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Trump Set To Return To Campaign Trail After Contracting COVID- 19; Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings Set To Begin Tomorrow; High Court To Hear Case On Religious Liberty Versus LGBTQ Rights; Dr. Fauci Says He Did Not Consent To Appear In New Trump Ad; Verbal Altercation Near Two Protests In Denver Ends With One Man Dead, Suspect In Custody; Pandemic Intensifies Struggles For America's Veterans. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 11, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:17]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Election day is now just 23 days away and the clock is ticking. We're on the eve of two major events in the United States.

President Trump is set to return to the campaign trail tomorrow for the first time since testing positive for coronavirus ten days ago. The president, while on the balcony of the White House yesterday before supporters claiming he is, quote, "immune" from the coronavirus as he prepares to travel to a rally in Florida tomorrow. There is no medical evidence of such immunity.

Trump will also travel to scheduled rallies in Pennsylvania Tuesday and Iowa Wednesday.

And tomorrow also marks the start of Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearings. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Judge Barrett's Supreme Court nomination are scheduled to run through Thursday as Republicans push to fill the Supreme Court vacancy ahead of election day.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is now calling on Judge Barrett to recuse herself from some significant decisions, should she be confirmed to the high court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Given Judge Barrett's conflicts of interest, she should recuse herself from any decision involving the Affordable Care Act and its protections, and any decision related to the election that we will have on November 3rd. The process is already illegitimate, dangerous and unpopular. All the more reason she should be recused. She's being rushed through to decide decisions that she's already seemed to have made up her mind on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The controversial hearings and the president's questionable return to the campaign trail come as a former CDC director says we should expect some 20,000 additional coronavirus deaths over just the next 20 days.

But first we have breaking news out of the White House. The Trump administration is asking the Presidential Debates Commission to reschedule that second debate, saying the president's doctor has declared he's no longer a risk to transmit COVID-19. The president going so far this morning to claim he is immune.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It was like I'm immune. So I can go way out of a basement, which I would have done anyway and which I did, because you have to run a country. You have to get out of the basement, and it looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe for a long time and maybe a short time. It could be a lifetime, nobody really knows. But I'm immune. So the president is in very good shape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in now CNN's Jeremy Diamond at the White House. So who and what is substantiating this immunity for the president?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. The White House is now saying that the president should be allowed -- that this second debate should go forward, essentially, you know. Let me take you through the timeline of what happened here Fredricka, because the White House and the president and his allies have been misconstruing it.

What happened was that after the president came down with coronavirus, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the second debate was going to be held virtually, meaning that both candidates would be in different locations and the moderator and the participants in the town hall would be in a third location.

Following that President Trump immediately said that he would not be participating in a virtual debate. Joe Biden's campaign then decided to move forward with a separate town hall event that they were going to do unilaterally with another network. And following that, the Commission on Presidential Debates said that they were going to cancel the debate altogether.

So now the White House is saying that now that the president has been cleared to return to public activities by his doctor, that that second debate should resume and should happen in person. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The president is ready to debate. And his doctors have cleared him for participating in public engagements. They've said he's no longer a risk for transmission. So it would be nice if the commission would get the debate back on the schedule.

I think, you know, the president is ready to go. He wants to be on stage debating Joe Biden in person. So if they'll do that, get it back on the schedule, I think the president would be happy to show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And so that was the deputy White House communications director Brian Morgenstern making it very clear that they would like to see the second presidential debate back on the schedule and to see it happen in person.

Of course, there is very, very little likelihood that that is actually going to happen. As I mentioned, the Biden campaign is already moving forward with this other town hall event. President Trump is likely to do the same if this debate is not put back on the schedule.

[14:04:57]

DIAMOND: Of course, there are still questions about the president's health. Of course, the president's doctor did not say in that statement that the president had tested negative for coronavirus yet some health experts said though that that's not necessarily necessary in order to clear the president for a return to public activities, but there are still a number of questions, particularly given the severity of the president's illness.

CDC suggests that perhaps it should be not just 10 days of isolation but perhaps 20 days of isolation. And given the lack of transparency from the White House, it's been very difficult to assess these different things. But of course, that is where things stand as of now, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: But the president didn't even get ten days of isolation. I mean he returned, you know, back to the White House just a couple of days after, you know, being at Walter Reed.

Now, we have reached out to the debate commission, a representative, you know, of that group to see how they will entertain this request now coming from the White House on putting the second debate back on the schedule.

Again, there's still that October 22nd debate, but just for clarity, Jeremy, this White House is saying it wants to have another debate. The one that was canceled for this week, back on for this week or sometime before that October 22nd scheduled debate.

DIAMOND: Yes, that's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much at the White House.

So let's bring in CNN's Arlette Saenz for reaction from the Biden campaign. So Arlette, what are you hearing from them?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The campaign has yet to offer any fresh reaction to this. But they have over the past few days said that President Trump is not the one who will dictate the calendar for these debates. You'll remember that when the Debate Commission announced that that second presidential debate would be virtual, instead of in person, the Biden's campaign said they were game. They said that Joe Biden would participate in a virtual debate.

But then when the president said that he wasn't going to be a part of any virtual debate, the Biden campaign decided to move forward, and go ahead and make other plans for that day of October 15th.

And deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield appeared on CNN earlier this morning and talked a little bit about their thinking around this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BEDINGFIELD, BIDEN DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He, Donald Trump, refused to participate in a virtual town hall so we instead scheduled a national network televised townhall so that Joe Biden can take questions from voters. And we have every intention and every expectation that we'll be there on the 22nd as well.

But we're not going to let Donald Trump write the rules. He doesn't get to set the calendar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So Joe Biden will participate in a town hall with another network on October 15th, this Thursday, in Philadelphia. And the Biden campaign has called for that next debate scheduled for October 22nd to have a town hall format instead of that one on one match up between Biden and President Trump.

But we will see, for now, that that October 22nd debate which will now be the second presidential debate is still moving forward, still on track to take place, as these two men are set to face off again just a few weeks before the election.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much.

All right. The other big breaking story, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett beginning tomorrow, those hearings for confirmation.

We're now getting a look at Judge Barrett's opening statement to the committee. Joining me right now is CNN congressional reporter Lauren Fox. So Lauren, what can be expected tomorrow?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, Fredricka. This is going to be Democrats' first opportunity to really grill this nominee, but expect that tomorrow was going to be a day full of opening statements. Everyone sort of setting the table for where this four-day hearing will actually be going. We expect that tomorrow, Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Judiciary will give his opening statement, followed by Diane Feinstein, the top Democrat on the committee. Then each member, 22 in total including the chair and ranking member will have 10 minutes to give their opening statements. That will be followed by Amy Coney Barrett's introduction and her swearing in. then we expect her to give her opening statement.

And this what we expect her to say tomorrow. Quote, "There is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all- consuming, while losing sight of everything else. But that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life.

I worked hard as a lawyer and a professor. I owed that to my clients, my students and myself, but I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life."

Now, of course, overshadowing this nomination process is going to be the question of the timeline and, of course, the question of coronavirus because two individuals, Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, both Republicans on the committee had contracted coronavirus more than a week ago.

So the question, of course, will they be attending in person later in the week when their presence is going to be very essential to the question of whether or not they can move this nomination forward in a timely way.

[14:09:48]

SAENZ: We know of course, that Tillis is planning to be there. We're not sure what's going on with Mike Lee at this current moment, but I will tell you that when you were talking about this nomination process, you have a question about whether or not it is safe to hold this hearing at all. And that's something the Democrats have been arguing all along.

Now Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican on the Committee, said Democrats are just trying to delay this nominee. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX): I think they are looking for anything to delay things, even a day or two or three. and I think THAT Senate Republicans will follow the guidance, the medical guidance of the Capitol physician. We've managed to have hearings for months in a way that's been safe and has protected everyone's safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And of course, Fredricka, the room is going to look very different tomorrow. Instead of having all the members of the Judiciary Committee on one dais, there will be two. That, of course, giving members that six feet or more of distance. We also expect that each member will only have one staffer coming in and out of the room. It's going to look very different than past SCOTUS confirmation hearings of the past, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: And even with those measures being put in place, the vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris says she will participate in the hearings, but her office is saying that she's going to do so from her Senate office and saying this Judiciary Committees Republicans' refusal to take common-sense steps to protect members, aides, capitol complex workers and members of the media are among the reasons why.

All right. Lauren Fox, thank you so much.

All right. On November 4th, the day after the election, the U.S. Supreme Court just might take up a case that pits claims of religious liberty against LGBTQ rights. The court will decide if a Catholic foster agency violated antidiscrimination laws when it refused to work with same-sex couples or whether it has a first amendment exemption.

I want to talk about this case and Judge Coney Barrett's nomination with Jim Obergefell. He came the face of LGBTQ rights and the Supreme Court in 2015 when he won the marriage equality case that legalized same-sex marriage.

And today on this national coming-out day, you know, you're raising the alarm over Barrett's nomination. What are your biggest concerns?

JIM OBERGEFELL, MARRIAGE EQUALITY CASE OBERGEFELL V. HODGES: Thanks have having me on, Fredricka. You know, when I think about Amy Coney Barrett, I really worry about the LGBTQ+ community, but not only us. I'm worried about women's rights to control their own health. I'm worried about Americans across the nation and their health care. I'm worried about voting rights.

But as far as the LGBTQ+ community is concerned, she has come out forcefully as an opponent of LGBTQ+ equality. She is against Obergefell v Hodges. She is against marriage equality.

And I would like to turn to some of her words that were just read. She talked about has the potential to condemn us to a shallow and unfulfilling life by letting law control her life. Well, that's what she has potential to do to us. Condemn us to a shallow and unfulfilling life by using the law and by using religion.

And this case to me comes down to the First Amendment. And I have to say, Fredricka, I wasn't aware that the number of the amendment made it more important than any of the following amendments in the bill of rights. And religious freedom was written into our constitution because so many of the people who came to the New World came because they were subject to persecution due to their religious beliefs.

And yet this case which could legalize discrimination is nothing more than allowing persecution of people who believe differently or who don't believe under the first amendment. So there are a lot of concerns that I have with her confirmation.

WHITFIELD: And what are your concerns about whether these issues will be prioritized when it comes down to the questioning, the grilling of this nominee? OBERGEFELL: You know, I -- that's a great question, Fredericka art. I

honestly haven't thought about that, because maybe I'm a little scared to think about that. But I do believe that, you know, that the senators from the Democratic Party who will be interviewing her and conversing with her, will ask about her religion and her belief or her understanding as to how the first amendment and religious liberty impacts other people.

You know, with religious liberty, nothing has changed their right to practice their faith the way they want to at home and in their places of worship. We have not gone into their homes or their houses of worship to say they cannot believe or practice the way they want to.

Yet they are coming into our homes, into every part of secular life, our state houses, our legislative chambers, to use their religion to determine our rights -- human rights, our civil rights. And I hope that that comes up.

[14:15:02]

WHITFIELD: And where do you see Chief Justice John Roberts falling in this case, that the Supreme Court will start considering on November 4th, and you know. And if this offers some kind of precipice for a real possibility of the court reopening the issue of same-sex marriage ultimately.

OBERGEFELL: I choose to believe that Chief Justice Roberts is a firm believer in precedent and not taking away rights that have previously been granted or confirmed by this court. So I look to that as my hope, and the fact that he did not join in with Justices Thomas and Alito on that.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And James, you know, you talked about what life was like before your victory in the Supreme Court. And then what it was like after. How do you define the change?

OBERGEFELL: You know, that change was fundamental, it was enormous. It changed everything about my life and about my being. You know, I can't sit back and allow our rights, our civil rights or human rights to be trampled on.

And I think about this 12-year-old here in the Columbus area whose mother reached out to me to say, Jim, what could you say to my son? He's 12 years old. But when he heard what Justices Thomas and Alito had to say, he asked me, mom, what will happen? Will I ever be able to exercise that right that our nation won five years ago?

And that's heartbreaking. So I think about David. I think about the kids across our nation who are growing up in a better world than I did. But I want to make sure that they continue to have hope, to have that promise of a better world than what I had, so I will continue to speak out on my own as a member of the staff of family equality and any way that I can, because we deserve the right to be part of we the people, on the same terms and with the same rights as everyone else in our nation.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jim Obergefell, pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much.

OBERGEFELL: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, President Trump returns to the Oval Office without a mask and tomorrow he's back on the campaign trail. But will it be safe? Dr. Saju Mathew is standing by.

Plus, is there a credibility problem at the CDC? The former acting director of the agency makes a blunt assessment.

[14:17:41]

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WHITFIELD: Ten days after announcing he tested positive with coronavirus, President Trump is now preparing to resume in person campaign rallies. He heads to Florida tomorrow and then goes to Pennsylvania and Iowa Tuesday and Wednesday.

The White House released this new picture of the president not wearing a mask as he returns to work in the Oval Office. The President is also defending Saturday's even where he brought perhaps hundreds of supporters on to the White House grounds.

And now, without evidence, Trump says he is immune from coronavirus. I want to discuss the potential medical concerns of the president resuming his rallies such a short time after his COVID diagnosis, primary care physician and public health specialist Dr. Saju Mathew is joining us now. So Doctor, what are your concerns about the president holding in-person rallies just over 10 days after his diagnosis beginning tomorrow?

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Yes. Good afternoon, Fred. Thanks for having me back on your show.

You know, lots of things are still up in the air with the president's diagnosis. I still would like to know when his last negative test was. And the recent statement from Dr. Conley says that the PCR test is back, but I did not read where he says that the PCR test was negative.

Let's also remember that the president from we know decreased oxygenation. He needed oxygen therapy. He got three treatments, three large modality treatments -- Remdesivir, dexamethasone and we also know that he got the monoclonal antibodies.

This is not a patient that has mild disease. For mild disease, we talk about the patient just quarantining or isolating for ten days. But from what we know, the president had at least moderate to severe disease and really you should have 20 days of isolation before you go out there. So I'm -- I'm really concerned that he has been released back to his normal duties.

WHITFIELD: And you say moderate or severe disease because of the type of medicine, the kind of treatment that he received. So when a president says, you know, he's immune, I mean do we know -- does the medical and scientific community know if there is indeed immunity that anyone is experiencing once they've been diagnosed with COVID?

DR. MATHEW: There's no sense that we're getting the scientific field that you can actually be immune to COVID-19. We know that you can build some level of immunity like any other virus, like the cold virus, which COVID-19 falls under, for maybe a couple of months.

But we also have studies that have shown that after two months the immunity goes down. And we also note Fred that we have two documented cases of people that have been infected with COVID-19 and got re- infected again. So I would never use the word "immunity" with COVID- 19. You might have some few weeks of protection, but not full immunity.

[14:24:43]

WHITFIELD: And then on our "CNN CORONAVIRUS TOWN HALL" last night, you know, one of the CDC's former acting directors, Dr. Richard Besser told Anderson Cooper and chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta that he feels the CDC's integrity has been compromised by politics.

As a physician, are you trusting what you hear from the CDC right now?

DR. MATHEW: You know Fred, I was lucky enough to do a fellowship at the CDC after college. And I remember walking in to the halls of the CDC and having these goosebumps to know that we have some of the most famous and renowned epidemiologists and public health specialists. But since 1946, this is the first time the CDC is not at the forefront of a pandemic. And in that letter that Dr. Bill Foege, the former CDC director wrote to Dr. Redfield, to give him the strength to come out and be honest with the political pressure that he has faced was really a very jarring letter. And I support that.

I hope that Dr. Redfield will have the confidence to come out and let us know how much pressure he has really felt politically when it has come to COVID-19.

Listen, we're going to have another pandemic once this pandemic over. And I would love to see the CDC really sort of disassociate itself completely and be an independent organization away from the government.

WHITFIELD: So you feel pretty confident that your confidence can be restored in the CDC?

DR. MATHEW: I think that if we do the right thing and if science leads this COVID-19 pandemic, we can do that. But we have a long way to go to build that trust back again among scientists like myself and the public as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Saju Mathew, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

DR. MATHEW: Thanks, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up next, as Democrats and Republicans fight over a second stimulus proposal, families and children are suffering. I'll talk live with the president of an organization that is helping Americans in need.

[14:26:42]

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[14:30:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, this just in. Dr. Anthony Fauci tells CNN that he did not consent to appear in a campaign ad for President Donald J. Trump. The new ad was released this week and it's airing in Michigan. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America. Together we rose to meet the challenge.

President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, Dr. Fauci just released this statement to CNN, saying, in my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of the context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials, that coming from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease doctor.

All right, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats today that until serious issues are resolved, I'm quoting now, we remain at an impasse, end quote, over a new federal stimulus. President Trump is offering a $1.8 trillion deal to the Democrats, far below the $2.2 trillion the Democrats are asking for.

Speaking to CNN this morning, White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Secretary Mnuchin is at the 1.8 trillion. So the bid and the offer is now in somewhat between the two sides. President Trump actually has always said -- I mean, I've heard him say it in the Oval, as far as the key elements are concerned, the checks, the unemployment assistance, the small business assistance, we have got to help airlines out.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: As Congress haggles over a new stimulus package, millions of Americans remain jobless due to the pandemic and many have run out of supplemental unemployment benefits as well.

I want to talk about this with Kevin Ryan, he is the president of Covenant House, an aid organization that help thousands of kids and young families overcome homelessness every year, along with helping young victims of trafficking, and that's here in Atlanta. So, good to see you.

What does stimulus money mean to your organization and to trying to help so many young people every day, and what does it mean to the ongoing efforts to try offer aid to people who are really suffering right now?

KEVIN RYAN, PRESIDENT, COVENANT HOUSE: Well, thanks for having me. There are so many Americans suffering right now, and the Covenant House, we see so many young people who are coming to us who haven't eaten in a long time, whose parents have died from COVID, who have been evicted.

The stimulus talks are about them. They're about the children and families in this country who are suffering in a deep and profound way and who need the government's intervention in order to be safe and healthy and to move on productively. So many kids' lives are at stakes now, that the stakes in these talks could not be higher.

WHITFIELD: And you've been doing a long time, for 30 years, I understand. And you have really seen many levels of need. But then I understand right now this is probably the worst level of child hunger that you have ever witnessed.

RYAN: We see in all 31 cities where we're working, whether it's St. Louis, or Philadelphia, or Hollywood, or Washington, D.C. We see young people coming in, telling us over and over and over again, I haven't eaten in a couple days or I haven't eaten in a week, or my family was evicted, and my mom is living here, and I'm trying to find a play where I can live.

The number of young people who, everyday, are relying on Covenant House and other non-profits for food security and food support is at least, in my experience over the 30 years, completely unprecedented. I mean, kids who were perhaps eating in their high schools, which are now closed, or their colleges and universities which are now virtual, or young people who were working in restaurants, who were catching dinner as servers in restaurants, are all now depending on our Covenant Houses in order to provide food supports to them.

[14:35:16]

WHITFIELD: You're coming to us from Connecticut. You have a Covenant House here in Atlanta. I've heard the stories here in Atlanta about young people who have had nowhere to go, and Covenant House was the place. They were able to seek refuge, and then perhaps even continue on with their education. How -- what's your look at, you know short-term? I mean, how much longer can the Covenant House, or even organizations like yours, you know, try to reach out and have enough sustenance and space to meet the growing need?

RYAN: Well, actually, Fredricka, I'm in New Jersey, our Covenant Houses across the country have many young people who are coming in as a result of eviction. Now, in my home state, the governor issued a moratorium on evictions very early on, and prohibited utilities from being turned off. But that's not true in most of the country. And so there are young people who will tell us, well, I was squatting for a month or two, but I haven't had electricity.

And the truth is that the virus, in many respects, has us and children and families cornered, but love have something else entirely in mind. If you think about what's been happening over the course of the last year, in the midst of sickness and death, it's really these hero helpers who have been giving us all a master class in the moral leadership that we all need right now.

Think about the doctors and the nurses, the postal workers, grocery store clerks. I think about the Broadway seamstresses who haven't been employed for months and months, and are sending us PPE so that we have enough masks to take care of young people. This really is how America will see its way through this. We have to be there for each other.

WHITFIELD: We do indeed. All right, Kevin Ryan, President of the Covenant House, thank you so much. And, of course, for all of you watching, if you want to help, you can. You can check out their website. Kevin Ryan, thank you so much.

RYAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, a peaceful protest ends with gunshots, a man in police custody after a deadly shooting, and investigators say he was protecting journalists.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:00]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. One man is dead and another in custody after dueling protests in Denver. CNN's Natasha Chen joins me with more details. Natasha?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, these protests were happening yesterday in Denver. And the shooting happened just after about 3:30 local time. Just one hour ago, Denver Police confirmed the name of the person they have in custody, 33-year-old Matthew Dolloff, which a local news station says is a person they hired as private security to accompany their staff covering the protests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: As two rival protests in Denver's Civic Center Park were about to end Saturday afternoon --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's important to be able to show our free speech rights.

CHEN: CNN affiliate KMGH says this gunshot was heard in the middle of their interview. The station's footage then shows police running towards someone on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I turned around, I saw the two -- the victim and the suspect facing each other, very close range, two feet, or arm's distance. And he already had he hands up at the moment I turned around.

CHEN: Police say 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff was taken into custody and another man was shot, later pronounced dead at the hospital. Police say Dolloff was being held on investigation of first-degree murder.

Another CNN affiliate, KUSA 9News says the person taken into custody was a private security guard contracted by the station. A 9News story on this incident says, quote, it has been the practice of 9News for a number of months to contract private security to accompany staff at protests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm wondering what possible explanation. There didn't seem to be an altercation, there wasn't any yelling coming from that way.

CHEN: But Denver Police say there was a verbal altercation.

DIVISION CHIEF JOE MONTOYA, DIVISION CHIEF OF INVESTIGATIONS, DENVER POLICE DEPARTMENT: The firearm was discharged. The individual was shot, and later pronounced deceased. There were two guns recovered at the scene.

CHEN: Along with a canister of pepper spray. Denver Police have since confirmed on Twitter that the person in custody is a security guard not affiliated with Antifa.

MONTOYA: We don't want any erroneous misinformation going out, any speculation, because that's really what hurts us. And that's what gets everybody angry and motivated to commit more violence, and that's what we're trying to prevent.

CHEN: Denver Police have the help of at least three sheriff's departments on Saturday and said they went to great lengths to separate the patriot rally from the counterprotest, which organizers called a BLM/Antifa suit drive (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rally was supposed to be about basically understanding what was happening with the police brutality within the United States of America. And now, it resulted in this. This is not okay.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHEN: And we reached out to the Denver Police Department to see if Mr. Dolloff has an attorney for representation for comment. We'll let you know when they get back to us, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

All right, up next, they put their lives on the line to protect the United States. Now, some veterans are facing dire circumstances because of the coronavirus. A closer look at their struggles, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:00]

WHITFIELD: Too many American war veterans were already struggling with homelessness or financial insecurity. The pandemic has only made things worse. Vets now face an unemployment rate that is almost double the national average.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich talked with two vets just trying to survive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Tyrone Roark found himself homeless in the middle of a pandemic.

TYRONE ROARK, HOMELESS VETERAN: I was very terrified.

YURKEVICH: He went shelter to shelter, afraid he could get the coronavirus with his compromised immune system.

ROARK: I just try to survive either by stayed in my bed, sleeping most of the time and figuring out how I was going to get out of it.

[14:50:01]

YURKEVICH: Roark, an Air Force veteran who served the country for ten year, and another ten with the Department of Veteran Affairs, was out of a job and in poor health. In June, he says the stress put him in the hospital with the heart failure, and that put him in a walker.

ROARK: The emotional stress is causing a great deal of serious concerns here for my heart.

YURKEVICH: Last year, 37,000 veterans were homeless in the U.S. Advocacy groups say the pandemic could make it worse.

JAMES FITZGERALD, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NYC VETERANS ALLIANCE: We had a lot of those homeless individuals that were still dealing with ongoing mental health issues, which leads to higher rates of homelessness as well, disproportionate amounts of unemployment.

YURKEVICH: The unemployment rate for veterans was 2.8 percent at the end of last year. But when the pandemic hit, that number more than quadrupled. Even today, more than half a million veterans are still searching for work.

Timothy McDonough spent 21 and a half years in the military. He walked away with a traumatic brain injury, PTSD and 14 surgeries. Now, he is facing financial uncertainty.

TIMOTH MCDONOUGH, VETERAN FACING FINANCIAL UNCERTAINTY: One major tire blowout or losing a car away from looking to borrow money from somewhere else. So it's really kind of tight.

YURKEVICH: Made worse by the fact that his girlfriend lost her job in March right when they got their new home. They say the extra $600 on unemployment helped keep them afloat. But without it, they rely on his disability checks.

EVA DUNNE, UNEMPLOYED: We're getting back into, okay, we have to really start focusing, budgeting, planning, because we don't exactly know what the future looks like just yet.

YURKEVICH: Their hope is they will both have new jobs as food truck owners feeding homeless vets, him at the stove, her taking orders. They say the need now is more than ever.

You want to start this food truck. Are you concerned about the economic recovery as well?

MCDONOUGH: Absolutely. Because, again, thinking of doing it as a non- profit, we would rely on the goodness of other people to give money to help us get it going.

YURKEVICH: The V.A. says it paid out $600 million in stimulus to veteran families and placed 15,000 homeless vets in hotels. A local veteran group finally got Roark into a hotel. Now that he says he has his V.A. pension, he's searching for a permanent home.

ROARK: I don't understand the system in terms of how system it's supposed to work. There's a lot of politicians out there, a lot of agencies, a lot of folks saying we're here to help, but I'm in a hotel.

YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up next, the Patriots sidelined again because of coronavirus. More on that, plus new trouble for the Tennessee Titans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. The NFL is facing new problems from COVID-19. Monday's scheduled game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots now postponed. And today, the Patriots and Tennessee Titans shut down their practice facilities. CNN's Coy Wire joining us with the latest. So, Coy, this isn't the first time the Patriots nor the Titans have gone through something like this.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. Good to see you.

Both the Patriots and Titans had just reopened their facilities yesterday after a shutdown due to positive cases. A high-ranking NFL official told me the league has some wiggle room with its schedule and wouldn't even rule out pushing back the Super Bowl, if needed. So far, seven games, potentially an eighth, rescheduled due to COVID.

The Patriots confirming to CNN they had another positive test within the organization this morning but would not specify whether it was a player or staff.

The team held its first practice of the week yesterday and tells us no players, coaches or staff will be at team facilities today. They will continue daily testing.

The Patriots already had three positive player tests since last week, and including star quarterback Cam Newton and stat defender Stephon Gilmore. Yesterday, team captain Jason McCourty said the league and players union heads do not care about player's health and safety. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MCCOURTY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS CORNERBACK: People that don't have to walk into our building, whether it's the league office, whether it's the NFL P.A., they don't care. I mean, we're trying to get games played and we're trying to get the season going.

So for them, it's not about what's in our best interest, our health and safety, it's about what can we make protocol-wise that sounds good, looks good and how can we go out there and play games. So I think what I kind of learned personally throughout this situation, it's going to be up to us as individuals in this building to just really take care of one another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Tennessee Titans also confirming to CNN they shut down their facilities this morning after a staff member tested positive. They too practiced the yesterday after being shut down for 11 days. 12 Titans players are on the NFL's reserve COVID list. As of now, their already postponed game against the Bills is still scheduled for Tuesday.

Let's go to some action from college football yesterday. Look at this scene, fans packing in in parts of the stadium there at Kyle Field, Where number 21 Texas A&M upset number 4 Florida. Afterwards, Florida Coach Dan Mullens said he wants a full house for the Gators' next home game. Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, lifted attendance restrictions earlier this week.

[15:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN MULLEN, FLORIDA GATORS HEAD COACH: Crowd was certainly a factor in the game. I will certainly say that. I know our governor passed that rule.