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Coronavirus to Claim More Americans in the Coming Months; Low Polling Pushes Trump to Have Rallies; Floyd's Death Clamors for Change; U.K. Reaps Ramifications for Late Decisions; America In Crisis; White House Press Secretary Defends President Trump's Tweets; U.S. President's Response To Racial Unrest Muddled; Alarm Over Polls Showing Biden With Lead Over Trump; President Trump, Military Bases Will Keep Confederate Names; Fed Predicts Sluggish Recovery From Pandemic's Impact; Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged; Coronavirus Pandemic; Weekly U.S. Jobless Report Due In Coming Hours; British Rapper Speaks Out After Police Tase His Dad; How British Tactics Differ From The U.S.; Will Covid-19 Cases In Africa Surge; U.S. Is First Country To Report Two Million Infections; Widely Different Predictions About Virus Spread In Africa; Food System Failing And Pandemic Making It Worse; 81 Killed In Suspected Boko Haram Attack In Nigeria; Obstacles Black Business Owners Face In United States. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 11, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom.
Still to come, the United States reaches another stark milestone in its fight against COVID-19. Now surpassing two million confirmed cases. Also, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILONISE FLOYD, GEORGE FLOYD'S BROTHER: I'm here to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain, stop us from being tired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A day earlier, here was burying his brother, but on Wednesday, Philonise Floyd made an emotional appeal to U.S. lawmakers.
Also, with the coronavirus pandemic now spreading across Africa, the grim warnings and concerns many had months ago are now reality.
There are new developments on two closely link crises that are tearing at America's social fabric and upending its political dynamics. Coast to coast protest against endemic racism and the coronavirus still wreaking havoc across the country. With more cases that anywhere else in the world. We'll do a deep dive on both and how they are linked throughout the
hour. With the U.S. now surpassing two million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, it is the first country to reach that milestone. It also recorded almost 113,000 deaths, and a senior medical expert now warning that of cases keep increasing at the current rate by September, there may be an additional 100,000 virus deaths in the United States, almost double where the U.S. stands at right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: Right now, we have between 800,000 people dying every single day in America. And all of the models, all of the data suggest that things are going to get worse and we are going to have increases.
But even if we assume that is going to be flat all summer, that nothing is going to get worse we are going to stay flat all summer, even if we picked that low number of 800 a day. That's 25,000 a month, in three and half months we are going to have another 87, 88,000 people and we will hit 200,000 sometime in September.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We have more details on that from CNN's Nick Watt.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This morning Miami's beaches reopened, in New Jersey now up to 100 people can now gather outdoors. And this weekend, NASCAR will allow some fans back in the stands. Nationally, our daily new case count is falling, but is there devil in the detail?
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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): If you're going to get into trouble, you'll see it in the numbers. You'll see them starting to increase. And as we sit here today, states are getting in into trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Hospitalizations are up in at least a dozen states since Memorial Day, and in 19 states the average daily new case count is rising as is concerned that this coronavirus is making a comeback.
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JHA: We're going to get another 100,000 deaths by September, that's why we have to try to prevent and we really do have to try to figure out how to bring the caseloads from these scary levels in some states.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: In Arizona's Maricopa County.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You notice today something different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: County officials must now wear masks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBECCA SUNENSHINE, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, MARICOPA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: We're getting reports of almost 600 cases per day, in comparison to just an average of 200 cases per day about two weeks ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Hospitals across the states now being told if they haven't already to fully activate your facility emergency plan.
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WILL HUMBLE, FORMER HEALTH DIRECTOR, ARIZONA STATE: It is prudent to start looking at the surge capacity because unless there's an intervention that comes in the next few days, I think we're on a railroad to overcapacity in early July.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: In North Carolina there are now more people in the hospital with COVID-19 than at any time since this pandemic began.
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ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You still need to wash your hands as often as you possibly can and avoid congregation in large numbers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: The D.C. National Guard deployed to quell protests spark by George Floyd's killing says some members have since tested positive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: The report of the National Guardsmen being infected is certainly disturbing but it's not surprising. It's the things that we were concerned about, and unfortunately, we're seeing it come true right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Arkansas is right now a microcosm of what problems the U.S. will face moving forward. Hospitalization are spiking, but unemployment is also running at over 10 percent so they are pushing ahead with the reopening.
[03:04:57]
The governor summed it up today. He said Americans are back on the move and they can't be restraint but we're not out of the woods, he said. We are still in the heart of those woods.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
VAUSE: With us now is Dr. Celine Gounder, a CNN medical analyst and specialist in infectious disease and global health. Dr. Gounder, good to see you.
CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: My pleasure.
VAUSE: Ok. So, this is the situation right now in hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina. Listen to this.
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MANDY COHEN, NORTH CAROLINA SECRETARY, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Not only do I see our percent positive test go up, our number of hospitalizations go up. That's telling me more people are becoming seriously ill in North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And in Arizona's Maricopa County, a similar problem increasing number of patients and it seems soon not enough beds. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNENSHINE: We know that our hospitals are filling up and that the number of remaining ICU beds and hospital beds left for other purposes is declining.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, a dozen of states reporting an increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19. Overall, 19 states increasing -- reporting a number of infections has increased as well. You know, it's been almost two weeks since that Memorial Day weekend in the United States when beaches and water parks and all these other areas were crowded.
The incubation period for coronavirus the average 10 days up to two weeks. And for many states which are seeing these rise in numbers, those are the ones that open quickly. Is the headline here told you so?
GOUNDER: Well, as a physician, and as a public health specialist, I don't like the language I told you so because I'm not a big fan of the shaming and blaming people for the decisions they make. I think we all make decisions based on the best information we have, and what we're trying to do in the interest of our families and our communities.
But that said, did I anticipate these numbers? Yes. You know, I think about two to three weeks after lifting of social distancing restrictions, it was to be anticipated you would see an increase. And the real question was by how much. And then when you saw the increase, how well prepared are we to cope with it?
And I'm profoundly concerned that some of the places, for example, Arizona where I have family, you know, elderly family in nursing homes are assisted living facilities I am profoundly concerned that they really are not prepared to deal with the many, especially elderly retired people in the state who may be getting sick with coronavirus in the coming weeks.
VAUSE: Yes. If you just do the math here, if the current mortality rate holds, the death toll in the U.S. is expected to rise by another 100,000 most likely more by September. And Harvard say they look at this and here's what they believe is driving up those numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JHA: We're really the only major country in the world that open back up without really getting our cases as down low as we really needed to. And we're also one of the few, kind of, you know, advance countries that doesn't really have a robust testing and tracing infrastructure.
Put all of that together and we have made this whole situation far more risky. And so, yes, we are starting to see the negative effects of opening up. I've always argued we can open up safely and get our economy back, but we've got to do it smartly and we're just not doing it the way we need to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And again, this comes down to essentially what we've been told all along that if you're going to open up the economies, you need to have testing, you need to have tracing, and those things just aren't in place.
GOUNDER: That's right, John. And I think there are very few counties, states that have done the whole package of preparedness, and a big one that is still really lacking and almost every single county across the country, is the contact tracing capacity.
So, you know, even if you test people and then you find out they're positive, are you able to then go back and figure out who they may have exposed and test them and make sure to isolate them so that you can stop chance of transmission. That is an area of where we are woefully underprepared everywhere, frankly.
VAUSE: In a way, if you're looking at the situation across the country right now, does it seem that, sort of, a lot of people almost sort of given up the fight against the coronavirus? It's almost an acceptance that, you know, what will happen will happen?
GOUNDER: I think there is some of that. I think there is also some of, is this still a problem? I think unfortunately the news headlines are being driven by what the president and others think is a priority and a problem, and it doesn't really matter how many cases we still have in hospitals, how much transmission we have on the ground if it's not politically expedient to pay attention to that while we don't pay attention to that.
And I think that's going to be really problematic in the coming weeks where we're not doing what we need to be doing to respond, and I think there is somewhat of a denial of sorts, you can say, John, about we just don't want to face up to what it's really going to take to prevent the deaths.
VAUSE: Yes. It does seem to be a sort of reluctance to embrace reality and move forward, it's like a cling to the pass at the moment.
Dr. Celine Gounder, thank you. Good to see you.
[03:10:04]
Well, along with an ever-increasing death toll from this pandemic, there is also an emotional and psychiatric cost. Experts say social distancing has made many emotionally vulnerable, as well as lonely just when they need human contact the most.
So, for ideas on how to stay connected, please head to cnn.com.
Well despite coronavirus cases continue to rise in the U.S., President Trump is eager to take his act on the road and stir up the energy from those large adoring crowds, often crammed together in indoor stadiums. One factor driving this could be a recent poll showing Trump trailing presumptive nominee Joe Biden. So, the president has announced a campaign restart with a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've done a great job with COVID, as you know in the state of Oklahoma. We are going to be coming into Florida, do a big one in Florida, big one in Texas. They are all going to be big. We're going to Arizona. We're going to North Carolina at the appropriate time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For 16th day, protesters packed streets across the U.S. calling for change, calling for police reform and racial justice. Americans making it clear racism is an issue which needs to be addressed now. But this is how the president's top economic adviser responded when asked about systemic racism in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: I don't believe there is systemic racism in the U.S. I'm not going to go into a long rift on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At all in the U.S.?
KUDLOW: I do not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't think there's any systemic racism against African-Americans in the United States?
KUDLOW: I will say it again, I do not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In case you missed it, he says it's not an issue. But protesters voicing their concerns from coast to coast for more than two weeks, disagree. Larry Kudlow is not alone. There are others within the Trump administration that offer exactly different views than those demonstrating against police brutality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think there is racism in the United States, still, but I don't think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist.
CHAD WOLF, ACTING SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I do not think that we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think systemic racism is a problem in law enforcement agencies in the United States?
BEN CARSON, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Let's say this. I grew up in a time when there was real systemic racism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: There's been some progress in the growing push for police reform in the U.S. Minneapolis where George Floyd died in police custody, the police chief is promising action.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEDARIA ARRADONDO, CHIEF, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Race is inextricably a part of the American policing system. We will never evolve in this profession if we do not address it head on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo in the harsh national spotlight. Tonight, laying out a plan to reform his department in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARRADONDO: History is written now. And I am determined to make sure that we are on the right side of history.
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KAFANOV: The first move? Withdrawing from police union contract negotiations, calling for new policies on disciplining officers. The use of force, and other matters he suggested the union contract has prevented from changing in the past. The chief is also launching a warning system to weed out bad police officers early on. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARRADONDO: So, for the first time in the history of policing, we, here in Minneapolis, will have an opportunity to use real-time data, and automation to intervene with officers who are engaged in problematic behavior.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't breathe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV: Also, tonight, revelations that former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin seen with his knee on George Floyd's neck was negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors before he was arrested and charged, but the Hennepin prosecutor's office did not say why. That plea deal ultimately fell through for reasons unknown.
This as protests continue to spread across the nation with calls for police reform now leading to action. At least 12 cities and municipalities moving to ban police from using neck restraints or chokeholds. The technique is controversial long before Floyd's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
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KAFANOV: And on Capitol Hill, a blunt reminder from George Floyd's brother of what triggered the call to police that cost George Floyd his life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLOYD: He didn't deserve to die over $20. Is that what a black man's worth? Twenty dollars? This is 2020. Enough is enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV: Leaving lawmakers with this emotional plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLOYD: I'm here to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired. George called for help, and he was ignored. Please listen to the call I am making to you now, to the calls of our family, and the calls ringing out across the streets across the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV: Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Minneapolis.
[03:14:58]
VAUSE: Just one minute and 23 seconds is long enough to show why it will not be easy to bring real and lasting change to United States. Street protesters were marching through the streets of Franklinville,
New Jersey, they were chanting black lives matter when they passed a small group of Trump supporters, the entire count lasting one minute 23 seconds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Black lives matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A Trump banner can be seen spread across the rear window of pickup while hecklers are yelling you don't comply, that's what happens? All lives matter. And then, black lives matter to no one. One heckler was later recognized by his employer, FedEx, then fired him.
Another was identified as a state corrections officer. He is being suspended. His own union issued a statement condemning his actions.
Kate Andrews is the economic correspondent for The Spectator and host of the podcast Coronomics, and she is with us from London. Thanks for taking the time to get up early. I appreciate it.
KATE ANDREWS, HOST, CORONOMICS PODCAST: Of course, good morning.
VAUSE: It's not just the insults and the meme sort of nature of this, sort of, protest, if you like, which are offensive. It's the guy mocking George Floyd's neck. He's got a knee on what looks like to be a mannequin which is how George Floyd died. Two, that takes the level of benevolence and in a way which kind of shows total disrespect for Floyd.
ANDREWS: Absolutely. Look, a lot of America is having a wake-up moment, whilst many people, especially members of black community were already aware of the police brutality and serious offenses that can be committed in the name of American safety. many weren't. And I think that you're seeing attitude shift and change towards this topic.
But sadly, you know, that's going to take more time for others. And I think that goes to speaks to the fact that, you know, we do need to be having an open dialog and open conversation and acknowledge the fact and even sympathize sometimes with the fact that it will take some people longer to come on board than others. That you might need to be explain things in a different way.
However, when you see images and footage like that, the utter mocking of a tragic death and a torturous death really, it really is difficult to muster up any understanding of that at all.
VAUSE: I wonder if these people doing this demonstration in New Jersey, if they will ever will come around.
ANDREWS: Yes. No, and sometimes sadly people won't. But, you know, history is slow and steady progress in which we do become more progressive. And I don't mean that in the political sense, but simply that we recognize more rights, we have more prosperity. And we try as hard as we can every day to do better.
And obviously, some people won't come around, you can imagine that some of these quite extreme acts of protests are pushing back on the fact that they've seen other extreme acts of protest recently. The real minorities of those out protesting for black lives matter in the name of George Floyd have used it as an opportunity to riot, to loot, to set things on fire.
And unfortunately, they have dominated a lot of the conversation, and I don't think there has been a help to the movement overall. But there are always going to be opportunists and that doesn't mean that you respond with such insensitivity.
VAUSE: So, we have to put a sort of equivalency of those groups. One is being oppresses and has had a lot of discrimination for hundreds of years. The other have had privilege for hundreds of years. But they are a small group and there is overwhelming support in this country, you know, for racial justice.
This is a small group of counter protesters. But if you look at the body language, look at the way that he was standing. And you look in their face, you know, these are middle aged white men who are very confident. They have nothing to fear.
ANDREWS: Yes, I'm not trying drawing direct equivalence, I think I'm just highlighting that this is obviously a very emotionally charge time. And you're always going to have people on both sides who take things to the extreme. And you don't help any kind of movement. You know, who are really acting on ourselves.
You do have a lot of middle-aged people, white people who as you've seen in these counter protests being insensitive and resisting. I'd also highlight that in terms of the opportunities who are, you know, looting and rioting in the name of black lives matter, a lot of those people are also white or middle aged, or certainly not they don't seem to be acting out of oppression. They seem to be acting out of opportunity.
I think it's really important well, obviously, the media does have to cover these things and they should. We can't totally divert our focus to this fringe aspects of protests. We should be looking at the broader movement right now which I have been. Well, you know, many aspects of it are painful and difficult to reckon with, I have been really motivated by it and delighted to see how many people have actually come together in the name of George Floyd to demand change.
You have former President George W. Bush and former President Barack Obama both calling for policy reform to help African-Americans. You had former presidential candidate Mitt Romney out on a march for black lives matter which is historically been thought to be a left-wing campaign group.
I think right and left have broken down a bit over the past few weeks. And while we do have this insensitive footage, you can always find these counter examples. We have a lot more footage of people trying to say, this matters more than politics right now, coming together in that way.
[03:19:59]
VAUSE: That's a really good point. But the emphasis that we as journalists and as media organization place on certain events, has to be in the context of the overall movement or protests, if you like.
But if you look at these protesters who are mocking Floyd's death and you got the great big Trump banner on a pickup truck, you know, these are typical of Trump's base. And in many ways, does this explain why the president has barely said a word about Floyd? And why there's such low expectation when it comes to, you know, the White House and any effort at reforming police departments.
ANDREWS: Well, look, I think they are parts of Trump's base. There's no doubt about that. But I would be hesitant to lump all Trump voters in with that. I think if you were to do that you could build up a narrative that there is no way the president is going to win re- election in November, that most of the American public are very far away from that lack of sympathy that we've seen on our screens.
I'm not sure that is totally the case. I think one of the things that Trump has going for him in a way, is that the media underestimated him back in 2016. He thinks they are going to do it again because a lot of people won't be voting based on what we've seen these few weeks. But on who they think can kickstart the economy after coronavirus, who they think can increase employment, and lots of other things.
I think one of the reasons you haven't seen the president commenting very much on George Floyd is because the way that he operates that his narrow mindedness I think as soon as those protesters turn on the White House he decided that this wasn't about George Floyd, and this wasn't about the African-American community.
This was about him and his response and the tear gassing in mostly peaceful protesters to do photo-op and the rest of it, I think it's very much driven by that narrowmindedness that this is about him.
So, I think Donald Trump is thinking of Donald Trump, he is not thinking of George Floyd. And you know, we can certainly have opinions about that but I would suspect that's where a lot of this is coming from.
VAUSE: I think it's a fair bet that Donald Trump is always thinking about Donald Trump.
Kate, thank you so much. I appreciate you being with us.
ANDREWS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, there had been emotional pleas for change as well from the family of another man who died during an arrest in Texas more than a year ago. newly released video shows Javier Ambler repeatedly telling officer that he could not breathe before he became unresponsive. His former girlfriend and eldest son spoke to CNN's Erin Burnett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRE GAMBLE, JAVIER AMBLER'S EX-GIRLFRIEND: We are tired of seeing a slap on the wrist. That's all these officers get, manslaughter with two years in prison and they go out. Even if they even go to prison, this is why it's continuing to happen because we are not getting any justice.
We are not getting anybody who is getting made an example. Treat them all the same when they take a life. And especially when someone is begging for their life. His last words were please, save me. So, may God have mercy.
DEAVION GAMBLE, JAVIER AMBLER'S SON: It's not (Inaudible) the hatred.
(CROSSTALK)
GAMBLE: Well, you don't need to do that.
D. GAMBLE: My dad can't even see me graduate. It was hard to graduate; it was hard to graduate. It's just hard in school.
B. GAMBLE: This is what they did.
D. GAMBLE: He can't see me with my cap and gown. I can't, you know --
B. GAMBLE: This is the type of pain that they cause when they do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We need a short break, when we come back, how many people needed to die in the U.K. during this pandemic? Well, a senior former advisor to government says the death toll could been half of what it is now. We'll explain why in a moment.
[03:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WHITTY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER FOR ENGLAND: Be very clear, we are not at the end of this pandemic. Not by a long shot. We are in the middle of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, a former scientific adviser to the British government says the country's death toll could've been significantly lower if a lockdown had taken effect just one week earlier. The U.K. did not issue a stay-at-home order until March 23rd, weeks after European nations.
Italy was the first European country to impose a full nationwide lockdown. That was March 8. Norway quickly followed going to full lockdown March 12th. Two days later, Spain implemented a nationwide lockdown. And then after five days after that France impose measures nationwide.
CNN's Scott McLean live in the London with more on this. So, we are hearing from Boris Johnson saying they were following the best scientific advice they had. That scientific advice was also telling them if they go for heard immunity that it actually won't do anything, and then suddenly at the last moment, they changed course. And that's why they move so slowly. Right?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, a little bit of context is important here, John. So almost three weeks before the U.K. made the decision to implement that stay-at-home order, the group of scientists that was advising the government actually put out a paper that spelled out that social distancing and household isolation could reduce the death toll by one-third compared to the worst-case scenario.
What that paper though, did not spell out, which was published on March 4th, is when the government should actually take action. The U.K. government has taken plenty of incoming heat for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak and for good reason. Its death rate per million is similar to Sweden which hasn't had a lockdown at all. It has not close schools en masse.
As you mentioned, Chris -- or as you mentioned that epidemiologist, whose name is Neil Ferguson, he said that the U.K. could have its death toll if it have had acted just one week sooner. Britain's top medical scientists responded to that yesterday, saying that at the time those decisions were made, they didn't know a lot about the virus itself.
The prime minister also responded, saying that he was just following the scientific guidance. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We made the decisions at the time on the guidance of stage, including Professor Ferguson, that we thought were right for this -- for this country. I think that the, you know, the questions that are posed are still unanswered, and there's a lot of data that we still frankly do not have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: So, Professor Ferguson, John, no longer advises the government. He was actually forced to resign from that scientific panel because the newspaper reveals that he himself had broken the lockdown rules.
Now in the last 24 hours, there were almost 250 coronavirus deaths reported in the U.K. but even still, the government says that there were enough promising signs to further ease restrictions. So, we already know that shops and stores are going to be opening on Monday. The prime minister announced yesterday that churches, mosques, synagogues, places of worship would be allowed to open this weekend for individual prayer rather than mass services.
And one other thing was announced as well, that I think it's quite interesting, something called support bubbles. So, this applies only to single adults living alone, or single parent families, where they're allowed to essentially combine households and function as one, meaning they can visit each other. Because otherwise it's against the law right now to go and visit another house and go inside just for social purposes.
So, the prime minister said this was to ward off loneliness in some of the social effects. There is a couple of catches, though, and that's that people can't switch households, these support households once you choose a household to link up, you're stuck with them.
And the other catch is that if even one of those two households comes down with symptoms of the coronavirus everybody will have to isolate, John.
VAUSE: Yes, so the lesson is, choose wisely. Scott, thank you. Scott McLean live for us in London.
Still to come, a grim assessment of how long the U.S. economy might need support after being devastated by the coronavirus?
Also, ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay where you are. Stay where you are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: British rapper calling out London police releasing a new video showing a 62-year-old father being tasered. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE SPOKESPERSON: The president does not regret standing up for law enforcement, men and women across this country. And let me say this, and just to give you a little bit about the mindset behind the president tweet. (Inaudible) in the moment that is, it seems to be we reflexively anti-police officer. And it is unacceptable to the president.
And this tweet that he send out, he is, a no, I condoning violence, he is not passing judgment on these two officers in particular but what he's saying is this, when we see a brief snippet of a video, it's incumbent upon reporters and those who are surveying the situation to ask questions rather than --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- (Inaudible), the president to have facts before he tweets anything else. He is the president of the United States.
MCENANY: The president did have facts before he tweeted out that undergirded his (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).
MCENANY: -- it's not a baseless conspiracy. No, not at all. I want acknowledge that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh Mcenany defending the president's tweet, which accuses an elderly protester who was shove by police of being part of a radical leftist group called Antifa. Weeks of protest and demand for justice and now it seems the president may finally be considering some kind of reforms to the police. CNN's Kaitlan Collins explains.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As Republicans rush to respond to overwhelming demands for police reform, all eyes are on the White House and the leader of their party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's important. If he doesn't sign up on it it's a waste of exercise.
COLLINS: President Trump's aides are preparing to present him legislative options. The question remains about what he will support. The White House is also working on crafting an executive order though it's still unclear what that will include.
MCENANY: We do believe that we will have proactive policy prescriptions, whether that means legislation or an executive order.
COLLINS: So far, Trump's response to the unrest across the nation following George Floyd's death has been muddled, he's invoke to law and order, called for governors to use force on unruly protesters and promoted conspiracy theories on his Twitter feed. The last time he taunt to reporters, he denied there are systemic race problems within law enforcement, and today one of his top economic advisers said there's no systemic racism in the U.S. at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe to systemic racism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't think there is any systemic racism against African-American in the United States?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will say it again. I do not. COLLINS: In Dallas tomorrow, the president will host a roundtable on
race relations with law enforcement officials and faith leaders. But sources say he's also aiming to make an announcement while in Texas on police reform. Yesterday, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Jared Kushner huddled with Republican lawmakers about what they could agree on.
REP. MARK MEADOWS, (R-NC): We are not going into specifics I think to negotiate that in the press. That would do disservice to the Senator.
COLLINS: Some of the president's political advisers fear that his response to Floyd's death has been confusing and incendiary. And polls showing him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden have race alarms within the Republican Party. Amid fears about potential Election Day consequences, Trump met with Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell at the White House today to talk about competitive races.
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In turn, Biden has seized on the opportunity to contrast himself with Trump. In an op-ed today he wrote that Trump's hate filled conspiracy laden rhetoric is inflaming the racial divide in our country, but just fixing the way the president talks won't cut it.
The president also tweeted breaking with his Pentagon chief by saying he is not open to renaming those military bases that are named after confederate leaders who fought to preserve slavery, he said instead, he wants to preserve the nation's heritage. They are not going to be changing them despite a statement from the Pentagon earlier this week that the army secretary and the defense secretary were both open to having a bipartisan discussion about changing those names, the president said that as commander-in-chief that it's not going to be happening under his watch. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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VAUSE: The chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve says black workers, woman, Hispanics, are bearing the brunt of the employment crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And the outlook remained grim. Fed chair expects a slow economic recovery for the U.S. with unemployment rate of 9.3 percent by December. And that's why the central bank will keep interest rates unchanged at near zero. Fed also projects a 6.5 percent decline in U.S. GDP just this year.
CNN's John Defterios, live again with us from Abu Dhabi. So, you know, there had been a lot of talk within the White House, this v-shape recovery that will hit hard, we will come back up, really quickly. It seems that Jerome Powell putting a bit of cold water on that.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I have to say for a central banker, you can't be more blunt than he's been, John. And you have to think about the death toll, right? And the uncertainty over the jobless situation right now, hanging over consumers like a dark cloud he called it human hardship, economic hardship and they're going to have 6.5 percent, John. If you ever heard of number like that in the United States, the answer is not in our generation. So, we know the guidance was that you're suggesting that interest
rates will remain where they are through 2022. So, that's a long term plan which suggests there's trouble underneath here percolating. And Powell even suggesting here with the soundbite that we have that $3 trillion may not be enough and it's up to the leadership in Washington to protect the American consumer. Take a close listen.
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JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: Elected officials have the power to tax and spend and to make decisions about where we, as a society, should direct our collective resources. The cares act and other legislation provide direct help to people and businesses and communities. This direct support can make a critical difference, not just in helping families and businesses in a time of need, but also in limiting long lasting damage to our economy.
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DEFTERIOS: That is very clear guidance again, by Jerome Powell. And he has crossed with White House in the past, as you know, John. And let's take a look at the long term damage on the unemployment rate here. We are standing at 13.3 percent. You are talking about by the end of the year, you could get to above 9 percent. That was Powell's guidance.
But I want to carry this out to 2021 and 2022. That's historically high, 5.5 percent. We have a run rate of about 4 percent and even the OECD which is representing the industrialized nations out of Paris as a think-tank said that in the last month, unemployment drop -- actually rose 2.5 percent in a very short period of time, saying this was the worst crisis they have seen and more than a century during peacetime. That is the level of destruction we have seen in the job market and in the global economy right now.
VAUSE: We should point out that Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed is a Trump appointee but it seems during this crisis he's been much more on the side of Democrats who have been advocating a lot more spending, especially a lot more support for the unemployed. The Democrats and Powell, I think want to continue with that extra $600 a month. These numbers keep coming down like they have been, especially the ones that were surprised the other week. That's keeping the Republicans with some ammunitions here to try and cut those costs.
DEFTERIOS: Well, you know, you say Jerome Powell is on the side of the Democrats. I would say he's on the side of the American people which is very unusual to have such plain speaking language coming from essential bank chief like that. Let's put it that way. That would support the Democrats probably not in this election year 2020 for the supplemental package, but after the election, I would say John, all bets are off.
Now we are watching this week where the jobless claims, right? The trend line has been down. We broke below 2 million last week. We are expecting 1.5 this week. But what Powell was saying, when in our lifetime have we seen 43 million Americans are nearly that number filed for unemployment claims? The central bank in St. Louis where the Federal Reserve was suggesting, we could hit 50 before this is all said and done.
That's better than one and four Americans asking for unemployment benefits, and the challenge in the United States is you could hire or fire at will. That's why you see this wild gyrations. We just don't know in the second half of the year, and even going into next year, 2021, how fast the rehiring will take place with the dark clouds that I was talking about here still hovering.
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VAUSE: Yes. I was kind of a bit depressed when I talked to you, with the economy and stuff. Thanks. John Defterios Good to have you.
DEFTERIOS: Thanks. Yes, you bet.
VAUSE: He's right. Well, the British rapper speaking out after police in London use a taser on his father. Some officials in the case say their tactics are very different from the ones used by the Americans, which have ignited wide -- worldwide protest. Here is Nic Robertson.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As police rush into a house looking for a suspect, they taser a 62-year-old father on the stairs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god!
ROBERTSON: All this during lockdown. The police body cam video emerging as global anger over policing and racism rises in the wake of George Floyd's killing.
MILLARD SCOTT, TASERED BY BRITISH POLICE: At this moment in time, we are being singled out and targeted.
ROBERTSON: The son of the victim, not involved in the police incident, is rapper Wretch 32.
WRETCH 32, BRITISH RAPPER: I've grown up in a household, with my dad and my uncle and I've watched them fight against police brutality my whole life, and now I have to have the same conversations that my dad and my uncle and my grandparents and my parents had with me when I was a child. That means there's no progression.
ROBERTSON: Police dispute Scott's version of events say an internal review has revealed no misconduct. A statement released by London's most senior minority officer, says that, progress in dealing with racism in the police has been made over recent decades. And in what appears to be an effort to dealing anger at George Floyd's death from anger at British police, says, no comparison can be made between British and U.S. police forces, because here, he says, they police by consensus mostly, not force.
His point, the heavily armed tear gas wielding cops who bore down on peaceful protesters near the White House last week, so President Trump can posed bible in hand for a photo up outside a looted church wouldn't be the tactic of choice in the U.K. The subtext for protesters here don't react to British cops as if they would.
By contrast with many of the U.S. counterparts, British police mingle with peaceful protesters. Officers armed with a little more than handcuffs, gauging the crowd's mood. Out of sight, downside streets, a heftier force is on standby.
COLIN ROGERS, POLICE SCIENCES PROFESSOR: The result has been completely different. There's more consensus, there is more peaceful demonstrations. So, I think -- I think that you know, there is too quick perhaps a reaction to go to war. Para-military message dealing with people in their demonstration situations.
ROBERTSON: But getting to this point hasn't been easy. Just a decade ago, a police killing sparked riots heard around the world. Where the toughest policing lessons were learned, was Northern Ireland. Confrontation and perceptions of police bias exacerbated and prolong the three decade conflict there.
Today, police are still firebombed and shot at, but a more likely to draw a line, sit in their armored wagons then respond in kind. Even so, today's protests in London still offer a very real glimpse of how quickly tensions can escalate. At the heart of it, still, anger protesters are being ignored. A police problem, yes, but at its root? A political one too. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: You're watching CNN Newsroom. Still to come, why health experts can't make up their minds about how severely coronavirus will hit Africa. CNN is in Johannesburg with the very latest.
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VAUSE: The U.S. now the first country to confirmed 2 million cases of the coronavirus, more than a quarter of all non-infections worldwide. The outbreak continues to get worse in some parts of the country and during the past week, 19 states have reported an increase in new infections. And surging covid cases are pushing Latin America to the limit. Johns Hopkins University is reporting that more than 70,000 people have died from the virus. Brazil accounting for more than half of that number. It's actually confirming the third highest death toll in the world just behind United States, and the U.K. Here's Shasta Darlington.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed 70,000 deaths from coronaviruses Wednesday, with Mexico reporting a record daily surge in new cases. In Chile, police were deployed on the streets of Santiago to enforce lockdown measures after a spike in covid-19 cases prompted in an extension of quarantine. Meanwhile, in Brazil, Sau Paulo and Rio de Janeiro forged ahead with
plans to reopen stores and even shopping malls despite warnings from the Pan-American health organization that the virus is still spreading aggressively in the region. Officials insist the decision is based on improving conditions such as increasing availability of intensive care beds in some areas.
But experts worry the rush to get back to some kind of normal and limit the financial ruin could just fuel more transmissions and postpone a real recovery. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sau Paulo.
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VAUSE: Experts have different opinions on how hard the coronavirus will hit African countries. Earlier, U.N. estimate predicted up to 3 million deaths across the continent, that is if there is no intervention. But now there's a range of predictions from different health agencies. CNN's David McKenzie live for us this hour from Johannesburg in South Africa. So, essentially, what are we looking at here when we are looking in the extremes of the good and bad?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, also, John, predictions are predictions. The reality with modeling is that if any one thing changes, it can change the outcome. But I think even with that, there were -- was a sense from health experts some months ago that Africa would be in a very dire situation at this point. It hasn't happened, we try to find out why.
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MCKENZIE: As lockdowns across Africa began, health officials sounded the alarm. Frightening, severe, catastrophic. Words used to describe the continents prospects in the pandemic fight, but that was then.
DR. HUMPHREY KARAMAGI, WHO TEAM LEADER, DATA, ANALYTICS AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: The countries in the African region are not where they have predicted that they would be by now. I think a lot of early predictions had painted a picture of, by this time, it would be quite overwhelming.
MCKENZIE: A group of leading African scientists had predicted a very different outcome. Even in the worst-case scenario, they're modeling suggests a smoldering outbreak in Africa, where many countries could avoid a deadly surge.
KARAMAGI: The death and the severity of the outbreak would those be less severe than what we've seen in other countries.
MCKENZIE: A key to their modeling work, including the socioecological factors that impact covid-19 spread. Like weather, population movement, urbanization. Two factor stand out, the relative use of sub- Saharan Africa, 70 percent of people are under 30, and the lower burden of so called diseases of lifestyle, like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Both they believe could lessen the severity of the disease. But even if countries avoid a search, they believe that any spikes could overwhelm weaker health systems. [03:50:17]
KARAMAGI: Those are less severe outcomes that need to be balanced against the capacity of the system to respond to those outcomes.
JOHN NKENGASONG, DIRECTOR, AFRICA CDC: Our curve is increasing, and increasing quickly. So, I think the virus is ceding itself into the communities and getting momentum.
MCKENZIE: And despite the new predictions, the head of the African CDC says it's far too early to be complacent. He says just five countries on the continent represent more than half the confirmed cases, and overall, the thing is still woefully inadequate.
NKENGASONG: Now characterized it as a deadly pandemic, and now we have to intensify our efforts to be bold and aggressively in putting in place public health measures.
MCKENZIE: Health measures like the army of health workers in South Africa, tracing and testing for covid. Here, unlike in many African countries, the cases are rising quickly. And the modeling of covid- 19's future spread will soon be tested.
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MCKENZIE: Well, John, in South Africa, that is in a way in exception that might prove their findings because there are much higher levels of those comorbidity issues here in South Africa, like hypertension and diabetes that could suggest that this country might see a problematic surge. He also said, the head of the African CDC, that we are in the very early stages of the pandemic in Africa, and it's a dangerous, perhaps, to make concrete predictions, but certainly a does prove it seems that this virus acts very differently in different places. John?
VAUSE: David, thank. David McKenzie for us in Johannesburg.
Well, in a briefing on Tuesday, the U.N. secretary general reminded the world that the food systems are failing and the coronavirus pandemic is making things worse.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: This year, some 49 million extra people may fall into extreme poverty due to the covid-19 crisis. The number of people lack quickly food or nutrition, insecure will rapidly expand. Every percentage point drop in global gross domestic product means an additional 0.7 million stunted children.
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VAUSE: And the message from Antonio Guterres is clear, act now, avoid a global food crisis.
At least 81 people were killed in a suspected Boko Haram attack in northeastern Nigeria on Tuesday. Villagers say the attacker pass themselves off as Islamic teachers before using guns and armored tanks to kill women and children. Seven people including the village leader were kidnapped, the Nigerian army has sent troops to investigate. With that, we will take a short break. You're watching CNN. Back in just a moment.
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VAUSE: The statue of a slave trader has been pulled from Bristol Harbor in England after being torn down during weekend protests. City officials say the statue of Edward Colston is now heading to secure location before being moved to a museum.
Black entrepreneurs in the U.S. say systemic discrimination racial bias and a lack of access to funding, all holding them back. Clare Sebastian spoke with number black business owners about the challenges they faced.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In 2016, an e-commerce start-up set out to fill the gap in the market, delivering hard to find African and Caribbean groceries to immigrant communities. I need close to the hearts of the two Nigerian American founders.
BOYEDE SOBITAN, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, OJAEXPRESS: I think for most piercing that we have done was an investor we spoke with to meet with us, ask us if immigrants (inaudible) money. And that will (inaudible).
SEBASTIAN: It would be another four years and around $200,000 of their own money before Boyede Sobitan and (inaudible) were accepted into several accelerate programs and gain some cede funding. They are now planning to expand beyond their hometown of Chicago. Between 2013 and 2017, only 1 percent of venture backed founders in the U.S. were black according to the study by ratemyinvestor.com. It's a struggle that Diana Vertus knows all too well. She started her boutique events business in 2010 with just $2500.
DIANA VERTUS, FOUNDER, CURATION AGENCY: I was extremely discouraged by one investor. I was told that I should have a Caucasian person be the face of the company and I should be the background. And that was like a way for me to get more funding. From that point on, I did not move forward with asking for funding.
SEBASTIAN: Before covid-19 hit should hide a small team and was making 6 figures in annual revenue. In the wake of the nationwide protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, there has been a wave of support for black entrepreneurs. Soft Bank has launched a new $100 million opportunity fund, intended only for people of color. (Inaudible) announcing a $2.2 million dollar fund for underserved founders.
MELISSA BRADLEY, MANAGING PARTNER, 1863 VENTURES: I am deeply concerned about the amount of money that is pouring into our community that is probably going to be controlled by the people who writes the check, who don't understand our reality, who don't experience the racism and challenges we have, and the desired outcomes will be unrealistic.
SEBASTIAN: Melissa Bradley who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations have spent several decades funding and mentoring black and minority businesses. She says this is about much more than just invested prejudice. According to 2014 data from the Federal Reserve, 47 percent of black owned businesses who applied for credit were fully funded, compared to 75 percent of white owned.
BRADLEY: The input for the credit scores require a set of assets that oftentimes are declined to black Americans, and so you obviously get different ratings if you rent, versus you own. You obviously get different ratings if you have student loan debt versus no student loan debt, and those are inputs that are too no fault of our own, but literally because of lack of access, lack of scholarship, biased in applications, but yet we are penalized for the rest of our lives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think this might be the moment where things change?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm optimistic that things will change. But I don't want it to be a onetime marketing campaign with these companies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not looking for a hand out. We're not looking for charity. We are looking for the same type of access we get for a white fellow who went to Harvard.
SEBASTIAN: Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.
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VAUSE: The stolen mural by the famous street artist Banksy has been recovered. The artwork was painted on an emergency exit door outside the (Inaudible) theater in Paris. It was stolen last January, now the brazen thieves cut the mural right out of the steel door, Banksy painted the picture called Morning Girl, after the November 2015 terrorist attack on the theater where 90 people were killed. Authorities found the stolen work at an abandoned farmhouse in Italy. It was back now, OK.
I'm John Vause in Atlanta. Another hour of CNN Newsroom is just ahead.
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