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tv   CBS This Morning  CBS  September 17, 2020 7:00am-9:01am PDT

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francisco and upper 70's in san jose and that it is for concord. we have better air quality with that strong ocean breeze kicking in and changes are possible for the weekend we could have some offshore winds and will watch it closely as we look to the weekend. i took a walk for the ♪ for the good morning to you, and welcome to "cbs this morning." it's thursday, september 17th, 2020. i'll gayle king with anthony mason and tony dokoupil. trail of destruction. sally leaves devastation and flooding behind with entire streets turned into rivers. we'll show you where the storm is headed next. >> fighting the science. president trump bluntly contradicts his own cdc director on the timing of a vaccine and the importance of masks. how this extraordinary clash unfolded. barr's blistering critique. the attorney general accuses his own prosecutors of behaving like preschoolers and compares the pandemic lockdowns to slavery. >> breaking overnight. new poisoning evidence. video emerges from the hotel
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room of russia's main opposition leader alexei navalny just after he fell ill. and country celebration. the highlights from last night's academy of country music awards. and something that's never happened before. it was different. but first, here's today's "eye opener," it's your world in 90 seconds. >> if you are asking me, when is it going to be generally available to the american public, late second quarter, third quarter 2021. >> president trump and the head of the cdc are disagreeing about when a coronavirus vaccine will be available. >> i think he got the message maybe confused. maybe it was stated incorrectly. no, we're ready to go immediately as the vaccine is announced. >> started coming off and siding ripping. >> major flooding and damage left behind in the wake of hurricane sally. >> this has been a lot worse than we ever thought it would be. >> dramatic new video recorded on a firefighter's helmet capturing just how fast the
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creek fire overwhelmed crews in california. >> the big ten conference has reversed field and will play after all this fall with pandemic precautions. >> i don't give a damn about the optics. if they're going to flip-flop, fine. get it right. >> a star-studded night at the 55th academy of country music awards. ♪ ♪ only 17 don't know anything but i know i miss you ♪ >> all that. >> he's happily napping. bear gives him a little tap and then he's like, hello. >> and all that matters. >> one very big, very fast 6-year-old showing off his skills. >> look at him. >> i couldn't tackle that kid. >> on "cbs this morning." >> joe biden was in florida to honor hispanic heritage month where he was introduced by louis fonzy, a singer.
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♪ >> que bueno. i thought i liked the bieber remix but this original. still a believer. you've got that yummy yum, justin. >> this morning's "eye opener" is presented by toyota. >> welcome to "cbs this morning." you have to start with an apology. oh, my god. did he like the song? >> i think he liked it. >> i don't think i would have looked any cooler. it's a tough spot to be in. >> he's trying. >> i know. and i appreciate trying but sometimes it's good just to be there and just be in the moment and not have to try like that. but it is a great song. it say really good song. okay. but we're going to start with this. tropical depression now known as sally which is drenching parts of georgia and alabama after making landfall as a category 2 hurricane. some areas have been inundated with nearly three feet of floodwater and many rivers
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continue to rise. hundreds of thousands of people are still without power at this hour. and at least one person has died there. another is missing. our lead national correspondent david begnaud is in pensacola beach, florida. david, seems a big difference from today from what you were doing yesterday. so what are you seeing there now? >> good morning. look, where i'm standing, the water was chest deep yesterday. now we're looking at concrete. it's incredible how fast the water receded. but sally dropped four months of rain in four hours. that's how powerful this storm was. here's a look at what it caused. this is what it looked like along parts of the gulf coast after sally made landfall. it was a category 2 hurricane when it rolled in wednesday. some communities were inundated with nearly feet of rain. during the storm, roads and cities along the florida panhandle look more like rivers. some buildings were torn apart. boats forced ashore in marinas. debris scattered really everywhere. >> this has been a lot worse than we ever thought it would
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be. you can't see where the sound starts or ends. it's crazy. >> reporter: in escambia county where pensacola is, more than 370 people needed to be rescued from the flooding. the florida national guard deployed highwater vehicles to help, returning some people to their homes as the water receded very quickly. the winds from sally were powerful as the storm made landfall in alabama. winds were 105 miles per hour. >> we started hearing all of our windows start to pop. part of the roof started coming off and siding was ripping. >> reporter: the hurricane ripped through billboards, shredded the walls off buildings and snapped power lines. more than a half million homes and businesses were without power in alabama and florida. >> we just heard a big boom. >> reporter: back in pensacola, we talked to caleb mendlenhall who manages the paradise inn where sally took the roof straight off. >> did you see where it landed? >> it landed on top of one of the villas.
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and then another section out in the bay. >> reporter: while most say they'll pick up the pieces and move forward, others like dave carden say sally may be the reason he moves away. >> i'm thinking about going further north so i don't have to experience this anymore. it's kind of like a deja vu. >> reporter: what's left of sally has now moved toward the northeast. atlanta seeing some flooding and heavy rainfall. if you live in the carolinas you'll see it, too, and it should break apart around norfolk, virginia. i just found out there could be another tropical system developing in the gulf of mexico in the next 24 to 48 hours. >> wow. what a difference a day makes, david. thank you. we want to show you new video that gives us a dramatic look at what firefighters are up against in the american west. this is the harrowing scene as a california neighborhood was overrun by flames from the creek fire earlier this month. that's near the sierra national forest. it's one of dozens of fires which have burned nearly 5 million acres in california,
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oregon and washington state. destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 35 people. the count goes up daily at this scientists say smoke from the wildfires has traveled almost 5,000 miles all the way over to europe. quite a journey. as the historic wildfires rage across the west, cbsn is exploring the climate crisis. you can watch "a climate in crisis" tonight at 8:00 eastern on cbsn, cbs' 24/7 streaming service. we'd apprecite it if you download the free cbs app on your phone or connected tv. president trump is bluntly contradicting cdc director dr. robert redfield in an extraordinary public disagreement. redfield told congress that wearing a mask may protect more people from covid than a vaccine will. and that a vaccine is still months away. a few hours later the president said redfield was confused and insisted a vaccine could be
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ready for the general public as early as next month. weijia jiang is at the white house. these were pretty remarkable statements by the president. >> good morning. this is not the first time president trump has been at war with scientists, but this time he unequivocally threw his own cdc director under the bus. the president considers a covid-19 vaccine a crown jewel of his response and with 46 days left to go before the election, it's no surprise he rejects any assessment that it could take longer than he wants. >> it was an incorrect statement. >> reporter: president trump insisted cdc director dr. robert redfield was wrong when he testified under oath that the general public may not have access to a covid-19 vaccine until later this year. >> i called him. i said, what did you mean by that? and i think he just made a mistake. he just made a mistake. i think he misunderstood the question. >> reporter: redfield did not look or sound confused at all. >> if you're asking me when is
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it going to be generally available to the american public so we can begin to take advantage of vaccine to get back to our regular life, i think we're probably looking at third -- late second quarter, third quarter 2021. >> reporter: the president offered a much earlier date. >> it could be announced in october. could be announced a little bit after october. but once we go, we're ready. >> reporter: mr. trump also disputed redfield's testimony about the benefits of wearing masks. >> face masks, these face masks are the most important powerful public health tool we have. and they are our best defense. i might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against covid than when i take a covid vaccine. >> as far as the mask is concerned, he made a mistake. >> reporter: redfield issued a statement that did not say he misspoke about vaccines or
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masks. which he continued to call part of the best defense. the president who has admitted to intentionally downplaying the virus, which has killed almost 200,000 americans, was asked why people should believe him instead of redfield. >> because of the great job we've done. >> reporter: earlier in the day, former vice president joe biden blasted president trump's refusal to fully embrace face coverings and science. >> let me be clear. i trust vaccines. i trust the scientists. but i don't trust donald trump. at this moment, the american people can't either. >> reporter: yesterday's drama overshadowed the cdc rolling out a new playbook that outlines how to start distributing a free vaccine 24 hours after the government approves one. president trump also confirmed another white house staffer tested positive for the virus, though he did not come in contact with that person.
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but the president still refuses to follow his own administration's guidelines about big crowds. and tonight he plans to hold another campaign event in the battleground state of wisconsin. gayle? >> weijia, thank you very much. attorney general william bar says elected officials should decide the response to the pandemic, not the scientists. it was one of a series of eye-opening statements barr made at a forum last night. he also lashed out at some of the justice department's own career officials. as catherine herridge reports, barr also brought up slavery in the context of the coronavirus. >> putting a national lockdown, stay-at-home orders is like house arrest. >> reporter: and a conservative constitution day event in virginia last night, attorney general bill barr said this of quarantining nationwide. >> it's, other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in american history. >> reporter: barr suggested that politicians not medical professionals should guide the
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public during the pandemic. >> a person in the white coat is not the grand seer who can come up with the right decision for society. a free people makes its decision through its elected representatives. >> reporter: in the wide-ranging discussion, barr also criticized the black lives matter movement. >> proposition, who can quarrel with the proposition black lives matter but they're not interested in black lives. they're interested in props. a small number of blacks who are killed by blacks during conflict with police usually less than a dozen a year, who they can use as props to achieve a much broader political agenda. >> reporter: but the data shows that 250 black people were killed by police last year alone. black people are more than three times more likely to be killed during a police encounter than white people. the attorney general also seemed to take aim at some of his own people. >> our prosecutors have all too
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often inserted themselves into the political process based on the flimsiest of legal theories. >> reporter: barr criticized his prosecutors for political headhunting and defended criticism that he ever interfered in cases involving close associates of the president like roger stone and michael flynn. >> letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a montessori preschool, but it's no way to run a federal agency. >> reporter: and then denied he's ever interfered on mr. trump's behalf. >> what do you mean by interfere? under the law, all prosecutorial power is vested in the attorney general. and these people are agents of the attorney general. and as i said, fbi agents -- whose agent do you think you are? i don't say this in a pompous way, but that is the chain of authority and legitimacy in the
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department of justice. >> reporter: these remarks come as cbs news has confirmed that barr encouraged u.s. attorneys on a call last week to seek federal charges for violent demonstrators, including the rarely used sedition law which can lead to laws and imprisonment for anyone found guilty of threatening the u.s. government. >> quite some statements, catherine, thank you. one of the los angeles county sheriff's deputies who were ambushed and shot has been released from a hospital. the man was hit in the arm, forehead and hand. the sheriff's department says he has a long road to recovery. his female partner who helped save his life is still hospitalized with gunshot wounds in the jaw and arms. the deputies were in their patrol car on saturday when a gunman walked up and shot them and then ran away. a reward for the suspect's capture is now up to $300,000. >> breaking overnight, there are new details about the apparent
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poisoning of russian opposition leader alexei navalny, including video from his hotel room just hours after the attack. his colleagues say tests revealed traces of a nerve agent on a water bottle from that room. charlie d'agata has the latest developments. >> reporter: the video posted on navalny's instagram account shows members of his team combing through his hotel room just one hour after learning he had fallen gravely ill. carefully collecting anything that could provide clues and at great risk. they claim a german lab confirmed that traces of the highly doxic novichok nerve agent were detected on the bottle found in the room. navalny fell violently ill on a flight and was airlifted to berlin. it was thought he had been slipped into his tea at the airport before the flight. never a likely scenario, says the chemical weapons expert hammish de bretton gordon.
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>> putting it on a water bottle would ensure he would poison himself. >> because it is that dangerous? >> absolutely. novichok should be enough to kill somebody. >> reporter: the kremlin has denied any involvement in the poisoning of president vladimir putin's fiercest opponent. navalny posted the first picture sitting up in bed with his wife and children since emerging from a medically induced coma. expressing happiness at being able to breathe on his own all day. visiting the uk, secretary of state mike pompeo said the united states stands united in the poise ong of navalny saying any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable r ablable under an circumstances. navalny's team says he has every intention of returning to russia. gayle? >> charlie d'agata reporting for us, thank you. i'm so fascinated by this story. one, so glad he's okay. when you hear that he wants to go back to russia, that scares
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me. >> he's been fearless inside russia for quite some time. he's taken enormous risks. >> how can he survive going back? that's what i -- >> that's persist eence. >> some wondered how he survived before png before. >> he's the fiercest critic of vladimir putin. >> more to come on this story for sure. ahead, an investigation under way into a scheme to defraud a program meant to help people left unemployed during this pandemic. how thousands of prisoners may have claimed the
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>> announcer: this national weather report sponsored by toyota.
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we have much more ahead. college football will soon return to the big ten in spite of the coronavirus outbreak. how testing gave the schools the confidence they wanted to return to the field. you're watching "cbs this morning." it's been 75 years
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♪ rain makes corn corn makes whiskey ♪ ♪ pour your heart into a song ♪ there's a hole in the bottle we've got much more news head including a look at the performances in the venues for last night's acm awards. how taylor swift made her big return and how the show dealt with pandemic and racial justice. i look at the tape and we see kelsea ballerini. what a day she had. first she started with us in the morning -- >> in the morning, chicken in the morning. >> i like popeye's. she started with us and was performing last night. i'm amazed how the shows and pandemic are pulling off big-feeling shows. >> not easy. >> i stayed up late. it was really, really good show. >> always great to see music. >>
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this is a morning update. it is 7:26. i am michelle griego. two were shot and injured and is your market parking lot in pittsburgh. it happened early monday morning at the foodsco on atlantic avenue. the victims are reportedly a male and a female. no word yet on their condition or a suspect description. grizzly peak is being described as of fire danger zone. people are lighting fireworks and bonfires at night.
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there is a new rule, no stopping in the turnouts from 9:00 until 6:00. the largest school district in the south bay says they will continue with online distance learning through the end of the year, even though the number of covid cases is declining. we have a look at the bay bridge toll plaza. metering lights remain on and traffic is slow in. beyond the 880 overpass, you can expect delays. it is foggy through there, so there's limited visibility that might be a factor, especially past this area and the spam. elsewhere, the golden gate bridge is a little foggy as well. look, this isn't my first rodeo...
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welcome back to "cbs this morning." millions of americans who lost their jobs because of the pandemic are relying on government assistance to make ends meet. one hastily enacted program has become a major target for fraud. more than 17 million people have filed for pandemic unemployment assistance. the program expands jobless benefits to those who are not normally eligible, but now scammers are stealing people's identities to apply for benefits they are not entitled to. potentially worth millions of dollars. jericka duncan shows us how that's putting legitimate claims in jeopardy. it's going on four months straight that they haven't did nothing about my case. >> reporter: philadelphia mother
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of four taylor pressley tried to apply for pandemic unemployment assistance over pua back in may, but the 29-year-old is still waiting. >> i've been trying to contact pua for weeks. it's always been a busy line. >> reporter: after numerous calls and emails to her state work force agency, the part-time hairstylist says she learned someone had tried to apply in her name, holding up the benefits she desperately needs. are you behind on your rent? >> oh, yes. we are $2,600 something in rent. >> reporter: pressley isn't alone. representative sheryl delozier says frustrated constituents call her office daily. >> six months later, they have not received a dime and they filed in march. and they are on the phone in tears with me, many, many times. they can't pay their rent. they can't pay their mortgage because they have yet to receive an unemployment check. and that's just wrong. >> reporter: she herself almost became part of the scam. she received two checks totaling
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over $7,000 in unemployment money she never applied for. did you happen to ask the labor department or the treasury department how many other people have this happened to? >> oh, it's hundreds of thousands of people that this unfortunately -- it just is honestly a huge scam. >> reporter: the common thread here is the pandemic unemployment assistance program or pua. it expands jobless benefits to workers, freelancers, and others who are not typically eligible for unemployment. so far, the program has doled out more than $49 billion nationwide. while it's provided a life line for millions of americans, it's also become an attractive target for fraud. >> really it's open season for these fraudsters. >> reporter: last month, pennsylvania's attorney general josh shapiro announced charges against 33 prison inmates and accomplices for scamming the pua program. in all, he says 10,000 inmates across the state have applied.
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>> i've made very clear that this is a massive fraud investigation. it's an investigation that has taken us behind the walls of state jails and prisons. and it's also an investigation that has us out in the public. there will be more arrests to come both inside and outside of prisons. >> reporter: back in may, the labor department office of inspector general warned the pua program was highly vulnerable to improper payments and fraud. they recommended changes be made, but their suggestions went nowhere. why do you think people are targeting that pua benefit? >> well, the pua benefit as appropriated by congress is a relatively new benefit where various departments of labor and industry all across the country who have to administer this program are overtaxed because of the pandemic. and so i think it's a perfect storm. >> reporter: meanwhile, legitimate claimants like taylor pressley continue to fall
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behind. >> i'm due for an evision. i'm supposed to be going to court because i'm backed up on my rent. >> reporter: pennsylvania has disbursed some of the most pua money only coming behind california and new york. in a statement to cbs news, the pennsylvania department of labor and industry said in part it takes combating fraud seriously and has implemented methods to identify potentially ineligible individuals including those who are incarcerated. >> thank you. you know, this happens every time there's a major government program that fraud occurs. it makes your blood boil. for people like this who can't -- can't get money they desperately need. and people just taking advantage of it. >> and are legitimately owed. shows how it brings out the best in people -- >> and the worst -- >> brings out the worst that somebody would take advantage. >> absolutely. you feel for the victims, and you're outraged because we're all stolen from as taxpayers. >> let's hope they work it out for taylor pressley.
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ahead, why the big ten decided to go ahead with the fall football season with some of its campuses still battling the coronavirus. and a reminder, you can always get the morning's news by subscribing to the "cbs this morning" podcast. hear today's top stories in less than 20 minutes. we'll be right back. staying home is essential. but some can't do it alone. they need help to stay home... ...and stay safe. they need us and we need you. home instead. apply today. home instead. knowinit's hard.re is hard. eliminate who you are not first, and you're going to find yourself where you need to be. ♪ the race is never over. the journey has no port.
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[upb♪ i fell asleepna... ♪ tobut when i woke up. ♪i put everything in perspective. ♪ (boy) hi, do you want to share my sandwich? (vo) good feeds our connections. good feeds us all. hormel natural choice lunch meats. just over a month from now the big ten will be ready for some football. the conference has reversed a decision to postpone its season until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. so the move by prominent schools like michigan, ohio state, and penn state, all the biggies, means the pac 12 is the only
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bigtime conference that won't play this fall. dana jacobson now with more on this story. good morning. good to see you. why did the big ten change its mind? >> reporter: well, they say one of the biggest reasons is testing. the big ten is launching daily rapid testing for its players and coaches. any player that tests positive will have to sit out for 21 days. and time is tight. the eight-game schedule that they play will be done in eight weeks. but that does make them eligible for the highly sought-after college football playoff. [ cheers ] the return of big-10 football comes with a host of new testing and safety protocols. changes that won over school presidents and chancellors like dr. robert jones at the university of illinois. >> most of us were really impressed with the work that they had done to assuage two key concerns that we had. and that rigorous testing protocol was really a game changer in part for our decision. and the second part of it was
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clarity about how we would mitigate myocarditis. >> reporter: myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that has appeared in some covid patients, including college athletes. if not found, it can be fatal. the big ten mandates a cardiac evaluation for every player that tests positive for the virus. those that are found to have myocarditis are out for the season. [ cheers ] after weeks of calling on the conference to restart play, on wednesday president trump took credit for its return. >> i called the commissioner couple of weeks ago, and we started really putting a lot of pressure on frankly. >> reporter: what role did the president or political pressure play in this? >> from my perspective, there was no political pressure. i think it's common knowledge that the president reached out to the commissioner. they had a very respectful conversation. and as far as i know, that was the end of it. >> reporter: politics aside, there are also questions about the financil motivations of bringing big-10 football back. >> wisconsin, iowa, other
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programs have estimated that they would lose up to $100 million without football in the fall. >> reporter: brett mcmurphy is a college football reporter with the stadium network. >> cynics are going to say they're doing it for the money. yeah, money's important also. but basically the presidents and chancellors had to get comfortable health-wise to move forward. >> reporter: even with the rigorous testing, the risk of infection remains. there have been at least 12,000 confirmed cases of covid-19 at the 14 big-10 universities over the last several weeks with students on some campuses being asked to go into lockdown. about a dozen games have already been postponed in other college football conferences due to cases on some teams. coach ed orgeron, coach of lsu, defending national champions, said most of his players have already been infected with the virus. he sat down for an interview airing sunday. >> i seen them get sick the last couple of days and come back to have their ten-day quarantine. i say -- i had a little cough.
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i think that the young players when they do get sick get over it quick. >> reporter: even with testing and protocols, a doctor that we spoke with said it's important to remember we still don't know the long-term impact of the coronavirus. on the heels of the big-10 announcement, there is word about the pac 12 which gayle mentioned. they have rapid testing. now appears they have cleared the final hurdle to get back to practice. just yesterday that happened. if college basketball's more your thing, tony, there is news for a start date for the new season -- november 25th, the day before thanksgiving. >> as it happens, it is more my thing. i think i'll ask for the day off. thank you. i appreciate it. that's a great -- >> no, tony. no, no, no. you can't have the day off. no. but i have mixed feelings. you want it to be safe. it does seem like there's a lot of pressure to get the athletes on the field. so i'm a little nervous about it. i really hope it works. >> i'm interested in what kind of tests they're getting.
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the rapid tests. the results are quick, but if it's a swab in the nose, that is a painful exam. i don't know how they'll feel about it. it takes courage to play college football. the test is serious. >> they don't call it painful, they call it uncomfortable, doctor speak for it hurts a lot. >> you may feel a little pressure. >> yeah. >> exactly. >> love that one. all right, ahead, vlad duthiers's going to be looking
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knowing who we are is hard. it's hard. eliminate who you are not first, and you're going to find yourself where you need to be. ♪ the race is never over. the journey has no port. the adventure never ends, because we are always on the way. ♪ ♪ but today there's a combination of two immunotherapies you can take first. one that could mean... a chance to live longer. opdivo plus yervoy is for adults newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread and that tests positive for pd-l1 and does not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. it's the first and only approved chemo-free combination of two immunotherapies that works together in different ways to harness the power of the immune system. opdivo plus yervoy equals a chance for more days.
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more nights. more beautiful weekends. more ugly sweaters. more big hugs. more small outings. opdivo and yervoy can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in your body and affect how they work. this may happen during or after treatment has ended and can become serious and lead to death. some of these problems may happen more often when opdivo is used with yervoy. see your doctor right away if you have a new or worse cough; chest pain; shortness of breath; diarrhea; severe stomach pain; nausea or vomiting; dizziness; fainting; extreme tiredness; weight changes; constipation; excessive thirst; changes in urine or eyesight; rash; itching; confusion; memory problems; muscle pain or weakness; joint pain; flushing; fever; or tingling in hands and feet. these are not all the possible side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including immune system problems, or if you've had an organ transplant or lung, breathing, or liver problems. here's to a chance for more together time. a chance to live longer. ask your doctor about opdivo plus yervoy. thank you to all involved in our clinical trials.
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for sudden breathing problems. trelegy is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. think your copd medicine is doing enough? maybe you should think again. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. we know times are hard and we're here for you. find support at trelegy.com. time for "what to watch" with mr. vlad duthiers. as you know, we've been getting fans of vlad to introduce him. we have a classic this morning from karen kavender. she says, it may be getting cold outside, but vlad duthiers always comes in hot. >> that's good. >> what have you got, vlad? >> over to you, mr. hot. >> thank you very much.
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thank you very much, karen. hotter than a jalapeno's armpit what we're trying to do here at "cbs this morning." >> great visual. thank you. >> that will be with me all day. all right. good. here are a few stories we think you'll be talking about today -- hope they stay with you, too. the biggest live music company is making sure people are ready to rock this election day. live nation announced it's using several of its venues including the fillmore, the buckhead in atlanta and hollywood palladium in los angeles as voting sites. most have been empty since the pandemic broke out. the company wants to help fill the void in areas where traditional polling places may not be available. check out what it looked like in atlanta during the presidential primary in june. voters had to wait in long lines, some as long as five hours to cast their ballots. live nation teamed up with lebron james' group more than a vote which has signed up more than 20 sports arenas as voting locations. this is a great idea.
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>> yeah. it's a terrific idea. as you point out, a lot of those venues, they've been idle through this. some are really suffering. it's a great way to put them to use. >> anything that can get people to vote on election day in an easy, safe way, is a really great idea. okay, vlad. you've got something about dinosaurs. all little boys and girls like dinosaurs. >> and big boys. we do. we do. if you've ever wanted to own one, gayle, now is your chance. if you got the cash. this is stan. he is one of the most completely t-rex cancskeletons. he'll be in the window of christie's in new york. the winning bid is expected to be -- get this -- between $6 million and $8 million. that puts him within reach of the more than $8 million paid for a t-rex named sue back in october of 1997. i like what john tower said, if we all pitch in, we can buy him
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and put him in the back of the studio -- >> i think it would go well right back here. >> that dead space with those two chairs that nobody sits in -- >> nobody ever sits there. i think if stan's teeth were looming over us here it would be really -- >> we could get maybe $150 maybe. >> yeah. >> yeah. when you say all chip in. really all, capital "a." a lot of people. >> corporate, corporate. i think that's a great idea for somebody. that will be very cool for somebody. >> yeah. it will. >> somebody. that's a talking point. what else you got? the. >> i got one. a man in ohio doesn't want the coronavirus to interfere with halloween. andrew beattie designed his own candy chute to give out treats to trick-or-treaters. he created the chute with shipping tube, duct tape, and orange paint. there's even a ghost sign letting kids know where to place their bags so there's no hand-to-hand exchange. he hopes the invention inspires others. >> if they can see people doing
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things like this, they can give them a little bit of grace that it might encourage more people to get out there and get us back to living the way we want to live. >> the chute is very cool. how about those creepy masks behind him. >> yeah. >> as long as they're not -- kids are not putting their hands in bowls, this is a great idea. >> what a nice guy to even come up with that. he's right. i think it will inspire others to figure out a way to do something like that. >> could work for you out of the apartment window. >> i love it. a dramatic idea. >> turn off the lights. ahead only on "cbs this morning," we'll talk with former cdc director dr. tom frieden. stay with us. people came and they met and they felt comfortable. it's what we did with coogan's. you felt safe and, if you were safe, you could be joyful. everybody has a coogan's. and almost half those small businesses, they could close if people don't do something. we have to keep our communities together. that's how we get through this. ♪
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♪come on, come on (come on, come on)♪ ♪come on, come on (come on, come on)♪ ♪don't procrastinate, don't articulate♪ ♪girl, it's getting late, gettin' upset waitin' around♪ ♪a little less conversation, a little more action, please♪ ♪little more bite and a little less bark♪ today's the day to get to your toyota dealer. but hurry, these powerful hybrids are going fast. toyota. let's go places - oh.- oh, darn! - wha- let me help. but hurry, these powerful hybrids are going fast. lift and push and push! there... it's up there. hey joshie... wrinkles send the wrong message.
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this is a kpix 5 morning update. it is 7:56. i am michelle griego. gunfire overnight in a supermarket parking lot in pittsburgh bureau of police have two victims, a man and a woman outside the foodsco market on atlantic avenue. one had been shot in the head and both are now at john muir hospital. the beauty industry is
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banding together in santa clara county but they want supervisors on the health department to follow the state's red tier guideline and allow them to reopen. san jose's public school district says they will continue with online distance learning through the end of december. san jose unified says the case count is still higher than it was in march when the lockdown began. south 80, this exit ramp is blocked due to a car fire. traffic control is in place. it looks like it is adding to an already busy ride along the minutes freeway. meter lights are on and it is pretty foggy.
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hey, it's thursday, september 17th, 2020. back back to "cbs this morning." i'm gayle king with anthony mason and tony dokoupil. coronavirus confusion. president trump contradicts comments from the head of the cdc on masks and a vaccine. we'll ask a former cdc chief what does it mean for public trust? >> and christian cooper talks about his new comic book partially inspired by when he was racially profiled bird watching in the park. >> first, here's today's eye
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opener at 8:00. >> tropical depression sally is drenching parts of georgia and alabama after making land fall as a category 2 hurricane. >> we're looking at concrete. it's incredible how fast the water receded. but sally dropped four months of rain in four hours. with 46 days before the election, it's no surprise the president rejects any assessment it could take longer than he wants. a call last week, seeking federal charges for a violent demonstrators and for anyone found guilty of threatening the u.s. government. >> secretary of state mike pompeo said the united states stands united in the poisoning of navalny saying any use of chemical weapons is -- >> freezing instagram accounts
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to protest how hate speech has been handled. >> maybe we can focus on important things like your friend's butt pics. >> i was wondering if he was going to end with a joke or be serious. but he's making a point. >> we're going to begin with a story about president trump promising a coronavirus vaccine this year no matter what his top medical advisers say. the president claims the cdc director misunderstood the question about a co-vid vaccine yesterday. redfield was testifying on capitol hill at the time and was asked when a vaccine would be ready for mass distribution. >> if you're asking available to the american public so we can begin to get back to our regular life, i think we're probably looking at late second quarter,
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third quarter 2021. >> i think he made a mistake when he said that. it's incorrect information. and i called him. and he didn't tell me that. and i think he got the message maybe confused. maybe it was stated incorrectly. >> redfield also testified that wearing masks may offer better protection for people than a vaccine. mr. trump then said redfield was mistaken about the effectiveness of masks. >> only on "cbs this morning" we're joined by a former cdc director. doctor, good morning to you. exactly the person we want to talk to. the cdc has been at the forefront of every prior public health issue in this country. but now with the coronavirus we've seen it sidelined. there are reports of scientific guidance being revised by political appointees and now for the second time you have the president contradicting the head of the cdc. how concerned are you about this? >> well, we've seen both the fda and the cdc unduly influenced by
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politics when it comes to emergency approvals, when it comes to recommendations, and that's a problem. because we want to have a safe, effective, accessible and trusted vaccine. a vaccine is a really important tool. and public health, we love vaccines. but in order to get people to take it, we've got to be able to trust it. that means we need complete transparency on the information from the drug companies. that means it needs to go through the standard process of the fda and the cdc. that can be done quicker, but it has to go through the process. no cutting corners on safety. it comes to a vaccine, it's one tool. it's not going to make this virus disappear. there's no fairy tale ending here to the pandemic. if we have a safe and effective vaccine, we should get it out as soon as safely possible, and when we do that, along with masks and hand washing and being more careful and finding and stopping cases in clusters, we can get to a new normal. it's going to take all of us
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working together. >> there are questions about the credibility of the cdc at this moment in time. in 2018 when dr. redfield took the job, he choked back tears as he vowed to maintain the integrity of the agency as a data driven, science organization. do you think he's kept his promise? >> when i look at things on the website that aren't scientifically justifiable and not written at the head quarters in atlanta but in washington by people with no experience in public health, i look at it as someone vandalizing a national monument. that kind of material on the cdc website should not be there. it's not acceptable. it's unprecedented. it has not happened before, and it's unfortunate because there are thousands of really good documents on the website. it's at 1.6 million clicks. we need to be able to trust it. >> we can hear you, we're going to continue. what does dr. redfield need to
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do to reassur the american public that politics is not going to influence the information on the website and also the broader vaccine push? >> well, when it comes to the vaccine, what we need to see is going through the fda advisory committee, the cdc advisor committee. and the cdc has to have standard guidance that is scientifically proven. i would really think it would be even better to not just hear from dr. redfield but from the essential specialists in the respiratory diseases that this is one of. these are the world's experts and how to control an infectious disease and a respiratory infectious disease. the more we hear from them, the more we understand what's happening and adjust so we can at bay. there's only one enemy here. it's the virus. >> one of the things the president said redfield was confused about was masks. when he said masks offer more
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protection than a vaccine. where do you stand on that? >> it's really kind of an apple versus a theoretical orange. on the one hand, masks are really important. and what we've learned clearly is that the more people wear them consistently, the more you can protect everyone. you protect others and you also probably protect yourself and maybe even from severe illness. masks are really important. a vaccine, we don't know what the effectiveness is yet. we don't have the studies. no one knows. we'll have to see what comes back in terms of the studies, but even very good vaccines don't take most diseases off the table. you've still got to do control measures. we need a comprehensive response if we're going to get through this together. >> but you're standing firm about the importance of masks? i think we have to keep emphasizing that. that's why people are so coop fu fuse -- confused. they keep getting conflicting messages from people who are not
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scientists. >> wear a mask, watch your distance and wash your hands. if we do that, we can get toward a new normal with fewer deaths. already we have a failed u.s. response. we're hitting 200,000 deaths. tens of thousands of those deaths didn't have to happen, and millions of lost jobs didn't have to happen if we had had a science-driven response here. >> all right. those are strong words. thank you very much for your time this morning. ahead and only on "cbs this morning," bird watcher christian cooper joins us to talk about his new comic book inspired in part by his own experience with racial bias.
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there's much more ahead. in "a more perfect union" see how a small college is helping students left with nowhere to live when the pandemic shut down thei (geri) i have copd. because i smoked. so i have to pace myself. my tip is, if you're having people over for thanksgiving,
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we've learned a lot more about the covid-19 virus. it's real. and it's dangerous. so, on behalf of all of us working on the front lines, please take it seriously. and while we don't yet have a cure or a vaccine, we do know how to keep you and your loved ones safe. wear a mask. wash your hands. stay six feet apart. do your best to stay out of crowded spaces. and get a flu shot, it's even more important this year. we can do this. if we do it together. ♪
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♪ in the garden would you trust me if i told you it was just a summer thing ♪ ♪ i'm only 17 i don't know anything ♪ ♪ but i know i miss you that is taylor swift in her first appearance at the academy of country music awards. she hasn't been there in seven years. it was just one of many great performances from the show last night. the show was so good. which in many ways reflected this time of upheaval that we're
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all living through. everything was socially distanced, of course, but that didn't stop the night's big winners from reaching out to their fans with a big old message of hope. ♪ it goes like ooh what i wouldn't do ♪ for the first time in acm awards history -- ♪ the show's top prize was shared by two artists. >> no way. we have a tie. >> country superstars thomas rhett and carrie underwood both took home entertainer of the year. ♪ i'm gonna need some whisk glasses ♪ >> despite the pandemic, country music's biggest stars did not let social distancing stifle their song. ♪ i'm running wide open with last night's acm awards coming from three iconic country music venues. the bluebird cafe -- ♪ keep the bluebird in my
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heart ♪ nashville's historic ryman auditorium -- ♪ there's a hole in the bottle >> and the grand ole opry. ♪ rain makes corn corn makes whiskey." >> the artists also touched on the state of the country. ♪ she's underpaid ♪ ♪ >> with eric church's "stick that in your country song," speaking out about racial injustice. ♪ ♪ every color if you're only seeing black and white ♪ >> and kane brown's powerful message with his ballad "worldwide beautiful." ♪ worldwide beautiful [ applause ] >> remember when we had kane brown -- i think -- kane brown is so terrific. >> yeah. >> and the message and all the songs, many of the songs last night was really hitting the
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note about what's happening now. in addition to the hits that they put out. i think the country music people as a group are really extraordinary in how they care and the music and their lyrics. >> it's amazing they pulled this off. they postponed this, what, like six months -- >> supposed to be in april with keith urban. >> they shot in three iconic locations, as we mentioned. everybody talked about how it was great to just be performing again. >> yes. >> even if there was very few people in the audience. >> and the energy was high, guys, when they walked out to talk to an empty room. felt like i was more t we'll be right back. local news is next.
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wee nearing a grim -- we are nearing a grim milestone in the pandemic. 200,000 deaths in the u.s. it's already claimed more than 196,000 lives across this country, including parents, siblings, friends, and essential workers. we are continuing to share the stories of the remarkable people we've lost. here are just some of the many
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lives to remember. ♪ trini lopez scored a global smash in 1963. ♪ "if i had a hammer" wento number one in 36 countries. the next year, in france, lopez was given top billing with a hot, young british band. >> i was in paris with the beatles at the olympia theater. >> what was it like? >> it was wild. >> lopez was born in the little mexico neighborhood of dallas, but his first label wanted to hide his heritage and change his name. >> he said, well, he said, trini's okay, but lopez has to go. >> he refused and was signed by frank sinatra to his reprise label where he had his run of hits. ♪ lemon tree very pretty ♪
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he became a las vegas regular, starred in films like "the dirty dozen," and also designed two guitars for gibson that became collectors' classics. ♪ trini lopez was 83. ♪ >> this is wbap, fort worth, dallas, texas. >> bill mack was an overnight deejay who kept longhaul truckers company. >> the midnight cowboy with you -- >> mack also wrote songs. ♪ blue >> leann rimes recording in 1996 won mack the grammy for best country song. and the acm award for song of the year. >> thanks to leann rimes who took an old song, gave it new hope. >> reporter: another mack tune, "drinking champagne," has become
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a country classic. willie nelson performed it with him in 2009. ♪ i'll keep drinking champagne and feeling okay ♪ bill mack was 91. milla handley was a pioneering woman in the world of wine. the founder of handley sellers in anderson valley, california, she was the first woman in the country to establish a vineyard in her own name. handley produced her first vintage, 250 cases of chardonnay, in the basement of her home in 1982. she established her style and stuck to it, said lead winemaker randy shock. she didn't follow trends. she paved the way for other women including her daughter, lulu mclellan, now president, who said her shoes are impossibly big to fill. handley was an avid equestrian and loved the 1959 mercedes she
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inherited from her mother. her favorite times, shock said, were to pull the top down and drive it to the beach. milla handley was 68. adolfo alvarado jr. was a chaplain in south texas. fito, as he was known, worked for 30 years as a technician with southwestern bell. in his youth, he was a gambler who loved the horses. but after an encounter with god, fito became a pastor, devoted to his church and his family. in recent years, he'd comforted the sick in hospice care until he got sick himself this summer. he was the kindest, easiest person to talk to, said his daughter, amanda. it's kind of hard to know the phone's not going to ring because my dad literally called me every single day. adolfo alvarado jr. was 70.
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♪ >> erica mcadoo was a senior detention officer with the los angeles police department who in her off hours also ran a catering service with her mom. she was always the peacemaker, donna royston, said of her daughter. >> i love it here. like a family. >> erica had just been promoted when she got sick. her friends tried to rally her during her 97 days in intensive care. >> we love you. >> love you. >> sdwrupon her death, co-worke held a celebration of life at the beach. "we just wanted to do something she loved," said catalina alvarado. "she's so missed," said her mom, "it's just not the same without her." erica mcadoo was 38. >> erica mcadoo was an amazing young woman. this is the hard part every time we do this. there are so many remarkable people we've lost to this.
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these are literally a handful. >> a reminder, too of the age range. so important to tell these stories. >> we'll b this is a kpix 5 morning update. good morning, i am len keise. two were shot and injured earlier this morning at the foodsco parking lot in pittsburgh. a man in the female your head. no word on their conditions or a suspect description. grizzly peak is being described as a fire danger zone. people light fireworks and bonfires at night. there is a new rule. no stopping at the turnout from 9:00 until 6:00. they are on track to get a contract for a new state-of-the- art wire system. promises to give people a better estimate of when the
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next bus or train arrives. no word yet on when the changes will take place. we have a few brake lights along the east shore freeway around was found 880. if you are traveling from hercules over towards the bay bridge toll plaza, it will take 22 minutes to make that portion of the commute but the good news is, highway 4 is clear. it is low through bay point with a 32 minute drive time. anti-ike towards 80 is getting better. the toll plaza is dealing with some fog in it is a little slow as you work your way westbound. i am tracking the onshore flow and bringing fog and patchy drizzle and also better air quality. this is great to see.
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we saw the cloud of smoke and my heart fell. i knew we'd lose our home... and we did. over 24,000 homes have been destroyed by wildfires in the past few years. wildfire victims need help so i'm voting 'yes' on 19. it limits property taxes on wildfire victims so families can move to a replacement home without a tax penalty. you never know what you'll be faced with. please, vote 'yes' on 19.
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welcome back to "cbs this morning." it's time to bring some of the stories that we call "talk of the table" this morning. anthony, you're up first. >> yeah. sadly, i want to mark the loss of author stanley crouch who was a fierce social critic and an authority on jazz who died yesterday here in new york. crouch was a columnist for "the village voice" and the "new york daily news." he was not afraid to attack other black artists including spike lee, tony morrison, and alex haley. he was a jazz drummer and founder of what became jazz at lincoln center. he was a mentor to wynton marsalis. and crouch himself received a mcarthurer foundation genius award. his books include a highly praised biography of jazz legend
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charlie parker. he wrote the liner notes for dozens of iconic jazz albums including releases by fimiles davis, chick korea. he was 74. this is a real loss. he didn't always agree with them. he was a very aggressive critic. but he was one of the most eloquent and insightful writers and thinkers i've ever head. >> he was such a good person, too, to call the ideas -- i still have his number. it's eerie to see that. i hadn't heard that. so sad to hear that news. >> sorry to hear. >> great writer and person. >> tony? all right, i've got a talker out of florida. a school in orange counti-- ora counties is in a fight over a student's face mask. an 11-year-old named ian has a mask this has the hooters logo on it or says hooters in hooters orange. his teacher said it was not appropriate for school, and asked him to remove it. the principal backed up the teacher on that. ian's father went on tv to disagree. take a look.
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>> principal told me it was deemed offensive to women and inappropriate. and i mean, i showed you the mask. i mean, there's nothing inappropriate about this mask. >> so here's why i think this is a good "talk of the table." we all know what hooters is. we don't need to define it. i think you have a gut reaction here. who's right? the school or the family for taking a stand on this particular issue? >> i got to say i don't really think that's something a kid should be wearing. >> i was going to say that, too. listen, i get it. i get it. the mask is fine. it's the words on the mask. he's a little boy, and he's at school with little girls. i -- i have to side with the school. >> is there a punishment involved? i don't think it's a great -- >> i understand the decision. >> i ee easked my wife over tex she wrote, "come on." a reaction over text. i can see her face from my history of -- >> come on like they shouldn't -- >> like come on, it's not appropriate in her view. >> yes. >> but the -- the father says,
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look, the family goes there all the time. it is a family restaurants. >> they have good chicken wings. but that's not what they're known for. >> right. basketball star maya moore revealed that she and jonathan irons, a former inmate whose wrongful conviction that she helped overturn, recently they got married. moore posted a photo of their wedding day on instagram and wrote, "grateful to announce this new chapter of life." irons was released in july. he served more than two decades for a burglary and assault conviction before it was overturned. moore, you may recall, we told the story when it happened. she put her wnba career on hold to help him. they are working together to educate the public about voting, and they continue to campaign for criminal justice reform. i just think this is great. that number one, when she put her career on hold it brought a lot of attention to this case. >> yeah. >> and then she said, our hearts just kind of knew. didn't start out that way. she started out committed to this cause. our hearts kind of knew. is she going back to basketball? she says she doesn't know. >> always amazing when athletes
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put something above sports. >> she doesn't know. congratulations. >> admirable. >> to mr. and mrs. irons. bird watcher christian cooper penned a book partly inspired by incidents ofacial bias including one involving him. >> sir, i'm asking you to stop recording me. >> please don't come close to me. please dn't come close to me. please call the cops. please call the cops. >> i'm going to tell them there's an african-american man threatening my life. >> please tell them whatever you like. >> still gives me chills. this is from memorial day when christian cooper recorded -- christian cooper recorded his widely shared confrontation with a woman. her name is amy cooper in new york's center park. no relations. he said he asked her to follow the rules and put her dog on a leash. she did not, as you see, want to do that. since then, she has apologized. on the same day in minneapolis, george floyd died after a police officer put his knee on floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. christian cooper's new comic book is called "it's a bird."
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it follows a black teen bird watcher named jules who is given binoculars with special powers. for the story, cooper says he was influenced by many black americans' experiences with racial bias and injustice. he's here this morning for an interview that you'll see only on "cbs this morning." christian cooper, it's very good to see you. i want to know a bit of the back story. dc comics reached out. you have training in comic books. so it wasn't out of the blue. they reached out to you. what was their pitch to you, and did you like it right away? >> well, they asked me if i wanted to share some of my experiences, and i thought, well, gosh, in the context of superhero comics, i'm not sure how you do that. they had one thing which was the title, "it's a bird." it took me a second. i had to think about it, yeah, of course, superman. it's -- look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane. once i heard that, the story kind of poured out of me. it just kind of fell into place in my head. >> so what flowed out of you? number one, we should say the illustrations in this comic book, we've all read it, are
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spectacular. >> yes. >> they're really -- they just conjure up such emotion. when jules looks in the binoculars, what does he see? what was your concede here? >> the concede is that he gets a pair of binoculars inherited from his grandfather who was a civil rights activist, korean war vet. he thinks they're a crappy old pair of binoculars and doesn't want to deal with it. but when he starts looking through them, he sees not only the birds but started seeing these african-americans who have been unjustly killed at the hands of police. and he doesn't understand what he's seeing at first. and it's in the course of the story how he goes from being this flippant teenager to a very sober young man who starts to appreciate what's been going on. and so that's the conceit of the story. the idea is to weave experiences, experiences i've had, experiences that others have had, the experiences we've all seen over the summer and before of african-americans who
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have lost their lives. and by transcending the specifics of any of those individual moments, getting to the heart of the matter. you know, what's going on here, which is the systemic bias that pervades all these incidents. >> christian, you've made a -- there's a quote that i read of yours which i find powerful which is that people have to stop othering each other. what do you mean? >> well, to recognize when we're looking at somebody else that we're looking at somebody's brother, somebody's sister, somebody's father, somebody's mother, you know, somebody's uncle, cousin, whatever. we're not looking at a thug. we're not -- we shouldn't presume that someone is a criminal. and i think that's very important. i think that's -- that's what has the potential to save us as a society at this moment when we're so divided. >> christian, tony dokoupil here. you don't have to convince me about the power of a comic book and why it's a great vehicle for a story like this. for people who might be surprised that it's in comic book form, i would love to hear you talk about why a comic book
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works. we lost him for a moment. >> he dropped his ifb. so he has to put it back in his ear. >> the ear piece dropped out. >> we saw. you can hear us now, christian. here we go. >> i was asking about the power of a comic book in particular. that forum to tell a story like this. could you talk about why you like it as a genre. >> sure. the power of comics and mark morales, the anchor on the story, and i want to shout out to aletha martinez, who did the beautiful illustrations -- >> yes. >> mark morales said it best, he said comic books combine both the pictures, the images, and words. so you get the power of both in one place. and i think that visual storytelling and sequential storytelling with words and pictures just has a power that no other medium really has. >> in it, jules has an encounter with a woman named beth cooper in central park with her dog. you know, jules asks --
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>> her name's not beth cooper -- >> you're right. you're right. sorry, sorry, sorry, chris, sorry. an encounter with a woman named beth. you want to be clear it's not amy cooper. who does she represent? i know, my bad. who does she represent? >> well, i mean, obviously it's inspired by that experience. but also other experiences. she represents -- she doesn't represent any one person or any one thing. you know, that's like a lot of characters i've had and others have had. soyon that she represents a -- she doesn't represent a particular person, but she represents sort of someone who's mired in that bias and doesn't recognize it. >> have you and amy cooper spoken since that day? spoken or talked -- >> no. no. >> no? >> no. >> any desire to do so? >> i don't see the point. i'm not looking for a jerry springer moment where, you know, hair-pulling fight or, you know,
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a feel-good hug it out moment which has no, you know, substance or meaning behind it. so you know, what i'm really about is sort of moving the conversation forward. >> yeah. >> and if there was a way that the two of us getting together would do that, sure. i'd be all for that. but you'd have a hard time convincing me that it wouldn't turn into a side show, a spectacle just for, you know, people to pat themselves on the back. that doesn't serve anybody. what i'm focused on -- >> go ahead -- >> i was going to say what i'm focused on is, you know, let's not get distracted. there are a lot of people who have a vested interest right now in distracting us from tackling the systemic bias. you know, whether it's a couple of wild individuals who want to throw bricks through windows or a couple of right-wing individuals who want to dress up like left-wing individuals and throw bricks through the windows to stir up trouble, that they can use their guns to shoot at, you know, or whether it's some charlton in a high place who wants to distract us from his many, many failures, a lot of people have a vested interest in
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distracting us right now. >> one thing -- >> and the point is don't be distracted. focus on this issue just as jules does when he turns away from the person who's trying to make it all about her. he focuses on those people. and that's the point. focus on those we have lost and how we keep from losing anymore. >> so well said. the thing that struck me about the comic book is jules wears glasses. why was that important to -- do your demonstration, what you said did glasses. i never thought of it until you pointed it out one day. >> yeah. you mentioned this before. it's true. i mean, there's a reason why i wear little round glasses besides the fact that i need them to see. but i've never gone to contact lenses because people act differently to a black man wearing these and a black man like this. and that's one of the sad comments on our society. you know, how do we start to fix that? that's what we need to get at. >> we all thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed "it's a bird." a scale of one to ten, we give it a ten-plus.
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>> terrific. >> thank you, chris cooper. really good to see you. job well done. "it's a bird" is available for free on readdc.com and it was just a get together with friends. no big deal.
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everybody felt fine. but now im super sick. everyone is sick. i just wish we had been more careful. it would have been easier than this. so wear a mask. do what you can outside. stay six feet apart. because some things you just can't take back. do your part to lower the risk.
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our series "a more perfect union" aims to show that what unites us as americans is far greater than what divides us. as the number of coronavirus cases soars at colleges and
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universities and campuses shut down, many students are struggling to meet basic needs like finding a safe place to live and enough food to eat. meg oliver shows how one small college in the south is helping students with nowhere to go. did you want it under one of the homework -- >> reporter: sophomore makayla alston is determined to graduate from benedict college in columbia, south carolina, even after finding herself homeless during the pandemic. >> i was terrified. so i just prayed -- i'd rather be homeless than to be in a toxic situation. >> reporter: when campus shut down march 18th, makayla says she was out of options. in an effort to avoid an abusive home life, makayla's search for abandoned parking lots to sleep in her car at night. >> i wanted to give up. i spent days crying and moping. it was very challenging. you know, having to get up and find a place to brush your teeth. >> reporter: during the day, the
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19-year-old who earned a full academic scholarship worked two jobs and hunted for internet access to complete her studies. >> so it was very challenging trying to get schoolwork done and maneuvering two jobs and everything. it was hard. >> reporter: makayla finally reached out to her professors for help which sparked an alert system on campus. jamila lyn is the director of specialized programming. >> she was in a dire place. she definitely had housing insecurity. she needed food. she needed basic necessities. >> reporter: campus was closed, but lyn arranged to take care of makayla's needs including a safe place to stay. >> for so many of our students, benedict college is the safe place. so to be asked to leave that space put a number of our students at risk. >> reporter: benedict is a small, historically black college, about 80% of their students are dependent on financial aid. about 40%, like makayla, are first-generation students. when covid closed campus, the administration raised enough
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money within 36 hours to send everyone home, but they didn't realize home was not an option for many. >> we were shocked quite frankly at the number of students who manifested housing insecurity issues, food insecurity issues, and so we spent a great deal of the summer facilitating those requests, funding those requests, and in some instances negotiating leases, short-term housing situations, and some limited instances shelter placement. >> reporter: during the early days of the pandemic, one survey found 15% of students at four-year institutions were homeless. benedict estimates for them that at least 24% of their student body faces housing insecurity and depend on living with extended family or friends. >> part of the challenge is students' willingness to share the difficulties they're experiencing so perhaps your telling her story will encourage other students to step up and say "i need help, too." >> reporter: did benedict college save you? >> yes. oh, my goodness, yes, yes.
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if i did not send that email, where i would have been right now. >> reporter: how does your future look today? >> i have a mission come is to obtain my degree. and upon graduation, commissioning in the united states air force. so i feel like i have a really bright future. i just have to keep my head on straight. >> reporter: for "cbs this morning," meg oliver. >> wow. to keep your head on straight in that situation -- >> yes -- >> hats off to her. what an incredible young woman. >> what a rock star. >> what an amazing job the college is doing helping those kids. >> a lot of colleges are doing it. as more kids go to school that didn't used to, you have more of these issues. they need that extra support if you're going to finish the mission. >> this was a really powerful story. i don't think people realize the position those kids are in. >> i'm still with makayla alston. you have a bright, bright future. you're watching "cbs this morning." we'll be right back.
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we're still here. i'm fan girling. they're boy -- over makayla alston. we are cheering you jackie, i'm looking at your mri. your shoulder seems to be healing nicely. well, dr. farrell, it feels really good... that's good. and... i'm sorry. baby, don't touch that... i don't want you to play with that... (singing) twinkle, twinkle little star. how i wonder what you are... (still singing) up above the world so high... like a diamond in the sky. i'm so glad that your shoulder is feeling better. but, how are you doing? i'm hanging in there... schedule a video visit with your doctor. and get quality care with no copay. kaiser permanente. thrive.
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this is a kpix 5 morning update. gunfire erupted in a parking lot in pittsburgh. they found two victims, a man and woman, outside of foodsco market on atlantic avenue. one had been shot in the head and both are on john muir hospital. they are banding together and santa clara county. the supervisors want to follow the state red tier guidelines
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and allow them to reopen. health officials and contra costa county are urging people not to trick-or-treat or hold parties on halloween. your encouraging parents to get creative such as with the virtual costume contests and maybe festive things. look at the roadway's. we have one major problem affecting 880. the ramp from southbound 880 is having issues. it is causing some slow and go conditions. that ride on south 880 is a little busy towards this area. there is a traffic advisory. it is still slow across the east shore freeway commute. highway four to the maze is a 25 minute drive. everything else is in the green.
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wayne: ta-da! tiffany: whoo! jonathan: more deals?! wayne: tiffany, what's behind curtain number one? jonathan: it's a new mercedes benz! wayne: beep beep. - give it to me, tiffany! jonathan: it's a trip to fiji! - i am amazing! wayne: who wants some cash? - i need that! wayne: you've got the big deal! jonathan: it's time for "let's make a deal." now here's tv's big dealer, wayne brady! wayne: hey, america, i see you. welcome to "let's make a deal," wayne brady here, thank you so much for tuning in. one person, let's make a deal. (cheers and applause) the graduate right there, you, yes, ma'am, come on over here. everybody else, have a seat. hello, what's your name? - latrice. wayne: latrice, nice to meet you. now what do you do, and where are you from, and is this an authentic graduation outfit? - okay, i'm a seventh grade math teacher in englewood.

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