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NEW DAY SUNDAY

White House Sows Confusion On President's Condition As Source Tells CNN Next 48 Hours Are Critical; Mike Pence Tests Negative Ahead Of Debate And Rally; At Least 21 States Are Now Reporting More New Cases Than They Did A Week Ago; Researchers Predict As Many As 2,900 Deaths A Day By The End Of December; Biden And Harris Move Forward With In-Person Campaigning; Pence And Harris To Square Off In VP Debate On Wednesday; White House Sows Confusion On President's Condition; Patriots Quarterback Cam Newton Tests Positive For COVID- 19. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired October 4, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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


[06:00:00]

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: He's not out of the woods. The next 48 hours or so with the history of this virus, we know can be tough.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm starting to feel good. You don't know over the next period of a few days, I guess, that's the real test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They threw the kitchen sink at the president at the very beginning of his illness. Either the president was extraordinarily ill or his team was extraordinarily panicked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His response has been homicidal negligence. He has failed to protect the American people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY weekend with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: A shot at the light that are shinning on Capitol Hill tonight or this morning, I should say at 6:00 a.m. here. And there is Walter Reed Medical Center where the president is waking up again today. He says he feels better. His chief of staff, though, says -- and these are the chief of staff's words. The president is not out of the woods yet. The next 48 hours are critical.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the timeline up to this point is pretty muddled. The president's doctor has not answered the basic questions like when the president last tested negative for the virus. And there's confusion inside the White House, too. And it's unclear just how deeply the virus has infiltrated that campus. So overnight, a presidential aide who works closely with the president also tested positive for the virus.

PAUL: We want to start with Joe Johns. He's live at Walter Reed Medical Center this morning. Joe, do we have any more clarity as to the president's condition this morning? And good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right. Good morning.

I've got to say there's not a lot more clarity. That's what we're hoping for today, more clarity, less confusion than there has been over the last 24 hours about the president's condition, probably the headline this morning so far is, yes, the doctors believe the president is not out of the woods, but they are cautiously optimistic.

The last substantive update we got in a question and answer format on the president's condition was the White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows last night on another network talking about the situation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF (on the phone): The doctor is exactly right. He is doing extremely well. In fact, I'm very, very optimistic based on the current results and as the doctor said, he's not out of the woods. The next 48 hours or so with the history of this virus, we know, can be tough. But he has made unbelievable improvements from yesterday morning when I know a number of us, the doctor and I, were very concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So, there was a written statement from the president's doctor, Sean Conley. He said, among other things, the president continues to do well. He has made substantial progress. He got a second dose of Remdesivir, he said, without complication. He said the president has not been getting oxygen, at least recently, and he also indicated that the president's oxygen levels are between 96 and 98 percent.

That's something that doctors look at in COVID cases, cautiously optimistic is the other watch word. That's something the president echoed in a statement he put out on Twitter last night. He has been working at Walter Reed while he is dealing with this virus. Listen to what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm starting to feel good. You don't know over the next period of a few days, I guess, that's the real test.

If you look at the therapeutics which I'm taking right now, some of them, and others are coming out soon that are looking like, frankly, they're miracles, if you want to know the truth. They're miracles.

People criticize me when I say that. We have things happening that look like they're miracles, coming down from God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So, what's been concerning over the last 24 hours is the contradictory messages coming out from, one, the president's doctor, compared to an anonymous source later identified by "The New York Times" as the White House chief of staff about the president's condition. And you have to say this is at least part of the tug of war between the public's right to know about the condition of the president versus the doctor's, physician confidential relationship with the president.

Dr. Conley has made it clear and a number of the statements he has put out that he's putting his statements out about the president's condition with the president's consent. So, how do you get enough information to know what's going on with the president is anybody's guess and hard to say what's going to happen today.

[06:05:05]

But we'll keep you informed. Back to you.

BLACKWELL: Joe Johns outside Walter Reed. Thanks so much, Joe.

PAUL: So, as Joe was talking about the White House hasn't been transparent about the president's health. Listen to Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley yesterday, for one thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SEAN CONLEY, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PHYSICIAN: The president is doing very well. We remain cautiously optimistic, but he's doing great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So, roughly a half hour after that, a source familiar with the president's health now identified as Joe said by "The New York Times" and the "Associated Press" as White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, told reporters this and I want to quote this. "The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We are still not on a clear path to a full recovery."

Again, that's from Mark Meadows. Now, yesterday we reported the president was having trouble breathing when asked directly if the president had been given supplemental oxygen here's what Dr. Conley said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has he ever been on supplemental oxygen?

CONLEY: Right now, he is not on oxygen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you keep saying right now, but should we read into the fact that he had been previously?

CONLEY: Yesterday and today, he was not on oxygen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, he has not been on it during his COVID treatment?

CONLEY: He's not on oxygen right now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: There was a little chuckle there we know but right now raises that question, has the president ever needed supplemental oxygen? For whatever reason they didn't want to answer the question. A source close to the White House said the president definitely has had oxygen, noting it was prior to his visit to Walter Reed.

Now, Dr. Conley also gave a confusing timeline on when the president was given an experimental antibody cocktail. He initially said the White House was aware of President Trump's positive test Thursday and was given the experimental drug some time then.

Hours after that press conference, he released a statement saying he misspoke. Here is the quote. "The President was first diagnosed with COVID-19 on the evening of Thursday, October 1st and had received Regeneron's antibody cocktail on Friday, October 2nd."

First diagnosed Thursday evening well what was he doing then at that point is the question. He was on "Fox News" and he was downplaying the fact that his close aide, Hope Hicks, had tested positive.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know Hope very well. She's fantastic. And she's done a great job. But it's very, very hard when you are with people from the military or from law enforcement and they come over to you, and they want to hug you. And they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them. You get close and things happen.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PAUL: And a few hours later, about 1:00 a.m. that the president announced his diagnosis on Twitter, saying, tonight FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this together.

Now, when asked when the last time the president had a negative test, Dr. Conley wouldn't answer that question. The doctor also refused to give reporters information as to the president's fever.

Last night on "Fox News," Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the president is making -- quote -- "unbelievable improvements" from Friday and he has acknowledged the president had had a fever and falling oxygen levels. So the question is, what do we know about the state of the president's health? The truth is, right now we just don't know a lot.

We don't know when it started. We don't know when he last tested negative. And these are important issues that the White House, for whatever reason, just is not giving us a straight answer about.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn now to Kevin Liptak at the White House. Kevin, good morning to you.

So President Trump's diagnosis, listen, we're 30 days out from the election and it has upended this campaign and the narrative that the White House and the campaign are pushing about the handling of the pandemic.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and the president certainly seems mindful of how this is all playing out in the presidential suite up there at Walter Reed. We're told that he is consuming a lot of the media coverage of his condition. He has become agitated when he feels like his condition is being exaggerated, and he certainly wasn't pleased to see that quote circulating, saying that his vitals on Friday were concerning.

And you saw the president -- this played out on Friday when aides sort of had to prod the president to come to Walter Reed, telling him that it would be prudent for him to be there, even as Marine One, the helicopter, was idling on the South Lawn it still had to work to convince the president that it was the smart thing to do to go to Walter Reed before and if his condition worsens. So he could be seen walking out to the helicopter on his own power and sort of let the American people know that he was still OK.

Now you saw the president refer to the campaign in his video yesterday, essentially saying he wants to get back out on the campaign trail. He wants to finish the campaign he started.

[06:10:01]

This is a president with a deep aversion to sickness, to looking sick, to feeling sick. And I think that's part of why you're seeing some of these conflicting messages coming out. The president has made clear that he wants to be seen as doing well in the hospital, even though the severity of this situation is real.

Now, in terms of the campaign, the Trump campaign is trying to project this message of resolve going forward. They're telling their staff that things should go as normal business as usual. Of course, the campaign itself has been affective by this as well. The campaign manager Bill Stepien has tested positive for coronavirus. He's telling his people his symptoms are mild but he is working from home.

Yesterday the Trump campaign said they're announcing what they're calling Operation MAGA. That includes an onslaught of surrogates going out in the country, conducting campaign events while the president is up at Walter Reed.

The Vice President, Mike Pence, is due to attend the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City this week on Wednesday. He will resume in- person campaign events after that. On conference calls with campaign staff yesterday, Mike Pence, Eric Trump and Lara Trump all sort of tried to project this image of resolve going forward.

The campaign has sent an email to supporters, telling them to send their messages to the president as well. Of course, this is affecting the Biden campaign, too, as he goes out and campaigns in person, his people say he will be tested every day. They say they'll release every result of those tests, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Kevin Liptak for us there at White House. Kevin, thanks so much.

PAUL: Want to bring in, to talk about the political ramifications of all of this, White House correspondent and editor of "Politico" Anita Kumar. Anita, it's so good to see you this morning. Thank you for waking up early for us.

ANITA KUMAR, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR, POLITICO: Sure.

PAUL: I want to read to everybody a quote from your latest article there in "Politico." You say you talk to a White House official who -- quote -- "complained about being perpetually in the dark about not just the president's health, but about coronavirus infections among staff. I might as well be a member of the public, the aide said, saying officials felt nervous and upset about the lack of information."

What else are you learning about the lack of transparency, not just to the public, but to the White House, to the administration and White House staff? Because these are people who are, you know, could be directly infected and at risk right now.

KUMAR: Yes. You're exactly right. It's actually both the White House and at the Trump campaign. Because, remember, as the president has been campaigning for weeks, months now, he splits the staff. He has campaign staff traveling with him as well as White House aides.

They're not getting any information at either of those places different than what we're seeing from the public, what these press conferences have -- what we've seen at this press conference yesterday. So as you have pointed out, there's some contradictory information coming out. So they're not really sure what's going on with the president.

But, yes, I think more importantly for them, at this particular time, they're not really sure about the contact tracing. How is that working? Who has been impacted and that sort of thing?

As you know, the president had a very full week last week, you know, traveling to multiple states. He had the debate. There are many people there. He had a rally. So he -- you know, there was the Rose Garden event.

So, there's a lot of concern about that as we've seen some of these people come out and say they've tested positive. They want to know about the contact tracing and what they need to do at this point. Some people have said that the White House has contacted them to get those tests. Others haven't heard anything and are going out and trying to get a test on their own.

PAUL: So are the conversations behind the scenes going on about Vice President Pence? He was at the Rose Garden event. He was surrounded by people who have now tested positive. Is the vice presidential debate still a go on Wednesday for certain?

KUMAR: It's absolutely a go when you talk to anyone who is involved in it, including the vice president's office they say he plans to go to Utah and he will leave there and start to campaign afterwards. I believe his first stop will be in Arizona.

They are testing him regularly. They were doing that anyway. They were testing the vice president and his wife regularly. And they have come back with negative results. So he feels like he can do that.

They are canceling or they have canceled everything that he was supposed to do in person prior to that debate. So, he had a few things scheduled. He's going to stay here in Washington and then go to the debate and then continue on.

There's a little bit of a conversation going on about whether he should be leaving Washington, whether he should be back on the campaign trail. With four weeks left, they feel like he needs to get back out there. He's the one that can do that along with some of the Trump family at this point.

[06:15:01]

PAUL: So, we know this is a president who doesn't like to look weak. This is a president who didn't want to go to the hospital in the first place until his symptoms progressed, obviously. What is the political calculation for the White House, for the campaign to be this cloudy about the information that they put out? What's the risk for them in terms of an election as well in doing so?

KUMAR: Well there's so many risks right now, right? Obviously the first is that he's off the campaign trail and this is a president who likes to campaign in person. He is the face, obviously, of the campaign. Nobody can replace that.

But then you've got a couple of other things. One, you have this misinformation coming out there. The doctor misspoke, contradictory information. So, it does look like whether they meant it or not, it does look like they don't have a good response to the president's sickness. They haven't got that message quite right.

And then there's something else, which is this is an issue, coronavirus, that the president didn't want to campaign on. He wanted to campaign on other issues, his record over the last four years, the economy. The White House and the campaign very much wanted to talk about the jobs numbers that came out on Friday. And, of course, everybody was talking about the president's diagnosis instead of the economy.

So, you know, the former vice president, Joe Biden, can really push what he has been trying to push for months now, which is this is all -- this election should be all about coronavirus and the president's response and there's not really a lot the campaign -- the Trump campaign can do to stop that.

PAUL: All right. Anita Kumar, always so good to get your voice and your perspective here.

KUMAR: Thanks. PAUL: Thank you for being with us.

BLACKWELL: Two dozen states are reporting an increase in COVID-19 cases. We are seven months into this and, again, numbers are going in the wrong direction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:05]

BLACKWELL: The numbers are going in the wrong direction in at least 21 states. The number of new COVID-19 cases are rising more this week than they were a week ago and only three states are reporting decreases.

PAUL: Now researchers at the University of Washington are predicting as many as 2,900 deaths a day in December.

CNN correspondent Polo Sandoval joins us from New York. That's one of the states that's seeing a slight spike at the moment. So, those numbers are alarming for one thing that are being projected but we know there's a top health expert warning the country needs a comprehensive approach to the alarming trends. Yes?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christi. You're referring to the former head of the CDC because, look, it's all about looking ahead right now.

What we could be looking at later this fall, obviously, into the winter, especially with the flu season, just consider the numbers alone. Right now the seven-day average nationally it's about 42,000 cases. That is certainly much lower than the 65,000 or so that we've seen during the peak of the summer, but it is still 20 percent higher than what we've been seeing in early September according to health officials. And it is simply much too high, according to experts, especially if we want to avoid that predicted spike later this year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): A CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University shows only three U.S. states are reporting a decline in new COVID-19 cases compared to last week. As of Saturday night, new cases were down in Texas, Missouri and South Carolina while 21 states reported a rise in cases and a little more than half held steady compared with the week before.

Researchers at the University of Washington are now predicting as many as 2,900 deaths a day in December.

DR. CHRISTOPHER MURRAY, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: The reason we think that's going to happen is the combination of people, you know, taking their foot off the brake and starting to mingle more, being less careful and then most importantly, seasonality.

SANDOVAL: Wisconsin reported a record number of 2,892 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday including 19 deaths. The Governor Tony Evers said on social media, the surges seen across the state were not an indication that masks don't work.

Meantime, California has now passed 16,000 deaths. In Illinois, the state reported nearly 2,500 new cases in 24 hours and 31 deaths. In Tennessee 1,192 cases and 45 deaths. In South Carolina, 649 new cases and 31 deaths on Saturday. The University of Washington now projecting 363,000 U.S. deaths by the end of the year.

MURRAY: Given what we know about the effectiveness of masks and given what we know about half of Americans wearing a mask when they're out, we think that about 86,000 lives could be saved if we can get mask use way up. So, it's very much in our control as to what's actually going to happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Back here at New York City this morning, local health officials are growing increasingly concerned about at least four clusters. The growing numbers that we're seeing right in parts of Brooklyn, parts of Queens. Late last night the former head of the CDC weighing in saying right now New York is on the edge of a precipice right now. Experiencing that ongoing spread especially in what Dr. Thomas Frieden described as religious communities. And that's why obviously the importance of testing is being discussed right now. About 130,000 tests across the state, Victor and Christi, on Friday. That's a new record.

PAUL: Wow. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

And we should say Joe Biden and Kamala Harris they're getting back to in person campaigning this week. They're actually heading first to Florida.

BLACKWELL: Not only will the candidate be ramping up his own testing he released the results of each one. CNN's political correspondent Arlette Saenz has more for us.

[06:25:04]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Joe Biden is moving forward with his in person campaigning and officials say will be tested more regularly for coronavirus. This follows the news that President Trump tested positive for coronavirus as well as several other people in his orbit.

Now the Biden campaign says that they will release the results of the tests each time he is tested. Biden last received his last negative test results on Friday and told reporters that while he wasn't tested on Saturday, he will be tested for coronavirus on Sunday morning. Now the Biden campaign has always adhered to social distancing and safety standards at his campaign events. Officials believe that the way that they've structured these events have promoted health and safety, not just for their candidates but also those involved in the events and for the general public.

Biden is always wearing a mask when he is at these events and they have people at social distances from each other and him. And those are protocols that they plan to move forward with, as he continues to campaign in person. On Monday, Biden is heading to South Florida and on Thursday, he will travel to Arizona. His first visit to the battleground state. And his running mate Kamala Harris will also be joining him.

Now, Kamala Harris is set to face off against Vice President Mike Pence in their first debate on Wednesday. And we're learning there have been some changes to the way that debate will play out. The two candidates will be seated down for that debate and originally were only slated to be seated seven feet apart. They will now be 12 feet apart from each other as this debate plays out.

We've also learned that masks will be required for everyone in that debate hall except for the two candidates and the moderators. This follows Tuesday night's presidential debate when many in the audience on the Trump side were not wearing masks. But going forward anyone who is in that debate hall must wear a mask and if they fail to do so, they will be asked to leave. Just one of the many changes that is occurring in this campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Arlette Saenz, CNN Wilmington, Delaware.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. So, let's talk about Vice President Pence and Senator Harris. They're facing off in the only vice presidential debate of 2020. Again, it is Wednesday night here on CNN. Special coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern.

PAUL: And just hours before President Trump revealed his COVID diagnosis in that 1:00 a.m. tweet, he called into "The Sean Hannity Show" and made light of Hope Hicks' diagnosis. Brian Stelter is up next with the look at how "Fox News" is covering the president's health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: So the president's positive COVID diagnosis has implications for, as we have discussed this morning, the election and national security and so much more. But, so far, a lot of the information that we're getting that's being released to the media, to the American people, has been limited and often time contradictory.

PAUL: And it's being treated differently on different networks. If you want to check out how the president's preferred news outlets, as he calls it, Fox News is looking at it.

CNN Chief Media Correspondent, "RELIABLE SOURCES" anchor Brian Stelter with us, whose recent book, by the way, could not be more on point right now, Hoax, Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of the Truth.

There are so many inconsistencies here, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There's one positive of this terrible story of this terrible diagnosis for the president, it's that nobody in this country will think this is a hoax anymore. That has been a disturbing narrative for the past eight months and perhaps for some people who are on the president's most loyal fans, his diagnosis is a wake-up call. We've seen some chatter about that on the right-wing websites and on Fox News.

You know, it is notable to go back to Thursday night when the president called into Sean Hannity's show. In retrospect, he must have known by then about -- well, we know he knew about Hope Hicks. He must have known about his own health concerns. Here are some of what he said to Hannity that night shortly before his diagnosis was announced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: She tested positive. I just heard about this. She tested positive. She's a hard worker, a lot of masks, so she wears mask a lot. But she tested positive. And I just went out with a test. I'll see -- well, you know, because we spent a lot of time, and the first lady just went out with the also. I just went for a test. And we'll see what happens. I mean, who knows?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Such a nonchalant, casual but perhaps confident sort of a performance by the president there on the phone with Hannity. This is the last time he made a phone call or gave an interview that was in public before the diagnosis was announced and before he went to Walter Reed.

So you know, you hear the president there in his friendly mode with his friend, Sean Hannity. It's notable in context now, because Dr. Sean Conley's initial timeline, at 72 hours ago, that would have meant it was a Wednesday diagnosis, which would have meant the president was on the phone lying to Sean Hannity on Thursday night. If you believe after Conley's cleanup, where he says, actually, the diagnosis was on Thursday night, then what his saying to Hannity makes sense.

Look, a lot of this does not make sense. The White House has a credibility crisis that has gotten even worse somehow in the past two days. Ultimately, it's all about transparency.

But, you know, to your point Victor and Christi, the network on Fox is pretty rosy and they're not nearly as concerned about this lack of credibility, as most other media outlets are. You know, that's par for the course, of course, for the president's supporters at Fox. But you know there are certain news stories that you can't deny, there are certain events you can't look away from and this is one of them.

BLACKWELL: The president's health especially. And it seems like some of the people at the White House were left in the dark.

Let's end on a bit of levity here with the seconds we have left here, SNL back, finding a way to poke fun.

[06:35:03]

It is a thin line. It is a tightrope in many instances. And they walk it here. They've got Kamala Harris up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You look at me, Donald. You do not treat my Joe like that, all right? He's a nice boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala, I've got this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-uh, Joe, let Mamala go to work.

Now, Donald, I want you to apologize to Joe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He started it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, hey, I don't care who started it. All right, I don't even care who sharded it. Now, you apologize to Joe now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry, what was that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes. So they always seem that to find just the right angle to make us laugh without feeling a little guilty.

STELTER: Yes. This is the SNL fantasy of what could have happened at the debate. You know, look, I think it's going to be pretty cool in the months or so to see Jim Carrey as Joe Biden. We all know Alec Baldwin as Trump. Now, we get to Jim Carrey as Joe Biden, and we're going to see Maya Rudolph frequently as Kamala Harris.

What is most striking to me is hearing people laugh again on SNL. The studio audience is back. They are back in the studio. They have a lot of COVID guidelines in place, but the show is trying to come back. We're in this period right now, it almost reminds me of mid-March, guys, where household names are getting sick.

Cam Newton, the Patriots and Chief, you know, sidelined with the virus. All of these Republican leaders sick. It feels like mid-March, that moment in time when the virus shocked the country and broke through to everybody. And yet in this environment, SNL is coming back, having people back in the studio. So it's an attempt to get back to normalcy at a time when almost nothing feels normal.

PAUL: It almost feels good to hear that laughter from the audience though. There is something familiar and soothing about it, I think, at this moment.

STELTER: There is.

PAUL: And, oh, Jim Carrey, who ever would have guessed, as Biden doing so well. Thank you so much Stelter.

BLACKWELL: Yes, he would not have been my pick, but he was really good. He was really, really good.

PAUL: Yes. I never would have thought it. All right, Stelter, thanks.

STELTER: Thanks.

PAUL: You know, you're going to see him a little bit later today on Reliable Sources, 11:00 A.M. Eastern, you will find Brian again.

BLACKWELL: The NFL's coronavirus problem, it is spreading. The Patriots and Chiefs, their game is on hold. The league says this is a different case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

PAUL: So, Patriots quarterback Cam Newton has tested positive for coronavirus.

BLACKWELL: And the NFL has postponed the team's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, second game postponed this had week.

Let's go to Coy Wire now. What do we know about when the game might be played and why this game is postponed when games one were postponed when other players tested positive.

COY WIRE, SNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good point. Victor, good morning to you and Christi. The NFL says is hopeful that the Patriots/Kansas City could be played tomorrow or Tuesday, but that's going to depend on to the results of other players test. If it is played on one of those days, the Patriots will be without quarterback Cam Newton, who was placed on the reserve COVID list yesterday, as first reported by ESPN and the NFL network.

I spoke to a high-ranking NFL official who told me Newton was tested Friday morning. He went through an entire day of meetings and practice and then the team learned of the positive test early Saturday morning.

And while we have seen other games go on even though a player may have tested positive earlier in the week, the league source tells me this game was postponed due to the nature of the quarterback position, calling plays, in huddles with other players.

Now, this comes as the outbreak on the Titans swells to 16, eight players, eight staff members, their game against the Steelers originally scheduled for today has been pushed back to later this month.

Let's go to college football. Yesterday, we saw fans in stands all across the country, including Dallas, where SMU campus police, you'll see, forced to clear out the student section, which includes that hill area, you can see, in the middle of the upset win over number 25 Memphis. The school tells CNN, students repeatedly ignored requests to wear masks and maintain social distance.

Finally, sports can remind us important life lessons, like don't ever give up and stay humble. Look at the incredible effort from (INAUDIBLE) to Corey Hawkins to save the touchdown, never giving up, chasing down running back A.J. Rose. But look again, Rose, celebrating, throwing up the peace sign before he scores. Kentucky would not score this drive and ends up losing the game in overtime.

And it happened again yesterday, his team trailing Army, 23-0 in the second quarter. Abilene Christian's L.J. McConnell breaks up a huge run but decides to throw up a peace sign early, and look at Army's Julian McDuffie from Snellville, Georgia, the inspiring effort from one of the future defenders of our nation. And he's also a Georgia State champion in the 300 meter hurdles, another reason not to celebrate early when you are playing Army. But a huge win, Victor and Christi, for Coach Jeff Monken and Army. They moved to 3-1 on the season.

PAUL: You always have the best highlights, Coy. Coy Wire, thank you so much.

WIRE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Coy.

So the House passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill, no bipartisan support, president in the hospital. Where does the bill stand, the future of stimulus? We'll talk about it with Washington Post Personal Finance Columnist, Michelle Singletary, next.

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PAUL: So, the president's finding coronavirus diagnosis caused markets to dip, as you would expect. Pandemic has already cost millions of jobs. And at this point there's just no clear path to another stimulus deal.

BLACKWELL: And talks are still going on between the administration and Democratic leadership. The president, he tweeted this. It's the only tweet we've seen from him since Thursday night, not about the coronavirus, that he's calling for a deal. This is from Walter Reed Medical Center.

PAUL: Michelle Singletary, Personal Finance Columnist for The Washington Post, is with us now. Good morning, ma'am.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: Hello good morning to you.

PAUL: So on that issue of the stimulus, I know that there was a new poll out, that 61 percent of households in the United States are really having a hard economic time because of this pandemic.

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And with that said we've been watching the stimulus plan just hit walls at every angle, it seems, at this point. What is the contention that needs to be remedied and what does it mean for these people that need help?

SINGLETARY: Well, you know, they're still fighting over some key provisions, more aid for people who are unemployed, aid for the states. And they just can't seem to come to the table. And that's very unfortunate because now we are coming into the months where people are going even have more struggles, that extra money is now gone and it probably (INAUDIBLE) have with the landlord who has -- he or she has their own bills to pay.

And it's very unfortunate that they have not come up with an idea of how to help these people. They need money, they need more stimulus money, so that they can pay their rent and put food on the table.

BLACKWELL: What are we expecting over the next couple of months, because without the stimulus, we're getting into the colder months? And, you know, I know that having lived in the mid-Atlantic and the northeast when you've got to buy the fuel for heating, and people have different systems, this can be a pretty treacherous next six months.

SINGLETARY: You're right. And, you know, flu season coming up, and it's just -- I have to tell you, I'm very concerned about how people are going to make it.

I mean, think about it. Even with that extra money, lots of folks in America were already behind. They were already living paycheck to paycheck, which means they didn't have savings that they could pull from. So, now, they've exhausted anything that they had, if they had something. We've exhausted those extra money from the unemployment, from the CARES act. And lots of people are now hitting the wall for -- or will be hitting the wall for their basic unemployment benefits.

And if we don't have a deal, there are going to be people who are going to lose their apartments. There are going to be people who are going to struggle. The food banks are already overwhelmed with people trying to find food for their families. And I'm hoping that perhaps with the COVID spreading to the White House, and, you know, Republicans, that they will see -- they will know now personally what it feels like not just to be fighting something that could, you know, take your life but now that it could take your financial life.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I wonder what that means for seasonal jobs. If people aren't shopping, will there be a need to hire people part time when we get to the holiday season? There could be those secondary and tertiary job losses because of what's happening right now.

Michelle Singletary, always good to have you.

SINGLETARY: Yes, same here. I just wish everybody well. And I think if they keep watching your program and reading The Washington Post, we've been covering this stimulus, and as soon as there is anything out there, you know, I'm going to be reporting on it and helping you figure out how to get your money, because there are still people who are waiting for that first check.

PAUL: Yes, I wanted to ask you about that. I'm sorry, we've ran out of time. We will have you back, you know?

SINGLETARY: Okay.

BLACKWELL: All right, thanks Michelle.

PAUL: Thank you Michelle.

BLACKWELL: So the new CNN original series "First Ladies" premieres tonight at 10:00 Eastern. Here is a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I would not be standing here tonight without the first lady.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you're little, did you ever want to be the first lady?

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: I didn't know I could be the first lady.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's she was interested in was changing the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Human rights are women's rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, a woman who is actually trying to do something different.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All they wanted to hear was, I was wonderful, and all she was going to do is tell him the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She would ask questions. She stepped up when she saw the things were going the wrong direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She gets the last word.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's 31 years old. She stands up to all the president's advisers.

M. OBAMA: When they go low, we go high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BLACKWELL: CNN Hero Scott Strode and his non-profit provide three athletic activities and support sober-support communities for thousands of people.

PAUL: Though when COVID-19 force them to close their gyms, they found ways to stay connected.

CNN's Phil Mattingly joined one of their classes to see how they're still going strong.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep moving, everyone. Let's try to get two or three more. You've got 20 seconds. Nice job, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What was kind of your thought when coronavirus first started to spread and lockdowns really started kicking in here?

SCOTT STRODE, FOUNDER, THE PHOENIX: I just knew that social isolation was going to be a big risk for relapse for a lot of people. So, pretty quickly, we pivoted to offering virtual programs. We knew we had to keep people connected in this sort of uncertain and stressful time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one. And down for the sit-up.

STRODE: Just always lifts my heart to log in to a Phoenix virtual class and meet somebody in recovery, who is doing the workout in their basement somewhere in Tennessee where we don't even have in-person programs, but they can come to the Phoenix anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice job, everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Come through, Phil. To learn more about Scott's program and to see if Phil made it through the class, go to cnnheroes.com.

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