Mornings on the Mall 06.09.20 / Clayton Neville, Susan Ferrechio, David Murray, Kevin Hassett

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Guests: Clayton Neville, Susan Ferrechio, David Murray, Kevin Hassett

5-A/B/C — CORONAVIRUS / WHO: ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD IS RARE

– Asymptomatic spread of coronavirus is ‘very rare,’ WHO says 

Coronavirus patients without symptoms aren’t driving the spread of the virus, World Health Organization officials said Monday, casting doubt on concerns by some researchers that the disease could be difficult to contain due to asymptomatic infections.

Some people, particularly young and otherwise healthy individuals, who are infected by the coronavirus never develop symptoms or only develop mild symptoms. Others might not develop symptoms until days after they were actually infected.

Preliminary evidence from the earliest outbreaks indicated that the virus could spread from person-to-person contact, even if the carrier didn’t have symptoms. But WHO officials now say that while asymptomatic spread can occur, it is not the main way it’s being transmitted.

“From the data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said at a news briefing from the United Nations agency’s Geneva headquarters. “It’s very rare.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar

5-D — LATEST ON GEORGE FLOYD:

  • FLOYD FUNERAL TODAY: The black man whose death has inspired a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice will be buried today in Houston, carried home in a horse-drawn carriage. George Floyd, who was 46 when he was killed, will be laid to rest next to his mother. On May 25, as a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, the dying man cried out for his mother.  His funeral will be private.  A public memorial service was held Monday in Houston, where he grew up. Some 6,000 people attended. Under a blazing Texas sun, mourners wearing T-shirts with Floyd’s picture waited for hours to pay their respects. https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2020-06-09/the-latest-george-floyd-to-be-buried-in-houston
  • Ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin bail set at up to $1.25 million for George Floyd murder charges. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd during an arrest, had his bail set at up to $1.25 million Monday. […] The 44-year-old former cop, who has been in jail for nearly two weeks, appeared in Hennepin County District Court via a remote video feed, wearing an orange jumpsuit and blue mask, with handcuffs.Chauvin will have to post $1.25 million bail if he wants to be released with no conditions, Judge Jeannice Reding ordered.But he can be released after posting $1 million bail if he agrees to abide by conditions that include appearing for all future court appearances, does not work in a security capacity, and does not possess firearms or retain a firearms permit, Reding said.

5-E — DOJ WANTS TO TALK TO PRINCE ANDREW:

US prosecutors seek interview with Prince Andrew over Epstein link

The US Department of Justice has requested an interview with Prince Andrew as part of its criminal investigation into the alleged sex trafficking ring once operated by Jeffrey Epstein, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The request, initiated by federal prosecutors in the Manhattan US Attorney’s office, is part of a mutual legal assistance treaty request — a form of cooperation between countries for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses — submitted to the UK’s Home Office, according to the source.

A spokesman for the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, Nick Biase, said: “I cannot publicly comment on communications with foreign governments on investigative matters, including confirming or denying the very existence of such communications.”

6-A — TRUMP POLLS SINKING:

TRUMP’S NUMBERS KEEP SINKING  

– CNN Poll: Trump losing ground to Biden amid chaotic week.

(CNN) As protesters gather daily near the White House and the coronavirus pandemic rages on, the American public is souring on President Donald Trump. A new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS finds Trump’s approval rating down 7 points in the last month as the President falls further behind presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, whose support now stands at its highest level in CNN polling. The survey also finds a growing majority of Americans feel racism is a big problem in the country today and that the criminal justice system in America favors whites over blacks. More than 8 in 10 also say that the peaceful protests that have spread throughout the nation following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers are justified. Americans now consider race relations as important a campaign issue as the economy and health care, according to the survey.  Overall 38% approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency, while 57% disapprove. That’s his worst approval rating since January 2019, and roughly on par with approval ratings for Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush at this point in their reelection years. Both went on to lose the presidency after one term. In the race for the White House, among registered voters, Trump stands 14 points behind Biden, who officially secured enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination in CNN’s delegate estimate on Saturday. The 41% who say they back the President is the lowest in CNN’s tracking on this question back to April 2019, and Biden’s 55% support is his highest mark yet. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/08/politics/cnn-poll-trump-biden-chaotic-week/index.html

  • BIDEN HAS MORE SUPPORT AMONG WOMEN THAN HILLARY DID:
  • Biden Has More Support From Women Than Clinton: Campaign Update. (Bloomberg) — Joe Biden’s lead among women over President Donald Trump is now even larger than Hillary Clinton’s in 2016, according to a weekend poll. Biden leads Trump by 21 percentage points in a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll published Sunday. Biden has 56% support among female voters compared to Trump’s 35%. NBC exit polls from 2016 had Clinton with a 13 percentage point lead over Trump among women. The poll also found Biden with double digit leads among African American voters, 82% to 9%, Latinos, 57% to 33%, voters 18 to 34, 54% to 35%, whites with college degrees and independents, 45% to 35%. Biden had an 8 percentage point lead over Trump among voters 65 and older, 51% to 43%. Trump led Biden among men, 50% to 42% and all white voters, 49% to 43%. His biggest margin over Biden was among whites without college degrees, where Trump led 55% to 37%. Biden’s national lead of 7 percentage points among all registered voters over Trump remained unchanged from the NBC/WSJ poll in April. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-has-more-support-from-women-than-clinton-campaign-update/ar-BB15cuQE
  • BIDEN LEADS TRUMP IN MICH: Biden, the presumed Democratic nominee, leads Republican Trump in Michigan 53-41, according to a poll conducted by EPIC-MRA of Lansing between May 30 and last Wednesday. https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/06/07/michigan-poll-biden-leading-trump-12-points/3153501001/
  • RELATED: 80% of US voters believe things are out of control in the country, with majorities concerned about the coronavirus, the economy and President Trump’s ability to unite the nation, according to latest NBC News/WSJ poll. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/poll-80-percent-voters-say-things-are-out-control-u-n1226276?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma
  • TRUMP PLANS TO CAMPAIGN IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS: President Trump plans to resume campaign rallies in the next two weeks as states move forward with reopening businesses and allowing gatherings to resume. The details of the rallies, including when and where they will take place and what safety protocols will be implemented, have not yet been decided. Trump’s last campaign rally took place in Charlotte, NC, in early March, before most states issued stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. 
  • Campaign Confirms: Trump Plans To Relaunch His Rallies In The Next Two Weeks: President Donald Trump will soon hit the road for another round of campaign rallies, Trump 2020 reelection officials confirmed to the Daily Caller.The campaign is planning to relaunch in-person events within the next two weeks. Trump last graced the stage at an official campaign rally in March, and campaign manager Brad Parscale is reportedly preparing a list of potential sites willing to relax coronavirus social distancing guidelines to allow spectators to attend.Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and staff have scouted several potential locations, including Jacksonville, FL, Savannah, GA, and Phoeniz, AZ and Dallas, TX. All could also potentially host the next Trump rally.

6-D — CHICAGO VIOLENCE:

– Chicago experiences its most violent day in 60 YEARS as 18 people are shot dead in 24 hours during unrest sparked after George Floyd’s death https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8400457/Chicago-experiences-violent-day-60-YEARS-18-people-gunned-1-day.html

Last Sunday Was The Deadliest Day In Chicago’s History Going Back To 1961

While Chicago was roiled by another day of protests and looting in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, 18 people were killed Sunday, May 31, making it the single most violent day in Chicago in six decades, according to the University of Chicago Crime Lab. The lab’s data doesn’t go back further than 1961…

In a city with an international reputation for crime — where 900 murders per year were common in the early 1990s — it was the most violent weekend in Chicago’s modern history, stretching police resources that were already thin because of protests and looting.

“We’ve never seen anything like it, at all,” said Max Kapustin, the senior research director at the crime lab. “ … I don’t even know how to put it into context. It’s beyond anything that we’ve ever seen before.”

AUDIO: “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen shit like this before, not in Chicago.” – Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on leaked audio discussing the violence/looting/riots all over the city. https://twitter.com/peterjhasson/status/1270225866774196226

7-A — 7:05 AM – INTERVIEW – Correspondent Clayton Neville in Houston, TX 

TOPIC: Preview George Floyd’s funeral today

*The black man whose death has inspired a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice will be buried today in Houston, carried home in a horse-drawn carriage.  George Floyd, who was 46 when he was killed, will be laid to rest next to his mother. On May 25, as a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, the dying man cried out for his mother.  His funeral will be private.  A public memorial service was held Monday in Houston, where he grew up. Some 6,000 people attended. Under a blazing Texas sun, mourners wearing T-shirts with Floyd’s picture waited for hours to pay their respects. https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2020-06-09/the-latest-george-floyd-to-be-buried-in-houston

7-B/C – LOCAL RESPONSE TO THE RIOTS AND THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD

 

  • Prince George’s County school board members proposes defunding police in schools. Plan to remove police from Prince George’s County Public Schools passes first step
  • Prince William County Superintendent calls for renaming of Stonewall Jackson High School, Stonewall Middle School
  • Virginia city removes slave auction block from its downtown corner. The city of Fredericksburg, Va., removed a slave auction block from a downtown corner last
  • Va. judge temporarily blocks removal of Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond days after Northam announced plans to bring it down Friday after two years of discussions among city council.
  • Montgomery County councilmember aims to declare racism a public health emergency.  Council will introduce a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis and receive an update on Covid-19 public health planning and recovery, at virtual meeting on June 9 (TODAY).

 

7-D — TERRY CREWS FACES BACKLASH:

  •  Actor Terry Crews faces backlash over “black supremacy” tweet. Actor Terry Crews sparked controversy on social media Sunday after he tweeted about the need for all people to come together to defeat racism in the U.S. “Defeating White supremacy without White people creates Black supremacy. Equality is the truth. Like it or not, we are in this together,” he tweeted. The statement was met with criticism online. Tyler James Williams, who starred with Crews in “Everybody Hates Chris,” responded to his tweet by saying that he knows Crews’ heart, but “no one is calling 4 black supremacy & the narrative that we are hurts our cause & our people.” The Independent newspaper reported that Crews clarified his tweet in his response to Williams. “I understand, Tyler. I was not saying Black supremacy exists, because it doesn’t. I am saying if both Black and Whites don’t continue to work together—bad attitudes and resentments can create a dangerous self-righteousness. That’s all.” The death of George Floyd in police custody has sparked protests and, at times, unrest across the country. Protesters have called for new accountability in policing and called on the country to reexamine itself when it comes to opportunities for minority communities. Crews has posted about Floyd’s case in the past. Shortly after the May 25 death, he said on Instagram that his heart was “broken.” “George Floyd could be me. I could easily, easily be that man on the ground with that police officer’s knee on my neck. That could easily be me,” he wrote. https://www.fox5dc.com/news/terry-crews-faces-criticism-over-black-supremacy-tweet

TWEETS:

  • Terry Crews responds to critics after being slammed for ‘black supremacy’ tweet:
  • ORIGINAL TWEET: terry crews @terrycrews:Defeating White supremacy without White people creates Black supremacy. Equality is the truth.Like it or not, we are all in this together.7:25 PM · Jun 7, 2020https://twitter.com/terrycrews/status/1269772603524169728 

RESPONSES:

  • terry crews @terrycrews: Jun 7: I agree. I’m not discussing white people here. there are “gatekeepers of Blackness” within our own community who decide who’s Black and who’s not. I have often been called out for not being “black enough”. How can that be? https://twitter.com/terrycrews/status/1269830932346703872
  • terry crews @terrycrews: Jun 7: Any Black person who calls me a coon or and Uncle Tom for promoting EQUALITY is a Black Supremist, because they have determined who’s Black and who is not. https://twitter.com/terrycrews/status/1269840577127788545
  • terry crews @terrycrews: 21h: I believe it is important we not suffer from groupthink, and we keep minds of our own, and be allowed to ask difficult questions to each other. I believe this dialogue is important as we get through this trauma together. I love you. https://twitter.com/terrycrews/status/1269999181713666049
  • terry crews @terrycrews: 21h: Please know that everything I’ve said comes from a spirit of love and reconciliation, for the Black community first, then the world as a whole, in hopes to see a better future for Black people.https://twitter.com/terrycrews/status/1269999181101363200

RESPONSES TO TERRY CREWS:

7-E — MORE LOCAL IMPACT FROM THE RACE DEBATE:

 

  • FREDERICKSBURG / VA CITY REMOVES SLAVE AUCTION BLOCK: Virginia city removes slave auction block from its downtown corner. The city of Fredericksburg, Va., removed a slave auction block from a downtown corner last Friday after two years of discussions among city council. The 800-pound block was taken out of the ground after its removal was delayed by legal battles and the coronavirus shutdowns, according to the city’s website. The removal came as protests over police treatment of minorities and police brutality erupted in Fredericksburg and across the country over the past couple of weeks.“This is the significant step in living City Council’s directive to relocate the historic artifact, and to work to better tell a more complete history of Fredericksburg – specifically its storied African American history,” the city’s press release read.Local tradition, records and statements identify the stone as a location where slaves were sold. But the city’s website notes, “There is no direct quote noting that a slave stood on the block to be sold, but there are statements made in the post-Civil War years by African Americans stating they were sold on that corner.”

8-A — 8:05 AM – INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO – chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner

  •  Democrats unveil sweeping legislation in response to protests of police brutality Congressional Democrats grapple with police defunding efforts 
  •  POLITICO: Democrats unveil police reform bill: Before introducing the police reform bill, Bass, Hoyer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California and other top Democrats gathered in the Capitol in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time an officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck. The Democrats, all clad in kente stoles, knelt together on the floor to honor Floyd and other black Americans killed by police. […]While the legislation proposes a sweeping overhaul of current laws — including moving to ban chokeholds and making it easier to sue police officers who unjustly injure or kill citizens — it doesn’t answer liberals’ most aggressive demand to “defund the police.” Police departments are largely funded at the state and local level, although there is significant federal aid.Democrats want to lower the federal threshold for when police officers can be charged with using excessive force and limit “qualified immunity,” which currently shields officers from lawsuits over their misconduct, according to a draft outline obtained by POLITICO.Democrats are also seeking to create a National Police Misconduct Registry, end racial profiling, bar the use of “no-knock” arrest warrants in drug cases, develop a national standard on using force, and limit the transfer of military equipment to police departments, among other initiatives.
  • Defund the Police? Pelosi Dodges: At a press conference with House and Senate Democrats, Pelosi was asked about defunding the police, to which she did not respond to directly. She mentioned the legislation on racial profiling and police brutality the House plans on passing. Pelosi also said in her response that the U.S. needs to “‘rebalance some of our funding’ and have those debates at the local level,” according to NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell. https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/08/nancy-pelosi-defund-police-question/
  • Democrats are vowing to call the House back into session before the end of the month to pass legislation designed to fight racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The Justice in Policing Act aims to rein in the use of excessive force by law enforcers, particularly the violence targeting blacks and other minorities, who die disproportionately at the hands of police. Republicans in the House are looking to quickly release their own police reform proposal, with House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) leading the efforts on the plan.

8-B/C — 8:15 AM – INTERVIEW – DAVID MURRAY – Prince George’s County school board Member 

  • PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY TO DEFUND POLICE IN SCHOOLS: Prince George’s County school board members propose defunding police in schools. Plan to remove police from Prince George’s County Public Schools passes first step.  HYATTSVILLE, Md. (FOX 5 DC) – A proposal to remove police from Prince George’s County Public Schools passed the first step on Monday night — but there are questions over whether it would even be legal based on current Maryland law. Several PGCPS board members announced their proposal at a Black Lives Matter protest outside the District Court in Hyattsville, calling for armed police to be removed from schools entirely. “What we’re saying is that there’s not a place for police officers, armed police officers in Prince George’s County Public Schools and not only that… we think that that money can be better served supporting our students with more social workers, more mental health professionals, more academic interventionists to get elementary school students reading on grade level,” said PGCPS school board member David Murray.  This comes after more than a week of nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The school system there ended its contract with the Minneapolis Police Department.  Activists across the country are calling on diverting money from police budgets to mental health efforts and investment in communities — some have called that defunding the police.

8-D — 8:35 AM – INTERVIEW – KEVIN HASSETT – economist and Senior Advisor to President Trump 

  • TOPIC: Discuss the state of the economy and the recent jobs report.
  • The U.S. economy entered a recession in February, a group of economists declared Monday, ending more than a decade of steady if slow growth. The economists said employment peaked in February and fell sharply afterward, marking the beginning of the downturn. A committee within the National Bureau of Economic Research, a trade group, determines when recessions begin and end. It defines a recession as “a decline in economic activity that lasts more than a few months.” The committee acknowledged, however, that in this case the depth of the economic downturn so far also played a role in its decision.
  • Strong June jobs report would ‘absolutely affect’ a phase 4 coronavirus deal, Trump aide Kevin Hassett says. Another coronavirus relief package is all but inevitable, but its contents depend on whether the U.S. economy sees another blowout jobs report next month, Kevin Hassett, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, told CNBC on Monday.Hassett, the former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, said on “Squawk Box” that “the odds of there being a phase four deal are really close to 100%,” even after the jobs data for last month  far exceeded expectations. A repeat performance in June would “absolutely affect the things that we pursue” in additional legislation, he said.The U.S. just saw its biggest month-to-month job gains ever: The Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls in May rose by 2.5 million and the unemployment rate fell to 13.3%, shocking economists who anticipated that more than 8 million additional jobs had been shed.

 

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