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NBA Players Boycott Tonight's Three Playoff Games; Wisconsin Justice Dept., Kenosha Police Not Releasing Details Of Shooting; Seventeen-Year-Old Charged In Deadly Kenosha Shootings, Police Say Motive Unclear; U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Tops 179,000 With 5.8 Million Cases; Official Says CDC Pressured "From Top Down" To Recommend Fewer Tests; Hurricane Laura Intensifies To Category 4, Threatens "Unsurvivable" Storm Surge As It Approaches Gulf Coast. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 26, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

(17:00:00)

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're following multiple breaking stories this hour, including the arrest of a 17 year old male who has now been charged in a shooting that killed two people during protests last night in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police say his motive is unclear. Another curfew in the city goes into effect in just hours in an effort to prevent a third night of demonstrations against the police shooting of Jacob Blake who was unarmed.

The Justice Department here in Washington has just confirmed it's sending federal law enforcement officers to help with the response.

And we've also just learned another major developing story that the NBA playoff games, all three of them, tonight have been postponed in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake. This is a major story. We'll update you on that as well.

Meanwhile, there's breaking news involving the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. death toll has now topped 179,000 people with more than 5.8 million cases. And our sources telling CNN that the CDC was actually pressured, pressured from the top down to change guidelines and recommend that fewer people here in the United States be tested. We're following all of that.

Plus, Hurricane Laura in our powerful category for storm turning toward the Gulf Coast, and expected to make a potentially devastating landfall. Later tonight, we have a new forecast that's just out from the National Hurricane Center.

Lots of news unfolding. But let's begin with the breaking news in Wisconsin. CNN's Omar Jimenez is on the scene for us in Kenosha.

Omar, very disturbing developments where you are as the city is about to go under an earlier curfew for the third night.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Well, for starters today was really the first day we'd heard from law enforcement in any substantial way since Jacob Blake was shot. And as you mentioned, we are going to see a curfew put in place an hour earlier than we had seen in previous nights in an attempt as officials tell me to try and deal with some of these demonstrations under more daylight, as opposed to purely at night like we've seen in the past, as law enforcement here has dealt firsthand with the pain and anger in this community and in some cases, like we saw last night, deadly violence. A warning, some of what you're about to see may be considered graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (voice-over): A contentious and at times violent night in Kenosha, Wisconsin for a third night in a row. And then the late night hours, gunshots. Someone appears to go to the ground and then opens fire.

Last night police say two people were killed and a third seriously injured.

CHIEF DAN MISKINIS, KENOSHA POLICE DEPARTMENT: What I can't tell you is what led to the disturbance that lead to the use of deadly force by this person.

JIMENEZ: A 17-year-old suspect Kyle Rittenhouse from a nearby Illinois town was arrested. Police haven't confirmed he's the same person seen in videos from the scene. But he is charged with first degree homicide.

SHERIFF DAVID BETH, KENOSHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN: Yesterday, I had a person call me and say why don't you deputize citizens who have guns to come out and patrol the city of Kenosha? And I'm like, oh, hell no.

The -- and what happened last night and I think Chief Miskinis is going to talk about it was probably the perfect reason why I wouldn't.

JIMENEZ: And with more demonstrations expected, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says he's adding to the amount of National Guard he's authorizing, making 500 of them available to go along with local law enforcement response already bolstered from other jurisdictions.

The governor's office saying they denied the President's offer to send federal assistance that the FBI will help support the state response. But at the center of all of this is a family calling for peace and with one of their own clinging to life.

JACOB BLAKE SR. JACOB BLAKE'S FATHER: They shot my son seven times, seven times like he didn't matter. But my son matters.

JIMENEZ: Jacob Blake's injuries ranging from the vertebrae to holes in his stomach.

PATRICK SALVI SR. FAMILY ATTORNEY FOR JACOB BLAKE: I think if it was done a police officer, that person would be charged with attempted murder. I don't think there's any question especially with a benefit of a video camera, which clearly shows the crime being committed.

[17:05:06]

JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, the investigations into how this interaction with police ended with seven shots in the back are still ongoing. As a federal law enforcement official tells CNN, the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI are also reviewing the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, as for the suspect, we still didn't get an explanation from law enforcement over why this person wasn't taken into custody at the scene, a person that's pending extradition to Wisconsin.

Now, as for what we may see tonight, we again expect more of these demonstrations and the sheriff said that those who are out past curfew will be met with assertive force.

While the world watches in real time and reacts in real time even in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks centered not far from here in Kenosha deciding to postpone their playoff game against the Orlando Magic as the Senior Vice President put it for the Bucks some things are just bigger than basketball. Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. It's a very dramatic development. In fact now all three of the playoff games that have been scheduled for today, they've been postponed, as well.

Omar Jimenez, thank you very much.

Let's get some more on the breaking news, the postponement of all three NBA playoff games tonight that began with a sudden boycott by the Milwaukee Bucks of their playoff game against the Orlando Magic.

Our Sports Analyst, USA Today, Sports Columnist Christine Brennan is joining us right now.

So Christine, give us some perspective. I'm a basketball fan. You're a basketball fan. This is truly an extraordinary protest.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Absolutely, Wolf. We have rarely seen anything quite like this in the sports world, where athletes would go to this extreme, understandably so to make their voices heard for those whose voices are not being heard. The NBA has always had its fingers on the pulse of our country and the community probably more than other leagues. Certainly the black community.

And when we see another unarmed black man shot, we have seen this throughout over the last, what, 48 hours or so Wolf, NBA players in particular speaking up LeBron James, the coach of the LA Clippers, Doc Rivers, with an impassioned tearful press conference where he spoke about loving this country even as it doesn't love us back, the words of a beloved coach and longtime NBA star.

And now we see the ultimate playoffs. I mean, this is what you play for, right? This is what sports and athletes live for is that moment. And to basically give it up to say no, we're not coming out of the locker room.

And then to watch the league understandably and correctly, as only the NBA can figure this out quickly and say that's it, we're not going to play any games today. It's an incredibly powerful statement by young men who care about their communities and of course, led by the Milwaukee Bucks, Kenosha, so close to Milwaukee. Though speaking out for their community, and for the people there who are hurting in such a difficult and an important time.

BLITZER: Yes, this was supposed to be game five in the playoff series between Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic. It's a big deal. It's not just a regular season game. We know they're playing in the so- called bubble down in Florida outside of Orlando because of the coronavirus pandemic. But this is a -- they're making a major sacrifice, these players, to stand up for what they believe.

BRENNAN: They are, Wolf. And to me it's no surprise. The NBA has been our North Star really throughout 2020. If you look at it from cultural and just, frankly, our nation as a whole, March 11 was the date that the NBA decided to suspend operations.

And at that moment, I think many of us were not taking coronavirus seriously. And all of a sudden you saw that on your phone, you know, the NBA is stopping. And within, what, 24, 48 hours the -- not only sports but many other things are cascading, the domino effect was extraordinary. That was started by the NBA.

And here again we see the NBA as we've seen throughout the summer and also the WNBA, wearing the Black Lives Matter shirts, all of the players and their fans, so many of them with the black screen for Black Lives Matter that day on social media.

And here it is the NBA, again, leading the way. This is a remarkable development, it will be seen, I think for what it is as something that's historic. That will be studied 50 or 100 years from now, because it is a big part of this conversation.

And as we've seen over and over again, these NBA players have a conscience that so many other athletes really don't seem to exhibit. And you may disagree with them. You may say this is wrong, but you cannot, for one second Wolf, argue with the fact that they are making a stand the way we saw in 1968 at the Olympics, the way we've seen with others but it has been rare.

[17:10:01]

Tiger Woods would have done something like this. Michael Jordan would have done something like this. But these NBA players in 2020 they are doing exactly this.

BLITZER: LeBron James just tweeted. He's been outspoken on this. And I'll put it up on the screen. You can see what he says that first word is the F word, "We demand change. Sick of it."

A lot of these players are really sick of it. They want to see dramatic change. And Christine, it fits into a long history of athletes, on many occasions leading the way when it comes to racial and social justice issues.

BRENNAN: Exactly. I mentioned 1968 Tommie Smith, John Carlos, the Black Club Salute at the 1968 Olympics and there's so much about the '60s and the late '60s, as we've all remarked, that we are seeing, of course, in this summer with Black Lives Matter with the death of George Floyd and, of course, Brionna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and now, of course, with Jacob Blake and in this case, the shooting obviously, thankfully, not the death but the paralysis apparently it was we're hearing Jacob Blake.

So, all of this it says if we are reliving those late 1960s and athletes, you know, that's one of the iconic images, Wolf, as you know of 1968, a turbulent year in this country was the two American sprinters with the Black Love Salute, and they were kicked out of the Olympics and sent home and of course now they are revered. Now they are heroes. Now they are two of the most iconic athletes and names in that time and in our history, Smith and Carlos.

But back then they were not greeted that way. Here, I do believe that these athletes, the NBA players who have boycotted they're saying they're not playing the entire NBA is going to be applauded by most people for taking a stand at this turbulent time in our history.

BLITZER: We just got a statement, Christine, from the NBA. Let me read it to you and to our viewers, "The NBA in the National Basketball Player Association today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks decision to not take the floor today for game five against the Orlando Magic, today's three games Bucks versus magic Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trailblazers have been postponed. Game five of each series will be rescheduled."

They use the word postponed. They haven't been completely ending. They want this playoff series to continue, but at least it's only been postponed for now.

Last night, Christine, Doc Rivers, the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers spoke emotionally about Jacob Blake's shooting in Wisconsin. Now listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOC RIVERS, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS COACH: All you hear Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot. We're the ones that will deny to live in certain communities. We've been home we've been shot and all you do is keep hearing a fear. It's amazing why we keep loving this country, and this country does not loves us back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He's this viscerally describing the fear so many black people live with. The fear that any interaction anything you're doing, you could wind up actually dead. So you hear that from Doc Rivers. How powerful was that, Christine?

BRENNAN: You know, those are words for our times. And those will be words that we talked about for many years to come. What a message.

You know, I'm thinking of the comment a few months ago from a commentator saying to NBA players just shut up and dribble. We've missed -- if everyone shut up and dribble, we've missed that. And thank goodness, we haven't missed that. We need to hear those words.

And those are -- that's, of course, a great coach, great player, Doc Rivers, saying those words. And, of course, athletes can speak out. And they're finding their voice, Wolf, as we know, in ways that we might not have even imagined a few months ago.

So sad that they have to, obviously because of these tragic and awful events that are happening and keep happening in our communities, but it makes so much sense. The NBA is a predominantly black league. Many of these men have dealt with these issues.

The WNBA, predominantly black league. Many of the women there they have found a voice. Maya Moore helping to free a prisoner from jail.

I mean, these athletes are extraordinary. We should be looking at them, listening to them. And here they are right there front and center telling us and showing us the way. And I think that's very, very important. And again, no surprise that it's the NBA right here.

BLITZER: Yes. It's -- these are -- the video of this game that was supposed to take place a little bit more than an hour or so ago, the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic clearly not taking place.

[17:15:03]

Christine, standby. I want to bring in Ernie Johnson, the host of TNT inside the NBA.

Ernie, let's talk a little bit about what's going on. You know, you -- you've been doing this for a while, for years, you're the best in the business. How does it feel to see the Milwaukee Bucks leading this protest now, refusing to play game five of this series, this playoff series in the aftermath of this horrific shooting?

ERNIE JOHNSON, HOST, TNT'S INSIDE THE NBA FOR ERNIE JOHNSON: Wolf, good to talk to you.

This is a landmark moment in NBA history and in sports history. When I think about the NBA, and I've been doing this for 30 years as the host on TNT, but I think back to '91 and Magic's announcement about HIV. I think about 2014 in Adam Silver in one of his first acts as the Commissioner of the NBA in response to the racist comments of Donald Sterling, the owner of Clippers. When he stood at the podium and said that Donald Sterling is banned for life from any association with the NBA.

And then I watched today, and it wasn't a statement made at a podium. It was a statement made by just not taking the court.

The Orlando Magic, we're warming up on the floor. The Milwaukee Bucks never came out of the locker room.

And this, look, if you're saying, you know, social issues and sports, you know, keep them separate. Look, those days are long gone. Sports and society are intertwined like never before on this moment today, when the Milwaukee Bucks said, you know, after seeing what happened in Kenosha with Jacob Blake.

Basketball is a game and this is real life. And real life takes precedence. And the Bucs have said that, Orlando then went with them down that same path, and does not surprise me a bit that the other two games tonight will not be played because there was a solidarity here in this league.

And I don't know when they're going to play again, I don't have that answer. But I know that this was just a statement that resounds not only through the NBA, but through the world of sports.

BLITZER: And a man you know, well, Doc Rivers, we just played the clip. He got so emotional describing the fear of being a black man here in the United States among other things. he says, we're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot.

These players and we're being seen not only here in the United States, but around the world. These NBA players, as you know, they're admired around the world. But off the court, the fear is that they could be next if they're just walking around.

JOHNSON: Look, there's a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, Sterling Brown, Wolf, who had a story to tell about what happened a couple of years ago in Milwaukee when he made a late night stop at a drugstore and had parked illegally across a couple of handicap spots in, what he said was a vacant parking lot. He was running in for three minutes and came back and was confronted by an officer who then called for backup, and he was on the ground with a knee in his neck.

And so when you have experience like that, obviously, this hits home with Sterling Brown. You heard George Hill, one of the best three point shooters in the league the other day talking about the situation said, I don't even want to be here. And so you have that kind of a thought process going on with some of these players in the bubble.

And I think, Wolf, not speaking for them, but there is a feeling of helplessness right now. Because as successful as that bubble has been with zero COVID-19 positive tests, it's worked perfectly in terms of playing games in the NBA. But there's this feeling like they are on this island now, and what can they possibly do about what they're seeing in our country.

And so this is the step that they have taken today to say, I know these are the playoffs. I know this is what we play for. But they're not that big.

BLITZER: Yes. That game was supposed to start at 4 p.m. And then the Milwaukee Bucks didn't show up. And they're down in Orlando in the so called bubble.

And I want you to explain, Ernie, what this bubble is to our viewers who may not be familiar with the conditions because of the coronavirus pandemic. I initially thought where the game was -- when the Milwaukee Bucks didn't show up from the locker room. I said, Well, maybe somebody came positive for coronavirus or something like that. But it quickly emerged that this was something totally different.

[17:20:02]

JOHNSON: Now this was -- this has turned out to be a perfectly designed plan this bubble or this campus down there at -- in Orlando at Disney World where the, you know, the teams are all housed in three hotels. There were three arenas where games are played. Once you come in, you must stay.

If you leave the bubble, then you have to be tested on a daily basis while you're away. And as long as those tests are negative. When you come back to the bubble, and players have done this, because, you know they've had injuries or they've had personal issues to deal with, then they have to come back and wait four days of quarantine before they were allowed to join their team and again be tested every day to maintain the integrity of the bubble.

And so far, it has worked just beautifully. Because as I pointed out, every time there are test results delivered, there are no positive. So from that aspect, it's been great.

But we also heard Paul George of the Clippers talk last night about kind of the toll it's taken on him that he's been in a dark place down there.

And so, you can't just assume that, hey, you're playing basketball for a living this is, you know, just, you know, play the games. These are husbands and fathers who missed their kids, who missed their families who are, you know, isolated from really the rest of the world while they're down there. And you're seeing that it can be a difficult thing to deal with.

And then when something like this happens in Kenosha, and especially if you're a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, and that's 40 miles from Milwaukee, there's a helpless feeling that, you know, if we were there, what could we do? But again, they're here in the bubble in the playoffs, and no way to really reach out face to face and try to change things or help things.

BLITZER: These are all the greatest basketball players in the world and were in this bubble and there are no fans at the games, no fans in the arenas. It's an extraordinary moment because of the coronavirus.

An executive with the Milwaukee Bucks just tweeted this and let me read it to you. There you see if.

"Some things are bigger than basketball. The stand taken today by the players and organization shows that we're fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen. I'm incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100 percent behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change."

That's a very powerful statement from one of the executives, top executives of the Milwaukee Bucks.

JOHNSON: Yes, indeed. And last night, Wolf, in our pregame show, we had the entire Milwaukee Bucks team present as we announced the Defensive Player of the Year, Giannis Antetokounmpo. And so, they gave him the trophy and his teammates cheered for him. And we all talk, Charles and Kenny and Chuck and I talked to Giannis about winning the award.

And then I asked Mike Budenholzer, their head coach, I said, look, we're hearing things down there from the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, who are supposed to start their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday, that players during their media availability we're saying, look, we've had meetings and we're talking and we're wondering if we should play and, you know, and floating out there the idea of boycotting games over what happened in Kenosha.

And I asked Mike Budenholzer last night, what has been the nature of the talks with your team about what's going on 40 miles from Milwaukee? And he said, I want to keep what we talked about as a team inside the team, but then he reiterated pretty much, you know, the same kind of thing that you just read from the Bucks executive.

So I don't know when they may reach this decision. I don't know if they had talked about it yesterday and decided to or if it was just one of those things where it was today when they decided we just can't do this.

BLITZER: We're you surprised?

JOHNSON: Surprise today?

BLITZER: When the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to leave the locker room?

JOHNSON: I, you know, I would not say I was surprised. I -- when I saw that there was a team out there warming up and then we looked in there was no Milwaukee team. No, I'm not shocked by that, given the fact the proximity of Kenosha to Milwaukee. And given George Hill's comments, given Sterling Brown situation on that team, so no. I'm not going to say I was shocked by that.

What I would have been shocked by is if other teams today had said, well, we're going to play.

BLITZER: Yes.

JOHNSON: That's not the way works. And that's -- when I've -- from all I've witnessed in the NBA after through all these years and especially in the last couple of years, just in terms of Adam Silver's openness to allowing NBA players to have a voice.

[17:25:19]

And so, when I when I see something like that happen and I know that the solidarity they have in that Players Association under the leadership of Chris Paul who's whose team was supposed to play the game at 6:30 tonight against the Houston Rockets, that they are looking at this and saying, if you're not going to play, we're with you. And so I think there's just been so much on the minds of so many players.

You mentioned Doc Rivers last night. Wolf, you could feel it was like the emotion was pouring out of the man. It was almost like it was years of anguish that he wanted to unload at that point, it was so powerful. And it speaks, I think to so many players in the NBA, who are fed up.

BLITZER: Yes.

JOHNSON: And they just want to say that look, here's what we can do from where we are right now. And that's to voice, our displeasure by saying basketball comes second or third or wherever compared to what's going on in the country right now.

BLITZER: Yes. I give those NBA players and the coaches and the executives, the owners, the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, a lot of credit for what they're doing right now. It is not easy by any means.

Ernie Johnson, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

JOHNSON: Wolf, thank you very much for your time.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Let's get some more on the breaking news. The mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin is joining us right now, John Antaramian.

Thank you, Mayor, so much for joining us. We have a lot to discuss. But let me get your reaction to this protest on behalf of Jacob Blake, by the Milwaukee Bucks at these other NBA teams.

MAYOR JOHN ANTARAMIAN (D), KENOSHA, WI: Well, I think the inhering the conversation going on, I think Doc Rivers' comments are remarkable in the sense of, I love this country but this country doesn't love me. And I think that becomes something that as a country and community. And I know that Kenosha right now is in the spotlight of what has occurred.

But when you look at that comment, you have to question what have we done wrong? What do we need to do better to make our country strong and to make sure that we have -- we treat everybody fairly for racial justice? So I give him a great deal of credit.

So, you know, like everyone else, I'm sure that our -- his heart just was aching when he made that comment.

BLITZER: Yes. And you could see in his face, in his eyes, they were so passionate. And so from the heart as he was speaking, I give them a lot of credit as well.

All this Mayor started with a Kenosha police officer shooting Jacob Blake about seven times in the back, leaving him now paralyzed. Blake's attorney say he did not have a weapon in his car.

When you watch that video, Mayor, do you see police protocol being violated? Do you want those officers to be fired? They're on administrative leave, I understand right now.

ANTARAMIAN: By law, the officers are on administrative leave. The way the state of Wisconsin works is that when a situation like this occurs, the city does not investigate the issue. A third party is required to do so.

And so what has occurred is it's now gone to the state. The State Department of Justice or the Attorney General's Office takes charge of the case and we are totally excluded from the case until they come in with their answer to what occurred, how it occurred. And all that information then is given to the D.A. and the D.A. will make a determination.

So, we have very little information on any of the materials that has been looked at so far. The only thing I will tell you is we have requested the D.A. -- the attorney general's office to be as expedient as possible, but still being -- making sure that it's a fair system of what he has to do and what he has to follow. So we have been waiting on that just like everyone else. And I cannot tell you a timeframe on that because it literally is a state function.

BLITZER: I know the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is now investigating the shooting is continuing, but why haven't they at least, or the Kenosha Police Department for that matter, released some basic details of the shooting, including their name, for example, of police officer who shot Jacob Blake, the other officer who was involved and by now everyone has seen that video.

ANTARAMIAN: Right. And literally the whole process, again, is we go to the state and we let them handle everything.

[17:30:03]

So on the investigation, we do nothing other than the state gives out the information. And the state is basically the one who has all information control. And there's not much we can do about that. That is literally the way the state wants to do it and has been doing so.

BLITZER: Unfortunately, since Sunday, violence on the streets of Kenosha -- at least there's times as overshadow Jacob Blake's fight for justice, a suspect is now in custody after two people were shot and killed last night. How did this happen? Because we see the video, Mayor, of your town, of your city, huge numbers of buildings are completely destroyed. They've been burnt to the ground, the looting. All this has been awful.

ANTARAMIAN: And it is very discouraging or what has occurred. But I do want to make a point here because I think it's important. First off, the Blake family, Mrs. Blake came forward and basically made a statement of please stop doing this. You're not doing this for us.

BLITZER: She wanted to stop the violence. She said that was doing no good.

ANTARAMIAN: She wanted all the violence -- absolutely. And so, I appreciate that and the city appreciates her stepping up. That has to be hard to do, and we do appreciate what she's done.

What we found is that a lot of the violence that is occurring is not from local folks, it is from people coming from outside the area. And that is a problem that we're dealing. So, we're trying to deal with that issue, and making sure that the community is safe. But at the same time that the Blake family gets justice, and that the business people in this -- and especially the small business people who have been damaged by this tremendously. We'll be working with them trying to recover that.

But Kenosha is a resilient community. We've gone through a lot of tough times, but we need to rebuild and we will do so. But I think in that rebuilding process, what's important is also to deal with the racial issues. We have been working for the last couple of months with the clergy and setting up committees and creating situations so that we can actually deal with racial issues. But it's not a fast solution, it's a long term solution.

And I was listening to what you'd commented about the bucks. And, you know what? I'm thrilled that they are willing to participate, because we will call them, we're going to need help as we attempt to work with young people, especially. We need to get this generation that we're slowly losing because what they're seeing back, and we need to give them opportunities.

And so, if they have a opportunity for a good life, and that they don't have to be afraid of police, they are -- the police are there to be helpful. And so, I think that's a piece of what we all need to work on. And it's not going to be fast, but we need to do it.

BLITZER: I'm sure those Milwaukee Bucks will respond positively to your request that they come in and help deal with this crisis, this awful situation is unfolded in your city. Mayor John Antaramian, thank you so much for joining us. Good luck.

ANTARAMIAN: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: There's more breaking news that we're following here in THE SITUATION ROOM with more of the Justice Department now sending federal law enforcement officers to Wisconsin as President Trump vows to crack down on protesters there. Plus, CNN has learned that the CDC was pressured, quote, from the top down to recommend fewer people be tested for coronavirus in the United States. We have new detail, stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:37:49]

BLITZER: Now the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, CNN's Erica Hill is working in this part of the story for us. Erica, more than 179,000 Americans, more than 179,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19. The U.S. is leading, leading the world in cases with more than 5.8 million.

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, Wolf, that's definitely not where anyone wants to be as a country. You mentioned those deaths. We have just seen a couple of days ago for the first time in nearly a month, the average reported daily deaths dipped below 1,000. But that changed yesterday as they again topped that number. And now, there is new confusion, questions and, frankly, exasperation from another -- a number of state officials and health experts, as they try to understand new guidance from the CDC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It doesn't even pass a common sense sniff test.

HILL (voice-over): The CDC's testing and travel guidance abruptly reversed without explanation.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Shame on the people in the CDC. These will be indispensable actions in the light of history. Indefensible. What possible rationale is there to say you're in close contact with a COVID positive person and you don't need a test?

HILL (voice-over): The agency now recommending even some who may have been exposed to the virus, may not need to be tested.

WEN: We know that 50 percent of transmission could be caused by people who are asymptomatic. So why wouldn't we want this population to be tested?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think it's more likely that this is an intentional effort by the administration to conceal the true extent of transmission and the numbers.

HILL (voice-over): The reality, testing is already down in a number of states. But the virus is still spreading. Areas of the Midwest seeing a surge in new cases over the past week.

JANICE WEINER, IOWA CITY, IOWA COUNCIL MEMBER: What we were doing was working. The numbers in Johnson County were going down gradually.

HILL (voice-over): Those numbers now on the rise as students return to campus. Iowa, one of at least 28 states where colleges are reporting new cases among students. Many universities relying on testing to help find and control the spread.

[17:40:06]

DR. KYLE GOERL, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY'S LAFENE HEALTH CENTER: That gives us a sense at a week-to-week basis how much potential spread of the virus do we have?

HILL (voice-over): Well, bars, off campus parties and Greek life have played a role in many college cases. Travel is also a factor. One of the reasons at least 16 states and some local jurisdictions have quarantine orders or recommendations in place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm worried about people not being safe and then possibly contracting the virus and bringing it to campus.

HILL (voice-over): In much of the Northeast, those strict measures apply to travelers, including students from at least 31 states and territories.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: It's the law, it's for everyone's safety. And right now, we think about 20 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the city are associated with people who have traveled.

HILL (voice-over): But in another reversal, the CDC no longer recommends anyone coming from areas with a high rate of infection, quarantine for 14 days.

DR. CARLOS DE RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSC. DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, GRADY HEALTH SYSTEM: What's concerning about all these changes in guidelines that CDC does is they don't put evidence to back why the changes do.

HILL (voice-over): So, again, why change the guidance? Health experts pointing to the President's desire to move on.

DR. HOWARD ZUCKER, COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH: I've spoken with the scientists at the CDC, and they say it's political.

HILL (voice-over): The nation's testings are pushing back Wednesday, denying there was any pressure from the Trump administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: California Governor Gavin Newsom, making it clear these new guidelines will not be followed in his state, saying a short time ago, Wolf, I don't agree with the new CDC guidance, period. Full stop. It's not the policy in the state of California.

BLITZER: Erica Hill reporting for us, thank you very much.

And there's more breaking news we're following including the Justice Department here in Washington just confirming that it's sending federal law enforcement officers to Kenosha, Wisconsin. I want to go to our Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. Jim, President Trump has really zeroed in on the situation in Wisconsin. What's the latest? JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. President Trump is vowing to crack down on the violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The President and his team are pointing to the unrest in Wisconsin as they build their case for Mr. Trump's re-election at the Republican Convention. As one Trump campaign official put it to me the President's message on lawn order is resonating with voters. That's their belief, and moving people in the middle to support Mr. Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Seizing on the violence in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, President Trump is ramping up the Republican Convention theme of law and order, promising to take matters into his own hands. Tweeting, "We will not stand for looting, arson, violence and lawlessness on American streets. My team just got off the phone with Wisconsin Governor Evers who agreed to accept federal assistance".

President's warning follows the First Lady's address in the Rose Garden, where she called for peaceful protests.

MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I urge people to come together in a civil manner, so we can work and live up to our standard American ideals. I also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of justice.

ACOSTA (voice-over): But hold on, it was the administration that brutally cleared out protesters near the White House for a photo op back in June. Ever since then, the President has been talking up his heavy-handed tactics right into the convention.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're saying, let us come in and solve your problem. We will solve it for you in one hour.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Stark warnings echoed by Mr. Trump's gun toting convention speakers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They want to abolish the suburbs all together.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Contrast that tough talk with the administration's muddled messaging on the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control just changed its guidance on testing for COVID-19, saying people may not need to be screened for the virus even after being in close contact with somebody who's been infected. Before the agency recommended testing for people who suspected they had been exposed. CNN has learned that change came after pressure from top administration officials.

Earlier in the summer, Mr. Trump had asked officials to slow down testing.

D. TRUMP: So I said to my people, slow the testing down, please.

ACOSTA (voice-over): White House testing coordinator Brett Giroir defended the change that is baffling health experts. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH: We're trying to get appropriate testing, not less testing. It really depends on where you are in the outbreak where you are locally and what kind of testing you're going to to support.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Contrast that with the First Lady's claim the President is doing everything he can.

M. TRUMP: Donald's will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic.

ACOSTA (voice-over): There were a few Trump supporters and masks for that address. Earlier in the night, economic adviser Larry Kudlow was talking about the pandemic in the past tense.

LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: It was awful. Health and economic impacts were tragic. Hardship and heartbreak were everywhere. But presidential leadership came swiftly and effectively.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Earlier this year, he claimed the virus was contained.

KUDLOW: We have contained this. I won't say airtight but pretty close to airtight.

ACOSTA (voice-over): As an outgoing, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who speaks tonight.

[17:45:08]

KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: It is being contained. And do nothing is being contained.

ACOSTA (voice-over): President is exploiting his office at this GOP convention, walking past marines in uniform. Naturalizing new citizens, issuing a pardon.

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm Mike Pompeo.

ACOSTA (voice-over): And trotting out his secretary of state. The White House claims nobody cares.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The nightstar attraction will be Vice President Mike Pence, who is expected to lay into Democrat Joe Biden with one campaign official telling CNN, Pence will take some lumber to Joe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now as for the CDC changing its guidance for when people should be tested for the coronavirus, one of the Trump administration's top medical experts Dr. Anthony Fauci says he is worried it will send the wrong message. Fauci told CNN, Our Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta, he was undergoing a medical procedure and was not aware of the changing guidelines. But he told CNN, "I am concerned about the interpretation of these

recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is". Wolf, it's just another example, where Dr. Fauci is deferring with this administration, when they change guidance on this deadly virus. Wolf?

BLITZER: To his credit, and he's doing the right thing. Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

Let's get some more in all of this. Our Chief Medical Correspondent, the aforementioned Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us right now. Sanjay, a senior official says these changes by the CDC on testing are result of pressure coming in from the top. But on a call with reporters earlier today, and you heard Admiral Brett Giroir say that the changes were made with input from the task force. You've actually spoken with a member of the task force, Dr. Fauci, tell us what else he told you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that was sort of the critical issue was that, you know, there's obviously been lots of discussions about testing. It's a huge part of the overall discussion around this pandemic. But this most recent change, which is a significant change and, you know, Wolf, I mean, the changes were put on the CDC's website, there was really no alert to it. We had to find this people, had to find this on their own, despite how significant these changes are.

Dr. Fauci, you know, when the Coronavirus Task Force met last Thursday to do the final deliberations and whatnot, he was in the operating room, he was under general anesthesia. So the idea that they say, well, he, you know, signed off on this. He wasn't at that task force meeting. And I think more importantly, regardless of that, is that the idea of not testing asymptomatic people, he does not want that to be interpreted as being unimportant. We need to test asymptomatic people.

Wolf, if you look at the pandemic overall in the United States, about 50 percent, roughly -- and this is according to CDC data,-- 50 percent of the spread of this pandemic is happening via people who either don't want have symptoms at all asymptomatic or don't have symptoms yet pre-symptomatic.

So, if you're symptomatic, if you're coughing or sneezing, sick, you should stay home. One could make the argument as some have to meet today that it is the asymptomatic people that we should be focusing on if you truly want to get your arms around this pandemic,

BLITZER: And the CDC's also no longer advising travelers to quarantine when they come back from a trip overseas or any place else for that matter. Last night, I spoke to the former head of the CDC, a man you know, Dr. Tom Frieden. He disagreed strongly with that change. We know travel does play a big role in the transmission, doesn't it?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, that's the issue is that, you know, if you're traveling from one place to another, you start to, you know, I mean, we're obviously a big country. But if there's a particular outbreak in an area, you become exposed. Again, you may not know that you were exposed, you may not know that

you're not carrying the virus, then you come back to a different community, that's he problem. I mean, we saw this at the Sturgis bike rally, Wolf, there were, I think 460,000 roughly people that showed up there in South Dakota, and then they all go back to their own communities.

So you see certainly that there was a -- there was an impact on South Dakota. That was about a 10-day rally. It looks like -- if you'd look at the numbers, there was an impact there, but then also impacted many other states around the country because people came from so many counties around the United States. That's what you're trying to avoid. Look, it's not forever.

You don't have to think about this sort of situation forever. But in the midst of a pandemic, when you see the numbers that we see on the right side of the screen, you're trying to do everything you can to mitigate the spread. And I think that's why Dr. Frieden was making the point that he was making.

BLITZER: Yes, he was also saying the CDC is no longer doing daily briefings as they used to do over these many years as you and I well know. If the CDC, Sanjay, is bowing to political pressure from the top, let's say the White House, on these guidelines which could potentially save lives, how are Americans supposed to sort out the best advice to keep themselves safe?

[17:50:08]

GUPTA: This is an unusual time, Wolf. There's no question about it. I mean, you're asking a very important question. You know, Dr. Frieden during Ebola, you did hear from him daily. Back in 2014, Rich Besser, who you know well, we heard from him regularly during H1N1, the last pandemic. And we could count on that information and there was a lot of communication. So people were sort of generally hearing what was happening and they were generally on the same page.

Right now, we're spending so much time, Wolf, just basically trying to clear up confusion. Teachers, listed as essential workers mean that they can teach and be in classrooms, even if they've been exposed to someone with COVID. We saw what happened over the weekend. You and I were covering that live these Emergency Use Authorization for convalescent plasma, despite lack of have enough data around that.

And now this testing issue, testing asymptomatic people, not testing asymptomatic people. Look, Wolf, I hope it changes, we're going to continue to do our job. But, you know, it's important I think, for people to really dig in and be sure that what they're hearing is something that they can count on. I realized that's challenging. Talk to your own doctors, your own local health officials, the National Academy of Medicine, the Infectious Disease Society of America, they're all weighing in on this as well. So hopefully you can get sources of good knowledge in different places.

BLITZER: Yes. The CDC are getting a lot of pressure from the White House. That's awful. The FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, they got pressured and yesterday Dr. Stephen Hahn had to actually apologize for misrepresenting the results of a study by the FDA that led to the Emergency Use Authorization.

All right, Sanjay, thank you very much as usual. These are serious life threatening developments indeed.

There's more breaking news we're following in THE SITUATION ROOM. It's a busy day. Hurricane Laura now has intensified to a powerful category 4 storm as it churns closer and closer to the Gulf Coast that officials are warning of a storm surge of 15 feet or higher, which they say, in their word, is unsurvivable.

Our meteorologist Jennifer Gray is tracking the storm for us. There's a new forecast just came out from the National Hurricane Center. Jennifer, what's the latest?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Wolf, right now the storm has winds at 145 miles per hour with gusts of 175. It is moving to the northwest at about 15 miles per hour. It's about 150 miles from the coast right now. And you can see that eye is tightening up. It's shrinking a little bit.

This storm is very healthy, it's symmetrical. And my fear is, Wolf, that it will have a chance to intensify even more before making landfall. I really wouldn't be surprised if this is a strong category 4 or category 5 storm when it makes landfall, Wolf.

BLITZER: 15 years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. At that point, it was category 3, just some perspective. What areas are we seeing now that are in real danger of this hurricane and the storm surge specifically?

GRAY: Well, just as you know, Wolf, as I know, I'm from Louisiana, it is a very vulnerable state, possibly the most vulnerable in the Gulf of -- or along the Gulf Coast, very low lying areas. It's going to be very easy to get water inundation all the way up to I-10 that runs through Lake Charles runs through Beaumont, Texas.

Water is going to be able to go very, very far inland when you talk about a 20-foot storm surge. With this storm, we're already starting to see rain bands come on shore, there is going to be a tornado potential as well.

But when this water pushes in this vulnerable area, it's a lot of marshland, the bays, the rivers, all of that water is going to push north and that is going to bring an incredibly high storm surge. This is not like a Harvey, a storm that's going to sit over an area for a week and dump a lot of rain.

With this storm, it is going to be the storm surge that is going to be the most deadly part of this storm. And that's why the National Hurricane Center has said that this is unsurvivable, because when you have 20 feet of storm surge along the coast, that's going to be higher than a two-story house.

So we already have 4 feet of storm surge coming in, Wolf, and this storm is already more than 100 miles away. So, we have a long way to go and that water is going to continue to rise and the wind is going to continue to get much, much stronger.

BLITZER: And we think it'll hit, landfall, what -- after midnight at some point later tonight?

GRAY: Right. It looks like it's going to make landfall between, say, 2:00 and 4:00 a.m., somewhere along the Southeast Texas, Louisiana border.

BLITZER: All right. Well watch it together with you. Our meteorologist Jennifer Gray. This is an awful situation. Thank you very, very much.

The breaking news continues here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Up next, new details of the boycott by NBA players of tonight's three playoff games in protest or the police shooting. Jacob Blake.

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[17:59:06]

BLITZER: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world.