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Joe Biden and Donald Trump Draw Stark Contrast on Campaign Trail; President Trump Puts Pressure on FDA for Coronavirus Vaccine Ahead of Election Day; Brazil Tops Four Million COVID-19 Cases Amid Signs of Pandemic Slowing; Sweden Now Has One of the Lowest Coronavirus Death Rates in Europe. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 04, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST AND CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Welcome to "CNN Newsroom." I am Robyn Curnow. Coming up, healing versus law and order. Joe Biden travels to Kenosha, Wisconsin to meet with Jacob Blake's family, striking a very different tone than President Trump.
Also, a grim COVID projection, CDC says 1,000 Americans may die from coronavirus every day until late September.
Plus, a cautionary tale and a success story, Sweden bet (ph) big on limited COVID restrictions but did it pay off and it could work elsewhere? We are live in Stockholm for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Here in the U.S., we are now less than two months away from the highly contested presidential election. Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden are highlighting their stark differences on the campaign trail.
The president held a crowded rally outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Thursday, well enjoying crowds of hundreds of supporters. There were few masks and no social distancing. As you can see here, it was actually practically non-existent.
Meantime, Biden spent the day in Kenosha, Wisconsin where he held a community meeting and visited the family of Jacob Blake, the Black man who was shot in the black by police.
Biden's visit comes two days after President Trump toured the grief- stricken city and took a totally different approach as he continues to push his message of law and order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Kenosha has been ravaged by antipolice and anti-American riots.
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think ultimately what has been unleashed in a lot of people is they understand that fear doesn't solve problems, only hope does.
TRUMP: We have to condemn the dangerous antipolice rhetoric. It's getting more and more. It's very unfair.
BIDEN: I think we've reached an inflection point in American history. I honest to God believe we have an enormous opportunity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, as President Trump and Joe Biden take very different approaches in the battleground state, Arlette Saenz gives us a closer look at Biden's trip to Wisconsin. Arlette?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Joe Biden back on the campaign trail in Kenosha, Wisconsin bringing a message of healing.
BIDEN: I am not pessimistic. I am optimistic about the opportunity if we seize it.
SAENZ (voice-over): The trip marks Biden's first visit to Wisconsin of the 2020 race and his first major campaign travel outside of Delaware and Pennsylvania since the coronavirus pandemic hit.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SAENZ (voice-over): Large rallies now replaced with smaller, socially distanced events like this community meeting in Kenosha as the city grapples with the police shooting of Jacob Blake and some violent protests that followed.
BIDEN: I think we've reached an inflection point in American history. I honest to God believe we have an enormous opportunity now that the screen and the curtains have been pulled back on just what is going on in the country to do a lot of really positive things.
SAENZ (voice-over): Biden and his wife Jill also meeting privately with Blake's family for an hour. Jacob Blake himself, joining over the phone, from his hospital bed.
BIDEN: He talked about how nothing was going to defeat him. How, whether he walked again or not, he was not going to give up.
SAENZ (voice-over): When President Trump travelled to Kenosha on Tuesday, he did not meet with the Blake family or mentioned Jacob Blake's name. It's the latest contrast in the heated race for the White House as Biden maintains a lead over Trump one week after their party's convention wrapped up and as the president has pushed his law and order message.
BIDEN: There are a lot of folks who thought that, well, the president made great strides with his, you know, law and order strides here. That boy, after his convention, he really made inroads. He hasn't, not at all.
SAENZ (voice-over): A new CNN poll found 51 percent of registered voters nationwide backed Biden, while 43 percent preferred Trump. Biden's current lead is fueled by support from women, people of color, and older voters, while the former vice president and Trump are nearly even among men and white voters.
[02:04:58]
SAENZ (voice-over): The Democratic nominee also seeing some signs of hope in some of the battleground states that will decide this election, including Wisconsin. Biden is ahead of the president among likely voters in the state by eight points.
Democrats are hoping not to repeat 2016 when Hillary Clinton never visited the state in the general election and lost to Trump by fewer than 23,000 votes.
(On camera): While Biden has spent part of the week talking about racial injustice and police brutality, also trying to keep the focus on the coronavirus pandemic and President Trump's response. On Friday, he will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, talking about the economy and what he believes is the president's failure to get the coronavirus pandemic under control.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Kenosha Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, the coronavirus isn't slowing down President Trump. It was hardly a factor as hundreds of supporters came out to his campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday evening. Here is Ryan Nobles with that one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty clear that President Trump is ready to get back on the campaign trail in a big way.
This event he held in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, probably the biggest rally he's held since the rally in Tulsa at the end of June, there was a big crowd in this airplane hangar where we were, and there was an even bigger crowd that attempted to get in that was part of an overflow outside of the event.
In fact, there were lines of cars backed up for miles trying to get into this event in Pennsylvania. Of course, Pennsylvania is a very important battleground for the president's reelection.
But of course, we have to keep reiterating the fact that these events do not in any way, shape or form comply with CDC guidelines. People are shoulder to shoulder, very few if any people were wearing masks. When the topic of masks came up during the president's speech, he actually mocked Joe Biden for wearing a mask. Take a listen.
TRUMP: But did you ever see a man that likes a mask as much as him? And then he makes a speech and he always has a -- not always, but a lot of the times, he has it hanging down, because, you know what, it gives him a feeling of security. Congressman, give me your mask. I want to have it hanging from my ear. I don't want to touch your damn mask.
NOBLES: And there is no doubt that President Trump is ready to kick the campaign schedule into a high gear. This event that he held in Latrobe, Pennsylvania is perhaps the biggest crowd that he has seen since that event at the end of June in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
We should point out, very few, if any precautions are taken, to prevent the spread of coronavirus. People are shoulder to shoulder, very few masks, and this could be what it's like going forward.
Ryan Nobles, CNN, Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Jessica Levinson is a law professor and a political analyst. She joins me now from Los Angeles. Jessica, it is good to see you. Thank you so much for chatting with us. I do want you to give us your sense on these images and the conversations about Mr. Biden going to Kenosha. It is certainly about comparing and contrasting, isn't it?
JESSICA LEVINSON, POLITICAL ANALYST, PROFESSOR OF LAW AT LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Oh, absolutely. I mean, this election is a story of contrast. We have there two very different men running for office.
And here, we have Vice President Biden saying, I understand what is happening in the country and that there are terrible issues that are tearing apart the country apart, dealing with racial injustice, the criminal justice reform.
And he is coming to places where there is strive (ph) and very clearly saying, I am listening to you, I am going to be a different type of leader, the leader we have right now is a divisive leader who sow in chaos, I am going to be the opposite of that, I am going to be a uniter, to use an overused term, I am going to unite the country, not divide the country the way we have seen for the last four years.
CURNOW: And we do have a new campaign ad that he has released. It speaks to that. It is called, "We Are Listening." I wonder if we can play a little bit of it, and I want to get your take on the back side of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA) (voice-over): Part of the point of freedom is to be free from brutality, from injustice, from racism, and all of its manifestations.
BIDEN: We have to let people know that we not only understand their struggle, but they understand the fact that they deserve to be treated with dignity. They got to know we're listening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: How much does the issue of race and racism play in this election across all communities? You know, what kind of impact will it make with people going to the polls?
LEVINSON: A big one. Races obviously always been a serious issue in our country and it has always been the fact that the Democratic Party gains a lot more minority voters than the Republican Party. But there is, of course, something just qualitatively different about the 2020 election.
In part because we are dealing with such civil unrest, dealing with our history of racism, and dealing with issues of systemic racism, in part because we have a president of the United States who is speaking about racial injustice in a way that we, frankly, have never seen before.
[02:10:04]
LEVINSON: And so part of what Joe Biden has to do is he has to appeal to the base of the Democratic Party, which largely is a lot of minority and Black voters. He has to say, I am not taking you for granted. That is part of why you see him putting these ads out, part of why Kamala Harris is saying so aggressively, we are not taking you for granted, we hear you, we are going to address issues that are important to you.
Joe Biden at the same time has to make sure that he gets those moderates, those swing voters who may have kind of than the Obama- Trump crossover voters. So he really needs to thread a needle in this election.
CURNOW: Let's talk about voting twice. Most of us know that that is kind of not the thing to do, that it is illegal, whether you're in America or not. What do you make of the president suggesting that that's what people should do? More importantly also is what happens if people listen to him and they do it?
LEVINSON: Yeah, I don't --
CURNOW: Can you do it? How do you vote twice?
LEVINSON: Well, you don't. I mean, you do so illegally. You break federal and state laws if you do so. So, so much of what I do is in the grey area. You know, lawyers are always saying, well, on the one hand, on the other hand. There is no one hand and other hand. This is just breaking federal law.
People should not vote twice. In fact, the president of the United States maybe committing a crime in encouraging people to do so. I understand he has actually walked those comments back a bit. But this is not a grey area.
I think what the president is saying is that the system is so rife with fraud and corruption and abuse that if you have any chance of your vote counting, you at least have to go to the polls twice.
That simply is not the case. There is no evidence that bears that out. That is just blatant falsehood and it is something that is so terribly dangerous to hear from the leader of our country going into a presidential election.
CURNOW: Jessica Levinson, always good to speak to you, thank you so much, live there from Los Angeles.
U.S. President Donald Trump is now denying a scathing report in The Atlantic, the claims he disparaged dead American service members. The story cites unnamed sources who alleged the president called Americans who died in war are losers and suckers. Mr. Trump says that is a total lie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Everyone knows it is totally false. General Keith Kellogg was a highly respected man, couldn't believe when he heard it, and he knows everything about all of it. And to think that I would make statements, negative to our military and our fallen heroes, when nobody has done what I've done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: CNN actually initially refused to report on the story in Atlantic because of its unanimous sourcing. But we are doing it now because the president has responded.
We are also hearing from Joe Biden. He has reacted to the article in a statement, saying -- quote -- "If the revelations in today's Atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the president of the United States."
Sources in the U.S. are telling us about the pressure they are under to deliver both a coronavirus vaccine and a treatment by Election Day. At what cost? That is just ahead.
Plus, Sweden took heat for its COVID strategy, but now things are certainly looking a lot, lot better there. We look at where the Swedish approach could work anywhere else. Max Foster is live on the ground in Stockholm.
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[02:15:00]
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CURNOW: So the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control in America, is now projecting up to 211,000 people will die from COVID in the U.S. before the end of this month. As of right now, more than 186,000 people have lost their lives because of the virus. More than a dozen states are now seeing a rise in new infections. This weekend could be especially dangerous. It is Labor Day weekend. Top U.S. coronavirus expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is urging people to wear masks and socially distance as they start making plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We don't want to see a repeat of the surges that we have seen following other holiday weekends. We do not want to see a surge under any circumstances.
Particularly, as we go on the other side of Labor Day and enter into the fall, we want to go into that with a running start in the right direction. We don't want to go into that with another surge that we have to turn around again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing for more positive news, we understand, about the coronavirus pandemic, both in public and in private. Now, officials inside the Food and Drug Administration tell CNN, they are feeling the pressure to announce the treatment by Election Day. That is on top of the race for a vaccine.
Alexandra Field shows us where that stands as of now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It would be unlikely but not impossible to have a coronavirus vaccine as soon as the end of next month, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Still, he insists that science will lead any vaccine approval process.
FAUCI: The FDA has been very explicit that they are going to make a decision based on the data as it comes in. The vaccine will not be approved for the American public unless it was, indeed, both safe and effective. I keep emphasizing, both safe and effective.
FIELD (voice-over): Those assurances come after the CDC sent out guidance for how states should prepare to distribute millions of doses of a potential vaccine by late October. It is faster than public health officials have previously estimated.
For two weeks, the U.S. has been averaging some 40,000 new cases a day, on each of the last two days, more than 1,000 deaths.
GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): Let's be clear where we are. The virus is not done with us yet, not by a long shot.
FIELD (voice-over): In the northeast where states meet significant and sustained progress against the virus, a number of states are now seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases. There is a new crop of hotspots in the Midwest.
Missouri is now in the so-called red zone, according to the White House Task Force, which is recommending the state shut down its bars and mandate masks to stop the spread.
The same recommendations were made for Iowa, which has the second highest rate of COVID cases in the nation.
Three weeks after a massive motorcycle rally, South Dakota has the country's highest case rate.
FAUCI: We are seeing now in certain states, particularly states, for example, like Montana, the Dakotas, Michigan, Minnesota, that there is an uptick in test positivity, particularly among young people 19 to 25. That is predictive, Jim, that if there is -- if they don't do the kinds of things we are talking about, we are going to see a surge.
FIELD (voice-over): And there are even more concerns about another surge with the holiday weekend coming up. The nation saw big spikes after both Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
DWAYNE JOHNSON, ACTOR: We all tested positive for COVID-19.
FIELD (voice-over): Celebrity Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson urging caution after he and his wife and his two children caught the virus after spending time with friends.
JOHNSON: If you guys are having family and friends over to your house, you know them, you trust them, they have been quarantined and just like you, you still never know.
FIELD (on camera): Dr. Anthony Fauci is insisting a particular vigilance this holiday weekend for Americans. He says it is important to get a running start as we head towards battling the virus this fall with the added challenges of the fall flu season around the corner and also the fact that people spend more time indoors as the weather gets colder.
In New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Anne Rimoin is a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She joins me now from Los Angeles.
[02:20:00]
CURNOW: It is good to see you, doctor. Tell me about this vaccine timeline. As somebody who works with viruses and understands vaccines and the development of them, what do you make about the deadline and the timeline that is being suggested here?
ANNE RIMOIN, PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: When you think about what needs to be done to be able to get a vaccine from -- all the way from phase one, phase two, now phase three trials, we have a long way to go until we can really get this vaccine out and to the public.
So, the first thing we need to realize is that we are still in the midst of the phase three vaccine trials. Nobody except the Data and Safety Monitoring Board should actually know how well this vaccine is working. They are the ones who should be the only people that are doing interim analysis of this data and understanding what is happening next.
The second thing is there needs to be at least 30,000 people in each of these trials that need to be enrolled. We have to make sure that these trials are very well represented, with people from all ethnic groups and from all walks of life, people who are from vulnerable categories, young people. So, it may or may not be possible to get enough people into these trials.
Then, we have to be able to look at the data and look at it carefully.
CURNOW: That was part of my interview with Anne Rimoin. We will have more of her analysis on the virus and a possible vaccine in the next hour. Stick around for that.
Brazil's president is reiterating that COVID-19 vaccines won't be mandatory when they become available. Jair Bolsonaro had spoken at Facebook live chat for supporters on Thursday. Brazil, as we know, has the second worst outbreak after the United States.
Matt Rivers has the latest on what is happening there. Matt?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in Latin America, the country with the worst outbreak by far has, of course, been Brazil. That country has now topped another grim milestone. Brazil is now reporting more than four million coronavirus cases for the first time since this outbreak began.
To get to this point, it really has just been a steady march. I mean, consider from the time that it recorded its first case to case number one million, it took 115 days. But for that country to get from case number one million to case number four million, well, that only took 76 days.
But there has been some good news recently out of Brazil. CNN analysis of the data out of the month of August shows that from August 1st to August 30th, if you look at the seven-day rolling averages of both newly confirmed cases and nearly confirmed deaths, both of those metrics have gone down during the month of August.
Still, where they are at right now, these levels are extremely high. More than 43,000 new confirmed cases reported by the Brazilian health ministry just yesterday. So clearly, the situation in this country is still very severe.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Sweden forged its own path in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and it paid a heavy price compared to its neighbors. But now it has one of the lowest death rates in Europe. So, could Sweden strategy work elsewhere? Could it work here in the U.S.?
Well, Max Foster reports now from Stockholm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This ICU unit in Central Stockholm lies virtually empty with just one coronavirus patient receiving care. This was the scene in April at the height of the Swedish pandemic with the unit inundated.
Outside, bars, shops, and schools remained open throughout. No lockdown. The people were given official guidance on how to sanitize and when to socially distance. They are largely abided by those rules.
Masks were never mandated here with a senior government source telling CNN that they regard it here as largely superficial. After an initial surge in the death rates well above the Scandinavian average, Sweden now has one of the lowest death rates in Europe.
(On camera): Most of the casualties were elderly. Nine out of 10 were over 70 years and 45 percent of all deaths were in care homes. That raised the question about the rest of the society -- the younger, the healthier. Did they develop some sort of resistance to the virus as they interacted?
HANS-GUSTAF LJUNGGREN, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS MEDICINE, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE: It is possible that we are -- we are -- we have been building up some immunity that contributes to an oppressive state.
FOSTER (voice-over): But when Dublin and (ph) Stockholm were tested for immunity, only seven percent had enough antibodies to fight the disease. But they were not tested for T cells, which also provide resistance.
LJUNGGREN: So that means that immunity in Sweden and immunity globally is probably larger than we have previously appreciated. At least, that is our current thought.
FOSTER (voice-over): And that's the narrative that some American conservatives are grasping on to.
[02:24:56]
FOSTER (voice-over): Why bother with lockdowns and masks when you can allow people to go about their normal lives, catch the virus, and build immunity whilst only shielding the elderly and vulnerable?
The Swedish government urges caution, pointing to how their safety guidelines were followed by most Swedes. But also, a universal health care and welfare system that provide a safety net for anyone falling ill or out of work.
Lena Hallengren oversaw the government's response from the beginning as health minister.
LENA HALLENGREN, SWEDISH HEALTH MINISTER: We didn't have a full or a forced lockdown but we have many changes, large number of changes in the Swedish society. I mean, during the spring, we had distance studies or online studies for all, up to secondary for the universities and the adult schools.
We also had, I think, 30 to 40 percent people working from home. We have lots of people staying home on sick leave because they have the slightest symptoms. You could go at the streets and in the capital. You didn't meet almost anyone.
We have lots of businesses. They are at a very difficult situation because they didn't have any guests or customers.
So lots of things were changed. There haven't any cultural event, the sports event, so things were changed, but not in a forced way. I think that was the difference.
FOSTER (voice-over): The Swedish economy shrank by eight percent at the second quarter of 2020, the largest fall since records began. But what is the bigger price? The many elder who died, some argue were sacrifice, in the early days of the pandemic.
HALLENGREN: If you get the virus into those elder care homes, many of the persons living there are having very severe symptoms and they also die. So that is why we have this -- by law, people are forbidden to visit there, the elder care homes. But that was not successful all the way. But we also learned a lot of that.
FOSTER (voice-over): All care home workers have since been retrained in hygiene protocols. The government here says it is too early to know what they did right, what they did wrong, or whether herd immunity for coronavirus is even a thing.
In the meantime, they are preparing for a possible second wave this fall. It wouldn't be the first country to see a surge in the virus after apparently stamping it out.
Max Foster, CNN, Stockholm, Sweden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks to Max. We will chat to him live in the next hour. Still coming up on "CNN Newsroom," we are tracking the U.S. Futures market after significant crash on Thursday. You will know all about this. We will bring you our economic expert to see what is behind the plunge, what it is indicating perhaps, as well.
Plus, we are learning about the death of another Black man after an encounter with the police. And another family is calling for justice in America. Stay with CNN.
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CURNOW: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM wherever you are. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow, live here at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
So it was a virtual bloodbath on Wall Street as the U.S. stock market plummeted on Thursday.
These numbers, take a look at them. U.S. futures dipped and now traders and bracing for more losses, following a sharp sell-off.
The DOW and the NASDAQ had their worst day since June after the S&P and the NASDAQ hit record highs on Wednesday.
Well, analysts suspect part of the reason being faltering relations with China prompting many to move out of tech companies.
And, also for the first time in a month, fewer than one million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits.
I want to get all this from John Defterios. John joins us this hour from Abu Dhabi.
Talk us through these numbers on Wall Street. We've talked about rallying tech stocks but what do the latest numbers telling us about, perhaps, a major rethink possibly going on?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, I would say a major rethink is underway, Robyn, and I don't think we're done yet.
Because if you make comparisons to the last tech rally or that bubble we saw 20 years ago, the valuations are almost the same. And we know how that finished with losses of 45 percent to 50 percent. That's what it was 20 years ago.
Right now, there's a number of household names that are coming into the line of fire in terms of the sell-off, but we have to put into context where we came in the year 2020.
These are the kind of pandemic COVID-19 rallying stocks because they benefit from the lockdown, if you will.
We have nine on the board here. You can see losses of three, five, seven, nine percent, nearly 10 percent in the case of Zoom.
But having it see that sell-off on Thursday, we also have the broader index of tech stocks, the FANG plus as they call it, on the New York Stock Exchange up nearly 75 percent this year.
So that's still a heck of a rally in a period of less than nine months.
So let's take a look at the Asian market. So if you're looking, as an investor, for some stability here, we didn't have a major washout in Asia with losses, as you can see, one to one and-a-half percent.
Australia which declared itself in a recession earlier this week that we talked about, Robyn, is down about three percent of the most vulnerable.
So I would say this is a reevaluation of where we are today.
But, actually, a real concern after the United States spent three trillion dollars on stimulus, we have that spurt up at the end of the first half, May and June, that we are slowing down.
And you can't spend that money forever. And worries about the valuations of the stocks in relation to a slower growth scenario for next year.
CURNOW: Well, let's talk about that. The monthly jobs report in the U.S. is out in about five hours time.
We're looking at a big number of jobs being added. But there's still a real worry, as you say, about a slowdown, particularly in job creation.
DEFTERIOS: Yes. We had a spurt last month of jobs being created, 1.8 million. That's about six times higher than we would see prior to the pandemic because we had such a sharp drop down, remember, in the first six months of the year after the pandemic set in.
The expectation for today -- and that number's out in about five hours as you're suggesting, 1.6 million jobs created.
Again, the worry is 1.8, 1.6, but we're still down about 10 million jobs from February.
Donald Trump has promised to create that number of jobs, if reelected, a million jobs a month which is almost impossible. And at what cost?
We have a debt chart here, Robyn, that I think is worth looking at. This is what's happened under Donald Trump's reign.
We were pretty stable after the global financial crisis climbing to 60, 80 percent of GDP which is high. But look at us now.
We're knocking on the door of 100 percent of GDP, a figure we'd never dream of, and going above 100 percent of GDP.
The lesson here, Robyn, at some point you need to pay the piper. And that will be in the form of higher taxes for the next generation, very likely.
CURNOW: Yes. It most certainly will. And they've got enough to deal with, based on what we've seen the last year as well.
John Defterios in Abu Dhabi. Always good to speak to you. Thanks, my friend.
CURNOW: Well, seven police officers in Rochester New York, in America, have been suspended over the death of a black man in March.
It comes a day after the release of disturbing body cam video showing what happened to Daniel Prude during his arrest.
Athena Jones has the video and the reaction from Prude's family.
[02:35:00]
And I must say, it is difficult to watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground, put your hands behind your back. Behind your back.
DANIEL PRUDE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was March 23rd and Daniel Prude was having what his family called a mental health episode.
He was visiting his brother in Rochester New York.
His brother called police for help. Daniel Prude was running in the street, naked, with a light snow falling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you Daniel?
PRUDE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel Prude?
PRUDE: Please, please --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: What you're looking at is edited police body cam footage, given to CNN by attorneys for the Prude family.
At first, he complies with officers' request to lay on the ground and put his hands behind his back.
Later, you can see Prude is visibly agitated, arguing with police.
Minutes into the encounter, you can see Prude writhing on pavement. Police say he claimed to have coronavirus and was allegedly spitting at officers.
They decided to put what is known as a spit hood over his head.
DANIEL PRUDE: God bless y'all.
The move appears to agitate Prude further. He continues moving around on the ground and now starts demanding officers hand over their weapon.
He struggles to stand up.
DANIEL PRUDE: Give me the gun, give me the gun --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay down. DANIEL PRUDE: - give me the handgun. Give me the handgun.
JONES: At this point, police move to restrain Prude. you can see as one officer puts his knee on Prude's back while another holds his head down on the pavement.
DANIEL PRUDE: Take this thing off my face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I got him. I got him --
DANIEL PRUDE: I mean it.
JONES: For two minutes, Prude is held like this on the ground, with the spit hood on.
Paramedics begin to assist. An officer notices he has vomited.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he puking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) male --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he's puking. Just straight water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's all it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See all that water came out of his mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Start CPR.
JONES: Prude is then put into an ambulance and taken to a hospital, where he is pronounced brain dead.
He was taken off life support seven days later. Prude's family is demanding murder charges for the officers involved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE PRUDE, BROTHER OF DANIEL PRUDE: The man is defenseless, butt naked on the ground. He's cuffed up already. I mean, c'mon.
How many more brothers got to die for society to understand that this needs to stop?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Lawyers for the family released the autopsy report. The Monroe County medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.
The autopsy report also cites "excited delirium," and acute PCP intoxication as causes of death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TASHYRA PRUDE, DANIEL PRUDE'S DAUGHTER: I don't understand how anybody could say or feel like he was a threat to the police when he complied with all orders.
There's nothing that anybody could say to me that could convince me that he was a threat to the police officers.
And it just -- I feel like this case was simply just a case of police brutality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
CURNOW: You're watching CNN. So after the break, rescue teams in Beirut are digging through rubble looking for survivors of last month's explosion.
We have that story next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:00]
CURNOW: So in Beirut, here's a story.
Rescue teams are back at work, digging through tons of rubble from last month's massive explosion.
So we know a rescue dog detected signs of life on Thursday. But officials say they feared a further collapse if they didn't wait for the right equipment.
Now the country's army discouraged volunteers who tried to help dig by hand.
This horrific explosion rocked the capital of Lebanon 30 days ago. More than 200 people we know were killed, thousands left homeless.
And I want to talk more about this now with Sam Kiley.
Sam, hi. So what we're seeing here is an effort to still dig because there's an expectation that perhaps there might be someone under the rubble 30 days later? How likely is that?
SAM KILEY CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, medically, or anecdotally, it's extremely unlikely.
But if any city deserves a miracle, it must be the benighted city of Beirut.
Where -- and I actually even walked past this location in the aftermath of that explosion on Marmepel (ph) several weeks ago now.
We're now -- it was 29 days, Robyn, when a dog called Flash walking past, a dog brought in at the weekend only by Chilean experts, experts in finding people buried in particularly in mining areas.
The dog Flash picked up what was -- signals of potential sign of life. They then brought in equipment that they believe detected something that could be a heartbeat, could be a clock.
There were reports of one, possibly two individuals or creatures -- something, stuck under that rubble.
And so began yesterday afternoon, a frantic but extremely delicate operation, to try and get to whatever was causing the dog to continue to signal that there could be signs of life down they believe possibly, two, two and a half meters down in the rubble.
Then, at about -- well, well after nightfall at about eight o'clock last night there were concerns that there was a wall that could collapse onto the rescuers.
And actually, the formal ending of the search ended at 11:30 last night.
But that was a decision -- the Lebanese military put out a statement this morning -- saying taken by the rescue operations. It was their job, simply, to try and secure the site and also secure that wall using military engineers and other civilian experts. That has now been done.
And the attempt to find whatever was getting Flash to signal that there were signs of life under the rubble is now continuing ;into what is now day 30, Robyn, since that gigantic explosion caused, we strongly believe, by an explosion of ammonium nitrate, several thousand tons of ammonium nitrate. Possibly ignited by a local fire at the port.
There is a sense of distrust of the authorities and there were people there who were very keen to get involved when the official search was suspended.
And that's why the army moved in, they said. Robyn.
CURNOW: OK. Sam, thanks so much for that update. We'll keep our viewers posted on any developments in that story in particular.
So I also have some other news for you.
An Oregon man who died in an encounter with police on Thursday night appeared to admit in a television interview that he was the one who fatally shot a right-wing protester in Portland Oregon last weekend.
In an interview with "VICE News" he said he acted in self-defense as he n a friend were about to be stabbed.
Authorities were moving in on him late Thursday in southern Washington.
The U.S. Marshal Service released a statement moments ago confirming he was being sought on a murder charge.
Well, thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow.
WORLD SPORTS starts after the break then I'll be back after that. [02:45:00]
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, there. Thanks for joining us this Friday. Welcome to CNN WORLD SPORT.
I'm Patrick Snell. We have a packed show ahead.
The very latest from the NBA playoffs in Orlando. And we'll be telling you how the Manchester United and England football and Marcus Rashford is continuing to impact lives in a truly powerful and inspiring way.
Let's get started though in New York City. Where Thursday marked day four at the COVID-19 impacted U.S. Open where Serena Williams' quest for a record equaling history remains on track after the American great booked her spot in round three.
Serena just too good in the end for her Russian opponent, Margarita Gasparyan emerging victorious in straight sets out there on Arthur Ashe. Gasparyan is ranked 117 in the world so this result no surprise.
But its just what Williams needed as she looks to go on and try and win that elusive 24th major and tie the sport's most decorated player, the Australian Margaret Court.
Well, Serena one of three months to win out there on Thursday.
Here's a father of three. Scotland's Andy Murray the 2012 champion who produced a sensational comeback earlier in the week.
But that five set marathon of a thriller definitely taking its toll on the Brit who underwent career saving hip surgery early last year. Up against the highly impressive Montreal youngster Felix Auger Aliassime.
This was just too much for Murray who was beaten in three sets on Arthur Ashe.
Thirty-three year old Andy Murray is out, after his first round heroics.
All right. To the football pitches of Europe we go now.
Eight matches on the slate for later on in the UEFA Nations League. A competition which kicked off again on Thursday with Germany and Spain going head to head in Stuttgart.
Now the match also marking Spain's first game with head coach Luis Enrique back in charge following the tragic death of his nine-year old daughter just over a year ago.
Early in the second half, as we pick up the action. Timo Wermer doing what Timo Wermer does best and that is finding the back of the net. The new Chelsea man beating the otherwise David De Gea for the opening goal of the match. But the Germans didn't put the game to bed. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Jose Gaya equalizing despite one German player trying in vain to play him offside.
One all it would end. Germany still looking for their first ever victory in this competition.
All right. I want to get to the Orlando bubble now for the NBA playoffs.
With Thursday night proving to be a bit of a wake up call for the Boston Celtics who have been defeated for the first time during this post season. Their loss coming in game three of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Their conquerors? Defending champions, the Toronto Raptors.
As we pick it up for you in the fourth quarter of play here, under 30 seconds left.
Fred VanVleet to the basket making the reverse lay up, Toronto tying it all up at 101 points apiece.
Then under 10 seconds left they get it to the German player, Daniel Theis, and he finishes with a slam.
And the Celtics leading by two and only 0.5 left, the game surely over. But wait, Kyle Lowry with a great pass is going to be finding the English born OG Anunoby wide opinion here. It's a game winning three.
Raptors win it by a single point. But Boston still leading the series 2-1.
Another thrilling finish we've seen in the NBA playoffs this incredible week.
All right. Later on this Friday, it's all eyes on four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah who'll be looking to try and make it a record- breaking night of history in Brussels as he bids to set a one-hour world record.
The 37-year old Brit will be tasked with covering as much distance as he possibly can in the allotted 60-minute period.
The event taking place without fans due to coronavirus restrictions.
So what target does he actually have in his sights? Well, Farah hoping to eclipse the Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie's mark set some 13 years ago now when he covered 13.2558 miles, that's over 21 kilometers.
Well, he's been having a huge impact both on and off the football pitch.
How the Manchester United and England footballer, Marcus Rashford, is continuing to change lives in the most powerful and inspiring way.
[02:50:00]
SNELL: Welcome back. Well, later on today, the PGA Tour season ender at East Lake Golf Club teeing off right here in Atlanta. Just 30 players now going into the Tour championship.
And come Monday, a $15 million dollar FedEx Cup champ will be crowned.
No fans out there on the course, during these times of COVID-19 at the conclusion of a season, remember, that was actually stopped for months due to the global pandemic.
But a star-studded field is nonetheless guaranteed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUSTIN JOHNSON, WORLD NO. 1 GOLFER: They're big events. And I think that's when the best guys come out and show their stuff. It's just -- it's kind of how it happens in all sports. During the playoffs is when you're supposed to step up and play well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON RAHM, WORLD NO. 2 GOLFER: The best players in the world usually have the bigger crowds and we slowly have been able to get used to that. And I think that's why now we're all peaking at the right time.
Just a theory, honestly. I can't tell you what in everybody's mind, but at least that's what's in mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: Jon Rahm there. Well, defending champion, Rory McIlroy, he's due to tee off at around 1:30 p.m. today at East Lake.
It's been a rather busy week for the Northern Irishman and a joyous one too at that, after the four-time major winner announced his wife Erica had given birth to the couple's first child in Florida.
Wonderful news. Rory tweeting "Poppy Kennedy McIlroy born August 31st, 12:15 p.m. She's the absolute love of our lives. Mother and baby are doing great.
Massive thank you to all the staff at Jupiter Medical Center and Dr. Sasha Melendy for their amazing care."
Now from one dad to another. Really nice touch we saw at the tour championship when Rory's news actually filtered through.
As top-ranked Dustin Johnson passed on some fatherly perspectives of his own to the new dad.
Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: It almost takes a little bit of stress -- I don't know if you -- I don't really call it stress. I don't know. It just puts things in perspective where it's -- golf, I love golf and I enjoy it and it's my job.
And whether I played on tour or not, I'd still play the game of golf. But it's one of those where once you have a family, just your -- all your priorities change.
But in a good way. Like in a very good way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: All right. Well, it has been a truly momentous last few months for the Manchester United and England footballer, Marcus Rashford.
The 22-year old regularly makes an impact on the pitch. But off it, he literally is changing lives when it comes to child food poverty in the U.K.
After successfully pressurizing the British government to extend a free schools meals program doing the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, Rashford now spearheading a campaign for a more permanent solution to the problem.
CNN's WORLD SPORTS' Alex Thomas.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's a famous young footballer with Manchester United and England who scores goals on the pitch, and away from it campaigns to feed children who are unable to get enough food.
Marcus Rashford has already influenced British government policy and is now asking for lawmakers to act again.
In an open letter to members of the country's parliament, Rashford is urging them to back three recommendations from a new taskforce he has set up.
Mentioning his own experience of child food poverty, he writes:
"I remember the sound of my mum crying herself to sleep to this day, having worked a 14-hour shift, unsure how she was going to make ends meet."
Because this cause is so personal to him, Rashford teamed up with FareShare which uses surplus food to provide millions of meals to charities feeding those who can't provide for themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSAY BOSWELL, CEO, FARESHARE: The government's own numbers is that 4.2 million people live in poverty in the United Kingdom. That's shocking. And quite often, you come up against the sort of dogmatic position
where people go, "Well, I just don't believe these numbers."
And that's where having the authenticity of somebody like Marcus Rashford who has been there, done it, and got, sadly, the T-shirt in terms of being hungry as a young man himself, needing to rely on breakfast clubs and after school clubs in order to get enough food.
And there's an authenticity about that that is absolutely fantastic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: Earlier this year, the sports star helped persuade the British government to extend the scheme to provide free school meals to vulnerable children during the coronavirus lockdown. And now he's lobbying for a longer term solution.
After persuading the U.K.'s major supermarkets to join his taskforce.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOSWELL: There's something very of the moment and of now about this coalition. Where you've got a young 22-year-old black footballer calling on -- and I was in the call -- the chief executives of all of the major food businesses.
And he said, "Guys, this is what I want you to do."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: And they did. Signing up to recommendations that would mean millions more children getting fed and possibly a change in attitudes too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCUS RASHFORD, FOOTBALL FORWARD, MANCHESTER UNITED & ENGLAND: Like a kid when you're in school if you need help doing maths or English, it's natural for you to just ask for help from the teacher.
But because it's something in a different light, it's looked down upon.
So for me, I just say hold up your head up high and if you need help, go and get help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: The British government says it will carefully consider the task force's recommendations as it approaches the next spending review.
An acknowledgment that the star footballer with number 10 on his jersey is being listened to at the number 10 where Britain's prime minister lives.
Alex Thomas, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNELL: Thanks, Alex. Marcus Rashford impacting lives each and every day. Wonderful to see.
Thanks so much for joining us this Friday.
We're going to leave you though with a look ahead to a landmark occasion on the Formula 1 circuit.
Here's our latest Rolex minute for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Hi, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow.
So coming up. Striking a very different tone, Joe Biden visits the scene of a high-profile police shooting just days after the U.S. President.
[03:00:00]
