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Flags Ordered to Half-Staff for Victims; Expanded Control over Hong Kong; Latin America Outpaces U.S. and Europe; Sports Returns this Weekend; Millions Stop Paying Mortgages and Credit Cards; Commercial Plane Crashes in Pakistan. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 22, 2020 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: In honor of all those people who have died so far. We're expected to pass 100,000 dead over this weekend, Memorial Day weekend. It's a, you know, grimly symbolic, right?

And up until now, President Trump has refused to lower the flag even though in states like New York or New Jersey individual governors have done so. Yesterday, the two Democratic leaders in Congress sent him a letter urging him to do so and finally late last night Trump's White House put out a statement saying they would lower the flags this weekend only in tribute to the coronavirus victims.

How is that a partisan political matter? I mean, honestly, I've just never seen anything like this.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Susan, let's talk about a huge story out of China. China's president, the administration, is signaling that they will crackdown harder than they have on the Hong Kong protesters.

What does that mean?

GLASSER: Well, look, you know, one of the other aspects of this public health crisis, this international crisis, like with all crises, is that it's an opportunity that many authoritarian regimes seized. You saw that already in Hungary in the course of this coronavirus pandemic when there were new restrictive laws put into place. You've seen it in other countries around the world.

And I think, you know, Xi Jinping actually gave a speech, you know, recently in which he explicitly said that this crisis may be an opportunity for China. And we know that that's been the agenda of the leaders in Beijing for a long time. What's striking is the speed with which they are using this moment to do so. I think people did not necessarily expect them to take this action so quickly and dramatically.

But what I've heard from journalist sources in Beijing recently is quite striking, which is, a sense on the part of Chinese leaders that they almost feel like President Trump has handed them an opportunity that after their own initial botched handling and everyone agrees internationally that China did not handle this well initially and refused to share information and yet now, of course, the spotlight has shifted. The United States and, you know, its failure to control the pandemic in the early stages when it might not have led to such a terrible consequence. So now you see China even more empowered perhaps than it might have been a couple months ago.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, look, China and President Xi tried to exert unprecedented control over Hong Kong. And now the question, and we don't know the answer yet, is what will President Trump do or say about this specifically about President Xi. It will be fascinating to watch.

Susan Glasser, great to have you on this morning. Stay safe this weekend.

GLASSER: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: Coronavirus cases skyrocketing in Latin America. So what does this mean for the global efforts? What does it mean for the United States and its efforts to contain the pandemic? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:49]

CAMEROTA: For the third day in a row, Latin America has reported more new coronavirus cases than either the United States or Europe. The spike is being driven by growing numbers in Brazil, Peru and Mexico. In the last 24 hours, Brazil reported a record high death toll.

What does this mean for fighting the global pandemic?

Joining us now is Keiji Fukuda, director and clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong School of Public Health. He is a former assistant director general at health security at the World Health Organization.

Great to have you here, Dr. Fukuda.

So this week the WHO recorded the highest one-day total worldwide. So deaths are going up worldwide. Cases are going up worldwide. That -- I mean we're five months into this. What's going on?

DR. KEIJI FUKUDA, DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: Well, I think it's pretty clear what's going on. You know, while we're doing better in some locations and, you know, we're clearly having growth in other locations. And so, as you mentioned, in Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, other places and other countries like Russia, but places like Pakistan and Bangladesh and so on, we're seeing increases in cases. And I think the numbers, which WHO read off yesterday, it's just a reminder that we don't have the situation under control. And particularly in many of the poorer areas of the world, it's really spiraling upwards.

CAMEROTA: I want to show that graph again of what's going on in Brazil and Peru and Mexico. So the other graph that actually shows the lines trending upward. This is P40. And right there, the top line that you see going up really in a striking, steep way is Brazil. And so what -- what are they doing more wrong than other places?

FUKUDA: Well, I think one of the things that we've seen is that no matter where a country starts off, a lot depends on how the government is approaching the activity in the country and whether the population is responding. There are different measures which governments can put in place, but it really takes dedication, persistence and commitment and it takes trust on the part of the population. And in some locations, we don't have those combinations. And I think in (INAUDIBLE) -- I mean in Brazil we're seeing it really move up very high.

CAMEROTA: And so basically you're saying that Brazil's president has not taken it seriously enough.

FUKUDA: Well, you know, it's not just up to one person, but certainly the president in the country articulates and voices, you know, what the -- what the country should be doing.

CAMEROTA: Look, I mean it's just unfortunate, obviously, with deadly consequences because we have learned stuff in the past five months about how to attempt to control it. And so seeing the WHO say that worldwide we're having the biggest day total yet, it just feels like we're going in the wrong direction.

[06:40:01]

FUKUDA: Well, you know, it's also a reflection that we have so many cases in the world right now and it's the nature of infectious diseases that if it's not under control, then it means that it's getting bigger.

So, you know, once we get to a certain size, we see these bigger and bigger jumps in numbers. And it's, unfortunately, where we are right now in the world. It just means that we have extensive spread.

CAMEROTA: As you know, President Trump is angry with the WHO. He blames the WHO in part for America's numbers, the death toll here and the cases here. He said -- he has threatened to pull funding. He's threatened to pull the United States membership. He sent a letter this week to the WHO, to the director general. He says, it is clear the repeated missteps by you and your organization in responding to the pandemic have been extremely costly for the world. The only way forward for the World Health Organization is if it can actually demonstrate independence from China.

The WHO has not yet responded to that. If you were still at the WHO, just tell us what would be going on behind the scenes. Would you have -- do you believe that a response is necessary?

FUKUDA: Well, clearly, the United States is an important player at the global stage. And, of course, WHO is going to take the letter coming from President Trump very seriously, take a look at it. But think like all countries are probably hoping right now is that this administration does not follow through with that. It would have major consequences for the world. And it would have major consequences for the United States itself.

CAMEROTA: How? What would the consequence for the United States be?

FUKUDA: Well, I think that it's very clear -- you know, we've learned over decades with major outbreaks that no country can handle them on their own. And this includes the United States. It's the basic reason why countries have agreed to provide alerts to each other, to share information, to share diagnostics, to share insights with each other. And it's also the basic reason why global health security, this idea that countries should band together when facing a common threat like a -- like a pandemic has received bipartisan support in Washington. Both the Republicans and Democrats consistently supported this because it works. It's an idea which is needed. It works. There is no good alternative.

WHO is the hub of the system. If you weaken the system, if you weaken the hub, you're going to weaken all of the other countries. And so these are major implications. And the U.S. does not escape from those implications. The U.S. depends on the cooperation and the information coming from others as much as any other country. And so it, too, will be made more vulnerable.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Keiji Fukuda, thank you very much for your perspective on all of this.

So fans are starved for live sports and "The Match" is just what the sports doctor ordered. Tiger and Peyton versus Brady and Mickelson. The "Bleacher Report" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:25]

BERMAN: Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, they will all bask in the glow of Tom Brady. Live sports champions for charity Andy Scholes has it all in the "Bleacher Report."

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John.

I've got to say, I'm so impressed that your love for Tom Brady has not wavered at all, even though he left your Patriots this off-season.

But this should be lots of fun. You know, when you think about iconic sports rivalries between individuals, you know, over the last two decades it doesn't get any bigger than Brady versus Manning, Tiger versus Phil. And we are going to get them all on the same golf course this Sunday afternoon.

And the trash talk started right away between the four. Brady posting this picture to Instagram.

Now, Phil won the Inaugural Match over Tiger back in 2018. And, well, Brady says he's confident he'll help Phil defend his title against Tiger and Peyton. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, SIX-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: My golf isn't quite what it probably was at one point, but I got a good partner.

PEYTON MANNING, TWO-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: I would have loved to have had this tournament in a place where they don't like Tom very much, Indianapolis, Denver, Boston, you know, after he just betrayed them and broke their hearts.

PHIL MICKELSON, FIVE-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: This is the trophy for "The Match." I don't know, actually, Tiger, if you know what this looks like. You might have caught a glimpse. But that's -- that's actually what the trophy looks like had you had won.

TIGER WOODS, FIFTEEN-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: Understood.

Hold on one second. I just got out of an ice bath. And I'm a little bit chilly. So, let me put my green jacket on here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, Brady also joked with "Bleacher Report's" Adam Lefkoe that he may use his six Super Bowl rings as ball markers to try to get in Peyton's head. It should be lots of fun. All the guys going to be miced up. The event being played in Florida, going to raise more than $10 million for Covid-19 relief. You can watch it Sunday afternoon, 3:00 p.m. eastern on TNT, TBS, TruTV, and HLN.

John.

BERMAN: All right. Fantastic, Andy. It's great and it's for a great cause. Appreciate you being with us.

SCHOLES: Yes.

BERMAN: So stunning new reports show that millions of Americans are behind on their mortgage and credit card payments. So what help is on the way for them? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:54:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we will. I think we're going to be helping people out. We're going to be getting some money for them during the artificial -- because it really is, it's an artificial closure. But I would say there could be one more nice shot. One more nice go (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: President Trump telling reporters that he thinks there will be another round of economic relief, but he is refusing to offer specifics, saying the details will be announced at the appropriate time.

Joining me now, CNN chief business correspondent and anchor of "Early Start," Christine Romans, and CNN anchor and correspondent Julia Chatterley.

Romans, we'll get to the idea of relief in just a second. But, first, we are getting some breaking news about just how much in need people are. A sense of how many people might be defaulting or short on their mortgage and credit card payments.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, millions of people just can't scrape together the money to pay for these really important things that are the cornerstone of, you know, your kitchen table economics. For example, we know from Transunion that some 14.7 million, almost 15 million credits cards are in financial hardship programs.

[06:55:04]

That is a record high. That means these are people who are working with their lenders to pause their bills, right, or to have a grace period here to pay their bills.

On auto loans, it's almost 3 million who are in hardship programs because they can't get the money together. When you look at mortgages, there's this brand new information that 9 percent of all mortgages are in these forbearance plans. That's, you know, 4.75 million homeowners. You know, that's a trillion dollars of unpaid principal balance sitting there. These are people who have told their lenders, hey, I can't -- I can't manage this right now. And some of those people are not paying their May bills. About one in five are not paying their May mortgage payments.

So it just gives you kind of a fine point on the damage that's happening to American families and they're really important economics.

BERMAN: You see how people's lives have been changed here, Julia. And, in a sense, this trickles up into the larger areas of the economy, when people can't pay their bills, which gets to the need for this relief package.

Now, the president says he thinks there will be a new round of relief. But what's different between what he might be willing to sign and what Democrats and the House have already passed with their $3 trillion plan?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And this is a great point. Even the Treasury secretary said yesterday a strong likelihood of more stimulus being needed, and it is. But we then have Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying, look, we need to prevent the lawyer vultures being able to get at businesses. He also said we're going to try and stop this $600 bump up payment that we've seen on a weekly basis for insurance, unemployment insurance.

There is perhaps a disincentive effect. We know that around 38 state have people that are earning equal to or more on average than they were before. But just switching that off, when you've got 39 million people claiming for first time benefits is not the answer either. So, structuring that in some way to get people -- incentivize people to get back into the workforce is the answer, not just turning it off. So they've got to meet in the middle on that, I think.

Very quickly, the other thing that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said is, despite partisan support to give small businesses between 10 and 12 weeks to spend the money, not the current eight weeks to beat bills and try and hire workers that they've got right now, it's not enough. The Democrats are fighting for 24 weeks. They need to at least meet in the middle. Challenges

BERMAN: Well, the Senate couldn't get the job done yesterday.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: They left without reaching a deal on that. They had a chance to get something done. They didn't.

Christine Romans, there was more than 2 million new jobless claims yesterday reported. I am curious if we are starting to see any signs of jobs reemerging or economies beginning to percolating again now that some of the stay-at-home orders have been relaxed.

ROMANS: I feel like, John, we're trying to put in rock bottom here. We're trying to put in rock bottom in this economy. And when you look at continuing jobless claims, you know, those grew by another 2.5 million. So that meant -- those are people still on the rolls. Twenty- five million people are getting jobless benefits right now. That's just really unbelievable. And that's not showing any sign of moving lower yet.

When we see that start to turn, I think that will be a really important sort of leading indicator about where we're going to go. But right now the beginning of May feels just as terrible as the end of April. And I'm hoping we're putting in the bottom here.

One of the -- one of the issues is, especially for small business, you know, they're having trouble rehiring people because they don't know when they're really going to open robustly, right? They still have to find the money to pay for PPE for their employees. They have to put in dividers and change, you know, social distancing, physical distancing in their -- in their stores and their physical locations, so they've got a lot of expenses right now that they've got to manage before they're ready to really even try to get back to some sort of normality.

BERMAN: And also the uncertainty of what happens when and if people get sick again. There really have been very few answers as far as that goes.

Christine Romans, Julia Chatterley, thank you very much for being with us.

We are getting word of breaking news about a commercial aircraft that crashed in Pakistan. NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BERMAN: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

And we do have breaking news.

Word just in that a Pakistan international airlines flight with more than 100 people on board crashed in the city of Karachi. We're just getting new video from the scene. This is the first time we've had a chance to look at this. Wow. It shows buildings on fire. You can see the impact of where this plane landed or crashed. Officials say the flight was headed from Lahore to Karachi when it vanished off radar just before it was scheduled to land.

CAMEROTA: CNN's Sophia Saifi joins us live now from the capital of Islamabad with the breaking details.

I know it's early. What have you learned, Sophia?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Alisyn, we know that this happened just a little earlier this afternoon. The flight took off from the city of Lahore to the city of Karachi, which is the most populated city of the country.

[07:00:03]

Now, flights hadn't been running in Pakistan for about two and a half months. And it's only recently that Pakistan's national.

END