Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Floor Trading Resumes at New York Stock Exchange; Ten Vaccine Candidates Now in Human Trials; Protests Erupt in Hong Kong amid Pandemic; Trump Adviser Blames China for COVID-19 Deaths; Trump Focuses on Conspiracies, False Claims & Insults as U.S. Death Toll Mounts; Biden Blasts Trump for Mocking Face Masks; Renault-Nissan to Announce Recovery Plan; Spain Attempts to Save Tourism Amid COVID-19; Lebanon's Lockdown Pushes Migrant Workers to the Streets; U.S. Farmers Facing Serious Labor Shortages; SpaceX Prepares for Historic Launch. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired May 27, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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


[00:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, that "little flu," as Brazil's president described the coronavirus, is now killing more people in his country each day than anywhere else in the world, including the U.S.

A it's a 50-50 bet, the latest screw-up for testing for COVID-19 has found antibody tests are accurate about half the time. The same odds as tossing a coin.

In Hong Kong, get ready for some reeducation, with a new law forcing the national anthem to be taught in every school, with punishment for insulting the aptly named "March of the Volunteers."

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VAUSE: Moments ago, a White House travel ban came into effect, preventing foreign nationals that have been in Brazil from entering the United States. Brazil is the new epicenter of the coronavirus, with the world's second highest number of infections and overtaking the U.S., recording more than 1,800 in 2 days, compared to about 1,200 in the U.S. over the same time.

But actual numbers of infections and Brazil are likely much higher, in part because of the lack of testing. Meanwhile, we are hearing antibody tests which determine past infections of the coronavirus are not accurate.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says they could be wrong up to half the time and the pharmaceutical giant Merck is now entering the new vaccine race with 2 potential candidates, one based on its Ebola vaccine, another based on an altered measles virus.

Human trials of both are expected later this year. Sometime in the next day or so, the U.S. will surpass 100,000 dead from coronavirus and as more Americans get out and about and ignoring social distancing, there are fears hotspots could crop up at any moment. Nick Watt begins our coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're nearing 100,000 dead and we're reopening. While the rate of new cases still climbs in 17 states, including California.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are walking into the unknown, the untested, literally and figuratively and we have to be guided by the data.

WATT: Among the 20 states seeing new case numbers fall, New York. Some traders today back on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. It's been more than two months.

JONATHAN CORPINA, SENIOR MANAGING PARTNER, MERIDIAN EQUITY PARTNERS: It's a great sign. It's a great symbol of our economy getting back in motion.

WATT: Mandatory masks everyone must sign a waiver stating they know the risks.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): They wanted to get back to business, but they wanted to be smart and they're doing it in a way that keeps people safe.

WATT: Long island starts to reopen tomorrow. New Rochelle, that early New York hotspot, starts today.

MAYOR NOAM BRAMSON (D-NY), NEW ROCHELLE: I think the people of New Rochelle take special satisfaction in reaching this milestone and we are cautiously optimistic.

WATT: Will there be a fallout from that now infamous Memorial Day party in the Ozarks?

Well, we'll find out in a week or two.

DR. SAM PAGE, COUNTY EXECUTIVE, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI: The responsible thing to do now is to self-quarantine, don't put others at risk, don't put your loved ones at risk and make better decisions moving forward.

WATT: Neighboring Arkansas, a month after reopening began, now suffering a sharp spike in cases.

KAREN LEE, VISITING HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS: I could get killed by COVID today or I could get hit by a bus or a car tomorrow.

WATT: The governor says some of us might need to learn a lesson the hard way.

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): It's disappointing when we have a lack of discipline by a few outliers. How do you remedy that? Part of it is re-education and part of it is experience.

WATT: Meanwhile, in Vernon, California, more than 150 workers at this meat processing plant have tested positive. Outbreaks reported at eight other facilities in the city. The union wants the plant closed for cleaning.

JOHN GRANT, PRESIDENT, UFCW LOCAL 770: The spikes keep coming and it's sort of like Amity Island. There's an invisible, insidious, deadly shark out there and it's time to get people out of the water to figure out what's going on.

WATT: CDC numbers show nearly 80 percent of COVID deaths are among the 65 and older, but interestingly, nearly 80 percent of cases are in the under-65s. A tenth potential vaccine is now moving into human trials and today, Merck announced it's also entering the race, but an effective vaccine is still far from guaranteed.

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: The virus itself is going to do what it's going to do, you know.

[00:05:00]

OSTERHOLM: We're not driving this tiger, we're riding it. For all the suffering, pain, death and so forth, we've had so far, only about 5 percent of the U.S. citizens have been infected and this virus is not going to rest at all until it gets to 60 or 70 percent.

WATT (on camera): In most of California, you can now get a haircut again. I say most because the reopening here is regional. The governor says that we are walking into the unknown, using the data as our guide -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With me now , Dr. Raj Kalsi, a board certified emergency medicine physician.

Good to see you again.

DR. RAJ KALSI, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: We'll start with the U.S. president, who had some criticism of his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, for wearing a face mask on Monday at a Memorial Day service. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He was standing outside with his wife, perfect conditions, perfect weather. They're inside, they don't wear masks, so I thought it was very unusual that they had one on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The president was implying that Biden was not at a risk while outside but here's the advice it we have heard from senior government health officials again. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: As the country begins to reopen, don't forget to wear a cloth face covering when in public.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We have the scientific evidence of how important mask wearing is.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Go out, wear a mask, stay 6 feet away from anyone.

BIRX: A mask does prevent droplets from reaching others.

FAUCI: As long as you are not in a crowd and you are not in a situation where you can physically transmit the virus and that is what a mask is for.

ADAMS: Remember, I wear my face covering to protect you and you wear yours to protect me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The bottom line here, there is a risk but it is a grave risk, the outside may be lower but there is still a risk.

Also, add to this, we still don't know a lot about how transmission occurs, so without getting into the politics of it all, is someone right to be wearing a mask outside, even on a nice day?

KALSI: Absolutely and I think individuals will make the risk individually. It's hard to interpret what President Trump's remarks about Biden's use of the mask -- I think leadership comes with a great gravity in terms of, you lead with example and we know what science and scientists have told us about COVID.

And the best of science tells us that wearing a mask in close proximity to others and certainly within 6 to 10 feet is important. So to see someone like Biden wearing a mask is representative, it is leadership.

To make comments anything less complimentary of that leadership is derogatory, in my opinion. When people go out and choose not to wear a mask, 2 things happen.

One, they do confer some risk to themselves and others but they also suggest and confer some discomfort to other watching them, because some people are invested in wearing masks and believe in science and that is not fair to others. VAUSE: It's funny you should mention that, what the president does or

does not do carries a lot of influence. I want to listen to one man who was not wearing a mask and here was his reason why, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he's not wearing a mask, I'm not wearing a mask. If he's not worried, I am not worried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the "he" was referring to was the president so if someone is not inclined to wear a mask and they see a leader not wearing one, that seems like tacit approval to not do so.

KALSI: Absolutely. We have to start from the top down. And I think, with all due respect to the executive branch, we need to give up our personal grievances toward the Left and the Right and whatever we don't believe in and focus on the people, the people that we govern.

As I've come on here and said that I'm not a politician but I believe in science and science tells us something very simple: wear a mask. If leadership is not doing that, there is a strong percentage of people out there in America that are counting own leadership to guide them, whether it is visually or verbally. And they will listen to them.

So if they see President Trump not wearing a mask, they will do the same, as you just heard there.

VAUSE: Adding to this pile of what is and what's not known, now this new information about testing and, in particular, antibody tests used to determine if people have been infected in the past may be wrong up to half the time, the CDC has. Said.

On the upside, it means they're right half the time but why so many problems with testing?

If the tests are not reliable and there's no vaccine, what does that mean for efforts to try and control, not just a second wave but maybe a second peak?

[00:10:00]

KALSI: Great question. We are pushing the envelope because this is a pandemic. This is unprecedented times, John. And we are pushing science to speeds they are not used to and not meant for, so these tests are being pushed beyond what we are notably and reliably able to push them to. And we're getting false negatives.

That means somebody is positive for antibodies but the test says negative. And that is frustrating for sure. But it is something we are being asked to do as scientists and doctors is, get the people the tests that they want because we are afraid.

And fear is driving a lot of this. Fear. If it was not for the fear, we'd take our time, sit back and only vetting the tests that were appropriate and valid.

What does it say about moving forward into safety for America?

That we cannot rely on these tests absolutely and we don't know how to really interpret a 50 percent sensitivity test for moving forward and determining who is safe and who is not.

VAUSE: Very quickly, we're almost out of time, but do you believe a second peak will come in 4 to 5 months to coincide with the flu?

Overall, is that enough time for this health system to recover after it's been somewhat stressed and strained at the beginning part of the year?

It's a time to restart, rebuild and for everyone to go full speed in the next period of time?

KALSI: Not at all. We still, John, don't have the appropriate PPE for COVID right now. We are months away from a flu season.

What on Earth are we going to do when we have people with influenza who have the exact symptoms of COVID?

What are we going to do?

We will not have the supplies, we will not have the robust safety measures in place, because, as evidenced by all of health care, we just don't have enough. I have yet to see the evidence that we will be prepared for the next few months for the flu in addition to a possible Fauci-predicted second wave of COVID.

VAUSE: Dr. Raj Kalsi, thank you so much, we appreciate your insights.

KALSI: Thank you.

VAUSE: A police presence has been deployed across Hong Kong. Protesters posted on social media plans to disrupt a national anthem bill. Police have made such a few arrests but demonstrators could pass a maximum of 5 years in jail for unlawful gathering. The anthem bill is seen as a power grab by Beijing, expected to become law next month and require China's national anthem to be taught in school and would criminalize disrespecting the anthem with up to 3 years in jail and a maximum fine of up to $6,000.

CNN's Anna Coren is live for us in Hong Kong.

Anna, right now, it seems relatively quiet.

Is it likely to stay that way or could there be a flashpoint up ahead?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it was quite extraordinary coming into Central and to LegCo, where we are right now. There are police absolutely everywhere and they started deploying last night around the city. There are at least 3,000 police across Hong Kong at the moment. We are hearing of there being random searches of bags; cars are being

stopped that are slowing down. Journalists are being pinned in, you can see behind us these journalists are being forced above these walkways. That was the only way we were able to come to here and we had to come through security blocks and the security police checkpoints before we were able to go to the legislative chamber building, where we always have been able to just drive up to.

The police presence is incredibly heavy and there is a warning issued by police, saying that anyone caught assembling outside of LegCo could face 5 years jail time. It does feel like Hong Kong has become a police state.

And I spoke to a young Hong Kong journalist a little bit earlier. And he said that he feels hopeless. This is over, like, the fight is over. Protesters can't get here. Arrests have been made over the last couple of hours, a few people arrested for loitering, for having some gas masks in a bag.

They were preparing to come down here but no one can get down here. The only reason we are allowed is because we are the press. Right now, behind, me is the legislative council building and that is where the national anthem bill is currently being debated.

[00:15:00]

COREN: This is the second reading, if you like. The final vote is taking place on June 4th, which is now, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. It is almost like they're rubbing salt into the wounds of Hong Kongers, because as we, know this is the only place and China where at least in the past, they have been able to hold this vigil where hundreds of thousands of people gather in Victoria Park to remember those who lost their lives on that day.

But with the social distancing laws now in place banning any more than 8 people coming together and also this heavy police presence where, if you are assembling, it is immediately deemed an unlawful assembly. People will be arrested if they turn out on June 4th.

So in the midst of this national security law, which is expected to be voted on at the National Peoples Congress tomorrow in Beijing, as to when that comes into effect, we are hearing that it will happen sometime in June, possibly July. Local leaders say it must be in place before August.

You would have to assume July will happen as soon as possible. As for today and the number of protesters, we have seen no protests ourselves. Obviously, local media have managed to capture some people chanting in a shopping center.

Even then, police were very heavily present. Protesting today will be almost impossible for people to come together and voice their opposition.

VAUSE: We are watching the future unfold right now in Hong Kong. This is the new Hong Kong under the heavy hand of Xi Jinping. As the former British governor of Hong Kong, the last governor said, Beijing has ripped up that agreement they made with London in 1997. We will have more on that later this hour.

Anna, in the, meantime thank you so much for being with us. Anna Coren live in Hong Kong.

A short break. When we come, back to CNN is reporting from the heart of the Amazon where the number of dead is overwhelming one Brazilian city. The grim reality from the ground. That's next.

Later this hour, a different scene in Spain, where beaches will soon reopen. How Europe is reviving tourism in the midst of a pandemic.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.

In Hong Kong police have surrendered the legislative council building to prevent large-scale protests. Demonstrators planned to rally against a controversial bill, which criminalizes all insulting of China's national anthem. Heavy police presence kept people away as legislators debate this bill, which is expected to pass.

[00:20:00]

VAUSE: We are joined now by Antony Dapiran, lawyer and author of "City of Protest: A Recent History Of Dissent in Hong Kong."

Antony, it's good to see you again. Just to be, clear the law they are debating right now, it would criminalize insulting the Chinese national, anthem. This seems to be more the opening act before the main game. The law seems much more sweeping.

ANTONY DAPIRAN, ATTORNEY AND AUTHOR: Yes, absolutely, initially this national anthem law was what everyone had their eye on and was worried about. That was before Beijing announced the new security law last week. Now the significance of this somewhat pales into the background with the much bigger security law looming and being considered by the National People's Congress in Beijing tomorrow.

VAUSE: The last British governor of Hong Kong accused Beijing of effectively tearing up the deal that was struck with London for 1997, which promised continued autonomy for the territory, including rule of law, freedom of the press. This is what he told CNN earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS PATTEN, FORMER HONG KONG GOVERNOR: Why is China doing it?

Now why is Xi Jinping doing it now?

Because the Chinese government today, the Chinese Communist Party is terrified of what it has promised to people in Hong Kong, the rule of law and freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That may be well and true but it doesn't explain the timing. Here why has Beijing decided this is the time to bring Hong Kong into line?

There have been plenty of other opportunities in years past.

DAPIRAN: I do you think the scale of the protests last year, the direct defiance that they showed to Beijing's rule, the calls for independence that popped out in the course of those protests, you really have to see those protests last year as the biggest open defiance of Communist Party rule on Chinese soil at least since 1989.

That really alarmed Beijing. There is also the bigger context of the ongoing trade war with the United States. Perhaps Beijing feels they need to put their foot down, not only to show the people within China that they are in control but to show people in Hong Kong who is boss and send a message to the U.S. that Beijing is in control and will not put up with interference by any other country.

VAUSE: We heard from the commander of the People's Liberation Army garrison which is stationed in Hong Kong. He has 10,000 troops and said they are ready to safeguard Chinese sovereignty of Hong Kong. The general secretary said it is necessary to step up preparations for armed combat, to flexibly carry out actual combat military training and to improve our military's ability to perform military missions.

If he wasn't talking about Hong Kong, what else is he referring to?

DAPIRAN: That is certainly very alarming, not just for people in Hong Kong but I dare say to people in Taiwan, as well. It was a notable omission of the words "peaceful" before the word "reunification," when Taiwan was discussed last week at the National Peoples Congress sessions.

All of this has to be seen not just the context of keeping control over Hong Kong but looking at an eventual unification with Taiwan, one way or the other. Those messages are also intended for the audience over on Taiwan.

VAUSE: You mentioned this is also a message for the United States and rest of the world. President Trump, the U.S. president, has promised a response to China's move. He says, in the next couple of days, Peter Navarro, a well-known China hawk, made what seemed like an incredible accusation on FOX News a few hours ago. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER NAVARRO, TRUMP TRADE ADVISER: This is what astonishes me. The evidence, Martha, is overwhelming that the Chinese Communist Party foisted this pandemic on the world to stall trillions of dollars wealth. They killed close to 100,000 Americans so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: That's a reference to the death toll from the coronavirus in the U.S. But accusing Beijing of directly having blood on their hands for the pandemic seems more than inflammatory. It plays to the domestic base in the U.S. But that won't go down well with the Communist government.

DAPIRAN: No, it is clearly a very inflammatory accusation, one that there is no concrete evidence for. That really goes further to encourage the mentality of being under siege in Beijing.

They have really had no friends across the Pacific in the U.S. and really, that hardens their resolve to put their foot down and not engage on the issue with the U.S. or the broader global community. That sort of rhetoric really is a concern and is not helpful.

VAUSE: It also begs the question, what happened to that special relationship between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump that was forged over chocolate cake at Mar-a-lago while lobbing missiles into Syria?

DAPIRAN: Things do seem to have changed. President Trump is always a deal maker. Perhaps, when he felt there was a deal to be, made he was willing to act as a friendly negotiating partner. But now a deal looks unlikely.

[00:25:00]

DAPIRAN: He seems to have soured on the relationship. I believe that on Beijing, they may be wounds whether they have any rational negotiating partner to deal with rationally. So it seems like things are rapidly souring in both directions.

VAUSE: It seems a fair question to ask at this point by Beijing, given what we are hearing from the White House. Thank you for being with us, Antony Dapiran.

DAPIRAN: Take care. Thank you.

VAUSE: Take care.

Brazil has recorded a higher daily coronavirus death toll today than the United States for the second consecutive day. The country had over 1,000 deaths on, Tuesday bringing the nationwide toll to 24.5 thousand. As CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports, the official numbers do not tell the entire story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: This is a landing of last resort, seeking salvation in a coronavirus hotbed. Tiny planes bring the sickest COVID patients from hundreds of miles away, deep in the Amazon to Manaus, Brazil's worst hit city and to a hospital bed, a journey most make alone, from which some won't go home.

This is what doing well looks like on these flights, moving. The woman on board, struggling, motionless. Once they had to intubate a patient in midair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very hard. You carry a weight that you don't see. Every time I carry this weight, I feel like I carry this weight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: They arrive in a city mired not only in death, but also fury. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has made light of the virus and called the mayor here a piece of excrement for digging these mass graves. They had little choice here when the bodies started piling up.

This month, they buried 103 in one day, digging at night. Even in two hours, five come, one by one, laid in the trench. Many mourners say there's aren't coronavirus deaths, but it's hard to know here.

The official numbers in Brazil don't tell the whole picture, partly because there isn't enough testing. You can see that here. These are those who have died and have tested positive for coronavirus. But these graves, staggeringly, well, they are the ones that they suspect may have died of the disease. The mass burial itself distressing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEDRO CHAVES, MANAUS RESIDENT: I just want to put my mom there and finish this. We don't need this. My family doesn't need this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: We asked the gravediggers who thinks fewer would have died here if the president had kept quiet.

"No one listens to Bolsonaro," one says. "He is not there for the people," said another. "He should have asked us what was going on."

But still, the hospitals here receive a daily stream of new patients, these from outlying villages where local tribes live, badly hit.

The ICU, which avoids ventilators where possible, using less invasive means, is frenetic. And even the patients have heard what the president said.

"The mayor is just trying to save lives," says Raimondo (Ph), "and the president is against that."

Inside, a local indigenous leader visits, newly adopting the role from his father killed by the virus two weeks ago.

"I took my father into hospital where he was intubated for five days," he says. "Now, we have 300 people with symptoms. Politically, the president forgot us and it's killing the indigenous people."

Bolsonaro insists he is for economic growth and safety, but the virus is still tearing through the poor here. Their remote way of life was no protection from this modern plague. It just put help further away -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Manaus, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joe Biden, the counter puncher?

Still to come, the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, serving up a Trumpian comeback in response to a Donald Trump insult.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

[00:31:30]

Well, the master of distraction is back at it. President Trump once again pushing false claims, irrelevant, debunked conspiracy theories. All the time, the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. heads towards 100,000.

CNN's Jim Acosta has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the U.S. approaches the grim milestone of 100,000 American lives lost to the coronavirus, President Trump is touting his handling of the pandemic as a success.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think cures are going to be in there very shortly.

ACOSTA: The U.S. will hit 100,000 deaths this week, an astounding number, far higher than countries like South Korea, which does have a smaller population, but fewer than 300 deaths.

The president is defending his performance, tweeting, "For all the political hacks out there, if I hadn't done my job well and early, we would have lost one and a half to 2 million people, as opposed to the 100,000 plus that looks like will be the number. That's 15 to 20 times more than we will lose."

But hold on. The president once predicted the virus would just disappear.

TRUMP: It looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little bit warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that's true.

ACOSTA: Mr. Trump is attempting to distract the public, tweeting about false conspiracy theories, calling for the opening of a cold case against MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, perpetuating a baseless accusation, and insisting without evidence that "There is NO WAY (ZERO) that Mail- In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent."

Mr. Trump also mocked former Vice President Joe Biden for wearing a mask to a Memorial Day service, something the president decided against, making for a split-screen campaign moment.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany questioned why Biden isn't wearing a mask in his basement, but health experts are not recommending masks at home.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It is a bit peculiar, though, that in his basement, right next to his wife, he's not wearing a mask. But he's wearing one outdoors, when he's socially distanced. So I think that there is a discrepancy there.

ACOSTA: The president later claimed he wasn't criticizing Biden.

TRUMP: Biden can wear a mask, but he was standing outside with his wife, perfect conditions, perfect weather. They're inside, they don't wear masks, and so I thought it was very unusual that he had one on.

ACOSTA: The problem for the president: his own health experts, the CDC, and even his former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, recommend masks in crowded settings.

MICK MULVANEY, FORMER ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: What it means is, if we aren't careful about social distancing and putting on masks and so forth, we should be able to go back to work sooner rather than later.

ACOSTA: A recent Quinnipiac poll found two-thirds of Americans believe masks should be required in public. Some Trump supporters would rather face the virus without protection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if he's not wearing a mask, I'm not going to wear a mask. If he's not worried, I'm not worried.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

ACOSTA: Another Trump distraction: his threat to move the upcoming RNC convention out of North Carolina, in protest of that state's reopening plans. Now other states are vying for the event.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The door is open. We want to have the conversation, whether it's RNC, DNC, whatever, because I think it will be good for the people of Florida.

ACOSTA: One administration official who dared question the White House response, former health and human services deputy inspector general Christi Grimm, stood by the report issued by her office, pointing to shortages of medical supplies at the start of the pandemic.

CHRISTI GRIMM, FORMER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL: We are in partial and what we do and, really, anything that is done that could impair independence, I think, compromises the effectiveness of oversight of programs that are there to serve the American public.

Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, after being mocked by President Trump for wearing a face mask, former Vice President Joe Biden did not take the high road. In an interview with CNN, he insulted Trump's intelligence and accused him of promoting a culture which is costing lives.

[00:35:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's a fool, an absolute fool to talk that way. I mean, every leading doc in the world is saying we should wear a mask when you're in a crowd.

I think you've got a president who is supposed to lead by example, and -- and I watched -- I watched the president yesterday, wearing no mask, you know, and making fun of the fact that I wore a mask. The truth of the matter is that I think he's supposed to lead by example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Biden also said Trump was missing a step, implying he wasn't quite up to speed, and blasted him for frequently lying about voter fraud.

It's now getting easier to tell if the president is lying or making false claims. For the first time, his favorite platform -- that would be Twitter -- highlighting some of his tweets as potentially misleading. The understatement of the year. Two of them, which falsely claimed that the mail-in ballots would result in widespread voter fraud, were flagged on Tuesday. Below the tweets, a link to get the facts about mail-in ballots.

President Trump clearly unhappy about the additional context, tweeting this: "Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will now allow it to happen!"

Well, there are signs of optimism on Wall Street.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo rang the opening bell Tuesday as full trading resumed at the New York Stock Exchange after a two-month-long break. Traders wore masks and are now separated by Plexiglass.

Stocks rallied across the board on news of another human trial for a COVID-19 vaccine. More signs of business picking up over the holiday weekend in the U.S.

Meantime, we'll take a quick look at the Asian markets. Let's see what's happening there.

No, we don't have them right now. But we'll get back to that in a moment.

The French government is planning to spend almost $9 billion to bail out the auto industry. President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement, which includes incentives to boost sales of electric and hybrid vehicles. Compared to the same time last year, sales are down 80 percent, leaving almost 400,000 new cars sitting idle.

In return, the car industry is expected to keep manufacturing and production in France.

Meantime, the unique alliance between car makers Renaud, Nissan and Mitsubishi set to be restructured, with a new recovery plan expected to be announced in the coming hours.

The partnership was already under pressure after the 2018 arrest of then-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, followed by the next year, falling sales and profits. Now with a total collapse in global car demand, the three are looking to significantly cut costs to survive. That will most likely mean a big reduction in their combined workforce of roughly 450,000.

Kaori Enjoji has details now, live from Tokyo. So you know, Kaori, back in 2017, these three big car makers, their ambition was to become the world's biggest. Now their goal is to survive.

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: Yes, I mean, this ambition to be the biggest has really backfired, and this is a make or break moment for the alliance between Renault and Nissan and, the smaller partner, Mitsubishi Motors.

The writing is on the wall. I mean, car dealers are offering 0 percent loans, and no cash down payment for months to try and get product off the shelves. The showrooms are still closed in many parts of the world.

And ever since the arrest that you mentioned of Carlos Ghosn, the management has been in paralysis.

And Macron is underlying the severity of the problem. His economics minister was saying over the weekend, Look, Renault might disappear if it doesn't get help.

So analysts are saying that, unless they announce major closures in factories that are not really productive, which could lead to the furloughing or dismissal of thousands of employees, there's really no hope for this alliance to go through.

I mean, 20 years ago, Nissan and Renault got together, but there's -- this has also been a very uneasy alliance, particularly for Nissan, because Renault has such an outside say in the management of the business.

So they tried to put new management in place. But there's a lot of concern about how they're going to do this going forward.

The consensus seems to be that each company will do what it seems like they're good at doing. So Renault might focus on the European market, Mitsubishi is better in the southeast Asian markets. And then maybe Nissan might focus China and their electric vehicles strategy. So we want to hear more of that today, and then we'll probably have to

wait until tomorrow, when Nissan announces their numbers for the full fiscal year and a road map for the next three years.

But we already know Nissan is in a big trouble. Their profits are going to be the lowest we've seen in 11 years. So investors are saying that, if they -- if we don't see an announcement from these companies about factory closures and job cuts, then they are going to be very disappointed, John.

VAUSE: Yes, and obviously, tough times ahead for all three, but especially Nissan, and a lot of other makers out there, too.

Kaori, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

Well, the coronavirus has paralyzed Spain's tourism industry, devastated its summer economy. Now, the country is looking to welcome international travelers at the start of July.

CNN's Atika Shubert has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[00:40:04]

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): German golfers on Spanish greens. More than four million German visitors come here to Mallorca every year.

Tourism is the bedrock of Mallorca's economy, and officials here say 97 percent of the island's tourism relies on visitors from Europe, particularly Germans.

Like so many holiday destinations, the pandemic threatens to destroy Mallorca's summer season, even if travel restrictions are eased, says course owner Dirk Duenkler.

DIRK DUENKLER, GOLF AND ANDARTXA OWNER: The fear is there. And people stay -- I guess, the other day, I was talking to a couple which I miss (ph) in our club, and they said to me, Well, we would like to go -- we want to go on holidays, but we prefer to go to a place where we can get by car, because when something happens, we just take our car and we drive home.

SHUBERT: COVID-19 has killed nearly 30,000 in Spain, but mostly in the big cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

Mallorca is relatively unscathed, with far fewer infections. Restrictions are easing up and, in coronavirus terms, the island is similar, in fact, to the low infection rates in Germany.

(on camera): Mallorca is the second home for many Germans. Celebrities including supermodel Claudia Schiffer have her villas on this side of the island. And in fact, more than 100 German holiday home owners have demanded the right to return here. But is there a way to do that safely? (voice-over): Yes, says Miquel Oliu Barton, coauthor of a new proposal

that he says would work in the E.U. and beyond.

MIQUEL OLIU BARTON, PARIS-DAUPHINE UNIVERSITY: We all like beautiful beaches, but we all want to be safe if there is a cluster of infection, just out -- a new outbreak while we are having our vacation at the beach.

SHUBERT: Here's what that might look like: verified green zones that have the virus under control would allow free travel between them. A Bavarian visitor could directly fly to Mallorca, even if national borders are closed.

Testing and tracing, hospital capacity and other strict criteria would need to be E.U.-certified, and countries have to prove they can keep green zones safe and isolated from red zones, where the virus may still be spreading.

Tourism official Rosana Morillo hopes the plan will work.

ROSANA MORILLO, BALEARIC ISLANDS DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR TOURISM: If we're to save tourists that are in the same situation as we are, we think it's safe us, and it's safe for them.

SHUBERT: Beaches across Spain are keen to show they can ensure visitor safety, devising apps to book blankets space on the beach, laying sand grids to enforce social distancing.

Travel restrictions are still in effect, however. Until the plan is approved, the beaches will have to wait a little longer.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Mallorca, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come: pushed to the breaking point. Lebanon's crippling economic crisis has tossed thousands of migrant workers onto the streets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, protests have erupted in the U.S. state of Minnesota, with demands for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

The four officers who made the arrest have been fired.

[00:45:11]

On Monday, a video released showed one officer kneeling on Floyd's neck. Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe. Police say he was resisting arrest. However, the video did not record moments before the arrest. Nor did it show Floyd resisting.

Here's just a short clip, but a warning: Some may find this disturbing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want?

GEORGE FLOYD, KILLED BY OFFICERS: I can't breathe. Please (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I can't breathe, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, get up, get in the car, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Minneapolis mayor has condemned the incident and backs the decision to fire the four arresting officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR: JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: What we saw was horrible, completely and utterly messed up. This man's life matters. He matters.

I believe what I saw, and what I saw was wrong at every level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The FBI has now opened an investigation.

Lebanon's economy was already in free fall when the country went into lockdown. Now, during the coronavirus pandemic, the financial crisis is pushing thousands of migrant workers past the breaking point.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports on the worsening humanitarian situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are times Juliana's (ph) thinks of giving her up. Maybe someone else can give her 4-year-old a good life. It's unthinkable, but what do you do when you have nothing, when you would do anything to protect your child?

A few months ago, the single mother was making just about enough to pay rent and feed her daughter, but since the coronavirus lockdown, Aia has had no work. She hasn't been able to pay rent in two months and is now facing eviction.

She slept on the streets back home in Ethiopia and here in Beirut. The thought of her daughter being homeless keeps her up at night.

"Since my childhood, I've had a very bad life," she says. "I don't want my daughter to have the same life that I've had."

Like Aia, an estimated 250,000 migrant women, most from Ethiopia, came to Lebanon to be housemates, making as little as 150 U.S. dollars a month. Many have endured years of abuse and exploitation, but they've experienced nothing like what they're going through right now. The coronavirus lockdown hit an economy already on the verge of

collapse, and now most Lebanese can no longer afford domestic workers, leaving thousands of migrant women jobless and penniless.

BANCHYIMER MULLU, FOUNDER, EGNA LEGNA: There are strong women and helping their families, taking care of their family, and paying education, building a house. Those women are -- don't have even food on the table, and they're asking for help to feed their kids and to -- to live, to survive.

KARADSHEH: Yimer set up her group to empower Ethiopian domestic workers. Now, her volunteers are working around the clock to feed them, relying on donations through crowdfunding. Every day, the list of those in need is growing.

IMANE EL-HAYEK, CASEWORKER, ANTI-RACISM MOVEMENT: The situation is terrible.

KARADSHEH: The Anti-Racism Movement, an advocacy group defending the rights of migrant workers in Lebanon is now, for the first time ever, having to do relief work: distributing food supplies to 2,000 people a month. But so many need more than food to survive.

EL-HAYEK: There's a shattering (ph) of cases that were just thrown out of their employer's house against their will, and who are now literally stranded on the streets, with all the official shelters being closed or are full because of the corona crisis, with their emphasis on consulates being nonresponsive, and we literally have no place to put these people.

KARADSHEH: Some are already sleeping on the streets.

With news of repatriation flights resuming, there's a desperate wait outside the Ethiopian consulate. Some have been here for days. They just want to go home, but even that comes with a price tag most can't afford: more than $1,000 for a plane ticket and their government's mandatory 14-day quarantine, leaving them trapped in this limbo, stranded and alone.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A short break, a lot more news when we come back. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:51:13]

VAUSE: A labor shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic is squeezing America's farmers, and it could have big implications for the U.S. food supply.

CNN's Sara Sidner has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twelve-year-old Halley Eliason (ph) is working to help save her family farm --

HALLEY ELIASON (PH), FAMILY OWNS FARM: Meh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Halley (ph), go get one of those (UNINTELLIGIBLE) now.

SIDNER: -- instead of worrying about getting ready for school. She rises early to tend to hundreds of newborns. She's the youngest of four sisters whose lives changed because of the pandemic.

WADE ELIASON, RANCHER, BOX L RANCH: The kids have really stepped up and filled that void.

SIDNER: Already suffering from collapsed wool and lamb meat markets, Wade Eliason (ph) has 4,000 ewes to care for on his sprawling Utah ranch, but he's missing half of his workers. They couldn't make it into the country from Peru.

W. ELIASON: When we all first started hearing about the coronavirus, it was like, OK, whatever. But as we know, it's become very real to each one of us in different ways.

SIDNER: The six-generation farmer says he'll only have three qualified men to care for his entire flock through late fall.

RON GIBSON, PRESIDENT, UTAH FARM BUREAU: If we don't have the people to help us harvest these crops, we don't have a crop. And if we don't have a crop, America doesn't eat. It's that simple.

SIDNER: Dairy farmer Ron Gibson knows this pain. He's the president of the Utah Farm Bureau. Gibson says people underestimate the importance of highly-skilled guest workers.

GIBSON: They know our fields. They know our crops. They know how we harvest. They know our animals. They know everything about what they're doing.

I don't want my tomato pickers performing heart surgery on me, but I surely don't want a heart surgeon picking my tomatoes.

SIDNER: Gibson says the pandemic has caused visa processing delays. That, combined with coronavirus travel restrictions in Central and South America, have created a serious labor shortage for farmers across the country.

GIBSON: I've had a lot of people come up to me and say, Well, man, unemployment is so high. You guys probably have a lot of people that want to come work on the farm.

I haven't had one person from my community come to me during this whole crisis and say, Can I have a job?

SIDNER: Curtis Rowley is struggling with something else: the safety of his workers.

CURTIS ROWLEY, FARMER, CHERRY HILL FARMS: One of my biggest fears this year is if one of them gets sick, then how many more are going to get sick?

SIDNER: Some of the Mexican workers he hired managed to enter the country and get to his Santaquin, Utah, orchards before delays took hold.

ROWLEY: With the number of men we have here right now, we can't afford to have even three of them get sick and not be out working.

SIDNER: After arriving from Mexico, workers were quarantined for two weeks. Rowley emphasizes handwashing and has added more housing facilities, creating greater space amongst employees. He also checks workers' temperatures and routinely asks if they have any symptoms.

ROWLEY: We still have that hope we're going to get the fruit harvested, people are going to get the best product they can get.

W. ELIASON: Put it over there.

SIDNER: Back on the Eliason ranch, the lambing season is nearly complete. Eliason and his family hope to get through a few more difficult weeks and eventually have the rest of their workers on the ranch. For now, though, his children are taking up as much slack as possible.

W. ELIASON: Even if school starts, I told the girls, I says, you're not going back to school anyhow, because we've got to take care of this at this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thanks to Sara Sidner for that report.

The global pandemic has not delayed SpaceX plans to send American astronauts to the International Space Station. Crews expected to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the coming hours. It will be the first time in history a commercial aerospace company has carried humans into earth's orbit.

[00:55:10]

As we count down to the SpaceX launch, CNN's Clare Sebastian looks at the controversies and the triumphs of founder Elon Musk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elon Musk's unfiltered style and unedited tweets haven't tempered his rise. Tesla is the clear market leader in electric vehicles. The company's stock price has quadrupled in the past year. And now he's bringing back human spaceflight to American soil.

DAN IVES, SENIOR EQUITY RESEARCH ANALYST, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: He's almost viewed as Teflon like, in terms of when you look at a stock that's north of $800, going through this COVID-19 pandemic as a car company, and everything that Tesla and Musk has been through on the cusp of launching, you know, another rocket into space with SpaceX, the Musk brand has gone much more what I would say almost cultural iconic status among his fans.

SEBASTIAN: Controversy is a big part of the brand, and that has also hit new highs in the past few months, Musk tweeting, quote, "The coronavirus panic is dumb,{ and proclaiming there would probably be no new cases in the U.S. by the end of April.

On Tesla's most recent earnings call, he railed against lockdown orders.

ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: To say that they cannot leave their house, and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist.

SEBASTIAN: His frustration culminating in mid-May when he reopened his California factory, in defiance of local regulations.

While he eventually reached a deal with the county, experts say the move still carries considerable reputational risk for Mush, should the plant have health and safety issues later.

Not enough to deter a presidential tweet in support of Musk's battle to reopen.

IVEY: As rebellious as he is, he's almost become viewed as such an asset within the country to both state government officials and others that have different transportational, logistical worries, and that' s why I think you continue to see that status elevate, especially not just on Tesla's side, but SpaceX is a big geese (ph).

SEBASTIAN: Brand Musk has withstood multiple spats with investors --

MUSK: Boring bonehead questions are not cool. Next?

SEBASTIAN: -- a lawsuit by U.S. regulators over a series of tweets that cost him the chairmanship of Tesla --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Musk's tweets were false and misleading.

SEBASTIAN: -- and a trial for defamation, which she won.

And yet, as the global pandemic upends the auto market, competition in electric vehicles mounts, and he takes a great leap into human space travel. The ultimate disrupter's brand faces a whole new set of challenges.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. I'll be back with more news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END