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Trump's Kenosha Visit Ends Without Answers; Double Barrel Typhoon Heads For Korean Peninsula; California And Florida See Infection Rates Decline; Three Out Of Four Adults Worldwide Say Yes To A COVID Vaccine; Brazil Enters Recession with a Record Contraction; Small Businesses Struggling without Stimulus Aid; Mnuchin: Bipartisan Stimulus Deal Should be Reached; Facebook: Russia is Targeting American Voters Again; BTS is First South Korean Group to Top Billboard Hot 100. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 02, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause.
Coming up this hour. A presidential visit with a fistful of dollars for the Kenosha P.D., the one that shot an African American man seven times in the back.
South Korea bracing for Maysak, one of the most powerful typhoons to make landfall in years.
And why did Donald Trump say a stroke wasn't the reason for that mystery trip to Walter Reed Hospital back in November, when no one suggested it was.
CNN NEWSROOM begins now.
Donald Trump spent three hours in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday. Never say the name Jacob Blake, the African American man who was shot by police, didn't visit Blake in hospital where he's paralyzed. He didn't meet with Blake's family.
But he did tour damaged property and he promised millions of dollars in federal aid for business owners and showered law enforcement with praise and promised a million dollars in extra funding to, quote, "do what you have to do."
And, for the record, not once was he seen wearing a mask.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A thing like this should never happen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, President Trump surveying Kenosha, Wisconsin, a week after police here shot a black man in the back seven times.
But the president all but ignored that tragedy, instead lamenting the property damage caused by riots that followed the shooting and delivering political remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Reckless, far left politicians continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist. They'll throw out any word that comes to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Also taking credit for a National Guard deployment he did not order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This ended within an hour, as soon as we announced we were coming. And then they saw that we were here.
This ended immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Falsely claiming federal troops marched into Kenosha and ended the unrest. The reality? All National Guard troops in Wisconsin are under state control.
As for Jacob Blake, Trump addressing the situation only after question from reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'd feel terribly for anybody that goes through that. As you know, it's under investigation, it's a big thing happening right now. I guess it's under local investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Blake's uncle staying above the fray.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN BLAKE, JACOB BLAKE'S UNCLE: We're not going to get caught up him. He wished he would, and we're not. Were here to heal Kenosha and push forward our agenda for getting little Jake justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Today Trump denying the existence of systemic racism in policing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't believe that. I think the police do an incredible job. And I think you do have some bad apples.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Trump is also spinning new conspiracy theories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: (...) they control him.
LAURA INGRAHAM, "FOX NEWS" HOST: Who do you think is pulling Biden's strings?
TRUMP: People that you've never heard of. People that are in the dark shadows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: And then there was this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend. And in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear. A lot of people were on the plane -- to do big damage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: The president providing no evidence to back up his strange claim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This was a firsthand account of a plane going from Washington to wherever. And I'll see if I can get that information for you; maybe they'll speak to you, maybe they won't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: President Trump spent nearly three hours on the ground in Kenosha.
And during that time, we saw him turn the city into the backdrop for his 2020 reelection campaign, and his focus on this law and order message.
We saw him disparage what he called left wing violence and this anti police rhetoric that he feels some politicians are engaging in.
What we did not hear from the president in those nearly three hours where the words Jacob Blake. That is the name, of course, of the man who was shot by police in
Kenosha, Wisconsin. And the president did not utter his name once during those nearly three hours.
Instead, we heard the president only address the situation when he was asked about the shooting.
And in that case, we heard the president say that he feels terribly about the situation but he declined to weigh in any further.
And the president, of course, also did not meet with Jacob Blake or his family.
Jeremy Diamond. CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Matt Lewis is a CNN political commentator. He's a conservative and a senior columnist for "The Daily Beast". And he is with us from Washington.
Matt, thanks for taking the time.
MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, thanks for having me.
VAUSE: OK. Well, we've heard from Trump for a while now.
[01:05:00]
He's pushing this sort of Orwellian-like narrative that Joe Biden is a basket weaving, chardonnay sipping, police hating soft- on-crime Democrat while Donald Trump is the tough guy, the law and order candidate.
And on "Fox News," he had this defense for the police officer in Kenosha who shot Jacob Black -- listen to -- Blake, rather.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And shooting the guy in the back many times. Couldn't you have done something different, couldn't you have wrestled him? In the meantime, he might have been going for a weapon -- you know, and there's a whole big thing there.
But they choke. Just like in a golf tournament, they miss a three foot --
INGRAHAM: You're not comparing to golf. Because, of course, that's what the media will say.
TRUMP: No. I'm saying people choke.
INGRAHAM: People --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He's not comparing it to golf, except for the fact that he is. There will be some people who think that it's perfectly reasonable to say that sort of stuff.
Many more will find it totally offensive to compare the tragedy of a police shooting to that time you missed a three-foot putt.
As a conservative, I don't know, can you explain the strategy here that Trump is trying to win the election by?
LEWIS: Well, yes. First of all what he's doing at that that moment is botching the communications aspect. And he needs Laura Ingraham, who is an ally, to basically help him on track and keep him from making a major gaffe, even more of a gaffe than he did.
So the execution's very flawed. But I think there is a strategy, and the strategy is basically to say we've got about 60 days left until the election.
And if the election's about COVID or if it's about the economy then Donald Trump can't win.
And so what you need is an issue that is just as emotional, just as compelling, to drive out working class white voters and even suburban white voters to the polls. And that would be the law and order issue.
And when you see rioting in the streets, that's the opening for Donald Trump.
And that's really his only play. It may not be a great play but that's his only play right now. And I think it would've resonated more had he executed it better.
VAUSE: Yes. Well, the protests in Kenosha and across the United States the past few months ultimately have focused on systemic racism, which is behind acts of violence against black men and women in this country.
And, again, Donald Trump speaking at a news conference in Kenosha. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe systemic racism is a problem in this country?
TRUMP: Well, you know you just keep getting back to the opposite subject. We should talk about the kind of violence that we've seen in Portland and here and other places. It's tremendous violence.
You always get to the other side, "Well, what do you think about this or that?"
The fact is that we've seen tremendous violence, and we will put it out very, very quickly if given the chance. And that's what this is all about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Now if you want to talk about messaging, I think this is actually quite, quite clever, if you listen to it.
Because what he's saying is that the protesters and the looters, they're the bad ones. It's not the government or society.
And is this a message which wins over sort of garden variety white bread Republicans?
LEWIS: Well, again, I think it's all that he's got, right? The truth is that reality is more complex and nuanced.
We do have systemic racism but we also have looting and rioting. And I think Joe Biden condemned both things. Joe Biden condemned police abuse and looting and rioting.
Donald Trump wants to basically -- rather than bring us together, he wants to divide us. And he really wants it to be two teams.
One team is basically, in Donald Trump's mind, African Americans and looters and rioters and then the other team are the good people including the police officers. That that is what he wants to set up.
And it is possible that Donald Trump could win.
Remember, in America, it's not about the popular vote, it's about winning the electoral college. Right? And the key states there could be states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
And so it's possible that enough working class white voters and also suburban college educated whites here in the next 60 days decide they re more afraid of the rioters than they are of COVID, Donald Trump could pull off another electoral college miracle.
VAUSE: Very quickly --
LEWIS: That's his only play, I think.
VAUSE: Yes. Very quickly. "Politico" has this report.
That -- "... in Wisconsin, the prediction that those put off by the protest will embrace Trump hasn't yet been supported by the polling or in conversations with pollsters and operatives here.
" the president's handling of the protests continue to be one of the weakest points with Wisconsin voters, even more so than how he's addressed the COVID-19 pandemic."
Well, is it too soon? Are we going to have to see a lot more violence before this strategy starts working?
LEWIS: Well, look I think that what happened in Kenosha is still fairly new, right? We're about a week out from what happened there. [01:10:00]
And I think there is a sense, and maybe it's anecdotal, but there is a sense that there is a sort of fatigue.
There were a lot of Americans who a few months ago with the George Floyd shooting or George Floyd killing that were, I think, very sympathetic to the cause, right?
And then they were actually in some cases joining in the protests and wanted to do something about police abuse.
But as that story shifts and you start to see rioting and looting, the question is will the white folks move away from that support?
And, again, I don't know that polling is backing that up, but I think a lot of people who -- let's just look at political history in America.
Whether it is Richard Nixon in the 1960s or Lee Atwater running George H.W. Bush's campaign in 1988, the whole Willie Horton story. Race does resonate.
And if you're Donald Trump and you can't talk about COVID because it's not a good story to tell and you can't talk about the economy --
VAUSE: Make one up.
LEWIS: -- this may be the last move you have.
VAUSE: It sounds like you make one up though, doesn't it, Matt?
Good to see you, Matt. Thank you. Matt Lewis, CNN political commentator.
LEWIS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Thank you, sir.
This coming weekend is Labor Day in the United States. And if history is prologue, it could be a major spreading event for the coronavirus.
Across the U.S., though, a number of states including hard hit California and Florida are seeing infection rates decline.
And with that in mind, health experts are pleading with Americans to not become complacent.
And now as the country races to develop a vaccine, officials are still trying to figure out how and when to release it.
More now from CNN's Nick Watt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three potential vaccines now in crucial phase three human trials here in the U.S. But the FDA suggesting could be approved before those trials are over? Now raising more than eyebrows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You don't want a vaccine to be available widely to the American public unless it's been shown to be safe and effective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: The FDA commissioner now intimating he'd consider resigning rather than greenlight the vaccine under political pressure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN HAHN, COMMISSIONER OF THE FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION: I think all options are on the table.
With respect, I hope we are not in that position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Such seismic statements now necessary because through previous misstatements and political pressure --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM: We've started eroding the trust that we always had in these otherwise incredibly professional institutions.
You can't just have the vaccine, you've to get it in people for it to work. And so trust is a critical element to make that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: In fact and when we get a vaccine, it will be initially in short supply.
An independent committee now recommending it goes first to health workers and people with underlying issues. Phase two would be other high risk and essential workers, including teachers, all of the elderly and our prison population.
While we wait, nationally new case counts are falling from a great height.
Florida finally allowing some visitors into nursing homes again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FLA): They would like to be able to say goodbye or to hug somebody. So it was --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: But there's a knot in the heartland where average new case counts are rising right now, near double in South Dakota in just a week.
The White House coronavirus task force just warned Iowa it has the highest rate of cases in the nation advising mask mandates across the state, bars must be closed and a comprehensive plan for college towns.
More than 20,000 confirmed cases and counting at colleges in at least 36 states as students return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The only way to find them in the university setting is doing the aggressive testing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: New York City just pushed back in-person classes by 10 days and announced it'll test some K through 12 staff and students monthly. Hardly aggressive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASST. SECRETARY OF HEALTH, U.S. DEPT. OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: It's great to talk about this utopian kind of ideal where everybody has a test every day and we can do that.
I don't live in the utopian world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: But as one CNN analyst tweeted, "That's what White House staff and major league sports get now. Sure, let's call it utopia when it's for the less privileged."
Meanwhile, remember that summer sunbelt surge sparked by Memorial Day? There's another holiday weekend coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER, HOUSTON, TEXAS: As we approach Labor Day, let me encourage people to be mindful the virus is still looking for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: And Dr. Anthony Fauci warning Americans that how they behave this holiday weekend will pretty much set the stage for what the fall might look like with COVID-19 when of course we might also have flu mixed in with all this mess.
Nick Watt. CNN, Los Angeles.
[01:15:00] VAUSE: Well, the U.S. president's new go-to guy on the coronavirus task force has adamantly denied media reports he's been pushing for a herd immunity strategy to fight the pandemic.
According to the "Washington Post," Scott Atlas was pushing this strategy which would allow the virus to spread unchecked, quickly building immunity among the population. Those who survive, that is.
Some studies have found this plan could end with a death toll north of two million.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SCOTT ATLAS, MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE (Voice Over): "I'm not sure they fabricated it or someone told them a lie, but there's never been any advocacy of a herd immunity strategy coming from me to the president, to anyone in the administration, to the task force, to anyone I've spoken to.
The president does not have a strategy advocating herd immunity. The task force does not have a strategy advocating herd immunity. There is no change in any kind of strategy that I've seen.
The whole thing is an overt lie. But this is Washington."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. Bracing for not one but two typhoons in the coming days. The first just hours away from landfall on the Korean Peninsula.
Also, teachers in Russia are among the first to receive the Kremlin's rushed, untested, potentially dangerous coronavirus vaccine.
No surprise some are saying "nyet."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The trial of 14 suspected accomplices in the terror attack on the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine in Paris will begin in the coming hours.
The French satirical magazine is republishing those controversial cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed that were at the heart of the 2015 massacre.
There will also be a tribute to the 12 people who were killed.
President Emmanuel Macron defended the magazine's right to publish the cartoons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (Through translator): I think that a president of the French republic never has the right to pass comments on the editorial choice of a journalist or a member of editorial staff. Never. Because there's a freedom of the press that you quite rightly care
deeply about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A police officer and four men at a supermarket were killed a day after the attack at "Charlie Hebdo."
Well, right now South Korea bracing for a powerful typhoon expected to make landfall in the coming hours.
Earlier, Maysak swept past Japan, hitting the island of Okinawa and bringing heavy rain and winds up to nearly 200 kilometers an hour.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri tracking the storm. He joins us now live once again.
Pedram, you can hear me, right? So what are the details, what can we expect and when?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I can hear you this time. Yes.
VAUSE: That's good. This isn't just the only big storm in the region. There's a couple on the way.
JAVAHERI: That's true. There's potentially a stronger storm, John, slated for this exact spot come Sunday afternoon. We'll get to that momentarily.
[01:20:00]
But we've got to really look at the back drop of what has happened across South Korea in recent weeks.
In fact, the second wettest on record for the monsoon season which we know, of course, the bulk of the rainfall comes this time of year.
But an average for the nation of 920 millimeters has come down so far this monsoon season. So the soil's absolutely saturated. And the last thing you want to see are additional systems coming ashore.
And Kumejima is an area just west of Okinawa. This storm moved over this region in the past 24 hours, produced wind gusts of 200 kilometers per hour, and brought down about six months worth of rainfall for places such as London in a matter of 24 hours on this island.
But the system now on approach towards Jeju Island and eventually near Busan which not only is the second largest city for South Korea but also the fifth largest port in the world. And winds still just shy of 200 kilometers per hour.
We think landfall some time around, say, seven to eight p.m. tonight local time. Somewhere around 160 per hour so equivalent to a category two hurricane.
And then beyond this, it moves into the elevated terrain of the Korean Peninsula and that's where the concern begins.
Landslides, flash flooding certainly going to be an issue. And, of course, anytime you look at a storm of this magnitude the coast really sees significant damage as well at point of landfall.
But there is Maysak. And then there is Haishen, the next typhoon that is sitting there across the western Pacific.
This storm really far more menacing when you take a look at what is ahead of it.
We know water temperatures off the coast of Japan, John, are sitting about two degrees Celsius warmer than their historical averages. In fact, the warmest sea surface temperatures in decades across the region.
So the forecast models take this up to 220 kilometers per hour within about three or four days and then bring it in somewhere near south of Japan around Kagoshima.
And then, potentially -- look at this, sometime around Sunday afternoon into Monday 160 kilometers per hour yet again equivalent to the current typhoon coming across -- potentially Busan, yet again, on Sunday and Monday.
So this is going to be a double strike of storms in the next few days, John.
VAUSE: Pedram, thank you. We appreciate the update.
Pedram Javaheri there with the very latest.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, the first day of the new school year in Russia and students are returning to the classroom. Even as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus continues to climb, passing one million.
And while the first doses of the Kremlin's vaccine are available for teachers, Matthew Chance explains some just don't want it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Starting school can be daunting, even without a pandemic, but Russia is putting on a brave show.
It says it has a vaccine after all, approved for use on this COVID frontline.
Well, it's the first day of school here, the first time since march that Russian classrooms have reopened amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It's very exciting for kids.
Their teachers were the first to benefit from Russia's new coronavirus vaccine. But what we're learning is that few, if any, have taken up the offer to be vaccinated.
We were given access to one of Moscow's top schools where some measures like testing and teachers in face masks have been implemented.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: I'm seeing that they're not using face masks. They're not --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: But no one we spoke to here had taken the Russian vaccine. Even though teachers, along with doctors were meant to have been given first access after the vaccine was fast-tracked to approval before completing phase three human trials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
There's some concerns that it might not be safe, it might not be effective. Have you heard that concern amongst your colleagues, amongst teachers that they're worried about the vaccine?
MARIA ZATOLOKINA, DEPUTY HEAD, SCHOOL 1363: Actually, we haven't discussed it yet. But I think that every teacher understands how important to be safe and to create a safe environment for our students to be healthy.
That's why I hope that we are responsible people and we should be vaccinated.
CHANCE: Are you going to have the vaccine?
ZATOLOKINA: Yes, of course.
CHANCE: Definitely?
ZATOLOKINA: Definitely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: But there are others who say they're definitely not.
One Russian teachers union has started an online petition calling on members to reject the vaccine outright on safety grounds. And expressing concern that vaccination, currently voluntary, should not be made mandatory unless clinical trials are complete.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YURI VARLAMOV, TEACHER, UCHITEL UNION MEMBER: Before the end of all testing, they cannot make it mandatory.
But I know that in some schools, in some state bodies, people are talking about mandatory status of this vaccine in the end of this year.
CHANCE: Do you think that's a political decision?
[01:25:00]
Do you think it's important for the Russian authorities to make sure everybody has this vaccine whether or not it works, whether or not it's safe?
VARLAMOV: Yes. Sure. That's a very political decision because skills of government to make the life of people safe is a very important of a point in Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: And so is showing Russia's widely criticized vaccine to be a success.
Teachers can refuse it now, but not, perhaps, for much longer.
Matthew Chance. CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A new survey has found three in four adults worldwide would get vaccinated for COVID-19.
Enthusiasm for a vaccine is highest in China, 97 percent. Followed by brazil, Australia, India and then the U.K.
The U.S., though, ranks 20th out of 27 countries.
A third of those asked said they would not get the vaccine, mostly for fears of side effects.
New research has found face shields and masks with breathing valves may be ineffective at preventing transmission of the coronavirus.
According to this simulation, they can see tiny droplets continue to be spread over a wide area. It shows a face shield can initially block those droplets but then it can still move around the visor relatively easily.
And the droplets can also pass through the valves of especially fitted masked when someone sneezes or coughs.
The study suggests quality cloth or surgical masks are effective at preventing the spread of the virus.
Well, without any more aid in the horizon, small U.S. businesses are struggling to stay open.
The latest on the stimulus talks in a moment.
Also, economies in Latin America are shrinking at a record rate. Some officials are trying to paint a rosy picture of the crisis. Details on the situation in Mexico and Brazil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Along with the devastating global death toll from this pandemic, there is the ongoing economic chaos.
Latin America has been especially hard hit. And Brazil, in particular, with the world's second highest number of cases, is now officially in recession.
CNN's Matt Rivers has more now on the economic fallout.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:29:15]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Well, we know that this coronavirus pandemic has devastated countries across Latin America not only from a public health standpoint but also from an economic standpoint. And we got more proof of that on Tuesday with new GDP figures released by the Brazilian government.
The country's Institute of Geography and Statistics announced Tuesday that Brazil has officially entered a recession after posting a 9.7 percent decrease in the GDP in the second quarter, as compared to the first three months of this year.
And that is, of course, due to the effects of this coronavirus pandemic in that country. Brazil has experienced one of the worst outbreaks of any country around the world. This also comes as Brazilian officials announced that they will be extending aid payments to some of the country's poorest families through the end of this year. Those payments of course, in connection to coronavirus relief.
Meanwhile, here in Mexico, we heard from Mexico's president on Tuesday. He gave what is essentially a state of the union address here in Mexico, talking about the state of affairs here over the past year.
And as politicians are wont to do he highlighted what he believes his country's successes are, including its fight against COVID-19. This despite the fact that this country's death toll is among the highest of any country around the world.
The president says he believes the worst of this pandemic is over both from a public health standpoint as well as from an economic standpoint. He said this economy added more than 90,000 jobs in August alone, but that does not change the fact that Mexico's economy has been devastated by this outbreak here.
In the second quarter, Mexico's GDP fell more than 17 percent as compared to the first three months of the year. And the International Monetary Fund predicts that in 2020, Mexico's GDP could fall 10.5 percent.
Matt Rivers, CNN -- Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, more than 14 million Americans are out of work, and that means millions are facing eviction because they can't pay the rent. And that's while Congress and the White House remained deadlocked over the next financial relief package.
Vanessa Yurkevich looks at how the political standoff is impacting women.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the streets of Harlem, signs of business on life support.
TAMI TREADWELL, HARLEM SEAFOOD SOLE: It has been like a ghost town out here.
YURKEVICH: Tami Treadwell (ph) is back with her food cart, Harlem Seafood Sole, after five months off the street.
What got you back out here on the street again?
TREADWELL: Needing to be able to feed my family.
YURKEYVICH: Months into the pandemic, millions are still out of work, and more than 100,000 small businesses have closed. Treadwell says she applied for grants from the city and a PPP loan, but hasn't received either.
TREADWELL: The responses that I have gotten is that there isn't enough money or try back again maybe some additional funding will become available. Or you just don't hear anything back at all.
YURKEVICH: But even with a PPP loan, for some it didn't go far.
LUISA SANTOS, OWNER, LULU'S ICE CREAM: As it was designed, we ran out of that money a little bit longer than eight weeks it lasted, but still we are way past that eight weeks' point.
YURKEVICH: Luisa Santos opened Lulu's Ice Cream six years ago in Miami. She immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia for the American dream. Now she is cutting her salary to keep her employees on part time and she is hoping Congress will pass a third stimulus bill for her small business.
SANTOS: We are not in a good place in our economy and what we need is support to get through the rough patch.
YURKEVICH: But the U.S. jobs recovery is stalling. Less than 50 percent of the 22 million jobs lost in March and April are back online. More than a million people have filed for unemployment each week except one since mid-March. And the extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits have expired.
TREADWELL: I am behind in my rent like everybody else. We are food insecure like everybody else.
YURKEVICH: Still, some parts of the U.S. economy are thriving. U.S. tech companies have recovered and then some. The top five in the U.S. are now worth a collective $7 trillion.
But there is a disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. While stocks are hitting records, up to 40 million Americans could face eviction by the end of the year without a new stimulus bill.
TREADWELL: If you leave us out, we are going to have barren streets. The economy is not going to get back up and running because we are the lifeblood of Main Street America.
YURKEVICH: The pandemic is also exposing a harsh reality for women of color. The highest rate of unemployment is among Latino workers.
TREADWELL: Thank you so much.
YURKEVICH: And black women in jobs deemed essential to COVID-19 recovery make up to 27 percent less than white men.
SANTOS: We are being affected more significantly than other business owners. And we need that support.
TREADWELL: I know for a fact, as a black woman, that there has been a social and economic disadvantage for us for as long as I can remember.
Please, think about the street vendors who are out here, who are really just trying to make a good, honest living.
[01:34:53]
YURKEVICH: This is why a stimulus bill is so critical, because it can address various parts of the economy. It can help freeze evictions, help with student debt, unemployment and give money to small businesses.
And when you put money into the hands of everyday Americans, they are more likely to spend. And that helps stimulate the economy and provide more jobs.
Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The U.S. Treasury Secretary appeared before Congress on Tuesday and agreed with most lawmakers that the economy still needs another stimulus package. But there isn't much common ground beyond that. Talks on a relief bill stalled weeks ago.
John Defterios live in Abu Dhabi with more. And John, you know listening to this hearing, you know, it sounded like Steve Mnuchin was sort of on the one hand he was saying let's get something done possibly around a trillion dollars, and then come back if we need more, see how it works. The Democrats though come up (INAUDIBLE) they say we'll drop a trillion, you come up with a trillion. Let's do $2 trillion, get it all done with one big bang because I think there is this mistrust that the Republicans will actually, you know, do anything more than this $1 trillion package.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes. You framed that extremely well, John because there's a real danger that this gets stuck in the weeds of presidential election time, of course, in November. And if we have a change in administration, what happens to the stimulus package thereafter? That's what the House Democrats are worried about.
And there is a huge gap that you are talking about. Nancy Pelosi was above $3 trillion back in May, down to 2.4. She negotiated around 2.2.
The administration is stuck at $1 trillion dollars and they're actually not seeing each other face to fact. So the chairman of this House Select Committee on the Coronavirus was pressing the Treasury Secretary, saying are you going to sit down with Nancy Pelosi or not. We need to move this along. Here is his address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I am prepared to sit down with the speaker at any time to negotiate. I think the issue is not what is the top line. I think the issue is we need now support quickly. That's what's important to the American economy, and if we need to do more, we can come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: And that's the real threat here. Can we come back for more with just a month or two before the elections?
And John, this is a very sensitive window, because as you know, the caseload is likely to spike in the winter months. Even Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is suggesting they can hive off this Paycheck Protection Program. There is only $130 billion left. We see consumer spending dropping and the unemployment rate still remains above 10 percent, which is historically high.
VAUSE: So if we're looking at those danger signs -- unemployment rate, consumer spending, and you know, the lack of money in the Paycheck Protection Program is this essentially the signs that, you know, we are in for a very quick stall here? The U.S. economy, you know, an analogy that this car's petrol tank is about to run dry pretty quick?
DEFTERIOS: Yes, you make a very good point. We saw a spike up in consumer spending in May and June and then it dropped below 2 percent in July. And we had that small and medium sized enterprises program in place, because it employs better than 50 percent of the Americans.
There is $130 billion left that I was making reference to. It sounds like a lot of money. It could dry up very, very quickly, and as the caseload spikes, the consumer starts to retrench, not knowing if they're going to get the supplemental program.
Remember, they were getting $600 a week for those that are unemployed here. Paychecks are going out to $1,200 a month and even Secretary Mnuchin was saying, maybe we go item by item instead of this top line package. And that is the real challenge going head to head between the House and the Senate and the White House right now.
VAUSE: John, thank you. Yes, it's one of those issues that obviously the time -- it's a window and time is running out. We appreciate you being with us. Thanks John.
DEFTERIOS: Tight window.
VAUSE: Absolutely. And all this is happening at the same time that the markets of -- two of the three-year stock markets all saw a record start for the month of September, and the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at all time highs on Tuesday. Best August, I think since the 1980's, which is bizarre.
The Dow gained 215 points. How about that?
Next up on CNN NEWSROOM, U.S. Intelligence. a warning about Russian misinformation in the U.S. election, they did this months ago. And now Facebook says the Russian trolls, they're at it again.
Also, U.S. President Donald Trump and his doctor are denying that the president actually suffered a series of mini strokes last year. No one said he had. Why did they say it?
[01:39:23]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: In Belarus there are new images of a violent crackdown on student protesters showing security officers in camouflage, striking a number of demonstrators and dragging them into vans in the capital Minsk. Human rights groups say at least 40 students were detained.
Protests have been on the streets since last month's presidential election claiming the vote was rigged in favor of the longtime president, Alexander Lukashenko.
For the first time in this election, there is evidence that Russian Internet trolls are at it again. It's the same group which interfered last time and the same play it seems.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Facebook on Tuesday announcing that acting on a tip from the FBI, it had removed a set of accounts that it said were linked to the Internet Research Agency. That's the Russian troll group that sought to interfere using social media in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. A lot of concerns here in the United States that the Russian troll group is back again to interfere in November's election. Now Tuesday's takedown all focused on an online magazine called "Peace Data", which posed as a left-wing news outlet, a left wing independent news outlet.
And it wrote articles about U.S. foreign policy, about the presidential election. And similar to what the Internet Research Agency had done in 2016, it attacked Democratic candidates, this year being Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris from the left -- a tactic that analysts who've looked at these accounts pointed out which was something that was also done by Russia in 2016 as they tried to split the Democratic vote in support for Hillary Clinton.
The good news here is that these pages had relatively low traction. Facebook, the FBI, and others seemed to catch them early on in their sort of infancy. And they had posted about other issues, not only just the election.
The bad news here is, of course, is that this is happening at all, and that Russia is active in this space, so close to November's election.
One particular new development which we hadn't seen with this sort of operation in 2016 was the use of artificially-generated images. Take a look at this Twitter account, which was also removed, belonging to a person purportedly called Alex Lacusta who identified himself as the editor of "Peace Data". Now, while the profile picture on that account may look like a real person, analysts and expert who looked at these accounts said that that image is actually generated through using artificial intelligence technology. It is a deepfake image, meaning the person in that picture does not actually exist.
Now, prior to this, an easy way to spot a fake account, or one way to spot a fake account would be if it had used profile pictures from -- stolen them from a real person. Obviously, with this new development in technology, that is something that is no longer possible.
So with just a few weeks to go to November's 2020 election, it's a good reminder to all of us to be careful with what we encounter online and that with new developments and technology, come new risks. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:44:52]
VAUSE: Steve Hall was the chief of Russia and Ukraine operations for the CIA and he is a CNN national security analyst. He joins us from Tucson, Arizona.
Steve, it's been a while. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Sure.
VAUSE: Ok. It seems this is all kind of a replay of 2016, but with a few added bonuses. You even got the fake profile created by artificial intelligence and notably, real freelance writers who are contributing articles to this Piece Data Web site.
And the strategy here seems to mirror what President Trump was doing earlier this year, and that is trying to split the progressive wing of the Democrats, you know, the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, away form the Joe Biden, Kamala Harris side of the party. I mean, does that mean that they just watch the news or is there something else here?
HALL: Well, there's really no surprise, of course, that the Russians are doing this again. The American intelligence community has predicted this and said it is going to happen. It is interesting that they have improved a little bit in terms of, you know, the sort of the deepfake technology that they are now using.
And the good news is, of course, that the FBI caught this and notified Facebook. But really the interesting thing for me is that I don't anticipate that we are going to see a whole lot more of this. I think what is really going to happen here is the Russians have learned since 2016 that they don't need to use these fake accounts even if they, you know, paid journalists unwittingly to contribute to such a fake account.
What they can do is they can use the content that really the United States and other western democracies during elections are providing them. It's those divisive issues that we all already know.
Black Lives Matter, for example, racism, police brutality, even the COVID pandemic. And they'll take that and they'll put it up on RT. They'll put it up on a Russian government owned site that as human beings, we just can't help ourselves, we will, you know, we'll copy that meme because we look at it and we have an immediate response to it. And will get it out there.
So they don't really have to rely on these more sophisticated methods when we are helping them just by looking at the bigger issues, or the bigger sites like RT Sputnik and so forth.
VAUSE: Ok. So to that end, "The New York Times" is reporting that according to U.S. intelligence officials, this group's recently discovered activity on Twitter and Facebook were almost overt and designed to be detected.
So further to this question, what are we not seeing? Because you seem to be implying that they're going to dumb it down and just basically take advantage of, you know, our own sort of, you know, I guess failings, if you like. But are the Russians actually doing something else? They developed something over the last four years that, you know, is beyond all of this?
HALL: Well, look, the Russians I think will use every weapon at their disposal. So they're going to use bots, to amplify things, absolutely. Are they going to continue to try to come up with some of these fake sites? Yes, they're going to do that.
But again, I think what they really learned was they don't have to work that hard. I mean in 2016, they were establishing these fake accounts and trying to get as many followers as possible. But again, what they've learned is using their big media operations -- RT, Sputnik -- and then on a sort of a lower level that people don't necessarily recognize as much. Sites like Waffly (ph) and Redfish (ph). They know that if that content, that divisive comment which grabs everybody is there for the taking, we'll do it ourselves. They don't have to be that sophisticated to be amazingly affected. And I think that's the path they're going to choose and indeed are choosing this time around.
VAUSE: Yes, that's kind of sad because you think at least they have to work for it.
If there is some good news here, it's the reaction, I guess from Facebook and Twitter which closed down these sites fairly quickly. But meantime over at the Trump administration, the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe has ended election security briefings to Congress.
Over the weekend, he explained why. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN RATCLIFF, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I reiterated to Congress, look, I'm going to keep you fully and currently informed as required by the law, but I also said we're not going to do a repeat of what happened a month ago when I did more than what was required at the request of Congress to brief not just the oversight committee but every member of Congress.
Within minutes of that, one of those briefings ending, a number of members of Congress went to a number of different publications and leaked classified information.
VAUSE: You know, keeping in mind this is the same guy who a week ago was playing down the threat from Russia and suggesting China was a much bigger issue. But is that excuse of the leaking from Congress, is that you know -- how is that sitting to you?
HALL: Look, I worked in CIA's Office of Congressional Affairs, which is their legislative affairs unit. And I can say that just balderdash. I mean it's stupid, right.
If what he is -- what the DNI is saying is I am not going to provide you with oral briefings. Instead, I'm going to provide it to you on paper, as if somehow -- I mean this is just common sense, right -- somehow you can't leak paper? That makes no sense whatsoever.
What makes a lot of sense is the fact that the DNI is essentially trying to minimize his contact with the oversight committees, which he is -- you know, he's legally responsible for keeping them fully informed as to what's going on and he's trying to do the minimum amount that he possibly can to stay within the law, but at the same time is not provide a whole lot of information to Congress on what is absolutely a threat to the security of the United States.
VAUSE: Is this a pre-cover-up before the cover-up -- before it happens?
[01:49:54]
HALL: Yes, I suppose there's a lot of different technical terms we could use. But it's just -- it's just this administration. I mean again, when I was at the CIA working at the Office of Congressional Affairs, we would never have said, well, I just don't know if we're going to respond to that or we're the ones who are going to decide how it congress is going to hear what it gets.
That's not the way it works. Oversight committees are there for oversight. And when you try to avoid it, even if you try to paper it over, it is still avoiding providing the people's representatives the information that they need.
VAUSE: Yes.
Steve, great to have you with us. It's been a while. Good to see you.
HALL: Sure. My pleasure.
VAUSE: Well just a week or so before Thanksgiving last year, the U.S. president was suddenly and unexpectedly rushed to Walter Reed Hospital. And in all the months since, there's been no explanation why. And a book claims whatever had happened to Donald Trump, it was serious enough for the Vice President Mike Pence to be placed on standby to assume the powers of the presidency.
Here's CNN's Brian Todd reporting from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's unannounced visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center last November, raising new and troubling questions about transparency from the White House.
In a forthcoming book obtained by CNN, "New York Times" reporter Michael Schmidt, not revealing his sources, says Vice President Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would've required anesthesia.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It makes you wonder what was that and is it going to lead to anything more down the road?
He was only in the hospital for just over an hour, so, you know, we know that it's unlikely he was anesthetized or something like he had procedure done. But something that day got people really worried.
TODD: Pence did not end up assuming the powers of the presidency that day. At the time of Trump's Walter Reed visit, the White House called it routine. A former White House physician who served under Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton says there could be a straightforward explanation.
DR. WILLIAM LANG, FORMER WHIT HOUSE PHYSICIAN: For instant travels, the job of the military unit and the medical unit is to make sure that all contingencies are covered. So we don't know what the details heals of this reported have the Vice President on standby, this may just have been the routine occasion. The President's going to the hospital. Let's make sure we've got all of our standard operating procedures in place.
TODD: Responding to questions about his health, Trump tweeted, "It never ends and denied a suggestion from a fringe author that he'd suffered a series of many strokes. Trump's White House physician Dr. Sean Conley also denied that.
And in a statement today said the President remains health and I have to concerns about his ability to maintain the rigorous schedule ahead of him.
But CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta says there remain too many unanswered questions over unusual occurrences, surrounding that Walter Reed visit.
GUPTA: They say this was a routine visit but nothing about this visit was routine on a Saturday unannounced. Doctors in the car with him. They say he had nothing to do with the brain or the heart but frankly most routine things can otherwise be taken care of at the White House. So this doesn't make sense.
TODD: There have been other attention grabbing moments. On two separate occasions, President Trump, had to steady one hand with the other while drinking water during speeches.
He's seemingly walked hesitantly down a ramp at West Point this summer, studying his feet at every step. He made an unfounded claim at the time that the ramp was slippery and he didn't want to fall in front of the quote "fake news".
TRUMP: This was a steel ramp it had no handrail. It was like an ice skating rink.
TODD: Through all of it, the president and his doctors have repeatedly contended he is healthy but one medical ethicist is concerned about the secrecy.
ARTHUR CAPLAN, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER: I mean his worry We have an election between Trump and Biden and Trump somehow in the middle of this becomes somewhat incapacitated but covers it up. Doesn't let us know that the person we are going to vote for may become increasingly disabled during his second term.
TODD: Vice President Pence now says he doesn't recall being put on a standby the day that President Trump went to Walter Reed.
In an interview with Fox News, the Vice President said he's always kept inform of the President's movements and he's always ready, but he doesn't remember anything out of the ordinary about that day.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
VAUSE: Still, ahead a popular K-Pop band makes history in the United States doing something no other Korean group has ever done before.
[01:54:22]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BTS: What's up New York? BTS.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That was the K-Pop sensation BTS thanking supporters after hitting a major milestone for South Korean music. Their new song "Dynamite" reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week making them the first South Korean group to ever top the U.S. charts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm seeing with my own eyes, it feels like I'm still dreaming and dreaming.
Thanks to everyone who has worked on this track and of course, mostly more than anything -- thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you. (INAUDIBLE) Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: For the record, before this week, the highest spot any South Korean song had ever reached was number 2. It was back in 2012 "Gangnam Style". Oh, the horror.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, thanks for the company.
CNN's Robyn Curnow has more after a short break.
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[01:59:47]
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everyone. I'm Robyn Curnow.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from CNN's World News Headquarters here in Atlanta.
Just ahead on the show, Donald Trump visits the scene of the latest high-profile police shooting, where he defended law enforcement and denied there is an issue with systematic racism.
Back to class as well. Schools around the globe reopen with new rules designed to slow the spread.
