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U.S.' Coronavirus Cases Looking Worse Each Day; Latin American Countries Seeing Huge Spike in Coronavirus Cases; COVID Hits World Leaders; Additional Information on COVID-19 Found by Medical Experts; Hong Kong Facing Their Third Wave; Japan Says COVID Can't Stop Sports; Australia Dead Serious in Combating the Virus; Coronavirus Pandemic; U.S. Breaks Single-Day Record With 63,240 Plus New Cases; Trump, Top Health Officials In Test Of Wills Over Schools; President Trump, Health Experts At Odds Over Testing; President Trump Threatens To Cut Funds For Schools That Don't Reopen; Joe Biden Unveils Build Back Better Plan; Joe Biden Unveils Plan To Spur U.S. Manufacturing Technology; U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Congress From Seeing Trump's Taxes; Ex-Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Taken Back Into Custody; Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon Found Dead; Trump Ally Faces Tough Runoff Election; MLS Tournament Kicks Off With Black Lives Matter Tribute; Second MLS Team Barred From Playing After Nine Positive Tests; Black Live Matter Mural Painted Outside Trump Tower. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 10, 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)
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: A new record in the United States for coronavirus cases reported in a single day, as President Trump heads to one of the nation's hotspots.
Cases are climbing in Brazil, while the country's president pushes for a return to normalcy, and battles the virus himself.
Also, this hour, the mayor of Seoul, South Korea's found dead after being reported missing. What investigators are zeroing it on as his likely cause of death.
We are live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, we appreciate it. I'm Natalie Allen, and this is CNN Newsroom.
Thank you for joining us.
We begin with another record of coronavirus infections in the United States. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 63,000 new cases were reported Thursday. This puts the total infections over 3.1 million.
And Thursday's record eclipsed the previous high set just two days before, but it is not just a new case numbers that are soaring, rates of death and hospitalizations are also going up. On Thursday, Florida, Texas, and California all reported their highest
number of single day coronavirus deaths since the outbreak began. Thirty-three states now, two-thirds of the country, are seeing their numbers rise.
In an interview Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci did not mince words about how well the U.S. is handling the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don't think you can say we are doing great. I mean, we're just not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: President Trump is headed to Florida Friday morning for a private fund-raiser and other events, but the sunshine state is struggling under the weight of the pandemic.
We get that and more of the day's headlines now from CNN's Erica Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), MIAMI, FLORIDA: We need contact tracers in our community immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The mayor of Miami blasting the Florida Department of Health Thursday, the same to his states approach to daily high for COVID related deaths.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUAREZ: We have to be very serious, make very tough decisions that affect many, many people. Their livelihoods, and we can't make that in the absence of information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: According to the mayor, the health department was able to trace 92 percent of cases on June 15th. By July 8th, that number had plummeted to just 17 percent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, I mean, this should keep people awake at night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Two hundred fifty tracers will now be sent to Miami-Dade County. Testing also a major concern, long lines had an even longer wait for results.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY SLAVITT, FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES: We have likely 8 to 10 more times people getting cases every day that can get tested, so this both a failure of containment, it's the failure to test, and of course it's a failure to tell the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The reality, cases are surging. Thirty-three states moving in the wrong direction. Arizona has added more cases per capita in the past week that any other country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSS GOLDBERG, PRESIDENT, ARIZONA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: We all hope for a flattening and a stabilization. We haven't seen it yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: And it's not just hotspots like Florida and Arizona. In Kentucky, new cases jumped 40 percent in the last week. In Oklahoma, they are up 45 percent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: Any states that it is having a serious problem, that state should seriously look at shutting down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Hospitalizations rising in nearly a dozen states, 48 ICUs in Florida are out of beds. Another 52 have less than 10 percent available. Texas ordering more counties to suspend elective surgeries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OGECHIKA ALOZIE, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, DEL SOL MEDICAL CENTER: There's no immediate fix to this. We are going to have to really put in the work to get ahead of this epidemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: California announcing a new daily high for COVID related deaths.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): The mortality rates are still front and center and should be in your consciousness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Even in states holding steady like Maryland, officials remained cautious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): Look, we are very concerned about what's happening around the country, and I don't want to take any kind of a victory lap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Maryland seeing a spike in cases among those under 35. Michigan reporting one in five COVID patients is between 25 and 34 years old.
[03:05:02]
In New York State, the early epicenter, less than 1 percent of tests are now positive for the virus. A sliver of hope amid grim numbers in the new hotspots. Positivity rates skyrocketing in Arizona, Texas, and Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an outbreak that's uncontained in pre- fall.
FAUCI: We're going down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: And for those who expected a dip in the summer, a blunt assessment from the nation's top infectious disease expert.
(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)
FAUCI: For the people who expected to see a sharp decline in the number of cases, as the weather became warm and moist, I think we are seeing that that's absolutely not the case.
(END VOICE CLIP)
HILL: Doctor Fauci went on to single out Florida has an example of heat and humidity, either of those killed the virus. He also on a separate interview said on Thursday, singled out Florida and Arizona, saying the states reopen too quickly. That they jumped over a couple of checkpoints, and that allowed the virus to come roaring back.
In New York, Erica Hill, CNN.
ALLEN: Meantime, doctors and researchers are learning new things every day about the coronavirus and how it affects patients. Listen to what one pathologist says her team found in autopsies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY RAPKIEWICZ, PATHOLOGIST, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL HEALTH: I think one of the important things that we recognized with COVID very early on, both clinically, as well as in the autopsies, was that there definitely is a propensity for clotting. And the clinicians at the bedside recognize clotting in lines and in various large vessels. What we saw at autopsy is sort of an extension of that. The clotting
was not only in the large vessels but also in the smaller vessels. And this was dramatic because although we might have just expected it in the lungs, we found in almost every organ that we looked at in our autopsy study.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: I'm joined now by Dr. Darragh O'Carroll, an emergency physician in Honolulu, Hawaii. Welcome, doctor. Thanks for coming on.
DARRAGH O'CARROLL, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: Thanks for having me, Natalie.
ALLEN: There's not a lot of bright news right now, but we'll try to find some at some point in this interview. But that blood clot issue, that sounds like another disturbing detail about this very perplexing virus. We are also learning about possible brain damage with some patients. It seems the more researchers learn about the virus it just gets scarier. What are your thoughts?
O'CARROLL: Yes. This is really an extension of what we are seeing as your segment mentioned before. What we're seeing at the bedside is that when the sickest of the sick patients get admitted to the hospital, we put them on large doses of anticoagulants.
And this was something that we started to realize as we started to see, you know, the outbreaks in New York and Italy that a lot of these large lines and the large I.V.s, the big dialysis catheters and those are very, very big diameter catheters that would be hard to clot in a normal patient were clotting. And they had to put new catheters in there.
And so, it's an extension of what we are seeing at the bedside and it is concerning, and adding to the body of knowledge that, you know, we're only five to six months into the real outbreak of this virus.
So, adding to the body of knowledge that we have, and there's a lot of working groups, you know, hematologists who are specialists in the blood arena who are actively working on what are the best recommendations are and do we send people home on coagulants, how big of anticoagulants do we give them.
So, there's a lot of good work being done at the moment.
ALLEN: That's good. The cases keep climbing though in the United States. Let's talk about these numbers. Is it evidence that states open up too soon, can it be rolled back, or is it perhaps too late?
O'CARROLL: Well, you know, that's -- you are going to have to go by a state by state basis. But if you rewind all the way back to December and January when the first large outbreak of this virus occurred in Wuhan they absolutely authoritatively locked down and, you know, still had a large outbreak.
And we haven't done anything similar except in New York, you know, and there still a lot of transportation happening and flights happening between our country. And it might just be that one of our greatest strength of the United States being 50 United States that are coming together might prove to be one of the weaknesses when it comes to a pandemic that we don't have one unified message and one unified area.
And I think it definitely speaks to that some states did open up before, you know, the cases came down too low. And so, you know, you are seeing that in Arizona, Texas, Florida, and you know, I think they may have to consider at this point reversing their opening up process, not just postponing it.
ALLEN: It absolutely makes sense, and we heard that from Dr. Fauci as well. Let's talk about the stress this is putting on hospitals and emergency rooms. We know that Arizona is reporting a record high spike in emergency room admissions on top of a shortage of ICU beds.
[03:09:57]
O'CARROLL: Yes. I was talking to a colleague of mine who is on the border of Texas and Mexico, and what they are seeing at one point was 190 percent capacity in their emergency departments.
And so, when you are responsible for every emergency that comes to your hospital, whether it would a gunshot, any other a car crash, any other day-to-day emergencies that are now happening now that our economies are opening, it's really putting stress on our providers there.
I think maybe we could speak to one hopeful note is that the physicians and nurses of the -- in New York City, of the New York Health and Hospitals Organizations (AUDIO GAP) all the health system is now sending their experienced nurses and physicians who went through this wave already to places like Texas, to places like Arizona, to lend their experience.
So, I think it speaks to, you know, our spirit as a whole that, you know, we are going to get through this, but I need we need to be smart, and it doesn't seem like everywhere is being smart about it.
ALLEN: Right. Since you mentioned you New York, you know, let's talk about how New York succeeded. It was the epicenter, what they want through, none of us can ever really appreciate it, the victims, and the people are working to heal them and help them.
But now, it was the epicenter, and now less than 1 percent of tests are positive in the state. What lessons can be learned by other states right now from the New York experience?
O'CARROLL: Well, you look at the great leadership that was had there. You know, Governor Cuomo really kind of understood what was happening from my perspective and also from a lot of physician's perspectives that we need to lock down because there's only three ways that we can really combat this virus.
And it's nothing to do at being in a hospital at this point. We rarely still have very little to help sick patients. So, the way that we combat this virus is taking, really, taking it to the streets, and that's washing your hands, social distancing, and staying off the streets, really. I say that figuratively.
And so, what they did, they did marvelously well and responded and understood, and maybe it's human nature that because it's not affecting you, it's kind of out of sight, out of mind. And I think Texas and Arizona are learning that.
And unfortunately, I hope that their departments of health and their leadership see that and make the right decisions.
ALLEN: Really have to because look at what we are up against at this point all across this country. We always appreciate you joining us and helping us understand, Dr. Darragh O'Carroll, thank you.
O'CARROLL: Thank you.
ALLEN: Now, I want to look at Brazil which has reported tens of thousands of new infections during the past 24 hours. That brings its case total to well over 1.7 million, second only here to the United States. And the death toll is climbing as well, inching close to 70,000.
This all comes as the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro is coping with his own positive diagnosis. Now, his news office reports that he is in good health and is progressing well without complications.
Our Bill Weir has more from the Brazilian capital now.
BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been another grim week here in Brazil, and another day brought another at least 40,000 COVID-19 confirmed cases, and another 1,00 or so confirmed fatalities as that number reaches close to 70,000 now.
And President Bolsonaro, of course the most famous COVID-19 patient in Brazil, continues with his self- prescribed remedy that is hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial and some other vitamins and as has continues to encourage his countrymen and women to get back to work especially those under the age of 40, telling them their chances of a severe results are "close to zero," quote, unquote.
Other news, the Congress behind me, they're working remotely but they try to pass new legislation that would help protect some 900,000 indigenous Brazilians, tribes from the Amazon and beyond, try to guarantee hospital beds, disinfectant, and clean water for these tribes.
President Bolsonaro vetoed most of those efforts.
And Facebook and Instagram took down dozens of accounts they say were spreading misinformation about Brazilian politics and the COVID-19 pandemic. And many of them, they say, we're tied back to Bolsonaro supporters, and his two sons. Yet another similar shade of the politics between Brazil and the United States in the middle of this pandemic.
Bill Weir, CNN, Brasilia, Brazil.
ALLEN: Mr. Bolsonaro is not the only leader in the region personally affected by the coronavirus. Bolivia's interim president, Jeanine Anez has become the third Latin American head of state to test positive. She announced it Thursday on Twitter, adding that many of her cabinet members also have the virus.
[03:15:01]
She said she feel strong and will self-quarantine for the next 14 days. The president of Honduras has also tested positive.
Mexico is hitting new picks and deaths and infectious -- infection rates as the coronavirus rages across that country. The country on Thursday reported its highest jump since the outbreak began there, more than 7,000 new cases and more than 700 deaths.
CNN's Matt Rivers has the latest from Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From June 2nd to July 2nd, Mexico City's case total jumped about 65 percent. Also, on July 2nd, Mexico City's open-air markets crowded and confined reopened.
Sixty-three-yea-old Alma Rosa Lara invited us to see her stall. She said she and seven family members all had COVID-19 back in April but when the government open markets backup, she jumped.
She says the people that work here live day-to-day and we can't survive otherwise. People like Isela could presumably survive though without shopping for clothes, but there she was.
She said God willing is stays open because it's really nice to have contact with people again. But experts say it's contact with people that's the problem, though most in this market didn't seem to care. They also didn't seem to care in other parts of the city like here in Centro despite the government's 'sana distancia' or healthy distance awareness campaigns. In many places, it's just not happening.
MALQUIAS LOPEZ CERVANTES, PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT: I think it is too dangerous to try to reestablish all the social activities and meet (Ph).
RIVERS: And we've seen what happens when places reopen too soon, thinking, of course, of the United States. Mexico City started reopening malls and restaurants and markets last week when new cases were still high.
This char from Mexico City's government shows only a slight trend downward in new cases from its peak, something health experts say could be easily reversed if scenes from markets like this continue to happen, though the government insists they can do this safely.
He says it's fundamental for the economy but we do have to be on top of everything which it is clear, they are not. Requirements like using antibacterial gel, social distancing, and temperature checks were not enforced in most places. And people knew it.
And you, know a woman just came up to us off camera and said, hey, stop filming, stop filming because when your video airs they are going to have to close the market back down, but the reality is that, whether we're here or not, I mean, look at this, you don't need to be a public health expert to see that what is happening right now at this market is not safe.
Across all of Mexico, cases and deaths have roughly tripled since June 1st, and they keep going up. And across all of Mexico, certain sectors of local economies are reopening like this. That is a dangerous combination.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Coming up, we look around the world at the latest hotspots. Hong Kong is tightening restrictions as the city struggles with a third wave of infections. What's open and what's closing down, we'll have a live report.
Also, thousands of Australians are now allowed to leave the public housing block where they have been locked down for days.
[03:20:00]
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ALLEN: Hong Kong is tightening its coronavirus restrictions as it deals with a new outbreak of the coronavirus. It's suspending all schools as of Monday, and restaurants, clubs, and bars, also are going to have to make some changes. Health officials reporting another surge in cases almost twice as many as the previous day. They say the overwhelming majority are locally transmitted and not imported.
CNN's Will Ripley has more from Hong Kong.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: During this pandemic, Hong Kong has really felt almost like a safe zone. They took action very early on to close the borders, test everyone coming into the city for COVID-19, mandatory 14-day quarantine for any incoming travelers, and so they pretty much have effectively been able to prevent the virus from coming in from the outside.
But what they have not been able to get a handle on now are locally transmitted cases. In fact, a record daily high in the number of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases here in Hong Kong. And the numbers are going up every day. They are still relatively small by comparison.
I mean, keep in mind, this is a city densely populated, seven million people live here, fewer than 1,400 coronavirus cases so far, and only seven deaths. But if these numbers keep growing up, and if this virus starts spreading in the community, if people are walking around and they don't know they have it, health experts know those numbers could shoot up exponentially, and that could be very bad for Hong Kong.
They have been able to identify three clusters of infection, in restaurants and bars, in taxis, and in senior care centers. So in each of those areas they are now taking steps to test more people, they're imposing more restricted social distancing measures that begin this weekend, so in restaurants only eight people can sit at a table together, and at bars and nightclubs only four people can sit a table together.
People are supposed to wear masks at all times, if they are now eating or drinking. They are trying to trace, you know, who has been riding in taxis with drivers who may have been infected, although that's tough here in Hong Kong, because a lot of people pay cash, they don't get a receipt. You have no idea who's coming in and out of the taxi.
And at senior centers, they need to test more people, they need to test more of the workers at those centers so that they can try to find out who has this virus and get them isolated as quickly as possible, so that more people don't continue to walk around Hong Kong, perhaps, unknowingly spreading this virus and making this a stairway of a whole lot bigger than even the two previous waves.
Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.
ALLEN: Now to Japan. Tokyo reported its highest daily jump of new coronavirus cases on Friday with 243. It is the second straight day the Japanese capital reported a record number of new infections. That isn't stopping the government from easing restrictions, though, on such events as baseball games.
Journalist Kaori Enjoji has that story.
KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: A whole new ball game here in Japan as Japanese baseball plays in front of a stadium for the first time in four months. Masks, required. There will be no loud voices, and no jumping up and down in excitement.
There is a long list of no-no's as organizers try to keep people safe. For social distancing, only 5,000 people will be let in, which is a fifth of capacity. Even we will be able to -- will have to fill out a form and write down our temperature from this morning, and again, take our temperature when we go in. And that's for contact tracing in case there is an outbreak.
That threat feels more real today after Tokyo logged a record number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday. Organizers told me, they are determined to go ahead with tonight's game, and this is going to be a litmus test of what the Olympics next year might or might not look like.
Kaori Enjoji for CNN, Chiba, Japan.
ALLEN: Australia is trying to control the virus by isolating the area where it's been flaring. The state of Queensland and New South Wales have closed their borders with Victoria which has seen a surge in cases. Australia's second largest city, Melbourne, which is in Victoria is in lockdown mode again. That means more than six million people must stay home for the next six weeks.
Anna Coren is following these developments for us from Hong Kong. This is quite a severe lockdown for this, many of these people, Anna.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, it's definitely drastic but necessary according to the state government and to the federal government. I mean, the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, he address the nation again thanking Melbournians for what they are doing over the next six weeks on behalf of the nation.
[03:25:00]
But you know, Melbournians, five million of them are going through the second day of the six-week lockdown, and authorities announcing 288 new cases today. That is a record for Victoria. And just goes to show the surge in those cases, in those hotspots that have been identified, that have obviously just rattled the nation.
Victoria basically is self-isolating from the rest of the country. You mentioned those border closures with New South Wales and with Queensland.
Well for the first time, Natalie, since this pandemic began, Victorians, Melbournians in particular, are now being asked to wear face masks. Australia hasn't done this over the last five months, which is quite interesting when you think here in Hong Kong, or where you are in the United States, that the people have been wearing face masks as a precaution.
Australia hasn't because of the relatively low number of cases, but the spike in Melbourne has prompted authorities to take action. Now the prime minister whilst obviously thanking Victorians for what they are doing told the rest of the nation not become complacent. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: For the rest of the country who are not in that situation, let's guard against complacency. Let's make sure that we maintain social distancing, and following all of those good habits when it comes to a COVID safe community and a COVID safe economy.
Lives and livelihoods of course depend on it, and just because there may be very few cases where you live, do not think for a second that there are sets of circumstances that could see the virus outbreak again and find its way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Yes. This outbreak really, Natalie, has concern the nation, because Australia has tackled this pandemic very aggressively from the start, hence the numbers got so low but the spike in Melbourne once again, you can see cases just spiraling out of control because this is so highly contagious.
Now, any Australian residents who are overseas returning to Australia they must do 14 days of government hotel quarantine. The prime minister today announcing that those flights are going to be hard. The reason being, they don't want resources tied up with quarantine.
And it was from hotel quarantine that they believe that outbreak happened in Melbourne because of a lapse in protocol by security guards manning that hotel in Melbourne. So, by having the number of flights, they are going to pool their resources into testing and contact tracing. So, hopefully, to try and stem further outbreaks. Natalie?
ALLEN: Certainly, is an example of how quickly things can just turn around. Thank you so much. Anna Coren for us reporting from Hong Kong. Thanks, Anna.
The U.S. is dealing with the surge of coronavirus. But just ahead, Donald Trump's big concern getting children back to school.
Also, his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden wants to build back better. We'll talk about his plan to get the U.S. economy up and going again.
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[03:30:00]
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, you're watching CNN Newsroom, live from Atlanta. Let's get you the latest on our top story. The United States, breaking another record, with more than 63,240 new coronavirus infections in the past day. Almost half of the cases are in four states, California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida.
Doctor Anthony Fauci says some of those states jumped over key checkpoints, and reopen too quickly. The percentage of people testing positive for covid-19 is above 25 percent in Arizona and Texas. Despite the U.S. reporting more than 63,000 new infections on Thursday, President Trump is doubling down on his push for schools to reopen, and that has set off a test of wills between the countries top health officials, and the White House. CNN's Kaitlan Collins is in Washington for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With only weeks before some schools are scheduled to reopen, more confusion is emerging from the CDC today.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL: The guidelines, our guidelines, but we are going to provide additional reference documents to aid, basically, communities that are trying to reopen k to 12.
COLLINS: CDC Director, Dr. Robert Redfield now says his agency won't change its guidance on reopening schools, after President Trump criticized it, but will release additional information instead. REDFIELD: It is not a revision of the guidelines. It just -- provide
traditional information to help the schools be able to use the guidance that we put forward.
COLLINS: Yesterday, President Trump said the guidance was too tough and expensive, but officials have struggled to say exactly what Trump has a problem with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which guidelines are too tough? Which guidelines are impractical?
REDFIELD: I think it is important, George, to realize and you use the word guidelines. That is what the CDC has done, they provide guidance, they are not requirements.
COLLINS: With the president and the CDC on different pages, Maryland's Republican Governor, Larry Horgan, says it is Trump who is mixed up.
GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): Well, actually I'm not confused, I think it's the president who's confused. The governor seem to know exactly -- yes, we know exactly what the CDC was talking about.
COLLINS: As to how the administration can say that they are not going to tell schools how to open, but they will say when, Kayleigh Mcenany says this.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The costs are too high to keep schools shut down.
COLLINS: How can you say, you are going to tell all the schools how to reopen, but you are going to tell them all (inaudible)?
MCENANY: There are 47 guidelines issued by the states, there's local guidelines that have been put in place, this can be done safely, it can be done well.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you do testing, to that extent --
COLLINS: Also today, Trump repeated his inaccurate assertion that there are more cases in the U.S., because there is more testing. Claiming, if half the people have been tested, there would be half the cases. But again, that is not true, even according to his own health experts.
FAUCI: That is an indication that you do have additional infections.
COLLINS: The Trump administration is also being accused of politicizing the reopening of schools by threatening to cut off funding if some of them don't reopen. Today, the education secretary, claimed that money could go towards a conservative cause, schools choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If schools aren't going to be reopen, we are not suggesting pulling funding from education, but instead, allowing families to -- families to take that money, and figure out where their kids can't get educated.
COLLINS: And when he was in the Rose Garden, the president repeated that comparison that he made the other day, saying, that kids in Germany can go back to school, so can kids in the United States. However, the president did not note that the case numbers in Germany are much different than the one you are seeing in the U.S., and they were more successful of flattening the curve, while here in the United States, of course, cases are still very much rising. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: President Trump presumed Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, has unveiled part of what his campaign calls, a build back better agenda. It is a plan that would spend hundreds of billions of dollars over four years to rebuild and reset the world's largest economy. Let's talk about it with CNN's John Defterios, he's joining me now, live, from Abu Dhabi. Hello to you, John.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Hi, Natalie.
[03:35:00]
ALLEN: Well, Joe Biden launched what would be his industrial policy if elected, how would you define his approach?
DEFTERIOS: Well, I think it's a bit of a tongue twister if you will. Build back better, right? The three B's. But we get the point here. It's to reinvest in America, here, but it is not like I would say a more left leaning policy, like Elizabeth Warren, or Bernie Sanders, when there campaigning against Joe Biden.
The focus is on energy, for example. Move away from coal, very rich hydrocarbon, into clean energy. Number one. Number two, infrastructure, it's fair to say that the U.S. needs renewal on its roads, and its rails, and also, the power systems of the United States. And finally, health care. To make it more affordable, but also an emphasis on research, and development, after the shock of the covid-19 virus. Joe Biden suggested we could be much better prepared.
The other thing, he was positioned himself is, he is a man of the working class and the middle class, the real deal. A man from Pennsylvania and then juxtaposing himself against Donald Trump, who was a billionaire developer.
So, you can see the narrative that Joe Biden is trying to take here, Natalie. I would say, it is a no risk strategy, it puts Joe Biden at the center, very much in the kind of genre of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and overseas as a Tony Blair. Who said there is a third wave, you can do both at the same time, and still support business.
ALLEN: Well, is Wall Street getting used to the fact that he might very well be elected president, and what would that mean?
DEFTERIOS: Well, not if you are listening to Donald Trump. Because he keeps on saying this is going to be such a shock and a major sell-off if Joe Biden was elected, but I would invite our viewers to go back to post global financial crisis in 2008, 09, and 10 under the Barack Obama presidency and with Joe Biden as the vice president.
They surrounded themselves with those that were from Wall Street, and policy makers who took that center view again. So, they kept interest rate low, investment was high, it was pro-business, but at the same time having some sensibility, as I was suggesting to the middle class and the working class population. We had a huge rally on Wall Street under Barack Obama, in that low interest rate environment.
One would say the same thing for Bill Clinton. In fact before we had the etch bubble burst under him because of the high investment in Silicon Valley. Something we are seeing yet again right now. I think Wall Street, to your point is warming up to Joe Biden, particularly, because he is scoring well in the swing states which are vital, the five or six to get him to the White House. It's up for grabs right now.
ALLEN: John Defterios, in Abu Dhabi. Always appreciate you. Thanks, John.
DEFTERIOS: Thanks, Natalie, you take care.
ALLEN: Donald Trump is lashing out at the Supreme Court for what he calls a political prosecution after ruled even the U.S. President is not above the law when it comes to finances. In a 7 to 2 vote, the court cleared the way for New York prosecutors to subpoena Trump's tax returns, and personal financial records. However, in a separate ruling, they blocked Congress from obtaining many of the same documents, at least for now. In response, the president had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: -- from a certain point, they are satisfied. I'm on (inaudible) who is satisfied, because that way -- this is a political witch hunt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Both cases are being sent back to the lower courts now. CNN's Jessica Schneider has more about it.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The bottom line from the Supreme Court, the president is not absolutely immune from criminal subpoenas while in office. And, Congress also has the right to subpoena the president for financial documents. That was the bottom line. But the Supreme Court says there are limits, and there is a heightened standard, meaning, these cases will go back to the lower courts, and no documents, and no tax returns, will be released, likely, before the election, less than four months away.
These were two separate cases, one of them, coming out of Manhattan, the district attorney there, trying to subpoena eight years of the president's personal and business tax returns for a criminal investigation into those hush money payments that Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels in the lead up to the election, after she alleged an affair with Donald Trump.
The court, saying that the president is not absolutely immune, but that the president does have some recourse and that the lower courts should determine whether or not the subpoena from the Manhattan prosecutor should move forward. Then, on the Congressional side, three committees have subpoenaed the president's banks, as well, his accounting firm, for financial records for a broad swath of investigations.
[03:40:00]
The court saying today that Congress needs to tailor their request and that the lower courts need to look at four different factors to determine whether or not those subpoenas can move forward. The chief justice, writing in both opinions in a seven to two decision, joined by some conservatives and in the Congressional case the chief justice putting it this way, saying, but burdens imposed by Congressional subpoena should be carefully scrutinized for they stem from a rival political branch that has an ongoing relationship with the president and incentives to use subpoenas for institutional advantage.
So, really they're pointing to the politics at play here. The fact that Democrats control the House and they have been in a very adversarial position against the Trump White House throughout the administration. So, of course, all of this remains to be seen. Will Congress, will the prosecutors in New York see the president's tax returns or his financial documents, that is something that lower courts will determine. The Supreme Court saying that they can, that they have to meet some heightened standards here. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: The president's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, meantime, who as we mentioned made those hush money payments is back in federal custody. The bureau of prison says, Cohen refused the conditions of his home arrest, which was granted after growing concerns over covid- 19. His lawyer claims, one of the conditions would have prohibited Cohen from speaking with the media and publishing a tell-all book that Cohen is working to release.
Next here on CNN Newsroom, South Korea's capital stunned by the sudden death of its powerful mayor. We will go live to Seoul, to talk about that story that is developing.
Plus, a high profile visit to the White House, may not be enough to get Poland's president reelected. We head to Warsaw, where the campaign is coming down to the wire.
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ALLEN: The mayor of Seoul South Korea, considered the second most powerful official in the country, was found dead on Friday. His daughter had reported Park Won-soon missing the night before. After a seven-hour search, a rescue team found the 64-year-old's body on a mountainside in the city.
Police say his death was not due to foul play. But on Wednesday, a legal complaint involving Park had been filed and submitted to police. It is now closed under South Korean law. Ivan Watson is following the developments for us on this story from Hong Kong. Ivan, there is really a lot that is unknown about how this happened, and what happened.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but one thing is certain, this is a shocking and tragic, and to the life and career of one of South Korea's most recognizable politicians. Park Won-soon had been elected three times to be the mayor of Seoul, the South Korean capital, a city of some 10 million people.
[03:45:19]
He had been mentioned and there was speculation that he could be a future potential presidential candidate. He comes from the same political party as the current president, Moon Jae-in. He had made a career as a human rights lawyer, as a civic activist, a pro-democracy activist who was expelled from University in the days of military dictatorship, and who had lobbied for women's rights, for LGBT rights.
He went missing on Thursday, and that triggered a man hunt, for hours in a park in the center of Seoul. And it was sniffer dogs that eventually found his body, shortly after midnight, in the predawn hours on Friday. The police had ruled out the possibility of foul play and the handwritten note was found in his desk in the official mayoral residents. And it reads, very much, like a suicide note. He apologizes several times to everyone, he asks for his ashes to be scattered over his parent's grave and he says, goodbye everyone.
So, it does look as if he has taken his own life. The authorities have not announced that yet. When police were ask on Thursday night whether or not there had been a complaint filed about possible sexual misconduct against the mayor, the police did not respond in detail about the nature of the complaint, but they did say that there was a legal complaint filed against him on Wednesday and the timing of that raises an awful lot of questions. Natalie?
ALLEN: Yes it does. And Ivan, you know, you say he was such a popular figure, what has been the public response to this story?
WATSON: You know, there were mourners that were there to greet his body as it was brought back to a mortuary in the predawn hours. And they were weeping and clearly very emotional. There has also been, as in politics almost anywhere he was somewhat a polarizing figure and there is an online petition with 10s of thousands of people who are lobbying against allowing an official funeral for this individual.
I remember a couple of months ago, rallies in the center of Seoul led by conservative Christian groups that were defying a ban that had been issued by this mayor against public gatherings as a protective measure against the coronavirus pandemic in the early weeks, as it was exploding in South Korea. And many of those protesters were very angry at the mayor himself. Again, this is a figure who was reelected, he had been elected three times and was one of the stars in the liberal Democratic Party, the current ruling party in South Korea. Natalie?
ALLEN: All right. Ivan Watson, following those developments for us in Hong Kong, thank you.
The president of Poland, a Trump ally, Andrzej Duda is fighting for his political survival. He faces a runoff election this Sunday against Warsaw centrist mayor that is expected to be very close. And at the center of the campaign, a battle of LGBT rights. Senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is live in Warsaw for us following the story. Good morning to you, Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Natalie. And there are certainly many people here in Poland who are calling this maybe the most decisive election in a very long time here in this country. This nation is extremely divided at this point in time. And you can tell the folks here in Poland understand how important this election is going to be, but it is also going to be very important for Poland's role in Europe and indeed in the world. Here is what we are finding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: A common sight in Warsaw these days, LGBT activists, protesting at the presidential palace, as the conservative president Andrzej Duda, has made anti-gay rhetoric a centerpiece of his reelection campaign. Rhetoric his critics call, dehumanizing.
They are trying to convince us that they are people, but it is simply ideology, Duda said in a recent event.
Trying to rally his very conservative base, Duda has already signed on to a proposal to make it illegal for anyone who is gay to adopt children. And LGBT activists say that they fear the president's words could incite violence.
[03:50:11]
JEJ PERFEKCYJNOSC, LGTB ACTIVIST: We are really afraid to go out on the streets. We do not feel safe. We never did actually in Poland, since we are a very homophobic country from centuries actually. But right now, it is getting worse.
PLEITGEN: One of Andrzej Duda's biggest international backers is President Trump, who recently made Poland's leader the first head of state to visit the Oval Office since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a great honor and frankly, Poland is a country, we have a tremendous relationship with and I have a very good personal relationship with the president. So, this is the first, after the covid, after the start of the plague, as I call it, and it is an honor to have you here.
PLEITGEN: President Trump says he might even permanently base some U.S. troops, set to move out of Germany in Poland in the future.
Duda's track record is controversial at home, and he polls and even the European Union accused him of undermining democracy by weakening institutions like the country's courts. His opponent, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, telling CNN, if elected, he will work to reverse those policies.
RAFAL TRZASKOWSKI, CIVIC PLATFORM: The current government is monopolizing all the power. It is you know, attacking all of the independent institutions and we need a break. We need a balance of power where the president of the Republic can cooperate with the government when it is needed. For example, when it comes to restoring good relations with the European Union, but who is ready to veto undo legislation which is for example, trying to meddle with the rule of law.
PLEITGEN: On the eve of one of the most decisive elections in recent history, Poland is a nation divided with pollster saying, the outcome is too close to call.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: So, you can see, Natalie, a very key election that is coming up here in this country. Certainly, there are a lot of leaders in the European Union who are going to be looking at very possibly, the White House, is going to be looking at it very closely as well. You can see President Trump there, having had him as a visitor, Andrzej Duda in the White House.
So, certainly in a port in election for many capitals around the world. And you know, for a very long time, it looked as though, Andrzej Duda was going to cruise to a victory here, but the polls have gotten closer and closer over the past couple of weeks. And so now, the pollster indeed are saying, they are not sure who is going to come out on top, but certainly, something that a lot of polls feel is going to be at a very, very important election for the future of their country, for the future of the institutions in their country as well. Natalie?
ALLEN: All right. You will be watching it for us, very interesting race. Fred Pleitgen, in Warsaw. Thank you, Fred.
Major League Soccer, and NBA players are now living in a bubble to restart their seasons. But the coronavirus is not the only issue players are up against. We will have that, next.
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ALLEN: Major League Soccer players in the United States has started living together in an isolating bubble in Florida. It is just one of the sports trying to go back to normal. But for many players, that isn't good enough, they want deep cultural change, as we hear from CNN sports, Carolyn Manno.
[03:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: This is a critical moment for Major League Soccer in its MLS's back tournament, as the league has maintained so far that all of the positive coronavirus cases that we have seen from players, have been outside carryover infections from their cities into this bubble. And the players have trusted that. They have trusted the leagues health officials when they say that, eventually, this bubble will become stronger and those infections will be weeded out.
I spoke with one MLS veteran player, who told me that if that is not the case, an additional clubs aren't able to compete and have to withdraw in this tournament, then the players will start to feel that this is unsafe. Not only because of coronavirus, but there's also the aspect of eroded competitive integrity with 26 clubs competing in the first place. And then you start to diminish from there and all of the sudden there aren't that many left.
Coronaviruses is just one issue on the mind of these players. The league open this tournament with the showing of solidarity, organized by the newly formed black players for change initiative, which is a player driven movement aimed at tackling issues of racial inequality and human rights. Both, in the league and also in society. There were over 100 black players who took the field on opening night, we also saw Philadelphia's players replace their names on the back of their jerseys with the names of victims of police brutality. The words one name too many, written on the bottom of their jerseys.
Both of these issues, coronavirus and social justice will run parallel to what the NBA is trying to do, as they have now descended upon the space for resumption of their season on July 30th. On Thursday, teams are already practicing in the venues behind us, as they get set. And there is a real possibility that there could be some bumps along the way in the initial round of coronavirus testing when players come into the bubble. They are also hoping that that bubble will get stronger overtime. One thing we know, as well, is that NBA players also care very deeply about issues of racial inequality. This will be a platform for them to continue to express how they feel. I'm Carolyn Manno, in Orlando.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: There is a new addition to a famous New York City street that is getting under the U.S. President skin. Fifth Avenue, is world- renowned, dotted with high end shops and of course, the Trump Tower. Now, it is also home to a black lives matter mural. The mural, right outside Trump Tower, in midtown Manhattan, prompted street closures Thursday morning and the artists got a visit from Mayor Bill de Blasio. The president, told Fox News, he thinks the city is enraged.
I will be right back, with another hour of CNN Newsroom, and the latest news on the coronavirus pandemic. Please stay with us.
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