen, good to see you this morning.
So former President Obama didn't mention President Trump by name. His critique of U.S. leadership, however, seems clear. What else did he say?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi and Victor.
Well, the former president had quite a bit to say. Now, these comments were made during these two virtual commencement speeches. And while he did give the traditional advice that you hear in these types of speeches, he also took aim at the current administration. And I want to note this is a rare public criticism for former President Obama.
We talked just about a week ago about those remarks he made on a private phone call where he called the response to the pandemic an utter absolute chaotic disaster. But this was public in front of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people. And he said the pandemic should be a wake-up call to young adults that change is needed. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: More than anything this pandemic is fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing. A lot of them aren't even pretending to be in charge. If the world's going to get better it's going to be up to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the former president also talked about the disproportionate effect of this virus on communities of color. Take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And let's be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn't submit to their questioning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And, of course, the former president there referring to Ahmaud Arbery. The young man who was shot and killed in Georgia.
Now, the White House is responding. Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary, putting out this statement saying, "President Trump's unprecedented coronavirus response has saved lives. His early travel restrictions and quarantines protected the American public while his paycheck protection program and direct payments to Americans got needed economic relief to our country.
Moreover, President Trump directed the greatest mobilization of the private sector since World War II to fill the stockpile left depleted by his predecessor." So I do want to note two things here. One is that the stockpile was depleted by President Obama and the Trump administration did not fill it in the three years that he was in office before this pandemic.
[06:05:04]
So just to be clear on that. On the other side of this I want to note that all of this comes after a week that President Trump spent on Twitter slamming the former president linking him to a conspiracy with unbased claims.
So while this is a formal statement from the White House we will still be watching Twitter to see if President Trump takes it upon himself to respond.
BLACKWELL: And we'll be looking for that. Kristen Holmes standing there at the White House. Thanks so much.
Coming up this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION," Jake Tapper will be with Alex Azar secretary of Health and Human Services, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. All on "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER" this morning at 9:00 eastern.
PAUL: So, let's talk about these states reopening because we're just a week away from Memorial Day weekend which is the traditional kickoff to summer. And a lot of public beaches across the country are beginning to, as you can see, let people back in. Local officials are getting a good glimpse of how well people are or are not following social distancing guidelines ahead of what's expected to be that very busy holiday weekend, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Let's check in now with Polo Sandoval. Polo, so give us an idea, people wearing masks? Is there the social distancing happening?
SANDOVAL: That's what officials want to see, Victor. And, remember, at this point you have nearly the entire country in some reopening phase.
Here in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that as more of New York enters that phase of reopening, then we can see a potential increase in COVID numbers, but ultimately, it's going to be to the actions of people and the actions that they take they will determine if we'll see more of this increase that hospitals would potentially be prepared for or if it will be an overwhelming spike.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUCK BANGLE, CO-OWNER, MANCO & MANCO PIZZA: This is pretty much a typical Saturday in Ocean City.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Walking, running, riding bikes. Droves of people hit the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey Saturday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is more people than I expected to be on the boardwalk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels like a regular summer right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SANDOVAL: The area one of the first to get the green light to reopen from Governor Phil Murphy. The Garden State set to reopen all of its beaches by Memorial Day weekend.
GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): Every metric we have followed is showing us that we can move forward.
SANDOVAL: And it's not just people in New Jersey eager to get out after weeks cooped up amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels great to be honest with you. It feels great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very exciting. I think it's finally time that everyone gets out and enjoy themselves and finally have some fun.
SANDOVAL: In Virginia, the first phase of eased restrictions now allowing restaurants to increase capacity to 50 percent. As of this morning, at least 48 states are partially reopened. Connecticut and Massachusetts being the last holdout, something that is not sitting well with protesters in Boston who gathered outside Governor Charlie Baker's home, demanding he reopen the state.
On the other side of the country, protesters in Seaside, Oregon also calling for their coastline to reopen ahead of the busy summer season. In Oklahoma, gamblers stood in line for hours waiting for this Tulsa casino to reopen. A similar scene in Arizona, where hundreds braved the desert heat outside one Phoenix area casino that just reopened its doors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad to be doing some (INAUDIBLE) grocery shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Busy, in fact, it's packed in there and there wasn't a whole lot of outside waiting of social distancing. It started out that way, but it didn't end up that way.
SANDOVAL: Despite a stay-at-home order in Washington, D.C., people packed the national mall to enjoy the warmer temperatures, including the waterfront areas of The Wharf in Georgetown. Meanwhile, in Michigan, one animal park defined a statewide stay-at-home order packed full of families.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't been wearing a mask for two months. I have been touching gas pumps. I believe it's about building our immune system. My faith is in God. I'm not worried about a virus.
SANDOVAL: In New York State, a gradual reopening continues for five regions, more densely popular ones like New York City remain under a stay-at-home order through May 28th. But one thing is returning, Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing horse and auto racing will resume June 1st but without fans.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): There will be guidelines for the actual participants, but no crowds, no fans, but for the industry, itself, for the televised viewers, that can still work.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: And keeping it here in New York this morning about 3 percent of the NYPD is out sick. That is a significant decrease from about 20 percent earlier in the pandemic, Victor and Christi. Yet another sign of improvement but as we heard from Governor Cuomo say earlier this weekend, the problem is not gone yet.
PAUL: All right. Polo Sandoval, great wrap. Thank you so much.
[06:10:00]
I want to take you to the West Coast right now and show you what's happening overnight because right now at least 11 firefighters we know are injured after responding to this scene. Multiple buildings were on fire in downtown L.A. Look at that huge plume of smoke there.
Something. Isn't it? Right now four of those firefighters are being treated in a burn intensive care unit and officials say they were injured by an explosion inside one of those buildings.
BLACKWELL: Let's go to CNN's Paul Vercammen. He is there with more. Paul, good morning to you. What happened?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, Christ, what happened absolutely harrowing, frightening for these firefighters. It came out as a mayday call. Ten firefighters down. Behind me the building that caught fire. It all began when they tried to enter this building with power saws because it was locked and will let a fire public information officer pick up the tale from there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. ERIK SCOTT, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: As our firefighters were making their entry in and finding the seed of the fire, there was a significant explosion that caused a mayday report due to multiple firefighters potentially being injured. So we quickly called for additional firefighters. This happen upgraded to what we call a major emergency category with over 230 firefighters that have arrived on scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: Where this story gets almost unfathomable is there are crews on the ground and there is crews up above. They're going to the roof to ventilate it.
Well, suddenly they start to hear this loud rumbling noise that builds in intensity. The air is pressurized. Erik Scott telling me over the phone, the PIO, that the heat starts to rise and they know something is wrong. The call goes to get out.
Firefighters begin to back down. The ladder behind me, the second of the two, a fireball explodes and firefighters go straight down the ladder through what he described as a 30-foot-tall blowtorch. After the firefighters are down on the street, they begin peeling off clothes and helmets, on the ground. They see firefighters clothing burned. They see helmeted melted.
A truck opposite the building has been charred. Seats also melted. So the firefighters suffered a range of injuries. As we said, four of them are in the burn center. Two of them suffered some severe form of ventilation inhalation. They are now on ventilators. Five others suffering various burns. They say one of these firefighters will definitely need a skin graft.
It is just shocking and amazing that they all have lived so far, but this was one dastardly fire in what's called Smoke Tokes and it trades in sort of wholesale cannabis oil. They are trying to describe this to us. Honey oil. And that is highly, highly flammable.
PAUL: Oh my goodness. All right. Paul Vercammen, thank you so much for keeping us posted there. We appreciate it. But you said that the firefighters, there are four in ICU. Do we know anything else about their condition or any of the 11 others?
VERCAMMEN: Well, as we said, so, we'll go back through this, the four in the ICU, they're in the burn unit and fortunately, there is a trauma center and a burn unit nearby and the doctor who is the chief of the L.A. fire you know medical unit is a part of that hospital. They also have two as we said who are now on ventilators for whatever toxic brew they've inhaled. Imagine what might be in there. We are trying to learn more about this Smoke and Tokes. It sounds like it could be a combination, a wholesaler in this honey oil or hash oil or cannabis oil and other ceramics and materials. And then five other firefighters had various degrees of burns. We're not so sure. But clearly, they were not as bad off as the others that had to go into the ICU. So, 11 total, Christi and Victor, that got injured in this huge massive fireball.
PAUL: Thank you, Paul. Wow.
BLACKWELL: Paul Vercammen for us there in Los Angeles watching that. Paul, thanks so much.
We are just getting started this morning. You want to stay with us because we've got an interview that you will only see here with a man who is called the Dr. Fauci of China. He's criticizing his country's initial response to COVID-19 and now he has another warning, that China could get a second wave of infections especially if there is no vaccine.
PAUL: Also, the devastating fallout from coronavirus, San Francisco sees a nearly 300 percent rise in the number of people who are living on the street now. The difficult choices that more and more cities are facing as this crisis deepens.
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[06:19:04]
BLACKWELL: Eight sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive again for COVID-19. This is according to a defense official. The sailors have previously tested positive. They were removed from the ship to self quarantine and they tested negative twice before being allowed back on.
PAUL: Now, this is in addition to five other sailors who also tested positive a second time. Right now, it's just not clear if the sailors have been reinfected or if very low levels of the virus actually stayed in their bodies.
The expert who saw China through the SARS epidemic has criticized his country's early response to the coronavirus. And he is sounding a new alarm now.
BLACKWELL: He says China could get a second wave of the infection, especially if there is not a vaccine. CNN's David Culver spoke with one of China's top medical experts for this exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is an interview that we have been working to get for months, a conversation with the Dr. Fauci of China.
[06:20:00] His name is Dr. Zhong Nanshan. And in our exclusive interview he spoke about what he believes are the concerns still on the horizon for China. Even though things here are starting to open up and may feel safer he says they are not in the clear and warns of a second wave. He also is highly critical of how things were handled early on, particularly within Wuhan.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The answer is no and --
CULVER (voice-over): In the U.S., many have turned to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, as that medical voice of reason.
In China, it is Dr. Zhong Nanshan, the well-known respiratory expert, speaking exclusively with CNN.
DR. ZHONG NANSHAN, RESPIRATORY EXPERT: I cannot compare with Fauci, who is the adviser of the president, always been standing beside the president.
CULVER (voice-over): Perhaps he does not physically stand next to President Xi Jinping but Zhong has the trust of China's central government. His advice sparks near immediate action.
Take, for example, Wuhan's unprecedented lockdown. On January 18th, five days before the city was shut down, Zhong traveled to the original epicenter of the outbreak. He questioned the local health officials.
ZHONG: In the beginning, they kept silent.
CULVER: Zhong, who gained international praise for his work on SARS 17 years ago, believed this rapidly spreading novel coronavirus was far more devastating than being portrayed by Wuhan health officials.
ZHONG: I suppose they are very reluctant to answer my question. The local authorities did not like to tell the truth at that time.
CULVER: Publicly, Wuhan health officials as late as January 19th labeled the virus as preventable and controllable. And later the city's mayor even acknowledged not releasing information in a timely fashion.
Zhong pressed harder for the actual numbers and when he got them he headed to Beijing on January 20th. He briefed the central government. And within hours, he was addressing the nation in this live interview on state run CCTV.
Zhong revealed that human to human transmission was likely and, as proof of that, he said the virus had already infected multiple medical personnel.
ZHONG: It's very dangerous showing this kind of disease. It's very contagious. So I suppose at that time the central government listened to our comment, objection and advice. CULVER: Within three days, Wuhan went into a harsh lockdown that lasted 76 days. Yet even with China's central government now taking the lead, there is still skepticism over the official numbers. Zhong believes it is partly political and says the Chinese government would not benefit from underreporting.
ZHONG: The government had got a lesson from the outbreak of SARS 17 years ago, they announced one (INAUDIBLE), that all the cities, all the government department should report the true number of diseases. So if you do not do that, you will be punished.
CULVER (on camera): What do you believe to be the origin of this virus, in particular?
ZHONG: I think the origin is a very difficult to draw any conclusion at the moment. But I believe, this kind of disease has originated from animals.
CULVER (voice-over): U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said they have evidence that it leaked from a lab, namely, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, an origin theory many international medical experts and even U.S. intelligence say is highly unlikely.
(on camera): Now it seems more and more medical experts do not believe that it originated there. Do you feel that with certainty?
ZHONG: I don't think so. It took up two weeks to make a very close and deep checkup that proved nothing about that. No. I don't think so.
CULVER (voice-over): Zhong's focus now is on preparing China for a second wave of the outbreak. Over the past few weeks, new clusters of cases have surfaced in several cities, including Wuhan.
ZHONG: We are facing a big challenge. It is not better than the foreign countries, I think, at the moment.
CULVER: Zhong, like Dr. Fauci, has achieved a celebrity status here in China. His scientific expertise aside, many are impressed with Zhong's physical drive.
(on camera): What is it that you have been doing during this period to stay mentally sane, physically fit? How does Dr. Zhong conduct his days?
ZHONG: I still keep exercising and sports, so all the things. I keep an open mind and eat not too much every time. So that's why I seems to be still can do something in my age of 84.
CULVER: Dr. Zhong also spoke about the collaboration that he says is ongoing with his medical counterparts in the United States, particularly with Harvard University.
He suggests that, despite things getting highly politicized and tensions between the U.S. and China heightened, the conversations and the collaboration is still underway, at least amongst certain medical professionals -- David Culver, CNN, Hainan Island, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[06:25:16]
PAUL: All right. So this is a story that you just have to hear regarding the coronavirus. That's a completely different take than something you probably ever think. The dogs that you see here could actually help save lives in this virus. Trials are set to begin in London to decipher whether dogs can sniff out the coronavirus in people even before symptoms appear.
BLACKWELL: Yes, so the trials include six dogs dubbed the super six. Some labs and cocker spaniels. According to the researchers, respiratory diseases change body odor. So there has already been some success in training dogs to detect malaria and cancer and Parkinson's disease so if it also smells or scent COVID-19, of course, that would be pretty helpful. We'll follow this one, of course.
PAUL: Yes.
BLACKWELL: So, turning to the economic element of this ongoing story. Millions of Americans out of a job and a lot of people are wondering where the next meal is coming from. Up next, why food banks are so important to communities right now and what cities are doing to fight hunger and homelessness.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:00]
BLACKWELL: 6:30 on the east coast now. Food giveaways are happening across the country to help struggling families. Farmers in Tacoma, Washington are handing out 200,000 pounds of potatoes. The growers with the Washington State Potato Commission, they worked with the City of Tacoma emergency food network and local volunteers to get food to families.
PAUL: And take a look at what's happening in North Texas. Thousands of people, look at that line, are there for a food bank giveaway. Each family received a box that was filled with a week's worth of food and that would feed a family of three for a week.
There is a new projection that says if this pandemic continues to drive up unemployment at the current rates we have been seeing, homelessness is going to increase by 40 to 45 percent by the end of the year. This is according to a professor of economics at Columbia University.
BLACKWELL: The situation is forcing cities across the country to make some pretty tough decisions.
Here is CNN's Dan Simon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the nation battles one crisis, another is getting worse. This is San Francisco, directly across the street from city hall, a large homeless encampment. And nearby at the Troubled Tenderloin, a growing despair on these impoverished streets. City officials say there has been nearly a 300 percent rise in the amount of tents since January. The city shelters had to be thinned out to prevent the spread of the virus, its biggest shelter had more than a hundred people test positive.
KELLEY CUTLER, COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS: The shelter, it's a petri dish. When people are so close together when the beds are like three feet apart, it's not safe.
SIMON: In Los Angeles, a series of outbreaks on Skid Row has led to a frantic effort to test as many homeless people as possible. At least 234 testing positive, officials say.
And in New York, hundreds of homeless have been removed from the subways for nightly cleaning.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): You have homeless people on trains, it's not even safe for the homeless people to be on trains, no face masks.
SIMON: Homeless advocates say the coronavirus pandemic is forcing cities to make difficult choices. In San Francisco, following CDC guidance that encampments should not be cleared. The city is allowing them to sprout but trying to make them safer. That big encampment called a safe sleeping village with the tent spread out behind a chain-linked fence to allow for social distancing. And a city like New York and L.A. has secured hotel rooms for the homeless, a thousand of them, but well below its original goal of 7,000.
CUTLER: Things right now are kind of a roller coaster but a roller coaster on fire.
SIMON: As somebody who's working in this industry for a long time, I mean, what are things like for you?
JEFF KOSITSKY, MANAGER, HEALTHY STREETS OPERATION CENTER: It's challenging. It's heart breaking to see so many people suffering on the streets. It's heart breaking to see many years of work feel like it's gone backwards.
SIMON: Jeff Kositsky is tasked with managing the city's COVID-19 response for the more than 5,000 homeless who sleep on San Francisco streets.
KOSITSKY: We are providing, we've setup many new pit stops in the Tenderloin. We've added handwashing stations.
SIMON: But residents and business owners more frustrated than ever with the piles of drug needles and human waste. Hastings Law School is among the plaintiffs that filed a federal lawsuit against the city demanding it do more to clean up the streets, calling the Tenderloin a horse show.
MIKE ABUYAGHI, BUSINESS OWNER: It's unsafe. It's unsanitary. And whatever is going on here, it's inhumane.
SIMON: Mike Abuyaghi showed us the back of his auto repair shop. Homeless are occupying the alley and tapping into city power.
ABUYAGHI: It's like you come to work you want to focus on what you are here for and then you have all this craziness going on.
SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: CNN now has a text message from a Georgia police officer. This was sent months before the shooting death of an unarmed black jogger. Well, next, what that officer said about one of the men now charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:00]
BLACKWELL: A text message that CNN now has shows that months before the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbrey, a Georgia police officer told a homeowner to call one of the now suspects in case he needed some help.
Now, surveillance video shows Arbrey walking through a home, this was under construction, this was minutes before his death.
PAUL: An attorney for the homeowner says people had entered the construction site several times in the past years, nothing was taken. But last year, the home owner did call police to tell them about the trespassing. And an officer replied via text to that home owner saying Gregory McMichael was his neighbor and could be contacted, quote, day or night if there was trouble.
And McMichael and his son, Travis, are charged with aggravated assault and felony murder. And the home owner's attorney says her client never met McMichael prior to the shooting.
Two prosecutors involved in the case are under investigation now by state and federal authorities. Many are calling though for them to resign altogether. Here is CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Several hundred protesters made the roughly 300-mile trek from Atlanta to Brunswick, Georgia, demanding for the resignations of the first two district attorneys that handled the Ahmaud Arbery case. Remember, Arbery died on February 23rd.
And on that very same day, authorities had in their hands the graphic video that depicted the way in which he died. Yet, for two months, the case was virtually stagnant, there were no arrests and it wasn't until the video leaked out is made public and the public was horrified by what they saw that things began to change.
That's when you saw the Georgia Bureau of Investigation take over the case, and in less than two days, you saw two arrests, Travis and Gregory McMichael.
Many believe that the reason there was no action on that case for two months was the fact that Gregory McMichael is former law enforcement and that the district attorneys gave him favored treatment. At least that's what a lot of people suspect who are protesting today. They want the DAs to step down and an investigation, actually two of them, is already under way. One on the state level and the other on the federal level, looking into whether the cases were, in fact, mishandled.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Glenn County, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Thank you, Martin.
When we come back, Tropical Storm Arthur has just formed off the coast of Florida. We're going to tell you where this one is headed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:45:00]
PAUL: So, listen, the official start of hurricane season is a couple weeks away, June 1st. However, there is already a tropical storm that has been named off the coast of Florida right now.
BLACKWELL: Let's go to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. She is tracking this storm.
So, Allison, you think about all the cities and towns and the states along the east coast who are already struggling with response to COVID-19, who needs to now worry about Arthur?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Basically, I would say, anyone from Jacksonville, Florida all the way up to the Carolina Coast. Those are going to be the areas really in the short term that are going to see the impacts from this particular storm, some more than others.
Here is why that track of that storm, winds right now at 40 miles per hour as it continues to slide to the north-northeast at just about nine miles per hour. It's going to continue along that track until it gets to about the Carolinas. Then we expect it to veer off to the east.
But it is likely to bring surf, some rip currents and even very heavy rain to all of those places along that coast. The focus for places like Northern Florida and Georgia will be the rip currents and high surf. But for areas of North Carolina, this is where you could end up picking up two, even four inches of rain just out of this particular storm.
Now, the hurricane hunters are out. They're investigating the storm further to see if we can see if it's intensifying, is it changing course, things like that. They will continue to to that throughout the day. Here is where the storm is expected to go over the next several days. Again, you can see it sliding up the coast. The other thing too is you'll notice more rain starting come from a frontal system across the Central U.S. That's also going to slide east.
Here is the tricky part. Because of that front, it could do a couple of different things. It could help push that storm well out to sea but also notice that high pressure system off to the top. That's actually pushing the opposite direction.
So when you look at the models, they're having a hard time trying to figure out exactly where this is going. Some of the models actually want to bring back inland towards D.C. and pushing it towards West Virginia. Whereas a majority of the models still want to push it out to sea.
The question becomes Monday, that's going to be the point in time in which it starts to split. So this is something we have to keep a close eye on over the next couple of days.
But, yes, Victor and Christi, as you both notice, this is the sixth year in a row where we've had a named storm before June 1st, which is officially the start to hurricane season.
BLACKWELL: So, do we need to start or -- I don't know. When I say, we, I don't have any purview over this. But does someone need to consider changing the start of the hurricane season?
CHINCHAR: I think you bring up a very valid point. And a lot of people have noticed this. Yes, this does appear to be the trend. But keep in mind, it's only six years. We've been keeping records since the 1950s. It's something people are going to keep a very close eye over the next five or even ten years from now.
But also, we are monitoring the backend of the season too, the end of November and December, when there has actually been a more distinct trend of the season lasting longer as well. So it's not just the front end, but it also could be the backend where the season, as a whole, is becoming much longer than we've originally always thought the season to be.
BLACKWELL: Yes. It's similar to what we've seen in the fire season as well, that those traditional boundaries, well, they don't mean as much as they used to. Allison Chinchar, thanks, so much.
PAUL: Thanks, Allison.
So for the second time in a week, President Trump is facing criticism from the leader he replaced, former President Barack Obama. At the top of the hour, you're going to hear the former president's scathing verdict on the pandemic response.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:50:00] PAUL: Now, I hate giving news like this to you. It's so sad to tell you this morning that Phyllis George has died, the former Ms. America, first lady of Kentucky, broadcasting pioneer, but just 70-years-old. Richard Roth has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The road, a trailblazer travels can have some pretty unlikely beginnings.
PHYLLIS GEORGE, FORMER MS. AMERICA: I am from Denton, Texas. I've gone on to a lot of things.
ROTH: No doubt about that, she describes herself as a small town Christian girl, but Phyllis George headed out to the bright lights.
GEORGE: Miss America was a huge turning point in my life.
ROTH: At the age of 21, George was a finalist in the prestigious Ms. America Pageant after failing once before to be accepted in the contest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first runner-up is Ms. Carolina.
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Ms. America, Ms. Texas.
ROTH: Phyllis George, the reluctant contestant, was the winner.
GEORGE: For a small town girl like me, it was a great opportunity to launch my career.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phyllis George, Miss Texas.
ROTH: Opportunities poured in for this vivacious, glamorous pageant winner.
George traveled to Vietnam and wherever U.S. soldiers were deployed around the world as part of USO Tours.
Anyone that didn't know her name would soon learn it.
GEORGE: The season's second Sunday coming right at you on the NFL Today.
ROTH: A relative broadcast novice, Phyllis George became the first woman co-host of an NFL pre-game show. She was a part of the CBS pre- game NFL show with some heavyweight colleagues.
GEORGE: I knew I had a big responsibility for women. And when are you a pioneer or a trailblazer, you have to like just think as positively as you can.
ROTH: Sports stars not used to women reporters eventually opened up to a different approach for the CBS program. GEORGE: You have an all American image, a straight kind of guy. Why is this? And how do you handle it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone compares it to Joe Namath. He's having all the fun. I enjoy sex as much as Joe Namath. Only I do it with one girl.
ROTH: George knew the ceiling she was breaking.
GEORGE: Barbara Walters was the pioneer in news broadcasting and I became the pioneer in sports.
ROTH: Host Brent Musburger tweeted after George's passing, Phyllis didn't receive nearly enough credit for opening the sports broadcasting door to the dozens of talented women who took her lead and soared.
George was briefly married to film producer Robert Evans. A year later, she married a Kentucky businessman John Brown, the ceremony hosted by the Clintons. Just days later, Brown decided to run for governor. He called Phyllis George his greatest asset in the campaign and in office after winning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me welcome Phyllis George.
ROTH: Now, the first lady of Kentucky, George was a frequent guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
GEORGE: It's interrelated. And showbiz is very much like politics and vice-versa, because you want the public to like you. You are trying to do and say the right things.
ROTH: The governor and first lady had two children, a son, Lincoln, and a daughter, Pamela. Lincoln became an entrepreneur, Pamela is a CNN Senior White House Correspondent.
George turned from sports to news, co-hosting the CBS this morning program. George's post daily T.V. life was wide-ranging, a businesswoman and even a singer on the Muppets. She wrote a book offering famous people giving advice on what you can't give up. But she even had a small part, including a back seat wild ride behind Ben Stiller in the movie, Meet the Parents.
GEORGE: I auditioned for the role, and I got it. And it was the most fun that I've ever had.
ROTH: The ultimate trailblazer, Phyllis George, once wrote, saying yes to yourself opens up opportunities that can take you anywhere.
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BLACKWELL: And, of course, our condolences to our colleague, Senior White House Reporter Pamela Brown and her family. Pamela shared this statement on the passing of her mother.
For many, mom was known by her incredible accomplishments as the pioneer and female sportscaster, 50th Ms. America and first lady, but this was all before we were born, and never how we viewed mom. To us, she was the most incredible mother we could ever ask for and it is all of the defining qualities the public never saw.
PAUL: Especially against the winds of adversity that symbolized how extraordinary she is more than anything else. The beauty so many recognized on the outside was a mere fraction of her internal beauty only to be outdone by an unwavering spirit that allowed her to persevere against all the odds.
So to Pam, we'd just let you know that we love you and we are praying for you and your family and we wish you the very best. You are not alone.
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