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New Day Saturday

Protesters and Police Face off in Rochester, New York During Daniel Prude Demonstration; Trump Highlights Protests to Amplify Culture War Campaign Message; Charges Filed Against Militia Members Traveling to Kenosha, WI; Trump Attacks Former Chief of Staff John Kelly; Fears of COVID-19 Cases Spiking due to Holiday Weekend Gatherings; Mississippi Drops Case Against Curtis Flowers After He was Tried 6 Times on Murder Charges; U.S. Adds 1.4 Million Jobs in August, Bringing the Unemployment Rate Down to 8.4 Percent. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired September 05, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Growing questions about why the video showing the arrest of Daniel Prude was not revealed until this week despite the incident taking place back in March.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just scary being a black person. Like how can I not be here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We use Labor Day as a way to take the day off, but unfortunately the virus doesn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new model often cited by top health officials is surging its projections.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're rounding the corner on the virus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is reported to have called them suckers and losers, suckers for serving, losers for dying.

JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If these statements are true, the President should humbly apologize.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "THE ATLANTIC": What you see is a lack of understanding about why soldiers serve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Look at that beautiful sunrise coming up in New York. We so appreciate you waking up with us this morning. We're grateful you're here. I'm Christi Paul.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Martin Savidge in for Victor Blackwell. We begin with breaking news. Another night of violent protests in the United States, this time in Rochester, New York after the release of body cam video showing the arrest of Daniel Prude, a black man who was pinned to the ground by police and later died. PAUL: Masked protesters were heard shouting, "Black lives matter," as they peacefully marched through downtown streets last night. Take a look. Now, things got violent, as you can see here, as the night wore on. Look at demonstrators here confronting customers at restaurants.

SAVIDGE: As protesters tried to cross a bridge, police fired pepper balls and pepper spray into crowds after they refused to leave the area. Police told protesters they were involved in an unlawful assembly. A CNN affiliate reports that at one point, a bus stop was set afire. Protests have been ongoing in Rochester since the release of the body cam video on Wednesday. That was nearly six months after Daniel Prude's death and Prude's death has been ruled a homicide. Now the man's family wants to know why it's taken months to get information about his death.

PAUL: Yes. Here's CNN's Polo Sandoval.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We now know a little bit more about what led up to the death of Daniel Prude earlier this year, his brother Joe Prude telling me that he was the one who initially called for police assistance back on March 23rd when he told officers that his brother was experiencing a mental episode, that he was a suicidal, hallucinating and high on PCP, that he took his brother back to his home and that's when he actually left that house and that's where the body camera video that's been shared by the Prude family picked things up here.

Warning, the video's certainly not easy to watch, but in these images, you can see the 41-year-old Chicago man. He's naked, agitated, distraught and spitting, according to police. In fact, one officer wrote in his report that the 41-year-old man claimed that he was infected with the COVID virus. so about three minutes into the video, officers use a mesh, a so-called spit sock, to keep him from spitting on the officers.

Shortly thereafter, that's when Prude is then restrained, his head held down and then about 11 minutes after the first officer arrives on the scene, that's when Prude appears to be unresponsive, he's loaded onto an ambulance, taken to a nearby hospital where he dies days later, an autopsy report ruling that he died of suffocation, excited delirium and an acute PCP intoxication.

Since then, his family has been searching for answers, mainly to the question of why it's taken months to finally get their hands on this body camera video and then on Friday, Rochester authorities basically doubling down with their claim that they were contacted by the New York State Attorney General's Office asking that they withhold any information and to keep any materials, including that body camera video, from actually being released, saying that it would potentially jeopardize the integrity of that AG's investigation that's ongoing.

And then Friday, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office saying that at no point that they asked the city to withhold any information and said they were actually free to conduct an investigation of their own. And then we did hear from the president of the Rochester police union defending the actions of this officer, saying that he had seen this video and said that he absolutely believes that at this point, based on what he saw there, that the officers followed their training word for word.

But at the same time, it seems that there is an agreement here among many people in the community, including the union, members of the community and even the mayor of the city that perhaps that training actually needs a closer look whenever officers are responding to these kinds of calls. Polo Sandoval, CNN, Rochester, New York.

PAUL: Polo, thank you so much. So overnight, the President retweeted video of some of that violence that they saw in Rochester.

[06:05:02] SAVIDGE: CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House for us this morning. Good morning to you, Kevin. So how does this fit in with the President's culture war reelection message?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, the President seems to be suggesting that scenes like this will benefit him politically. He retweeted a video of what's happening in Rochester with the caption, "Thank you from the Trump campaign team," and he's giving voice there to the idea that scenes of chaos and violence in American cities will benefit him.

That's something that he has said and that his aides have said over the summer and he's trying to make the claim that if his rival, Joe Biden, is elected in November that scenes like this will flourish across the country. Of course the President is the president now and this is happening under his watch and throughout the summer, what you've seen is the President sort of lean into this law and order mantle, trying to use racial unrest and scenes of violence and protests in the country to project this image of strength and leadership. He's saying that he'll send federal law enforcement into cities where this is happening.

Now, what you saw this week in Kenosha is a good example of the President's approach to this. While he is addressing the violence, he isn't necessarily addressing the situation that precipitated the violence in the first place. When he was visiting Wisconsin, he toured scenes where destruction took place, where rioting took place, but when he was asked about the issue of systemic racism, the President said that that's not the issue and that we should be talking about violence, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Why did the President ban workplace race training sessions last night?

LIPTAK: Yes. This was something of a under-the-radar memo that was released overnight and it seems to kind of formalizing the President's view towards systemic racism and in the memo, the President's budget chief is advising federal agencies to dramatically alter their racial sensitivity training programs.

It says, "Federal agencies must cease and desist from using taxpayer dollars to fund these divisive, un-American propaganda training sessions." It says, "It's come to the President's attention that the executive branch agencies have spent millions of taxpayer dollars to- date training government workers to believe divisive, anti-government propaganda." Now, it's not clear how many of these training programs are underway in the government, but one thing that does seem clear is how this got on the President's radar. It's been a frequent subject on "Fox News" over the past two weeks.

SAVIDGE: Kevin Liptak at the White House for us. Thanks very much, Kevin.

PAUL: Now, in Wisconsin, federal agents arrested two members of a militia group they say traveled from Missouri with a cache of weapons that they weren't authorized to have because they have criminal records.

SAVIDGE: The men were picked up just a few miles away from Kenosha, Wisconsin, the site of the Jacob Blake shooting and recent protest. Caroline Reinwald from our affiliate WISN in Wisconsin has the story.

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CAROLINE REINWALD, CORRESPONDENT, WISN: Court documents from the Department of Justice and the FBI list a stockpile of weapons found in a La Quinta Inn hotel room and an SUV parked outside in Pleasant Prairie. The FBI says on Tuesday, they were tipped off about two men driving into Kenosha from Missouri aiming to loot and possibly pick people off. The text shows roommates Michael Karmo and Cody Smith in a photo captioned, "This the game changer," as they packed for their trip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Are you a manager?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm not, but I'm an associate. I just know I came in at 11 that day and they were already here until 3 P.M. -- 3 A.M., but ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the authorities were?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but they didn't show me -- they didn't tell me anything or nothing like that, so.

REINWALD: While hotel employees say they didn't know any details about the incident, the FBI explains they arrested Karmo and Smith in the hotel parking lot. They didn't provide photos of the weapons found, but did share these photos of Karmo's Facebook profile and the assault style rifles he's posted before. According to the release, the cache of weapons, ammo and supplies found from the men's SUV and hotel room included an AR-15, a shotgun, two handguns, a homemade silencer, a drone, tactical gear and knives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How does that make you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm shocked really. I mean, I came here to take pictures of the aftermath and just try to see what happened a little bit, but I don't know, man. People surprise you and not in a good way these days.

REINWALD: The release says Karmo and Smith told agents they wanted to see proof of the rioting and were planning to drive to Portland, Oregon next, saying they were willing to take action if police were defunded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And our thanks to Caroline Reinwald from our affiliate WISN for that report. If convicted, they each could face up to 10 years in prison for each of the charge.

Now to the new, angry denials from President Trump of that disturbing report in "The Atlantic." Unnamed sources told the magazine that he has repeatedly disparaged U.S. service members, including the fallen and wounded, and chose to skip a visit to a veteran cemetery, in part over fears his hair would get wet by the rain.

[06:15:08] PAUL: Now, among his targets now is his former Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired four-star marine general whose son died in Afghanistan. General Kelly has yet to confirm or deny anything in these reports, but this was the President's reaction yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I know John Kelly. He was with me. Didn't do a good job, had no temperament and ultimately he was petered out. He got -- he was exhausted. This man was totally exhausted. He wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. There is nobody that feels more strongly about our soldiers, our wounded warriors, our soldiers that died in war than I do. It's a hoax just like the fake dossier was a hoax just like the Russia, Russia, Russia was a hoax. It was a total hoax. No collusion. Just like so many other things, it's a hoax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now the President's attacking "Fox News" as well for matching some of what "The Atlantic" is reporting. The magazine's editor in chief and author of the piece stands by the article and says the comments follow a pattern with this president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDBERG: And so what you see in all of these comments going all the way back to 2015 when he disparaged John McCain for getting captured, what you see is a lack of understanding about why soldiers serve and what constitutes heroism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, whose late son Beau served in Iraq, had this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: If it's true, and based on other things he's said I believe the article is true, I'd ask you all the rhetorical question how do you feel? How would you feel if you had a kid in Afghanistan right now? How would you feel if you lost a son, daughter, husband, wife? How would you feel for real? I've probably -- I've just never been as disappointed in my whole career with a leader that I've worked with, president or otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Biden also called on the President to, quote, "humbly apologize." Now, CNN hasn't independently confirmed "The Atlantic"'s report.

SAVIDGE: A warning this Labor Day weekend. With millions traveling, getting together, health experts are concerned about another coronavirus spike. Still ahead, how you can safely enjoy the holiday and still prevent the spread.

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[06:15:00]

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SAVIDGE: The U.S. recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases Friday, the same day a model often cited by top health officials predicted the virus could kill more than 410,000 Americans by the start of next year.

PAUL: Now of course, as you know, you may be anticipating this holiday weekend to kick off. The nation's top infectious disease expert, meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, encouraging us to keep our gatherings small and suggesting making outdoor plans to help prevent the spread of the virus.

SAVIDGE: Let's bring in now CNN's Natasha Chen and, Natasha, Labor Day weekend is, of course, going to look very different in a lot of cities and that includes right here in Atlanta, correct?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Martin. You know, it's still early, but usually during Labor Day weekend we'd see thousands of people, an eclectic mix of both college football fans and thousands of people, gathered for a parade, watching folks in costume for Dragon Con which is a massive convention of comics, literature, gaming fans alike. Now, all of these event organizers say that the health and safety of attendees is really the most important, but that also means that Atlanta won't be seeing those dollars come in.

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CARRIE BURNS, CO-FOUNDER, ATLANTA MOVIE TOURS: This entire Walton Street is just a hotbed of film.

CHEN: On Labor Day weekend, Carrie Burns would usually be booked solid ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of productions that are built in this area due to the different aesthetics.

CHEN: ... giving tours of iconic spots in Atlanta where major blockbusters and TV shows were filmed.

BURNS: Right behind us is the tank scene from "Walking Dead."

CHEN: The post-apocalyptic Atlanta of "The Walking Dead may be a thing of fiction, but the reality of 2020 can be bleak. Nearly 6,000 people in Georgia have died, about 280,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus and businesses like Atlanta Movie Tours closed for good.

BURNS: It is emotional, but I think you come to the -- to a -- to a point where you know that you made the right decision.

CHEN: The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau says this Labor Day weekend would have seen nearly a quarter million visitors and businesses would have made more than $151 million just off of Dragon Con and two college football kickoff games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Instead, Dragon Con is virtual. The Atlanta Black Pride Festival is still happening in person, but the annual PGA Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club is being played to no fans. The two kickoff games, plus a third one next weekend, are canceled.

GARY STOKAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, PEACH BOWL, INC: Well, you're talking about $100 million over the three games and $7.5 million of that would have translated back into tax revenue into the city of Atlanta. So certainly the hotels, the restaurants, the bars, the city itself is losing a great economic impact.

GREG GANT, OWNER, THE RED PHONE BOOTH: As you see when you walk -- when you guys came in, there's no one on the streets, there's no businessmen, there's no lawyers in the offices and the high rises. Entrez vous.

[06:20:03] CHEN: The Red Phone Booth, a speakeasy in downtown Atlanta, opened exactly five years ago with the Dragon Con Cigar Club as their first guests.

And so this would be packed during Labor Day weekend.

GANT: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, they're all dressed up, you know, some in steampunk, some in the 1920s theme with your Charlie Chaplin stuff.

CHEN: Instead, they'll still have local supporters coming by this weekend at a reduced capacity per state rules. More than half of the company's furloughed staff are back, but business has not recovered enough to bring back all of them.

GANT: There's been many sleepless nights.

CHEN: And he knows some businesses, like his friend Carrie Burns Atlanta Movie Tours, won't make it on the other side of this pandemic.

BURNS: I think that we could have done better to stop this or slow this early on with some -- between mask wearing and physical distancing early, early stages. We got to the point where we were just a little too late. CHEN: All the owners of businesses that are emptier this weekend know that the sooner the virus is stopped, the sooner they can see friendly faces again. That requires people not to gather en masse this holiday weekend.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): I understand that many, many of us are tired and ready to move on, but we have to hunker down and keep chopping against COVID-19.

CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Now to talk more about the holiday and our health is medical analyst Dr. Saju Mathew, primary care physician and public health specialist. Morning to you, doctor.

SAJU MATHEW, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Martin.

SAVIDGE: So we saw cases spike in a number of cities after Memorial Day, same thing happened with the Fourth of July and now we're at the end of summer and Labor Day weekend. So how concerned are you that this holiday weekend will lead to another spike in cases, especially because, and as the Georgia governor alluded to, this kind of fatigue now, corona fatigue?

MATHEW: Yes, Martin. I'm extremely concerned. I mean, you know what I'm going to say as a physician. Listen, we're still dealing with the ramifications from the earlier two weekend celebrations, July 4th and Memorial Day, and what I urge all Americans to do is to not get into that whole quarantine fatigue and use the weekend as an excuse to take off the mask.

The bottom line here is if you're going to introduce new people into your bubble, you've got to really make sure that you're cautious. You know, the three W's, we talk about all the time, wearing a mask, watching your distance and washing your hands. That's key and let's also remember, Martin, one example that we can all deal with as in New York, the cases did not really begin to go down until masks were mandated in that city. Within two weeks, the cases dropped significantly.

So we need to make sure that wearing a mask is going to be really key as we go out there and it doesn't mean you have to be in a jail. You can go outdoors, but you have to be careful.

SAVIDGE: "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that several drug makers who are developing a vaccine are planning to pledge not to seek government approval until the vaccine has been proven safe and effective. I guess my question to you is isn't that standard procedure?

MATHEW: You know, typically, Martin, I've never heard of like the pharmaceutical companies getting together and almost issuing a warning saying, listen, we're not going to get our vaccine out there until we are comfortable and we want to make sure that this is actually safe and effective. I think that that is absolutely key.

Remember, the whole -- I think Americans have really lost trust because of how quickly we're trying to get this emergency use authorization like they did for hydroxychloroquine and convalescent plasma. We have to regain that trust from the American public and I think a measure like this will be key. The more checks and balances that we have will be absolutely important to making sure that people will actually get the vaccine when it is available.

SAVIDGE: We know there's a lot of pressure that's been applied both to the CDC and the FDA here. I mean, do you really think that these organizations could be politically pressured into supporting a vaccine or authorizing it when, in fact, they're not quite clear if it's safe and effective?

MATHEW: Yes. So Martin, I hope the answer to that is no. I hope that there will not be any politics that will be involved in getting this vaccine out. Listen, ultimately it's all about the data. Phase three, 30,000 to 40,000 people have to be tested and remember, a lot of people forget that it takes time. Once you give the vaccine to people, you have to make sure that the vaccine actually works and guess how that happens -- people have to be sent out there and you have to be exposed to the virus and you have to actually see that did the people who got the vaccine, are they going to be protected?

So by rushing this vaccine expeditiously with a political slant in mind is actually going to hurt this vaccine.

[06:25:04] Remember, a vaccine can end a pandemic, but if we don't get this right the first time, the exact opposite can happen.

SAVIDGE: One of the things I want to ask about is the vaccine is not necessarily 100 percent effective. I mean, many times the flu vaccine can be only 30, 40 percent effective. Do we have any idea -- like would 50 percent be considered effective when dealing with coronavirus and that would mean only one out of every two cases would be helped?

MATHEW: Right. So Martin, this virus is highly contagious, highly transmissible and lethal. So when you have a virus like this that has such a high fatality rate, you really want that herd immunity through a vaccine to be really in the 70, 80th percentile. However, like Dr. Fauci mentioned, I would be happy if we can at least get 50 percent risk reduction through the vaccine. Sixty or 70 percent would be better.

SAVIDGE: All right. Before I let you go, I want to ask you about this. We know that masks work and almost every public health expert has said that. Here's the President bashing, actually, Joe Biden on his wearing of a mask. Listen.

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TRUMP: But did you ever see a man that likes a mask as much as him? And then he makes a speech and he always has it -- not always, but a lot of times he has it hanging down because you know what? It gives him a feeling of security. If I were a psychiatrist -- right? No, I'd say -- I'd say this guy's got some big issues. Hanging down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Can I just get your professional reaction to that?

MATHEW: You know, Martin, I always try to stay away from politics, but physicians are constantly dragged into that arena and I have to say, as a physician, I was deeply offended. There is nothing funny about wearing a mask. Masks will save lives and, you know, ultimately when I think about the 180,000 Americans that have died, I wonder, as a physician, would possibly a good number of those people have not died had we worn masks earlier?

Remember, 95 percent of Americans, if they wear masks, we can cut down 120,000 deaths before the beginning of next year. There's nothing funny about wearing a mask. It's all about making sure that we're protecting others and ourselves as well.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. Dr. Saju Mathew, always good to talk to you. Thank you. Have a good holiday.

MATHEW: Thank you, Martin.

PAUL: Listen, he was tried six times for the same murder case and this morning, Curtis Flowers, he's a free man. Why prosecutors decided to drop his case 24 years later. Joey Jackson is with us. Stay close.

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[06:30:00]

SAVIDGE: Violent clashes overnight in Rochester, New York after the release of body-cam video that was showing the arrest of Daniel Prude, he's a black man who later died after he stopped breathing during that arrest.

PAUL: So police fired pepper balls and pepper spray at protesters as you see here. This was after they refused to leave the area. The city's seen protests every night since the release of that body-cam video. And let's bring in legal -- for this morning's "LEGAL BRIEF", CNN's legal analyst Joey Jackson. Joey, it's always so good to see you, thank you for being here.

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The pleasure is mine, Christi, as always.

PAUL: Always. Thank you. So I want to talk to you about the family demanding that officers fire and charge these officers with murder. Do you agree that that is the way to go?

JACKSON: Listen, Christi, I think there's an epidemic in this country, certainly, you know, we're dealing with the COVID virus, I'm not referring to that, I'm speaking to what we constantly talk to, and far too often, and that's African-American men who are killed at the hands of the police. And so, we know police are out there. They are serving us with distinction seven days a week and twice on Sunday. But we also know that officers misstep, and when they do, I'm an advocate for accountability. When things go wrong, they need to be investigated.

In this case, Christi, you have the New York State Attorney General, pursuant to the law, an independent state entity, not local prosecutors who are stepping in. And so to the families concerned, yes, I do think that it's time that the investigation be thorough. That it'd be adequate. That they vet everything. And that there be a determination made as to accountability. And in the event that it's found, that the officers who substantially contributed to his death as it appears to be the case, then I do believe that their actions should be taken, and that action should be a prosecution. So, yes, I am in accord with that.

PAUL: So, we know that according to the investigation and to the autopsy, they deemed it a homicide. They said the cause of death was asphyxiation in setting of physical restraint and excited delirium and acute intoxication by PCP, also were contributing factors there. So, with that said, what was your reaction when you saw the video and how are officers to -- what is protocol to react to somebody who is having some sort of mental breakdown as he was and was reported to them that that's what was happening.

JACKSON: So, Christi, a few things. The first thing is as to seeing the video, it's disturbing, right? It's really disturbing to look and determine that, yes, there was a spit mask that was placed upon him. That spit mask was done because of the fact that he's yelling he had coronavirus. We get that, OK? That's one thing. And they acted, you know, in putting on the spit mask to protect themselves.

[06:35:00]

When you see however, it escalated beyond that. You have a naked person who is there. He doesn't have a gun or any weapon in any of his hands, he's not posing a particular threat, certainly, not an imminent threat to anyone. You're pushing his head against the ground, that's problematic to me. And that's very important because I think, as a result of that, now we get into a homicide and how he died. To your second question, you have various things in the report concerning, you know, what the causes of death was.

It's very important for everyone to understand that you don't have to be the sole cause of someone's death, you have to be the direct and substantial cause of someone' death. And that means there could be PCP, there could be other instances, but if your actions led to the chain of events causing the death, that's problematic. Finally, to the third point in terms of what happened. What happens is that the officers we know now are suspended, but it will go beyond that. And what it will go beyond is, there will be a determination made as to whether they acted criminally. Finally, as it relates to any criminal action, it's not that they acted intentionally to kill him, it's whether they acted negligently or recklessly.

That if they disregard the fact that their actions could have killed him, and that's what's it's going to be focused in on I think by prosecutors in looking at whether the officers were careless or reckless in causing his death. And that's what could really lead to a prosecution. PAUL: I want to ask about the Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, who this week said that she was misled by the police's chief there because this happened in March and we're just now seeing it. So six months have gone by. She says that the police chief led her to believe Prude died of an overdose, and then we have the fact that there had been so -- has been so much time that's gone by. What do you make -- what questions do you have as to why it took so long for this to be public?

JACKSON: I have plenty. And I think certainly, if you're the police chief, I get and understand that you have the rank-and-file that you want to protect your members. But at the end of the day, you want to be a person who is just, a person who is honorable, and a person who doesn't conceal or hide information. And so I'm very troubled by the fact that there's this misleading of the mayor, also troubled by the fact that the mayor said oh, nothing to see here, I still have confidence in him. How do you have confidence in a police chief who misled you? To me, that is of concern.

And so when you look at that and the actions around that, you know, at the end of the day, something has to happen and something -- that something, I think, really needs to be held -- the police chief to be held accountable. You can't have a person who is giving misinformation or you can't have a mayor who stands for that, particularly when we have instances here where someone is dead, and it's happening too often, enough is enough.

PAUL: So Joey, before I let you go, I do have to ask you about Curtis Flowers because there are these new developments out of Mississippi. Six trials he went through over 23 years since his arrest. And the charges have finally been dismissed. These were murder charges. There was evidence of innocence like witness recantations and potential alternate suspects that have come up over the years. What do you make of the fact that he was tried six times. I think a lot of people hear that and think, isn't that a case of double jeopardy?

JACKSON: So what happens, Christi, as I make of it, that it certainly is an excess. And the prosecution -- as long as -- here's what happened, just breaking it down. Six times, it's important to understand that in those six times, he was convicted multiple times, right? He was convicted about four times. He was sentenced to death at least three times. And of course, there was a hung jury two times. And so, as long as there's a hung jury, it's not what we call double jeopardy in as much as the jury hasn't reached a determination. When he was re-tried after being convicted, it's not double jeopardy because he was ordered to have a new trial.

But at the end of the day, I mean, wow, to talk about a story where you look at someone's faith really -- someone just, you know, really moving forward, knowing they could prevail and their attorneys working with them to prevail, hard to be in prison for 23 years. But to be released and to have the Supreme Court really weigh in and give him a new trial because of the determination that the prosecutor discriminated by striking black jurors so that he could have less, you know, a jury of his peers, it tells a heck of a story. And so, the next time we're feeling bad for ourselves about something slight, think about someone who spent 23 years in jail and is finally a free person because of the fact that they prevailed against a system who really wanted them badly.

PAUL: Yes, he's then finally freed from the injustice that left him locked in a box for 23 years. That really gives you quite an image. Joey Jackson, we so appreciate your insight and your perspective. Thank you for getting up early for us.

JACKSON: Always, thank you, Christi.

PAUL: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Well, the stands are going to be empty during today's Kentucky Derby due to the coronavirus pandemic. But outside the track at Churchill Downs, thousands are expected to show up in protest, demanding justice for Breonna Taylor.

PAUL: Yes, yesterday marked the 100th day of protests in Louisville for her. Who you remember was killed by police executing a no-knock warrant at the time. This happened back in March at her home. Now, demonstrators called for the derby to be cancelled all together as a statement against police brutality and racial injustice.

[06:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY FINDLEY, PASTOR, KINGDOM FELLOWSHIP: We're tired of what we're seeing here in Louisville, Kentucky. It seems as though everyone wants us to move on. And what black people are saying, what our allies are saying is that we will not move on. We want justice for Breonna Taylor. We want those officers indicted. We want the mayor to have accountability. We want there to be exposure that there have been a 100 days of protesting. The first two days were difficult days, 98 days have been peaceful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, an announcement on the Breonna Taylor investigation is expected from the Kentucky Attorney General, that's expected to be very soon.

SAVIDGE: Still ahead, we got some deeply worrying signs for the U.S. economy. We're going to look beyond the numbers to tell you the real story behind the latest jobs report.

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[06:45:00]

SAVIDGE: Here in the U.S., unemployment rate is in single digits for the first time since the pandemic began, might sounds like good news, and it is. But there are still some troubling signs for the overall economy, 1.4 million jobs were added in August and the unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent. But there's still a loss of momentum. Alison Kosik joins us now. And Allison, that is the concern, isn't it? These are good numbers, don't get me wrong, but now going forward, the long- term unemployment. ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're spot on about

that, Martin, good morning to you. Yes, there's something really off with the economy when we think that an 8.4 percent unemployment rate is an improvement. And you know what? It is, and so is the 1.4 million jobs added in August. Those are improvements in the labor market when you look at it in broad terms. But the reality is that progress is slow in the labor market and progress is slowing.

I want to show you a snapshot of the job gains so far during the pandemic. In June, we saw an addition of 4.7 million jobs, July 1.7 million and in August 1.4 million. A chunk of those though included temporary census workers. So, that 1.4 million that we just got on Friday is actually weaker than it seems. So we -- you can see that gradual loss of momentum of job gains, and that's concerning, especially when you look at the big picture of the job losses in total. We've lost 22 million jobs at least during this pandemic, we've gotten back 11 million.

But the economy is still down another 11 million. So we're about half to normal. We've got a long way to go. It's why Congress really needs to act and pass another relief bill to help struggling Americans who aren't getting that supplemental -- you know, unemployment benefit any more, they're struggling to pay their bills. I talked with our economist Mark Zandi yesterday, he's with Moody's Analytics, and he agrees with other economists about a troubling trend ahead. He believes that there could be an -- tsunami ahead of us, that the job cuts that are coming haven't even hit yet. You know, one of the big concerns during this pandemic is that these temporary job losses would turn into permanent ones, and we are seeing indications that, that could be the trend that is down the line. Martin?

SAVIDGE: Now, this is troubling indeed. Alison Kosik, thanks very much, good to see you this morning.

KOSIK: Thanks.

PAUL: Alison, thank you. So LeBron James has his eye on another NBA title. First, he's got to get through -- he's done, of course, there were three former MVPs on the court last night, who shined most in game one -- guess who is with us? Mr. Coy Wire, next.

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[06:50:00]

PAUL: Well, the Lakers haven't been playing much the last couple of weeks, in part, due to the self-imposed shut down over social justice.

SAVIDGE: That (INAUDIBLE) though did not help them last night. Coy Wire is with us, and Coy, it comes down to that age-old question in sports, rest versus rust. Good morning to you.

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COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: That's exactly right, good morning Marty and Christi. The Lakers looked rusty playing just once since August 24th before last night, but the Rockets, it's like they're playing at a different speed, coming off a seven-game triumph over the Thunder, LeBron James, he's going for his 16th straight Conference semifinal win, but James Harden and the Rockets blew right past him. LeBron compared the 2018 MVP and his team's ability to score to the greatest show on turf, the 99 Super Bowl champions Rams after the game. Harden capping off a 14-0 run in the fourth, scoring 36 in a 112-97 win in game one.

Tonight, another double header on our sister network, "TNT", Celtics up 2 to 1 heading into game 4 of their series with the Raptors followed by game two of Clippers-Nuggets. Now to difference makers. Trevor Bauer is on fire. The former all-star is a top five pitcher in MLB this season, he's also one of the most bold and outspoken players in the game. But he wasn't always that way. Bauer opened up with us about how he overcame being bullied as a kid and about his concerns while playing during the pandemic.

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TREVOR BAUER, PITCHER, CINCINNATI REDS: Having a player test positive is scary, first off, for his health and wanted to understand like what symptoms do you have? Like because it's new to us to have concern for a teammate outside of the normal concern like, hey, got rolled an ankle or hey, got hit in the elbow, whatever the case is. And so then, after that, it's like OK, what are the protocols now because are we infected? Now, we get -- we don't play for three days and we have to take tests and they do contact tracing. They look at video of our dug- out and they say who hi-fived and whatever? So now we're in limbo where we have to show up to the field in the morning and do a test and then we go back to our place on a day we're supposed to play a game and now we're not doing anything.

But we're supposed to leave our place of residence either because we potentially could be positive. And so, it's like how do you eat? How do you work out? Can you work out? Everything is just so weird.

WIRE (voice-over): This season isn't the first time Bauer has dealt with adversity. He was bullied in high school, but one morning changed everything.

BAUER: I'm looking in a mirror and I'm wondering, you know, why don't people like me? You know, why don't I have friends? Why do people make fun of me and bully me at school so much? And this is running through my head because I'm about to go to school and face like -- I was miserable going to school. And that day, I remember looking in the mirror and saying I like what I see.

[06:55:00]

I feel like I do well in school, I do well in baseball, I treat people well, I'm kind, like I'm a good son, I'm not in trouble. And so at that point, it was really freeing because I stopped worrying about what people at school said. I stopped worrying about the bullying. I stopped worrying about how my actions may be perceived or whatever. And that specific morning changed my life pretty drastically.

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WIRE: Bauer says he was too much of a nerd to fit in with jocks growing up, yet, too much of a jock to fit in with the nerds, he sits by himself playing chess or talk signs with his dad, now he helps kids build their self-esteem and pursue their dreams through his foundation. He even has a media company "Momentum" helping pro- athletes share their voices too, trevorbauer.com for more on all that Trevor is doing.

SAVIDGE: Yes, great story, Coy, thank you so much for that.

PAUL: Thank you, Coy, good luck with the baby who should be here any time. We'll keep you posted, next hour of your NEW DAY starts after the break, stay close.

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