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New Day Saturday

Rally For Racial Justice Marches On Washington In Wake Of Jacob Blake Shooting; Police Union, Blake Family Offer Conflicting Accounts Of Shooting; Trump Makes First Comments About Blake Shooting; NBA Returns Today After Two-Day Situation Out By Players; Actor Chadwick Boseman Dies At 43; Trump Supporters Boo When Asked To Wear Masks At Rally; At Least 36 States Report Cases At Colleges And Universities, University Of Miami President Reacts To COVID-19 Cases On Campus. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 29, 2020 - 08:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND, with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

[08:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, actor Chadwick Boseman, the man who brought Black Panther to life has died. He was 43 years old and had been battling colon cancer since 2016.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Also, college campuses in at least 36 states, this morning, reporting several cases of coronavirus among staff and students. We're going to talk with the president of the University of Miami to talk about what's happening there.

BLACKWELL: And the Kenosha Police Association released its version of what happened before Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back. And attorney for Blake's family says that he was not a threat to officers.

We're going to begin right there with the shooting of Jacob Blake Jr. in Kenosha. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands marched on Washington Friday to bring recognition to those who have become household names.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jacob Blake

(CROWD: Jacob Blake!)

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): For all the wrong reasons,

LETETRA WIDMAN, JACOB BLAKE'S SISTER: You must stand. You must fight, but not with violence and chaos.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Among those in attendance, the family of Jacob Blake, who's conscious after being shot in the back seven times by a Kenosha police officer. It all played out on video. Authorities are revealing new details about Blake's past in the circumstances surrounding the shooting that left Blake paralyzed.

The sheriff says Blake had a felony warrant for his arrest from July for third degree of sexual assault. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the shooting investigation has said that Blake admitted he had a knife in his possession. And law enforcement agents recovered one from the driver's side floorboard of his vehicle.

The Kenosha professional Police Association saying that he confronted officers, put an officer in in a headlock and carried a knife that he refused to drop when ordered to buy police, the union said, moments before being shot in the back. For Blake's attorneys, the police unions narrative is merely a tactic to justify the officer's actions.

B'LVORY LAMARR, BLAKE FAMILY ATTORNEY: You know, I think that is the common strategy that police departments use in these types of circumstances. It's always trying to justify murder from misdemeanors. Arguably, even if Jacob did resist an officer or obstruct an officer. Let's just say if that was true.

The penalty in Wisconsin under standard is up to nine months in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. But we commonly see in these type of police brutality cases, they try to justify their actions. And I think it's very clear. I think that the world watch that same 20 second video. They can clearly see, like my co-counsel Patrick mentioned that Jacob never posed the imminent threat, and their actions are completely unjustified and our excessive.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): It's why the sheriff's office says Blake would have woken up shackled to his hospital bed, a move the family has called cruel and the sheriff called protocols. The handcuffs that restrained Blake while in the hospital have been removed and the criminal warrant that authorities used to explain the restriction has been vacated, his attorneys told CNN.

Blake's shooting lead two days of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Tuesday night, two were killed and one wounded on the back end of demonstrations. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17 years old in custody for the shootings after allegedly shooting and killing the first person, 36- year-old Joseph Rosenbaum.

Another male approaches and the defendant turns and begins to run away from the scene. As the defendant is running away, he can be heard saying on the phone, "I just killed somebody," according to the criminal complaint.

Rittenhouse now faces six charges, including first degree intentional homicide, first degree reckless homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. His attorney say he was acting in self- defense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, he just shot us.

JACOB BLAKE SR., FATHER OF JACOB BLAKE JR.: That 17-year-old Caucasian shot and killed two people and blew another man's arm off on his way back to Antioch, Illinois. He got to go home. He got water. They gave that guy water and a high five. My son got ICU and paralyzed from the waist down. Those are the two justice systems right in front of you. You to defend yourself.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): As for the officer who shot Justin Blake, Officer Rusten Sheskey, that investigation continues.

MAYOR JOHN ANTARAMIAN (D), KENOSHA, WISCONSIN: I believe that the attorney general is a good guy and he will do the right thing. And so I believe that we will get a fair analysis from him as to the investigation, and I have every hope and I have faith in him that that will occur.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:00]

BLACKWELL: Thanks to Shimon Prokupecz for that report. Now, a little more on Kyle Rittenhouse. An attorney for Rittenhouse responded to the charges against his client last night. He wrote this. "Kyle Rittenhouse will be acquitted. He will become a symbol of the heroic individual American who at certain times in history must say, don't tread on me." This was a post on Twitter last night.

PAUL: And we're hearing from President Trump regarding this shooting of Jacob Blake. He did not mention it during the Republican National Convention.

BLACKWELL: The President was asked about the shooting after this rally in New Hampshire yesterday. He did not say whether he thought the shooting was justified, but here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm looking into it very strongly. I'll be getting reports and I'll certainly let you know pretty soon. But I'll be - it was - it was not a good sight. I think didn't like the sight of it certainly, and I think most people would agree with that. But we'll be getting reports in very soon and we'll report back then.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, the NBA will resume the playoffs today. A new purpose - with renewed purpose, I should say and tangible goals in mind.

PAUL: Yes. Coy Wire is with us now. We know that players described the past couple of days as a way to refocus, because it's been such an emotional week, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right, Christi. Good morning to you and Victor. When games resumed this afternoon, it will be with more specific action plans. For using the game as a platform to promote social justice and empower Black communities, both now and after they leave the bubble in Orlando.

Now, before the season restarted, remember, many NBA players had concerns about leaving their families and communities being isolated during such tumultuous times. Those feelings became overwhelming following the shooting of Jacob Blake and some subsequent fallout in Wisconsin. Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Chris Paul fought back tears, describing the strain that players are feeling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS PAUL, NBPA PRESIDENT/OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER GUARD: Because guys are tired. I mean tired. And I'm saying - when I say tired, we're not physically tired. We're just tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. And everybody just expect us to be OK just because we get paid great money.

We're human. We have real feelings and I'm glad that we got a chance to get in a room together to talk with one another and not just cross paths and say good luck in your game today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: As part of agreeing to return, players and team owners will work with local elections officials to convert as many arenas as possible into COVID safe polling places for the November elections. Also, expect to see ads promoting voting and registration during game broadcast throughout the rest of the playoffs.

The players and league have also created a Social Justice Coalition that will work towards meaningful police and criminal justice reform. And it's not just been the NBA. Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin, giving an impassioned speech. MLB honoring baseball legend and Civil Rights Activists Jackie Robinson, to Naomi Osaka, across the sports landscape, athletes standing together in the fight for social justice, especially the WNBA.

Returning yesterday after a two-day stoppage in the Connecticut Sun, sending a message on the anniversary of the March on Washington, kneeling holding pieces of paper to form Martin Luther King's quote that says, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." These women have been educated and organized about the social justice movement and have been leading it longer, Victor and Christi, than any other league in America. They are smashing the status quo.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We certainly cannot leave them out in this conversation as we talk about the NBA and NFL. They've led this conversation. Coy Wire, thanks so much.

PAUL: Let's talk to Lisa Leslie a Basketball Hall of Famer and activist as well as Chiney Ogwumike, a player with the Los Angeles Sparks, a Vice President of the WNBA Players Association and Basketball Analyst with ESPN Radio. Ladies, it's so good to have you here. Thank you.

LISA LESLIE, BASKETBALL HALL OF FAMER: Thanks for having us.

PAUL: Absolutely. Lisa, talk to me about what happened this week, the boycott, coming to some sort of terms about what is going to happen from this point forward. And is there a threshold that will have to be met to make sure those terms stay in place?

LESLIE: Well, I think the boycott, as we've seen started with the Milwaukee Bucks, and just the unity across the WNBA and the NBA is - has been profound. I think, for the players to recognize the leverage that they have together has been huge. And I think the key is to continue to use that platform.

As I spoke to many of the WNBA players and just giving my advice, I think it's important for them to continue to play, because if you disperse and you decide not to play, then you sort of lose the platform and the opportunity to be able to communicate what's most important. So by them having that platform, I think, the world is getting the chance to see, they're being able to voice and articulate what's happening in our country, the unjust. And they're being able to use that as an example.

[08:10:00]

Here's a great thing, though, that's happening. We have an opportunity to communicate directly to our people. If everybody in this world is not outraged about what they're seeing, we have to take this into our own hands, in our own communities. And so I just want to talk directly to the Black people in America.

We keep talking about go vote. Its bigger than just going to vote. I need you to gather like you're getting ready for a family reunion, a picnic. Like it's grandma's 80th birthday party and we need to organize and get everybody. Big Mama, uncles, uncles, aunts, everybody and making sure that they are counted for voting.

We cannot have 60 percent of Americans voting when the Black vote is such a huge vote. We have to get together and figure out what we're going to do, and make sure everybody is accounted for. That's number one.

The second thing is, is we have to continue to unite. Everything is about money. At the end of the day, you want these players to get back out there and play, because we know that these sponsors and these owners are making tons of money.

I appreciate and respect so much of the players for using this platform. But also we have to, as the other people outside of those bubbles and outside the bubble with the WNBA, is we have to look at how we're spending our dollars and what we're investing in. We have to take onus on ourselves.

And the third thing is, is we have to continue to educate ourselves, educate our children, put down these video games and put books back in their hands, so that we understand our history. And in understanding our past, we have to understand where we're going.

If you're not outraged, if you're not a Black person, if you're not a racist person, then we need to hear your voice and we need to have you stand with us. Because right now, people look at it and I have so many friends like, "Lisa, I'm so sorry. I know you feel so bad today." You don't feel bad? Like this is not happening to just Black people, this is a human problem. And it's about right and wrong. And we have to right this wrong together.

PAUL: Mm-hmm. Chiney, you had mentioned earlier this week, the small moments that go into big moments like this. What is one of those small moments that maybe we don't see on the outside that helps to build what happened this week?

CHINEY OGWUMIKE, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER, LOS ANGELES SPARKS: Well, I was on air, working for ESPN, when the news came through with the NBA, and the Milwaukee Bucks, and also the Orlando Magic stoppage of play. And at the same time, there was a small moment where my older sister Nneka Ogwumike, who is the President of the WNBPA, texted me and called me live in the show, which was a sign in which I was like something is happening.

And we had a sister moment where myself as Vice President of the Players Association, we keep it in the family. We sort of gave each other strength. She just needed a moment to gather, so because she knew she was walking into an environment where she had to lead.

And I needed a moment to get up, because I was one of the fortunate ones that have a mic, as a Black woman with a platform to sort of articulate what these Black women were feeling in that moment. So we both were doing their jobs in very different ways.

And speaking of that moment, we all witnessed an unprecedented moment, a stoppage of play, the postponement of games, because these are not just athletes, or people that we use for entertainment, these are mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers who needed the time to gather themselves, like my sister and I did for each other in our moments after witnessing another trauma.

Trauma that has not just affected themselves or ourselves in that moment, but generational trauma in their families and in their communities, opening up wounds that still impact us here today. And, I guess, the difference as Lisa alluded to, is that our generation, my generation may not be directly affected by the tragedies of our country's past.

But we are the generation with technology that is witnessing and experiencing these atrocities in real-time, to real people that really look like us and could be us. And that is why we are collectively watching, just as we're doing that, we are collectively choosing to do things differently. And that is why the boycott.

That - and sort of the message was to show that our bodies are not just here for your entertainment when it's convenient. Our bodies need to be valued equally when we leave their arena and when our jerseys are off and you may not know who we are. It shouldn't be any different.

It was a collective decision to put pressure on the system for accountability by using our platform of playing in that one moment, in that one or two days. Our bodies being out there or lack thereof to remind the public of these realities that we are experiencing in real time. PAUL: you said something that I hope people really remember, our bodies are not just here for your entertainment. And I want to listen to something that or read to you something that Michelle Obama said. She said, "These past few months I've been thinking a lot about what our kids are seeing every day in this country - the lack of empathy, the division stoked in times of crisis, the age old and systemic racism that's been so prominent this summer. Sometimes they see it on the news. Sometimes they see it from the White House Rose Garden. Sometimes they see it from the backseat of a car."

[08:15:00]

Lisa, you are a mom. How do you talk to your kids about this? How do we collectively, Black, White, whatever, how do we teach this to our children, so it is not just something they see on television?

LESLIE: Well, I think it starts with what's right and wrong. We are believers in Christ, so we start with that. We know that there's going to be tough times and valleys. But I tell my kids that they really been blessed, because they're sort of in a situation where they're getting the best education of education in our country that they can have.

And so they may be in a situation where they're going to have to use their voices one day. But the biggest thing is that I like for them to see that when we look back at this time in history and they asked a question, what did you do?

They saw their mom they saw their dad, doing interviews, fighting for them, going to rallies, just doing everything that we can educating them about who they are, learning to love themselves, but also recognizing you cannot sit on the sidelines and watch injustice happening.

This is the same thing you tell your kid when you talk about being bullied. We had this whole wave of kids being bullied at school, I think, about two or three years ago where we were kind of like stop bullying. We're communicating with our kids. Like if you see something happen, that's wrong, step up, say something.

It's pretty much the same thing. Black Americans are being bullied right now in our country. We are being stepped on, pressed, oppressed and in a system that's not working. We need for other people who see something happening wrong to step up and say something.

That's what I tell my kids when they go to school, to stand up for the little guy. If you see something happening wrong, you step in, you say something, tell the teacher, make sure that you're communicating something is wrong.

Right now, our president is not listening to us. Something is wrong, and everybody's not listening. We're being bullied. So now we have to take the onus on ourselves. We have to come together collectively. We have to use our education and our voices, and we have to speak up.

And that's all that we can continue to do is to rally together, speak on these issues, and we can pray and hope that things change. But we need for all the other non-racist people in this world, because I do believe in my heart, that there is more of us who want to see things right, who would like to see peace, who would like to see law and order.

But law and order starts with the cops. It doesn't start with the rioting, and the buildings being burned. And so we have that all out of words. That's not the lawlessness that we should be looking at and focusing on. We should be focusing on the mistreatment of Black people right here in our country.

PAUL: We need to stand up for each other at the end of the day, all of us, because it takes a village. Real quickly. I'm sorry I have to go, because we've run out of time. But I do want to just give a shout out to your podcast that starts Tuesday, September 15th. "Front and Center with Lisa Leslie"; and Chiney, thank you both so much for being here. We appreciate you ladies.

OGWUMIKE: Thanks.

LESLIE: Thanks for having us.

BLACKWELL: Listen, we've been talking this morning about the loss of Chadwick Boseman, the role of King T'Challa in "Black Panther" made him an international movie star.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAKIA, BLACK PANTHER: You get to decide what kind of king you are going to be.

OKOYE, BLACK PANTHER: Don't freeze.

T'CHALLA, BLACK PANTHER: I never freeze.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Up next, some of the reasons maybe you've not considered why that performance as a Marvel superhero is so extraordinary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:00]

BLACKWELL: Fans across the world are mourning the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman. This morning he died yesterday. For four years he battled colon cancer, that's according to a statement posted on his Twitter account. It also says that he died at home with his family by his side. He was 43 years old.

PAUL: He's best known for his role of T'Challa in "Black Panther." This is a film that became an inspiring symbol of Black power and Black culture there. He also, though, played so many roles. James Brown, in "Get On Up"; Thurgood Marshall in "Marshall"; Jackie Robinson in "42". His charismatic portrayal of Black leaders really brought history to life for people. BLACKWELL: Yes. Boseman gave a moving commencement speech at his and my alma mater, Howard University. It was two years ago, ending his words of wisdom he ended with this iconic "Wakanda Forever Salute."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHADWICK BOSEMAN, AMERICAN ACTOR: Now, this is your time. I love you Howard. Howard forever.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Pop Culture commentator Lola (inaudible), is joining us now. She interviewed Chadwick Boseman in 2014. That was during his promotional tour for the James Brown biopic. We are so glad to have you here, Lola. What struck you most about him back then?

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, POP CULTURE COMMENTATOR: I was so taken with his commitment to the craft. You know, there are some actors who get into this for the limelight, for the fame, but he was genuinely interested in the art in the craft. He was a tremendously hard worker.

To inhabit the role of James Brown he worked tirelessly, encompassed in dance classes and choreography for six to seven hours a day for months. It was so important for him to not only nail the essence of James Brown, but to play him convincingly.

And he was known for his work ethic. I Interview Josh Gad who worked with him closely on Marshall and he just raved about him. He had tremendous reverence for him as a person. And as an actor, he spoke about - again, about his commitment to his craft, his willingly to go above and beyond for the work. And he spoke about his gentle soul, and his just his love for humanity and his love for the work.

[08:25:00]

BLACKWELL: Yes, that that role as James Brown, that could easily have become a caricature, but he played it with such nuance and sensitivity that it was a beautiful performance. You talked about his commitment to the work. What we learned during - from this statement is that over the four years that he was struggling with stage three, and then stage four colon cancer. He was working and putting out some great products, great performances during that time.

OGUNNAIKE: I mean if you think about it, in the face of his own mortality, in a literal fight for his life, he was portraying one of the most memorable and iconic characters in Hollywood history, he was playing a superhero. And this role not only inspired an entire generation of movie viewers, it gave us an ability to dream about what a future, a utopic future could look like for Black people.

And so many of the characters, whether he was playing Jackie Robinson or James Brown or Thurgood Marshall, who reminded us of the dignity of our past. But through T'Challa and this role and Black Panther, he also gave us an opportunity to dream of a magical future. PAUL: So, the family says that his movies were filmed, as he said between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. That had to be hard to conceal. Why do you think they chose to keep it public because that is a hard fight?

OGUNNAIKE: I'm not sure why they chose to keep it private. If I had to guess I'm going to say it's because Chadwick never wanted anything to take away from the work. He was deeply committed to the craft as I've mentioned before, and I think he wanted it to be - he only wanted the work to speak for him and nothing else. He didn't want to distract.

I also think he knew how much joy his work brought to the world. And I don't think he in any way wanted to diminish that feeling of joy that people had when they watched him on screen.

BLACKWELL: Yes, he has a fantastic body of work, a fantastic legacy. Lola Ogunnaike, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.

PAUL: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So defying state laws on social distancing, hundreds of supporters of the president gathered in New Hampshire for rally - this was last night, and they booed when they were reminded to wear masks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD: Boo!)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

PAUL: Last night - we have some pictures for you here. There wasn't lot of mask wearing. There was no social distancing, as you see. This was at President Trump's rally with more than 1,000 supporters at campaign event there in New Hampshire.

You can listen to their reaction when a voice came over a loud speaker reminding them to wear a mask.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, in accordance with New Hampshire Executive order 63, please wear masks.

(CROWD: Boo!)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Sarah Westwood joins us now from the White House. Listen, just like Thursday night at the convention there at the White House, we didn't see a lot of the precautions that his own administration is suggesting.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Victor, good morning. And a scene last night in New Hampshire that might make some public health experts shutter. The images out of New Hampshire showed people packed close together, many of them not wearing their face coverings, mingling, talking to each other, walking around, all things that public health experts recommend against in gatherings of this nature.

Now, our team on the ground reported that about 1,400 chairs were set up for the event and they were not spaced apart. They were very close together. That attendees were advised to go to their seats sit down upon arrival, but many of them did not do that. They walked around, mingled with each other.

And although guests who arrived without a face covering were provided a mask by the campaign, even some masks emblazoned with the MAGA label. The vast majority of people at that event, obviously as you can see from the videos, were not wearing their masks and they were not receptive, as we just heard to a reminder that they needed to be wearing a face covering in that public setting.

It is just like the scene that we saw on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday night for the final night of the convention and it's a scene we may see repeated as President Trump plans this aggressive return to the campaign trail for the next couple of months before the election.

Now, the Biden campaign has said that the former vice president is expected to get out there on the campaign trail a little bit more, but that he is going to do so after Labor Day only in compliance with state and local regulations. So we are not likely to see similar events on the other side of the aisle.

And, meanwhile, the president later today is expected to go to Louisiana and visit some of the hurricane damage that Hurricane Laura inflicted over the past week, so capping off a very busy week for the president with another day of travel, Victor and Christi.

BLACKWELL: Sarah Westwood for us at the White House. Thank you very much, Sarah.

So colleges and universities across the country, they're reopening, some of them, to students. And campuses in at least 36 states are reporting COVID-19 cases among their students and staff and some schools are weighing temporary switch to remote learning, or even been pulling the plug on in-person classes all together.

But right now the University of Miami is sticking with their hybrid model. With me now is Dr. Julio Frenk, President of the University of Miami. Dr. Frenk, good morning to you.

JULIO FRENK, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Good morning. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So let's start here with just the numbers. How many students, faculty and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at UM, since you reopened? FRENK: We opened on August 17th, and we have had an average 12 cases per day, you know, ups and downs, but that's been our average. It's been fairly stable. We have a very strict protocol and we're very vigilant. This is a serious illness.

[08:35:00]

BLACKWELL: Yes, it is.

FRENK: We're treating it very seriously.

BLACKWELL: What's the cumulative number?

FRENK: The cumulative number right now is about - in the last week, it's about 103.

BLACKWELL: Not the last week, since you reopened, how many?

FRENK: Little bit more, you know, if you - it's 140. We had very few at the beginning. So--

BLACKWELL: So that's - a 140 - when we went to your website, the dashboard yesterday - at the coronavirus dashboard where all the information is supposed to be. The number we saw was 190 over the last week.

FRENK: Well, because we're keeping a rolling average. So that's why that changes.

BLACKWELL: I get that.

FRENK: It's a rolling average for the last seven days.

BLACKWELL: If the rolling average over the seven days posted yesterday was 190, you're telling me the cumulative number since you started with 140, which is right?

FRENK: No, no, no, no, it's it is a little bit more than 190. I'm sorry, I was I was referring to the rolling average. But--

BLACKWELL: What's the number? How many people have been tested positive since you reopened?

FRENK: It's about a 190 more or less, yes. A little bit more, because there were a few cases at the very beginning, that's the last week.

BLACKWELL: OK. So you don't know the precise number. How many had been hospitalized?

FRENK: We have one faculty member hospitalized.

BLACKWELL: In the total time since you've reopened?

FRENK: Yes.

BLACKWELL: OK. So let's go back to the dashboard, because the dashboard only shows the numbers of the last week, not the cumulative number. Why only show the numbers of the last seven days?

FRENK: Well, we can show all the numbers. In fact, we're going to start on Monday showing the last two weeks. It's just that it's very difficult to portray and most of the decisions are made on the rolling seven-day average, that's what you want to be tracking.

BLACKWELL: Why do you want to make that on the seven days and not show the cumulative picture? The reason I ask here--

FRENK: No, no, we will show them--

BLACKWELL: Go ahead.

FRENK: We're going to show it. It's - all the data is public.

BLACKWELL: But you've been open for weeks and I went to your website to just get - this is just the preparation for the conversation. And I couldn't find how many people at the University of Miami campus had tested positive totally of the cumulative number, so you've been open for a while why Monday are we going to see these numbers?

FRENK: The numbers have been available. And let me explain, let me explain why.

BLACKWELL: Please.

FRENK: We opened the dashboard a week later, so we've been open for two weeks. OK? And, and we have decided because this is the number that's most informative for the public to report the seven day - on a rolling seven day cumulative. OK? So we started the dashboard last Monday, which was exactly a week after we had opened for classes again. That's - that is the reason.

FRENK: How is less information more informative? Because when my producer went to your website, Friday in the morning, the total number of positive cases over the previous seven days had been 190. When we went back in the afternoon, it was 103. So it gives the perception that there were fewer people who tested positive, and that's looking at the same day. So I don't understand how giving more information - I mean, give less information actually is more informative.

FRENK: No, as I said, as of this Monday, we're going to start giving a 14 days. And you can find easily the total cumulative. It's just visually it is very, very difficult to start accumulating over a longer period of time.

BLACKWELL: OK.

FRENK: And it is not - look, out of - I've been doing this for many, many years. The number you want to track is a seven-day rolling average. That's what you want to - in fact, it changes because you are moving the average. It moves as the days go forward.

BLACKWELL: OK. I think we've hit that point. Let me ask you, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, when they discovered that there were 130 cases after their first week, they went to full virtual learning - online. They've got with students, faculty, more than 30,000 people there at that campus just at Chapel Hill.

You told me that they're more or less 190 that you found and you've only been open for two weeks now and you're continuing this hybrid model. Why are you so confident that you should continue to allow students to be in class, professors, staff to be in-person, they're on campus?

[08:40:00]

FRENK: Well, because we have a robust system of testing and tracing. That is the key. You test, you identify positives that we have. You trace their contacts, and you isolate or quarantine the contacts and the positive cases.

We have a contingency plan with very clear milestones of what would it take - what level, what threshold would have to go - we'd have to go over to close either a wing of a building, an entire building, shut down the campus, keeping the students quarantined, or actually send students back home.

So all of those milestones are clearly spelled out in a contingency plan. And we have not hit those milestones. We're far from that. But the key is to be able to test, trace and then isolate or quarantine. And so far our ability to do so has worked. But we have those plans ready to be triggered if we reach those levels.

BLACKWELL: OK, let me ask you about football. Some schools have canceled fall sports all together. The Canes will play. And not only will they play at Hard Rock Stadium there, up to 13,000 attendees will be allowed to attend the game starting in two weeks.

Now, you said that students will not be allowed for the first two games. Potentially that will change. But why is it a good idea to put 13,000 people into a stadium? I know that it can accommodate 65,000 plus. But why put 13,000 people together if you're cracking down on students being in groups of more than 10?

FRENK: Well, first of all, let me tell you the - we don't own the stadium, that's the stadium we use, the Dolphins Stadium. And the decision to open is a decision made by the county and the level of 13 was made by the county.

Having said that, you can do that safely if everyone is wearing face covers, unlike what you were just showing in the previous segment, everyone is facing - wearing face cover, everyone is keeping a safe distance. And in our case, we're also forbidding, when the Canes play the sale of alcohol in the stadium that we can control. So, I think if we adhere to those rules, then it is it is it is possible to do that. But you have to enforce the wearing of face covers, which is what we do also on campus by the way.

BLACKWELL: University of Miami President Dr. Julio Frenk, listen, I challenged you here. But I know that every university president is now embarking on something that we have never done before. I thank you for discussing your approach with me this morning. FRENK: Yes. And if I can just say, the vast majority of people are actually complying, which is why we don't have that many cases. And I think that is something we should drive some hope from.

BLACKWELL: Sir. We don't know how many--

FRENK: --then people actually can follow up.

BLACKWELL: We don't know how many cases you have, because they're not posted on your website. We will be back on Monday to check, to see if that update has happened.

FRENK: Yes. And we know how many there are. I mean, it's--

BLACKWELL: Your student body doesn't and really no one else, because that's the place where it's posted publicly. I thank you very much. We're up against the break. Thanks so much, Dr. Frenk.

FRENK: Thank you.

PAUL: All righty. Well, this man brought us a lot of films that we love so much, right? The world is dealing with the loss right now of Marvel Superhero Chadwick Boseman. We have some things to tell you about him on the other side of the break. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00]

BLACKWELL: So in 2018 Jimmy Fallon asked "Black Panther" fans to film a video message to share what the movie means to them.

PAUL: Yes, just wait till you see the surprise here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot tell you how much it means to have you step into the role as our king and be holding it with such grace and poise and joy.

BOSEMAN: That was so great. I think we should move in closer.

(SCREAMS)

BOSEMAN: Let's move in little closer for that. Let's get a close-up for that.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It means a lot to see a movie that not's like a Black movie, but just a great American superhero movie with people that look like me, so thank you.

BOSEMAN: Yo!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh! Oh, OK, OK. OK. OK. What's going on bro? What's going on bro?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad that you got your muscles covered again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, for me, as the mother of a young son, my son's childhood has been defined by Barack Obama and now Black Panther, so thank you.

BOSEMAN: Hey, that's way too much phrase. Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no, no...

BOSEMAN: You guys - you're gorgeous.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. That is unexpected.

(LAUGHTER)

BOSEMAN: You are gorgeous family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen. Wow, what a surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:00]

PAUL: I don't know if you realize this, but today marks 15 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall, and New Orleans still has not fully recovered.

BLACKWELL: So Rebuilding Together, it's a nonprofit that helps people make some critical home repairs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM STOUDT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, REBUILDING TOGETHER NEW ORLEANS: You drive through the Ninth Ward, you still see Katrina 15 years later.

If you have the same house in the White neighborhood or a Black neighborhood, the African-American family got less rebuild, because it was worth less before the storm because of redlining. People are still struggling. Rebuilding Together New Orleans provides critical home repairs to low income families. We've worked on 1,750 houses.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I found it strange to be a refugee and it was from United States. But when I seen us on TV - it was us--

STOUDT: Mr. Felix's home it was completely devastated by the storm. He was essentially living in a gutted and partially rebuilt home. There are hundreds of Mr. Felixs out there still to this day. We know that our work is now more important today than it was six months ago.

People are out of work. They have literally no way to make a home repair. Whether you're displaced by a natural disaster, or you're stuck at home because of the pandemic, everyone should be able to be safe in their home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And for more information on how you can help, go to cnn.com/impact and thank you so much for doing so.

BLACKWELL: Do join us again in an hour. We'll be speaking with former Chicago Bulls Guard Craig Hodges, who is an activist, and we'll talk to him about the NBA players taking a stand for social and racial justice after another police shooting of a Black man.

[08:55:00]

PAUL: "SMERCONISH" is up next with you. We'll see you in an hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)