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New Day

Kentucky Doctor Dies from Coronavirus; Pandemic and Stimulus Fuel Sell-Off; Chris Evans And Mark Kassen's Mission to Inform Voters. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 22, 2020 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: She got coronavirus in May but lost her battle nearly two weeks ago. She was 62-years-old. Anderson Cooper talked to her husband, who's also a doctor, and her twin children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DAVID SHADOWEN, HUSBAND OF DR. REBECCA SHADOWEN: She very much enjoyed taking care of patients and working with the nurses and the doctors and she enjoyed teaching medical students and residents. It was really what she lived for was working in the field of medicine. And she would be there. And she knew that there was risks with Covid out there and you could catch it and have bad things happen, but she still wanted to be part of medicine and part of helping people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now, two of Dr. Shadowen's colleagues who treated her, Dr. Nisar Kazimuddin and Dr. Karan Singh, they are both associate directors of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Western Kentucky Heart and Lung Associates.

Doctors, thank you for being here. I know that this is a really hard time for you. You were not only her colleagues, you were her friends, and then you became her doctors.

And so, Dr. Singh, just tell us what that experience and whole process has been like.

DR. KARAN SINGH, COLLEAGUE OF KENTUCKY DOCTOR WHO DIED OF CORONAVIRUS: I really hope to God to be able to say that I will never see something like this again. You know, Dr. Shadowen was a friend, a colleague, a mentor and just truly a warrior in both our professional and personal lives.

The impact that she's had on, you know, the hospital here and the practice of medicine here is -- is -- is, you know, tremendous. So, you know, we all miss our colleague and our friend.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Kazimuddin, she was on the team with all of you that was fighting coronavirus. I understand she didn't take any vacation for three months. That's how committed she was to this fight. Do you know exactly how she got sick?

DR. NISAR KAZIMUDDIN, COLLEAGUE OF KENTUCKY DOCTOR WHO DIED OF CORONAVIRUS: I guess it was one of the caregivers for her family member. I guess she did not know she had the virus. He cared for the -- for her mother-in-law at home. And I guess that's how the family contracted the virus. Dr. David and his doctor contracted it first and subsequently Dr. Shadowen got the virus as well.

CAMEROTA: I mean a doctor -- a health care worker at home trying to keep everybody safe and do what's best and then, of course, she gets the virus.

So, Dr. Singh, even when she was sick, I understand that she would text you, you know, at 9:00 p.m. because she had just learned something that she thought could help another patient.

SINGH: Oh, yes. I mean she was always go, go, go. So, yes, I would get texts and she would sent me a link to the paper and say, have you read this? And, you know, do you -- would you consider this? So, you know, she was -- she was part of our whole team here. And, as I said, like, even when -- no matter how sick she was, she was always, you know, doing -- thinking of ways she could help her patients more. It was truly inspiring.

CAMEROTA: And, Dr. Singh, one more to you. You know, Dr. Shadowen was a doctor with all of this expertise in this field and she had all of these medical resources at her disposal.

Was there nothing? I mean was -- was there no therapeutic, no steroid, no Remdesivir, no proning (ph) position, was there -- there nothing that could work on her?

SINGH: I mean she got everything. I mean sometimes what happens is I think she had recovered, you know, from the virus itself, but even, you know, being in the ICU and, you know, being on the ventilator so many times and everything that comes with it, extracted (INAUDIBLE) people and, you know, sometimes despite everything that we can do and, you know, she got everything, you know, it falls short. OK. That's just, you know, the way it is.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

And, Dr. Kazimuddin, I know that even as recent -- I mean Dr. Shadowen was so hopeful, even as recently as July 9th. I just want to read a portion of her FaceBook post. She said, although I am not home yet, I am in a very long recovery period and making slow progress here in Bowling Green. As far as coronavirus is concerned, there is so much hope. Yes, vaccines are coming along well, but antiviral medications for treatments, like any infection, are as well. So having real treatments will really hasten this along! It's exciting to see us get to this stage! Real hope. In the meantime, we can function safely by isolating those ill and wearing face coverings or masks uniformly. Please wear them, it does work!

What do you think when you hear that message that she had for other people?

KAZIMUDDIN: That is so true. The -- she preached that all the time and the (INAUDIBLE) --

CAMEROTA: I'm sorry, I know this is hard.

KAZIMUDDIN: She preached this all the time and the -- and the fact I (INAUDIBLE) emphasize enough the importance of wearing the mask, hand hygiene and practicing social distancing.

[08:35:12]

This is the only two we have at this time that we know that it works.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

KAZIMUDDIN: While we wait for medications to be available and vaccines to be available, I think we should keep up with this and continue to work and hope and pray that this pandemic will soon end.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I mean let her message live on, which is that she was very hopeful for these therapeutics and the vaccine. But right now, we have masks and, as she said, it does work, exclamation point.

Doctors, thank you very much. We're really sorry for your loss, the loss of your colleague and friend. Thank you very much for taking the time to be with us.

SINGH: Thank you for having us.

CAMEROTA: NEW DAY will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:06]

CAMEROTA: Looks like the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of stimulus are fueling a four-week sell-off on Wall Street.

CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins us now.

What do you see, Christine?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, stocks are trying to stage a comeback here, at least a sense of calm this morning. But with the largest increase in Covid-19 cases in over a month, that's proving difficult.

The worry is global, Alisyn. In the U.K., in parts of Europe, more lockdowns may be necessary. And this, the Supreme Court battle takes oxygen away from more pandemic relief. At the very moment, millions of families need more financial support. We know earlier aid helped support the economy and now without it, it looks like the recovery is stalling.

CNN and Moody's Analytics calculates this back to normal index. As of last week, the U.S. economy was about 75 -- 76 percent of where it was before the pandemic. It's looking less like a v-shaped recovery by the day. Millions still out of work. Temporary job losses have turned permanent for many. Weekly jobless claims are four times higher than pre-pandemic level week after week after week. There's growing concern the recovery is really a k-shape, worsening in equality, especially for people working in retail, restaurants and bars and leisure, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: And so, Christine, remember how there was this hand winning on Capitol Hill about whether that added $600 in enhanced unemployment benefit would keep workers on the sidelines.

ROMANS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: What do we now know?

ROMANS: We know that these are not normal times. And the San Francisco Federal Reserve found that extra money was stimulus. It was economic relief. It worked. Remember, the Trump administration and Republicans repeatedly called that extra money a disincentive to work, saying people, I guess, would rather sit at home and collect that extra money than try to find a job. The report found the opposite, saying job seekers do not have the luxury to be choosy and delay accepting a job in favor of continuing to receive benefits. They knew that money was always going to be temporary and there were job offers on the other side anyway.

That extra $600, that's weeks ago. That ended five weeks ago. The president had an emergency $300 payment. That is -- that ended almost immediately as soon as it started for some people. It lasted a few weeks.

CAMEROTA: It is so valuable to know the truth about what happens when people get that extra stimulus.

ROMANS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Christine, thank you very much.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Captain America on a new mission. Actor, director, masshole (ph) Chris Evans joins me live next to talk about his push to get Americans to vote.

CAMEROTA: Maybe he's going to join you next.

But, first, victory gardens sprout up again during the pandemic. Here's this week's "Impact Your World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAVONDA WILDER, NEW GARDENER: We are all under quarantine, so it was hard for us to get to the store. We didn't really feel safe going out.

That really helped the decision making of growing in your backyard.

I first heard about victory gardens that had a seed giveaway at the beginning of the season. They gave away these big bags that you can go and sift your compost. Picking the greens and seeing a tomatoes sprout and just knowing that I -- they started literally from nothing, started from my son sifting compost and now we're growing okra and kale and lettuce. We did that.

CHRISTINE KUHN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VICTORY GARDEN INITIATIVE: Victory Garden Initiative is a non-profit based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Anywhere you can put a garden, we will build one and provide education, seeds, compost, all the resources that we can, as well as mentorship. We've had many more families reach out to us this year than in previous years. We've now built over 5,000 garden beds across Milwaukee.

WILDER: I'm already contemplate on next year. I feel like it's brought our family closer together. It's empowered us. Financially, we're not going back and forth to the stores anymore. And it's therapeutic for me, like you're watching life happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:48:20]

BERMAN: All right, it's time now for "The Good Stuff."

In the movies, Captain America is a force for good against evil. He has superpowers. But you know what superpowers we all have? We can vote and we can vote armed with knowledge. More knowledge now thanks to actor and director Chris Evans. Also with us is Mark Kassen, Emmy nominated actor, director and screen writer. They're the co-founders of a website called "Starting Point."

And, gentlemen, really, thank you for being with us. And I do think voting is a superpower. One we should all exercise. And this site that you both have launched is a way to do it better and with more knowledge. So, thank you.

Chris, why? Why did you start this? Tell us that story.

CHRIS EVANS, ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, CO-FOUNDER, "A STARTING POINT": Well, it was just a matter of trying to create engagement. You know, you see the numbers of how many people vote, specifically in general elections, and it just feels depressingly low. And I think government's going to have a hard time working or accurately reflecting who we are as a nation and what we need as a country without those numbers getting up.

So -- so I thought that a lot of people turn away from politics because it's confusing and a little overwhelming and this is designed to demystify some of those issues.

BERMAN: People also turn away because they feel like it can be dishonest. So how do you deal with that?

EVANS: Well, we have fact checkers. And, you know, again, not to -- not to disparage anyone, but I think people are also a little exhausted with certain journalistic flair and I think people tend to question the source of a lot of information they read online. And this was designed to remove that mechanism and just let the information come directly from the elected officials themselves.

BERMAN: So, Mark, how does it work? Walk us through how this site works. And I will say, and I've been on it for months now, but this morning, or this week I noticed that there's a resource that people can figure out if they are registered to vote and how to go do it if not.

[08:55:04]

MARK KASSEN, WRITER, ACTOR, PRODUCER, ENTREPRENEUR AND CO-FOUNDER, "A STARTING POINT": Yes, so there's three sections. There's Starting Points, Daily Points and Counterpoints. Starting points is basically like our resource. It's a glossary. Everything that goes up on that section has at least three Democrats and three Republicans that answer common questions behind policies that affect all of us. Daily Points are real-time information from elected officials directly. And Counterpoints are our version of a debate. One minute back and forth between elected officials.

As you mentioned, as of today, we put up a resource in partnership with I Am A Voter. So anybody can -- from any state can go on our map, click on it, and they find out exactly what they need to register to vote or to mail-in vote or if they're registered to vote at all.

You also can click on one button and contact your rep directly. So far we've got about 10,000 people registered to vote through our site and about 50,000 people have contacted their reps through "A Starting Point."

BERMAN: And you guys have signed up. You have a couple hundred lawmakers in Washington who have submitted videos and participated in this. And you've gone and met with them personally.

You know, Chris, anyone stand out to you that surprised you? Who surprised you the most?

EVANS: Well, I'm not going to answer that one because that will get me in hot water.

But I -- to be honest, the truth is everyone did. I mean the more you're there, the more you, you know, humanize the landscape of politics because I think a lot of times we look at politics as this machine that doesn't work anymore. But the -- D.C. is full of integrity. It really is. You know, I think it just gets tricky for a number of reasons, but I was honestly impressed with everybody. You know, I --

BERMAN: I swear I'm not trying to get you in trouble. I'm not trying to get you in trouble here. I'm just trying to figure out if there was any -- did anyone make you laugh? Was anything surprising to you?

EVANS: I was surprised at how much -- I thought actors moved with people, you know, handlers and such. And politicians have about ten people with them at all times. BERMAN: Are they as good as your people behind the scenes?

EVANS: I mean, they certainly have their work cut out for them. They deal with much -- they have much bigger fish to fry.

BERMAN: And, Mark, you know, one thing that I imagine was surprising, did they take you seriously or how hard was it to break through? Because I imagine -- and I'm not --

EVANS: Nobody takes him seriously, John.

KASSEN: No, not at all. I was going to say, they did not. Nope. Yes/.

BERMAN: Go ahead. Tell me more about that.

KASSEN: Well, no, I mean, listen, in fairness to any of the elected officials, we didn't exist. There wasn't a site -- we took about two and a half years going back and forth to D.C. and we said, hey, will you answer these questions? And they said, for what, you know? And we would try to explain it to them. And they thought it was a joke. And they actually said to us as we keep going, you know, a lot of people from Hollywood come out here and they tell us what to think, they tell us what we should do. They aren't used to people asking them.

So the first time we went, I think we had three confirmed people with 17 slots and one Republican. And by the end of that week, we were full. And now when we go, you know, obviously it's changed a bit because of this -- what's going on in the world, but now we have more slots than we do time to talk to people when we're there directly. And we've sort of slowly build a relationship with the folks in D.C. and by connecting them directly to their electorate.

BERMAN: Look, I think that's awesome, or wicked awesome, Chris, as you might say. I mean, you know, you look --

EVANS: Yes, it is my language.

BERMAN: I took you seriously because you're from Massachusetts. That alone is credential (ph) to take you seriously.

EVANS: That's right.

BERMAN: But on a serious note, you know --

EVANS: (INAUDIBLE), aren't we?

BERMAN: Absolutely.

The problem now is, I'm not sure we have a shared set of facts anymore in our country. There's not a body of evidence that we all universally agree on. You've got QAnon, which is undoubtedly gaining support across this country, which is spouting these conspiracy theories that the FBI deems may spawn domestic terrorism.

So how do you break through, Chris, when there are people who --

KASSEN: Well, John, can I just say --

BERMAN: No, go ahead, Mark.

KASSEN: What we really tried to focus on was, as Chris said, getting answers directly from the folks that you elected, that we elected to pass laws that affect our lives every day. And, you know, there are lots of places to deal with who -- other sources. Our sources are the elected officials. So, as Chris said, we fact check "Starting Points." But, you know, you need to hear without the middleman from these folks so we can decide if what they're saying is worthy of our vote.

BERMAN: And, Chris, how do you break through, though, when there isn't broad agreement like that?

EVANS: Yes, well, like I said, like Mark said, I think at least this site allows people to hold the elected officials accountable. You know, you have their words directly without any sort of middleman or journalistic spin. Again, not to disparage any sort of, you know, journalistic entity, but at least this says, you know, when you speak to these elected officials, these are their words. They have to stand by them. And you can't be blamed that you were misquoted.

BERMAN: I mean, you talk about spin. I mean, you know, politics are known to spin every once in a while, I'm told.

EVANS: Yes. Yes.

KASSEN: We keep the answers short. One to two minutes. They can only go so far.

EVANS: Yes, they can only -- they can only spin so much. I mean, look, we're not trying to cure politics of spin.

[08:55:02]

It will always be that way. We're trying to mitigate as many of the external elements that cause people to feel dispassionate as apathy -- apathetic as we can.

BERMAN: Listen, thank you guys for what you're doing. It's a terrific resource where people can learn all kinds of things. And, like I said, as of this week, you can go and find out where to vote, how to vote, if you're registered. Really easy to use resources, which everyone should go do as soon as they possibly can.

Mark Kassen, Chris Evans, thank you for being with us today. I appreciate it.

EVANS: Thank you.

KASSEN: Thanks, John.

CAMEROTA: He doesn't seem like a masshole.

BERMAN: He -- of course he does.

CAMEROTA: I'm sure he drives responsibly.

BERMAN: No, he -- I say masshole as a badge of honor.

CAMEROTA: No, I say it only on the road.

BERMAN: We have the best ice cream. I mean what else -- what else do you want. You have the best accents. The best ice cream. I mean it's the best.

CAMEROTA: The best accents?

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Hmm, we may have to actually ask the viewers for that.

BERMAN: And along these lines, I want you to all know, you can join CNN -- this is all connected -- today for "Citizen by CNN," a virtual conference that features interviews with guests including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Loretta Lynch, NBA all-star Chris Paul, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussing an array of issues that matter to voters six weeks before Election Day. You can watch a live stream starting in just minutes, 9:00 a.m. on CNN.com.

So, join that. Stay tuned to CNN all day long. Our coverage continues, next.

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