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New Day Sunday

Worldwide Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses 600,000; FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization For COVID-19 Pool Testing; White House And Senate GOP At Odds Over Funding Testing; At Least Two Florida Counties Under Curfew To Fight Coronavirus Spread; Florida Records 10,000-Plus Cases, 90 Deaths Saturday; Texas Reports More Than 10,000 Cases For Fifth Straight Day; Georgia Governor And Atlanta Mayor Clash Over Mandating Masks. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired July 19, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:14]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another day, another incredible surge in coronavirus cases across the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a little frustration, a lot of anger that we're in this place. We shouldn't have been in this position. We are the example of why masks are important.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Mayor Bottoms' mask mandate cannot be enforced.

MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), ATLANTA, GEORGIA: The people in our state are dying. And perhaps the governor doesn't know anyone who has lost a loved one to COVID-19. I do.

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D-GA): We cannot give up now. We cannot give in. We must keep the faith. Keep our eyes on the prize.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he is probably one of the more greater titans over the last century.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His youthful spirit and his fight was very contagious and filled everyone up that was around him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning to you. I'm Victor Blackwell. You're watching NEW DAY and it is July 19th.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Abby Phillip in today for Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: So the coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 600,000 people around the world. But the epicenter is right here in the U.S. COVID-19 is killing hundreds of Americans a day.

PHILLIP: For a fifth day in a row, Texas has reported more than 10,000 new cases. And in an effort to speed up testing, the FDA has approved new pool testing. That means that samples from up to four people could be tested at once.

BLACKWELL: Also in an interview scheduled to air today, President Trump says that he will not consider a national mask mandate. He says it's because of his investment in personal freedom.

PHILLIP: And in the meantime, a new Senate bill is pitting the White House against Senate Republicans. A source tells CNN that the Trump administration wants to block further funding for the CDC's contact tracing and testing in the next round of stimulus spending.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's go to Florida where there are at least two counties right now that are under curfew to try to fight the spread. But Governor Ron DeSantis has not implemented a statewide mask mandate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL (voice-over): There are alarming new coronavirus numbers coming from Florida. The latest from state health officials on Saturday more than 10,000 new infections and 90 deaths in one day.

MAYOR DAN GELBER (D), MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: All the mayors and commissioners and managers are obviously very troubled and we're all consulting with one another to try to figure out what the next step will be that will help us get tempt this down and reduce the trajectory.

BLACKWELL: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday that the state will not prosecute people for not wearing masks.

Texas is also reporting shocking numbers. More than 10,000 people tested positive in that state again on Saturday and health systems are being stretched.

MAYOR STEVE ADLER (D), AUSTIN, TEXAS: There are parts of the state that are seeing so many cases with intensive care units that are so stressed that are asking for the ability to exert some local control, to make choices that are the right choices for their city and I wish my governor would give that to them.

BLACKWELL: Coronavirus cases are rising sharply in Georgia, too. And the governor and the mayor of Atlanta are fighting over how to handle the pandemic.

MAYOR HARDIE DAVIS (D), AUGUSTA, GEORGIA: With the governor's efforts around trying to mandate that we couldn't enforce our local executive orders, many of our cities across the state of Georgia enacted them anyway out of an abundance of caution and concern for our cities.

BLACKWELL: The CDC is offering new guidance for people who have tested positive for coronavirus whether they have symptoms or are asymptomatic. The CDC now says that those people may quit isolating 10 days after symptoms first appeared as long as 24 hours have passed since their last fever without use of fever medication. Or if a fever has passed without use of meds and two tests taken more than 24 hours apart come back negative.

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: What the CDC is giving us is a better sense of the calipers around when the period is. But the same points that the public should understand remain clear.

Number one, everybody ought to be masking and staying socially distant because you may not know that you're spreading it even before you have symptoms or without symptoms. But if you do have symptoms, after those symptoms subside, we have a better sense of when then you can -- you can assume that you're not shedding virus. And this is really what the CDC is explaining to the public.

BLACKWELL: With the surge of cases over the last few weeks, models now predict more than 150,000 deaths linked to COVID-19 by August eighth, according to an ensemble forecast published by the CDC. And coronavirus is spreading around the world. The World Health Organization reported Saturday more than a quarter million new cases.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:05:01]

PHILLIP: Let's go now to Kristen Holmes who is at the White House live for us. President Trump remains opposed to any national mask mandate on mask wearing. What is that all about, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Abby, that's right. I mean, this is just more mixed messaging coming out of the White House.

We heard all week from this nation's top health experts, these are members of the coronavirus task force who talked about how important wearing a mask was. And it wasn't just this week, they've been talking about this for months. We know that the director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, this is what he actually said this week. He said, if all of us would just put on a face covering for the next four to six weeks, we could drive this epidemic to the ground.

Now, that is what President Trump took issue with when he was asked about a mask mandate. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don't believe in that. No, and I don't agree with the statement that if everybody wear a mask everything disappears. Dr. Fauci said, don't wear a mask. Our surgeon general, terrific guy said, don't wear a mask. Everybody who is saying don't wear a mask -- all of a sudden everybody has to wear a mask. And as you know masks cause problems, too. With that being said, I'm a believer in masks. I think masks are good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: OK. So, a lot to kind of break down here. One is, Dr. Fauci and the surgeon general did in fact say not to wear a mask early on in the pandemic. This was for two reasons. One, we just didn't have enough information about what coronavirus was and how it spread. Two, they were trying to save masks for the actual medical workers at that time.

Remember, there was a huge shortage of masks. The other thing that I want to point out here, masks have become sort of a flash point here. A political, a cultural movement. And people on one side saying that it really does infringe on their civil liberties.

Those people, many of them, are President Trump's supporters. And if we've learned anything over the past three years, President Trump is not going to step on his base, on his supporters. No matter what these medical experts say, he's going to continue to do what he thinks is right in a sense of his election and winning in November.

BLACKWELL: Kristen, let me ask you about talk the White House's effort to block billions of dollars in this next stimulus plan for money for testing, to the CDC, what do you know?

HOLMES: That's right, Victor. Essentially we're going to learn the details of this bill sometime this coming week. But it has become somewhat of the White House versus these Republican senators when it comes to this funding for the CDC.

Now, these Republican senators say they need more funding for tracing and testing as you said. The White House argument is, well, the CDC still has money left over from the last stimulus bill back in March.

But, Victor, one thing I think we can both talk about personally here is whether or not the CDC has money left over. There is a problem with testing in this country. I know it took you two weeks to get your results. It took my husband over nine days to get his.

This is not a time to cut funding in any way when there's an issue that like in the country. We know that this is not a unique situation. People across the country are trying to get tested, waiting for those results and there's clearly a backlog. If any funds could help that would be something that I think the administration would want to get onboard with.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I'm not especially sure how cutting funding for testing and to the CDC and for mitigation helps control this virus. But let's put that to our next guest. Kristen Holmes, thanks so much, at the White House.

Let's bring in Dr. Rob Davidson, emergency room physician and executive director for the Committee to Protect Medicare. Let's start right there. This report that the White House is trying to block billions of dollars for the CDC, the Pentagon and the state department to respond to the pandemic and then billions more for testing and contact tracing in the states. Politics aside, what does that mean for public health?

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT MEDICARE: Good morning. Thanks a lot for having me here. Yes. I think for public health, it means we still are fighting this virus with at least one hand tied behind our backs. We do know it's taking over a week in some places to get test results back. And I was in my community, I used to be on the school board, was having a conversation with our superintendent about putting kids back in school which I want. I have two kids in public school.

But if we don't have rapid turn-around testing what do we do with a kid or a teacher who turns positive? Do they stay out for a week? In businesses, do they shut down for a week or more? Or could we get rapid turn-around testing after 24 to 48 hours and actually keep the economy going, keep schools open?

I think that's what we're battling and we see a president who frankly hasn't believed testing is important and thinks it's something that makes him look bad. So, it seems pretty clear that he would try to block this.

PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, Dr. Davidson, it does seem like it's Groundhog Day around here. We're seeing the same kinds of stories. PPE shortages, testing delays, you know, problems with getting the supplies to complete these tests. And then these hospitals continue to be filling up.

Right at this moment, I mean, what do you think needs to be done at the federal level to reverse this trend where all of these data points seem to be heading in the wrong direction?

[06:10:08]

DAVIDSON: Yes, I think we -- I mean, Groundhog Day is a perfect example. I think, we need to do the same thing we needed to do in March and April and May. And it just feels like we are stuck in the mud on this.

We need a national strategy. We need to have the White House and the administration use the Defense Production Act so that we can have a clear supply chain for tests, for PPE, for testing supplies, reagents. And then we need to have a White House administration modeling good behavior on wearing masks, even if they don't mandate it.

They need to come out with one clear voice that masks do save lives. That it's a simple act that people can do. And in fact, we can do what the CDC director said, drive this into the ground if we do all of that together.

BLACKWELL: Let me ask you about what the president said in this interview that's going to air a little later today. You mentioned masks. The president said that keep in mind that masks cause problems too. Is there any medical evidence that masks cause problems?

DAVIDSON: There is zero evidence. Honestly, none whatsoever. I said before kind of glibly that unless you wad it up and actually choke on it a mask has zero risk to anybody. We have patients here with chronic lung disease, with heart failure, people who are having hard time breathing who wear mask and the mask has zero impact. I wear it for eight hours in a shift. Yes, I don't understand where any of that comes from, except that it seems like a way to allow their -- sort of give credence to the politics of masks and it's somewhat inexplicable.

PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, it seems entirely political at this point. But I do want to ask you about another thing the president seems to be obsessed with in some ways. Which is that he believes the death rate is low and that that is a sign that we're doing really well as a country.

What do you see in the data when it comes to the death rate? And how much more time do we need to really see whether the cases that we're seeing now are going to be reflected in mortality?

DAVIDSON: Part of this is the great unknown of this virus and watching medical science play out before our eyes in 24-hour news cycle when usually this happens over a longer period of time in the background. So, we frankly don't know exactly how long it may take.

We know that in New York, all of the cases and deaths and hospitalizations popped up at once but that was very early on. We don't know how long the virus was being transmitted amongst young people who are lower risk for death. So, I think that remains to be seen. Nonetheless, besides just death, I've written about this. I've talked about this a lot, a lot more goes into people with COVID-19. People get blood clots, heart attacks --

BLACKWELL: All right. It looks like we have a bit of a technical issue there, Abby.

PHILLIP: Yes, we lost Dr. Davidson.-

BLACKWELL: Thanks Dr. Rob Davidson for being with us. As long as that shot held up.

PHILLIP: Well, still to come, we have the story of what is going on in Portland, Oregon where heavily armed tactical officers have used tear gas to scatter protesters in that city after they broke through a security fence protecting a federal building. CNN was on the scene as it all unfolded.

BLACKWELL: And, of course, so many people in parts of this country are feeling the loss of Congressman John Lewis. But, of course, the city he represented, Atlanta, we'll speak with someone who knows what he meant to the city in a marginalized groups he fought for across this country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:40]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Lewis was an irreplaceable human being and it's going to be really hard to fill that void in Atlanta and in the world.

We just talked about what an important life he led and how he's an example for all of us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm headed to my training for Fulton County poll worker. Without John Lewis and the civil rights movement I would not be a poll worker. We would not have the freedom to vote. So, just remembering all the successes, all of his contributions, the time with family, all that went into the energy that John gave to the community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's changed the face of America. Such a great man. Such a great loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: A city in mourning and a nation in mourning this morning. The mural honoring civil rights icon John Lewis in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn neighborhood is now serving as a memorial to the 17-term Georgia congressman.

And our next guest is an Atlanta resident who knew him very well. She is the daughter of Hosea Williams who is pictured here with Lewis and other protesters facing state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Elisabeth Omilami is here with us now.

She is a human rights activist and she runs the Atlanta based nonprofit Hosea Helps. Elisabeth, thank you for joining us this morning.

ELISABETH OMILAMI, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIP: I know this is a tough day for you and so many in Atlanta, and so many in the civil rights community. Tell me about what you remember about John Lewis. When was the last time you had a chance to talk to him and be with him?

OMILAMI: I think it was just over a year ago when he allowed me to come to his office and put him on video supportive of Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, the organization that I run. But we did more than that, that day. We talked about how during the storm, a lot of his papers went out of the window. We talked about having his papers organized and cataloged and all of that because I was concerned about the history.

And so since John Lewis was like the baby of the top leaders, he came in at 17, 18, and these guys were like, what is this kid doing here, where is his mother?

[06:20:10]

And he was like no, no, I'm here. I'm ready to lead. And he was ready to lead from a very, very early age. And we talked about that in his office as well. As in getting in good trouble, that was his -- his message to me was that, you keep feeding the hungry, you're doing the right thing. You are the movement in action. PHILLIP: Yes. What I think people don't -- many people don't know is how young he was. Like you just said. 15, 16 years old. He was a teenager when he first started getting engaged in these issues. And your father was with him on that bridge.

I mean, growing up, hearing these incredible stories from these people who are part of your life, about what they went through, what was that like to learn from a John Lewis and to learn from your father and others in the civil rights movement and to hear the stories of, frankly, the brutality that they experienced in those experiences?

OMILAMI: Absolutely. They could take a beating. They knew that -- I think he said that he lost the fear of death. And once you lose the fear of death, then the movement is perfect for you. Because you're facing death every day.

John Lewis has said that echoing Martin Luther King, haven't found something worth dying for, you're not fit to live. So, he was the epitome of an example of how one man can overcome poverty. He did overcome a speech impediment.

He did overcome not being, you know, the popular guy. He did overcome all of that and we find him standing at the Washington -- march on Washington and then trying to get him to not be so (INAUDIBLE). He became the movement. He wasn't a part of the movement. He became the movement. And that's two different things.

PHILLIP: What you just said about him losing the fear of death, that's something that sticks with you. Because, I think, many people today do not understand what that means. Especially for people who are as young as your father and as John Lewis. Elisabeth Omilami, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Thank you and I'm very sorry for your loss and for all of our losses.

OMILAMI: It's going to take time but now we have the baton. We have to go do the work now so his life will not be in vain. We have to go now and pick up that mantle and so (INAUDIBLE) go to 4hosea.org and join our work.

PHILLIP: Thank you so much.

OMILAMI: Thank you.

PHILLIP: And still to come, police use tear gas and flash bangs to clear crowds after demonstrators pulled down a security fence around a federal building. We'll take you there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:38]

BLACKWELL: This is Portland, Oregon. Protesters we see here had some -- fighting with federal police officers there. And we've seen more activity there from the protesters over the last few days, video posted online showing some camouflage federal agents detaining protesters. PHILLIP: CNN's National Security Correspondent, Josh Campbell is in Portland with the latest. Josh?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Another night of protests here in the city of Portland, Oregon. This going on for well over 50 nights. This following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis.

Now, what transpired here is something that we have seen night after night and, again, protesters coming out, demanding racial justice, demanding an end to their view excessive use of force by police. Now, the epicenter of this protest has been this building here. This is the federal building, federal courthouse.

Earlier today there were metal fences that were set up here to try to keep these protesters back. You can see what is left of those fences. They were dismantled in the span of about 20 minutes and pushed up against this building.

Now, on the other side of those doors are heavily armed, heavily trained, highly trained federal agents who have already made their presence out there known tonight. Just earlier this evening they came out and dispersed this crowd using tear gas and crowd dispersal tools to try to push this crowd back. We ourselves were tear gassed as we experienced that. And we're told that that's something that will routinely happen here.

Again, you can see the crowd is back. They continue to protest. They want their issues to be heard here. One thing that is really fueling a lot of the anger in this crowd very recently was a social media post that showed a man being arrested by two highly armed, heavily armed officers approached this man, took him to an unmarked van where he was then driven away.

We later learned that those agents were from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. We asked CBP what happened to that man, whether he was charged, whether he was released. They have not yet returned our request for comment. That remains something that we continue to seek answers for.

I can also tell you that there remains a standoff between federal officials and local officials here. Local city officials want to see the feds out of here. There's been this influx of resources. Nevertheless, President Trump and the acting Homeland Security Secretary say that the federal resources will remain.

[06:30:00]

That is a real point of contention here both the protesters and local officials who want to see the feds out of here. Yet to be seen how long these protests will continue here in Oregon.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Portland.

PHILLIP: And stay with us, because later this morning on CNN's State of the Union, Jake Tapper will be speaking to Portland's mayor, Ted Wheeler, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. That's coming up 9:00 A.M. Eastern on CNN.

BLACKWELL: 107 days to the November election, and the Trump campaign is making some changes. The president held what's called a tele-rally Friday night. It's a first for the campaign. They're having some problems adapting during the pandemic.

This new approach is happening as the president is changing his campaign manager and Joe Biden is leading in the polls. A new poll from The Washington Post shows that the former vice president leading the president 55 to 40 among registered voters and a small percentage of the country approving to the president's handling of the coronavirus.

Let's bring in now Axios Politics and White House Editor Margaret Talev, also a CNN Political Analyst.

Margaret, welcome back.

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning. Great to be with you.

BLACKWELL: So let's start here with the president explaining why we're not going to see these rallies in person. Here is the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I wanted to be with you and this is really replacing our rallies that we all love so much. We had great rallies in Wisconsin and all over the country. And, unfortunately, until this gets solved and we're doing really well with the therapeutics and vaccines, but until that gets solved, it's going to be tough to have those big massive rallies.

So I'm doing telephonic rallies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Telephonic rallies, he calls them.

So this was a problem in Tulsa. This was a problem in phoenix. He did those anyway. Why this shift now?

TALEV: Victor, there are a couple of things going on, and one is that there was supposed to be this rally in New Hampshire. It happened to be that there was a storm moving through, so the White House had a little bit of political cover. But there really wasn't the kind interest in this rally that you would want to see to fill a place. So, some of it is, this is the public speaking, including the president's base speaking.

And some of this is also, if you look at that poll that you mentioned, just where the public sentiment is going. Eight out of ten people now wearing masks, more than half of the country now strongly disapproving -- not just disapproving, strongly disapproving of the president's handling of the virus, and some erosion inside the Republican Party as well, erosion of Republican support, some erosion among evangelical voters.

And so this is a combination of state and local laws, of advice from his health experts but also really of public sentiment, telling him, dial back a little bit, do the fundraising virtually by phone or online.

The difference, I think, you'll see is that this White House is probably not going to stop doing rallies and stop doing public events but they will, for now at least, be dialed back from what the president had wanted to be doing.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The campaign has been so critical of the vice president doing these videos, they say, from his basement. The president is now going to be on the phone. Does that mean we're going to see more of these rambling rose garden speeches like we saw last week and what he did in Atlanta a couple of days ago?

TALEV: Yes. What we saw him do at the rose garden was really taking the power of the presidency and the bully pulpit of where you're supposed to govern entering into a campaign rally. And I think to some degree, that will have to do with the coverage that he gets. If they're not covered, he's less likely to continue on that vain. Some may have to do with the feedback he's getting from Republican lawmakers.

But all presidents use the bully pulpit. President Trump, again, is just sort testing the limits of how he uses it.

But for Joe Biden, these virtual events have been very successful, especially when they're paired with people like Barack Obama. And we saw Biden catch up with Trump in the last month's worth of reporting. So that's something the president is paying attention to also.

BLACKWELL: Let's look at one more element of the poll here from ABC News/Washington Post. They were asked who they trust to handle the pandemic. In March, they were within a margin of error. Joe Biden now has a 20-point advantage, 54-34. Does the campaign think that they can compensate for this somewhere else or that this number has to change heading into November?

TALEV: Well, the numbers clearly have to change. But the president's approach strategically so far has been to try to change those numbers by the president's enthusiasm for Biden, by questioning Biden's tactics and Biden's missions. And his approach until now has not been really to change his own handling of the virus and how you contain it and prioritize the economy versus health.

That poll shows a flip in public sentiment from early on where we saw everyone concerned about the economy and many people can turn about the virus, and now a flip where getting control of the virus is Americans' priority, even above the economy.

[06:35:04]

BLACKWELL: Yes. Margaret Talev, thanks for joining us. Enjoy the week.

TALEV: Thanks, Victor. You too. Be safe.

BLACKWELL: You too.

PHILLIP: And when we come back, two red-faced Republicans apologize after mistakenly posting tribute photos of Elijah Cummings instead of John Lewis on social media. Brian Stelter up with us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

PHILLIP: So this is not an episode of Veep. This is real life. Two Republican senators join millions of Americans yesterday in paying tribute to the late civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis. But both, unfortunately, used a picture of the wrong person, the wrong congressman.

BLACKWELL: With us now is CNN Senior Media Correspondent, Brian Stelter, Host of Reliable Sources.

Stelter, when I saw this, I saw first Rubio's and I thought, that's bad. And then I saw some of it, and I'm thinking, two senators got this wrong?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, two out of 100 senators, both getting this wrong, both within hours, neither learning from the other. What can you say? This is humiliating for the senators. And I hope they and their staffs learn a thing or two from this episode.

Here is what Rubio originally posted. Rubio and Sullivan were both honoring the late John Lewis, talking about how inspiring a figure he was, but they both posted a picture of Elijah Cummings. Cummings, of course, passed away last October. He's the last congressman who passed away before Lewis.

Now, the two men have been mixed up over the years. In fact, Lewis once joked that Cummings was younger than him, so he always took it as a compliment.

But all kidding aside, this is embarrassing for both the senators and they both did follow up and tried correct the record. Rubio later followed up with an updated the tweet. Sullivan's office apologized for the mix-up.

There is something real called the cross-race effect, which scientists find that white people often times make these kinds of mistakes because they're not exposed to minorities growing up. They're not exposed often enough to enough minority faces growing up.

So there is real science behind this kind of problem. But that does not excuse a sitting senator from mixing up the late John Lewis and the late Elijah Cummings. I really hope both of their staffs help them figure this out in the future. BLACKWELL: I didn't know there was real science behind that though.

I'm surprised to hear that.

PHILLIP: And you would think --

STELTER: It's mostly with white people. These studies find that blacks, Hispanics, they're better able to recognize faces of other races and ethnicities because growing up, if you happen to be African- American, if you happen to be Asian-American, you are exposed more often to white people. So it's more of a problem for white people. Go figure.

PHILLIP: You would think that two senators who actually knew these individuals in real life would not make that mistake.

But, Brian, on another topic --

STELTER: Would not make that mistake.

PHILLIP: -- we're hearing about this interview with Roger Stone. Apparently, he called into a radio station yesterday and called the radio host a racial slur. What is going on?

STELTER: Yes. This was on Mo'Kelly Show, a Los Angeles radio talk show. And the host, Mo Kelly, is reacting to this overnight, saying that this was something that really shocked him live on the radio.

So, Roger Stone was on this radio program, he was getting some tough questions from Mo Kelly. And then he seemingly said to someone else in the room that he didn't want to be arguing with this man on the radio. Roger Stone used a variation of the N word, what Mo Kelly calls the diet version of the N, something that's been offensive for decades, and then tried to claim he didn't say it even though it was live on the radio and there's a recording and it's clear that Roger Stone did say it.

Look, Roger Stone has been a controversial offensive figure for decades. He has said racially insensitive things in the past. This is not necessarily so shocking about Roger Stone, but coming on the heels of the president's commutation, it does speak to the company you keep. And, of course, President Trump, Roger Stone, these are two peas in a pod. And, unfortunately, this just adds to the dialog about what the president and his allies and his supporters sometimes behave. It's -- sadly, you just have to add this to the pile.

BLACKWELL: Yes, not the first time he's done it.

Stelter thanks so much.

STELTER: Yes, thanks.

BLACKWELL: All right. Catch him on Reliable Sources at 11:00 Eastern today right here on CNN.

PHILLIP: And what should you do if you lost your job during the coronavirus pandemic and you haven't found a new one yet? Up next, we have advice on how to make your cash last a little bit longer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

PHILLIP: In just a few days, many of the financial protections that were put in place to help people affected by COVID-19's financial fallout will end. The CARES Act, the program that protects millions of Americans from evictions ends next week. And the $600 federal unemployment benefits bonus comes to an end on July 31st.

So, for the first week, for the week ending in July 11th, 1.3 million people filed for benefits for the first time.

BLACKWELL: Those are just the new claims. As of July 4th, 17.3 million people who haven't been able to return to work continue to claim unemployment benefits.

With us now, the Author of The Washington Post, Syndicated Personal Finance Column, the Color of Money, Michelle Singletary.

Michelle, welcome back, always good to have you on a Sunday morning. This additional money that's going to stop coming in for so many people, how do they prepare for that? Is there a way to prepare for it?

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, WASHINGTON POST PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, THE COLOR OF MONEY: Well, it's going to be hard for a lot of families. I mean, we had a story in The Washington Post over the weekend when one mother's said I got to choose between paying bills and putting food on the table. And, unfortunately, that is what tens of millions of people are going to have to make that decision.

And so in that case, I say and I've said before, that you need to triage your bills. So you've got to take the bills that are the most important, the emergency cases, and that is putting food on the table. And maybe that means you don't pay your electric bill or you don't pay something else. And the most immediate needs have to be paid first.

[06:50:02]

And then you need to contact those other creditors, your landlord and people, and say, listen, my benefits are ending. My restaurant or wherever I work is not open yet, and this is my situation. How can we work together so that I can keep a roof over my head and food on the table?

PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, the eviction part of this is so tricky and the rules are so different in so many different places. Do you have advice for people who might be facing the inability to pay their rent? Maybe this is the first time that they will be facing that problem. What should they start to do to prepare for that? Is there any legal recourse for them?

SINGLETARY: So, the first call you make is to your landlord, absolutely, or to your lender if it's a mortgage. And all the lenders have put in place a way and the CARES Act does cover it, even though a lot of these provisions are ending, so that you can have an ability to pause your mortgage payment.

And I've talked to some landlords. And many of them are willing to work with their tenants. Some are not, and shame on them. And I understand they've got bills to pay as well. But they've got to work together. So the first call, call your lender.

And then if you get a notice of eviction or that you need to go to court, don't ignore that notice. And I know you're thinking, I don't have the money, whatever. But, no, you can argue your case in court or you can come up with some sort of system in court. The judge can help you perhaps pay half your rent or something to that extent. So don't ignore that.

And if you don't know what to do, a lot of local areas have low-cost law programs, non-profit organizations that will help you in this eviction process. So, definitely make those two calls, your landlord and then call some of the non-profits in your area. And many of them have people online to help you figure this out.

BLACKWELL: All right. Michelle Singletary, thank you so much for being with us this Sunday. Enjoy the week.

PHILLIP: Thanks, Michelle.

SINGLETARY: You too.

PHILLIP: And a Major League Baseball player who had the coronavirus thought he was going to die.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDDIE FREEMAN, ATLANTA BRAVES FIRST BASEMAN: My body was really, really hot. So, I said, please don't take me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: Braves star Freddie Freeman shares just how quickly he went from feeling healthy to praying for his life.

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[06:55:00]

BLACKWELL: A pro baseball player says that his symptoms from coronavirus were so bad his temperature hit 104 degrees.

PHILLIP: And at that moment, Atlanta Braves star Freddie Freeman says he prayed he would be able to survive.

Carolyn Manno is with us. Carolyn, Freeman says he just could not believe how quickly all of this happened.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Abby and Victor. His detailed account of his experience is a reminder of how dangerous this virus can be for absolutely anybody and it's also a reminder of how fragile this return to sports is.

You think about Freddie Freeman. This virus wreaked havoc on his system. The Braves' first baseman in peak physical health, he's a professional athlete, he's 30 years old, he's a four-time all-star. And after initially spiking a fever, he said he felt fine when he woke up on Friday, July 3rd. But by 2:00 P.M., the symptoms really hit him and he said it was like a ton of bricks and got worse from there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Friday night, that was the scariest night for me. I've spiked to 104.5 fever.

I said a little prayer that night. I've never been that hot before. You -- my body was really, really hot. So, I said please don't take me. I wasn't ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Freeman said after losing his sense of taste and smell for four days, he's now symptom-free. He returned to the field Friday after some additional testing from Major League Baseball. He's hoping to play in the Atlanta's season opener against the Mets on Friday. He's feeling much, much better, but a scary few days.

Meantime, we're seeing baseball being played for the first time in four months and a preview of the safety measures to expect when the season begins. Several Yankees players wearing masks or bandanas in Saturday's exhibition game against the Mets. Even while batting, even while in the field, the dugouts of Citi Field reaching well, into the stands to help with social distancing, some of the umpires wearing plastic shields on top of their face masks as well.

So, Abby and Victor, this is a dress rehearsal for opening day, which is set for next Thursday. But it is a stark reminder of what baseball is going to look like in the middle of this pandemic. It is not going to be the same.

PHILLIP: Yes, it's going to be a totally different kind of game. Carolyn Manno, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: The 100-year-old British World War II veteran who raised $40 million for the National Health Service there in the U.K. has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth. So, before the ceremony, Captain Tom Moore said he was absolutely overwhelmed by meeting the queen. And he worried that if he knelt down to be knighted that he might not get up.

He stood. It was okay as the queen performed the ceremony on Friday.

And here is the captain walking in his garden raising money as a challenge for his 100th birthday in April.

PHILLIP: That is very sweet. And, Victor, the queen had a pretty busy day on Friday. She also attended the COVID wedding of her granddaughter, Princess Beatrice. You can see here it was a small but extremely nice private ceremony at Windsor Castle. And the queen lent Princess Beatrice a dress to wear for her special day, which is I guess what you do that when you're the queen, hand-me-downs are not so bad.

[07:00:07]

BLACKWELL: Was that her wedding dress?