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President Donald Trump Signs Stimulus Provisions After Capitol Hill Talks Break Down; Adds $400 Per Week In Unemployment Benefits, Asking States To Provide 25 Percent; Biker Rally Draws Large Crowd As U.S. Nears 5 Million Virus Cases; Food Banks Struggle To Meet Growing Need Across The U.S.; Florida Reports Sixth Day This Month Of 120 Plus Single Day Deaths. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 08, 2020 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello. And thank you so much for joining us. You're live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Boris Sanchez in the nation's capital.

As the number of Coronavirus cases in the United States nears 5 million and over 160,000 Americans have lost their lives to the virus, the President today signing several executive actions aimed at helping those who are hurting economically right now.

Talks between Republican and Democrats stalled late last night after over two weeks of negotiations. The President circumventing Congress by enacting a payroll tax deferment and reducing weekly unemployment benefits from $600 to $400 we should also note individual states are going to have to pick up 25 percent of that tab.

One state official already telling CNN they simply do not have the money to cover it. The President also signing two other documents that direct the government to help homeowners and renters avoid eviction and defers student loan payments.

But there's no sign yet of how soon Americans can see these benefits. And while the President touted this stock market and his administration's response to the pandemic we saw nearly 1,300 Americans lose their lives just yesterday alone.

CNN's Kristen Holmes was inside that press conference with the President's signing. He also held a much shorter question and answer session than usually. Kristen, a payroll tax break for many Americans help with student loan those are pretty straight forward but this modified unemployment benefit that is more complicated. Help us understand.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Boris, it certainly is. So President Trump comes out and he says he's signing this executive action that is going to extend these unemployment benefits that so many Americans need at $400. Now keep in mind for the last several months, people have been getting - and this is millions Americans $600 a week. So now it's going to down to $400. But in reality it's actually $300 because President Trump says that he wants states to pick up 25 percent.

Now that would mean $100 for states to give to unemployed people, on top of the money that they're already giving as unemployment benefits now here's where you get into a complication. Can any of the states pay?

As possibly some of them can. But we've seen over and over again that many of these states are in a real financial crisis that this is a lot of money for them and that they are tapped out because of Coronavirus because of the fact they had to shut down their own economy.

So it is possible that in many of these cases that people will still just be getting that $300 which is a pretty sharp decline here from $600. It's halving it there. That is money that people rely on for groceries and rent. But I also want to point out one other thing that you said here.

There are questions about that payroll tax holiday. So that payroll tax holiday applies to people who make $100,000 or less. But here's where it gets a little bit tricky. It is possible that people will have to pay that money back eventually.

So, right now, they're on a payroll tax holiday. But at the end of this holiday by the end of December, they would have to pay back that money. Now President Trump said if he's elected again, he plans on dissolving that so people don't have to pay it back and that he will eventually cut payroll tax overall.

But this is going to lead to a lot of questions here as people are wondering should they do this? Do they need to be saving this money because they're going to have to eventually face this enormous amount of back tax? So, a lot of questions here over how exactly this is going to work?

SANCHEZ: The President potentially leaving millions of Americans on the hook for that money. Now Kristen the President didn't stick around for long afterward. In fact, he walked away in the middle of a reporter's question. What exactly happened?

HOLMES: Well, this is all about the Veteran's Choice Act. Now this is something President Trump has said our Daniel Dale our fact checker says more than a hundred times during his presidency that he is simply not true.

And he says that he's the one that signed into law the Veteran's Choice Act. Now the Veteran's Choice Act itself was signed into law in 2014 under President Obama. It was introduced in 2013. And of course that makes perfect sense given what was going on at the VA at that time.

And what it does it allows for more options for veterans so that they don't have to wait in lines. They don't have to sign up with VA doctor. It gives them more expansion on what they can do in terms of getting care.

President Obama did expand that even further just two years ago, but again he did not actually pass that into law, the Veteran's Choice Act. So, the reporter was asking him about that, asking why he always takes claim for that. And he clearly got miffed and stormed out, shutting down that press conference.

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SANCHEZ: It's actually a falsehood that according to our fact checker, Daniel Dale, the President has reported more than 140 times and he just keeps repeating it over and over. Kristen Holmes reporting that for from Bedminster's thanks so much.

I want to turn to South Dakota right now. One of the largest motorcycle events in the world is underway. The 10-day event is expected to draw more than a quarter million people to the City of Sturgis which has a population of just about 7,000. Masks at this event are not required. CNN's Ryan Young joins us now from Sturgis, South Dakota. Ryan, what you seeing there?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CCORRESPONDENT: Yes, definitely masks are not required. You see most of the people walking around having a good time, riding their motorcycles, telling us they plan to be free without the masks.

We did spot this couple walking by us who had a mask on. So we definitely wanted to show and talk to them as talk real quick. We have met before thank you for stopping. I see your masks. Why did you feel the need to wear the mask at this event? We see so many people not wearing masks?

MIKE HOLLAND, ATTENDING BIKE RALLY IN STURGIS, SD: Well, I'm 73-years- old and I brought a lot of things home from Vietnam including a brain aneurysm and a heart condition. I'm concerned about the virus so I try to protect myself so we try to stay protected.

YOUNG: Today like you've seen so many people walking around without it, but you still made a decision to wear it. What do you feel when you see people not wearing a mask?

LOUISE HOLLAND, ATTENDING BIKE RALLY IN STURGIS, SD: It's their choice if they want to wear one. I want to wear mine to stay safe and not make him ill.

YOUNG: And to oppose we don't want to just focus on that. In fact that so many people come together you say you guys came from a long way to be here. How much do you enjoy this event each year?

HOLLAND: We look forward to it. I'll be making reservations next week for next year. So we look forward to it every year since we retired.

YOUNG: My last question, I see you guys support the President. You guys think he's doing a good job handling this pandemic?

HOLLAND: He's doing the best he can and that with everybody on the team working with him. They're doing the best they can. I'm a retired Fire Chief at Paramedic and I know how hard it is to maintain that type of control. They're doing the best they can whatever they got.

YOUNG: Thank you guys so much for stopping. Thank you for your service. Thank you so much. Enjoy your time. So look you meet people who come from all over, they came from Florida to be here.

As you look down, especially when you look down the way here there are thousands of people who arrived here. We're told on Sunday more people are expected to come because of the concerts and all the sort of rallies they will have together.

Most folks have been super polite in terms of making sure they have some sort of distance with each other, but the groups that come together, they tell me they are not worried about masks; they are not worried about the pandemic.

Just to give you an idea here in South Dakota, 106 new cases were alerted today, positive COVID cases. But there was that celebration for the President, the 4th of July celebration at Mt. Rushmore.

People thought that was going to be a super spreader event. It didn't appear that turn out that way. So some people are clinging to that they believe they can do this, the largest event they've had so far since the pandemic here in the city.

SANCHEZ: And we know that according to polling a large portion of the population, the residents there in Sturgis actually didn't want to hold this event, but the economic draw such a big deal. Ryan Young thanks so much for your reporting.

I want to get medical perspective now. I'm joined from Emergency Room Doctor Jeremy Faust from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dr. Patrice Harris Former President of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Faust first to you, the U.S. is approaching 5 million cases of Coronavirus. What goes through your mind when you see these images from Sturgis, so few people wearing masks? There could be serious consequences.

DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Good afternoon or good evening, thanks for having me. What goes through my mind is that this is a decision to have this event comes from higher up, it comes from our officials. It's terrible policy to do this right now.

People are going to show up because when the event happens they get the idea that it's safe and that modifications are been made. If you read the press release coming out of Sturgis the word mask does not appear in it. So that concerns me greatly that we don't really understand.

People show up because they take umbrage, they take comfort in the fact that it's happening. If you want to do an event like this, you have to do much more modification. Otherwise this can turn into a really bad situation in a region of the country that has probably felt somewhat closure, somewhat distant from the worst effects of this virus but no one is as we know that.

SANCHEZ: And Dr. Harris, one participant was quoted as saying, ride free, take a risk that's our motto. The crowds in Sturgis right now don't seem like the kind of folk that are going to social distance or as Ryan noted wear masks. There's going to be a lot of drinking and partying. What are your concerns given the sheer number of people coming from so many different places?

DR. PATRICE HARRIS, FORMER PRESIDENT, AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: Boris thank you for having me on. Certainly we can all appreciate the need to get outside and certainly outdoor activities are less risky than indoor activities.

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DR. HARIS: But large crowds in close contact and we know this event is going to occur over the course of ten days and not wearing masks, that is a perfect environment for transmission of the virus.

Right there while they're in South Dakota but also when they return home to their local jurisdiction. So, this is quite concerning. And events like these are quite risky and really worry me as we all should be working hard to decrease the spread of this virus, not increase the spread.

SANCHEZ: Now, Dr. Faust, we heard Ryan Young the reporter there, talking about some of the rationalizations that people were using to justify holding the event, talking about President Trump's rally at Mount Rushmore and that not being a super spreader knowing that so many people are coming from all over the country to attend the rally.

The people that Ryan spoke to were from Florida. How soon do you think we'll know if this is a super spreader event? Does it have a potential to become one?

SR. FAUST: It's a great question. I think first of all, it's not one event. Its 250,000 people a day for ten days ten hours a day it is 25 million little events. And the answer to your question is kind of in two directions, for the people in South Dakota who live there, first of all because they now have the support they have this event.

So they have to have - they think that this is the best way to get their economy back going. But I would be very angry if I lived in South Dakota. Can you imagine if in February 250,000 people showed up from Wuhan, China in South Dakota?

There people would be out of their minds upset. So people are coming in from other parts of the United States, which quite frankly makes Wuhan look like a blip on the radar I would be very upset and we'll see how it plays out.

Now on the flipside of going home we know that people are going to have some degree of spread. When they get home they could spread it to their loved one. The thing that we're all worried about is schools and how long schools stay open is going to be a function of how much virus is in our communities? So, people need to think about their actions now having a butterfly effect and I think that we'll see that look, this is not a volcano where we it is like we know the radius. The radius is going to be all over the country and it'll take a while for us to figure out.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Harris, you know we were talking just now about the residents there, Dr. Faust saying that he would be angry if he were a resident of Sturgis, South Dakota.

Early on CNN we heard from the Mayor of Sturgis he said that 60 percent of the residents didn't want to hold this event this year the City Council voting to anyway. What do you make of that kind of public health decision in the middle of a pandemic?

DR. HARRID: We should always be guided by what's best for public health. And you clearly see from the survey that the citizens of Sturgis are quite worried and well they should be because long after everyone leaves they will still be there. I imagine a lot of them work there.

They are at increased risk of becoming infected. And I also know that Sturgis is a small town, right? And so if members of this small town are infected do they have the infrastructure, do they have the testing infrastructure? Do they have the ICU bed and other hospital capacity?

So, I can understand why the citizens of Sturgis are quite worried. And I just can't imagine the concern that they feel right now. And they will feel long after this event is gone.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the ramifications, we won't know for sure for at least ten days to two weeks or so. Dr. Patrice Harris, Dr. Jeremy Faust, we appreciate your perspective. Thank you so much.

DR. FAUST: Thanks so much.

DR. HARRIS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: You know it's hard to believe that with so much abundance in the wealthiest country in the world right now, millions of families are struggling with many Americans going hungry. Food banks are seeing a surge in demand. And when we come back we'll take you to a California Church that's lending a hand to those in need. You're live in the CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

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[19:15:00]

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. It's now been a week since those $600 unemployment benefit checks stopped coming from the federal government federal eviction protections is also expiring. And it is estimated that some 40 million Americans face the risk of becoming homeless by the end of the year.

Here's one more measure of how dire the situation is becoming amid the pandemic, the enormous lines that form when food banks open. CNN's Paul Vercammen reports from Los Angeles.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Before us the cars just flowing in here. This is Saint Agnes' Church this was put on by USC and food bank of Los Angeles all of these families hoping to get themselves a box of food here.

This is the first time they did this on a Saturday. This was borne out of the need, especially for families with school children to get themselves extra food during the pandemic. L.A. unified schools has something like a half a million students who are on either a reduced meal plan or free meal plan.

So, we're hearing a lot of grateful parents today. And Father Luis, this is your Parish 5,000 parishioners pre-pandemic 2500 after. What are they telling you as this pandemic has just gone on and on for them.

FATHER LUIS ESPINOZA, ST. ANGES CATHOLIC CHURCH: Well you know they're having a really difficult time. It's hard for them, especially the ones that have lost their jobs. Some of them didn't make rent. They have a lot of difficulties with some of the bills that they have to pay. So, it's been really hard on families in the community. Some are doing okay, but a big number of them are, you know, in need of assistance.

VERCAMMEN: And for many of them, this box of food really is a God- send.

ESPINOZA: Yes, you know, I think it goes a long way and they are grateful for anything they can receive.

VERCAMMEN: Well, thank you so much for putting on this event Father Luis.

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VERCAMMEN: As you can see the cars not stopping at all they expect to give hundreds and hundreds of boxes away, just another stop gap in Los Angeles where there are so many families struggling as we've had such a long run of COVID-19 economic woes. Back to you now, Boris.

SANCHEZ: It's so frustrating to see that line behind Paul and know that lawmaker here in Washington, D.C. cannot come to a compromise to help so many struggling Americans. Paul Vercammen from Los Angeles thank you for that.

A quick programming note, in this week's brand-new episode of "United Shades of America" W. Kamau Bell takes a look at the millions of Americans right now working multiple jobs in the new gig economy here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course most of the people whose primary source of income comes from the gig economy are people of color. The apps can rely heavily on these workers because the apps know that they have fewer job choices because racism.

Let's convene the meeting of black men with glasses. Here we go. So, yes, I'm talking to people about life in the gig economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I work a full-time job and I do UBER, UBER Eat, and LIFT.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jason defines both earn a large portion of their income from gig work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: An all new episode of "United Shades of America" airing tomorrow night at 10:00 pm right here on CNN. A major Coronavirus epicenter, Florida starting to see some positive signs with indicators moving in the right direction Miami-Dade County seeing a drop in hospitalizations, though testing continues to be an issue. When we come back, you'll hear directly from the Mayor of Miami Beach. Stay with us.

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SANCHEZ: For much of the summer, Florida has one of the hardest hit states with Coronavirus, suffering an alarming number of daily deaths. But Floridians like my parents and my sister and their families, they do have a sign of hope this week.

Compared to one week ago, there are now 1,000 fewer people hospitalized with COVID in the state. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber joins me now. Mayor, the Miami area still has the most hospitalizations in the state.

There was a dip in the number for six straight days, a lot of people attributing that to Hurricane Isaias but the numbers shooting up again today. What's your biggest priority, your biggest concern right now?

MAYOR DAN GELBER, MAIAMI BEACH: Well, you know our problem is that we're doing better, but we're still not doing well in the sense that we still have between 100 and 200 people every day in just my county going into the hospital, obviously a great number of deaths across the state, 180 or more today in just Dade County, 29 deaths.

So, we're still in a pretty bad place. So, my concern is that we don't think that we're declaring victory because we moved down somewhat. We can't do that right now because frankly we're nowhere near where we need to be. And the surest way to bring this virus back in an upswing is to declare victory early. It seems to not like when people do that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's important you mentioned that. I literally just moments ago got a text message from my brother-in-law who was on Miami Beach today. He told me that he saw a lot of people not following social distancing guidelines, not wearing masks. So with this change in the numbers with this somewhat positive news, what's your message to those folks?

GELBER: My message is the only way we're going to open up our economy is if you wear the mask and you exercise social distance. We are giving fines out. We're giving free masks out. We're doing everything we can, but at the end of the day, people here, mixed messages.

They see this bike rally and they hear the President saying things that are inconsistent and then they hear our own Governor refuse to implement a mask requirement in our state. So, you know, a lot of people still feel like it's just somebody else's problem, of course until it hits them or a loved one and then it is their problem.

SANCHEZ: Mayor, the last time we spoke was actually July 4th weekend we were at a testing site in Miami Beach. I took a COVID test that day. I didn't get results back for nine days. A lot of people are in a similar position. CNN obtained data that showed at one point it took more than a week for nearly 20 percent of tests results to be delivered in Dade County. You know the importance of rapid testing. What is the issue here?

GELBER: Our country did not take care of this appropriately, and it makes it very hard to contact trace when you don't get your test results in a week or instantaneously. Obviously people don't necessarily quarantine if they don't think they're positive. It's terrible.

I would love to say I know the answer, but, you know, this is something that has to be handled on the national live because they're the only folks that have the bandwidth and the ability to deliver the resources to get better testing and faster testing.

That would solve a lot of our problems. Instantaneous, easy, efficient and reliable tests would change the dynamic drastically tomorrow but we just don't have it.

SANCHEZ: I'm glad you mentioned the federal government. President Trump spoke about testing today. As you know he just extended federal unemployment benefits as well at $400 a week. But there's a stipulation in that order that states have to pay 25 percent of that sum.

Look, the State of Florida's unemployment insurance system has been problematic to say the least. What's your reaction to this news?

GELBER: Listen, the Congress has to get together and this is not an answer. I think my state is something like $250.00 a week for unemployment, if you can get it. The system is horrible and it makes it -- it's almost impossible to access it in a timely way.

You know, and that's also the other problem. We can't do -- I mean, as we implement a lot of these measures to keep people out of the economy because of fear, of the health concerns, there's no safety net for them from an economic point of view for their own family. In my little city alone we have got 900 people in our food drive this

morning. It's everywhere right now. And you know, you can't begin to try to balance lives and livelihood, you can't even navigate the two because of the tension if you don't have a safety net of actual money going to people who would otherwise be working, but just don't have funds to pay for rent or food.

SANCHEZ: Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, we appreciate your time.

We also appreciate that Dan Marino jersey, that Dwayne Wade jersey, I'm going to see what I can do about CNN letting me put one of those back here. Maybe. Who knows?

GELBER: Hometown kid, of course.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Mayor Gelber. Don't laugh at my dreams.

A charter flight and secret meetings, former Vice President Joe Biden appears to be very close to naming his running mate. So who is at the front of the pack? We're going to break down his choices, next. You're live in a CNN NEWSROOM.

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[19:35:44]

SANCHEZ: Joe Biden is running out of time to choose a running mate if he wants to make an announcement before the Democratic National Convention starting in just nine days, and while his list should be getting smaller, we've learned he has met with a woman who hadn't been mentioned recently as a serious contender.

Sources tell CNN Biden met with Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer last weekend and will neither side will confirm the meeting, there are flight records that back this up.

CNN political correspondent, Arlette Saenz joins us live from Washington. Arlette, what do we know about this meeting? And more importantly, what does it tell us about where Biden is at this point in his search for potential Veep?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Boris, it is decision weekend for Joe Biden as he is in that final stretch of deliberations over who he will choose to be his running mate and he is going to be huddling and talking with his close advisers and his wife, Jill Biden who has always been a close counselor to her husband as he is making this final decision.

But we've learned that Biden did have a one-on-one meeting with at least one of the women and that is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Sources tell us that Whitmer traveled from Michigan to Delaware to meet with Biden recently and in fact, as you mentioned, there's a charter flight that was seen from Lansing to Delaware last Sunday and Whitmer is one of the national co-chairs of Biden's campaign and she has also risen to prominence recently with her handling of the coronavirus pandemic in her home state of Michigan.

And while we know that Biden has met with Whitmer, that's not the only woman that he has had a meeting with as he is narrowing down this running mate search. We just don't know exactly who else he has met with. But Democrats have told us that he has had other meetings.

Now, some of the women who are also under serious consideration are California Senator Kamala Harris. She was one of Biden's rivals during the Democratic primary. There's also former National Security Adviser Susan Rice who worked alongside Biden while they served in the Obama administration.

Some other names considered to be in the mix are Congresswoman Karen Bass of California, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, also a former rival and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth. So that is just kind of a look at the people right now who are believed to be under consideration still at this moment.

Now Biden has blown through a few of his deadlines that he has put out there for himself. For one, he will make this decision, but we do know that that decision and that announcement will be coming next week. His campaign has been teasing, telling supporters to sign up for text messages, to be among the first to know.

They're also planning to hold a virtual grassroots fundraiser for Biden and his running mate that will be conducted the very day that she has announced that could be the first time that we see Biden and his future running mate as the official Democratic ticket -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, he teased his pick today as he was bicycling by some reporters, right? Arlette Saenz, thanks so much for that.

Let's discuss further with former senior adviser to President Barack Obama. David Axelrod. Mr. Axelrod, you were part of the team back in 2008 that picked Joe Biden to run alongside Barack Obama, so you know pretty well with this process is like.

You wrote an op-ed for CNN and in it, you explain that Joe Biden should pick someone that's just like him. I'm curious as to why and out of the women that he is considering, who do you think that is?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, I mean, not just like him in every way, but just like him in terms of the kind of relationship he would have with the President.

Joe Biden was a great Vice President. He was loyal, unfailingly loyal in public. He was unremittingly candid and private in offering his counsel to the President. He took on some very big tasks for the President like managing the Recovery Act and several others, and he was plausibly someone who could become President, who was ready to step in if need be.

But that first relationship is so important, and that's the one I think he'll be focusing on. Who can he count on to be loyal in public? Who can he count on to be on honest and valuable with their counsel in private? And that's where these conversations, Boris, come in. You know, I don't know what happened during those hours that Governor

Whitmer spent with him, but those are important hours because Biden is going to be sizing up these candidates and asking, is this not just someone who can help me win in November, but someone who will be a good partner for me in the coming four years?

[19:40:25]

SANCHEZ: It's really fascinating to me that you mentioned loyalty, specifically as a priority. I've spoken to several people who say the smart money is on Senator Kamala Harris. Given what we saw during the debate, do you think some of the tension between the two of them might give Joe Biden doubt as to whether Kamala Harris might be loyal?

AXELROD: Yes, I'm not sure that that alone is something that would disqualify her. You know, I'm old enough to remember 1980 when Ronald Reagan named George H.W. Bush as one of his primary opponents as his running mate.

George Bush had called Reagan's economic policy voodoo economics which got replayed quite a bit during that campaign. These are professional politicians. They understand this as a tough business. I think he can get past that.

I think one of the questions that of all these candidates is, this is an unusual situation, Boris, because you have a candidate who is going to be 78 years old when he takes office. The likelihood is that he won't be running in 2024. So the candidate you're picking may will be a candidate for President four years from now, but you want someone who is going to be focused on the task at hand and not focused on the election four years away.

And I think he is going to run all of these candidates through that prism and ask himself who has the character to focus on the job of Vice President, rather than run for President?

I'm not suggesting that Senator Harris couldn't, but I think that's a test that he's going to want his Vice President to pass.

SANCHEZ: Well, I'm curious because Senator Biden at the time had some gaffes when speaking about eventual President Barack Obama. He called him articulate and clean, things that he apologized for. Did that factor into the conversations about picking Joe Biden as Obama's Vice President?

AXELROD: No, because, you know, our attitude about Biden was that yes, gaffes were part of his political profile throughout his career. That's the flip side of a guy who is genuine, authentic and speaks his mind and we felt like that that part of him was far more valuable than whatever heartburn and occasional gaffe would cause.

So that wasn't a worry with Biden. Honestly, he fit our needs very well back then because he was a guy who was familiar with the national scene. He had been a senator for 36 years, could relate to Congress. We thought he would be a great liaison to Congress, which he turned out to be, someone who knew the world, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and someone you could send on assignments.

The President sent him to Iraq six times to help put a government together there. I mean, he did things for us that were really, really useful and politically he was a white working class guy from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who had a real appeal in states we knew would be battleground states.

That's what's interesting about Governor Whitmer. You know, she's from the center of the country. She's from Michigan, a battleground state. The question is, there's an awful lot of pressure on Biden to pick an African-American candidate because of this heightened awareness of racial inequity in our country, and because the African-American community was hugely valuable to him in the primaries, and so he's going to have to weigh all of that before he makes this pick.

SANCHEZ: Now, David 10 seconds. Why do you think he keeps missing his own self-imposed deadlines?

AXELROD: I don't know why he established one. The only deadline is that you have to do this before the convention. Most campaigns do it a few days before the convention. He said it at August 1st originally, unnecessary. Take all the time you need and by the way, he is doing fine with President Trump out there under the spotlight right now.

He doesn't need to create another story unnecessarily. So just wait, and so, I think the timetable is the right one. Maybe he shouldn't have set the original deadline in the first place.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the Democratic National Convention is just nine days away. David Axelrod, thank you so much for sharing your Saturday night with us.

AXELROD: Great to see you, Boris. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: The President today signing several Executive Actions aimed at helping struggling Americans, but there's no sign that will help bring down the price of groceries that have been soaring during the pandemic.

We'll tell you how that's affecting millions of Americans, next.

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SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Just hours ago, President Trump signed four Executive Actions including one extending enhanced unemployment benefits, but at a reduced amount, $400.00 a week.

It's also unclear if Americans will even get the full $400.00 considering the cash strapped states will have to put up a quarter of that money. It's also down from the $600.00 that jobless Americans were receiving in the past few months of this pandemic.

The initial round of benefits expired late last month, leaving many struggling to simply feed their families. CNN's Brian Todd shares some of their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For Marguerite Camacho, putting food on the table for her and her two children is more of a daily challenge than ever.

She lost her job as a massage therapist in California's Bay area and lost a second job with a tech company to the pandemic. Her $600.00 a week unemployment stimulus benefit expired a few days ago.

Just buying food, she says, is stressful.

[19:50:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGUERITE CAMACHO, LOST TWO JOBS DURING PANDEMIC: Now with the loss of the $600.00, it's a lot harder to be able to afford fresh fruits and vegetables, the meats, and the milk.

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TODD (voice over: Camacho can't return to her job at a spa, because California has renewed its restrictions on indoor personal care establishments.

Her tech company's not bringing employees back until next year,, so she's turned to her mother for help.

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CAMACHO: My mom is limited on resources herself with her own rent and bills, so she is using a credit card to help me once a week to be able to purchase milk, fruits and vegetables, and meats for my family.

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TODD (voice over): And tens of millions of other Americans are feeling the same pinch. Food insecurity bringing long lines at food banks and pantries.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People don't realize just how important stuff like this is.

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TODD (voice over): The crush of unemployment and expiring stimulus benefits comes as food prices in America have been rising faster than they have in decades.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, beef and veal prices have gone up more than 20 percent just since February. Eggs have gone up 10.4 percent, poultry 8.6 percent, pork 8.5.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSEPH LLOBRERA, CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES: About 30

million adults are saying that they can't put enough food on the table in the past week. That's roughly one in eight adults in America.

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TODD (voice over): The reasons for the price spikes, according to analyst Joseph Llobrera, coronavirus outbreaks among workers at meat processing plants forced many of them to shut down, choking off supplies of meat, pork and poultry.

And he says, panic buying during the first weeks of the pandemic, many Americans overbuying and hoarding food.

Llobrera says food insecurity is now prompting many Americans to cut corners nutritionally, eating fewer and smaller meals, which he says could have a frightening long-term effect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOBRERA: With kids aren't eating well now, you know, they don't grow up to be as healthy, they don't do as well in school, and that has impacts further down the line. They don't make as much as -- as adults.

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TODD (voice over): Observers say this food insecurity is made all the more painful as Americans watch Congress struggle to pass another stimulus bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": People are not asking to make them rich, they are just saying, can you give me a little money so that I can make sure that I can keep a roof over my head and food on the table?

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TODD (on camera): Still some Members of Congress are balking at extending that $600.00-a-week unemployment benefit, or they want to reduce it, worried that it might disincentivize people from looking for a job.

Well, Marguerite Camacho, the woman in California we spoke to, disputes that notion passionately. She says because of her cost of living in California, for food, for rent, for insurance, those stimulus checks were just a way to survive. She wants to get back to work.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Brian, thank you for that. Some students around the country returned to the classroom this week, but pictures like this one are showing just how risky that can be. Details ahead.

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[19:57:49]

SANCHEZ: As President Trump urges schools to reopen and educators work to convince parents it is safe to do so, and image of a crowded high school hallway made its way across the country, a sign of how social distancing means nothing in buildings meant to hold as many kids as possible.

Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A jam packed high school hallway as students, many of whom are not wearing masks change classes. Sophomore Hannah Watters took the photo and posted it on Twitter.

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HANNAH WATTERS, STUDENT WHO TOOK PICTURE OF CROWDED HALLWAY: I took it out of mostly concern and nervousness after seeing the first day of school.

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TUCHMAN (voice over): North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia about 45 miles northwest of Atlanta had its first day of school this week. While many schools in the country have or will have mandates for mask wearing, this one does not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: I was concerned for the safety of everyone in that building and everyone in the county.

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TUCHMAN (voice over): After Hannah posted the picture, she was told she had been suspended for violating several parts of the school's Code of Conduct, only one of which she acknowledges breaking, violating students privacy by taking a picture of them and posting it on social media.

But she channels the late Georgia Congressman and Civil Rights hero, John Lewis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: I'd like to say that this is some good and necessary trouble, so I don't regret this because it needed to be said.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TUCHMAN (voice over): School officials have not responded to CNN. But

in the letter to parents, the superintendent does admit there is no question that the photo does not look good. But he also says he believes the photo is being shown out of context to criticize the school's reopening efforts, and he defends the lack of a masked mandate by making this debatable statement.

"Wearing a mask is a personal choice, and there is no practical way to enforce a mandate to wear them."

And the school's principal made another statement according to Hannah and her mother, a personal one, calling Hannah's mother and telling her the suspension has now been overturned, and that a suspension will not appear on her daughter's record.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: Behind every teacher, student and staff member, there's a family, there's friends and I would just want to keep everyone safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN (voice over): Hannah Watters will be back at school Monday.

Gary Tuchman, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[20:00:07]