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The Situation Room

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Calls House Back from Recess; Interview with Julian Castro about Turning Texas Blue; U.S. Nears 170,000 Death Toll, as CDC Issues Ominous Fall Warning; Interview with Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) about the 2020 Race. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 16, 2020 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:28]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM.

There's breaking news right now. The House of Representatives about to take the very rare step of returning to Washington, D.C. early from a summer recess to deal with what they see as a Postal Service crisis, crisis potentially for American democracy at the same time under threat they say from the White House.

The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just a few moments ago sending a letter to her House Democratic colleagues, rallying them in her words to save the Postal Service. No specific date but she says in her letter that she wants the House to return to session later this week.

All of this of course unfolding as the U.S. approaches a once unthinkable milestone of 170,000 Americans dead. Dead from the coronavirus pandemic.

CNN's John Harwood is standing by over at the White House for us.

John, a few things are unprecedented here. First the House coming back from recess for an emergency session during the pandemic to deal with an issue triggered by the pandemic, and they'll do it on the same week the Democrats are holding their national convention. They'll continue next week while the Republicans hold their national convention. First time in American history the House and the Senate maybe will be in session during these presidential conventions.

Tell us what else you're hearing.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a striking development here. Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, has escalated her response to what we've seen from the administration. The removal of postal boxes, the standing down of sorting machines and President Trump's rhetoric saying that he is opposed to additional funding for the Postal Service because he is opposed to mail-in balloting which is more and more necessary for the election because of the pandemic. Here's a statement from Nancy Pelosi. Let me read it. "I'm calling

upon the House to return to session later this week to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Maloney's 'Delivering for America Act' which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or the level of service that it had in place on January 1, 2020."

Now this is not additional funding for the Postal Service. And one of the questions now is, do we get into a negotiation between the White House and the Congress on additional funding. That has been part of a full coronavirus relief legislation that those talks have stalemated.

Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, told Jake Tapper today that the White House may be interested in a standalone bill on Postal Service funding. The House has not gone there yet but they're trying to escalate pressure on Republicans with this step of coming back into session probably on Saturday which would be between the Democratic convention this week, Republican convention next week.

And the question is, how much heat can they put on Republicans? Because remember this is not only about the issue of mail-in balloting. It's about the operation of the Postal Service and a lot of people, Democrat, Republican, urban, rural, depend on the Postal Service, Wolf, as you know, for checks, for mail, for prescriptions, vital prescriptions for medical conditions, and that is the reason why a lot of Republicans are uneasy about the situation, to see whether Pelosi's tactic generates a response from the Senate.

BLITZER: Yes. It's a real crisis. Everyone should be uneasy about this situation.

John Harwood, at the White House, thanks very much.

Moving now to Texas. This year, Democrats have their eyes on that ruby red electoral jewel. It may seem like a long shot but there is hope within the Democratic Party that the rising power of Latino voters among other things could turn Texas blue. Jimmy Carter was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state. That was back in 1976.

The former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama, the former Democratic presidential candidate, Julian Castro is joining us now.

Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for joining us. You're a former mayor of San Antonio. Do you think Joe Biden realistically has a legitimate shot at taking your state?

JULIAN CASTRO, FORMER HUD SECRETARY UNDER OBAMA: I absolutely do. It looks like 2020 is the year when Texas can go Democratic. And that's 30 electoral votes. Now why do I say that? First of all, just look at what's happened over the last few years. In 2016 Hillary Clinton was nine points behind Donald Trump. In 2018 Texas Democrats took back two congressional seats, they took 12 House state seats, state House seats back, and Beto O'Rourke came within 2 1/2 points of Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate race. [19:05:07]

Today, poll after poll that you see over the last three months shows Joe Biden at least high if not a couple of points ahead of Donald Trump in Texas. Because what's happened is that under Donald Trump, people in the suburbs of Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, have moved away from the Republican Party. And at the same time, you have the demographic growth that everybody has talked about and written about, all of the Latino community that is trending toward Democrats this (INAUDIBLE).

So it gives me a lot of confidence that this could be the year but we can't take anything for granted. You know, all of the things about investing in voter registration and outreach, and making sure that Democrats reach voters, we've got to do that because this is going to be an unusual year.

BLITZER: The Lincoln Project, and that's a PAC funded by anti-Trump Republicans, just released a major ad buy aimed at Latino voters in Arizona, Florida and Texas. Do you think Latino voters are the key right now to turning those states blue?

CASTRO: No question. I mean, you look at the -- just the demographics of those states. And each of those states is right there for the taking. Last time Florida was about a point or a point and a half in Donald Trump's favor. Right now Joe Biden is leading in Florida. I think that looks promising. Of course there's still work to do but it's right there to be won. In Arizona, Arizona was about 3 1/2 points in Donald Trump's favor last time.

That was the closest that anybody had come since 1996. So Mark Kelly right now is leading Martha McSally in the U.S. Senate race there. Joe Biden is winning in most polls in Arizona right now. It's right there for the taking. And Latino voters are going to be absolutely crucial to make sure that they turned out.

I will say, Wolf, that in 2016, Latino turnout fell by a point and a half. From 48.5 percent turnout in 2012 to 47 percent turnout in 2016. Getting those numbers up is absolutely crucial if we're going to win in 2020.

BLITZER: I'm curious to get your thoughts on this Postal Service crisis that's unfolding right now. What do you think needs to be done in order to deal with this, not just in terms of a large number of Americans want to vote by mail, especially elderly who don't want to wait in long lines during a coronavirus pandemic, people with underlying health conditions? There's going to be a lot of people wanting to vote by mail and the Postal Service is in a crisis right now.

CASTRO: Well, it absolutely is. And it deserves the attention that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats are giving it, which is this is a five-alarm fire. This is an urgent crisis. People, as many people have said, folks rely on the U.S. Postal Service for so many vital things. Their checks, for their medication, small businesses, they rely on the Postal Service, the sale of goods and receive goods. So having the Oversight Committee get the postmaster general in front of them on August 21st -- 24th is a good first step.

Now we know that the Trump administration has a history of not obeying by these subpoenas, they're basically flouting them. I think if the postmaster general, given the circumstances, flouts the subpoena that he should be immediately held in contempt of Congress and that Congress should move forward with trying to enforce that subpoena power by any means necessary to ensure that they're conducting proper oversight of the Postal Service.

We cannot allow the president to put his own selfish political interests above the interests of Americans, seeing their need of medications, people who need their checks, small businesses that need the Postal Service. That's just not something that we can do in this country.

BLITZER: Yes. And U.S. Military veterans who rely on the Postal Service, among others, to get their medications in the mail as well.

Secretary Castro, thanks so much for joining us.

CASTRO: Good to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: An update, right now some breaking news out of Texas. Three police officers shot while responding to a house call in a suburb just north of Austin. They are in stable condition we're told at a local hospital according to police. So right now police do not have a suspect in custody. They're urging everyone who lives in the area to stay inside their homes.

This is an active situation we're told unfolding right now. We'll update our viewers when we get more information.

Meanwhile, there's a new test for coronavirus using saliva and it promises results in just a matter of a few hours. Could cost around $10. Could it be a pandemic game changer? I'll ask top medical expert.

We have a lot more news coming up right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BLITZER: Right now the United States is closing in on 170,000 coronavirus-related fatalities. 170,000 lives lost since the first U.S. COVID death was reported back on February 29th. After months of frustration over testing shortages and delays, could a new saliva- based test help America get a handle on spiraling numbers? This new test getting an emergency authorization from the FDA, is not invasive, can yield results in a matter of a few hours and is projected to cost about $10 per test.

Joining us now to discuss this and more, CNN medical analyst, Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Dr. Walensky, there's been so much criticism over testing here in the United States. If you can get a new test as described, would that potentially be a game changer?

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good evening, Wolf. There's so much reason to be enthusiastic about this new test. Let me tell you a few things.

[19:15:02]

First, it's saliva. You don't need the MP swab, the uncomfortable swab, the swab that requires PPE. So it's easy to get the sample. Second, you don't have to do this complicated nucleic acid extraction for this new test, meaning that it's faster, it's easier, it's cheaper, and it doesn't rely on a relatively fragile supply chain for reagents. So I think, you know -- and the other thing is that it is flexibly done in a lab. You don't need new equipment in a lab. You can do it in a lab that has equipment already.

So lots of good benefits from the saliva test. The thing that it isn't is the point of care test. I envision a test that will change things in this country when we can spit on a strip and we know the answer in our homes immediately. This one doesn't quite do that.

BLITZER: Yes. Let's home we get that other test that you're describing as well.

You know, Professor, the president is openly disagreeing with the CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield who believes this fall, here in the United States, could be the worst public health crisis our country has ever seen. Cold and flu season on top of the coronavirus pandemic. When the doctors say one thing and the president says something else, how do you address that without confusing the American public?

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Well, Wolf, unfortunately, I think we confuse the public a lot. I think we're right now in a state of message chaos.

I would just add a context to the previous question. I don't think this new test is a game changer. It's still going to require the same clinical laboratory to do PCR testing on it. I've talked to a number of my clinical lab colleagues around the country who don't believe it's a game changer. It's surely an improvement and we want as many improvements as we can. But right now we're all hanging on some kind of this magic pixie dust that's somehow going to change everything.

I think the same thing is true in terms of what's coming up in the future. You know, we don't even have to hypothesize that influenza is going to be the complicating factor right now. What we're going to see after Labor Day, the case numbers shoot up in this country dramatically as a result of the opening of colleges and universities and high schools. And, you know, we somehow have become known to the fact that remember when 32,000 cases, when New York was on fire back in April, was an unbelievable number? We've now settled at a routine number every day of 50,000 to 55,000

new cases. And I think what's going to happen after Labor Day is the cases are going to go up even much more dramatically. So we've got to get our messages straight. Yes, flu can be important and it surely could add on to things. Things are going to be a disaster this fall regardless to whether flu happens or not.

BLITZER: Dr. Walensky, you agree?

WALENSKY: I agree completely. Not only are we going to have an explosion of COVID cases but you know, we only have 45 percent of people in this country every year who get a flu shot. It makes the news every year. Our ICUs are full of influenza every winter season and the symptoms are the same with COVID, or similar, I should say, with COVID and with influenza. Disentangling who has what when both cases are rising is really going to be a disaster.

BLITZER: Yes. Professor Osterholm, another 1,029 Americans died yesterday. In recent days, 1,000 Americans have been dying every day from coronavirus. There's some perspective I've been pointing to for much of today including on Twitter. And look at this, in March, the U.S. and South Korea each had -- in mid-March, I should say, about 90 confirmed deaths. The U.S. and South Korea.

Now the U.S. is nearing 170,000 confirmed deaths, while South Korea, which has a population of some 52 million, they have confirmed deaths 305. Let me repeat that. 305 confirmed deaths in South Korea. So what did they do right and what did we do wrong?

OSTERHOLM: Well, you know, Wolf, you and I discussed this a week ago after we had an op-ed piece. Neel Kashkari, the Federal Reserve Bank president of Minneapolis, and myself, saying that unless we did another lockdown, realizing it could be on a state-by-state basis, depending on how bad it is. Until we get case numbers down much, much lower than they are, we're not going to control it by what I would call the brush fire approach.

Right now we're dealing with a corona forest fire of incredible proportion. And contact tracing, testing, all these are really difficult to work on at that point when you have those very large numbers. Korea got it down. And now they're dealing with brush fires. Until we do that we're only going to see numbers continue to grow.

BLITZER: How did they do it? What did they do that we didn't do?

OSTERHOLM: They shut down and then got the numbers down to a point where they could control. We all, last spring, we were all houses on fire. They were, too. But what they did is they stayed in a lockdown until they got the numbers down way below what we did. Sometimes 15 to 20-fold lower than we did. We decided on Memorial Day, we're done. Pandemic fatigue. You know, summertime. And we all went back to it and look what it got us. We went from 32,000 cases in March and April a day to 22,000 cases the end of May, but then to 65,000 cases by three weeks ago.

[19:20:09] Now we're back down to the 50s. And we're assuming that that's a good thing, we're down. And what we haven't understood is with these countries, they really got it down to where they could control it much better. And until we do that, we're going to hemorrhage cases, deaths and economic growth just by this very, very issue right now.

BLITZER: Yes. And South Korea had a national policy for the whole country. They didn't delegate responsibility to cities.

OSTERHOLM: Yes.

BLITZER: Or districts for that matter. They did the whole country and it worked, shutting it down clearly had a big impact.

Professor Osterholm, Dr. Walensky, to both of you, thank you so much for joining us.

OSTERHOLM: Thank you.

BLITZER: Back in 2016, Donald Trump broke through with what was once described as the blue wall. 18 states that voted for Democratic presidential nominees for 20 years. So will that wall reform for Joe Biden?

I'll ask the governor of one of those states, Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, there you see her. Gretchen Whitmer is standing by live. We have lots to discuss when we come back.

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[19:25:38]

BLITZER: The Democratic National Convention kicks off tomorrow night and Democrats are hoping to effectively inspire voters to retake the White House come November. Their goal will likely go through the state of Michigan. That's a state that has haunted Democrats since the 2016 presidential contest. The latest polling in the state by the way shows no clear winner as the four-point lead that Biden currently has over Trump is within the margin of error.

I want to bring in the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.

Governor, thanks so much for joining us. Can Democrats build that wall as they say? That blue wall that President Trump demolished back in 2016?

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D), MICHIGAN: Boy, absolutely. I want to refresh people's recollection and that is in 2016, President Trump won Michigan by less than 11,000 votes. Just two years later, when I ran for governor against someone who was, you know, an aficionado of President Trump's, I beat him by almost 400,000 votes. And so yes, absolutely there is a path to victory here for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The whole thing, though, is going to be making sure that we make Michigan a priority, that we get out the vote and that we stay tethered to the issues that really matter to people. And that's the dinner table issues. That's worrying about having a national strategy around COVID-19 and building our economy back up. And I think that the Biden-Harris plan is going to resonate with Michigan voters but we can't make any assumptions.

BLITZER: I want you to be more precise. What's the single most important thing about that plan that Democrats need to do to win Michigan voters on November 3rd?

WHITMER: Well, I think people across the country know that the lack of a national strategy has cost us lives and had an, you know, incredible impact on our economy. Joe Biden's plans around making sure that we are building up manufacturing base here in America. We should never be competing with the world to try to buy swabs out of Italy when we can produce things better than anyone else in the world.

We should never be able to be out in a position where we're begging for N-95 masks when we can manufacture those here at home. And these are just two simple examples of how Joe Biden's plan to build up our economy and build it here in Michigan is going to put us into a stronger position. It's going to be better for our homeland security, better for our health, and certainly better for our pocketbooks.

BLITZER: I know you're going to be addressing the Democratic National Convention tomorrow night. Can you give us a little preview about your message?

WHITMER: So I'm going to talk a little bit about unity. I'm going to talk a little bit about the front liners, people that have put their own health at risk to take care of the rest of us throughout COVID-19. And so those are the two primary things that I'll be talking about during my time on the stage or virtually on the stage.

BLITZER: I spoke yesterday with the Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and she was really worried about what's going on with the U.S. Postal Service, especially in Michigan of course. I'm anxious for your thoughts. The "Washington Post" is now reporting that Pontiac, Michigan, saw the third most reduction in postal sorting capacity around the country.

So can you guarantee, Governor, that every vote cast for the president of the United States by mail will be counted in Michigan?

WHITMER: I'm going to work very close with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and our Attorney General Dana Nessel. I'm fortunate that I've got two brilliant women in those positions and we are going to make sure we do everything to protect people's votes. But when you see the USPS targeting a community like Pontiac, which is predominantly African-American, there is no question that there are, you know, political agendas going on here that are to disenfranchise voters who would more likely vote Democratic.

And so we've got to all fight back to make sure that the sanctity and integrity of our elections is something that we don't question, and that every vote gets counted. BLITZER: Do you see any other examples that there may be a political

reason for some of these setbacks that the U.S. Postal Service is having right now in its ability to deliver the mail, sort the mail, and make sure that every vote by mail is counted?

WHITMER: I don't know that you need to find examples other than the president's words himself. When he talks about trying to, you know, push down the number of people that can vote by taking away our ability to vote by mail in the midst of a global pandemic, he's telling you precisely what his plan is. And as we see these things happening across the country, every one of us, it is incumbent on every one of us, whether you are a Republican or a Democrat or somewhere in between, to make sure that this U.S. Postal Service is something that we all regard that is protected under the law.

People's Social Security checks come through the U.S. Post. Our prescriptions come from the U.S. Post and our ability to vote as Americans should be protected and so should the United States Postal Service.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: It is so, so critical. You're absolutely right. Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, good luck tomorrow night with the speech.

Good luck in dealing with all of these issues in Michigan. Thanks so much for joining us.

WHITMER: Thank you.

BLITZER: As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris make history, the Democratic National Convention goes virtual.

Join Anderson Cooper with your first look at what's ahead later tonight. The "AC360 D.N.C. Preview." That's coming up next, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right after THE SITUATION ROOM.

If Joe Biden does win the White House in November, what kind of challenges might he face on the global stage? That story and a lot more of the day's news after this.

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[19:35:22]

BLITZER: The White House is now claiming a huge win in the Middle East this week after Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a historic peace initiative.

The two nations agreed to fully normalize relations, an unprecedented development in the history of Israel and the Arab Gulf. As part of the agreement, Israel says it will temporarily suspend plans to annex the West Bank.

Let's discuss this and more with Ambassador Richard Haass. He is the President of the Council on Foreign Relations, and he is the author of a brand new and very important book entitled, "The World." There you see the book cover, a brief introduction.

Thanks so much, Richard, for joining us. This is not the first time we've spoken. We've been speaking for many years. Let's talk a little bit about what's happening in the Middle East right now, and then I want to talk about the book.

How significant is this peace agreement that was announced this past week by Israel and the United Arab Emirates?

RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Oh, it's significant, Wolf. It is significant both for what it is, the third Arab country to normalize relations with Israel, probably not the last.

It is also significant for what it stops, which it puts a break on Israeli annexation for parts of the occupied territories, which would have killed whatever chances there were still for a Palestinian state and possibly destabilize Jordan and with it, the Israeli-Jordanian peace.

And I think it is revealing. I think it basically says the fault line between the Arab World and Israel on one side, and Iran is probably now the most significant fault line in this part of the world.

BLITZER: Yes. So Israel and Egypt signed a peace deal back in 1979. Israel and Jordan signed a peace deal in 1994. Now, this peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

The President says it opens the door to other Arab Gulf states to normalize relations with Israel. Do you believe it will?

HAASS: I do. I think there's a decent chance, Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, even Qatar, I think those could all happen sooner rather than later.

I think Saudi Arabia is more complicated because Saudi Arabia as you obviously know is not just critical in the Arab World, but has a large population. Many of whom have Palestinian sympathies and also, Saudi Arabia has a unique place in the Islamic World. And so I think they'll move more slowly.

But again, this doesn't change some of the fundamentals in the relationship, you still have failed states and Civil Wars in Yemen, in Syria, and Libya, and this doesn't do anything to help the Israeli- Palestinian dispute. But that said, it is significant for all the reasons we're discussing.

BLITZER: Because the Palestinian authority leadership, they've really denounced this agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. What do you think they should do now because there is potentially some sort of opening?

HAASS: Look, we always know what the Palestinians are against, the question is what they are for and what they are prepared to do for it. Look, they've got a structural problem. They are divided. There is no common approach between the Palestinians controlling Gaza and those controlling the West Bank. You've got an aging, weak leadership in the West Bank. My guess is it

will take a new generation to come to the fore and they have got to put something on the table. They have got to basically come to the conclusion, the Arab World won't do their bidding for them as we're seeing. It is not going to happen at the U.N. by some resolution.

It is going to have to happen directly between Palestinians and Israelis, and quite interestingly, it may be a two-state approach. It may require a three-state approach.

It's not obvious to me that the Palestinians and Gaza and the West Bank will ever get together or any time soon.

BLITZER: I hope there's a two-state approach, Israel alongside a new state, Palestine.

And very quickly, how much credit do you think President Trump and Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law, deserve for helping to put this deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates together?

HAASS: Look, when good things happen, you have to give credit to those with authority. It seems churlish not to. That said, I think we've got to remember that what actually drove was a terrible idea, which this administration had to associate itself with Israeli annexation of parts of the occupied territories.

And it was that, which more than anything, by putting that out there, that led the EUA to basically say, we've got to head this off.

But again, good things happen. Got to give some credit.

BLITZER: And when we are talking about good things happening, your new book is a very, very good thing. Let's put the book cover back up on the screen. "The World: A Brief Introduction," you really a remarkable background. Excellent book. I highly recommend it to our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

Ambassador Richard Haass, thanks so much for joining us.

[19:40:10]

HAASS: Thanks, my friend.

BLITZER: All right. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: Nonessential travel between the United States and Mexico will be restricted for at least another month at the border. The fourth time travel restrictions have been extended since they took place in March.

Right now, the United States has more than five million confirmed coronavirus cases. Comparatively lower than Mexico which has 500,000 confirmed cases, but they probably have a whole lot more. [19:45:07]

BLITZER: Americans are helping fuel another problem in the border down of Tijuana's red light district, still bustling with U.S. tourists in the age of COVID. CNN's Matt Rivers has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Go out and work, risk your life. Stay-at-home and go hungry is the pandemic's impossible choice for many in Mexico and it is tough enough if you're a cab driver or a store clerk, and it is another if you're a sex worker.

Here in Tijuana, Mexico's famed red light district, prostitution is legal. Just south of California, Mexicans and Americans both fuel a thriving industry, normally. But officially, the government forced all sex-related businesses to close back in March.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTO TORRES, STRIP CLUB OWNER: I don't think we're safe to open yet. So, I am not going to put myself at risk or my employees at risk, either, so ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS (voice over): Roberto Torres had to close his strip club and his female workers left. Where they all went, he's not sure. But he knows some businesses nearby are not following the rules.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TORRES: People are opening. Certain places are open. Certain hotels are open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS (voice over): So, in the middle of a pandemic, Americans and Mexicans are still paying to have sex here with people like Alejandra. She is a sex worker and told us that fearing for her high is her new way of life.

I don't know if the person I'm with that day has the disease or not, she says. I'm so scared for my health and for my daughter's. But she says her daughter is the reason she still goes out. Six years old with her mom's income, her only way to get a meal.

What will I do tomorrow if I end up getting sick? But I still have to go out even though I don't want to.

So after she speaks to us, she walks back out into that world and we followed.

That night, we arranged a ride-along with State Police through the red light district. This is not an area where cameras are very welcome so the cops required to us wear body armor.

Driving around, it is obvious there were a lot of working women out and about, but where they're working isn't immediately clear.

RIVERS (on camera): So, the streets here are a lot quieter than they normally are and that's because the government has forced a lot of these businesses to shut down.

But what the police that we are with are telling us is that the business is still going, it is just happening behind closed doors.

RIVERS (voice over): In sex hotels that are still operating near normal with patrons like this American. CNN agreed not to use his name because he fears losing his job.

RIVERS (on camera): And you still see a lot of Americans here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots of Americans here.

RIVERS (voice over): He says he is being safe except for the part where he has sex with a stranger.

RIVERS (on camera): I think a lot of experts would say it's not safe. I mean, but you think it's safe enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe, I'm pretty well educated about all of this and I feel completely safe.

RIVERS (voice over): As the sex trade continues, the lives of everyone involved are at risk. But for the workers, the money earned puts food on the table. It is two sides of a very dangerous coin.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Tijuana, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Matt, thank you very, very much, and we have just been told from the John Hopkins University that the United States has now confirmed, the United States has 170,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths as of right now since the end of February, 170,000 Americans have died from coronavirus.

Much more right after this.

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[19:53:05]

BLITZER: The breaking news. The U.S. has just passed another very grim milestone, 170,000 American lives lost to the coronavirus and that's just the known number of deaths. Medical experts fear the actual total is closer perhaps to 200,000.

The news comes as the Director of the C.D.C. warns that the country could be headed, and I'm quoting now, for the worst fall from a public health perspective we've ever had. That's from Dr. Robert Redfield. He says the double threat of COVID-19 and seasonal flu could have a

truly catastrophic impact in the United States in the coming months.

Meanwhile, there's new video going viral tonight from a private party at a North Georgia college campus. We're learning the large outdoor event was held at an apartment complex near the University of North Georgia in the town of Dahlonega.

This story breaking even as we've gotten word that a third high school in North Georgia has had to shut down just two weeks into the new school year because of an outbreak of coronavirus.

I'll state that legally in Georgia, masks and social distancing are not required.

CNN's Natasha Chen is joining us now with more. So first of all, Natasha, what do we know about this party?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Wolf, let's talk about these images we're seeing because they're extremely disturbing. If you look at how many people are just gathered there, close together, it doesn't look like many of them are any of them are wearing facemasks and the Executive Director of Communications from the University of North Georgia did respond to our questions about this saying that they are aware that a large gathering outdoors happened Saturday night at an off-campus privately owned location and near their Dahlonega campus.

The Communications Director wanted to specify, and I'm reading this statement from her right now, "The University of North Georgia continues to emphasize to our students and university community that everyone has an individual responsibility both on and off campus to follow guidance from the Georgia Department of Public Health and the C.D.C. to prevent the spread of the virus." She said that they're very disappointed to see that this happened.

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CHEN: And to be clear, there is a rule on their campuses, the University of North Georgia, as of July 15th, face coverings and social distancing are required and face coverings are not a substitute for social distancing. They made it clear on their website for that as well.

But like you said, Wolf, there is no statewide mandate and the latest executive order from Governor Brian Kemp allows local jurisdictions and private entities to make their own rules about facemasks but, of course, for local jurisdictions they can only make those rules in public spaces -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Natasha, very disturbing video, indeed. Thank you very much.

Also tonight, W. Kamau Bell is back with an all new episode of "United Shades of America" as protests demonstrating against system racism continue across the country. The question of how the United States can reach the true racial

equality has come up yet again. One common answer is reparations.

This week Kamau travels to New Orleans to speak with locals about why they think reparations are necessary and they would like to see them unfold.

Joining now is W. Kamau Bell, the host of "United Shades of America." So tell us about tonight's episode.

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: Yes, it's really a conversation of black people we have been having amongst ourselves for a long time. This is an opportunity to take it national as we even see the topic of reparations come up.

So we went to New Orleans to talk to New Orleans people. And also we brought some people into New Orleans to talk about reparations.

BLITZER: So why did you choose New Orleans?

BELL: You know, Wolf, New Orleans is a city where you can really feel and see the remnants of antebellum slavery. They keep a lot of the architecture. They like to celebrate their traditions.

And also, we know through things like Hurricane Katrina, the black folks in New Orleans are still really suffering from not being properly provided for and taken care of by the city.

BLITZER: We have a little except from your excellent episode later tonight. Let me play it. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the thing like, racism makes you illogical.

BELL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So like, all of a sudden, all of these concepts of law and morality that we understand every else when it comes to black folks, we're all like, "Oh, hell no." No. I don't get it.

BELL: It doesn't make sense.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, money due.

BELL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to pay you for something -- I never owned slaves. You didn't have to.

BELL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me, if the government -- if you can inherit wealth, which we all understand, then you also inherit debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: In this episode, Kamau, you attempt to find a number for just how much money is owed to the black community and come away with a truly staggering figure of -- what -- $19 trillion? Where does that amount come from?

BELL: Well, that's as of the taping of the episode. It's probably more than that now. But it is really, a Professor named Thomas Craemer from UConn approximated how many black people were slaves and enslaved, how many Africans were enslaved, 11 cents an hour is what they were paid at that time during that period of slavery and he basically paid them for 24 hours a day because we never had access to our freedom.

And then he gave it a three percent compounding interest, which is pretty reasonable and that came to $19 trillion, which is a big number, but it also about one year of the United States GDP.

So, it is not an impossible number. But as he said, it's a conservative number.

BLITZER: All right, Kamau, thank you very much.

And to our viewers, make sure you tune in later tonight for an all-new episode of "United Shades of America" right here on CNN, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Thanks again for watching. I'll be back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled edition of THE SITUATION ROOM that starts at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Then make sure to join all of us for a special coverage of the Democratic National Convention starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

But before we go, I want to close tonight with this. As the coronavirus death toll surpasses 170,000 here in the United States, we certainly cannot forget the names, the faces, the stories behind each life lost.

Tom Wiedmeier was known for the hat he wore to work every day. He was a respected member of the Augusta, Georgia city government as its Utilities Director working to ensure everyone had access to clean water.

Tom tested positive for coronavirus just last month. He died on Wednesday at the age of 59.

Alfonso Cardenas was a beloved soccer coach to many. His daughter says everyone knew him as the coach that would always yell, but he never tired of helping people.

He was a devoted father to his 20-year-old twin daughters and a 14- year-old son. No surprise, they all grew up playing soccer alongside their dad. Now, they will have to navigate life on their own. Tom's wife, Clara, died of cancer some six years ago.

And after a month of battling coronavirus, Tom died earlier this month at the age of 55.

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