tonight on kqed newsroom, coronavirus cases climb in california, bringing more uncertainty as the federal government grapples with a new virus belief package. a e santa cldistrict attorney announces new criminal justice reforms, will they be ough to address ncerns over police misconduct in san jose? the crowds are gone, but sports lives on, how athletesba are playing like never before. welcome to kqed newsroom. this weekend, it will mark six months sin the first confirmed for the virus case in california, there have now been more than 400,000 cases and s 8000 dea the state, this week, we have seen the highest number of new cases in california and across the nation. inashington, d.c., the senate is working toward a new

coronavirus relief package, the white house dropped its demand for a payroll tax cut, which gop lawmakers had opposed, big divisions remain as unemployment benefits are set to expire next week for 20 million people. meanwhile, democrats on capil hill are championing a $3li trillion plan that includes eight. closer to home, governor gavin newsom announced on tuesday, california recorded more than 12,000 new conavirus cases, its highest daily total get, california now has the most se number of in the nation, surpassing new york. joining us now by skype to discuss this, our political and government correspondent, marisa lagos. with us by skype from palm springs isscott shafer. so, let's start with the tu national p, i want to ask you, president trump has canceled the republican

national convention that was to be held in jacksonville, citing that is was nothe right time to bring so many people together, he also this week started encouraging people toac wearmasks, politically, what is behind this shift from his earlier message in which he had downplayed the severity of the virus for months? >> reporter: i think it is anpo numberpolitics, he has been getting pushback and not just from democrats and blue states, but republicans who are really scrambling to contain the virus, we saw with the jacksonville decision, this was supposed to be in north carolina, officials raised questions about the health concerns, they said fine, we ll go to florida where governor ron desantis, a republican and trump supporter, is fine with us, even the sheriff's didn't feel like they had the time to really make sureovthey could e security and do it safely, i think trump is looking around and reizing that, asmuch as,

at the beginning of this, i think he and others tried to make things like maska sort of red versus blue question, people are really concerned about health and jobs and the safety of their families. >>ott, the senate made incremental progress towards a new coronavirus relief package, but the benefits, methe unempl benefits are linked to the former relief packag, are due to end next week, how important is it th politically fonew package to be announced before the benefits run out? >> reporter: certainly to the people that are affected most directly, people who are unemployed, there is also eviction protections expiring thxt week as well, house passed a bill, the h.e.r.o.e.s. act in may, with $3 trillion, in it, itncludes an extension of benefits for unemployed, there is a lot of dagreement within the republican cauc and withe president and the republicans, they are having a hard time deciding what to put in the packag how big should be, mitch mcconnell is saying more -- no more than $1

trillion, even republicans are sayito that is big, they also, the president wanted to initially cut back on money for testing, also wanted a payroll tax deduction, the republicans pushed back on that, a lot of disagreement within the republican caucus, i think they have to get that worked out, in the meantime, therare real people who are going to be affected by the expiration of these benefits. >> just to follow up on that, do you think we will see a new release package announced next week? >> reporter: i think we will, there is a lot of pressure people, both sides, the house is gointo have to compromise as well, the democrats were united, i think there was a unanimous vote in the house i bamay, they're going to have to give and nancy pelosi is no stranger to compromise, she knows how thto do , i think especially on the republican, and to the president, we are seeing and implement applications e continuing to be abov1 million a week, so, there is a lot of pressure, the pain will start to be fe , that iswhen the pressure will increase.

>> despite the pandemic, as have come out and voted in the primaries, casting absentee ballots, fundraising has been going very well for bothrt s as well, vice president joe biden is leading the polls nationally rit now, what does he need to epdo to up his momentum and conversely, what could trump do to break his stride? >> reporter: i think there is a couple of things, it is not surprising at this moment that you see this deficit, i think we saw similar polls in 2016, none of i the democrats am speaking to think that these numbers will necessarily hold, that this lead he has rhaps more importantly in many swing states, is, it will narrow by virtue of people shuffling into where, it ght already leaning towards this as this approaches, i think biden is going to make lot of

news when he announces a vp pick, i think he has been rolling out recyly detailed poproposals and getting attention, i think the campaign feels like they are on a good road and need in keep pu forward, for trump, as we discussed, i think there is this question of the pandemic and whettrr he can demoe to voters who do not feel like he is handling this well, that he is taking it seriously and is trying to stem the tide, interestingly, polls that show overwhelmingly, despite all of this, voters do really trust trump with the economy,i think that is going to become a key question, that link between the pandemic and the economy and to define the arguments to t orders. >> marisa just mentioned the vice president pick, biden is expected to announce, sometime around august 1st, his pick for the vice presidt, you and marisa talked with one person on that list, congresswoman karen bass, can you tell us

more about who she is and what her odds aror >> rr: she is a late entry into the vp sticks, i would say, really hadn't surfaced until george floyd was killed, she is the chair of the congressional black caucus, she has been working on reform issues for decadegoing all the way back to los angeles after the rodney king riots, she has street credit, she lais powith both the progressives, who really like her, as well as more moderate, even republicans, kevin mccarthy, the minority leader assembly speakersacramento around 2008, says she is his favorite democrat, i am not sure that helps her, the point is, she is able to work with different groups of people, she is very, she has an easy manner, she laughs easily, veryo smart, knowscy, she has a healthcare background, which is important, could be in this moment when we are dealing wind a ic, she is also up against kamala harris, who many feel has beenat the top of the list, they are in the process of vetting the candidates,

going through things like income tax, spouse's income tax, health records, siblings, they do, itis a complete 360 review, i think it is going to comfortable with, who does he think he can govern with, it does look like he has a pretty good chance of winning. >> marisa, this has been a he tough week, antough week more coronaviruss than we d have ever had before, or hospitalizations, more deaths, i am curious, will give a gavin newsom repaying a political price for these increases in pandemic numbers here? i >> reporter:think he already is in sort of the world, there is a lot of questi whether he bowed too soon to pressure to reopen, certain sectors of e reagan -- economy over the summer, the anger around people who feel he went too fast is centering arou schools, the fact we can't send kids back and what does that mean more broadly, not just for education, equity within our system, also for parents and how they can work and get this theconomy going,

good news is he is not on the ballot for a couple of years, i think he is going continue to walk this line with the feds ing erms of hitttrump, on the campaign trail a little more, you know, he has tried to work with that administration, i do think a lot of the criticisms, the strongest critics are people who already opposed him. >> california has 12 as significant es on the ballot this november, i want to dive into a couple that touch re back proposition 13 and another is to expand and control, how likely are these o paths? >> reporter: they're going to track a lot of money, the rent control measure, voters rejected it a few years ago, it is going to be an uphill climb, the other goone is g to increase property taxes on commercial properties, labor, putting a lot of money into it, as you opcan imagine, ty owners and commercial, chamber of commerce, they're going to put a lot of money to defeat it, it is going to be a battleit royale, will be close.

>> thank you both so much. the national reckoning over racial injustice and police misconduct s reverberated through society, and sharpened demands for criminal justice reforms nationally and locally. this week, the santa clara district attorney, jeff rosen, announced he would no longer seekthe death penalty. he also announced e creation of a new board for greater public oversight intopolice misconduct. but some, including santa ara county public defender, molly o'neill, argued more needs beto one to change the culture of policing. last month, a blog post on medium revealed racist and anti- muslim posts, made by current and former san jose police officers on facebook. joining me now by skype from san jose arsanta clarcounty district attorney, jeff rosen, hello, jeff. and molly o'neal.

just, as recently as a year ago, you publicly supported the, death penawhat led you to this change of policy and change of heart? >> my thinking about the death penalty has evolved, some things that were very impactful, i visited thjuequal ice initiatives legacy museum in montgomery, alabama, very recently with the church group and a synagogue group, memorial, and was incredibly moved by those experiences and what i learned about the history and legacy of slavery, reconstruction, jim crow and mass incarceration, and then the last seral months, alof the attention and focus on law enforcement in our society and the righteoucalls of protest, i was very moved by, really devastated by, the murder of george floyd, and i had a visceral reaction when i saw that.

and the reaction i had was, i am not seeking the death penalty anymore, i don't think that i have the moral authority or society has the moral authority given the systemic racism that is in every aspect of our society, which is reflected in our criminal justice system. sa so, i , i am not seeking the death penalty anymore. >> molly, you support this change, can you tell us why you think it is so important? >> it is huge, i really applaud our strict attorney for making this move, the death penalty has always been a racist killing machine, it has been applied disp portionately alwad it has been a slow movement in the country to abolish it and this is a good step in that direction. her criminal justice reforms this week, could you take us through one or two highlights? >> i think a big one is, when we file criminal charges, we are going to ask ourselves,

what should we prove, not what can we prove, and those are two very different wethings, so, are going to look at our charging decisions, what sentencing enhancements to charge or not charge, the lens of race in equity and ask whsh ld we charge, not what can we charge, an another significant reform that is really on the other end of the spectrum iterms of seriousness of crimes is we are not going to charge driving on a suspended license for failure to pay fines and fees as a misdemeanor, we are going to charge that asonan infrac that is 4000 cases a year, but is about 10% of the cases wee, prosechis is a way of keeping people out of the criminal justice system and not building up a crimin record, is a way of not penalizing

poor people who get these offensow. >> i knyou're also not going to be going after standalone charges for resisting arrest, molly, will any of thrme remake a significant difference in how your office conducts business? >> i applaud all of the reforms and particularly the standalone one, we have spent decades dealing with cases where our clients tell us they were pulled over for no apparent reason, they were stopped in their own neighborhood, they were african-american, they live in palo alto, so that is a really important move, as i understand, there are roughly 450 to 500 cases like that a year, that will, thatwill remove a huge fight around those cases, that is a very big deal, the other reform announceapthat i really aud is the decision not to at ech gaancements to misdemeanor cases, those gang enhancements are almost always attached to cases of communies of color, and so,

that is a big deal, i would like to see further discussion gaand we are d in that discussion with the district attorney's office about the use of gang enhancements. big news. e >> jeff, san jose police officers association is strongly critical of these reform measures, how doyou respond to their assertions that these changes will make it job? r for officers to do their >> have been a prosecutor for 25 years, i have worked closely with police officers and for all ofof my sional life, i have great respect and police officers doand think that in our county, the vast majority of police officers we have are excellent, but there is no organization that is perfect, and i view the reforms i am putting forward, specifically as they relate to police oversight, as a way of helping police departments weed out bad ficers and help the good officers in those

departments become rate ceof who become guardians and protectors of our community, i view the reforms i am making as a way of increasing trust between thcommunity and law enforcement, which is ultimately what will make all of us, including police officeof, favor. >> somethat trust was broken recently with the news about racist comments that were made by some san jo police officers on facebook, four officers have been placed on leave following the discovery of discriminatory statements against muslims and lack lives matter that were made in this group, moy, do you think this is a case of a few bad apples, or do you think racism runs widelyhrough the san se police department? >> i think arthere plenty of good men and women who serve as police officers in communities all across california, i do not think this was an isolat incident, we had, not only active officers, active-duty

officers, but retired officers are participating in these posts which included comments out lack lives don't really matter and pulling her jobs over muslim women's faces, i e don't beliat is isolated, i think part of the deep rooted issue is that there is code of silence, if you are a good cop and you knowbad cops are making racist comments, you are pretty much silenced, that is the culture i believe really has to change, st change, and we are at that point in time where there is momentum to not just make small changes, to the criminal justice system, but that is a fundamental part of that. >> yet, you haven't joined this callon naly that we have heard to defund the police, why not? >> i wouldn't say i am not ine fund police camp, i would say i don't like the language, because people, different

people use the language to be, until we have a clear meanin of what are talking about, i think it is, it is used too widely, what i would say is i am very much in favor ofha repung some of the funding that currently goes to the police and putting it to better use, for example, the money thpays for internal affairs, i think that money should be repurposed, money that pays for officers on ofcampus, i think cers on campus don't make the process safer, i think that money should be repurposed, also money that is used for mental health response is itbest use of that way, my thinking is we y rehould take a good hard look at how taxpayer dollars are used to fund the police and repurpose. >> santa clara county district attorn jefferson and public you both for joining us.

this week, major leagll baseba began its shortened and delayed regular season, the oakland athletics will play their opening game against the los angeles angels at ring central colise tonight, new rules and protocols are making this a season unlike any other, for fans and players alike. stadiums ae oss the country closed to the public to help lower the spread of coronavirus. a's, made cardboard cutouts of loyal fans and some pets to bring familiar fas along for the highly unusual start of the season. with me now by skype is the host of the mark willard show, mark willard, thanks for being with us. >> reporter: thank you for having me. >> this is a season unlike any other, 60 games, mul changes, and expanded playoffs, work? ll do you expect this to >> er: they are off to a good start, i can say certainly there were a lot of people who didn't thwe would get to this day, where the season

starts, it is an evolving challenge that will continue, they have crossea lot bridges, now everybody has got to get on planes, and you never know what is going apton on a day to day basis, one of t best players in the game with opening night, all of a sudden, tested positive for covid-19, he was completely asymptomatic, doesn't know where he got it, that is something every team is going to have to deal with, is then there this moving line of, what is too much, what is too dangerous, so far, so good e in terms of percent of positives that they have gotten within all of these baseball camps, it has been very low, they have done a good job, it is hovering around 1%, i think they are off to the start that they wanted. >> in addition to folks like juan soto who might get fixed,

there are other baseballha players wh opted out of playing like buster posey, how much of an impact willthe absence of some of these big names have on the game and also on fans and mora r? orter: i think for fans, they will be missing something, fans are different right now than they have ever been, stands right now are just glad that there is something there and that welcome distraction is there, you were looking at a pretty low bar in terms gathering fan interest and entertaining people and whatnot. i think there is something emotional that is certainly lost, i don't know if fans are going to look at this season as a real season, whoever wins the championship, is that a real champion? little stuff like that, because there are big-name erpland such a small sample of games that are going to be played, as i said, think we are not looking at a wiki audience,

everybody is willing to deal withhatever they get. >> i am curious about the changes that have been made, like the cardboard cutouts, the crowd soundsbeing played, ll hit into the stands and there is no one there to catch it, it is going to roll and roll, geth chlike the cardboard cutouts and sounds, are those being made for the players to feel more like it usually is or are those being made for the tv audiences? >> reporter: i think it is a mixed bag, to honest, the cardboard cutouts are there because the owners are looking for a way to recoup some of the dollars. that sounds gimmicky, we don't want that, when you actually sit down and watch the game, for the most part, they have done a pretty good job, it inis

resting, you don't necessarily feel like these in players are this cavernous, open, empty stadium, so, you understand w they have do it, for the television audience and it does go for the players as well as they tried to make them feel some sort of normalcy. >> tolet's turn gabe kapler who made history as the first manager to take a knee during the national anthem beside a few of his players, th received both praise and criticism, do you see this trend of players d coaches kneeling continuing and how to use the thing is reacting? >> reporter: i think the n reaction will be predictable, as you just said, just like what mirrors our nation, you're going tolohave a of people on both sides of the fence and some people who have a hard time understanding what this is really all about at its core, al however, i woul say, if there is going to be a team and a market that takes the lead ons this, itkind of appropriate

it is the san francisco giants, i think more fans than not actually a accepting gabe kapler in a way they never have before, until last night,he haver managed a game, an actual game for the fogiants , fans hadn't really gotten to know him, through this process, they are a little were activists, this is not something i don't think that is not thentic, it is real, i think it speaks to a good portion of the fan base and so, standpoint and others, it will continue, as we have seen through all sports throughout the last four or five years, once one barrier breaks down, then more continueto break down and the invitation seems open to more, i would expect this to continue. >>nother barrier thatwas broken down was that the first

baach, she is the first woman in mlb history to do this, do you see it happening r during the reguason and will that open the field up? >> reporter: maybe not this year, but yes, the short answer is it definitely, i see this continuing, th yet another barrier i think the san francisco giants are proud of and so,lyssa just turned 13 years ole has been in the organization for five years, thin the organization, but it was just over the last few months that this spilled into her actuly being on the coaching staff and the giants current staff is a very forward thinking, evolved type of a oup, i think, ain, they welcome this, they want to be the group that makes people angle, so, that is absolutely going to open the door, i recently asked alyssa, where is this going,what, do you want

to manage something? she might have stopped short of saying yes, she id that very, very attractive, she is very smart, she is a very good representative here, if you will, for this movement and so, i absolutely see an opening of door and more this to come. >> let's turn to other sports, basketball is going to start next week, hockey is starting august 1st, and football? where do we stand on this? >> reporter: basketbal hockey are doing more of a double format, whic theory, allows them, if you can keep the virus out of the environment, even though those are contact sports, so far, so good, the numbers have been good coming out of those two spots, as we mentione baseball is getting on airplanes, that, to me is the biggest challenge, the biggest clearly sets with the nfl, which is trying to open training camps soon, they want

business as usual, if they are getting on planes, combined with the contacted nature of their sport and the lineman breathing on one another right therfore every play, that is the sport that has got to the biggest challenges of the mall. >> mark willard, thanks so much. you can find more edcoverag at rg /kqed newsroom. you can reach me on twitter, facebook, and instagram. from all of us here at kq f, than watching, good night.

robert: america cities and the trump presidency under siege. >> what cities are doing is absolute insanity. robert: the president open as new front, the streets. but his call for law and order sparks outrage. >> that kind of activity is the activity of a police state. robert: and the pandemic remains relentless as top doctors sound the alarm and lawmakers bicker over aid for struggling americans. >> replicans need to pull their head out of the sand, get their act together -- robert: next. announcer: this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided by -- >> when the world getsca compd, a lot goes through