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Latina Women Among Hardest Hit by Unemployment; Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google CEOs to Testify Before Congress Today; Marlins Team Games on Pause as COVID-19 Cases Climb. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 29, 2020 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:32:25]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. A failure to extend enhanced unemployment benefits in the next stimulus package could be devastating for millions of Americans -- maybe some of you watching -- especially Latino families across this country.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Our CNN's Leyla Santiago joins us now with more on the high unemployment numbers. Especially -- and, Leyla, I'm so glad you're highlight this -- among Latina women and how much more economic pain many will be in if nothing gets done quickly.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, Poppy, I've spent quite a bit of time speaking to Latina women and they tell me they don't know what they fear more, the virus itself -- as they have seen many Latina women struggle with it -- or the impact, the struggle to survive daily life in this economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANTIAGO (voice-over): Lourdes Dobarganes hasn't paid the rest here for four months. She now owes $12,000 in rent. As a caretaker and a housekeeper in San Francisco, she has lost all of her clients at the hands of COVID-19, and she's not just worried about the virus.

LOURDES DOBARGANES, CALIFORNIA DOMESTIC WORKER: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

SANTIAGO (voice-over): She tells us she also worries about ending up on the streets, not having something to eat or a place like this to live.

Making matters more difficult for her, Lourdes is caring for her 23- year-old son that has a brain injury. With so much at stake, she fears losing it all in a state where the economy has taken a substantial hit.

The way she sees it, she's a fundamental part of that economy.

DOBARGANES: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

SANTIAGO (voice-over): We make it possible for others to work, she tells us. We take care of the child so that the doctor can go to work.

Lourdes is one of more than 1.8 million Hispanic women out of work in the United States. The unemployment rate for Latinas now stands at a staggering 15 percent, partly because Latinas are more likely to work in leisure and hospitality services.

JESS MORALES ROCKETTO, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DOMESTIC WORKERS ALLIANCE: We heard from people just like Lourdes, who told us that they are not able to come back even to some of their oldest clients, just because people are really worried about safety.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): Jess Morales Rocketto is the civic engagement director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, whose members are largely Latina.

SANTIAGO: Do you see this getting better or worse for Latina women?

ROCKETTO: I think it's possible that it gets worse. Those that have gone back to work are working fewer hours, and many are getting paid less than they ever have.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): At George Washington University, a new study examining the factors behind COVID-10 risks for Latino communities highlighted housing and frontline jobs like domestic workers.

[10:35:12]

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ-DIAZ, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PREVENTION AND COMMUNITY HEALTH: The risks for women were different in -- for some, because they were at the frontlines and they were exposed to the virus very early. And for others that had to assume different roles, and perhaps different risks based on their job experience.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): Risks that people like Lourdes know all too well. Latina women, she says, should not be ignored. Rather --

DOBARGANES: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

SANTIAGO (voice-over): -- valued and listened to by the government and the people. She wants both to take into account that it is women like her, among the hard-hit essential workers, that the U.S. is depending on during the pandemic for the well-being of the country's economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANTIAGO: And Lourdes tells me she really worried about the catch-up. When things get back to normal -- whatever that may be -- she worries that the debt will be too much, she won't be able to pay back the rent she owes or what she will have to pay just to live as she does normally.

Now, the National Domestic Workers Alliance tells me they established a Coronavirus Care Fund to give domestic workers $400 in assistance, and that really gives perspective on the need for relief among them. They tell us that they have raised about $30 million, and they believe that will be only enough to assist about five percent of domestic workers, largely Latina.

SCIUTTO: It's good that you're looking at that closely. Leyla Santiago, thanks very much.

HARLOW: Well, an historic day on Capitol Hill, a big day. The world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, along with three other major tech CEOs, all facing lawmakers' questions today. What is about to happen and the significance of it for you, that's next.

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[10:41:36]

HARLOW: Welcome back. In just a few hours, for the first time ever, the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google will appear together before lawmakers, and they'll face critical questions.

This is big, this hearing, for a number of reasons. It is the biggest tech hearing of its kind since 1998 -- remember when Bill Gates faced all those antitrust questions about Microsoft? These companies together account for about $5 trillion of the U.S. economy. And this is the first time ever that Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will testify before Congress.

With me now is Amy Webb, quantitative futurist, CEO of the Future Today Institute, and also the author of a fascinating tech book called "The Big Nine." It's good to have you, Amy. Thanks.

AMY WEBB, QUANTITATIVE FUTURIST AND CEO, FUTURE TODAY INSTITUTE: Thanks, Poppy, good morning.

HARLOW: Of course. Let's start with Facebook. We know from his opening remarks, Mark Zuckerberg is going to make an America First pitch, he's going to warn about the threat from China and he's going to say Facebook is a successful company now, but we got there the American way, we started with nothing and we provided better products that people find valuable.

He's going to have to answer a lot of questions about misinformation. He was so adept at handling Congress a few years ago when he testified, but the landscape has changed a lot when it comes to the spread of disinformation on Facebook. What should they ask him?

WEBB: That's right. So of the four CEOs who are gathering today, Mark Zuckerberg is certainly the veteran -- but I think Facebook also has the most to lose.

You know, Facebook's market dominance is tethered very much to online advertising, and the effectiveness of online advertising is tethered to our information. And just as Zuckerberg testified this morning, there is a new spate of COVID-related misinformation rapidly spreading around Facebook, you know, which presents a public health risk.

So my expectation is that while he'll try to stick to the script today, you know, the challenge is that Facebook is heading into a 2020 election season with few safeguards under control, and the American electorate is concerned about what's next.

HARLOW: So on Amazon, it's going to be fascinating. I mean, a lot of publications saying, look, the wildcard here is Jeff Bezos, because we've literally never seen him answer questions from lawmakers under oath to Congress. So it's even rare that he does hard press (ph) interviews, right, Amy?

And one of the key issues that they're facing --

WEBB: Right.

HARLOW: -- right now, Amazon, is what do they do with the data they get from third parties that sell their stuff on Amazon? Do they use that -- as "The Wall Street Journal" has reported -- to prop up their own products and make more money themselves?

I asked the man right below Jeff Bezos that, just a year ago, Jeff Wilkie, who runs Global Consumer. Here's what he said.

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JEFF WILKIE, CEO, AMAZON WORLDWIDE CONSUMER: We don't use any data about specific items. That's not available to the world by just looking at our website.

HARLOW: Does Amazon give priority to and prioritize its private label in search?

WILKIE: We prioritize the things that customers want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: What answer do lawmakers need to push for here?

WEBB: Right. So just by virtue of the fact that Jeff Bezos has never appeared before, I expect his portion of the hearing to get the most attention.

But here's the issue, I know that congressional leaders want to know what data Amazon is collecting, but the bottom line is that Amazon.com is far more -- is far less than the entire Amazon ecosystem.

Amazon has nearly surpassed Walmart as the world's largest retailer. It also runs AWS, which is the cloud infrastructure that, by the way, the federal government relies on. It has a prescription drug company and pill pack. It operates the largest online streaming system in the world, Twitch. Plus, it is doing the lion's share of research in artificial intelligence.

[10:45:20]

The reason that all of this matters to everyday people is because Amazon is the invisible infrastructure -- along with Google and Microsoft -- powering business and everyday life. And if you look at the antitrust issues on their own, I don't know that Amazon meets those criteria because it is so incredibly diverse --

HARLOW: Right.

WEBB: -- unlike Google, it doesn't have, you know, market dominance in just one area.

HARLOW: That's a good point, and it brings up the question of, you know, do we need to redefine antitrust at this point? That's a whole other conversation.

But you bring up Google and antitrust is relevant here because, you know, the broad reporting has been that the Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google this summer.

Last summer, last June, I sat down with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and asked him about it, right when that reporting was coming out. Here's what he said. Help us understand how he might be going into this hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNDAR PICHAI, CEO, GOOGLE: You know, I think it's perfectly fine that, you know, as companies get to a big scale, there's scrutiny. But I think it's important to make sure that we are also able to create a healthy, competitive ecosystem in which other companies are able to emerge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Can you answer for the American people? Because you're going to hear a lot of lawmakers today say it's time to break up big tech, right? But they can't just do that, right?

WEBB: Yes, so --

HARLOW: It's a lot more complex than that.

WEBB: This is -- that's right. And the other analogy that you're going to hear a lot is big tobacco. You know, this is not the same thing as bringing together Big Tobacco. These are complex, sprawling organizations, and they cannot be easily broken up from a technical point of view, and I certainly don't know if the legal definitions that we have meet the criteria to even begin that process.

Look, we are in a situation where a free market economy eventually squashes competition. We see this all over the place. There are not hundreds of big pharma companies in the U.S., there are six. And so it is with technology.

So I understand the concerns that everybody has, especially as it relates to data. But we have to think through the next-order outcomes and implications in our futures.

HARLOW: Amy Webb, thank you, it's so good to have you. And for anyone who hasn't read "The Big Nine," it's totally fascinating and will bring your mind in all sorts of places. So, Amy, thanks very much for breaking it down for us.

WEBB: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: You got it -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, several baseball teams face scheduling changes, other big challenges after more than a dozen Miami Marlins players test positive for coronavirus. Can the season go on? Big challenges, we'll have more.

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[10:52:16]

HARLOW: Rising cases of coronavirus are now forcing the MLB -- Major League Baseball -- to pause on the season, at least for one team.

SCIUTTO: Andy Scholes, covering this. So, Andy, do we believe this is just about the Marlins or is it about the Major League protocols? Because of course the ramifications here could be much broader than just the Marlins.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim and Poppy, right now, Major League Baseball is saying this is strictly a Marlins problem, they're the only team with a number of confirmed coronavirus cases. Four more players, testing positive over the weekend according to multiple reports.

That now gives the Marlins 17 total members of the team to have tested positive for COVID-19. Major League Baseball, announcing it was postponing the team's games through Sunday in order for the Marlins to focus on providing care for all of those players.

Now, officials say everyone who tested positive is currently in isolation. The team's still there in Philadelphia. And Marlins CEO Derek Jeter also announced the team has moved to a daily testing schedule now, and he said in a statement, "We continue to take this entire situation very seriously. All of our players, coaches and staff are, understandably, having a difficult time enduring this experience."

Now, the Marlins are next scheduled to play on Monday against the Phillies in Miami. We'll wait and see if that game ends up taking place.

Now, the Phillies were the team that Miami was playing against when the outbreak hit. Major League Baseball, postponing their games until Friday just to be safe.

And since the already shortened schedule was just quickly becoming a mess in order to add flexibility down the line, the Yankees, who were supposed to play the Phillies, are now going to travel to play the Orioles. The Orioles were supposed to be playing the Marlins; so the Yankees and Orioles, those two games are going to take place today and tomorrow. And Major League Baseball, as I added, you know, as I said earlier,

they said this outbreak problem right now, it's strictly a Marlins problem. And over 6,400 tests conducted since Friday, there have been zero new positive tests of on-field personnel from the other 29 clubs.

Now, in the meantime, NFL training camps are now open; the union announced yesterday that 21 players have tested positive since they started reporting at camp last week. Now, after arriving at training camp, players must have two negative tests before they're allowed to enter the training facility.

Now, so far, 25 NFL players have exercised their option to opt out of the 2020 season. Packers receiver Devin Funchess, explaining his decision to sit out in an Instagram post, saying family is first, always has been, always will be.

And newly acquired Eagles receiver Marquise Goodwin, also citing family concerns. Goodwin and his wife have a 5-month-old daughter. Their premature son died back in 2017, and they lost their unborn twins in 2018. So definitely understand why Goodwin decided to opt out of this season.

[10:55:11]

But, Jim and Poppy, you know, the next 10 days are going to be very important for the NFL. Once those players start getting on the field together, start working out in close quarters, we'll have to hopefully hold our breaths and hopefully no situations like the Marlins occur around the NFL.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And football's a lot different sport than baseball, right? I mean, you could stop high-fiving after a home run in baseball, but it's tackle football, right? just hard to imagine.

HARLOW: Yes, this will not be flag football.

All right, well good for those who are doing what they need to for their families, for sure. Andy, thanks, we'll see you soon.

Thanks to all of you for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow. I'm Poppy Harlow.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. NEWSROOM with John King starts after a quick break.

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