Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Fatal Shooting During Protests In Portland; Trump To Visit Kenosha, WI; Jacob Blake's Father: Shooting Was Attempted Murder; Trump Tours Hurricane Laura Aftermath; Migrants Evacuated From Banksy- Funded Rescue Boat; COVID-19 Increasing In Children; Irish Politicians Accused Of Hypocrisy In "Golfgate"; Chadwick Boseman's Lasting Impact. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 30, 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]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I'm Natalie Allen and we are following breaking news from Oregon. It is midnight in Portland, where protests have taken a new and possibly deadly turn.

Police are investigating whether a person found shot to death was related to a clash between Trump supporters and protesters on the street. A huge caravan filled with supporters of President Trump rolled into downtown Portland, earlier Saturday. People in the caravans started fighting with demonstrators on the street.

There were some arrests and the victim was found nearby. We do not know who they are or the circumstances of the shooting. Portland, as you well know, has seen more than three months of protests, which have sometimes turned violent.

We received some insight into this situation earlier from CNN security correspondent Josh Campbell. He spoke with us on the phone from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The city has been a lot of focus in United States for well over more than 2 months. Now there be nightly clashes between protesters and law enforcement, both federal and local law enforcement officers.

But today took a bit of a different turn and that these protesters were just anti law enforcement. As we speak right now, there is also a large group of pro Donald Trump protesters who are now also inserted into the mix.

Earlier this afternoon, hundreds of Trump protesters outside the city of Portland and indicated on social media that they were going to be going downtown. Police in fact put out an alert, said there was a caravan headed downtown and asking people to stay off the streets. The caravan started clashing with demonstrators. Police said they made

a number of arrests with these clashes been between the pro Trump movement and also those who have been calling for federal law enforcement to leave the city, calling for racial justice.

Now it's worth pointing out in the city of Portland, the overwhelming majority of protesters have been peaceful. But you do see those violent factions of protesters. And now just a very volatile, violent situation where you have these 2 groups clashing now.

There has been a report now of one death. Police are investigating that as a homicide. They said they were in the downtown area, they heard gunshots, they raced to the scene and they found a victim, who is deceased. It's unclear as to whether it was one of the pro Trump people or one of the counter demonstrators.

But it's already turned very deadly down there. That continues under investigation. This is the scene we've seen so much here, violence but really taking a different turn now. We have this large group of pro Trump now coming downtown.

It's worth noting, one of our colleagues from "The New York Times," who's been posting video on social media. In one instance, you actually see the caravan of pickup trucks coming downtown, some protesters were throwing objects out of the truck.

In one instance, somebody on the back of a pickup truck had a American flag and a pro trump sign actually opened fire on the crowd. It was a paintball gun, wasn't lethal but still very dangerous and can cause injuries. You can see this person firing indiscriminately into the crowd.

Just a chaotic night shaping up in Portland now, with one person dead. We don't know how long this will go. Police will try to clear up the area and get everyone back. Whether that will lead to more violence, it's just a cycle we've seen night after night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Josh Campbell earlier speaking with us. Let us go to Portland now. Mike Baker is a "New York Times" correspondent. He joins me from there.

Mike, you were there during these clashes.

What did you witness regarding the shooting that occurred and do we have any information as of yet on the victim?

MIKE BAKER, CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes, so the shooting occurred while there were a bunch of Trump, pro Trump vehicles driving through downtown. There was a gathering out in the suburbs of Trump supporters. And they were going to drive around through the outskirts of the city.

But a lot of them decided to come through into downtown, where they met a bunch of protesters, who were there, wanting to confront them. During the hours of that happening, there were reports of gunfire.

[03:05:00]

BAKER: I went over to the scene and the police had brought blocked it off. There was a man who had been shot in the chest, who was being treated at the time. He appears to have been wearing a Patriot Prayer hat on his head, Patriot Prayer is a far right group here in the Portland area.

ALLEN: Tell us more about the clashes between these two groups, Mike, throughout this evening.

And what was the police presence like during this situation?

What did they do to try and help defuse this back-and-forth between the Trump supporters and the protesters?

BAKER: And some of the supporters were coming in, driving into the city; there were protesters that were blocking the street. Police came and moved them off the street. Then later on, some of the protesters -- as some of the Trump supporters went downtown, some of the protesters were confronting them there and again the police kind of came in, trying to redirect the crowd, the right-wing crowd, to keep the groups away.

But at the same time they are just driving all over downtown. You have trucks going up one street and down another in different directions, protesters going all different directions as well. So it became an unwieldy situation, where there was not a central location where the clashes were happening.

ALLEN: The protests, for the most part, have been isolated to a few blocks of Portland as we understand it, and it has been 93 days. Tomorrow is day 94.

What is the concern going forward here after what we have seen on this night?

BAKER: The protests have really fluctuated a lot in size. Before the federal government sent in their forces at the beginning of July, the numbers were getting below 200 people that were protesting.

And then the federal government came and the numbers were up to 1,000 just because there was such outrage about the tactics the federal government brought. In the last 2 nights, I have been here most of the week following the protests. And they have come back down to 200, maybe a little more than 200 some nights, people out.

And police had largely kept them under control. They let them go out to protest, sometimes they would light a fire or spray-paint on buildings and then the police would come in and make a bunch of arrests. So it seemed to be on a path toward something more calm and under control.

Who knows, tonight, after something like this?

I don't know where we are headed here.

ALLEN: Understood. And as I understand it, the Trump supporters, Portland is a very liberal city.

Where did the Trump supporters come from?

Did they come from areas outside of Portland?

Do you know anything more about how they organized?

BAKER: There were plenty of people from the region around Oregon but also people had driven in from other states. This was a group that had been organizing on Facebook for several days, getting this event together. So there is a mix of local people and people from outside.

I think that is one other thing that has been sort of inserted here, a lot more the last week. A week ago there was a far-right demonstration in Portland that was a chance for that group to say that they are going to be here and fight local protesters if need be.

And that all day turned to a volatile situation as well, where people were shooting paintball guns and fighting in the streets. And one person brandished a gun and it felt like a moment where it could be something deadly there as well. And here tonight it was.

ALLEN: A tragic scene for sure and it is just so disturbing also, just to think of Americans pitted against each other in the streets, fist fighting, just a tragic scene all around. And we really appreciate your reporting for us and your time, Mike Baker with "The New York Times," thanks, Mike.

BAKER: Thank you.

ALLEN: Kenosha, Wisconsin, is another flashpoint in a summer of outrage over racial injustice in the U.S. and now with emotions already stirred up, U.S. president Trump is set to visit the city.

Let's set the scene for you, the protest in Kenosha broke out after Jacob Blake, seen here with his children, was shot in the back several times by a white police officer.

[03:10:00]

ALLEN: Blake is in the hospital now, paralyzed from the waist down. But Mr. Trump has focused on the unrest after the shooting. Saturday, he again took credit for calling in the National Guard, which was actually done by the state's governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The success as you know, we were finally able to get the go ahead from the local authorities to send in a National Guard. We sent in the National Guard and within a few minutes of the guard, everybody cleared out and it became safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond has more now on the president's upcoming visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, on Saturday we learned that the office of the Director of National Intelligence informed congressional leaders that they will no longer be receiving in-person briefings on this critical issue of election security and foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election.

Of course, this coming 66 days before that presidential election. And as this issue really comes to more to the forefront, certainly a perplexing decision that is really drawing a ton of condemnation from Democrats on Capitol Hill.

But first the president on Saturday was asked why this decision was made. Here's his. Answer

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Director Ratcliffe brought information into the committee and the information leaked. Whether was it was Shifty Schiff or somebody else, they leaked the information before it gets in.

And what's even, worse they leaked the wrong information and he got tired of it. So he wants to do it in a different form because you have leakers on the committee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Now the president did not provide any evidence to back up his claims that members of Congress leaked information from previous and recent intelligence briefings. Of course the president there suggesting there were leaks while also saying that the information was false. So something there does not add up.

But again, Democrats on Capitol Hill reacting with extreme condemnation on. Saturday the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, calling this a shocking abdication of the administration's responsibility to brief Congress on intelligence matters.

Let me read the part of the statement.

They say, "This is shameful and, coming only weeks before the election, demonstrates that the Trump administration is engaged in a politicized effort to withhold election-related information from Congress and the American people at the precise moment that greater transparency and accountability is required.

"This keeps both the American people and Congress in the dark when both are in need of the information."

Now also in the statement, they also revealed that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had actually suggested briefing Congress in mid-September on election interference in an in-person briefing and then they canceled that briefing.

Now we have this announcement that they will no longer be briefing Congress in person on this matter, instead only providing a written statement of some kind on the latest conclusions of the intelligence community.

This is, of course, notable because we know President Trump has repeatedly been sensitive about this issue of election interference, particularly as it pertains to Russia interfering in the 2016 election, something that the president has never come to fully acknowledge.

Of course, there is this other issue about the mail-in ballots. The president recently suggested that mail-in ballots present an election security risk, that foreign countries might seek to interfere and take advantage of that situation, to twist the results of the election.

That is a concern that U.S. intelligence officials have repeatedly dismissed in recent weeks. And, of course, the lack of these in-person briefings for members of Congress means they won't be able press those intelligence officials on claims like that by the. President -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: I spoke earlier with Areva Martin, the civil rights attorney and CNN legal analyst in Los Angeles and asked her about Mr. Trump's planned visit to Kenosha and what we might expect to hear from it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think we're going to hear more of his law and order message. He has made it pretty clear that, for him, this is not about the systemic racism. It's not about police brutality.

It's not about the peaceful protesters but it is about him beating his drum of law and order and trying to paint the peaceful protesters as mobs or trying to incite, in some ways, violence, invoke fears and to create this narrative, particularly for those suburban voters, who he is not polling very well with, that if he is not reelected, that their cities are going to be overrun by looters and people intent upon engaging in violent activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Jacob Blake's family held a big rally in Kenosha Saturday. The marchers demanded an end to police violence and systematic racism. Our Sara Sidner was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in Kenosha there was about 2,000 people who came out in support of Jacob Blake and Jacob Blake's family. His family was leading the protests here in Kenosha, several blocks, that ended up at the courthouse where they then. Spoke we heard from Jacob Blake's uncle and his sister.

We heard from Jacob Blake's father as well, all speaking about a couple of. Things one, asking for peaceful protests but two, telling people that they must vote. That is the next thing after protesting in the streets.

We also talked to Jacob Blake's father about what happened in this case and what he sees should happen going forward after the police association here in Kenosha made allegations against Jacob Blake that he was armed and he was fighting with police, that he had a police officer in a headlock any had to be. Tased his father reacting saying what he sees certainly did not prove a intimate threat to the officer who ended up shooting him in the back seven times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB BLAKE SR., JACOB BLAKE'S FATHER: How can you be an imminent danger when a person has nothing in their hands?

What was he, Superman?

He could see the knife through the walls of the car?

The police union means nothing to me. It's a bunch of caps that pay a bunch of dudes to have a title, a union. They do nothing but support their bad cops.

He's a bad cop. It didn't take seven shots to find out. That -- the first shot told you, the second one was coming. The third shot should've told you that the fourth one, he's trying to kill him.

[03:15:00]

BLAKE: The fifth shot damn, how many more times you going to shoot?

By the time the seventh shot got there, that's attempted murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: But no officer at this point has been charged in this case. We do know, of course, there is an investigation underway.

The State Department of Justice is investigating and saying that they are going to be doing an impartial investigation and that the police association does not speak for anyone, other than the defense of the officers. They are very adamant and clear in that they are the investigating agency in this case -- Sara Sidner, CNN, Kenosha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Meantime, the Trump administration is changing how it handles information about foreign interference in the November election. Congress will be given written updates instead of in-person briefings. The change means lawmakers will not be able to question Director of

National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, whose own office has warned that Russia, China and Iran are actively working to sway the American vote.

One lawmaker on the Senate Intelligence Committee said this should not be a partisan issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): We, the people, should have the benefit, the knowledge that that intelligence. Brings learning about it next February or March doesn't do much good. We're talking about interference with our election this year, which we know is going on. The intelligence community has already told us that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Mr. Trump says Saturday that the change was made because of what he calls leakers in Congress. A spokesman for Trump's Democratic rival, Joe Biden, said this.

"For his administration, Trump's, to constrain the information being provided to the people's representatives in Congress, as this national security threat multiplies, especially given Donald Trump's unprecedented welcoming of these assaults on our democracy for his own gain, is deeply alarming. This should be reversed immediately."

More news coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. Hundreds of thousands of people without power along the U.S. Gulf Coast. President Trump tours the storm-ravaged area and talks about how federal agencies will handle recovery efforts. More about that just after this.

Also, the migrant crisis on the Mediterranean is worsening. We will tell you about the latest rescue and the plight of people who have nowhere to go.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:20:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN: The storm-stricken U.S. Gulf Coast is beginning its cleanup after being hit by a category 4 Hurricane Laura last week. President Trump toured some of the most damaged areas on Saturday and talked about how he thought federal agencies were handling the disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: FEMA has delivered 2.6 million leaders of water and 1.4 million meals. That's a lot of meals. Pretty busy, I guess, hey?

That's incredible. Great job. You people are incredible. I've haven't had one complaint, with all of the storms we've had in Texas and here, I've not had one complaint. You've done a hell of a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: More than 465,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Some areas are so devastated, the energy infrastructure will have to be completely rebuilt before power can be restored. For more, Gary Tuchman is in Orange, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Orange, Texas, a small town on the border of Louisiana, this area was hit by Hurricane Laura, behind me, a grocery company, HEB, a large company in Texas, doing something wonderful. They are feeding thousands of people.

Stores and restaurants are closed because of the hurricane. Many people are without water. So what they are doing, is they are giving hamburgers, French fries, salads, water and ice to hundreds of people coming in cars. The cars are lined up for blocks to get this food and water. And they are very grateful. It is good to see this.

Right near where we are, President Trump was here earlier in the day. He had a meeting with officials here in Texas, emergency officials. Before, that he was in the state of Louisiana right across the border only about a 40 minute drive away.

In the city of Lake Charles, some 78,000 people that may be the most hardhit area from this hurricane. The fact is, hundreds of homes have been totally demolished, thousands of homes have been damaged and right, now there is no power in the city and no water. It makes it very difficult.

A lot of hurricanes we cover, power goes out; that's very common and it'll take weeks to get back. That's what will happen this time. But it's unusual to have everyone without water. But water plants were demolished so it's a very difficult time for people, in this very hot weather, they have no water, they have no power and many people right now, are homeless.

The president toured an area in Lake Charles, saw some of the devastated homes, saw the trees down, saw the power lines. He got an idea, he also talked to politicians in Louisiana. He praised the work of his emergency officials, emergency funding is on its way to Louisiana and Texas.

What we can tell you is this. It is tragic. The death toll, 12 people in the state of Louisiana, three in Texas. But it is relatively low considering that this was the strongest hurricane to hit the state of Louisiana in 150 years. It was even stronger than Hurricane Katrina, 15 years ago, exactly 15 years ago, which caused so many deaths between 1,200-1800 people were killed in Louisiana and Mississippi, from Hurricane Katrina.

So this was a stronger storm, people took it very seriously, they are still searching for missing people, we hope, we just hope that the death toll doesn't go much higher than this -- this is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Orange, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: We want to bring you an international story that we're following here. A rescue boat in the Mediterranean, funded by British street artist Banksy, was so overcrowded with migrants it needed help itself.

[03:25:00]

ALLEN: After several tense hours the migrants were transferred onto two other boats. The question now, where will they find safe harbor?

CNN's Kim Brunhuber reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST (voice-over): A ship in need, loaded with the most needy of people. The rescue boat, Louise Michel, requiring help itself Saturday, after it became so overcrowded with migrants, picked up in the Mediterranean, it was unable to move.

The Italian Coast Guard evacuated dozens of the most vulnerable people. Rescuers said there were many women and children, some of them extremely traumatized.

These are photos of a humanitarian ship called the Sea Watch IV, making the final rescues of the remaining people on board. It also answered the call to help the Louise Michel, which is unlike other rescue boats. It is funded by the British street artist, Banksy.

The signature mural of a migrant, with a heart shaped lifebuoy, is on the ship's side. The Sea Watch IV was fairly close by since it, too, had rescued migrants and was waiting for permission to dock in a safe port since many countries are wary of receiving migrants because of the pandemic.

So far, the U.N. says more than 40,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe this year. Many of them are from Tunisia and Libya.

On the other side of Europe, patrols have been set up on the beaches of Calais to stop migrants from making the 30 kilometer journey across the English Channel to Dover. British reports say nearly 5,000 migrants have come ashore in small boats since lockdown began. Many recently, because of incentives like warm weather and deceptively calm seas.

"You can cross from a beach or from a port, with your sailboat," one activist says, "starting out with calm seas and no wind. And in an instant, you pass through a cape, you find yourself in rough seas, with violent winds."

Across the U.K. and Europe, what to do with the migrants and how to stop them from coming, is an increasingly politically charged debate, with many conservative politicians, calling for stronger border enforcement. A political debate that cannot be heard on the high seas by migrants, risking their lives for a better life.

And the people, trying to help them -- Kim Brunhuber, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Amid reports of a rise in coronavirus cases in children in the U.S., a new study details just how much of a risk the disease is to children. I'll talk with one of that study's authors next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Natalie Allen. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta.

We want to recap our top story. A chaotic night in Portland, Oregon, as police are investigating a homicide after a person was shot and killed downtown. The death came amid fears and violent clashes between Trump supporters, a caravan of them, and anti-racism protesters in the city.

But to be clear, we are still waiting to hear if police believe this murder is related to the unrest. My colleague, Michael Holmes, spoke earlier with journalist Sergio Olmos in Portland and he described the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERGIO OLMOS, JOURNALIST: This is the 93rd consecutive night of protests in Portland, Oregon. Tonight, there was a Trump caravan that started outside the city and came into the city. Hundreds of vehicles, thousands of people. There were some fist fights in the street and just now a man was shot and the police are pronouncing it a homicide.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Now were you on the street when this caravan started?

I've been seeing local news and social media video of this. It was an enormous caravan of cars gathered in a shopping center, I think it was, just outside the city. Then paraded through the streets, where there are protesters. And then the inevitable happened.

We've actually seen video of a man on the back of a truck with a blue "Oregon for Trump" flag finding a paintball gun into the protesters and what looked like pepper stray being sprayed from trucks into the crowd.

What did you see of that?

OLMOS: So I was there when that started in that mall. There were fist fights in the streets, on the freeway onramp coming into the city. There were fist fights downtown when the caravan would have a long possession on the street.

Counter protesters, Black Lives Matter protesters would stop their vehicles, put emergency lights on and not let them go forward. You can see videos, that I shot, of people fist fighting in the streets. There's bear Mace all over the place.

And I'm standing right outside of the crime scene, where a man was shot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: We will continue to track this story and bring you any updates as we receive information.

There are now 25 million coronavirus cases in the world and it took the world less than a year to get there. That according to Johns Hopkins University, which also counts more than 842,000 global deaths. The most confirmed cases, right here in the United States.

The U.S. is very close to reaching 6 million coronavirus cases and the country has more than 182,000 deaths.

Meanwhile, cases continue to flare up on college campuses across the country. The University of Alabama says more than 1,000 students on just one of its campuses have tested positive since classes resumed less than two weeks ago.

When the pandemic began, experts said kids were largely unthreatened by the virus. We have learned since that children are affected and in surprising ways. Brian Todd reports on the scope.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An alarming new report adds to the concern among top doctors about COVID cases among children.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, COVID cases among children have shot up more than 20 percent since early August with more than 70,000 new child cases in that timespan across the U.S.

DR. ROCHELLE WALERSKY, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: We know that there have been numerous outbreaks on those college campuses leading to hundreds of cases on even individual campuses. So I think that this is really in the context of kids acting a little bit less safe and as well as the college campuses and the K-to-12s opening.

[03:35:00]

TODD (voice-over): Video obtained shows a large outdoor gathering at Penn State University recently. Many students not wearing masks or distancing. It prompted a stern warning from the university's president, bluntly asking student, quote, "Do you want to be the person responsible for sending everyone home?"

PRESIDENT ERIC BARRON, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: Right now the key to Penn State staying open is the behavior of every single one of us.

TODD (voice-over): At Ohio State University, more than 200 students were temporarily suspended for breaking the school's coronavirus rules on socializing. And NC State University has just announced it's reducing its on-campus housing population because of a rising number of coronavirus cases there.

In Georgia in Mississippi, thousands of younger students and hundreds of teachers have been recently asked to quarantine because of exposure to coronavirus. Experts say increase in child cases could be also be a result of more children being tested in recent months.

The new report says, despite the climbing numbers, severe illness from the virus is still rare among children. But the CDC recently said the rate of hospitalizations among children is also increasing.

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The bad news is, that when a child gets sick with COVID-19 and winds up in the hospital, one in three of those children needs the ICU because of how severely ill they get with the disease, especially if they have a whole body inflammatory response when their immune system just really goes out of control and causes widespread illness.

TODD (voice-over): Experts say, even with this new information, there is still at least one crucial set of data that's unknown regarding children and the virus.

WALERSKY: What we still don't understand is how much kids are a of vector for this and how much they are an index case in a given household. So in fact, we don't know how much kids transmit this disease.

TODD: So given this new report is it now time for school systems across the U.S. to start shutting down en masse?

Experts say not really. They say, in communities with low rates of the virus, schools can be kept open safely as long as rules on distancing and mask wearing are strictly enforced.

But they say in places with high rates of coronavirus, like some communities in the southern U.S. right now, it's simply not time to have kids back in class -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: A recent study published in "The British Medical Journal" seeks to further expand what is known about kids and COVID-19. It looked at children with coronavirus in hospitals around the United Kingdom and found that severe illness was rare and that death was exceptionally rare.

Joining me now to talk about it is Dr. Olivia Swann. She's the lead author on that study. She's also a clinical lecturer in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh.

Dr. Swann, hello. Thanks for coming. On

DR. OLIVIA SWANN, PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: Good morning, thank you for inviting me.

ALLEN: That study is encouraging news, especially at a time when we just heard more than 70,000 new cases in children have been reported across the U.S. since early August.

Can tell us more about your findings regarding children and the effects of COVID on them?

SWANN: Absolutely. So you're absolutely right. This was a large study across the U.K. across England, Scotland and Wales. And we looked admissions with COVID-19 in children under 19. In 138 hospitals, we found children only made up a tiny proportion, less than 1 percent of all admissions across all age groups to hospital with COVID.

As you said, the death was exceptionally rare amongst children, less than 1 percent. Of this 1 percent of children died in hospital with COVID. Every death of a child with COVID is a tragedy, I'm not trying to downplay that but what I'm trying to say, is it really was staggeringly low, as opposed to the all age group at 27 percent.

ALLEN: And are the odds of severe disease and death low in children across all ethnicities?

SWANN: That's a really good question. One of the things that we looked at in our study was admissions to intensive care units. We found that there were a number of factors associated with an increased risk of a child needing extra care.

One of those factors, as you say, was ethnicity. So children with Black ethnicity were 3 times higher of needing critical care. But what I want to really stress is that the chance of children needing extra help was really very tiny.

So when we're talking about an increased risk of 3 times, if we think about it as the volume control on a radio, where you're going from zero to 100, these children are not going from 30 to 90, they're going from 1 to 3. So the absolute risk is tiny. But yes the increased chance in our study appeared to be related to ethnicity.

ALLEN: What are the underlying causes for children who do become severely ill from COVID-19, even though the numbers are low?

What are the causes?

SWANN: So the other factors that we found in our study were neonates, babies under one month of age.

[03:40:00]

SWANN: Children 10 to 14 seem to be the group who seem to be associated with the inflammatory syndrome as well as children who are obese, those born prematurely and those with underlying cardiac and respiratory disease.

ALLEN: Another U.S. report, Doctor, a joint report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association showed child cases increased by 21 percent between August 6th and August 20th.

What is the likelihood that that could be related to young people returning to school?

SWANN: So our study didn't look at transmission dynamics. We are really just reporting on children who've already been hospitalized. I think an important thing is to say that although children do seem to be at lower risk of severe disease, it's not no risk. And there really should not be complacency about the things that we know work.

So social distancing and handwashing for example. I think those messages need to still be driven home at the same time as being reassured by the findings of this study.

ALLEN: We know the problem that the United States is having on college campuses right now. But these are young adults who, for the most part, aren't social distancing; they're going to parties, not wearing masks. That's different from younger children in school.

Talk about how susceptible young children are to getting COVID in the first place.

What would you tell a parent who is contemplating sending a child back into the classroom right now?

SWANN: So you're right. Our study only looked at young people up to the age of 19 so we didn't look at children of university age, young people of a university age in our study.

But what I would like to say is that I have children myself, I'm a children's doctor and a scientist.

With all of those different hats on, I find the numbers of this study and our findings very reassuring and I hope they serve to reassure parents being comfortable sending their children back to school.

ALLEN: I'm sure it will because, as you know, everyone wants their kids back in school. It's good for them and it's good for the parents. Everybody's been going kind of nuts the past few months.

(CROSSTALK)

ALLEN: I'm sure you can. We want to do it safely. So thank you for your research and for sharing with us, Dr. Olivia Swann, thank you.

SWANN: Thank. You

ALLEN: Next here a luxurious dinner at a golf club in Ireland is sparking outrage and controversy and here's why. Two high-ranking officials have already resigned after violating COVID rules.

And could others be next?

We will have a live report coming up next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN: Irish politics has been plunged into chaos after dozens of current and former politicians attended a parliamentary golf society dinner despite COVID-19 restrictions. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me from London for more. She's been following the story.

We know there's been one resignation on this.

What more can you tell us, Salma?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Well, earlier this week, of course, E.U. trade commission Phil Hogan resigned and this came after days of controversy. As you said, over that political golf event with #Golfgate trending in Ireland and people sharing stories of the deep sacrifices they've made to follow coronavirus restrictions. Take a listen to the firestorm that erupted in Ireland over this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Like many in Ireland, Padraig Byrne knows the heartbreak of losing a loved one to coronavirus.

PADRAIG BYRNE, COVID-19 VICTIM'S BROTHER: It was dreadful. As brothers, we were all very close. We were there for him every day. We couldn't say our goodbye, we couldn't hold his hand, we couldn't be in the room with him or anything like that.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Padraig told his story to RTE's "Liveline" show. He last saw his brother through the hospital window.

BYRNE: I will always have that memory. Even though he had passed away, I felt I was there. It was just -- it was very sad. You are gazing through a window at your brother, just dead in the bed and his wife and daughter there.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): But while he was carefully observing coronavirus restrictions, it has emerged some of the country's leadership did not.

Around 80 gathered at this upmarket golf course a week and a half ago, followed by a dinner at a nearby hotel in County Galway. The event sparked widespread anger in Ireland, because it breached coronavirus restrictions on the size of public gatherings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely think it was disgraceful. There are people losing loved ones and family. And they are off playing golf. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think it's one rule for them, one rule for

us.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Soon after the story broke, Ireland's agriculture minister, Dara Calleary, resigned. He was followed by Jerry Buttimer, who quit his senate leadership position.

And then, finally, E.U. commissioner Phil Hogan. He had initially tried to weather the storm of controversy.

PHIL HOGAN, FORMER E.U. COMMISSIONER: It was completely wrong. And I'm embarrassed about it, I'm very sorry about it and I know many families that have been suffering.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): His apology was not enough for Ireland's prime minister.

MICHEAL MARTIN, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: We made it very clear. Our anger, our annoyance, the extent to which the commissioner has undermined public confidence and adherence to the guidelines.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): But the scandal is not over. There is now pressure on others who also attended the dinner.

EOIN O'MALLEY, DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY: We still have to see whether there is a supreme court (ph) judge, whether he might be asked to resign or might be censured in some way. So it's probably not the end of the controversy in the short term.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The judge in question, Seamus Woulfe, was until recently Ireland's attorney general, advising the government on lockdown laws. He has apologized but not resigned.

The so-called Golfgate scandal exposed deep anger within the Irish community at the perceived hypocrisy of some of the country's leadership. The question now is, whether it will have any long term impact on the government's coronavirus message.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Now Mr. Hogan's resignation has far-reaching implications beyond coronavirus. Mr. Hogan was seen as a critical figure in Brexit negotiations and he was outspoken on the issue of trade relations; he was outspoken on the issue of Trump and his trade wars and the potential of a deal with the U.K.

So his resignation is sure to cause a potential setback in talks between the U.K. and the E.U. -- Rosemary (sic).

ALLEN: All over a golf game. All right, Salma, thank you so much.

People around the world have been profoundly affected by Chadwick Boseman's death. But one group of people perhaps more than any other feel they have lost their superhero. We'll have that story next.

[03:50:00] ALLEN: We'll have that story coming up next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN: Formula 1 racing's only Black driver was in the perfect position Saturday to honor actor Chadwick Boseman.

Lewis Hamilton dedicated his Belgian Grand Prix pole position lap to Boseman, who died Friday after battling colon cancer. He also did the Wakanda forever salute from the "Black Panther" movie in honor of Chadwick.

Even in death, Chadwick Boseman breaks barriers. Here's how. Twitter's most liked tweet of all time in less than 24 hours now belongs to the actor and star of the Black superhero movie "Black Panther." More than 6 million have liked the tweet on Boseman's account announcing his death.

Twitter tweeted, "A tribute fit for a king."

During his too short life, he became a beloved role model for the African American community and, quite frankly, many others. So here's more now on Chadwick Boseman's lasting impact.

[03:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. RICHINA BICETTE, EMERGENCY MEDICAL PHYSICIAN: Chadwick was a visionary, a true hero and someone who was the definition of a role model. He was culturally aware enough not to take roles that would reinforce negative stereotypes of African Americans in this country.

Chadwick allowed little Black boys and Black girls to see themselves as kings, as queens, as superheroes. And I would be remiss if I did not highlight his legacy in the fact that he is a true cultural icon.

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, HOST, "THE LIST": As someone who is Nigerian American myself, I look at Chadwick and not only did he give the world a superhero, he gave them an African superhero.

I have nephews that are too young to remember Wesley Snipes playing Blade but they remember Chadwick Boseman. They know "Black Panther." For people of color, for people not of color, to see him up there on the big screen, the amount of money this money movie grossed, shows that these types of characters need to be seen. And what Chad gave the world was just an immense character.

AFUA ADOM, JOURNALIST AND COMMENTATOR: Here in the U.K., when "Black Panther" came out in 2018, I was at the premiere. And the excitement that was around that film in the months building up to it was unimaginable. And the way the African diaspora community, the Caribbean diaspora

community here, in the U.K., came out and showed up for "Black Panther." It was so important that we had this film that wasn't necessarily a Black story.

It was a superhero story that was shown through a Black lens and that was something that we've never seen before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: He was so young. What a loss.

Thank you for watching this hour. I'm Natalie Allen. I'll be right back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM and our top story, the situation in Portland, Oregon.