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Critics Question Trump's Influence On USPS; Travelers From France Must Quarantine On Arrival In U.K.; U.S. Coronavirus Cases Top 5.3 Million, Over 168K Deaths; Schools Grapple With How To Safely Reopen; Dozens Of Belarus Riot Police Drop Shields, Embrace Protesters; Trump Won't Disavow Racist Attack On Kamala Harris. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired August 15, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Stark warnings from the United States Postal Service as Democrats and Donald Trump blame one another for it.
New quarantine rules have just kicked in across the U.K. We're live in London and Paris about that.
Also:
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DENEEN DRY, NURSE, BUCKS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA: I fight every day with whether or not I should come back to school -- or want to come back to school.
ALLEN (voice-over): The front lines of the classroom. Hear from school nurses concerned about keeping their families safe.
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ALLEN: We're live in CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
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ALLEN: Thank you for joining us. The coronavirus pandemic often makes us focus on numbers, some so massive it is hard to get one's head around them. We begin with this figure, more than 21 million global infections now, according to Johns Hopkins University, almost one quarter of them more than 5.3 million are here in the U.S.
California leads the nation with Florida and Texas close behind. For more, here's Kyung Lah.
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TRUMP: We currently have three candidates in phase three clinical trials and are on pace to have more than 100 million doses very shortly thereafter.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Although, the reality of clinical trials show it will still be months before Americans have a safe vaccine.
In China, early results suggests a vaccine treatment in phase one and two trials may be safe and produce a reasonable immune response, news that comes at the end of a very long back to school week.
HILARY PORTERFIELD, PARENT OF QUARANTINED STUDENT: It was terrifying. It was -- my worst fears had come true.
LAH: Her child quarantined, says this Georgia mother, like the more than 2,000 Georgia students, teachers and staffers across five states. At least 230 positive COVID cases have now been reported from schools. The head of the CDC says reopening schools can't be done quickly.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Yes, we don't want to pressure anybody. Our guidance, the timing of that is going to have to be decided one school at a time.
LAH: Given what he has seen, this Arizona teacher says he is quitting.
MATTHEW CHICCI, ARIZONA TEACHER: We weren't given the option to teach from home, no. It is a small room. There is one exit. There is the ventilation isn't all that great for schools. And so it's just -- it's not a good situation.
LAH: But the Trump administration continues to insist schools reopen. The radiologist test should back up the president's own theories as driven by this belief.
DR. SCOTT ATLAS, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS ADVISER: We know the risk of the disease is extremely low for children, even less than that of seasonal flu. We know that the harms of locking out the children from school are enormous.
LAH: While COVID does rarely kill children, they can infect their homes and community.
The spread of COVID in California is slowing, but the state reported a grim marker, more than 600,000 cases, the most of any U.S. state.
REP. RAUL RUIZ (D-CA): They are much higher in underserved and disproportionately affecting people of color and Latinos here in California.
LAH: Nationwide cases are trending down in most states, seen here in green. But in the last week, the U.S. reported more than 360,000 cases and the death toll continues to stands at more than 1,000 lives lost every single day.
In three weeks, predicts the CDC, between 180 to 200,000 Americans will have died from COVID. The CDC also updated their guidance. After contracting coronavirus, patients are protected for three months. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Right now, we are not even getting close to driving it down. I think what we are going to do is probably level off at the high 40s to low 50,000 cases per day and then post-Labor Day, we're going to have an explosion of cases.
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ALLEN: We want to welcome our viewers now in the United States who are joining us. I'm Natalie Allen and we are just months away from a U.S. presidential election amid a global pandemic. American voters are being put on notice that mail-in ballots may not be delivered in time to be counted in November.
That warning coming in a letter from the U.S. Postal Service to nearly all 50 states. Greatly compounding the issue, post office hours are being cut back. And hundreds of high-speed sorting machines and thousands of public drop boxes have been already taken out of service.
[04:05:00]
ALLEN: The Postal Service now says it will stop removing the boxes in Western states until after the election.
Democratic lawmakers are furious and again demanding answers from the head of the Postal Service, Louis DeJoy. We have now learned the agency's inspector general has begun a review of his recent changes and possible ethics conflicts.
As President Trump rails against mail-in voting as fraudulent, he and the first lady plan to, get this, cast their ballots by mail. Kaitlan Collins has more from the White House.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Even though it could be critical to carrying out the November election, President Trump made clear today that his refusal to give the post office more funding is a direct shot at Democrats.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because they want $1 trillion to go to their friends doing a bad job running certain cities and states that are doing very badly.
COLLINS: The president argued he wouldn't block new funding for the U.S. Postal Service if Democrats meet his demands in coronavirus legislation.
TRUMP: They're not giving it to me. They're giving it to the American people. I mean, giving it...
QUESTION: But if they were to agree with that.
TRUMP: Yes, I would -- I would certainly do that. Sure. COLLINS: The effort to sow doubt about mail-in voting isn't just coming from the president. His top Cabinet officials are also issuing their own warnings.
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The idea of conducting our elections by wholesale mail-in ballots is reckless and wrong.
COLLINS: President Barack Obama accused the Trump administration of attempting to suppress votes.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we have never seen before is a president say, I'm going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service to encourage voting and I will be explicit about the reason I'm doing it. That's sort of unheard of.
COLLINS: Cost-cutting moves at the post office have come under scrutiny because it's causing delays in delivery and sparking concerns there will be widespread slowdowns.
Trump recently claimed he hadn't spoken with the U.S. postmaster general, an ally of his and longtime GOP fund-raiser.
TRUMP: Well, I didn't speak to the postmaster general of the post office.
COLLINS: But the White House is now confirming Trump not only spoke with Louis DeJoy. He met with him last week ahead of the postmaster general's tense meeting with Democrats.
Despite being the nation's most outspoken critic of voting by mail, Trump and first lady Melania Trump have requested their own mail-in ballots ahead of the election.
TRUMP: Absentee, good, universal mail-in, very bad.
COLLINS: The president also came under fire this week after he refused to knock down a racist conspiracy that Senator Kamala Harris may not be eligible to be vice president because her parents are immigrants, even though she was born in the U.S.
TRUMP: I heard it today that she doesn't meet the requirements.
COLLINS: Today, he was asked if he saw her addition to Joe Biden's ticket as a threat.
QUESTION: Do you have an issue with a strong woman of color being in this presidential race? Do you see...
TRUMP: None whatsoever.
QUESTION: You don't see her as a threat?
TRUMP: As you -- as you know, none whatsoever.
COLLINS: The answer from Trump the day before wasn't surprising, given he built his political career in part by sowing doubt about President Obama's birthplace.
Today, Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, declined to denounce the move.
JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: I personally have no reason to believe she's not, but, again, my focus for the last 24 hours has been on the historic peace deal that we have been able to achieve here.
QUESTION: She was born in Oakland, California.
KUSHNER: Yes.
QUESTION: Makes her a qualified candidate. Why didn't the president take the opportunity to debunk that theory?
KUSHNER: I have not had a chance to discuss this with him. But, again, I will let his words speak for himself.
COLLINS: It wasn't the only conspiracy the White House didn't disavow this week. Trump recently congratulated and endorsed a Georgia Republican congressional candidate who has openly embraced the QAnon conspiracy, a movement the FBI has labeled a potential domestic terrorist threat.
Today, he avoided a question about whether he agrees with Marjorie Taylor Greene.
TRUMP: She comes from a great state. And she had a tremendous victory. So, absolutely, I did congratulate her.
Please. Go ahead.
QUESTION (from captions): But specifically -- my question specifically was on QAnon and her decision to embrace the conspiracy theory ...
(OBSCURED BY CHIRON)
TRUMP: (INAUDIBLE)?
COLLINS: And the president is spending his weekend at his golf club in New Jersey. But before going, he stopped in Manhattan because his younger brother, Robert, who is 72 years old, has been hospitalized. The White House confirmed that's why the president was going there. They have not released any other details about the condition of his brother.
And the president just said earlier when he was asked by reporters that he was having a, quote, "hard time" -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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ALLEN: Let's talk about these developments with Inderjeet Parmar. He's teaches at City University in London and is a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. Good morning, Always good to have you on. Let's begin with the growing
controversy over mail balloting.
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ALLEN: The president's misstatements there regarding the USPS, is mail-in balloting on the line here?
INDERJEET PARMAR, VISITING PROFESSOR, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, he seems to be making it so by defunding the post office, some sorting machines removed. I think this aligns with a broader voter suppression and strategies that Republicans have championed for a long time, that undercuts the Voting Rights Act of the 1960s.
I think the idea is to trim down the turnout, the voters that are going against the Republican Party in key areas and thereby affect the election. It seems to be a clear strategy to do that.
ALLEN: We're hearing more leaders, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, saying that Trump is trying to steal the election and may refuse to accept defeat.
Is this something that America needs to be concerned about?
Hillary Clinton said she wasn't trying to scare people but, in her words, Trump would not go silently into the night if he loses. He will try to confuse the American people, she said, even bring lawsuits.
PARMAR: Absolutely. I think that is correct.
Going back to February, when there was a question to Jared Kushner, could the election be delayed because of the global pandemic?
He was ambivalent on that front. Trump said he lost the first two years of his presidency to the Mueller inquiry and he wants an extension as a result of that. He said he wants to delay the election, though he has no power to do so.
And even more than that, it helps to explain the way in which he's handled the global pandemic itself within the United States. He seems to have done the exact opposite of what even right-wing supporters of his thought he might do, which is rise above the political contention and parties and act as a unifier in an emergency for the country.
Many people thought he would take that opportunity because that would make him a kind of great leader, which is what he wants. So in November, he would be more attractive as a candidate.
He's done the opposite. It could be that he expects not to accept the election result, tie up the country in a lot -- not only in the courts but possibly mobilizing a large part of the federal law enforcement and his own supporters, as well.
ALLEN: That's a frightening thought. Also, we're seeing from this president, birther movement round two, you could call it. Trump putting up a false theory that VP candidate Kamala Harris may not legally be a candidate.
That is false; she was born in California.
What do you make of it?
And do you think that President Trump floating another birther claim will help or hurt him?
PARMAR: I don't think it will help him very much other than among people that already support him. They already have a negative view of immigrants and so on. So I don't think it will have a very large influence.
But if the election is tight in November, it may be among the 60 percent or so of independent voters who don't know much about Kamala Harris, it may be that some of them may be swayed. But overall, the vice presidential candidate normally doesn't have a great impact on electoral outcomes.
I can think of two vice president candidates who did: LBJ in 1960 in a tight election probably swung Texas behind Kennedy. And probably Sarah Palin didn't do a great job for John McCain in 2008.
But this could be a tight election. If the pandemic slows and if the economy grows more, we could see the kind of African American characteristics and Indian American characteristics of Kamala Harris may be in marginal areas be the difference, which would then propel Biden into the White House.
ALLEN: Right. We know that race is a big issue in this country. And her being the vice president candidate may affect that in a way.
But you mentioned her heritage. There are also reports that people were questioning whether she fully represents Black Americans since her mother was Indian and her father from Jamaica.
Do you see that as an issue for the ticket, despite her nomination generating excitement from Democratic corners?
PARMAR: I think there will be all kinds of fine, textural discussions, if she's representing Indians or Hindus.
Does she represent African Americans?
[04:15:00]
PARMAR: She identifies as an African American, although attended Hindu temples as a child as well. She will probably sweep up a lot of those votes. It's the African American constituency that will be the difference.
In 2016, you'll recall that we had two presidential candidates that were the most unpopular in American history. There isn't such a view about the two candidates on this occasion. Fewer people are undecided about this. I think Kamala Harris, in a tight race, will swing the African
American vote or increase turnout by African American voters in contrast to 2016. That will probably play very, very well on November.
If you like Kamala Harris, it's from the center to the right of the party, she's a law and order candidate as a California senator and a state prosecutor, attorney general and so on.
She appeals to the suburban white GOP women voters who are not happy with Trump and probably wouldn't be happy with somebody further to the Left. I think the Democratic strategy is to sweep up the anti-Trump vote as far as possible, with a reasonably popular candidate, Biden.
And I think this is a smart pick for 2020.
ALLEN: Many saying she was the common sense choice. Inderjeet Parmar, we appreciate your insights so much.
PARMAR: Thank you.
ALLEN: We'll be right back.
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ALLEN: British tourists in France scrambled to get back home before new U.K. quarantine rules kicked in. Lines at Calais and other ports were clogged because of crossing. The U.K. gave travelers 24 hours to get back without facing a two-week quarantine.
We have reporters in both countries to talk about the new rules. I'm joined by Jim Bittermann and Scott McLean in London.
Jim, you might have seen examples of the stampede of people trying to get out of France in time.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It wasn't exactly a stampede. But there was an extra load of the ferries and the planes leaving Paris for London. The ferry people said their reservations doubled in a matter of hours. The Eurostar people said that most seats were booked. So there was an effort to get out of here.
But one thing that should be said, because there was so little notice, the people that wanted to get back home didn't have a lot of time to do it. This is all caused by the fact that the number of cases in France has been going up dramatically here for the last three days, for example.
They've set new records each day on the number of new cases being added to the coronavirus list. As a consequence, today, another thing that's happened is there's new zones going into effect, new zones in Paris and Marseille, where masks are required.
Half of the city is covered with the mask-wearing zones where you have to wear a mask if you're a pedestrian or out jogging or any sports. You have to wear a mask. So this is likely to get worse if the numbers don't go in a better direction.
ALLEN: A mask map. These are surreal times. Let's move over to Scott. Scott in London.
Jim touched on what was behind us.
What can you tell us about this move by the United Kingdom?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Natalie. The U.K. is trying to get ahead of an uptick in cases that we're starting to see in Europe, led by countries like France as Jim mentioned and also Spain, which has seen a rise in confirmed cases, that they haven't seen for a long time.
Earlier this week, Boris Johnson made clear that the government had to be ruthless, were his words, as to deciding which countries should be on this list of mandatory quarantine and which should not be.
And he seemed to make good on the warning when the government announced that six countries would make it on, France and Holland, the biggest among them. And that set up a scenario where you had British travelers trying to get back.
There's more than 150,000 at the time. And so, the first Eurostar train that arrives here, will arrive in 10 minutes. Every person on that train will have to quarantine. If they had arrived last night or a train this morning, they wouldn't.
So the government is saying if you're going to book a holiday, the rules can change at a moment's notice. You should think twice about whether or not you still want to go because you may end up having to quarantine.
This is a big deal for the airline in this country, calling it another devastating blow to an industry that is hurting in a historic kind of way. It wants to see testing on arrival, rather than a blanket quarantine policy of people coming from some countries.
It's not just a risk from outside the country; it's also within the country. The government has imposed stricter fines and penalties for people refusing to wear masks in public spaces. On the other hand, it's allowing places like casinos, bowling alleys, ice rinks and theaters indoors to open as well, though most London theaters will not be able to operate, given the social distancing requirements that will be in place.
Yes.
[04:25:00]
ALLEN: As you say, this is an illustration of how quickly things can change in this era of this virus spreading.
Jim, can we expect to see retaliation from France?
BITTERMANN: The transportation minister and several other ministers have said they are going to have reciprocal action against the British travelers coming from Britain into France.
But so far, they've not specified exactly what. If the caseload is more favorable in Britain than in France, they're not going to enforce that too much. But it raises questions if they have the manpower to follow-up and enforce this kind of restrictions. They say there's going to be reciprocal action. But they haven't defined what.
ALLEN: Jim Bittermann and Scott McLean, thanks.
Students and teachers returning to school across the U.S.
Can schools keep them safe?
We'll hear from the nurses on the front lines.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta.
We're learning more about the long-term devastating consequences of the coronavirus. The American Heart Association says the risk of death from heart damage, due to the virus, appears to be worse than previously thought.
[04:30:00]
ALLEN: It says inflammation and injury to the heart occurs in 20 percent to 30 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, contributing to 40 percent of the deaths. But as Athena Jones reports, there may be hope on the horizon.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, new potentially promising developments in the search for a coronavirus vaccine. Results published in the journal of the American Medical Association indicating early trials of a Chinese vaccine show it is safe and induces an immune response. But more study is needed to determine whether it actually protects people from the virus.
This as updated guidance from the CDC suggests people who recover from coronavirus may be protected for up to three months. The agency saying people who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to three months, as long as they do not develop symptoms again.
Meanwhile...
DR. TOM INGLESBY, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY, JOHN HOPKINS: We're still in a really bad place with this pandemic.
JONES (voice-over): The CDC is now forecasting America could see another 22,000 COVID-19 deaths in just the next three weeks. The agency says nearly 189,000 people will have died from coronavirus by September 5th. A startling prediction made all the more concerning since deaths have already surpassed the roughly 165,000 the CDC predicted by Saturday.
INGLESBY: This virus hasn't changed. It's the same as it was before and it's doing very substantial damage to the country.
JONES (voice-over): While new infections are steady or falling in 44 states, over the last week, the United States has added more than 365,000 cases. That's enough people to fill up Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz stadium more than five times.
California becoming the first state to report 600,000 COVID-19 cases and 35 states seeing higher COVID test positivity rates this week than last.
The seven-day average of COVID deaths nationwide has passed 1,000 a day for 18 days in a row. Nevada setting a single-day record for deaths Thursday.
Georgia, where deaths are also on the rise, is leading the nation in new cases per 100,000 people, averaged over the past seven days.
The "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" obtained the White House Coronavirus Task Force's recommendations for the state, which argued on August 9th there is widespread expanding community viral spread. And the state's current policies are not enough.
The report calling for a mask mandate and other measures, advice Governor Brian Kemp so far hasn't followed.
In a statement to CNN, the governor's office said he continues to rely on data and the advice of the state's health commissioner and that this fight is about protecting the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.
DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: There's a misunderstanding that somehow there's a tradeoff between lives and livelihoods. There isn't. Places that do well on protecting public health can get their economy going much faster and much better.
JONES (voice-over): Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
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ALLEN: Let's talk about these developments with Sian Griffiths. She is emeritus professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and chair of SARS inquiry outbreak in 2003.
Thank you for coming on.
DR. SIAN GRIFFITHS, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: Good morning.
ALLEN: Let's talk about the United States being in a bad place, 200,000 deaths may occur by Labor Day. There's been 100,000 deaths per day for more than two weeks.
What is your assessment of the situation for the United States?
GRIFFITHS: These figures are obviously worrying. More needs to be done to get on top of this. The unfortunate thing about this virus is it has continued to spread globally but particularly in the U.S.
You'll see from the experience of Europe, that lockdown is really essential for controlling the numbers. Health has to take precedence over the economy. Once we get on top of the disease, brought down to levels you can act on, it makes it easier to handle. But it seems that the States are really worrying and worrying for the rest of the world.
ALLEN: As we remain the worst affected country in the world, students are headed back to schools. Already there's outbreaks at two dormitories at a North Carolina university.
Is there a safe way to reopen colleges here this fall?
What do you expect?
GRIFFITHS: I think if we take measures to make sure the hygiene is there, make sure the social distancing. OK, it will be difficult. But you have got to do it. You have to socially distance. People need to wear masks, at least the older students.
The whole theory about bubbles for teaching, how much can you change the way you teach to decrease transmission?
All those measures have to be taken into place. Going back to school is important, not only for the education but the social development and the community development and the futures of our children. Students need to go back to schools and colleges but you need to think about mask wearing and social distancing.
[04:35:00]
GRIFFITHS: Make sure about hygiene and think about how to do this differently. We can talk about the new normal. We need to create the new normal for kids so they can continue to learn, continue to interact socially but (INAUDIBLE) from the disease.
ALLEN: There is an onus on these students to comply with the safety measures.
Also, though, let's talk about hopeful news. Hopeful news on a few fronts with the vaccine research. The Chinese trial lacks promising.
What is your hope for the timeline?
GRIFFITHS: In the U.K. we have two candidate vaccines that are doing well at the moment. Both are using new technologies. And both are promising and hopefully there will be a vaccine probably not until early 2021. The vaccine progress is good. But it may not be 100 percent.
So we must keep up all of the research we're doing on the virus. Now if you are sick, there are some treatments, like remdesivir, which is helping in reducing the impact of the disease.
But if we get a vaccine and get it distributed appropriately across the world, that is the best hopeful scenario. But we don't have a vaccine yet. And it isn't going to be a silver bullet. But once we have vaccines, we will be able to help to control the disease more than we have at the present time.
ALLEN: Very hopeful that that happens, of course. Dr. Sian Griffiths, we always appreciate your expertise and your time. Thank you so much.
GRIFFITHS: Thank you.
ALLEN: We mentioned schools reopening. The pandemic may transform the ways teachers teach and students learn. That's what the director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about schools reopening in the U.S. He also said the CDC will soon have recommendations for working to keep everyone safe.
But for those on the front lines, as schools reopen, there is widespread worry. For more about this, CNN's Bianna Golodryga.
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DRY: This will be -- and is -- unchartered waters, something that we have never had to face, and the uncertainty is frightening.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Deneen Dry has been a nurse for nine years in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and splits her time between two middle schools. But she says it has taken a pandemic to finally give those in her profession the recognition they deserve.
DENEEN DRY, NURSE: The nurses was that forgotten entity in the school. And now we're the ones that, when there's a sniffle and there's a cough, we're going to be the ones that are going to be asked the questions and asked to step up and make everyone feel safe.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Dry and thousands of school nurses like her across the country are the front lines of defense against COVID-19.
DRY: It's a daunting task. And the weight on the shoulders is extreme sometimes.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Preparation and training involves following state and local guidelines, which, for many districts, includes temperature checks and quarantine rooms for students suspected of having contracted the coronavirus. But Dry acknowledges that will only get her so far.
DRY: I don't think I'm going to be prepared until it happens.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): The National Association of School Nurses warns that U.S. campuses are unprepared for COVID-19 outbreaks due to a lack of funding and nurses.
EMILY OSTER, BROWN UNIVERSITY: So it isn't the case that every school has a full-time nurse down the hallway who can deal with this.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Nearly a quarter of U.S. K-12 schools lack a licensed nurse while 35 percent employ part-time nurses. Even more jarring, according to the most recent figures, there's just one nurse for every 500 students.
GOLODRYGA: Are nurses equipped overall for such an endeavor?
And are we relying on them too much to be?
OSTER: I haven't, in the plans that I have seen, this aspect, the school nurse aspect has not gotten the huge amount of attention, beyond some language around providing PPE to people.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): And at least one school nurse, Amy Westmoreland of Georgia, quit her job in a district that has declined to mandate masks.
AMY WESTMORELAND, FORMER SCHOOL NURSE: The board's decision to make a masks a, quote, "personal choice" and that social distancing wouldn't be practical, was not only a concern for myself and my family but I could not imagine giving care, especially to my special needs community of students.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): The NASN has asked Congress for a minimum of $208 billion for school districts in order to prioritize the health and safety of students and staff, which would include hiring thousands of additional nurses.
[04:40:00]
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): The average age of a school nurse was between 47 and 55 in 2015, which puts many at a higher health risk for COVID- 19 and Dry falls into this category.
DRY: I fight if I should come back to school or want to come back to school. The nurse part of me wants to be able to help.
The mom and grandmother part of me wants to keep my family safe and not expose myself to a possibility of bringing it home.
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ALLEN: Next here, we turn to a disputed presidential election. Opposition leaders in Belarus are calling for peaceful protests following the violent backlash over the outcome of the election. We'll have a live report from Minsk to tell you about it. (MUSIC PLAYING)
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ALLEN (voice-over): The United Kingdom there, marking Japan's surrender 75 years ago, ending World War II. Britain's secretary of state for defense Ben Wallace laid a wreath there at the Cenotaph in London, a symbolic tomb for the United Kingdom's war dead.
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ALLEN (voice-over): It's and so on a somber anniversary in Japan. Here Emperor Naruhito in a remembrance ceremony for Japan's war dead expressed deep remorse over Japan's militaristic past.
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ALLEN: The opposition leaders in Belarus have called for peaceful protests this weekend. Thousands descended on Minsk on Friday, demanding changes after what many say was a rigged presidential election; 6,700 people have been arrested and at least one person has been killed.
Many protesters who were detained say they were beaten, tortured and humiliated while in custody.
[04:45:00]
ALLEN: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Minsk for us, where there are signs times may be changing.
But we know people are angry and questioning the outcome of this, Fred. Hello to you.
What's the latest?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Natalie. There are signs that the opposition here is revitalized and reenergized. And yesterday, a lot of the protests we saw in the city, they seem to reflect that.
The crowds are bigger than they had been the days before. A lot of people lost some of the fear, the big fear they had of their authorities over the past quarter century here in this country.
You look at the mood on Saturday morning, it is somber. The place we are right here has been a demonstration over the last couple of days. This morning, there's a vigil for a protester that was killed at this site. His funeral is going on right now. So a somber mood at the moment. At the same time, we expect that,
after that is done, the protests will continue. The protests over the past couple of days, very much nonviolent. And much of them led by women, who are holding up flowers and marched all the way to parliament, which is something that was unheard of, just a couple of days or hours before.
You can see that Alexander Lukashenko, the long-time president of this country, is becoming more and more embattled. At this point in time, we don't see signs that he is on the verge of possibly stepping down.
The government said they would be willing to go into negotiations. But certainly, a transition of power, not clear whether that's on his mind at this point in time. We don't see sight of that yet.
ALLEN: People keeping up the pressure so far. We see video, Fred, a rare peaceful moment, dozens of security personnel lowering shields.
What can you tell us about that?
PLEITGEN: It was a big moment for this country, a big moment during the protests, as well. One of the things that had happened, as the protests started, after the election, as you mentioned, most people in this country believe was very much rigged.
There had been a crackdown by security forces. There were beatings and mass arrests. People telling us about the fact they were tortured in detention facilities, people made to strip and then be humiliated on state TV.
So when the crowds yesterday -- and we were at the forefront when all this was going on -- marched towards the parliament and the security came out, people were afraid. The moment they did not do that was a moment of elation for the crowds and probably relief for the security forces as well.
You saw the protesters and the security forces embrace. And the crowds are backing down, continuing their protests at a distance, making sure that the security forces don't feel threatened, either, Natalie.
ALLEN: We like that part of the story. And cars and their horns very much part of this protest. Fred Pleitgen for us, thanks so much.
Sisters then, sisters now. Why Kamala Harris' sorority sisters says her candidacy for the U.S. vice presidency is so inspirational for them and meaningful for the country.
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ALLEN: Kamala Harris gave her first interview Friday since becoming Joe Biden's running mate, just days before the Democratic national convention starts on Monday. The vice presidential nominee talked about the monumental impact of the decision.
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SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): Joe Biden had the audacity to choose a Black woman to be his running mate.
How incredible is that?
And what a statement that makes about Joe Biden, that he decided that he was going to do that thing that was about breaking one of the most substantial barriers that has existed in our country.
And that he made that decision with whatever risk that brings. I think as much as anything, it's a statement about the character of the man that we're going to elect as the President of the United States.
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ALLEN: One group who know Kamala Harris intimately are her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters. Our Kyung Lah reports on how they hope their special bond will help the candidate at the ballot box.
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LAH (voice-over): Kamala Harris, vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket, the first Black and only third woman to do so. Celebrated --
MONIQUE POYDRAS, HARRIS' SORORITY SISTER: We were all on a Zoom call.
LAH (voice-over): -- by the sorority sisters watching one of their own step forward.
POYDRAS: The whole place, everyone is screaming and crying, completely overwhelmed, over the moon, so proud.
LAH: We met them during Harris' presidential run.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were all just right there tonight. We were all just, you know, regular girls and now here is Kamala.
LAH: They were all students at Howard University, a historically Black college that was formed when white schools shutout Black students, the women joined in 1986 becoming line sisters. AKA has a national membership of 300,000 women, the first Black sorority in the U.S. established more than 100 years ago.
JILL LOUIS, HARRIS' SORORITY SISTER: When you think about it, in 1908 people were just a few ticks off emancipation and now find themselves in college and what are they trying to do?
It's really an uplift mission.
LAH: Bound by that history these women forge their own paths, year after year, their lives weaving together.
POYDRAS: We were down at the Senate. She had a formal swearing in.
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POYDRAS: At the time Vice President Biden had sworn her in.
LAH (on camera): This is a very recent picture?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a recent picture, yes, so this picture was at the G.W. book event and we were there to support her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're also AKA?
HARRIS: Yes, I am.
POYDRAS: She talked about being a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and the room exploded. The appropriate response was esteeming (ph).
HARRIS: Those are my sorors (ph) -- and my fans are in the room, as well.
POYDRAS: You could see just by her response and then our response, that it's all love.
LAH: This isn't just a friendship or a sisterhood, we're talking about political power.
LORRI SADLER RICE, HARRIS' SORORITY SISTER: We're talking about political power and we have it. We have it and we're going to leverage it and you'll see it's going to make a difference.
LAH (voice-over): Black voters in South Carolina propelled Joe Biden to victory in the Democratic primary. Overall, Black women have supported Democrats more than any other voting subgroup.
During her presidential run, Harris reminded voters of the power of that vote from the debate stage.
HARRIS: Candidates have taken for granted constituencies that are the backbone of the Democratic Party.
LAH: To social media.
HARRIS: We can't forget what is happening to Black women.
LAH: Taking the lessons of the sister hood learned decades ago to a nation today.
POYDRAS: It says that we can succeed and that we can be ambitious, that we can strive to be at the boardroom table and lead where women can now aspire and say, you know, I want to be like Kamala.
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ALLEN: One of the sorority's slogans is this, appropriate enough for Harris, "Exemplifying excellence through sustainable service."
I'm Natalie Allen. That's our first hour. I'll be right back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Our top stories are right after this. Thanks for watching.
