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The Situation Room
March on Washington; Wisconsin Unrest; U.S Death Toll tops 181,000 with Nearly 6 Million Cases, Key Model now Projects 317,000+ Deaths by December; Police: Rittenhouse Able to Leave Shooting Scene Still Armed Because He Walked Toward Officers with Hands Up; NBA to Resume Playoffs Tomorrow, WNBA Resumes Games Tonight After Boycott Over Jacob Blake Shooting. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired August 28, 2020 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:17]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, thousands of people have been taking part in a new March on Washington, demanding racial justice as the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin adds to the outrage and the urgency.
We have also learned that Blake is no longer being shackled to his hospital bed just hours after his father's exclusive interview with CNN suggesting his paralyzed son was being treated -- and I'm quoting the father now -- "as an animal."
Also breaking right now, the U.S. coronavirus death toll now surpassing 181,000. A key model projects that number will soar above 317,000 by December 1, this as President Trump continues to send the wrong message about social distancing.
He's holding yet another in-person campaign event tonight in New Hampshire, after delivering his Republican Convention speech in front of a packed and largely maskless audience out of the South Lawn of the White House.
First, let's go to our national correspondent, Sara Sidner. She's in Kenosha for us.
Sara, we heard emotional appeals today from Jacob Blake's family. What's the very latest?
SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We did.
Jacob Blake's family, while marching in Washington, here in Kenosha, we know now from Jacob Blake's local attorney that he is no longer shackled to his hospital bed. He's been shackled this whole time by the leg to his bed. But that has changed.
And, also, we have learned from his attorney that he is no longer being guarded by police, because warrants that were out for his arrest have been vacated.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER (voice-over): The family of Jacob Blake joining thousands in Washington rallying to give a voice to those taken away at the hands of police.
LETETRA WIDMAN, SISTER OF JACOB BLAKE: You must stand. You must fight, but not with violence and chaos.
SIDNER: Authorities revealing new details now about Jacob Blake's past and the circumstances surrounding the shooting that left Blake paralyzed, the sheriff saying he's cuffed to his hospital bed because Blake has felony warrants for his arrest, including one from July for third-degree sexual assault.
The restraints highly criticized by Blake's family.
JACOB BLAKE SR., FATHER OF JACOB BLAKE: When I walked into that room, he's paralyzed from the waist down. Why do they have that cold steel on my son's ankle? He can't get up. He couldn't get up if he wanted to.
So what was -- that's a little overkill to have him shackled to the bed. That just makes no sense to me.
SIDNER: Friday afternoon, Blake's local attorney says the cops were fired removed and Blake's warrants vacated, and dispatch audio from the moments before Blake's shooting is shedding a little more light on why police approached him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Complainant says Jacob Blake isn't supposed to be there, and he took the complainant's key and is refusing to give them back. It looks like he's trying to leave. We're trying to get a vehicle description.
SIDNER: And new information about the 17-year-old who's accused of shooting and killing two people and wounding another during protests over Blake's shooting.
In the charges laid out against him, authorities say Kyle Rittenhouse was running away from the scene. He can be heard saying on the phone, "I just killed somebody."
His attorney telling NBC News, though, his client was acting in self- defense.
Hannah Gittings' boyfriend, shown here, died to stop the gunman using a skateboard.
HANNAH GITTINGS, GIRLFRIEND OF KILLED PROTESTER: He loved the city because it was his city, and he wanted to make it better. Like, he wanted to stay in this house with me and my daughter and raise her here and make it a better place.
SIDNER: Blake's father says these two shootings are an example of two different justice systems in America.
BLAKE: That 17-year-old Caucasian shot and killed two people and blew another man's arm off on his way back to Antioch, Illinois. He got to go home. My son got ICU and paralyzed from the waist down.
Those are the two justice systems right in front of you. You can compare yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: And we are now getting new information, Wolf, from the association representing the Kenosha police.
What they are saying are new details we have not heard from investigators, that we have not heard from police officials, this coming from the union there saying that they were aware that Mr. Blake had warrants out for his arrest when they approached him, that they say he was not unarmed, that, indeed, he had a knife on him.
They are also saying that, basically, when he was approached to drop the knife, he refused to do so. These are details that we had not heard before. Lastly, they say that van that everyone has seen that he is trying to get in that his three children are inside, they said that van did not belong to him -- Wolf.
[18:05:11]
BLITZER: All right, Sarah, thank you very much, Sara Sidner in Kenosha for us.
Let's get some more on -- let's listen right now to more of the powerful appeals for racial justice at today's March on Washington, relatives of Jacob Blake joining with the family of George Floyd, speaking from their personal and very painful experiences.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIDGETT FLOYD, SISTER OF GEORGE FLOYD: My brother cannot be a voice today. We have to be that voice. We have to be the change. And we have to be his legacy.
PHILONISE FLOYD, BROTHER OF GEORGE FLOYD: Our leaders, they need to follow us while we're watching to enact laws to protect us.
Every black person in the United States is going to stand up. We're tired! I'm tired of looking at cameras and seeing these young black and brown people suffer.
WIDMAN: Black man, stand up. Stand up, black men. Educate yourself and protect the black family unit, period.
BLAKE: We're not taking it anymore. I ask everyone to stand up.
No justice! UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: No peace!
BLAKE: No justice!
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: No peace!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Joining us now, attorneys for Jacob Blake's family, Patrick Salvi Jr. and B'Ivory LaMarr.
Patrick, we have lots to discuss, including new claims from the Kenosha Professional Police Association. You just heard about some of them.
But, first of all, how is Jacob Blake doing tonight?
PATRICK SALVI JR., ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF JACOB BLAKE: Well, thank you for having me on, Wolf.
I can tell you that Jacob is in such a condition where every movement is excruciatingly painful. He has an incredibly painful set of injuries (AUDIO GAP). He has literally, as a result of the loss of neurological function below the level of his spinal cord injury, no control over bowel and bladder function, on heavy doses of pain medication.
So he's in a lot of pain. But it's going to be a long road to recovery. And he's -- incredibly, he's a survivor.
BLITZER: As you heard, Patrick, the Kenosha Professional Police Association says your client was armed with a knife in his head and forcefully fought with the police officers, including putting one of them in a headlock.
I want to give you an opportunity to respond to these allegations, which are very serious.
SALVI: Sure.
So, as you can imagine, my discussions with Jacob have been somewhat limited by his limited ability to communicate. What I can tell you about these allegations is that they're overblown (AUDIO GAP) overblown.
Jacob, as you can see (AUDIO GAP) video -- and it's a good thing there's a video. So many of these instances were not caught on video and then essentially the police, who have utilized an individual, get to write up the report as to what happened.
So, thankfully, there are videos of this. And everybody can see in that video, that, in the moments leading up to him being shot point blank at least seven times in the back, that he was posing absolutely no imminent threat to these officers.
And so the existence of a knife -- apparently, what their position is, is that if there's a knife in the vicinity, they're free to essentially use deadly force, if there's a knife anywhere around.
But, sadly, what we saw the (AUDIO GAP) after is that a young white man can brandish an assault rifle, and they give him water and let him go home.
The hypocrisy is incredible and can only be explained by racism, really no other explanation.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Patrick, I want you to be precise when you say these allegations made by the Kenosha Police Officers Association are overblown.
Are any of the allegations they have made in this statement that they released accurate?
SALVI: So, I think what we're talking about are issues where the police are taking things out of context.
So, as you can understand, my ability to communicate with my client remains limited. But from what I have been told, they immediately became physical with him, that he was brought to the ground, that he was Tased.
And as he tried to get away from them and walk around the van and tried to get away from the situation, that is when, at a time when he was posing no imminent threat, they shot him in the back point blank seven times.
[18:10:11]
So when they say that Mr. Blake initiated the physicality, Mr. Blake put an officer in a headlock, that is -- that does not comport with the (AUDIO GAP). The video from the passenger side of the car shows essentially (AUDIO GAP) beating him.
And then, when he's Tased and is able to get up and get away, walk around the SUV, then they shot him (AUDIO GAP) brutalizing him throughout.
So it's interesting that (AUDIO GAP) will say, well, you have a right to defend yourself. Apparently, Mr. Blake doesn't. Mr. Rittenhouse does, and Mr. Blake is supposed to simply be brutalized.
He stood up and tried to walk away.
BLITZER: Let me ask B'Ivory to weigh in.
What are your thoughts when you hear these allegations from the Police Officers Association?
B'IVORY LAMARR, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF JACOB BLAKE: You know, Wolf, I think that is the common strategy that police departments use in these types of circumstances. It's always trying to justify murder from misdemeanors. Arguably, even
if Jacob did resist an officer or obstruct an officer, let's just say if that was true, the penalty Wisconsin, as we understand it, is up to nine months in jail and up to a $10,000 fine.
But we commonly see, in these types of police brutality cases, they tried to justify their actions. And I think it's very clear. I think that the world watch that same 20-second video. They can clearly see, like my co-counsel Patrick mentioned, that Jacob never posed an imminent threat, and their actions are completely unjustified and are excessive.
BLITZER: You were here. You're here in Washington on the March on Washington, B'Ivory, today.
You heard us play some of the powerful speeches from Jacob Blake's family. Was he able -- do you know if he was actually able to watch his family participate in this event? And what has been his reaction, as far as you know?
LAMARR: As far as I know, Wolf, did not see the March on Washington or see his family participate in the march.
As Patrick explained, his medical condition right now is very severe. It's very serious medical concerns that he still has. So that puts him in a place he's not able to be conscious enough. He's typically in and out.
There might be times he may be able to be awake to be able to articulate or to have discussions. But, today, unfortunately, on this historic moment (AUDIO GAP) Jacob (AUDIO GAP) the power of what (AUDIO GAP) has resulted in uproaring this country for change.
BLITZER: He's no longer shackled to his bed, right, B'Ivory?
LAMARR: No, he's not. And that's a good thing.
That's one change that obviously came out of public pressure. There were some acts by the criminal defense attorney that is representing Jacob. But this is a great deal of the pressure that the public put in the effectiveness that, when we unify together for a common cause, we can shine a light on a lot of the injustices that we black and brown Americans face in America.
And I think it's just obscene to have Jacob shackled, knowing that he is paralyzed for the rest his life. He's not going to be able to walk again. So what is the purpose of having him shackled in the first place? I mean, that is just asinine to me.
BLITZER: B'Ivory LaMarr, thank you so much for joining us. Patrick Salvi Jr., thanks to you as well.
We will, of course, have you back. This story obviously is not going away. Thanks to both of you for joining us.
LAMARR: Thanks, Wolf. Thanks for having us. SALVI: Thank you, Wolf. Thank you.
BLITZER: All right, just ahead: CNN tried to get President Trump today to comment on the March on Washington. We're going to show you what happened.
And an alarming new forecast for coronavirus deaths here in the United States. The toll keeps climbing. We will tell you what's going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:18:41]
BLITZER: Tonight, President Trump is out on the campaign trail once again after his norm-breaking, fear-stoking Republican Convention speech last night.
He may be eager to leave the new march for racial justice here in Washington behind him on this day.
Let's go to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.
Jim, the president speaks in New Hampshire in a little while. You're learning more about a little dust-up that's going on. What are you learning?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.
President Trump, as you said, is on his way to a campaign speech in New Hampshire right now, as he's hoping to have some momentum coming out of this convention that they had here in Washington.
Just a short while ago, moments before his speech was about to begin, event organizers asked people in the crowd to put on a mask. And get this. People in the crowd started booing. We have some video of that. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, in accordance with New Hampshire Executive Order 63, please wear your masks.
(BOOING)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, we're told, at that moment, people in the crowd did not put on a mask. They refused to put on a mask.
And, by the way, the president is not commenting on the other big event in Washington today. That is as thousands of protesters are demonstrating on the National Mall against police brutality.
Mr. Trump refused to answer our questions on that subject. [18:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Commutation.
ACOSTA (voice-over): In a bit of counterprogramming from the White House to the March on Washington down on the National Mall, President Trump held a surprise photo-op in the Oval Office, where he issued a full pardon to Alice Johnson, the same criminal justice reform advocate whose prison sentence he commuted two years ago.
TRUMP: We're giving Alice a full pardon. I just told her. We didn't even discuss it. We just -- you were out there. I saw you in the audience last night.
ACOSTA: But the president refused to comment on the march and the protesters' hopes to end police brutality in the U.S. His aides shouted over our questions.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: What is your message to the thousands of people on the Mall?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jim, let's go.
ACOSTA: A subject Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris addressed in a virtual message to the demonstrators.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As we continue to see black men and women slain in our streets and left behind by an economy and justice system that have too often denied black folks our dignity and rights, they would share our anger and pain, but no doubt they would turn it into fuel.
ACOSTA: The president and his team are trying to have it both ways, with Mr. Trump hammering away at his law and order a message.
TRUMP: We can never allow mob rule. In the strongest possible terms, the Republican Party condemns the rioting, looting, arson, and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities.
ACOSTA: While his staffers insist Mr. Trump is actually a compassionate leader, ignoring his record of race-baiting stretching back decades.
JA'RON SMITH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF AMERICAN INNOVATION: I just wish everyone could see the deep empathy he shows the families whose loved ones were killed in senseless violence.
ACOSTA: The president also tried to pull a fast one on the coronavirus, insisting he's just following the science in the battle against COVID-19.
TRUMP: My administration has a very different approach. To save as many lives as possible, we're focusing on the science, the facts and the data.
ACOSTA: But that's not true. Just look at the audience for his speech, hundreds of supporters sitting side by side with few masks in sight.
As one senior White House official told CNN: "Everybody is going to catch this thing eventually."
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows all that said attendees were there at their own risk.
MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Obviously, any time that you have people together, there's the willingness that you make choices individually.
ACOSTA: The RNC revealed four people have already tested positive for the virus after attending convention events down in Charlotte, another example of GOP officials ignoring the administration's own health experts.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Any crowd, whether it's a protest, but any crowd in which you have people close together without masks is a risk.
ACOSTA: There's more turmoil over at the Food and Drug Administration, as the agency fired its top spokeswoman Emily Miller, who was part of the controversial rollout of convalescent plasma, a COVID-19 treatment that received emergency authorization this week.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn initially declined to answer whether he was pressured to approved the treatment.
QUESTION: Was there on pressure on you, Dr. Hahn, to authorize this?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And despite the dangers, campaign officials say the president will be holding big events with large crowds in the coming weeks, like the one we saw here at the White House last night and like the one we're seeing in New Hampshire this evening.
And just as we saw at a rally for the president over the summer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, campaign officials will be learning in the coming days whether staffers or other attendees at last night's speech will be coming down with the coronavirus.
It happened before. It's likely to happen again.
And, Wolf, we're finding out today what we really were learning yesterday. And that is, not everybody at the speech last night was tested. They only tested a few people, limited number of people around the president last night -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, that's pretty risky indeed.
You better be careful with all that rain coming out over there in the North Lawn of the White House. Jim Acosta, thank you very much.
Let's break all of this down.
CNN's Don Lemon is joining us.
Don, the president of the president now taking credit for what he calls a success in Kenosha, but he has not yet addressed the police shooting of Jacob Blake, which, of course, led to all the unrest. What does that tell you?
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: That this president does what -- is doing what he always does, taking credit for what he believes is good, and he won't really take any ownership of his own actions and what is happening on his watch.
He keeps blaming the situation in Kenosha and other cities, he keeps blaming it on Joe Biden. It's an alternative universe. It is Earth 2 thinking, because Joe Biden is not the president of the United States. He is the president of United States. This is happening on his watch.
So, if he wants to take credit for that, then he must take credit for ignoring what is happening with race in this country, ignoring the militia, the 17-year-old militia member who was arrested for killing people and injuring someone else on the scene who is now charged, who, by the way, Wolf had the luxury to drive back 10, 15 miles to his house and turn himself in the next today with a visible weapon on his chest.
[18:25:03]
The president must address this or should -- I doubt that he will. He should address the unrest in the country, because he has to take ownership of it, not that he is the direct cause. He did get out there and shoot anyone, but it is happening on his watch.
He owns this. This unrest is a Trump administration unrest, not a Joe Biden, because there is no Joe Biden administration right now.
BLITZER: In a lengthy statement about Blake's shooting and the outrage that followed, the former first lady Michelle Obama writes that she is, in her words, exhausted and frustrated, but as inspired by the protests.
That seems to be a widely held a sentiment right now, doesn't it?
LEMON: That she speaks for America. She is America right now.
People are exhausted and they're frustrated. And, quite frankly, they are depressed. If you talk to any professional, any psychologist, any therapist, any psychiatrist, they will tell you probably -- I believe the bulk of patients right now or for people who have low-grade depression because of what's happening in the country.
Either it is the alternative reality, the misrepresentation of reality and facts from this administration, or it is because they have lost someone or have people or themselves have been affected by the coronavirus.
Michelle Obama, the former first lady, is everyone right now. We are all feeling that. We're all exhausted because this administration will not own up to what is happening in the country. It keeps pointing at shiny objects and things that are happening that aren't really happening.
And the perfect example of that, Wolf, is what you saw at the president's rally. When asked to do a simple task, social distance or wear a mask, they booed. Where did they get that from? The top, the man at the top, and that's Donald Trump.
BLITZER: That is so, so worrisome.
The president has not yet condemned the actions of that 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of killing those two protesters, even though he was walking around with an AR-15.
Rittenhouse that was able to walk away from the scene, as we heard. Jacob Blake's father says there are two justice systems here in the United States, one if you're white, another if you're black. The contrast here certainly seems to support that argument.
What do you think?
LEMON: I think hit the father is right.
Listen, I don't know all the details when it comes to this 17-year- old, just like I don't know all the details when it comes to Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old, but here's what I do know.
I know that someone who is suspected and alleged, as the police association says, not confirmed by official sources, that he may have been armed with a knife. We don't know that yet until it has officially been brought out by official sources and the investigation plays out.
But what you see for yourself and what from the evidence at hand is that this 17-year-old who shot people, who appears from the video to be in coordination with official police agencies in Kenosha, who walked up to a police car, and several other police law enforcement -- there you see him there walking -- trying to turn himself in. That's what it looks like, saying, I just shot someone.
People are yelling at the police officers, saying, he just shot someone. Whether they heard them or not, I don't know. But I see an officer standing outside of the car there. No one arrested him. He went back to his home, turned himself in the next day.
If that's not two different standards, then I don't know what is, Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, an important point, indeed.
Don Lemon, thank you very much. An important note to our viewers. Be sure to join Don on CNN later
tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Also, join him for his podcast, "Silence Is Not An Option." Very important.
Don, thank you very much, as usual, for joining us.
There's more breaking news here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
The U.S. coronavirus death toll now tops 181,000 people, and now a new forecast projects -- get this -- 136,000 more, more deaths by December 1.
Plus, new details of the teenager charged with killing those two protesters in Kenosha. We're learning more about his legal defense and why he's being embraced by conservatives.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
BLITZER: We are following multiple breaking stories here in The Situation Room, including all of the news on the coronavirus crisis. Tonight, as the U.S. death toll now rises above 181,000, a key model projects another 136,000 Americans will die by December 1st.
CNN's Nick Watt has more from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Like those brave Americans before us, we are meeting this challenge.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But now, our president is leading by bad example, no distance, few masks, and many places prohibit gatherings like these, all brushed off by a senior White House official with this. Everybody is going to catch this thing eventually.
One prominent model now projects 135,000 more Americans could be killed by COVID-19 by December 1st.
Remember, last week we were told --
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC DIRECTOR: You are going to see the death rate really starting to drop.
WATT: But if that is true, our average daily death toll still hovering around 1,000 will actually rise.
Right now, we are also seeing record rates of infection in Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa where the governor closed all bars in the hardest hit counties, including some college towns, because --
[18:35:11]
GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): It is increasing the virus activity in the community and it's spilling over to other segments of the population. WATT: 8,000 cases and counting on colleges campuses across the country as students return.
But here is the good news. Nationally, new case counts are falling, New York's infection rate the lowest since all this began, and the White House has announced the purchase and the production of 150 million new 15 minute tests.
LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It really could be game-changing.
Before you go to school, before you go to work, it could catch a lot more of the asymptomatic cases that we are currently not catching at all.
WATT: Plus, there is vaccine optimism but some concern over complex logistics.
PAUL MANGO, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY, HHS: We don't know exactly how many doses we're going to have. We don't know at what time we're going to have those doses as we approach the end of the year.
WATT: The CDC telling governors it is rapidly making preparations to implement large-scale distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the fall of 2020, asking states to be quick with their permitting process.
But --
DR. ALI KHAN, DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: We can't afford 1,000 deaths a day until the vaccine. We need to adopt the control and containment strategy in the United States.
WATT: Instead, the president's tacit message up close, unmasked, totally cool.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT: And, Wolf, some potentially unsettling news out in Nevada where researchers say a 25-year-old man was sick in the hospital with his second bout of COVID-19 just about a month after recovering from his first bout, so a potential re-infection. The implications of that though remain, for now, unclear. Wolf?
BLITZER: Yes, very disturbing indeed. Nick Watt reporting, thanks very much.
All right, let's get some context now on the new projection of more than 317,000 coronavirus deaths here in the United States by December 1st.
Joining us, Dr. Ashish Jha, the Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. Dr. Jha, thank you so much for joining us.
Despite these new numbers from the University of Washington, you are seeing a series of large gatherings take place last night's political event over on the south lawn of the White House, was marked with the lack of social distancing, very few people wearing masks. And we also saw thousands of people gathering today here in Washington, the march on Washington, where many did wear a mask but there were very large crowds and a lot of non-social distancing going on. How concerned are you from the public health perspective of these events?
DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: Wolf, thank you for having me on. And I am concerned. I am concerned especially when large numbers of people gather without wearing masks, without any amount of social distancing. I thought what happened last night at the White House just really set a bad example.
And I have been talking even in protests, with the protests that have been going on. When people aren't wearing masks, that's really risky. So we've got to encourage people if you are going to gather in any sizeable group outdoors, you have got to be wearing a mask.
BLITZER: And it's interesting, because the University of Washington, their model, the IHME model, as you know, Dr. Jha, they say 317,000 Americans will be dead from coronavirus by December 1st. But they also say that if 95 percent of the American public wore a mask outside, 67,000 lives would be saved. There would be 67,000 fewer deaths. Do you buy that?
JHA: I do. I do. What we know is that if we get close to universal mask-wearing, it can make a dramatic difference. If you think about this, this is a serious virus, it's a complicated pandemic, and all we all need to do is to wear a mask when we're outside of our homes. If we all did that today, we would have a huge effect on a number of people who got sick and who died tomorrow and the weeks and months to come.
BLITZER: On another important issue, the Department of Health and Human Services today said they are, in their words, absolutely on track, if not, a little bit ahead in the effort to approve a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year. Is that a realistic timeline from your perspective to have a vaccine that is safe and effective?
JHA: Yes. So, at the end of the day -- I mean, first of all, we are moving very fast, and I think that is good news. But at the end of the day, Wolf, we really have to let the science dictate this. And it is possible we will have one by the end of the year. But the most important thing is we get it right, that we get a vaccine that is both safe and effective. And rushing it may feel tempting but it's going to end up doing a lot more harm than good.
So I try to not guess when we will be ready and I hope that science continues to move quickly.
[18:40:00]
And then when it's ready and the data is there, it will be ready.
BLITZER: American Academy of Pediatrics now says that the new CDC guidelines that advise against testing, if you have been exposed to the virus but are asymptomatic are, in their words, a dangerous step backwards. Do you agree? JHA: I do. And this is the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Disease Society, the American Medical Association, all the doctors, all the public health people, everybody is on the same page, which is what has made the CDC recommendation so baffling. It is just not grounded in science.
BLITZER: Dr. Ashish Jha, as usual, thank you so much for joining us.
JHA: Thank you.
BLITZER: Just ahead, we're going to tell you what a CNN investigation reveals about the teenager charged in the shooting of two protesters -- three protesters, actually, in Wisconsin.
And the veteran sportscaster, Bob Costas on the NBA resuming games after the player boycott for racial justice.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:45:33]
BLITZER: We are back with breaking news on the teenager charged in the deadly shooting of protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The police says that Kyle Rittenhouse was able to leave the scene while still armed because he was walking towards police officers with his hands up. We're also learning more about Rittenhouse's legal defense and how he is being embraced by some conservatives.
Our senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was chaos, protesters, heavily armed vigilantes. Kenosha, Wisconsin, on fire and in the midst of it all an out of state 17-year-old illegally possessing an AR-style rifle being chased.
Police call it a double homicide. Conservative commentators are calling it self-defense and the 17-year-old shooter a hero.
MICHELLE MALKIN, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Well, I have been very vocal about my support for this young man as have many others who are sick and tired about the anarchy that has gripped our country over the last 75, 80 days.
GRIFFIN: Michelle Malkin and others have led a social media ground swell of support for the accused gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse that led to a nonprofit defense fund asking for donations and the hiring of one of the most prominent conservative attorneys to lead Rittenhouse's defense.
Attorney Lin Wood tweeting from his Twitter account with a QAnon conspiracy hashtag on his profile, thanks to all freedom loving Americans who responded to request for contact information on Kyle Rittenhouse. Help is on the way. The 17-year-old vigilante is accused of murdering two protesters and
wounding a third. Attorney John Pierce, part of the Rittenhouse defense team tells NBC News this was classic self-defense and we are going to prove it.
The criminal complaint filed against Rittenhouse details a confusing series of events that indicates two mean Rittenhouse shot and killed in separate incident may have been trying to grab his gun. The first victim, a 36-year-old shot in the car lot. A witness says the first round was fired into the ground and Rosenbaum made a motion that he is trying to grab the gun, shots are fired and Rosenbaum is hit. As Rosenbaum lay dying, Rittenhouse makes a phone call saying I just killed somebody.
Rittenhouse runs away as people chased him, he falls, fires two shots from the second shooting victim, 26-year-old Anthony Huber, hits him with a skateboard while appearing to reach for Rittenhouse's gun. Huber is shot and killed.
RICHIE MCGINNISS, DAILY CALLER: I saw him starting to run, and I heard the shots.
GRIFFETH: The witness to how the incident began is Richie McGinnis, a journalist with the right wing "Daily Caller" who appeared on Fox News and supported a conservative belief that the 17-year-old illegally carrying a semi-automatic rifle was actually there to keep the peace in a town that police left out of control.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: There's a big mob. People have guns, shots are going off, where were the cops?
MCGINNISS: Definitely they are there but they're obviously not responding in any quick fashion. So, the 17-year-old who is -- who I interviewed earlier in the night, he mentioned that he was there to maintain peace, in the absence of police.
GRIFFETH: Video footage throughout the night show police were everywhere around Kenosha and responded to the shooting within minutes only to ignore the actual shooter who walked right past responding police with his hands up and a now alleged murder weapon slung across his chest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFETH: Wolf, despite that high-powered legal defense team, Kyle Rittenhouse's first appearance in court lasted just moments. His lawyers want a continuance, Wisconsin seeking extradition back to Kenosha on six counts. That hearing will take place late September -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Drew. Thank you very much. Drew Griffin, reporting.
Just ahead, Bob Costas is standing by. He'll give us the inside story on the NBA players agreement to get back in the game, after their boycott. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:54:18]
BLITZER: We have more breaking news now on the protests for racial justice that have rippled through the world of pro sports. Women's basketball is resuming tonight. The NBA playoffs will happen tomorrow after players agreed to end boycotts.
We're joined now by the veteran sportscaster, CNN contributor, Bob Costas.
Bob, thanks so much for joining us.
BOB COSTAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Wolf.
BLITZER: NBA players agreed to resume playing tomorrow, but not without new promises from the league that will promote social justice, voting access at the arenas, for example. Help us better understand the significance of the players' actions in recent days.
COSTAS: Well, for those who said, oh, you know, it's just virtuous signaling or people are getting it off their chest, they've already affected some sort of concrete change here.
[18:55:02]
It should be said that historically the NBA has been the most progressive of the leagues. And I use the word "progressive" in the best possible sense. They've been forward looking. They've been more inclusive on the coaching ranks, in the front offices, in the league office.
David Stern and now his successor Adam Silver I think have been receptive to these sorts of concerns. There's more trust between the commissioner's office and the NBA and the players within the league than other leagues. I'm not criticizing the other leagues, but I think the NBA would be at the top of the pyramid when it comes to that. So, it's not at all surprising that they've come up with some specifics.
Every arena that is controlled, which is not to say all 30, but every arena that is controlled by the ownership of the NBA team will be a polling center, it will be a registration center. There are other social justice initiatives. So, already in fairly short order, they have affected some changes, yes.
BLITZER: They certainly have.
I want you to listen to Oklahoma City guard Chris Paul speaking out today. He's also the player of the National Basketball Players Association. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS PAUL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: What we're doing in our league is huge. I think for the young guys to get the chance to get together and speak and see real change, real action. We're all hurt. We're all tired of just seeing the same thing over and over again and everybody just expect us to be okay because we get paid great money. We're human. We have real feelings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: You can hear the emotion in his voice. Very personal to these players, that they're clearly taking their role right now very seriously.
COSTAS: Yeah, we talked about that yesterday. People can quibble about any particular assertion, but the emotion and the history that it attaches to, you would have to be without a pulse and without a heart not to respond to that.
Here's what's also interesting -- obviously, NBA is a predominantly black league. But every one of the white players stands in solidarity. There are fewer than 10 percent of African-American players in baseball. It used to be between 25 and 30 percent. It's fallen off and that's a concern in recent years. But still, you get a Mookie Betts of the Dodgers saying I don't feel I can play. Clayton Kershaw, one of the great players of his era, says if he can't play, then I won't pitch tonight.
The NHL is obviously overwhelmingly white. There used to be no black players at all. Now there are a relative handful. In truth only about 30 percent of the NHL players are American-born. So, the cultural dynamics in NHL locker rooms and arenas and different. Yet the NHL has postponed games for tonight and tomorrow. As fellow athletes, these players have come to recognize there's a concern here and they want to get on board in some sense.
If I have time here, Wolf, I want to mention one thing. Today's date is significant. It's the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. But it's also the day that baseball is celebrating Jackie Robinson Day. Annually, they do it on April 15th. because Jackie played his first game with the Dodgers in Brooklyn on April 15th, 1947. There was no baseball in April because of the pandemic.
Why did they choose this date? Because on August 28th, 1945, Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Dodgers, had a secret meeting with Jackie Robinson and told him, I'm going to sign you. You're going to break the color barrier. And less than two years later he did.
So, this date is significant for the players too. And all the players, as they usually do on Jackie Robinson's Day, will wear his number, number 42.
BLITZER: Yes, that's very significant indeed. Bob Costas, as usual, thank you very much. We'll continue these conversations down the road.
COSTAS: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Finally, tonight, I want to remember some of the truly wonderful people that we've lost during this coronavirus pandemic. Andrea Halberian of Manhattan was 42 years old. She was born in
Argentina but a proud New Yorker. Her husband says Andrea had a wonderful sense of humor and a passion for taking care of children.
Cesar Clavero of Florida was 68. Originally from Cuba, Cesar created the American dream for himself in Miami. His children say he was an incredibly gracious person and that they'll always remember road trips with their dad as a great bonding experience.
May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.
To our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
I'll be back tomorrow, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, for a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM. You can follow me on Instagram @WolfBlitzer. You can always tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
