>> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc7 news. good afternoon. i'm kristen sze. welcome to our daily program called getting answers. we're asking experts your question every day at 3:00 to get answers in realtime. for the past week, the question has been wl be democrat joe joe biden's running mate. it's the bay area's own kamala harris, born in oakland, raised in the east way. now she is his pick for vice president. senator harris made the first comment in a tweet an hour ago,

unified the american people because he spent his life fighting for us and as president, he'll build an america that lives to our ideals, honored to join him as our party's nominee for vice president and do what it takes to make him our commander in chief. joining us to talk the historic pick are harina krushan and cooper tebow, political strategist. i want to start with your reaction to kamala harris being named vp. you were an original member of the kamala supporter's group known as the k-hive. captured by your daughter when she told you the big . >> what are you up to? >> kamala harris is the vp nom.

>> i could just watch that all day. because that was so real, so raw, so emotional. why was it so incredibly meaningful and emotional for you? >> as a woman of color, indian american, south asian woman, i felt seen and heard. her selection as vice president is historic because there are women around the country that finally feel like they have a seat at the table.

this is a truly historic day. this is somebody who looks like me and my daughters, who is selected as the vice presidential candidate for the united states. that is truly historic, and that's why i cried so badly. >> i know this was a long time coming for you, when she launched the presidential run. in recent days, you said she would help the ticket the most and help biden position him the best for november. why do you think that? what are the reasons? >> i think especially in this moment in our nation's history, there is this collective awakening of an awareness of the deep rooted systemic racism, you know, that is in our country, and what that, the pain that has caused to black lives around this country.

so her selection is truly addressing that pain, and i think her selection is also important because it affirms the commitment to diversity and inclusion. when he says i will champion diversity and champion gender equity, he is walking the talk. that's a statement of values, by choosing a woman of color. choosing a black woman, a south asian woman to be, that speaks volumes of his commitment to what he says when he means diversity and inclusion. >> do you think she brings the most compared to the other finalists? >> a fantastic pick, more than just being a fantastic pick in

herself and her many talents, one of the most talented people on the debate stage of the 25 candidates ranked for president. what's it say about the democratic party positively that we've picked to be the running mate of a man who grew up lower middle class and scranton, pennsylvania, to be his running mate. the the, could not be more excited about this pick and first appearance together in wilmington, delaware tomorrow. >> two of them combined, biden and kamala seem to be a far cry from one thing that the right sometimes points out about the liberal elites. you're right, they have a different background.

worked in the obama administration and most simpatico with joe biden and karen bass who the progressives championed. what's your thought about why in the end, kamala might have beat out those two and other finalists? >> i think that susan rice, while a fantastic public servant, you have to be hard wired in your soul to run for president, or vice president and put yourself up to that level of public scrutiny. the only person in the finalist for vp that we were aware of who had that was kamala. that's an experience you have to have going through the level of both love and hate from every side of the political spectrum. a vitriol on both sides of the aisle. progressives love karen bass, myself included and wanted to

see this. see karen bass serve in the administration or another role. karen bass herself said kamala, excuse me, senator harris is a fantastic pick and i would say kamala herself has done quite a good job of fighting for progressive issues. come out fracking, vice president biden heavily for it and one of the first democratic senators if not the first to tackle the immigration border and fight against trump. >> in joe biden's email to supporters, he mentioned, i need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough, and ready to lead. kamala is that person.

i know we're not going to get an argument from you in terms of kamala's preparedness for office and not just vp but possibly as the torch bearer, the standard bearer for the party in four years and the presidential nominee possibly, if they do win in november. over her response in the debate, that first debate when she mentioned to joe biden, i was that girl talking about bussing and being out of school in berkeley and kind of, you know, they had that moment and there were people who said she's not remorseful enough or deferential enough. do you feel like there is a sexist wedge being driven in there or a proper lens to look at that through? >> so many presidential candidates who made statements during the debate. it was a debate, right? and she's a fierce competitor. just like anyone else.

working to help elect vice president biden make statements but none of that was pointed out, but only what she said was, you know, used as an example not specific to one party and i think we need somebody tough. you know, we have the most corrupt president in our history. we need somebody tough, we need somebody who's going to hold him accountable and we need -- and she was in a debate and she is a competitor and we would not hold, you know, male candidates to that same exact standard that we hold, so i think i am over the moon.

i think in kamala, she's really going to help him win in november because she has the fundraising efforts and highest number of endorsements from congressional latino caucus. she brings energy to the base ottawa democratic party. black women. she's been vetted on the national state. she is progressive. she ranks in the top five, so she is that perfect complement to vice president biden. >> we'll take a short break on the air. of course, our conversation continues on live streams. when we come back, we want to take at polls and what the biden/harris ticket needs to do in the days and weeks ahead. be right back. well many people have such a misunderstanding as to how a reverse mortgage works. people think that the bank takes your home, but that is not true.

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we're back on hair with harini krishnan and cooper based political strategist. we talk about the selection of kamala harris as biden's vice president. what do you expect to see in the polls in terms of a bump for biden? >> a few days ago, we had biden at six points, and the biden campaign predicted. i expect an exciting vp nominee, we'll see those widen. if i were mike pence, i'd wonder about trump looking for an equally exciting vp. >> do you have a few names in particular you're thinking of? nikki haley used to be brought

of as somebody, lately, christy noems, the governor promising h him. >> see at the policies with trump's executive orders. i would not be surprised if they tried to go for an equally young energetic exciting pick. >> a woman? >> yes, a woman. and go for nikki haley, however, i don't think anybody on the right compares to the pick that joe biden made today. >> okay. harini, a lot of people are familiar with kamala harris's work as a prosecutor and certainly, as a tough senator. we saw her in the hearings for brett kavanaugh but that's skills, leadership. what about the personal side? can you tell the personal story that speaks her humanity to you? >> i actually want to share a

story of 17-year-old organizer who was part of kamala harris for san mateo county. there was supposed to be a rally for her and then she surprised amanda, a syrian background. so when kamala met her, amanda told her the story about how her mother used to be criticized for her accent. when she first tried to apply for jobs. kamala took ten minutes with amanda, you know, she had to be in different places. she's a very busy woman but she took 10 minutes out of her time to talk to amanda and to tell

her, one of my favorite quotes of kamala is, don't ask permission to lead. you just lead. and that's what she told amanda. she said, listen, my mother was criticized when she first came to this country. she was krit siecriticized for accent but one of the toughest women. one of the toughest women you would never fact she took ten minutes with a young woman and to tell her, you know, not to let detractors detract her from her path was something will always remember and i remember that was a very special moment. i was standing right there when she talked to amanda. that was a sight, an incredible

inspiring role model. >> i know you'll be working hard in the weeks ahead to raise money for the campaign and cooper, that is, of course, your specialty as well. i want to ask you what you think the fundraising implications are with kamala being on the ticket. >> you know, i would guarantee you that today will be the largest online, i suppose, everything is online now, but the largest small dollar day of this presidential campaign. and i would guess that here at home in silicon valley, we have some supporters that have been holding powder for the vp pick. last month, the biden campaign raised record $141 million. i would guess at this month, close $200 million. >> how much time do we have on air? i think that's all the time we have but i know i'll be continuing this conversation

with you in the days, weeks and months ahead leading up to the election. so harina and cooper, a silicon valley based democratic strategist, thank you both for joining us and i'm going to let you go to getting back your buttons and campaign materials and t-shirts ready. i'll give you two seconds here to show us what you got there. and i'll order more signs. >> don't spend all your time jumping for joy and crying, but take a moment to do that, because i know you've waited a because i know you've waited a long time how about poor fred wilson? what a shame. so soon after retiring. i hear his wife needed help with the funeral expenses. that's ridiculous! -he had social security. -when my brother died, his wife received a check from social security, all right--

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all. with a lot of kids going back to school, you know, even though not at the time, parents are thinking, what are the best masks? we want to know more about that in rankings when it comes to effectiveness, so we bring in our own mask expert and data scientist from usf, jeremy howard. good to see you again. only half of your face. >> hello there. >> i want to start by asking if you agree with that duke professor a professor and saying the neck gator is not good. >> it can fold down easily. and there's things you can do to help. this is quite cool, you can buy them from amazon that have little holes on the ears and stop it from falling down and then got a second problem, there's a big gap around the nose. and for 2 cents, you can buy one of these necklace to make that, and then the problem that the

extra material these things are made of, is very stretchy, and kind of see-through. so then, you need to deal with that, and actually, this one has a pocket where you can insert a people of paper towel or something like that, to make it work better. so neck gators are a no-no, unless you're using the right type with a pocket and have it set up correctly. at which point, not a bad option. >> i typically wear these, the standard surgical mask. i have the wire here which i press against my nose. i check for coverage. does it seem like it's okay? fairly? >> surgical masks, i'm not getting a picture through of you right now, so i'll just imagine what you're showing me. >> oh. this is similar to a surgical mask. it's rectangular in this case. something that helps a lot with surgical masks or these cloth masks is to fold it like so, and then tie a knit here.

and now this has one of these f few cents. pop one end on here. and then the other end on the other side like so. and what this does is it can turn your basic cloth mask or a surgical mask into a really nicely fitting device. so i can just put this over my head, and then it sits behind my head, and this is now, and the other thing, this cloth mask has a nose piece. and so this is nicely fitting and there's also a filter pocket in here, again, for a piece of paper towel or better still, specialist nano fiber.

super breathable, put it in your shoulder pocket and it works nicely. that's a great choice for a comfortable mask, you can wear all day, you can wash it. that works really well. some other options? >> i would love to. just from best to worst, or if you want to start from worst and go up to the best. >> so we started at worst there and then so this one, which is a cloth mask with the pocket and a wire at the top is a good choice. for the wire at the top, you can use rolled up aluminum foil, garden ties, whatever. this one has a garden tie, as you can see. >> okay. >> we have about one minute left. >> okay. >> speed demonstration. >> the masks, one of my favorite is called the nano mask which they've actually, they provide nano material with the mask,

with some velcro and it holds his shape very nicely. but maybe to get. >> 95 standard in china, but it's not quite as carefully regulated. a key difference is the n-95, and the material. is that right, the key material to avoid is the stretchy material, and then again, as long as you've got a filter

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we are back. before we go. former san francisco mayor willie brown spoke moments ago about kamala harris being named biden's running mate, as you know, they have known each other a long time, he was one of her mentorspolitics. >> the vice presidency is a great spot if your hopes and desires are simply to be the president. if you really want to make an

immediate change in criminal reform, if you want to immediately change diversity and representation purposes, you're better off, if you have power where no one gives you orders. the attorney generalship is what i was talking about in that regard. however, let me tell you, as a black man, i am absolutely blown away there is on that ticket, a black woman for the vice presidency. >> that was willie brown who just days ago suggested that if offered politely turned down the vp slot and go for attorney general, but of course, she has accepted the vp offer with joe biden, so you can find out much more about kamala harris or her history and her roots here in the bay area, having been born in oakland. she went to berkeley school. she went to uc hastings for law, and of course, she served as the d.a. of san francisco and also,

california's attorney general, and then senator for thank you so much for joining "getting answers." we'll see you back here tomorrow. ck here tomorrow. ck here tomorrow kamala harris as his running mate. reaction pouring in at this hour. senator harris and her first words. president trump responding, too. what he said just before we came on the air tonight. also this evening, our reporting here. what went into this historic pick? the california senator and former presidential hopeful. she would be the first woman vice president, the first black vice president and the highesta history if elected. tonight here, the moment joe biden asked her over zoom to join the ticket. the president moments ago was asked about the pick, how he responded. and tonight, former president barack obama and hillary clinton among those celebrating biden's pick. our political tea