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New Day Sunday
More Than 4 Million Cases Have Been Recorded Worldwide; Fauci Starting a "Modified Quarantine" After Virus Exposure; Teen, 2 Children Die in NY of Possible COVID-Linked Illness; Single Parents Struggle During Economic Crisis. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired May 17, 2020 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: We'll take a look at how police across the country are enforcing restrictions.
The next hour of your NEW DAY starts now.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, will be doing what's described as a modified quarantine for two weeks.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: These children happen to have the COVID antibodies or be positive for COVID, but those were not the symptoms they showed when they came into the hospital system.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to congratulate Dana White and the UFC. They're going to have a big match. We love it. We think it's important. Get the sports leagues back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We want to wish you a good morning, wherever you happen to be today around the world.
And as you wake up, we want to give you the very latest. The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 4 million as of this morning. More than 279,000 people have died. That's almost a third of those infected in the U.S.
BLACKWELL: More problems for the White House, with the virus inside the administration. FDA commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield, they're now under a two-week quarantine. The top infectious disease director Anthony Fauci is starting what he calls a modified quarantine. All of them may have come in contact with one of the White House staffers who tested positive.
PAUL: New this morning, the city of Wuhan, yes, the original epicenter of the coronavirus crisis, is now reporting its first new case in more than a month. BLACKWELL: And this is coming out of New York. We talked a bit about
it going into the weekend, but we're getting more now about a teenager and two children under 8 years old have been killed by an inflammatory illness. State health officials think this may be linked to COVID-19.
PAUL: We want to begin this morning at the White House, though. CNN's Kristen Holmes is following the very latest from there.
So, Kristen, talk to us about Dr. Fauci saying that he's going to be under a modified quarantine. What does that look like?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi and Victor. Fauci described this to CNN's Jake Tapper as more of a precautionary measure, essentially saying that he had not been in proximity to the person who tested positive while they were presumed positive, but just in case would be doing this modified quarantine, meaning he would be teleworking most of the time, staying at home, and wearing a mask.
And this is clearly not the narrative that the White House wants to have right now. Remember just last week, President Trump broke his self-isolation and went to Arizona. That trip was meant to really signal that the country was ready to reopen. We've seen states slowly working to reopen their different businesses. We know people are going back to work. That's what the White House wanted to be talking about.
And now the narrative is completely different. It is people are scared, and it's in the place where it's essentially the safest place in the country, arguably. People are still getting sick here. What does that say?
And what does it say if three of the top doctors on the front line fighting this virus are now quarantining themselves for 14 days? Why? Because they came into contact with someone who tested positive. Where? Here at the White House. So, it's clearly here a shift in narrative, what we are talking about.
Will anything actually change? That's the big question now. Well, on Friday, after the vice president's press secretary tested positive, a memo went out to all staffers, essentially said that they were taking stronger measures to protect them, to prevent the spread of coronavirus. That meant heightened cleaning in high touch point places. It also meant at some points they would be maintaining maximum staff teleworking.
One thing that wasn't mentioned, though, was masks. I want to show you a picture here from yesterday. President Trump meeting with some of his national security advisers as well as military advisers. No one here, except for one Secret Service person in the back, is wearing a mask.
They're all sitting around the table. We asked the White House, why is it that even after you have these cases of people so close to the president testing positive, that no one's wearing a mask? They said, well, everyone was tested every day. We know that that is true. The president and the vice president, part
of these precautionary measures after President Trump's valet tested positive, was to test them every day, to test everyone who's in close contact with them every day. But again, the vice president's press secretary was being tested every single day and still came back positive on Friday, causing a majority of his staff or a huge portion of his staff to actually have to leave a trip, deplane because of that.
So again, sending mixed messages here as they are pushing for the economy to reopen, but yet having this huge problem here back at the White House.
BLACKWELL: Yeah, many of the recommendations for the rest of the country not being observed there in the White House.
[07:05:02] Kristen Holmes for us there. Thanks so much.
PAUL: Thanks, Kristen.
So, as unemployment in the U.S. is reaching historic highs, we're watching President Trump announced on Twitter last night, the U.S. is going to begin purchasing $3 billion worth of dairy, meat, and produce from farmers. Those products are expected to go to food banks and kitchens throughout the country.
BLACKWELL: Since the start of the pandemic, farmers have seen a drop in demand, and that leaves them with excess product.
Listen there to Rob Larew. He's president of the National Farmers Union.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB LAREW, NATIONAL FARMRES UNION PRESIDENT: We're certainly encouraged. There's a lot of attention being given right now to not only get the bottle necks in the system flowing but also to buy up product where possible so that those who are hungry right now and needing food can certainly get it. Those issues are going to be gone. We're certainly going to have plenty of food. It's really the conundrum of making sure we connect the food to those that need it right now.
In terms of assistance, though, this is going to take a herculean effort to get farmers the help that they need and keep them on the farms. We have a lot of pressure, and it's going to take a lot of help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: You want to stay with CNN all morning. Coming up at 9:00 Eastern on "STATE OF THE UNION," Jake Tapper has White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Dr. Leonard Schleifer. Again, that's all coming up on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper. PAUL: There's an urgent push right now to learn more about this
inflammatory illness that's appearing in children, and it may be linked to COVID-19.
BLACKWELL: So, we now know a teenager and two children under 8 years old in New York have died.
CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro is following this story. He is in New York.
Tell us what the state officials there, also the CDC, are learning and what they're doing to try to get some details about any connection to COVID-19.
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning.
Yeah, there are two important things to know about this. The first one is, health officials in New York are now saying that it's possible that COVID-19 could affect people much younger than we've usually talked about when it comes to this disease. The second thing to know about that is that one of the major hospitals here in the city who has dealt with those cases says that's a very, very rare instance. However, a scary one, and a possibility.
So, the governor said yesterday that this inflammatory disease that has tragically killed three young people, manifests itself a little bit differently than COVID. It's something that he's telling parents to be aware of.
Also, he is working with the CDC now to use New York hospitals or create national guidelines for other people across the country to look out for this. But in his press conference, he said you know, the real thing here is just the level of angst that this adds to an already stressful situation here in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: This is the last thing that we need at this time with all that's going on, with all the anxiety we have. Now, for parents to have to worry about whether or not their youngster was infected, and again, symptoms that don't even seem like the symptoms we associate with COVID-19. So, we still have a lot to learn about this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: So, as I said, the CDC and the New York hospital system are already working together to develop guidelines about this, but the main thing that the governor's office says and the other health officials have said here is, look, this is why we're social distancing. This is why we're trying to quarantine, because this disease can affect a far broader population than maybe we originally thought.
PAUL: And it's interesting coming right now, because, Evan, I know that there's some positive news to some degree to the numbers that are coming out of New York, but that also doesn't negate some of these vulnerable communities that we see still struggling. What do we know is being done?
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: That's right. Yesterday's press conference from the governor was sort of a mixed bag. In the sense, you have lower intubations, lower hospitalizations, lower cases, but ten more deaths than we had seen the day before. You know, it's a frustrating figure and one that the governor said was tragic.
The other side of it is we're learning more about the disease and how it's affecting the city, and we're finding out that it's affecting lower-income and minority communities, and the governor refocusing efforts to get PPE and testing into those communities to try and alleviate a problem that we've seen with coronavirus across the entire country.
PAUL: All right. Evan McMorris-Santoro, thank you so much. We so appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: The FDA is granting its first emergency use authorization for coronavirus antigen test. It's a nasal swab test. It will be allowed in some authorized laboratories, some testing locations.
[07:10:04]
It's often used for flu and strep throat checks.
Now, here's why this is different, because an antigen test looks for pieces of the virus. It's different from the more common genetics- based tests that require more chemicals, and those chemicals are harder to get in this pandemic. The FDA says the test can provide results in minutes, but there is a higher chance of false negatives.
PAUL: Listen, the reality of this virus is that it can be deadly. We see that, obviously, in the numbers, right there on the side of your screen. No one knows this better than the doctors and the nurses who are fighting this.
One of those doctors is anesthesiologist Dr. Ronit Sternberg. She says her main job is to intubate people and here's what she wrote in "New York Magazine": I'm thinking to myself, am I the last face these patients have seen? It makes me really sad and I feel sorry that it's me. I find myself asking God to forgive me.
So, Dr. Ronit Sternberg is with us now this morning.
First of all, Dr. Sternberg, thank you so much for the work that you do.
(CROSSTALK)
PAUL: I hope you know how much we support you and we're so grateful for what you're doing. And I know these families are grateful as well. Talk to us about -- you were so beautifully candid and vulnerable in this interview with "New York Magazine". You wrote something else that really struck me. You mentioned that it seems almost like sci-fi because you double-gloved and you're gowned and you're running around, and you almost don't feel human at times. And I want to read something you wrote. You say: I always try to make
sure I know my patients' names. And even when I intubate them, I say to myself, thank you for letting me be part of this because everyone I learn every -- because everyone a lesson from and they teach me a lot about myself.
I love how you find the gift in what you're doing, because I know how hard it is for you. What have you learned about yourself through this?
DR. RONIT STERNBERG, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Mostly, I feel that I'm grateful to be part of this team, given that this is a very difficult time. I'm a part of the team that's helping these patients get back to their families and get back with their life and get back to their work.
When I have a patient in front of me that is going for surgery or I'm about to intubate, I look at them as a whole person, a person who comes into this hospital at a difficult time, but they also have a story. And part of being a physician is making it personal, because you actually become a part of this person's life. And I think of that when I'm working with a patient. Each one of them teaches something, teaches me something about myself.
And I try to leave something of myself with the patient. Maybe I tell them a joke, they find it funny. Maybe they actually remember me after they wake up. But they give me something that I learn more about myself.
And even if it's just a part of medicine or about an intubation or things that I could have done differently, and I find that gift very special, and I hope that when they leave the hospital and they go home, to be part of their treatment in recovery I think is something totally amazing.
PAUL: You leave a part of yourself in that room, you said. And you mentioned in this article a woman with stunning blue eyes. And you said, it was something that you noticed on one of your worst nights there in the hospital. What happened?
STERNBERG: So, basically, this article is a summary of pretty much that awful, awful night. I came into the emergency room. They had paged that they needed some help with airways. And I just walked into the space and I had never seen so many patients on stretchers in every possible corner.
And I was intubating another patient next to this woman who was really struggling with her breathing, and I did say to myself, I know she is going to be next. And I was cleaning my glide scope between the intubation and they called me to intubate this woman. And at the time, she had went into cardiac arrest and they were doing chest compressions.
And as I'm getting ready to secure her airway or place the tube for ventilation, I look down, and she's looking up at me, and I'm a believer that the eyes are the soul. And she looked at me with these absolutely gorgeous blue eyes. And I was absolutely taken aback. I mean, I was focusing on what I'm doing, but I'm looking at her and
I'm like, she's looking into me and I felt that she should be with her family. They are the ones that should be there next.
[07:15:03]
I wanted her to know that I was doing my absolute best and so were the people around me -- an amazing team -- that we were doing our absolute best to help her get well, that she could actually be with her family, hopefully.
PAUL: You are doing so, so -- there are so many moments you're doing important work that nobody else can do. And I know that you probably don't even understand that yet in this moment. It might be something that you look back on. But when we do look back on this moment in time, this season, what do you hope will be the story at the top of the stack?
STERNBERG: I think when we look back at this, the way it's written in history in the archives, I think that it should be a testament of human spirit and what we've done to get something that we've worked together to get through something like this. Now that things have calmed down and ICUs are slowly being taken down and converted back, I think to myself, this is an amazing feat that we as human beings and everyone who was involved has accomplished.
And I think, like I said, it's a testament to the human spirit and all that we can do, as long as we don't give up our dreams and our hope and our faith that things can get better. And that's how I hope that we all remember this.
PAUL: And the lessons that we learn through all of it and how it changes us.
STERNBERG: That's right.
PAUL: Hopefully to even be more human, because we understand the vulnerabilities of that.
Dr. Ronit Sternberg, again, thank you so much for what you do. Thank you for sharing so beautifully with us and with "New York" magazine. I encourage everybody to read it. Take good care of yourself.
STERNBERG: Thank you so much. Thank you again. I appreciate it. Uh- huh.
PAUL: Thank you.
It's amazing.
So, this Mother's Day, millions of Americans are out of work, and they're struggling to provide for their families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to fail at not being able to take care of myself and my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Now, listen, the challenge is even harder if you're single. Coming up, we hear from some of these single moms who are trying to make ends meet during an unprecedented time.
BLACKWELL: And we remember the legend, Little Richard. He died yesterday. He was 87 years old.
Rocker Stevie Van Zandt tweeted: Rest in peace, Little Richard, the man who invented rock 'n roll. Elvis popularized it. Chuck Berry was the storyteller. Richard was the architect.
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[07:21:55]
PAUL: So, new this morning, we want to tell you about the city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak. It just reported its first new case since April 3rd. This is according to the Wuhan health commission.
BLACKWELL: Now, the patient is in critical condition. This man's wife also tested positive but was reported as asymptomatic. They live in a neighborhood where there were a total of 20 confirmed cases.
PAUL: The cause of the new infection is characterized as, quote, past community infection. China reopened Wuhan's borders after a 76-day lockdown on April 8th.
So, I know this is a number hard to grasp. More than 20 million Americans lost their job in April. It's hard to grasp because the numbers are overwhelming, buts it's important to point out, they're numbers. They're significant of real people behind that number. These are people who are really feeling the weight of this crisis from an economic standpoint.
BLACKWELL: Yes, and it's magnified if they are one of the bread- winners for their family, even more so if they are the only bread- winner.
We've got this story from Vanessa Yurkevich of some single parents who are feeling the strain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): More than 30 million Americans are struggling right now to keep their families afloat. Single parents struggle along.
CHANDI BOZEMAN, SINGLE PARENT: I don't want to fail at not being able to take care of myself and my son.
YURKEVICH: A quarter of U.S. children live with a single parent, more than three times the global average. Chandi Bozeman is one of those parents. She filed for unemployment for the first time after closing her salon in Dayton, Ohio in March. She was denied. Even as a teen mom, Bozeman said she never asked for help.
C. BOZEMAN: I've never filed for unemployment. And the minute that I do, the minute that I need the help, it's not there for me.
YURKEVICH: Katrina Harvey knows what it's like to make tough choices. When she was homeless in 2015, she sent her then-11- year-old son Carson to live with relatives.
KATRINA HARVEY, SINGLE PARENT: It was absolutely the hardest thing I've ever had to go through.
YURKEVICH: But in January, after years of saving, Harvey rented a new apartment in Orlando.
HARVEY: I can finally start putting money away and get ahead and, you know, this happened.
YURKEVICH: Harvey was furloughed from her restaurant job in March, and filed for unemployment. She received her first check last month. The money helps, but the fear of returning to her past never goes away.
HARVEY: I didn't want it to affect my son, you know? Because he went through all of those same struggles I did, you know? And so for him to be put back in a place where he feels uncertain, you know, then that can be really hard for him to deal with.
YURKEVICH: In Texas, Kim Willis is running a full household. She's taken in her twin daughters, back from college, and her 79-year-old mother who suffers from early dementia.
YURKEVICH (on camera): Is that tough?
[07:25:01]
KIM WILLIS, SINGLE PARENT: It is tough. But I'm the daughter for the job.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): But she was furloughed from her hotel job in March. It took 300 calls to unemployment, day and night, to get approved. Willis got her first check on April 17th.
WILLIS: I've been carrying the weight of being a single parent with my family. And so my logic was, OK, well, it looks like the government is the backbone to this family. So I need to get through.
YURKEVICH: Living quarters are also tight at the Bozemans. Chandi and Jamel are sharing a 1-bedroom, taking turns sleeping on the couch.
JAMEL BOZEMAN, CHANDI BOZEMAN'S SON: As long as my mother's OK and she's operating fine, I can adapt to anything. I'll sleep on the floor if I've got to.
YURKEVICH: Jamel also applied to a grocery job to try to help his mom, but Chandi doesn't want him to take on that responsibility.
C. BOZEMAN: I'm not allowing him to work because I don't want my son subjected to the virus. He wants to help take care of me, and I won't allow him because it's my duty as his parent to protect him.
YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Such an important reminder for so many people to remember. You never know what somebody's going through, and that's why we need to show some kindness and support now more than ever.
So we're living through this pandemic right now, of course. A lot of us are wondering, I think most of us are wondering, what happens when it's over?
BLACKWELL: Yes. Can we get back to normal? And maybe a better question, will we want to?
Here's CNN's Fareed Zakaria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Thanks, Victor. Thanks, Christi. Good to see you.
So, the new special is coming up at 10:00 Eastern and Pacific this morning. It's called "The Post COVID-19 World."
And what we've tried to do is step back and say to ourselves, OK, everyone's talking about the news of the minute, the news of the second, the tweet of the moment. What is really going to happen a few months from now, a few years from now? What is the shape of the new economy? What is the shape of the new political order? What is the shape of our society, our personal world being?
We have an amazing cast of characters. Tony Blair on politics and geopolitics. Larry Summers on the economy. Eric Schmidt on technology. Ariana Huffington on what this is going to be like for you personally.
And they have some surprising and thoughtful ways of kind of navigating this crisis and trying to shed some light. Some of it is tough. Some of it is quite optimistic.
You know the famous saying that the crisis is also an opportunity? A number of people are trying to look at this crisis and see what's the great opportunity?
Anyway, it's -- I've been thrilled by how it's come together, and I hope you'll watch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Yes, we certainly will. It's going to be a fascinating conversation, Fareed. Thanks so much. We know it will not be the same after this is over.
"The Post COVID-19 World," a "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" special, airs this morning at 10:00 Eastern.
PAUL: So, as we talk about reopening, and as states do so, police are hoping to make sure that it's done safely. The numbers, however, suggest that some enforcements are not enforcing distancing guidelines on an equal basis. We'll tell you what we've learned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:31:48]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of states opening this weekend, just a week away from Memorial Day, the traditional kickoff of the summer, as you know.
And a lot of beaches across the country, they're reopening, too.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Local officials are getting a look at how well people are following or are not following social distancing guidelines, ahead of what's expected to be that very busy holiday weekend next weekend.
Here's CNN's Polo Sandoval.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUCK BANGLE, CO-OWNER, MANCO & MANCO PIZZA: This is pretty much a typical Saturday in Ocean City.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (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 in boardwalk. It feels like regular summer.
SANDOVAL: The area, one of the first to get the red light to reopen from Governor Phil Murphy, Garden State set to reopen all of its beaches by Memorial Day weekend.
GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D), NEW JERSEY: Every metric we sponsor 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 enjoys themselves and finally have some fun.
SANDOVAL: In Virginia, the first phase of eased restrictions now allowing restaurants to increase capacity at 50 percent. This morning, at least 48 states are partially reopened, Connecticut and Massachusetts being the last holdouts, 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 into 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 open. A similar scene in Arizona, where hundreds braved the desert heat outside one Phoenix area casino that just reopened its doors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glad to be doing some grocery shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Busy, in fact, it's packed in there. And it wasn't a whole lot of outside rating 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 defying 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 populated ones like New York City remain under a stay-at-home order for May 28th. But one thing is returning, Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing horse and auto racing will resume first but without fans.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: 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: About a thousand uniform members of the NYPD are out sick.
[07:35:03]
That's about 3 percent of the force. But compare that to nearly 20 percent earlier in the pandemic, Christi. So that certainly is at least a sign of improvement.
As we heard from Governor Andrew Cuomo say, at the start of the weekend, is the problem is not gone, it's simply under control of some parts of the state but ultimately it's going to be up to people and the actions that they take to try to keep it that way.
BLACKWELL: All right, Polo Sandoval for us there in New York -- Polo, thanks so much. And we're talking about the potential impact of the reopening, let's
talk about Texas, because the state is seeing a surge this weekend, reporting yesterday, 1,801 new COVID-19 cases.
PAUL: Wow.
And, listen, I know that you have been to the grocery store. We all have spent some time there through this. As have the employees. So, you see them work, tirelessly, I know to keep store she was stocked during this pandemic.
Let's talk about Kroger. They're one of the largest supermarket chains in the country. It is ending its so-called hero pay for employees this weekend. So rather than that, $2 an hour extra they were getting. Those workers will receive a one-time bonus.
The union representing Kroger workers is condemning the decision.
So our next guest represents is 1.3 million people in the retail, meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing industries. We've got Marc Perrone. He's the president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union with us.
Mr. Perrone, thank you for taking time to talk with us. We appreciate it.
I know that you have called this pullback of emergency or hero pay unconscionable. As we understand it, this one of time pay will be $400 for full-time workers, $200 for part-time workers. Is that acceptable to you?
MARC PERRONE, PRESIDENT, UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, (UFCW): Well, it's not acceptable for the following reason. When you were getting $2 an hour, the amount of hours that people were working, it ended up being more money than that and I think Kroger has struggled in ways, initially they had a $300 bonus.
And then, you know, the social media sort of condemned them for that when everybody else was at $2 an hour. And then they chased it and they termed it hero pay. I think they did that as -- to get them kind of out of that social media box that they were in. And now they've gone to this because I think they really want to cut back on it altogether.
And I -- I believe that as long as people are required to do social distancing, people are required to wear masks or and most especially since there's no vaccine, we still have a pandemic that we're trying to deal with and these workers are dealing with.
And especially in a time where bonuses for management personnel are going up and these workers are having to take less, I think it's a problem.
PAUL: Bonuses are going up for Kroger executives, specifically?
PERRONE: For Kroger executives, yes, ma'am.
PAUL: So, and just so you know --
(CROSSTALK)
PERRONE: As well as shareholders. As well as the shareholders.
PAUL: OK, OK, I want to be a part of the letter that you sent out to grocery store owners. You said if you truly believe that the threat of COVID-19 has passed for your workers, then you should be willing to admit this publicly. Until that day comes, you have a responsibility to provide your workers with essential protections and benefits, including so-called hero appreciation hazard pay until this terrible threat has passed.
Have you ever received a response from Kroger?
PERRONE: I have not received a response from Kroger. That letter went out early Friday afternoon. Kroger then announced that they were going to go to the bonus.
Look, I do believe that they feel that as things get better, the bonus would be fine. And then hours will start to be reduced in the stores, but right now, with the way the hours are, our workers are being short changed in these groups.
Now, Safeway, Albertsons, Ahold, Meyers, and other -- Stater brothers -- and other large corporations that we represent and maintained the $2 an hour pay, and I think that Kroger being a leader in the industry should do the same thing --
PAUL: So --
PERRONE: Because this isn't just about them. This is about those other companies as well that are taking that as a lead and starting to do those reduction as well.
And these workers are out there every single day. They're essential. You know, quite honestly, but they're not expendable. And if you are going to take risks, you should be paid for it.
PAUL: Mr. Marc Perrone, we appreciate you taking time for us this morning. Best of luck to you, thank you so much.
PERRONE: Christi, thank you so much for having me this morning.
PAUL: Of course.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:44:32]
BLACKWELL: Welcome back.
We have some bad news. Phyllis George has died.
PAUL: She's a former first -- former Miss America, first lady of Kentucky, broadcasting pioneer. She was just 70-years-old.
Here's Richard Roth.
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RICHAD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The road a trailblazer travels can have some pretty unlikely beginnings.
PHYLLIS GEORGE, FORMER MISS AMERICA AND BROADCASTING PIONEER: I am from Denton, Texas.
[07:45:00]
I got 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.
ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the judges' decision --
GEORGE: Miss America was a huge turning point in my life.
ROTH: At the age of 21, George was a finalist in the prestigious Miss America pageant after failing once before to be accepted into the contest.
ANNOUNCER: The first runner-up is -- Miss South Carolina, Miss America, Miss Texas.
ROTH: Phyllis George, the reluctant contestant, was the winner.
GEORGE: And for a small town girl like me, it was a great opportunity to launch my career.
ANNOUNCER: 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 who 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 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. When are you a pioneer or a trail blazer, you have to like stay 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: Roger, you have an all American image, the straight kind of guy. Why is this and how do you handle it?
ROGER STAUBACH, FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER: Everyone in the world compares me to Joe Namath. He's having all the fun.
You know, I enjoy sex as much as Joe Namath, only I do it with one girl, you know?
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 Kentucky businessman John Brown, a 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: Please 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 show business is very much like politics and vice-versa, because you want -- 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 morning program. George's post-daily TV life was wide ranging. A businesswoman and even a singer on "The Muppets."
She wrote a book offering famous people giving advice on why you can't give up. 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 ever had.
ROTH: The ultimate trail blazer, Phyllis George once wrote, saying yes to yourself opens up opportunities that can take you anywhere.
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PAUL: Our colleague senior White House reporter Pamela Brown shared a statement on the passing of her mother. She said: For many, mom was known by her incredible accomplishments as a pioneer female sportscaster, 50th Miss America and first lady, this 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's all of the defining qualities the public never saw, especially against the winds of adversity that symbolized how extraordinary she is more than anything else. A 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.
And, Pam, we just want you to know, we love you, we are with you. And we are sending all of our prayers and love to you and your family.
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[07:54:13]
BLACKWELL: So, listen to this, a 67-year-old Canadian sailor, he's been alone at sea for the last several months. When he returned to land, he could not believe this new COVID-19 world.
PAUL: Yes, can you imagine? Bill Norrie started his adventure in September, sailing around South America, Africa and Australia. His last stop was three months ago in South Africa.
When he showed up in New Zealand, he was surprised, obviously, to hear that harbor officials considered whether or not he needed to be quarantined. He's thinking quarantined?
This was his reaction as he jumped off the boat.
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BILL NORRIE, SAILOR: I was the most isolated person on the planet. They didn't want to let me in. It's too funny.
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PAUL: Yes, he said, I was the most isolated person on the planet.
[07:55:02]
Officials eventually decided, yes, he doesn't need to be quarantined. Norrie said he's not going to be staying in New Zealand long. He's going to begin his journey back home after he gets a little bit of rest, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Yes, he's thinking, you know what? I'm going to get back on the boat. I'm going to get back on the boat.
PAUL: Yes, obviously. Hey, thank you so much for starting your morning with us. We hope you make great memories today.
BLACKWELL: And good to be with you this Sunday morning.
"INSIDE POLITICS" with John King is up next.
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