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Justice Moves Decisively Against Officers Accused Of Brooks' Death; Beijing COVID Response Ramps Up As Spread Expected In Outlying Provinces; COVID Cases Accelerate In Mexico City and Brazil; Bolton's Book Presents Damaging Portrait of Trump; Ten U.S. States Hit Case Records as Mask Debate Heats Up; U.S. Jobless Claims Due Thursday; China, India Agree to Cool Down after Deadly Border Clash; Family Walks 300+ Miles to Escape Crisis in Lima, Peru. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 18, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome, viewers, wherever you are around the world. Thank you for joining us. I'm John Vause.
Coming up this hour on CNN newsroom.
Justice in high speed. Just days after the police shooting of an African American man in Atlanta, the former officer who pulled the trigger is facing felony murder and 10 other charges.
Flights canceled, neighborhoods locked down, and schools are shut. Beijing ramping up the response to new outbreaks of the coronavirus.
Scared, desperate, and fleeing a pandemic. A mother, her children and their 350-mile journey on foot.
It is hard to remember a time when American justice moved this quickly.
Just days after an African American man was shot and killed by police, the officer who pulled the trigger is facing 11 charges, including felony murder and possibly the death penalty.
And lawyers for the other police officer at the scene say he's been cooperating with investigators.
The Fulton county district attorney announced the charges against Garrett Rolfe saying he didn't just kill Rayshard Brooks, he also failed to give timely first aid. And that Rolfe even kicked Brooks as he struggled for his life. Something Rolfe's lawyer denies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Rayshard Brooks, Rayshard Brooks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) enough. They had enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: One reason for the swift action by prosecutors? More than
three weeks of nationwide protests against police brutality.
And in Atlanta, they were demonstrating again just hours after the charges were announced.
CNN's Victor Blackwell begins our coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HOWARD, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, FULTON COUNTY: These are the 11 charges against Officer Rolfe.
The first charge is felony murder. This is the death that is as a result of an underlying felony, and in this case the underlying felony is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
And the possible sentences for a felony murder conviction would be life, life without parole or the death penalty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A felony murder charge and 10 other challenges for former Atlanta police officer, Garrett Rolfe, who shot and killed 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks after a scuffle outside a Wendy's restaurant on Wednesday night. Included in those charges are multiple aggravated assault charges.
The other officer at the scene Devin Brosnan also charged with aggravated assault and two other charges of violating police rules.
But the twist announced by Fulton County District Attorney, Paul Howard -- Brosnan is now a cooperating witness and will testify against former Officer Rolfe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD: Within a matter of days, he plans to make a statement regarding the culpability of Officer Rolfe. But he indicated that he is not psychologically willing to give that statement today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: During the explanation of those charges, Howard repeatedly said Mr. Brooks was not a threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD: We've concluded at the time Mr. Brooks was shot that he did not pose an immediate threat of death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: It started with a 911 call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does he appear to have any weapons from where
you can see him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no. I think he's intoxicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Police responded to a Wendy's restaurant after the caller said a car was blocking the drive-through lane.
Brooks was found by police seemingly asleep at the wheel.
Police body camera video shows the 20-minute interaction between Brooks and the two officers to be calm. The officers conduct a sobriety test on the 27-year old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYSHARD BROOKS: I know, I know. You're just doing your job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Brooks failed the breathalyzer test. And as Rolfe began to arrest him, the struggle began. Brooks resisted arrest, all three fell to the ground.
But Brooks got away, taking the other officer's taser with him. A chase ensued and Brooks turned back towards the officer, pointing the taser. That's when Rolfe shot Brooks in the back.
He was hit twice according to the medical examiner.
Disciplinary records show Rolfe received a written reprimand for a use of force complaint in 2016 with several more citizen complaints. But no action was taken on those.
Officer Brosnan has two firearm discharges on his record, including Friday night's shooting.
The district attorney says that Officer Brosnan is cooperating with the investigation and potentially would testify against Ex-Officer Rolfe.
But in a statement, Officer Brosnan's attorney says that the officer has not agreed to testify, has not agreed to plead guilty, and has not agreed to be a state's witness.
We also heard from the attorney for Ex-Officer Garrett Rolfe who says the shooting was justified.
In Atlanta, Victor Blackwell, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Gloria Brown Marshall is a constitutional law professor at the
John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is author of "Race, Law ,and American Society." She joins us now from New York.
Professor, thanks for being with us.
GLORIA BROWNE-MARSHALL, PROFESSOR OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Thank you.
VAUSE: The case against the former Atlanta police officer seems to be moving incredibly quickly.
[01:05:00]
But then besides what -- multiple eye-witness accounts, prosecutors have the entire incident recorded on eight videos including two police body cameras from the police, two police car dash cameras.
There's the surveillance camera from inside the Wendy's. And there's three cell phone videos from onlookers as well.
So is it the evidence which has the case moving so quickly or is it the current public demand for justice?
BROWNE-MARSHALL: I think it's both. And on top of that, I think this is what would happen if this was a civilian who did the same thing to another civilian.
So basically, they're treating police officers as they should under the evidence with the speed that they would use with a civilian who committed such an act.
VAUSE: Yes. And on that video, what we're looking at is that once Mr. Brooks has been shot, you see one of the officers, he's kicking the body.
I would like you to listen to the family lawyer for the Brooks family. He has more on that.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN MILLER, ATTORNEY: We don't kick people when they're down. What you saw, and what we all saw, is one officer standing on a man who was dying. Standing on top of him. And then the other officer literally kicking him, while he was on the ground dying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Apart from the very vile nature of the act itself, legally what does this do for the prosecution case, how can it actually be used by the prosecutors? And what does it reveal about the defendant?
BROWNE-MARSHALL: Well, what it reveals about the defendant is not just that he behaved inappropriately, they all did; those who participated and those who sat back and did nothing.
They did not render aid to a dying person. That is basic.
Not only is a basic human nature, supposedly, but it's also what officers are trained to do, to protect and to serve.
And it also, I think, supports the charges and the speed of the charges that this was done with such hatred that, even if the person was dying, that was not satisfactory to these officers. That they wanted him to die.
And that's why murder charges would be appropriate.
VAUSE: And that's -- we're looking at two-minute something seconds gap in between the shooting and taking of the pulse. Is there a case to be made that maybe, in that two minutes, a life could have been saved?
BROWNE-MARSHALL: Yes. Very similar to the case of George Floyd where they checked his pulse, didn't find one. And Officer Chauvin stayed on George Floyd's neck just to make sure that he would be dead at the end. And then no aid was rendered.
And so we have a situation in which -- this is something that happens on a regular basis. And you see the arrogance. People are filming this.
And these officers still don't care because the prosecutors rarely do what this prosecutor is doing, which is go full force. And make sure that they are arrested and treated like a civilian would be treated under similar circumstances.
VAUSE: There's also the issue of imminent threat to the police officers keeping in mind that Rayshard Brooks was running away, he grabbed one of the officer's tasers.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD: Well, the City of Atlanta says you cannot even fire a taser at someone who's running away. So you certainly can't fire a gun, a handgun, at someone who is running away.
We have also concluded that Rolfe was aware that the taser in Brooks' possession, that it was fired twice. And once it's fired twice, it presented no danger to him or to any other persons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That was the D.A. speaking there. So it would seem that the argument that the police so often make in these sort of cases, that they felt they were under threat, their life was in danger, that's going to be a tough argument to make.
BROWNE-MARSHALL: Well, it's been tough in other cases too. The police departments across this country kill about 1,000 people a year.
And you only have maybe 10 to 12 cases that are brought. And in those cases, it is rare to get a police officer convicted. Because one, what is considered the standard is reasonable behavior under the circumstances.
But it's a dual standard. What's reasonable treatment by police officers for a black person is not the same treatment that a white person would receive. These white officers would never kill a drunk white person. This is unheard of, but this is the type of reasonable treatment that they believe that a black person should receive.
So we can't be guaranteed in the case of George Floyd, this case, or any of these cases, that these officers will actually be convicted.
VAUSE: I want to play some sound because we also heard from the cousin of Rayshard Brooks, also on Wednesday.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GYMACO BROOKS: Life shouldn't be this complicated. Life shouldn't be where we have to feel some type of way if we see a police or somebody of a different color.
[01:10:00]
We're going to have to bear it and we're going to have to say we miss you. And if didn't say we love you enough, we've got to apologize to him for not telling him that we loved him that much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I think it's really important right now to know that we're talking about someone who lost their life.
Two little girls won't have a dad now as they grow up because he was shot in his back while running away from police. This is about a life that's been lost.
And I think sometimes we forget that in all of these arguments.
BROWNE-MARSHALL: Well, it's not actually a life that's lost, it's a life that has been taken.
VAUSE: Yes.
BROWNE-MARSHALL: And we unfairly use the word "tragedy." Tragedy really means that a person played a role.
In these instances of murder, a life is stolen, stolen by police officers. Government employees who have been given guns in order to protect and serve the general public, the taxpayers who pay their salaries. We actually pay to have their guns in their hands, we pay for them to take the lessons to use those guns. And so these lives are stolen by police officers with impunity in a
history in this country that goes back hundreds of years of law enforcement being able to steal these lives and most prosecutors allowing them to do it.
So we'll see whether or not there will be a difference in this case.
VAUSE: Professor Browne-Marshall, we're out of time. But thank you, that's a good point to end on. Thank you for that.
BROWNE-MARSHALL: Thank you.
VAUSE: Officials in China are reporting 24 new cases of the coronavirus in the country's north.
Most are in Beijing where a new cluster emerged last week and since then the city has ramped up testing and impose tough restrictions.
CNN's Anna Coren live again for us this hour in Hong Kong.
And this is looking to be one of the worst outbreaks that China has seen since Wuhan.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, John. More than 50 days, China reported no COVID cases.
And now within a week, less than a week, they have 161 cases linked to this Xinfadi food market in the south of Beijing. The cluster in Beijing, that is being dealt with, but it's the cases outside the city that are causing great alarm.
In particular, one in Tianjin City which is about 100 kilometers outside of Beijing.
A 22-year old man who's a dishwasher in a hotel restaurant has contracted COVID-19. He hasn't traveled in the last two weeks, he hasn't come into contact with anyone he knows of who has COVID-19.
So authorities are really scrambling, John, to try and contain this virus and ensure that it doesn't become a second wave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: There have now been more than eight million coronavirus cases recorded around the world since images like these started coming out of China.
But this video wasn't taken six months ago, it's happening now in the capital, Beijing. People trying to remain calm as they group together for mass screenings.
Schools are closed again after only reopening earlier this month. Grocery store workers dress in full PPE.
Over 150 new cases in less than a week, plunging half the city back into lockdown. Just as people here were beginning to plan for life after coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SHOSHANA UNGERLEIDER, INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN, CROSSOVER HEALTH: The serious measures that Beijing is taking now to contact trace and shut down markets and residential areas are the right things to do in an effort to contain the spread.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: The new outbreak is thought to stem from the city's major food market. Officials say they have tracked down and tested hundreds of thousands of people that had shopped at the Xinfadi market in the two weeks leading up to its forced closure.
The dangerous possibility is that the people they met may have already traveled far and wide.
Cases linked to the outbreak have been found as far away as Sichuan Province, about 2,000 kilometers southwest of Beijing.
One video allegedly shows lines of buses being moved in to take people from the Xinfadi market off to get tested.
China is calling this a soft lockdown but the rules are strictly enforced.
State media reports over 1,200 flights out of Beijing have now been canceled. No risks taken (ph) by passengers that did get planes at Wednesday.
Many here at the airport fear getting caught at ground zero again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm leaving now because the outbreak is a bit serious and I'm afraid of being infected. So I want to escape back to home soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: After almost two months without a case being registered, many Beijing hoped they had seen this for the last time.
Now they're praying this is just a ripple, and not a second wave.
COREN: John, it's very hard to get out of Beijing now. And the reason being is that authorities don't want to see a repeat of what happened in Wuhan earlier this year where millions of people fled the city before that lockdown was imposed.
So authorities obviously making this a number one priority, John.
[01:15:00]
VAUSE: Anna, thank you. Anna Coren there live in Hong Kong with the latest. Thank you.
Well, despite thousands of new cases of the coronavirus being reported every day across Latin America, some countries in the region are already moving to reopen.
We get details now from CNN's Matt Rivers reporting in from Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Mexico since June 1st we've seen the number of newly confirmed cases of this virus rise by more than 70 percent, newly confirmed deaths rise by nearly 90 percent.
But despite that, Mexico's government is moving forward with plans to reopen parts of the economy. And we are seeing that here in Mexico City, without question the
hardest hit part of this country.
Just this week some 340,000 workers in the manufacturing industries here are allowed to go back to work. And the city government is also contemplating as soon as next week allowing people to return to places like restaurants and malls under limited capacities.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, another day, another very high newly confirmed case count. Roughly 32,000 additional cases confirmed by Brazil's health ministry on Wednesday. That pushes the overall total there to more than 950,000.
Which means that we could pass the 1,000,0000 case mark in that country within the next few days. Also, consider that with these 32,000 additional cases reported today that is the fifth time in the last nine days that Brazil has reported more than 30,000 newly confirmed cases in a single day.
And finally, in the country of Honduras it was Tuesday night during a presidential address that President Hernandez announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus after starting to feel ill over the weekend.
He was diagnosed on Tuesday. He says that his symptoms are mild, that he working still in his capacity as president from isolation. He also told his people that his wife and two aides tested positive as well.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: He was silent during the president's impeachment but now he has a new book to sell. And former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, he's got plenty to say.
And his book is chock full of explosive allegations about his former boss.
Also, the U.S. job report due in a few hours. We'll look at what economists are expecting.
That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The Trump Presidency has created a cottage industry of "tell all" books about the president. And former aides have been saying -- have been putting these books out for years.
But the latest could be the most damaging of all.
In his new book, former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, says Donald Trump asked China's president to help to win the -- to win reelection, rather.
Bolton writes about Trump meeting with President Xi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:20:00]
"Trump said approvingly that there was great hostility to China among the Democrats. Trump then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China's economic capability and pleading with Xi to ensure he'd win."
"He stressed the importance of farmers and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Bolton also claims President Trump told President Xi to move ahead with detainment camps of China's Uighur Muslims. And purely by coincidence, on Wednesday, the same day, Trump signed a bill which sanctions China for the treatment of Muslim Uighurs.
Trump also called Bolton a liar, says he broke the law by publishing classified information. The Justice Department is trying to stop the book from being published.
Well, joining me now for more, CNN intelligence and security analyst, Bob Baird, and CNN's senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein.
Good to have you both with us.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SNR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, John.
VAUSE: Ron, first to you.
The revelations here about Trump. It all seems to confirm as opposed to reveal, but what seems absolutely stunning is that anyone who has been in public service for as long as John Bolton would sit on this information --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
VAUSE: -- throughout an impeachment hearing and a trial and only go public when the book was about to hit the market.
BROWNSTEIN: You've got a trifecta here of indefensible behavior.
First, John Bolton himself who had first-hand knowledge of the offenses at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.
And not only first-hand knowledge of those direct questions but also evidence that they were part of a pattern of behavior by the president -- and chose not to share that with the country at that moment.
Second, the Senate Republicans who all but two voted not to hear from John Bolton. It increasingly, I think in retrospect, is even more clear that they did that precisely because they knew that this was -- something like this was the portrait that was awaiting them.
And you have people like Martha McSally and Cory Gardner and Joni Ernst and Thom Tillis who are going to be before the voters this November who chose affirmatively not to hear the kind of revelations in this book.
And then finally, you have the president himself who behaves in this -- reading this, kind of like the classic bully.
He's extorting Ukraine but he is exhorting Xi in China. Almost pleading with him for help in reelection. And in a kind of very craven way, giving the blessing to the creation of concentration camps.
We say we can't be shocked anymore after three-and-a-half years of Donald Trump but, even so, this is a pretty shocking day.
VAUSE: And I want you to listen to John Bolton, Bob, as well speaking to ABC News, now he's former national security adviser.
A very frank and honest assessment of the Trump-Putin relationship.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, FMR. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think Putin thinks he can play him like a fiddle. I think Putin is smart, tough. I think he sees that he's not faced with a serious adversary here.
I don't think he's worried about Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, Bob, for many in the intelligence community, that probably rings true. But something which needed to be said publicly a long time ago.
ROBERT BAER, FMR. CIA OPERATIVE: Oh, absolutely. You look at this through Putin's eyes, through Xi's eyes, the rest of the world. And they see weakness. They see a man that would sell his country out.
And truly, this is borderline treason, if not treason itself.
And you have to look at what China has done since this. It's moved on Hong Kong, it's moved on the Indian border, the South China Sea.
This is frankly the weakest president I've ever seen, that I've ever experienced in my lifetime when it comes to foreign policy. And it's all because it's self-serving, because he's desperate to get reelected.
And he's looking for foreign help and it violates our election laws. It's just stunning, this --
VAUSE: How about --
BAER: -- these revelations.
VAUSE: How about Bolton's role in all of, though. How disloyal to the country has Bolton been?
BAER: Oh, he should have stepped right up but who wants to go before a Congress, a partisan Congress? But he should have stepped up, he should have said his piece.
And would we have had an impeachment, gotten this guy out? I don't know. But clearly, he's -- who knows what he's done, by the way, with Putin that Bolton doesn't know about? In Helsinki. We don't know what he promised Russia.
(Crosstalk)
BAER: It's quite extraordinary.
VAUSE: It is extraordinary.
BAER: Yes.
VAUSE: And Bolton accuses the Democrats of impeachment malpractice. Saying there was a lot more than just the scandal of the Ukraine and security assistance.
He writes:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"At risk of being swallowed by the Ukraine fantasy conspiracy theories ... the whole affair was bad policy, questionable legally, and unacceptable as presidential behavior."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
He follows up with this big headline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"I'm hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that was not driven by re-election calculations." (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, Ron, if Bolton had testified during the House hearing or the Senate trial, would the verdict have been any different?
Because Republicans were determined to acquit, no matter what.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think they were determined to acquit him, no matter what. But still, Bolton blaming impeachment malpractice on the Democrats after refusing to come forward with anything.
You know the joke they tell, the lawyer's joke, about the kid who kills their parents and then asks for -- throws themselves on the mercy of the court because they're an orphan.
[01:25:00]
That's sort of like the level that Bolton is acting here.
Where he had information that was very powerful and chose not -- and who will forever be remembered for choosing not to share it with the country when it could have had the most impact.
No, it would not have changed many, perhaps any, votes in the House. Who knows if all of those Republican senators who voted to acquit the president would have felt comfortable doing so with first-hand direct corroborating testimony of the offenses of which he was accused?
But every time something like this comes out, I go back to what I think will be one of the defining quotes of the Trump era from Susan Collins, Senator Susan Collins, after the impeachment -- after he was acquitted.
And she said, "He has learned a big lesson." And, in fact, he has learned a lesson, as you see it here. He believes there is nothing he cannot do. There is no boundary he can cross that would cause his party to break from him or constrain him in any way.
And I think this is going to be a huge burden for those Senate Republicans to carry into November.
VAUSE: We really have few details about Trump trying to get election help from China.
There was that phone call with China's leader and President Trump suddenly turned -- this is part of the book --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"... turned the conversation to the coming [U.S.] presidential election ... pleading with Xi to ensure that he would win."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
So, Bob, right now you have the secretary of state meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Hawaii. How much dirt do the Chinese have on this administration?
BROWNSTEIN: Huh.
BAER: Oh, they've got a lot. They've got so much pressure on this president. They can do any -- they're just, frankly, ignoring us.
We rolled over on Hong Kong. The Chinese, essentially, took it back and we have done nothing. Pompeo, the Chinese know he can't commit the president, the president will change his mind.
He's got no -- our diplomacy, our intelligence and the rest of the government, the civil service, it's an utter catastrophe. If half of what Bolton says is accurate.
VAUSE: Very quickly, I want to go to a Tweet by the leading managers of the impeachment investigation, Adam Swift [sic].
He tweeted this out:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"Bolton's staff were asked to testify before the House to Trump's abuses, and did. They had a lot to lose and showed real courage.
When Bolton was asked, he refused, said he'd sue if subpoenaed. Instead, he saved it for a book.
Bolton may be an author, but he is not a patriot."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, Bob, just you. When you look at the damage which has Bolton done -- which Bolton has done to this country, what's your final assessment?
BAER: Well, I'll tell you when I was in this position, when I was in the government, I went right to Congress when I saw something wrong.
And that's what a civil servant, a government-paid employee, is supposed to do. And he failed in duties, his sworn duties to the constitution and to the American people. He failed.
VAUSE: OK. Good point to leave it. Bob Baer and Ron Brownstein, thank you to you both. Appreciate you being with us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Thanks, guys.
Donald Trump is about to take his act back on the road with his first pandemic-era campaign rally this weekend.
While temperatures will be taken, hand sanitizers and masks handed out, it's a sure bet the man of the moment will be having none of that.
More in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:30]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: With many U.S. States seeing record numbers of new cases of the coronavirus each day, some officials want face masks to be mandatory. The latest research shows that face coverings can protect the wearer but especially anyone nearby.
But that's all science and stuff and so that means that there is pushback.
CNN's Athena Jones reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Despite the message coming from the White House and its allies, the COVID crisis in the U.S. has not abated.
DR. ZEKE EMANUEL, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE HEALTH POLICY ADVISER: It does seem that say that the administration wants to move beyond coronavirus. But the virus isn't going to cooperate.
JONES: In fact, new coronavirus cases are surging to record levels in several states that reopened swiftly and experts say too soon or without sufficient precautions.
DR. ALI KHAN, FORMER DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS, CDC: We've not changed the basic biology of the disease. The virus is out there. 95 percent of Americans continue to be susceptible.
JONES: Reported infections now falling in 21 states and holding steady eight but rising in 21 states with ten seeing a more than 50 percent jump in new cases including South Carolina, Alabama and West Virginia.
Florida, Arizona and Texas have set records for new cases in recent days with hospitalizations hitting new highs in Texas, North Carolina and Arizona raising concerns for health care providers.
JULIA STRANGE, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNITY BENEFIT-TUCSON MEDICAL CENTER: This week we did hit our capacity in our COVID-designated ICU unit. And so we have been participating in that surge line to transfer patients who we believe will need ICU care within 24 hours.
JONES: And as the debate over masks rages on American Airlines asking a passenger to deplane from a flight from New York to Dallas after he refused to wear a mask.
In Montgomery, Alabama a push for masks in the hardest hit city in the state coming up short.
DR. KIM RUDOLPH MCGOTHAM, JACKSON HOSPITAL: But until you actually mandate because people don't believe the hype, we won't be able to stop it. JONES: The city council failing to pass an ordinance requiring them.
Meanwhile Texas Governor Greg Abbott urging people to take precautions.
GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: COVID-19 hasn't suddenly, magically left the state of Texas.
JONES: This as the mayors of Texas' biggest cities call on Abbott to allow them to require face coverings.
And with cases on the rise in Oklahoma a judge has blocked an effort to stop President Trump's planned Saturday rally, which health officials worry could be a super spreader event.
DR. BRUCE DART, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TULSA HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Let me be clear, anyone planning to attend a large-scale gathering will face an increased risk of becoming affected with COVID-19.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with me now. Sanjay -- it's good to see you.
But it seems there is a case of damn the torpedoes now from the President. He's determined to hold that campaign rally in Tulsa over the weekend. He did a round of interviews on Wednesday for the local television stations there repeatedly talked about his numbers falling to a miniscule level, adding that the virus is dying out. The virus is not dying out. That's not the case especially in Oklahoma.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, it's simply not true. I mean I think this is wishful thinking.
We keep hearing about this notion of you're going to have a wave, right. they have this peak and then it's going to come down to very, very small numbers.
That has happened in countries around the world. Italy for example which is a country that we look to because they had a similar sort of pattern as the United States. But the United States we fall into this pretty tragic plateau -- John, you know, of several hundred deaths still day. We have more people dying every day still than other countries have had throughout this entire pandemic.
So it's not going down. It short of shifted. You know, the northeast, the coastal cities like Seattle, the cities in California because they are coastal, because they have large international airports. They have some of the first cases. But now we're seeing these significant, you know, upticks in several places around the country.
There's 10 states that are having their highest levels ever throughout this pandemic. They're happening right now. Arizona which is one-third the size of New York is probably going to surpass New York in terms of hospitalizations.
So it's by no means dying out. And I think it's dangerous to suggest that it is because people then aren't doing anything about it.
VAUSE: Just take a look at the lines of the people now waiting for the President for that in Tulsa. They're already lining. They're excited obviously for this mega-rally. Not a lot of people there wearing masks. The President, the Vice President usually don't wear masks in public.
Also in California, you know, on Wednesday there was a pro mask rally. It was interrupted by an anti-mask rally. How do you explain why so many people are so energized and opposed to wearing face masks?
[01:35:02[
GUPTA: I'm baffled a bit by this, you know. Like you John -- I've had the privilege of being able to travel around the world and see different cultures and things like this. For whatever reason here in the United States, mask wearing has become very politicized.
It's become a freedom issue which is ridiculous because the only way to sort of get back to some sort of normalcy aside from a vaccine or some very effective therapeutics is to slow the spread of the virus. And masks we know could be very effective.
John -- I want you to look at these numbers really quick. I think a question that often comes up is, let's say I have the virus and you're within six feet of me and we're talking what's the likelihood I would spread the virus to you. That I would transmit it to you.
According to this one study out of "Lancet" they said it's about 17.4 percent. You know, there are going to be lots of studies but that gives you a ballpark idea.
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: With the mask -- 3.1 percent. It drops nearly six-fold by wearing a mask. It's a very simple thing to do. It makes a huge difference in terms of slowing the spread.
VAUSE: And that's the goal. I want to get to the next question because we're now hearing from the Federal Aviation Administration about whether or not it should be mandatory for passengers to wear masks on commercial airlines.
This is what the head of the FAA told Congress on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN DICKSON, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: Secretary Chao and the Department of Transportation have been clear that air passengers should wear face coverings to protect themselves and those around them. And that we expect the traveling public to follow air crew directions and airline public health policies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But they're not making it mandatory.
GUPTA: Right.
VAUSE: This is some question over authority. Who gets to make the call? Is it the CDC? Is it the FAA?
But given how risky air travel is that just doesn't seem to be a very responsible call.
GUPTA: Yes, it's interesting because they say it is clear but it is not clear. Because it is a recommendation, not a requirement. I mean when you take off on an airplane you are required to wear a seatbelt. You are required to not smoke.
There are things that they can do on airlines that are required. But they're hedging on this. So what you end up having is all these -- this sort of patchwork. All these airlines sort of having their own recommendations.
A lot of airlines are stepping up but they don't have the teeth to actually do anything significant about it. They can say, look, you know, it's going to jeopardize your future flights with our airline. We may put you on a no fly list -- these types of things.
But you're starting to see a lot of friction even within airlines between passengers. Passengers get on the plan and say I have some sort of illness, the guy next to me is not wearing a mask. What can I do? What is within my right to do?
And right now there's not much. So you know, the FAA under the Department of Transportation has not really stepped up to handle this in a way that they could. It is within their authority but they're not doing it.
VAUSE: Last word perhaps. To the radio shock jock Howard Stern. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO HOST: Just listen to this exchange, it's great. It's just -- this is what we're dealing with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm asking this member to pout on a mask because that is our company policy. So either wear the mask --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not doing it because I woke up in a free country.
STERN: I woke up in a free country. I don't have to wear a mask. People can't even fundamentally figure out how our country works on the simplest level. Freedom doesn't mean you get to do whatever the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you want.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Yes. What that highlights to me I think is that only way that they'll have everyone in this country wearing a mask is simply by enforcement --
GUPTA: Yes, I think you're probably right. I mean I think culturally there's just too much friction right now. Even if you remind people as you well know -- John, that when you're wearing the mask, you're not -- you're not -- you're not doing it necessarily to protect yourself. It may give you some protection but the primary purpose is to protect those around you.
I mean, you know, people think that they are being, you know, -- I'm willing to take the risk. Well, you're not the one taking the risk. You're taking the risk on behalf of people around you. So you know, how do you know if the person around you is receiving chemotherapy or has some sort of pre-existing illness, or is vulnerable for some reason or he's going to home to a vulnerable child?
I have a colleague in the hospital that I work with that goes home to take care of his daughter every night who is a cancer patient. If he contracts the virus he's potentially going to jeopardize her health.
We're all in this together. It's really -- it's disappointing I think in some ways, John -- that people are refusing to do this, even though it's to benefit the people around them, and sometimes the people they love.
VAUSE: It requires a selfless act from all of us which is why we may be in serious trouble -- Sanjay. Good to see you though.
GUPTA: I know.
VAUSE: Thank you. Yes.
GUPTA: Thanks -- John.
VAUSE: Another 1.3 million unemployment claims are expected in the U.S. jobs report in a few hours from now. That would be down from 1.5 million last week. It's an improvement of sorts.
CNN's John Defterios in Abud Dhabi with more.
Ok. So John -- what's more important here? This downward trend in these unemployment numbers from, you know, the sky-high, nose-bleeding set as they were a couple of weeks ago? Or the fact that these numbers are still at record highs?
[01:39:55]
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, the number is still extremely high -- John. In fact, it's about five to six times the norm prior to COVID-19.
So I'd say the good news is that they're coming down -- 1.3 million if that's the number that actually is delivered today would take this above 45 million. I can remember the Federal Reserve when COVID-19 started the St. Louis Bank was saying we could get to 50 million.
It's really possible here in July which is unheard of. So if you look at the chart I'd say the good news is that it is a staircase lower. So you go from 3 million up to nearly 7 million, down to 6.5 million but the fact that it is persistent tells us a great deal about the transition.
And then in the calculation under the discussion you just had with Dr. Sanjay, the snap back is going to have an impact on hiring in the second half of the year. This is not going to be a clear, straight line up in recovery.
And I think the person who's been most frank about that has been the central bank governor of the Federal Reserve, of course, the chairman of it, Jerome Powell, who has said that the next packages have to deal with those that are going to be dealing with long term displacement.
And if you look at the packages on the table here from the White House, $2.5 half trillion. They're talking about a payroll tax cut that will help the companies. But how about those that don't get rehired?
Even his predecessors at the Federal Reserve -- Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen -- have said the same. It has to be a multifaceted approach. You can't assume that companies will come back into the market because they've shrunk down for this hew reality that we see today with less demand going forward.
I think the retail sales that we saw earlier this week were misleading because there was pent up demand. Is that going to be sustained in the second half if we have this continued snap back of the COVID-19 virus?
VAUSE: You know, the other big story across the world right now is this demand for racial equality, an end to police brutality -- all sparked by George Floyd's killing in the U.S.
One thing we can always find surprising though is that, you know, Aunt Jemima as a brand survived as long as it has. (INAUDIBLE) so do other brands like Uncle Ben. Finally now it seems that both brands are being retired. It really took a long time -- why was that?
DEFTERIOS: You know, I'm glad you put it in that context -- John. Because I remember being a child of the 1960s and 70s at the tail end of the Baby Boom, and I remember asking my parents, you know, because we had these brands in our household. You know, why are they all depicted with blacks on the face board of these different brand? And I never got a clear answer.
Now we're getting the answer, right, nearly 55 years later. It's extraordinary, it took so long. And there's a lot of money behind it I think is the answer -- John.
If you look back, in particular, Aunt Jemima, it was Pepsi who bought Quaker Oats back 2001 for nearly $14 billion dollars. And I was trying to look up what is the brand value of Aunt Jemima today. It's not been broken down on its own but that's why Pepsi was willing to pay so much money for that brand.
And this has been that has been carried on for the better part of a decade here. If you listen to those in the civil rights movement, they said we've been trying to pressure these major companies to do something. We know that Pepsi's going to come out with $400 million dollars, it's quite substantial, over five years to invest in the black community.
But they felt so much pressure they said they don't have a brand to replace it. So we have to look how the story carries forward, for example?
That is remain on the shelf. Is there pressure to take it off rapidly and what do they come up with in replacement? Mars, the company has that of Uncle Ben's -- again a servant class brand that has lasted.
Now I find this interesting, they said the brand needs to evolve. Evolve to what -- John? Do you still keep the brand of Uncle Ben's going forward?
And the final thing is, ConAgra for example with Aunt Jemima -- ConAgra is a huge agricultural company, bought the Aunt Jemima brand thinking that it could diversify its holdings here.
Now it has an explosive situation attempt because they don't know what to do with the brand. The company put out a statement last night. This is the last one to kind of turn if you will. It's admitting that our packaging maybe interpreted in a way that is wholly inconsistent with our values.
So they have a brand value issue. What do they do as Aunt Jemima? And there's other cases that kind of got overlooked. Land O'Lakes with the butter it took off the Pocahontas person Pocahontas person earlier in the year. The woman that was on the brand for years and years and years. Washington red skins. What happens to that. That's been debated for the last two decades -- John.
VAUSE: I mean You grew up in the U.S., I grew up in Australia. We had a similar situation, eating Golliwog biscuits always kind of stuff like that. You know, slowly and slowly over time, it's still there but they're changing it. But it does take ages.
John -- thank you. John Defterios in Abu Dhabi.
We'll take a short break. When we come back a deadly (INAUDIBLE) with their nuclear neighbors. New details around what happened along India and China's disputed border in the Himalayas.
[01:44:46]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: After a deadly clash on their disputed border, both China and India have agreed to step back and allow the situation to cool down.
In a phone call on Wednesday, China's foreign minister urged his Indian counterpart to stop all provocative actions, but India's Prime Minister says they were not the instigators.
Let's bring in CNN's Vedika Sud from New Delhi live this hour.
So Vedika -- both sides seem to want to step back here. So what are the Indian officials saying this morning?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Well, we have strong statements coming out from India's foreign ministry as well as the prime minister who spoke on Wednesday, when he said that the deaths of the soldiers will not go in vain. And that should be made clear to anyone as far as this incident is concerned.
The foreign ministry, the foreign ministers rather of both countries did have a conversation over the phone. And the statement that was issued later by India's foreign ministry stated that there was premeditated action by China due to which there was violence on the ground.
Also, the statement goes on to say that it's time for China to reassess its actions and this could have a serious impact on ties as well.
Also after the Chinese foreign ministry reacted after the telephone conversation between the two sides, the Indian spokesperson for the foreign ministry also came out and said that there should not be any exaggerated claims by China on the telephone conversation as well.
So yes there are strong statements coming out at this point in time. The situation across the LAC, the line of action control, the border shared by China and India remains tense. And this is where India stood back and decide what kind of action they are going to take next.
There are military level talks. There are diplomatic level talks. But when the Prime Minister has said that the lives of these soldiers will not go in vain, it is a very strong statement he's made. And one wonders what the ramifications of this statement that he's made will be in the near future.
VAUSE: So do we have an explanation as to why this is happening now?
SUD: That's a good question you ask. Well, this line of action control issue actually has been a contentious issue between the two countries for a very long time. But this is the deadliest standoff that we have seen in the last 45 years between the two countries.
What's also interesting is as we all know, China's bid for hegemony in this region is not new. And of course, It's been an all-weather ally of Pakistan for years, especially supporting them against India on key issues, especially the revocation of the special status to Kashmir last year. They had voice and then the (INAUDIBLE) over.
So clearly there are a lot of differences between the two sides, and what's been interesting are those two informal summits between the Chinese president and the Indian Prime Minister over the last two years. First in Wuhan, then South India where it's been hailed as a huge draw in diplomatic ties. [01:50:03]
SUD: And then on the 15th of June, you have this line (ph) incident taking place where you have, according to a source on the Indian armed forces, the Chinese forces, the Chinese troops putting up a tent in the buffer zone, then you have the commanding officer, according to the source, coming in and asking them to remove the tent. A heated exchange it was after which the tent was dismantled by the Indian troops.
And then the (INAUDIBLE) you have the Chinese troops coming back with reinforcements with, you know, nails riddled on, and attacking the Indian side.
So, this has been disturbing for the Indian government, and all eyes will be on them and their next move.
VAUSE: All right. Vedika -- thank you. Vedika Sud there, live in New Delhi. We appreciate that.
The U.S. Secretary of State has met with his Chinese counterpart for nearly seven hours on Wednesday in Hawaii. There is much to talk about, it seem, since they last met. China's handling of the coronavirus for starters, and then there is Beijing's new security law for Hong Kong. Not to forget treatment of Uighur Muslims, North Korea's nuclear program and (INAUDIBLE) set ongoing trade war.
A short break. When we come back, the coronavirus continues to devastate Peru. Now the crisis is causing some families to leave their homes and find safety hundreds of miles away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: With more than 240,000 confirmed cases, Peru is seeing one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks, not just in Latin America, but in the world. In the capital of Lima some families are now leaving their homes and traveling hundreds of miles by foot trying to find safety from the pandemic.
Guillermo Galdos has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUILLERMO GALDOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This bus terminal is overwhelmed with people desperate to get out of Lima. About 70 percent of Peruvian's work in the informal economy and live hand to mouth.
When President Martin Vizcarra imposed a strict lockdown for coronavirus, it sparked an economic crisis.
Maria and her three daughters moved to Lima for the sake of her oldest child's education. But now she is desperate to get back home, back to her husband, back to safety.
With no planes, trains or buses she is starting the 350 mile journey on foot. MARIA: I know the risk; I am putting my children in but I don't have a
choice. Either I die trying to get out or starve to death in my room.
GALDOS: It's hot, and food and water are scarce. A passing truck driver throws the family something to eat.
MARIA: I am thinking because I am almost home --
GALDOS: After three days on the road, Maria is struggling to carry on. She's 4,500 meters high in the Andes. The air is thin, the journey relentless.
MARIA: It's a bit hard to breathe. He's stopping. I have walked a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can imagine. There's a little food. If you want, you can eat this.
MARIA: Thank you. God bless you.
GALDOS: The truck driver takes them to the next town. From there, the family must continue on foot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't pass this checkpoint with minors.
[01:54:57]
MARIA: I have no one to leave them with. Where would I leave them. I am going to my farm.
GALDOS: That night, Maria and her daughters set up camp in a clearing in the rainforest.
MARIA: I want to apologize for putting you at risk. But we couldn't stay there any longer.
Thankfully God has protected us. But I have put you at risk.
GALDOS: After seven days and 300 miles traveled, Maria and her family have made it to their home province -- the lands of the indigenous Ashaninka people. They're only about 50 miles from home, but there is a problem.
Maria and her daughters have just heard that the local indigenous community have shutdown completely the area and they're not allowing anybody in.
The indigenous people are right to be worried. Ucayali (ph) region is one of the most badly affected areas in the country for coronavirus. After delicate negotiations she's allowed to pass on the agreement that she self isolates on her farm once she gets there.
MARIA: Just a little left before I see my animals, my husband --
MARIA: Thank you dear Lord. Thank you. Thank you God for bringing me home.
GALDOS: After all the pain and suffering, the final torment. The family cannot hold one another in case someone transmits the virus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was the journey?
MARIA: It was so difficult. We walked a lot. We have all suffered so much.
I never want to go to Lima again. I thought I was going to die there with my girls.
GALDOS: Not everyone leaving Lima will return home safely. For some, the dangers found on the road will be greater than the poverty and disease they are fleeing from. But Maria and her family are some of the lucky ones reunited.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Guillermo Galdos for that story. It's part one of a two-part report. The second part watch here tomorrow on CNN.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
My friend and colleague Anna Coren will take over CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. She'll pick it up form Hong Kong.
Thanks for watching.
[01:57:28]
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END
