Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Americans Head Outdoors on Memorial Day Weekend; U.S. Announces New Travel Restrictions on Brazil; Brazil Has Second Highest Number of Cases Worldwide; Arkansas: "Second Peak" in Cases after Increased Testing; White House Adviser: May Unemployment May Be "North of 20%"; New Jersey Governor Warns of Major Cuts without More Funding; U.K. PM Defends Top Adviser's Alleged Lockdown Breach; Israeli PM Denounces Charges, Says It's a Coup; Woods and Manning Beat Mickelson and Brady in Charity Match. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired May 25, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes and coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. We are in the middle of a pandemic but you wouldn't know it from all of the people at U.S. beaches and lakes for a holiday weekend. The U.S. suspending travel from Brazil, the country with the second highest number of coronavirus cases and its president waiting maskless into crowds of supporters.

Two golf greats and two U.S. football stars helped raise more than $20 million for coronavirus relief efforts. Who won? We'll have the details.

Thanks for your company, everyone. It is Memorial Day in the United States, and millions of Americans have been marking the holiday by heading outdoors despite fears of more coronavirus infections. Tourists from across the country flocked to beaches, restaurants public parks this weekend, many maintaining a safe distance, many though, not wearing masks. New York's governor says that people want the state to reopen, they have to be smart and wear protective gear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Next week is a function of what we do today. Oh, that sounds too glib. That is factually true. You tell me how people act today. I will tell you the infection rate three days from today. So, you want to open faster, be smart, and we'll just calibrate it to the infection spread.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: In Missouri, dozens of people attending a crowded pool party just have a look at that everyone crammed together, and no doubt violating pretty much every safety guideline in doing so. Daytona Beach, Florida saw huge crowds this weekend, the city's mayor speaking with CNN about how officials are dealing with that situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DERRICK HENRY, MAYOR, DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: When you get this volume of people, it's going to be tough to control until we get other things open or close things off. And that's certainly not the choice of our community at this time. Our residents are excited about having access to their beach. So, we're going to have to figure out how we can control these crowds and largely how we can inform the visitors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, as the U.S. continues to ease restrictions, some Americans are taking extra measures to remain safe. CNN's Paul Vercammen and Rosa Flores tell us what people in California and Florida are doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm in Pensacola Beach, Florida and I want to show you around because here's what people are doing to make sure that they social distance. If you look behind me, you'll see that the umbrellas are separated more than six feet apart. Now, this allows families to have a good time intermingle, but also social distance. And that way, they don't have to be intermingling with other families.

Now, this is definitely a downward scale from what Memorial Day weekend normally is here, in Pensacola. I talked to the county commissioner that represents this area and he says normally, this beach would be shoulder-to-shoulder, there would be concerts going on at the other end of the island, Pride Week would also be going on, which brings in about 50,000 people.

So, this is definitely a downgrade in the number of people, but take a look at the numbers because he was able to help us out with some figures. If you compare Memorial Day weekend 2019 to 2020, it almost looks the same. Take a look at these numbers from Thursday to Monday. According to this commissioner, there was about 85,000 cars that drove into Pensacola last year.

This year, he was able to get the numbers for us from Friday to Sunday, at about 1:50 p.m. and that's about 50,000 cars. But if you just compare Saturday, it's about 20,000 cars coming into Pensacola. Now, this is a very drivable beach because people from Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, drive to this beach from Memorial Day weekend. Now, I asked this commissioner the obvious question, is he concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, and here's what he said.

[01:05:10]

ROBERT BENDER, COMMISSIONER, ESCAMBIA BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Suddenly, we are concerned about that's why we closed the beaches to begin with and in March, but of course, as we've learned more about it, as people know more about the symptoms and what to do, we've been very fortunate that we've had a lot of testing available here. And so, if people are experiencing any types of symptoms or anything like that, then they need to get tested if they come.

FLORES: According to the county commissioner, 34 lifeguards have been on duty throughout Memorial Day weekend. And if you look around me, you'll see that a lot of social distancing is going on, but not very many people are wearing masks and that's because while social distancing is required, masks are not. Rosa Flores, CNN, Pensacola Beach, Florida.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here at Dockweiler Beach, Los Angeles County, you can see all the open sand behind me, people for the most part, were honoring the social distancing guidelines, staying six feet apart. They also had opened up this 22-mile long bike way behind me. We saw most people along that bikeway were wearing their masks and they said a lesson can be learned in other parts of the country about being sensitive to preventing the spread of COVID-19.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think here most people are more caring about other people, and not so, I don't know, thinking about themselves, you know, selfish and just thinking about me and my freedoms and that whole thing. You know, here more people are just more accepting of each other and trying to take care of each other, I think. But you always have a few here too, that you know, aren't doing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's social respects. You know, people might be symptomatic, pre-symptomatic, asymptomatic, and it's just -- it's just social respect, I think.

VERCAMMEN: So, why did Los Angeles County open up the bikeway from Memorial weekend? Well, the officials are happy with the numbers, the rate of hospitalizations going down, the rate of deaths going down. They're also seeing a smaller percentage of those tested, testing positive for COVID-19. So, all in all, good news for L.A. County and an easing of restrictions this Memorial Day weekend. Back to you now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thanks to Paul Vercammen. President Trump was spotted getting recreation in and ignoring the advice of his own experts on the Coronavirus Task Force. CNN's Kristen Holmes with that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump spending his Memorial Day weekend similar to hundreds of other Americans across the country, outside and without a mask. President Trump golfing for the first time since early March, and he was seen not really social distancing and not wearing a mask. But one of his closest advisors and the coordinator of the Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Deborah Birx, expressed a lot more caution. She said that people should be social distancing, and she explained that there is science behind wearing a mask. Take a listen.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, COORDINATOR, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: We have said to people is there's clear scientific evidence now by all the droplet experiments that happened, and that others have done to show that a mask does prevent droplets from reaching others, and out of respect for each other as Americans that care for each other. We need to be wearing masks in public when we cannot social distance. It's really critically important.

K. HOLMES: And Dr. Birx also raised questions as to whether or not the U.S. was doing enough to test and trace asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus. But I do want to note one thing here, you know, we heard President Trump saying that we're back. He also said that they weren't going to close down the country again no matter what happen.

And it's important to note this, especially after a weekend like this one, where we saw hundreds of people out on beaches, outside, not social distancing and not wearing masks. That the decision to close or open the states depending on cases is done by the governor. So, those governors who some of whom have already really pled with the citizens, the residents of their state, them to wear masks to be safe.

Those are going to be the ones who are going to try to do what's best for their community, as we move forward. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. HOLMES: Well, as the U.S. continues to reopen over the holiday weekend, health experts are reminding the public not to let their guard down and continue that social distancing. For more on that, I'm joined by Dr. Jorge Rodriguez in Los Angeles and internal medicine and viral specialist. Always a pleasure, sir.

I think when you have a look at some of the video of the gatherings at the weekend, that Missouri Pool Party, the Arkansas cluster that's been reported, another one in Atlanta after students at a party. How do you react to some of these images this weekend? Do you expect spikes in a couple of weeks?

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE AND VIRAL SPECIALIST, LOS ANGELES: Yes, I do. And I react to them. Actually, I become very depressed and frustrated by this because those actions are both ignorant, selfish, and dangerous at the end of the day. I think Dr. Birx said that the virus is asymptomatic and I'm not sure if people realize what that means.

[01:10:11]

Asymptomatic means no symptoms. Up to 35 to 40 percent of the people that have the virus, do not have fever, do not have cough, do not have any symptoms. Therefore, it's not even if they are going to spread it to other people. It's not even an if there will be a second spike, unless something miraculous happens. So, right now, everyone needs to take precautions.

And there's some people that think they're not vulnerable because they're young, which is complete misconception. So, yes, it's very actually frustrating, I think, to those.

M. HOLMES: And the thing is, that there are 20,000 new infections a day in the U.S., 1,000 deaths, more than 1,000 deaths. You got these spikes in various parts of the country that -- yet, this weekend, Donald Trump called for basically demanded churches reopen. And I don't know if you saw it, literally, a couple of hours ago, he tweeted schools in our country should be opened ASAP because, quote, much very good information now available. Your thoughts on that.

RODRIGUEZ: Much very good information.

M. HOLMES: Not the grammar but the --

RODRIGUEZ: No, no. I know. I know somebody else needs to go to school. But you know, we need clear and concise leadership, and perhaps, school should open, but there needs to be a plan. Every time that people congregate, there is the threat of disease. And listen, this country was raised, was founded on religious freedom. But you don't necessarily have to go to a church to express that.

And every congregation, every pastor, every minister, every rabbi, I think is most concerned about the health and the safety both emotionally and religiously of their flock, and they should ensure that. So, can churches open with a plan? I think they can safely open if there's distancing, if people wear masks, but look at us, we're communicating, you know, through video right now, why not do that for a little bit until things quiet down?

M. HOLMES: Yes. And a lot of pushback on his tweet on schools. But, of course, in the U.S., I mean, most schools are out for the summer anyway. So, I'm not sure the point of that tweet. What is it in human nature that, you know, with 100,000 dead, as I said, 20,000 new infections a day?

What is it that makes some people seemingly oblivious, you know, rejecting the risk, just willing to gamble with their health, but as you pointed out, not just their health, the health of others? There's a lot of people who think this is all overblown.

RODRIGUEZ: It's -- well, there's not overblown and, you know, luckily, it hasn't gotten to the point where we thought it might get to just because of actions that have been taken. I mean, look at New York, I mean, it is exemplary, that curve went spike up and then went down. But you know, the New Yorkers took it very seriously. So, what is it in human nature? You know, one is, I think that people don't see it.

So, it is not a reality to them. It's a reality to me. It's a reality to someone who's lost a wife or a husband or a brother. And then the second thing, which I think is very odious, is the fact that so much of this, I think is political. It is almost showing that you agree with some party in this country, and it's a form of, of machismo, and it's again, it's very depressing to see that.

M. HOLMES: Yes, that's almost a culture war issue. Yes, I tend to agree with that. What -- would you also agree that when we talk about testing, there is still not enough of it here in the U.S.? There needs to be for people to have that confidence to go to work. There needs to be widespread testing, contact tracing and so on, as other more successful countries have done and are doing. RODRIGUEZ: Yes, absolutely. You know, the issue is, Michael, that a lot of those countries that are most successful also have a different form of government here, and they're a little bit more totalitarian. So, they can therefore force their people to do, you know, certain things, like in China, they need to be quarantined without movement, and that would bring them food.

The United States, right, blessed as we are, we have certain freedoms and you can't force people to do anything. So, we really have to make people understand. Testing is important. But again, testing, to what degree? Antibody testing? If we know that antibodies provide immunity, that's great. But if we want live testing, how often do we do it? Who gets it? And again, this is a plan that needs to come from upstairs, down, but do we need testing? Yes, absolutely. We need more testing.

M. HOLMES: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

RODRIGUEZ: Have a good night.

M. HOLMES: You too. Now, health officials in Brazil say that within 24 hours, nearly 16,000 people contracted COVID-19. The alarming spread of the virus there has prompted the U.S. to suspend travel from Brazil. But as CNN Nick Paton Walsh shows us Brazil's President, still cavalier despite the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[01:15:07]

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brazil, pretty clearly now the second most impacted country in the world by coronavirus, after fingers emerged late on Saturday night, that seemed to be responded to by the United States. The most impacted country in terms of confirmed cases by banning entry into the U.S. for those from Brazil or those who've been to Brazil, in the last 14 days.

It seems indefinitely a bid to try and prevent the infection here from getting into the United States and contributing it's spread inside the U.S. But this piece of bad news, of course, for Brazilians comes on a day in which their president, Jair Bolsonaro, has again being seen near crowds of supporters, not wearing a mask, an unexpected rally in Brasilia at the seat of government in Brazil.

He was reported to a flown over these crowds in a helicopter then landed wearing a mask, and is then later filmed flying to one point by a cabinet member and two lawmakers supporting him, greeting supporters. These are very common displays by the president of his support in the capital of government. And it's often used to suggest that he is comfortable amongst other individuals that masks aren't necessarily essential despite the growing catastrophe inside Brazil itself.

Jair Bolsonaro's statement was always it was a little flu coronavirus or a cold. He's later modified his language to talk about the fight against it being a war, but that was more to justify the use of the drug, hydroxychloroquine, which is in some studies, been proven to actually be harmful to individuals and certainly yet to be proven to be beneficial in the fight against coronavirus.

But Brazil, still it seems a week to two weeks away from its peak and its political leadership giving very divided signals themselves. That main figure, Jair Bolsonaro not wearing a mask this day. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Manaus, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. HOLMES: Mexico just ended its worst weeks since the start of the outbreak. On Sunday alone, officials there reported more than 2,700 new cases, 215 deaths. In total, nearly 7,400 people in Mexico have died of the virus. Protest and crackdown in Hong Kong, thousands of people defying police and tear gas to tell the mainland to keep its hands off their freedom. We'll talk about it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. HOLMES: Welcome back. U.S. officials are criticizing China for its actions in Hong Kong and the South China Sea, and how it handled the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. National Security Adviser using some strong language on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT O'BRIEN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, UNITED STATES: We want good relations with China and with the Chinese people, but unfortunately, we're seeing just action after action by the Chinese Communist Party, that makes it difficult. And with respect to the trade deal, we'll see if they live up to it. But we're dealing in a new world now with corona.

They unleashed a virus on the world that's destroyed trillions of dollars in American economic wealth, that we're having to spend to keep our economy alive, to keep Americans afloat during this virus, so we're in a -- we're in a very different world. The cover up that they did of the virus is going to go down in history along with Chernobyl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. HOLMES: In Hong Kong, protesters are demanding freedom from China, Mainland China, as they dodge teargas thrown by police. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. HOLMES: Several thousand people turned out to march Sunday, opposing China's plan to approve a new national security law this week, during the National People's Congress, which is Beijing's rubber stamp parliament. Hong Kong police say they arrested at least 180 people and accused protesters with setting fires and throwing bottles.

Steven Jiang is in Beijing for us. Tell us about Beijing's view of what's been happening in Hong Kong and the need for these laws, what they think of all the international criticism.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, there's certainly very sensitive about it. As I speak to you right now, our broadcast here in China has been censored by the government. So, viewers here see black screen. But that is really what an illustration about how hugely important this issue is to them.

Now, you know this morning, on Monday morning, this nearly 3,000 delegates to the National People's Congress, we're actually discussing this bill behind closed doors, but its passage of course, never much in dealt because of the largely ceremonial role of the NPC. Now, from Beijing's perspective, they're really just losing patience after waiting for years for the Hong Kong government, Hong Kong local government to enact a similar law.

Now, the last time the Hong Kong local government trying to do so, was back in 2003, triggering huge protests on the streets. That's why they shelved it and really has never reintroduced it. But because of the latest protest movement that began in Hong Kong last year, over another controversial bill and really showing no sign of abating despite a pandemic.

Beijing is really increasingly frustrated with this process and they are also seen Hong Kong increasingly as a bastion of anti-China forces, not only with local pro-democracy activists, but also with this increasingly vocal pro-independence movement, not to mention rampant involvement or interference from external forces, including governments like the U.S., according to Beijing.

That's why they think this is time for them to act now. That's why they -- they're using this very rarely use a method to bypass Hong Kong's local legislature to enact this law from Beijing. Now, there are of course, also our political calculations as well with the U.S. and other governments preoccupied with the pandemic.

They probably are expecting weaker international pushback or even if there are backlashes from Washington, given how bilateral relations are hitting a rock bottom anyways, they might as well ram this through. Things cannot get any much worse. And then, of course, Michael, with President Xi Jinping in control. This is obviously another sign of his increasing confidence of carrying less about international rebuke, Michael.

M. HOLMES: Yes, indeed, feeling emboldened and not too worried about what the world thinks about it. And we heard what the U.S. National Security Adviser had to say.

[01:25:12]

But you, earlier on Sunday, you asked the Chinese Foreign Minister about their own sort of aggressive approach, or growingly aggressive approach diplomatically, what is so called Wolf Warrior diplomacy. Tell us about that and what he said to you.

JIANG: That's right. Wolf Warrior is actually a Chinese blockbuster movie about a soldier turn a security contractor, fighting American- led mercenary groups around the world to defend Chinese interests. But state media here has used this term to describe the country's increasingly assertive or some will say aggressive diplomats around the world. Ambassadors, spokespeople, having a daily war of words with their counterparts, especially U.S. officials, and a whole range of issues.

But lately, of course, about government responses to the pandemic. That's why I asked the minister, is this kind of rhetoric and approach, the new norm for Chinese diplomacy? Now, he did not address the question directly, but he said, we never pick a fight or bully others. But we have principles and guts, we will push back against any deliberate insults to defend our national honor and dignity. As you can imagine, this kind of nationalistic themes always playing very well domestically, here in China, Michael.

M. HOLMES: Yes, indeed. Good to see you, Steven. Thank you, Steven Jiang there, in Beijing. So, a series of increasingly bold moves from China or in Hong Kong, but also elsewhere. Earlier, I asked Professor Jean-Pierre Cabestan, he's a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, why we are seeing such moves now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-PIERRE CABESTAN, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: China sees itself now as a -- as a rising power. He sees the U.S. as a declining power. And I think it's the right time to push its advantage around the world and to try to put more pressure on Taiwan, to take control of the South China Sea, and to sideline the U.S. in the western Pacific.

Now, there may be also a domestic reason to that, which is the fact that actually, the COVID-19 crisis has created some problems within China. I think, the level of trust the Chinese government has been affected, has been damaged by the crisis. And there's a need to, sort of, stirring up nationalism and to unite the society around the leadership of the Communist Party in this particular time. Hence, this aggressiveness you've seen around the world of the Chinese diplomats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

H. HOLMES: Jean-Pierre Cabestan there of Hong Kong Baptist University, speaking to me a little earlier. All right, we'll take a quick break. When we come back, the governor of Arkansas says his state is experiencing a second peak in coronavirus infections. Now, what he says is behind that surge in numbers, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:26]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: The governor of Arkansas says he is concerned about his state experiencing a second peak of coronavirus cases. He appeared on a Sunday news show and talked about striking a balance between health concerns and economic growth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R), ARKANSAS: We have to manage the risk. We take the virus very seriously. It's a risk. It causes death. But you can't cloister yourself in a home. That is just contrary to the American spirit.

Our death rate is low compared to the rest of the country. It does not diminish the seriousness in which it we take it, but we have to manage the risk, grow our economy. We have to come back, and not just in Arkansas, but nationally because this virus is deadly, but it's going to be with us a while. We have to manage that risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: He is also attributing that spike in infections to increased testing in his state.

CNN's Ed Lavandera explains.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Arkansas is one of the few states in the country where the governor did not issue a stay at home order for its residents. They did have restrictions put on businesses and restaurants and schools were closed. But that is one of the reasons why the second wave, as the governor here is describing it of coronavirus infections is concerning.

This started on Thursday of last week. The governor says that more testing is being done for the coronavirus. And it's one of the reasons why they are seeing the second wave. 450 cases or so reported last Thursday. Another 150 on Friday. Then 160 about on Saturday. The case totals were a little bit lower on Sunday. But that could have something to do with the way weekend test results are reported. So we'll have to see how this continues to play out here in the coming days.

But the governor has described it as a second wave. He says one of the silver linings here is that the positive infection rate of these tests and the hospitalization rates for the virus remain low. So by and large, the state of Arkansas, has not seen the case numbers and the death totals as high as many other places in the country.

And the governor here says that the state and its residents must learn to manage and learn to essentially live with this virus here for the months to come.

Ed Lavandera, CNN -- Little Rock, Arkansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The United States' bleak unemployment picture is only going to get worse. That is the message from a senior White House economic adviser on Sunday, telling CNN he believes May's unemployment rate could be, quote, north of 20 percent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ECONOMIC ADVISR: My expectation is that since there is STILL initial claims for unemployment insurance in May, that the unemployment rate will be higher in June than in May. But then after that, it should start to trend down. So I think we're very, very close to an inflection point in terms of business activity and probably about a month away in terms of employment.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Do you think that employment is going to be even higher this month?

HASSETT: Yes. It's going to be quite a bit higher. And you know, there were some technical things that kind of messed up on an economics so I'm not sure (ph) we'd go into them, but it could be if they fix the numbers, and fix the thing that they mischaracterized last time, that you'll end up with a number north of 20 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: He also said, we could see double digit unemployment in October and November as voters are preparing, of course, to go to the polls.

Meanwhile, New Jersey could soon be forced to make some major budget cuts unless it gets more funding from the federal government. Its governor is predicting a $10 billion revenue loss which could mean laying off key frontline state workers.

[01:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR PHIL MURPHY (D), NEW JERSEY: We announced a budget on Friday for the next four months. And we had to cut or defer over $5 billion dollars of expenditures. And this includes potentially laying off educators, firefighters, police, EMS, health care workers. This is not abstract, this is real.

It's not a blue state issue. It's an American issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So far, both the White House, and the Senate Majority Leader have resisted calls to provide federal relief for states facing budget shortfalls.

Now the U.K. Prime Minister standing by his senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, under fire for allegedly breaking the nation's lockdown rules and doing it more than once.

On Sunday, Boris Johnson said Cummings didn't have a choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I have had extensive face to face conversations with Dominic Cummings. And I concluded that in traveling to find the right kind of childcare at the moment when both he and his wife were about to be incapacitated by coronavirus, and when he had no alternative I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent. I do not mark him down for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The leader of the opposition Labour Party calling for the cabinet office to launch an inquiry into Cummings reported violations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, U.K. LABOUR PARTY LEADER: This was a huge test of the Prime Minister and he's just failed that test. He hasn't sacked Dominic Cummings. He hasn't not called for an investigation, and he's treating the British public with contempt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's London correspondent Max Foster has more developments on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Boris Johnston swinging behind his top advisor saying he had no alternative but to travel 260 miles with his wife, who had virus symptoms, for childcare reasons. The Prime Minister saying of Dominic Cummings, he acted responsibly, legally, and with integrity.

But opposition Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer adamantly disagreeing saying Boris Johnson's judgment was an insult to sacrifices made by the British people. He called for an inquiry, adding that millions of people across the country have made the most agonizing choices not to see relatives, not going to funerals. They deserve better answers than they got from the Prime Minister.

And several conservative backbench members of parliament in Boris Johnson's own party have added to calls for Cummings to resign. And on Monday, "The Daily Mail" newspaper, a big backer of Boris Johnson, added to those calls for Cummings to resign.

On whether Cummings actually broke any laws or guidelines here, Johnson says there's actually guidance about what you need to do about the pressures that family face when they have childcare needs. He feels Cummings did not cross the line.

He also dismissed additional claims in "The Observer" and "Sunday Mirror" newspapers, that whilst Cummings was in isolation or meant to be in isolation, he traveled 30 miles to visit a beauty spot.

Johnson is making a political gamble here. He's hoping the public will back him and have sympathy for Cummings. As opposed to looking at this whole situation and thinking, there's one rule for them, there's one rule for us, and it's unfair.

Max Foster, CNN -- outside London.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: A nursing home manager in the U.K. tells CNN this has been the worst time of her career. Some caregivers there say the government has let them down during the crisis.

CNN's Nina Dos Santos with that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY BARKER, CAREGIVER, CHARLTON COURT NURSING HOME: Hi mom. Are you ok?

There is a virus going around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh yes.

BARKER: Yes. And we have to keep you in your room to protect you.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To Becky Barker coronavirus has been a double agony. She is a carer at this nursing home in Leeds where her mother Jean, is also a resident.

BARKER: It's just so hard. I just want everything to go back to normal.

Washing (INAUDIBLE) changing your PPE all the time when you've gotten panicking about it. It's awful.

DOS SANTOS: For the home's manager, keeping everyone safe is a daily struggle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are very sorry; today's allocation of test kits have been issued.

DOS SANTOS: Only five of Kelly Hopkinson's 62 staff have secured tests.

How long is that going to last you?

KELLY HOPKINSON, MANAGER, CHARLTON COURT NURSING HOME: Probably not until end of today.

DOS SANTOS: Protective equipment has been hard to access and she has had to resist pressure to take residents carrying the virus back from hospital.

[01:39:54]

DOS SANTOS: Kelly normally deals with three deaths a month, but in April, she lost 19 guests. She says she cannot even be sure those who died actually had the virus because unless they are admitted to hospital, her residents still aren't getting tested.

That means, for now, they are confined to their rooms and visitors banned.

HOPKINSON: I have residents with capacity sat in the bedrooms, crying, saying Kelly, am I going to die of corona? Have I got it? And I can't answer them because they're not testing them.

I think this is something that we're see on a daily basis -- the charts and the graphs that everybody seems to be obsessed with. I don't think the numbers are accurate at all. It's just the worst time of my entire career.

DOS SANTOS: More than a quarter of coronavirus deaths in England and Wales occurred at care homes despite the government originally saying the risk they faced would be low.

In a statement to CNN, the Department of health and Social Care said that all care home staff and residents can now be tested, whether they have symptoms or not. But that is months after the pandemic took hold here and years into a profound crisis in social care.

DOS SANTOS: Have Britain's elderly been forgotten?

HOPKINSON: Absolutely. I think it is a national tragedy is what it is.

DOS SANTOS: About 70 miles away, life is slowly getting back to normal for Joyce and Janet in this home for the elderly with dementia in Nottingham. Out of isolation, they are having their hair done. And picking up the thread of a story which is now theirs.

The community had 13 cases of coronavirus, but no fatalities -- thanks to former ICU nurse Maria who turn this annex into a ward in hours.

MARIA SPOLLIN CLERICAL LEAD, SKYLARKS CHURCH FARM CARE: My heart plummeted. Several residents displayed symptoms of the coronavirus. And I had to move quickly.

DOS SANTOS: Many of the residents here don't even remember being ill. But Britain's care sector won't forget how it was left to fend for itself.

Nina Dos Santos, CNN -- Nottingham.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We'll be right back after the break.

[01:42:14]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Israel's prime minister calls the corruption charges he is facing an attempted coup by political enemies. On Sunday a defiant Benjamin Netanyahu attended his first hearing of this criminal trial, refusing to sit in the defendant's chair until the cameras moved away. The Prime Minister accused of bribery fraud, breach of trust in three separate cases, all charges he denies in the strongest possible terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Elements in police and the general attorney's office have allied with left wing media. I call them the "just not Bibi" gang, in order to stitch up unfounded and hallucinatory cases against me. The objective is to topple a strong right wing prime minister and does distance the national camp from leading the state for many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Mr. Netanyahu's supporters gathered outside the courthouse. The hearing took less than an hour and proceedings adjourned until July 19th, although it could be months before actual prosecution begin.

Here in the United States, parts of the country are seeing dangerous weather on the holiday weekend. For more details, let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek -- what are you seeing out there -- my friend?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, what I'm seeing is an unwanted guest at your picnic and on Memorial Day weekend. And that is a tornado that occurred in south central Texas on Saturday.

And again, we have the chance of severe weather today. That could definitely ruin some extended holiday weekend plans for many -- from Dallas to San Antonio, Austin northward into the Oklahoma City region. You can see our chances of severe weather really lining the southern plains today.

Extending even as far north as the Great Lakes as well with scattered showers and thunderstorms all the way to south Florida with a flood threat. More on that in just one second.

The Storm (INAUDIBLE) Center has highlighted a slight risk of large hail, damaging winds and even an isolated tornado later today, Fort San Angelo into the Del Rio region. So keep an eye onto the sky if you're located there. You can see there is a flare-up of thunderstorms that is expected to occur.

But we also have this flood threat that is ongoing across southern Florida, specifically in and around the Miami-Dade region. We have the potential for four to six inches of rainfall across this region.

There have been reports there of people draining their pools in anticipation for at least a potential flooding. In fact the Weather Prediction Center has a high risk, or at least a moderate risk for flash flooding in places from West Palm Beach into Miami even as far north as the Orlando region. You can see the flash flood watches that are in place across the region.

It is going to be a wet end to the holiday weekend. And as we round off the first parts of the work week next week, it will continue to be rather wet.

69 degrees in Chicago today, 86 for the nation's capital, 78 for New York City, a warm and humid 84 degrees expected for Atlanta. And you can see the heat building across the western U.S. where heat advisories are in place. Some areas could reach the triple digits by tomorrow. Michael -- back to you.

HOLMES: Humid here in Atlanta. Great -- my favorite. Derek Van Dam -- thank you. Appreciate it -- my friend.

All right. Well, sports legends battling it out for a good cause. NFL and golf greats raising millions for coronavirus relief.

We'll have that after the break.

[01:48:38]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The golf legend Tiger Woods and football star Peyton Manning took the wind during a charity golf match on Sunday raising more than $20 million for COVID-19 relief. CNN World Sport's Patrick Snell shows us how it all played out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: It may have been wet and rainy, no caddies, no spectators -- golf as we know it now. Instead though four global superstars who simply refuse to have their spirits dampened. There were cart cams, old drivers reacquainted all miked (ph) up and most definitely not holding back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had the coffee. I got (INAUDIBLE) and I got to strap on. Come on, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The man does have some caps (ph).

TIGER WOODS, GOLF PRO: Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I have to listen to this every time we play.

SNELL: They're also enticing challenges from the commentary booth at the event presented by Turner sports, a division of CNN's parent company Warner Media. The match champions for charity and all in support of COVID-19 relief.

NBA legend Charles Barkley.

CHARLES BARKLEY, NBA LEGEND: You know what Tom -- because you are my man. $50,000 dollars if you hit the green. Nice.

TOM BRADY, NFL PLAYER: Chucky save yourself $50,000.

BARKLEY: You know Tom, that was -- I should have just said if you could just keep it on the planet.

SNELL: On that occasion, Brady playing with Phil Mickelson was well off the green. Meantime his longtime NFL rival the now retired-Peyton Manning was partnering with Tiger Woods. Manning, gleefully draining a 25-footer, much to the Masters champion's delight. As Woods also shared some personal insights after further back issues earlier in the year. WOODS: It has been nice to be at home and training each and every day.

And get some treatment on it. Get into a routine basically.

I did not have to play for a while. I'm trying to peak for Augusta and trying to get ready for that. And you know, obviously with this pandemic and everything that has happened, we have all been, you know, very careful and had to stay at home.

And it has been good in that regard. And I've been able to spend a lot of time with my kids which had been awesome.

SNELL: What followed at 7 though was quite extraordinary. Brady, a six-time Super Bowl champion, he and Mickelson three down at this point but the legendary quarterback with the perfect response -- holding out from the fairway after some apparent ribbing from that man Barkley.

[01:55:01]

BRADY: Chuck on that -- Chuck.

BARKLEY: Wow.

BRADY: Chuck. Chuck.

BARKLEY: Hey. Hey -- man. I got that --

BRADY: Shut your mouth -- Chuck.

SNELLE That shot alone earning him an extra 100,000 dollars, courtesy of a donation from four time major champion Brooks Kepka, a majestic birdie. But then came a somewhat humbling fall from grace for the Buccaneers superstar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the way, did you just add sweaty (ph) pants, or change pants or --

BRADY: I split my pants. There was so much torque in that swing.

SNELL: In the end this could be a close fought one up victory for Woods and Manning. Live sports back or be it a brief temporary distraction from the devastating global pandemic.

While there was plenty of fun and frivolity out there on the court at times but there was also real power and purpose to Sunday in south Florida. And now four global sporting icons who can say, they played their part in helping to raise $20 million for COVID-19 relief efforts.

Patrick Snell, CNN -- Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And check this out. An earthquake hit New Zealand while the Prime Minister was live on television. But Jacinda Ardern managed to keep her cool. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: The last thing we need is another shift to -- he has -- we're just having a bit of an earthquake here, Ryan. It was quite a -- quite a decent shake here but if you see things moving behind me, the beehive moves a little more than most. Yes, no. It has just stopped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Didn't miss a beat.

The beehive, by the way, is New Zealand's parliament building. The capital, Wellington was shaken by the 5.8 magnitude quake. No reports of damage or injuries. Pretty cool PM.

Thanks for your company everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

The news continues with Robyn Curnow after a quick break.

You're watching CNN.

[01:56:57]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END