05/01/20 05/01/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new yoyork city, the epicenter of the pandemic, this is democracy now! close we're working together to combat covid-1 we are workingng together to safelyly, r responsibly reopen r econy. >> we arare asking everyone t start with these things -- no work, no shopping, no ranch, noo mortgageno school, no bordersrs, no prisons. let's all take joint action

together. amy: today is may day,y, the international holiday that usually brings millions into the streets to march for workers rights around the world. this year many people are joining a call in the u.s. for a general strike that in a rent strike and an unprecedented coalition of essential workers who are calling out sick and walking out to demand better health and safety conditions, along with hazard pay. we will speak with kali akuno with cooperation jackson in mississippi, which issued a call to actionn for general strike to end the covid 19 crisis and create a new world. time today, first democratic preresidential candndidate joe biden resesponso sexual assault allegationsns against him, breaking his silence after weeks of mounting pressure. he denies the charges. it is the first time joe biden hahas spoken publicly about tara reade, a former staffer whwho ss he sexuaually assasaulted her in 1993.

wasas supposed to be a champion of women. i was so thrilled toto be at tht office and so honored. it shahattered my li a and chand the trtrajectory of w whole career in life. i lost my job after i complained. amy: we will speak with business insider reporter rich mchugh, whose do investigation was the first toto confirm tara reade's acaccount with two people who kw her in the 90's. in a dememocracy now! broadcastt exclclusive, we will talk to one of those women''s, lynda lacass, a former neighbor who has corroborated tara reade account. .ll of that and more, coming up wewelcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the ququarante repoport. i'm amy gogoodman. president donald trurump thursdy allowed federal guidelines on social distancing aimed at slowg the spread of coronavirus to expire as at

least 31 states are set to reopen at least some nonessential businesses over the next few days. this comes as the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 230 3000. the official u.s. death toll has passed 63,000, though that figure does not include those 19ple who died of covid outside of hospitals or who died of the disease but were not tested. excesssts say data on dedeaths in the e united statetr the past several weeks suggests tens of thousands more have died than the official tally. at the white house thursrsday, president trump sought to downplay the u.s. toll, which is the highest in the world. pres. trump: are death totals, our numbers per million people are really verery, very strong. we're very proud of the job we have done. amy: trump contradicted his administration's top intelligence officials saying he's seen strong evidence that the novel coronavirus emerged from a laboratory in wuhan, china.

trumump presented no evidence. >> what gives you high degree of confidence this originated in from the wuhan institute of realogy? pres. trump: i am not allowed to take that. amy: a after "the new york time" reported top admdministrationn ofofficials have pushed intelligence agencies to link the novel coronavirus to chinese labs, the office of director of national intelligence issued a rare public statement thursday. it read -- "the intelligence community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the covid-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified." on thursday, trump also accused china of backing joe biden in november's election and threatened to impose new tariffs on chinese goods. "the washington post" reports some administration officials have discussed canceling some of the massive u.s. debt held by china. meanwhile, president trump once again blamed the obama administration for a slow roll-out of coronavirus tests, even though the virus only

emerged late last year. trump was questioned by cnn's jim acosta. new virus, so how can test be broken? pres. trump: we had tests that did not take care of people. amy: in indiana, vice president mike pence wore a face mask thursday as he toured a general motors plant that is now making ventilators. pence's about-face came two days after he violated hospital policy by refusing to wear a facial covering while meeting with doctors and covid-19 patients during a tour of the mayo clinic. in maryland, repubublican gogovr larry hogan said thursday the national guard is s protecting 500,000 coronavirus s tests imported from ututh koa atat a undisclosed location to preve the federal vevernme frorom seizing them governor hogan told "th washgton post" hdiverted kore air passenger jet t baimorore/shingtgt international airport to evade the scrutiny of the federal government.

>> we landed with a large contingent of maryland national guard and state police because ehis was an enormously valuabl payload, like fort knox to us, becae it will save the lives of tususandsf our cizensns. amy:y:t least t six steses rept the fedel emergey y manamentnt agcy has iercepted orders for needed medical supplies. in texas, propublica reports state officials are refusing to reveal which nursing homes and long-term care facilities have covid-19 cases, citing a state medical privacy law. at least 300 people have died in such facilities, and family members report they're unable to make informed decisions about how best to care for vulnerable loved ones. in california, governor gavin newsom has ordered beaches in orange county closed after crowds defied social distancing rules. california reported 95 more coronavirus deaths over the most recent 24-hour period. hehere in new yoyork, governoror andrew cuomo on thursday

announced plans to deploy thousands of workers to trace the contacts of everyone who's tested positive for the coronavirus. cuomo said he hopes toto assign0 contact tracers for every 100,000 new yorkers. billionaire former presidential candidate michael bloomberg will oversee the program. governor cuomo also announced that beginning may 6, the new york city subway system will be shut down between 1:00 and 5:00 a.m. each day to clean and disinfect subway cars and stations. it's the first time in over a century of new york subway history that transit officials have canceled 24-hour service across all subway lines. the shutdown will exacerbate a crisis for thousands of unhoused residents of new york city, who've used subway cars as shelters of last resort. in california, m medical studens and doctors with the uc-san francisco do no harm coalition staged a die-in outside of the home of san francisco mayor london breed on wednesday to protest her refusal to swiftly move unhoused people into hotel

rooms. the die-in lasted 30 minutes to symbolize 30,000 vacant hotel rooms in the city that could be useded to house the homeless during the pandemic. the protesters also held a moment of silence for three unhoused people in san francisco who have died of covid-19. in michigan, democratic governor gretchen whitmer has extended a state of emergency declaration until may 28 over the objections of republican state lawmakers. on thursday, hundreds of protesters defying social distancing rules -- many of them armed with assault rifles and wearing tactical gear -- descended on michigan's state capitol in lansing demanding a lifting g of remain-at-home orders. the crowd papacked into the capitol rotunda and tried to storm onto the floor of the legislative chamber. lawmaker dayna polehanki tweeted a photo of armed men looking down from the gallery. she wrote -- "directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing

them. i have never appreciated our sergeants-at-arms more than today." the protests came a day after michigan state senator sylvia santana introduced a bill to ban the confederate battle flag from display on the capitol grounds. last friday, republican lawmaker dale zorn wore a face mask resembling a confederate flag to the floor of the michigan senate. on wednesday, state senator erika geiss called for zorn to be forormally censureded. >> we cannot make progress or change by ignoring issues of race or by tolerating examples coverted, whether overt, , micro-aggression, or by cident. amy: in puerto ro,o, actiststs in dozens of cars ldld a "caravanoror lif thrhrou san juan to dendnd theoverernmt provide mo c covid9 tetestand sufficientesesourc foror pplee to stay atomome dung t the pandicic. policetotoppedhe c caran andnd said tirir sou truruckwere illegal.

when orgizer gionnnni rorto demanded picice toescrcribthe laws thewewere bakining,hey arrested him he w r relead lalatein thehe night and hichchargeof obstruction j justi werere dropd.d. we' h have re o on e coronavis s cris in n puerto rico later in the brdcast. e econom policy stitute ports a aggering2.7 millioworkers ve lost eir empler-basedealth inrance since e start the panmic. e findincame as e r-profitealthcarfirm cig report better-an-anticated profits dung the fst quarteand set is expeining to meet its profit estimates for 2020. today, as rent comomes due and tens of millions of u.s. workers have been left unemployed by the pandemic, people across the united states are joining a general strike on may day -- the same day president donald trump says much of the country will reopen for business. among those walking off the job or calling in sick to demand workplace protections are employees of amazon and its subsidiary whole foods. in washington, d.c., protesters

painted a mural wednesday with the words "protect amazon workers" on the street outside a mansion owned by amazon ceo jeff bezos, the world's richest person. amazon reports revenues surged 26% in the first three months of the year to more than $75 billion -- as millions of home-bound amecans under quarantine placed orders online with retail stores closed. today amazon is ending unlimited unpaid time off for its workers, who will have to choose between returning to the job or getting fired and possibly becoming ineligible for unemployment benefits. on thursday, amazon said a worker at a massive fulfillment center in tracy, california died of covidid 19 and others have tested positive for the disease at t the warehouse. a federal appeals court on thursday ruled the trump administration cannot withhold millions of dollars in funding from so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. the ruling stems from a 2017 lawsuit filed by the city of chicago against the trump

administration. on wednesday, president trump said he might withhold aid from states with sanctuary cities unless they abide by policies. in southern california, immigrants jailed at the for-profit adelanto ice processing center are continuing a hunger strike to demand their release during the pandemic. nationwide, nearly 500 people have tested positive for the virus in ice immigration jails. this is freddy, one of the hunger strikers. >> i am a diabetic with high blood pressure. we are on strike because we are afraid of getting infected with coronavirus. this center does not take adequate measures so we can avoid getting sick. they don't give us hand sanitizer r or masks to o protet ourselves. health vietnam, public officials say they've succeeded in containing the coronavirus outbreak after responding quickly and aggressively to test

large numbers of people and isolate those infected with the virus. according to reuters, vietnam now has the highest ratio of covid-19 tests to confirmed cases in the world. vietnam is officially reporting 270 cases and no deaths. the former national police chief of honduras has been charged in traffickingurt of tons of cocaine into the united ststates on behalf of honduran president juan orlando hernandez and the president's already convicted brbrother. the officialal, juan carlos bonilla, is accused of participating in "extrememe viololence, including the murder ofof a rival trafficker, to further the conspiracy." bonilla once worked closely with with the d dea, the u.s. drug enforcemenent administration.. democratic presidentiall candidate j joe biden has responded to sexual assault allegations against t him for te first time, breaking his silence after weeks of mounting pressure. it is the first titime the democratic presidential nominee has spoken publicly about tara reade to come a former staffer of joe biden who says he sexually -- who says he sickly assaulted her in 1993.

biden said "i want to address allegations by former staffer that i engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. they are not true, this never happened." as we go to air, biden is being interviewed on msnbc where he is expepected to directly addresese allegations. tara reade firstst came forward with her allegations in march saying biden pushed her up against a wall and digitally penetrated her. lateter in the brbroadcast, we l speak with reporter rich mchugh 's do investigation was the first to confirm tara reade's accoununt set to people e who kw her in the 199990's and in a democracy now! tv/radio broadcast exclusive, we will speak to one of thosose women, lynda lacacasse. the international energy agency is predicting global greenhouse gas emissions will drop a record 8% this year as air travel, the killer traffic, oil use has plummeted across much of the globe due to t the coronavirus pandemic.

but the iaea warns admissions may soar again unless governments and best now in clean energy. -- invest now in clean energy. this come as a new study by nasa finds ththat 5000 gigatons of ie has melted in greenland andd antarctica over the past 16 yearars ododucing enouough wateo fill lake michigan. the famous mexican protest singer oscar chavez has died at the age 85 after being hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms. and the pioneering nigerian drummer tony allen has died at the age of 79. he helped invent the music genre of afrobeat while working with fela kuti's band, africa '70. brian eno once said allen was "perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. when we return from break, we will talk aboutut may day and a number of peoplele who are protesting allll over the united states. and then we will g go to our

broaoadcast television/radio exclusive, an interview with the accuser of joe biden's neighbor, whwhom she said tara reade full what happened in the mid-1990's. this is dedemocracy now! stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "the ineternationale" virtual version by sing in solidadarity socialist movememet , a chohoir in new york city, pt of their may day celebration. this i is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman in new york. in the epicenter of the pandemic, joinined by my co-host juan gonzalez from his home in new brunswick, new jersey. number two in terms of infections and deaths in the united states. happy may daysay after thatat, but i it is good o hahave you with us. juan: welcomeme to all of our listenerers and viewers from around thehe country and around the world.

amy: t today is may day, t the international holiday that usually brings millionons into e streets around the world to march and protest fofor worker'' rights. this year looks different because of the coronavirus pandemic, but many people e are still joining a call for a general strike. an unprecedented coalition of essential workers from amazon, instacart, whole foods, walmart, target, and fedex are calling out sick or walking out during their lunch break to demand better health and safety conditions, along with hazard pay. others are joining them for may day actions that include rent strikes, car caravan protests, and online organizing calling for a "people's bailout" and economic recovery plan that prioritizes workers. the may day strike follows a walkout last month by amazon workers in new york city and more than 10,000 instacart workers nationwide. whole foods workers led a national sickout on march 31, and sanitation workers in pittsburgh and bus drivers in detroit have staged wildcat strikes. for more, we are joined by kali

akuno, co-founder and co-director of cooperation jackson, which issued "a call to action: towards a general strike to end the covid-19 crisis and create a new world" that launches today with a people's strike here on may day. their call has grown into this massive coalition of groups. it is great to have you with us from mississippi, one of the states around the country that is going forward with plans to reopen after governor tate reeves signed a stay-at-home order that let's must retailers reopen with a 50% reduced capacity. welcome back to democracy y now! talk about your call for a people's strike and your group and the response to it around the country. well, goodd morning, everybody, f first and foremost, andd happy may day, despite the conditions. we arere first and foremost tryg

toto defend peoplple all througt thisis couountry stop may 1 wasa day that trump and his allies like tate reeves decided to just totally disregard all of the scientific evidence come all of the scientific reasoning, and try to force many millions of workers back to work. so our coalition mark that date, which cordially for us, happened to be may day, decided to stand up today this in a clear message that we will determine one it is safe to go back -- when it is safe to go back based on scientific evidence. that is the main thing our coalition has to be in solidarity with folks whether they are taking actions that work of actions home, or they are written striking taking thcaravans. we are going to be out in force today. i think there will be many millions of people consciously and overtly acting today. i i think it is the start of a critical movement t that we are going to neeeed in n this county

for time to come.e. afafter the crisis in's on the econonomic condition i is still going to keep waging on. what we're trying to get a ahead of is all of the disaster enforcemement of weak labor laws or nenew working hou, lolower pay that we think is gog to come in the wake of how it will be restructured to deal with this pandemic and exploit workers on the heels of it to try to recoup profits. this is w whatut we are setting ourselves up to do. , what are thenuno coalitions that have come together?? obviously, t this is been donee ououtside the existing organized labor ststructurures of ththe nl trade uninions, most of whom m r strike unless there e is a contract that has ended and is being renegotiated. can you talk about how you have been able to put together r this

grassroots labor protest? >> number onone, i to this situation required a number of folks reaching out to us inin te statate and the region about soe ideas based on some early conversations that we had, based on our initial response. us, myselfy a few of includeded, have had some prior experience with earlier coronavirus, sarsen particular. several friends, particularly one that was here, died of sars about a decade back. so we have started trying to do education with a number of folks and encouraging our allies, first and foremost, to take this serious. there was a lolot of chatter we were hearing that it is just a bad flu, that it will pass row quick. we were trying to dismiss people of that notion. that put us in first contact. once we issued our particular call, we just really started hittingthe phones --

the phones, working our contacts, working our allies throughout the country to join the call. we did outreach to organized labor, where i would say there is more support than people might think. many people may not be able to take action in direct name, but i think you will see a surprising number of actions taking place by rank-and-file workers throughout the country as a result of our call and also as a result of all of the energy and wildcat strikes t that emerd in march that are still going on. thehere wresting, an articicle in today's "new yok times" that may puput a little t of an n international didimensin what is going on here. there's a major r battlele goinn right n now across ththe bordern mexico as s u.s. companies a are to keep the plants that

manufacture for the u.s. mararkt open while the mexican governmentnt wants to keep a all these industries closed because there is been so many deaths from covid-19 among factory workers. there is one plant in mexico, aa lear plant, that produces carr seats, whehere a already 13 wors yet ddd from covid-19 9 and the company wants to keep that plant open despite what t the mexican government is saying. and the u u.s. is claiming that these factories are essential to the united states, not to mexico, b but the united stateso they want ththe mexicacan govert to keep it o open on may day, international workers day, the idea that wororkers in n other countries are being forced to keep their plants be keptpt open just to servicice the u.s. is astounding >> we are saying that in other places, too. we have heard about similar things going on in the caribbean

. it speaks to how this particular administration has treated this with just a total disregard for human life and not getting prepared and not taking it seriously, not using when ththe crisis hit, the various powers at its disposal to action protect workers or ramp up production in such a way that could have protected workers -- i will call it what it is, stealing the ppe for many of the states. , view, criminal enterprise we're going have to reckon with gogoing forward. amy: i would ask about something that is happening in your community right now, jackson, mississippi. we just r reported i in michiga, the ak-47 done coding michiganrs capitolpy the wrath

rotunda. you're in the capital of jackson, mississippi, were that mayor has extended a stay-at-home order another two weeks and also just announcecede would not renew w a controversil executivive order r banning then carry of firearms in the city. in th response, the group reopen mississippi plans to hold an open-carry gun rally today at the me timime as your may day actions? >> that is correct. we have been monitoring as much as we can the right wing radio and some of the communications monitor all night, myself inclcluded in that, trying to gt some understanding of the various movements they might take. but we expect to see something very similar to what happened in michigan h here today. wasy: i'm not sure if it ar-15'5's or ak-47s. >> it will be all of that here and then some. because our laws here are even more open than t they a are in e state of michigan. so if they decide to c come, thy

will h have kind of every advantage to be out on the street and to try to be as intimidating as possible. we know ouour city police will probably respond, try to protect as many folks as possisible. wewe are not quite sure what is going to happen with the state police, given somewhat track record that we have seen at times with p protests simililaro this. it makes for an interesting day. we are going to do everything we can to ensure that all of our people who c come out in support of the may day protests will be safe and sound. but what you're really going to see is a c clash of worldviews n full d display here in mississippi. i think will mirror much of what may take place in the near future throughout the country. of this p protest movevement, are also calling for rentnt strikes as wellll and alo urging consumers not to shop at

particular stores. could you talk about that asas wellll? >> we wewere very clear that we wanted to get multiple entry points for everybody throughout this country to engage. that was a critical thing. we know there's not a lot of workers, given the nature of the contract, who could just initially go on strike. we were trying to be clear from the beginning this is a call toward a general strike, not that we would be able to pull one off onon may day given houoe short the timime of organizing span was. we h have been encouraging folk, number one, if your home, strike in placece, not work today. don't get on anymore zoom calls or thihings of that nature. just take the day off. get involved with the people. we have been calling on folks to engage in conscious and deliberate written strikes, even for those who can't pay the rent or mortgage, to stand in solidarity with the millions of people who cannot and make sure to send clear messages to every your renting from or wherever

your mortgage lender is can't outline very clearly that you cannot pay, that you will not pay under the circumstances. it has been encouraging people to take action in the communities, practicing the best physical distancing measures possible, so even encouraging car caravans -- which there are about 15 that we know of and a growing number -- that are going to take place today throughout this country, including here in jackson. and then there is to be i think a remarkable set of workers actions that you mentioned at the job, which are kicking off now i know in some places on the east coast and spreading throughout the country at amazon, whole foods, target, many transit workers and more throughout the country. i think it is going to be a beautiful day. for us, we're hoping this leads to and are planning on continuing this to strike the first of every month going forward until some basic fundamental demands are met.

amy: i wanant to end with h getg your comment on this quote from an artist, " "why shouould we ae working condititions that will kill us? first we solve the medical problem, ththen we reret ththe capitalist t economy. if we restart the economy firir, there will be e no reason for te ruling elites to find a cure or a vaccine. they can sit safely in their gated communities while the rest of us die." your thoughts, kali akuno? >> i could not agree more. it is very clear from the way there even having the conversations on cnn and msnbc now that the corporations and theovernment t are willing to sacrifice tetens of thousands of us, as one of them said, there's something more importrtant ally. i think that was the most absurd statement i have ever heard. we have to put people b before profit.. amy: thank for being with us, kali akuno, co-founder and co-director of cooperation jackson, which issued "a call to action: : towards a general stre to end the covid-19 crisis and

create a new world" that launches today with a people's stririke on this may day. when we come back from break, we're briringing you a democracy now! radio/televisision broadcat exclusive. an interviview with a woman who was a friend of tara reade's in the 1990's who talk about corroboratating her telling her about her allocation at thatt time that then senator joe biden sexually assaulted her. as we do this broadcast, presidential candidate joe biden is on msnbc addressing the allegations of tara reade f for ththe first time. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: oscar chavevez died at the agee of 85 after being hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the ququarante report. i am in gogoodman wiwith juan gonzalez. for the first time, this morning democratic presidential hasidate joe biden responded to sexual assault allegations against him on msnbc's "morning joe," breaking his silence after weeks of hunting pressure to deny allegations put forward by tara reade, a former biden staffer who says he sexually assaulted her in 1993. in a statement friday morning, biden said -- "i want to address allegations by former staffer that i miss gauged in conduct 27 years ago. they are not true. this never hapappened." thisis is biden speaking just before we went to broadcast. >> would you please go on the record with the american people.

did d you sexually assault tara reade? >> no. it is nonot true. i i am saying it unequivocally, and, never happened and it didn't. it never happened. >> do you remember her? do you remember any types of complaints she might have made? >> i don't remember any type of complaint she may have made. it was 27 years ago. i don't remember, noror does anyone else that i am aware of, and the fact is that i don't remember. i don't remembmber any complaint having ever been made. >> as you or your campaign reached out to her? >> no. i've not reached out to her. it was 27 years ago. this never happened. when she first made the claim, we made there that it never happened. it is a simple as that. amy: joe biden w was being questioned by mika brzezinski about hisis senatoriaial recordt

the university of delaware, which are sealed to the public, and his comments during the brett kavanaugh supreme court hearings in which he said "for a woman to come forwrward in the glaring lights of focus nationally, of got to ststart of wiwith the presumption that at least the essence of what she's talking about is real." joe's denial comes as two more people have come forward this week t to corroborate the accout of tara reade. business insider reported earlier this week that reade's former neighbor said the pair discussed the assault in detail in the mid-1990's, and that tara reade described then-senator biden pushing her up against a wall and digitally penetrating her. a former colleague who also knew reade in the mid-1990's said she had spoken of being sexually harassed by her former boss in washington, d.c. tara reade first came forward with her allegations in march. she recounted the incident to democracy now! a warning, her description is graphic.

>> i i was approached byby my supervrvisor. she handed me a gym bag and sasaid, break, joe wants this so get it to him. he willl meet you down for t the capital.l. and i went down the ststairs, an i don't rememember exact where i was because there's connections betweeeen the russell building d all of that and the corridors,s, but we werere in a semi-private location. it wasn't a room. it wasn't, you know,w, the russl office building -- i mean, in his office. it was down in t the corridors.. and i handed him the gym bag. and then h he -- it was one, asi descscribed, fluid moment. he was talking t to me, and he said some things that i don't rerecall. and i was up a against the wala. and he -- rerememb t the coldness of the wall. and i remember his hands underneath m my blouse and underneath my skirt, and his fingers s penetrating me as he s trying to o kiss me and i was

pulling away. and he pulled back, and he said, "come on, man. i heard you liliked me." but he was angry. it wasas like a tight voice.e. and he t tended d to smi when ne wawas angry. and he isn't like the uncle joe likeke everybody talksks about . he was younger.. he was my dadad's agage at thahe and very strong. and he looked insulted and angry. and i remember feeling like i had donene sethihing wrong whehe said that statement. and then i was standing there when he said -- he was still near m me. he said ---- pointed his finger and said, "you're notothing to . you're nothihing." and he walalked away. and i don't remembmber exact where i i went after. i think i went to o the restro to clelean up, but i d don't remember precisely. the e next mememory i ve iss sitting onon the cold stairs, on the russell building back

stairsrs w where the biginindows are. and i rememberer just my whole body shaking. and i rememberer knowing that -- knowing that i i had made himm angry y and that my carereer was probably over. the reality hit me sittining on thosose stairs, the next thing i remember is that night and talkintoto my mom, and she was like, "you need to file a police report. itit's sesexual assssault." and i dididn't think of it t as sexual a assault, and i dididn't really understanand. and i was s trying to just get over the shockck of it because i look u up to himim. he was supposed to be a champion of women. and i was so thrilled to be at that offe e and so h honored, ,d it shattered my li a and changnd the trajectory of my wholele career and life. and i lost my job afteter i complained, and i was fired. amy: that his former biden staffer when he was senator, tara reade, speaking in a democracy now! tv/radio

broadcast exclusive. to see the full interview, you can go to democracynow.org. we were following up on a podcast interview done by journalist katie halper. many news outlets were slow to report tara reade's allegations, but our story gained renewed attention last weekend when archival video emerged of reade's mother anonymously calling into larry king's show on cnn in 1993 and making a reference to what happened to her daughter. >> hello. i'm am wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in washington? my daughter has just left there after working for prominent senator and could not get through with her problems at all. the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose to not do it out of respect with him. >> she had a story to tell but out of resespect for the person she worked for, she did not tell it. >> that is trurue. amy: tara reade has confirmed the voice of the caller was her

mother, who died in 2016. joe biden's campaign has denied reade's sexual assauault claim, calling her r allegation i is untrue. all this comes as joe biden has picked up several hihigh profile endorsemenents this weekek, including from house speaker nancy y pelosi and c congressmer pramila jayapal, who co-chairs the congressional progressive caucus. wellll, for momore, ''re joioiny the business insider reporter ririch mchugh. he worked with ronan farrow on the story of harvey weinstein. his recent investigation was the first to confirm tara reade's accounts with two people who knew her in the 1990's. and we are joined by one of those women, lynda lacasse, a former neighbor of tara reade who has corroborated reade's account. she will be talking about that for the first time i in a broadcast interview. rich mchugh brought out the interview with her in print in a business insider. rich, let's begin with you.

talk about this story, joe biden, as we speak, is saying it is not true. >> welcocome i think that is not unexpected for someone in his position. what i will say is when i started d reporting on this, i o at every story like ththis w wih extreme skepticism. i never exit wanted to on this story. it does one e of the stories in in does one off the survivors the weinstein n story came to me and said, look at this most instead, we may not like what we find, but if everyone is ok with that, i will go down this road. the morere of gone down the road reporting it, thehe more corroboratining voices i haveve found. when she found the police report da, then when n i foundnd lyn lynda struck me as someone who is credible. shshe said, look, i am a lifelog

dedemocrat and vototing for bidn regardrdless, this happened. i i need to come forwrward and y that. willll you ever know that theres 100% truth that this happen or did not happen? i don't think so. contitinuedeeds to be to be e reported out. i knowow this morning joe said - he's calling on the national archivives to release his paper. we spoke to the national archives and said, look, there is queuestion about t tara reade filing a complplaint outsidede f thisis office, outside of the biden officice. thatu have that, would live there? they told us that, no, they have no records frorom i believe it s called the fair employment practices office. that leads us to believe there might be sosome of thosose papes within the university ofof

delalare and his senatorial papers, which is why we are calling on them to open. amy: so let's go to joe biden speakingng today. joe biden speaking today on msmsnbc, talking about that isse of the university of delaware archives. i am just asking, why not do a search for tara reade's name in the university of delaware records? mean, who does that search? delaware?versity of perhaps you set up a commission that can do it? i don't know. whatever is the fairest way to create the most transparency. , she said she filed a report. she has her employment records

still. she said she filed a report with the only office that would have a report in the united states senate at the time. if the report was ever filed, it was filed there. peririod. amy: r rich mchugh, your commen? >> from speaking to the e natiol archives, say, no, they wouould nonot have that r rort. that it would not be withthin te national archives. amy: let's bring in lynda lacasse, the former neighbor of tara reaeade, who has accused democratic presidential candidate jojoe biden of sexual assault. tara reade accused him in 1993. we just played the clip of tara describing what happened. forward just came recently in the business insider peace and has corroborated tara reade's account. this is your first time speaking on television about this. can you tell us what happened in

the midid-1990's?s? how did you know tara? tetell us what she told you and why you're coming forward today. >> tara w was my next-door neighboror. i moved into the apartmement rit nenext to her. we became close at that time. we actually -- she told m me abt it when we were h having a conversation. forth in the articicle i was business insider, outside e and i had just receivd some papers. i was upset t about them. she came over. violencealking about because i had experienced viololence myself. she started telling me about joe

biden and what he had done. putcally,y, she told me he her up against a wall and he put his hand up her skirt and he put his fingers inside her. shshe was very distrtraught. she was very upset.. she was crying.g. that is how that conversatation happeneded. we were justst sitting o on my t stoop in frontnt of my apartmen. amy: what year was this? 199994 or veryy antnti-95 yeah, i i'm sorry or early 1996. amy: if you could talk aboutut your response at the t time? did she tell you it t was senatr

biden who she hahad workrked fo? close she did. she did tell me that. i reallyly did not pay that t mh attention atat the time. i didn't care much about politics. him.w she worked for i did not know reallyly who h hs muchch. i did not put that much importance on it. so. amy: can you talk about why you decided to come f forward now? i understand youou are b ben supporteter, is that rightht? >> thahat is correct. strongg drive -- i am a lifelong democrat and a biden supporter. i did not know a about -- i did not know about all of ththstuff ththat was going o on in t the .

she toldld me about itasast mon. shshe calleded m me and she tole that s she had decided to come .orward with it andhe told me about the allegations. i said,, yes, i remember t that. again a littled over a week ago and i volunteered to c come forward ad again, i worked so m much, i had not really had timee to pay is a much attention as s i could hav. bubut i did d volunteer toomee forward. the reason i volunteered to come feel the truthth needs to b be told. and her truth needs to be t tol. i i believed h her back then whn she told me, and i believe her

now. amy: just talked about how you mesh leaving her now that she was sexually assaulted -- believing her now that she essentially assaulted by her boss, senator joe biden, her allegagation, if you b believe , whwhy you support him? thing.. a difficult i've always supported him. i just have to keep supporting him now. it is a little harder now aftftr this allegation.n. so a definite anti-trumper, i am having a little bititf a hard time e with it. is anan anti-trump thing. him on "morning j joe" this

morning and he looks very believable, too. but i am heaearing this today ad i heard tara a a long time ago so i amme that, struggling with it. n now.e e election but i'm still going to vote for him. amy: let me bring back in rich mchugh. your thoughts and how the media has covered this story? ultimately, "the new york times" and a piece "new york magazine" with rebecca traister did a piece. msnbc is interviewing joe biden today. you've had a lot of experience with nbc and trying to bring out the harvey weinstein first on nbc with ronan farrow. tatalk about the progression of this piecece. afraidink t the media was

-- i will just say afraid because there are e things in ta 's story, , some inconsisistencs come her w writings s about rusa and whatnot, that give journalists, myself included, some pause in reportrting this. but when you're at network level, y you way those things sn mo carefully whehen the allegations are againstst presumptive e democratic n nomi. that said, i am a little surprised at the lack of ,overage after morore voices corroborating voices, came forwrward, even after lynda c ce forward. now -- at the t time tara saidid she told her mother, whos deceased since 2016,6, but we dd jujust hear from her on larry king. shshe did n not name biden, bute did sasay things that make sense accordrding to tara's story.

tara did telell us about this before it was unenearthed, so we were looking f for. she sasaid she tola a friendtt the time. i have spoken to that friend a lot step interviewed her and her story winds up exactly -- i find no inconsistencies with thatat story. her brothther has gone on thehe recordrd with me anand business insider anand others and confird parts of her story. he says he was the e younger brother by s seven years, so o e doesn't think k he was told the fullll story because he e was a younger brother stop but he definitely remembers being told joe biden had his hand inside her close or up her cloththes. and lorraine sanchez, , who also wenent on the record,d, she 1994-1996 inarara califofornia and says s at the e that tara arrived there, she was

complaining about h having -- experienced sexualal harassmtt t the hands of her former boss in d.c. i asksked tara, did yoyou expere xual harassmenent from anyone elsese in d.c.? she saidid, n no, only exexperid it within the biden offffice by the hands of joeoe biden. a a number of voicices there -- there are other people, too, byy the way. ii s spoke with an interwhwho workrked under tara in the biden office, and she says she dodoe't rememberer tara saying a anythig about t sexual harassment or sexual assault, but whenen she does confirm is s tara was all f a sudden in mid april 1993, tara was replaced and no longer heher supervisor. amy:y: i want t to put president trump on who was questioned about whether. joe biden should respond to the allegations. pres. trump: i don't know anything about it. i don't know exactly -- i think you should respond. it could be false accusations.

i know all about false accusations. i have been falsely charged numerous times. amy: that was president trump, who himself has been accused of rape and sexual assaultlt repeatedly by dozens of w women. rich mchugh?h? a complicated conversation, no doubt about it. a arerurump and biden n now crededibly accused. we're talking about this allegation right n now because t is joe biden. bothth need to be discussed. amy: lynda lacasse, do you feel strongly that tara reade e shoud bebe believed? >> a absolutely. absolutely. i believe her 100%. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us. comes forward, corroborating tara reade story, saying shehe told her about itin

ththe mid-1990'0's. and d i wantnt to thahank rich , who wrote this piece in the business insider. we will link to that. he is investigative reporter, former n nbc news producer, worked with ronan farrow on the harvey weinstein story. this is democracy now!w!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. in inend today show puerto rico, where governor wanda vasquez z announced thursy that certain sectors of the economy will reopen monday as the island begins to ease out of a strict l lkdown thatat began n mid-march. at least 92 people have died from covid-19, more than 1500 confirmed cases. but as of last week, puerto rico was reporting a testing rate lower than any u.s. state, at an abysmal average of 15 tests a day for every 100,000 people. on activists in dozens of cars thursday, held a "caravan por la vida" or "caravan for life" through san juan to demand the government provide more covid-19 tests and sufficient resources for ople to stay at home . caravan.opped the thiss s somef ththe ices..

includeof our deman ememploynt benefits be paid fafaster fo example, establishing 24/7 phphonels toto hp people. wi the food stamps, weememand auautotic approval of food stamps. another doma is to freeze prices, which have been inflated. i is unacceptable this has not enen regateded bthe cocoumer ency. anher thing is right now the ssssage the private sector is to open ee economy when in putoto ric thehe statistics are not bein managed properly. in order to owow howany y pele e infected. anwhwhile need a massive tests. >> arrest this guy

you're gettingrrrrestenow.w. it is over. our patients is erer. >> the police are alover us, abusg usus. you followedll of the safety meurures. whwhatre we e ing to do? wh are we going to do? >> this is whawewe do,eedd peoplele feed. sinc week number one, we hav done with great effort. tataking strict safety msusures pele mayayot suffer. today they arrested one of our comres in a caravan ve w well ororgazed anansafe, which was to show hum lives matter first. opople need to eat.

>> the caravan had coordinatio it has secured to protocols. thststoppi poiointwere bliclyly known and it wa the police that decided tblock th trant a beyononit to o t our lives at the risk of contagion. amy: voices of the caravan of life. this is san n juan mayor carmen yulin cruz. >> no one in part or go has received the $1200 from the federal government. we are having problems with $500 that our governor said was going to distribute. more than 130,000 unemployment requests t that have n not been filled. the same thing with people getting food stamps. amy: special thanks to juan carlos davila.

the organizer of the caravan was arrested by police and then later released. democracy now! is working with as few people onsite as possible. the majority of our amazing team is working from home. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mama

>> this is al jazeera. ♪ watching the news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes, and the u.s., the antiviral drug remdesivir is aproved for emergency use as treatment for patients with covid-19. thousands of military style weapons and in canada following the country's deadliest mass inoting -- and -- banned canada following the country's deadliest mass shooting.