05/08/20 05/08/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from thehe epicenter of the pandemic in new york city, this is democracy now! >> he was killed. and he was killed in the streetets. after hehe was chased down and t and nobodyvehicless went to jajail. nody went to jail.l. theyeyere able to go h home. thbababy was placed in a body bag. that is not. amy: today would have an ahmaud

arbery's 26th birthday, but he was cut in february when a white retired police officer and his son shot him as he went out for a jog. yesterday they were charged with murder. what about their friend, the man who filled them? we will speak with civil rights attorney ben crump who is representing the arbery family. it would go to louisiana look at the deadly disparate impact of the pandemic on african-americans. >> slightly more than 70% of all of the deaths in louisiana are of african americans. that deserves more attention and we are going up p to dig i intot anand see whatat we can do. amy: we will speak with "new york times" writer linda villarosa about her new piece, "a triple price -- "a terrible price." it tells what happened to the zulu club, black social organization in new orleans during and after mardi gras. usually the experience is a joy. the coronavirus made it a

tragedy. as more than 40 states begin to reopen and president trump gets tested every day, he downplays teststs importance for the restf the country. we will speak with emergency room physician dr. leana wen. all of thahat in more, coming u. welcome to dememocracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. the u.s. deaeath toll from the coronavirus ououtbreak hasas tod 75,000 and is projected to k kep rising at a ratete as high as 30 deaths a day in the coming weeks. but t president trump p is continuing to pupush for stateso reopen businesses despite the public health risk. the trump administration has rejected detailed recommendations by the centers for disease control and prevention on how schools, churches, and businesses could safely reopen. this marks the latest attempt by the white house to sideline the cdc, which has not held a regular news briefing on the

pandemic in two months. president trump is also reducing the public role of two key medical advisors, dr. anthony fauci and dr. deborah birx, who had been taken part in daily -- taking part in daily televised briefifings about t te crisis. meanwhile, o one of presidident trump'p's personal valalets has tetested positive for r covid-1. nbc news reports trump became "lava level mad" at his staff over the incident, accusing them of failing to protect him from the virus. trump confirmed the valet's positive test during an oval office meeting thursday with texas governor greg g abbott. pres. trump: i just had a test, as you probably heard. i had one yesterday and i had one today. it is negative. mike just had to test and it is negative. they do the test and it just shows you the fallacy, what i've been saying, testing is not a perfect arc. amy: trump said he and vice president pence will now be

tested for coronavirus once a day. that's not an option for the vast majority of americans. over the past week, the united ststates hasas carried out, on average, less than a quarter-million diagnostic tests for coronavirus per day. that's far short of the 900,000 tests a day recommended by harvard's global health institute as the minimum level needed to safely begin reopening parts of the united states. the harvard plan calls for the u.s. to ramp u up to 20 0 millin tests per day by mid-summer. natitional nurses united says te number of nurses who've died of covid-19 has soared over the last two weeks. on thursday, members of the union placed 88 pairs of white shoes in lafayette park across from the white house -- one pair for every u.s. nurse known to have died of the disease. the nurses stood six feet apart as they read the names of the dead, protesting what the union called "trump's abhorrent failure to protect nurses."

this week marks national nururss week. economists are describing the job crisis in the united states as the worst since the great depression. 3.2 million people filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total to 33 million since the e pandemic begegan. many other workers have suffered reduced pay or hours. the u.s. bureau of labor statistics is releasing its april jobs figures today and economists predict it will be a devastating report. as millions of americans struggle to pay for food, republican lawmakers are refusing to back an expansion of the federal food stamps program. meanwhile, "the washington post" reports the small business association has quietly slashed the size of emergency disaster loans it is issuing to just $150,000. the limit had been $2 million.n. on capitol hill, democratic leaders are preparing to unveil a massive new coronavirus relief package, which senate minority leader chuck schumer promised

will be "rooseveltian" in scope -- a reference to the new deal legislation of the great depression. house speaker nancy pelosi said thursday the bill will likely include $800 billion in funding for state and local governments, money for covid-19 tests, food stamp funding, money for unemployed workers, and other direct payments to needy families. meanwhile, republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell brought senators back from an extended, six-week recess this week but did not schedule any coronavirus-related measures. mcconnell's first order of business was a confirmation heararing for 37-year-old d jusn walker, presesident trump's nominee for a lifetime appointment to the u.s.s. courtf appeals for r the district of columbia. if confirmed, walker will replace 65-year-old judge thomas griffith, who announced in march he's planning to retire in september. the progressive advocacy group demand justice is asking federal courts to investigate whether senator mcconnell pressured

judge griffith to retire to clear the way for walker, who's a protege of mcconnell. at walker's senate confirmation hearing wednesday, illinois democrat dick durban said he'd rather be addressing the coronavirus pandemic. challengehe gravest and crisis we have faced, many of us, in our lifetime. so i thought t if the senate is coming back for busininess, thee is certainly a lot of f things e can bring up. the list i is lengthy. unfortunately,y, it is not the reasonon we are returningng this week. instead, we are considering the nomination of a 37-year-old family friend d of senator mcconnell's,s, the second highet court in the land. amy: here in new york, on thursday, 35 of 40 people arrested for social distancing relations were black. mayor de blasio has rejected comparisons to new york city's unconstitutional stop and frisk

policy under former mayor bloomberg, but set in a tweet -- "the disparity in the numbers does not reflect our values. this comes as a new study for aids research finds u.s. counties with predominantly black population account for over half of the coronavirus cases in the country and nearly 60% of covid-19 deaths. in texas, greg abbott has removed jail as a form of punishment for people who violate coronavirus restrictions. this comes after the texas supreme court ordered the release of a salon owner in dallas who wasas arrested fofor rereopening her business, violatating texas lockdown rule. in nebraska, lococal health officials have been banned from reporting on covid-19 data from meat processing plants. republican governor pete ricketts said wednesday the state will no longer release the numbers, arguing it t is a mattr of worker privacy. meat processing plants are home to some of the largest cocoronavirus hohotspots in the country with thousands of confirmed cases and at least 20

deataths tied to meat plants. in g georgia, the twowo white mn who were cut on camera shooting and killing ahmaud arbery, an unarmed 25 year-old african man, in february were arrested and charged thursday in connection with the e murder, to dadays aer the vidideo was shard with t the public, sparking widespread outrage. gregory mcmichael and his son travis were both charged with murder and aggravated assault and booked in glenn county, georgia, where the killing took place more than two months ago. the video was filmed by a third white man, william bryan, who is travis' neighbor. bryan has reportedly also been charged but has not been arrested. today would have been ahmaud arbery's 26th birthday. after headlines, we'll speak withth family attorney benjamin crump. the justice d department has dropped charges against president trump's disgraced former national security adviser michael flynn, even though flynn twice pled guilty to lying to

the fbi about his communications with the russian ambassador. attorney general bill barr called the move an easy decision. he spoke with cbs reporter catherine herridge. >> when history looks back on this decision, how do you think it will be written? >> history is written by the winners,s, so it depends on n ws writing the history. amy: california congressmember adam schiff, the democratic chair of the house intelligence committee, tweeted -- "flynn pled guilty to lying to the fbi about his illicit russian contacts. his lies do not now become truths. this dismissal does not exonerate him. but it does incriminate bill barr in the worst politicization of the justice department in its history." the suprememe court has overturd the e convictions of two senior aides to new jersey's former republican governor, chris christie, over the infamous "bridgegate" scandal. in 2016, bridget anne kelly and bill baroni were convicted of

conspiring to create a traffic jam to punish the mayor of fort lee for declining to endorse christie's gubernatorial reelection bid. christie denied involvement in the plot. on thursday, supreme court justices ruled unanimously that, although christie's aides engaged in deception, corruption, and abuse of power, they did not violate federal wire fraud statutes. chris christie is a close ally of president trump. he made headlines this week when he urged americans to return to their jobs despite the raging coronavirus pandemic, saying, "there are going to be deaths no matter what." he was speaking to cnn's dana bash. >> we sent our young men during world war ii over to europe, out to the pacific, knowing -- knowing that many of them would not come home alive. and we decided to make that sacrifice because what we were standing up for was the american way of life. in the same way now we have to stand up for the american way of life. amy: the british government

reports black residents of england and wales are nearly four times as likely to die of covid-19 than white residents. south asian descent are up to 80% more likely to die of the disease. the findings mirror racial disparities of covid-19 deaths in the united states. the united kingdom now has the largest number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in europe at over 30,000. meanwhile, european leaders, including britain's boris johnson, france's emanuel mamacron, and germany's angela merkel, are markrking ve day toy with low-key ceremonies on this 7575th anniversary of the surrender r of nazi germany in 1945. in belarus, which suffered heavily under nazi occupation, authorities are planning to hold a a massive mililitary parade ee capital minsnsk despite a susurn cororonavirus caseses. belarus's long-time authoritarian leader alexander lukashenko has refused to impose any major restrictions on public gatherings, and medical experts believe a surge in covid-19 deaths in belarus is largely going unreported.

back in the united states, , taa dropalled on joe biden t to out ofof the race. reade has s accused biden of sexually assaulting her 27 years ago while she worked as an aide in his senate office. biden has deninied the allelegations. reade made thehe comment in an interview wi m megyn kellyly. >> i wanto say you and were there,oe ben. pleasestep forrd and be ld cocountae. u should not be running chacter fothe presint of the unit s state >> you wt him toithdraw. >> wish he would. he won't, but i wish he would. that is how i feel emotionally. amy: meanwhile, a newspaper in california has obtained a 1996 court filing that shows reade told her ex-husband that she was sexually harassed while working at senator biden's office. in the document, reade's ex-husband theodore dronen writes -- "it was obvious that this event had a very traumatic effect on, -- on reade and that she isis

still sensitive and affected byy it today." the document is s the first written record t to substantiate part of tara reid's claim. a 60 foot -- 56-foot billboard in times square called the trump death clock has been displayed. >> the trump death clock is hanging over times square and it shows an estimate of the number of u.s. covid-19 deaths that resulted from the president and his team's failed response to the coronavirus outbreak. thanks to dr. fauci and leading epidemiologist, we know had the mitigation guidelines been put into effect just one week earlier on march 9 instead of march 16, 60 percent of u.s. covid 19 deaths would have been prevented. that is an incredible number. on behalf of all of those who needlessly lost their lives to this failed leadership in a pandemic, we need a symbol, a

symbol that cries out not only for accountability, but also for more responsible and responsive stewardship going forward. amy: at the time of this broadcast, the trump death clock standsds at 4 46,485 and growin. and those e are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quararante report. i'm amy goodman. the two white men who were caught on film shooting and killing ahmaud arbery, an unarmed 25 year-old african american man, in february were arrested and charged thursday in connection with the murder, two days after the video was shared with the public, sparking widespread outrage. retired police officer gregory mcmichael and his son travis were both charged with murder and aggravated assault and booked in glenn county, georgia, where the killing took place more than two months ago. their arrests follow days of protest over the details of the case and the fact that the two men walked free for months after slaying arbery.

the disturbing video that emerged tuesday shows ahmaud arbery jogging down a narrow road in brunswick, georgia, in broad daylight when he is confronted by the two armed men. as arbery jogs, travis mcmichael can be seen waiting for him in the road with a shotgun while his father stands in the back of the pickup truck with a revolver. after a brief confrontation, arbery is shot at three times. the georgia bureau of investigation said in a news briefing travis mcmichael is the one who shot and killed ahmaud arbery. this video was filmed by a third white man, william bryan. journalist shaun king said on twitter friday that bryan is also beieing charged but has not yet been arrested. the brunswick police reportedly had a copy of the shocking video since fefebruary, but before thurursday, no charges had been filed against the mcmichaels who claimed they chased arbery because he looked like a burglary suspect.

gregory mcmichael is a former officer with the glynn county police department who also worked as an investigator in the district attorney's office there. this is ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper, in an exclusive interview last week with activistst and jouournalist shsn kingng for his new podcast "the breakdown." >> he was killed. and he was killed in the street. he was chased down and cut off by two vehicles.s. nobodydy went to jaiail. >> right >> nobobody went to jaiail. they werere able to go home. my baby was placed i in a body babag. that is s not fair. amy: today would have been ahmaudud arbery's 26th birththd. the local naacp chapter will protesest outside the e brunswik courthouse in georgia today. under the hashtag #irunwithmaud, people are pledging to run 2.23 miles today to mark the day ahmaud arbery was killed, february 23.

and send pictures. we're joined now by benjamin crump, a civil rights attorney representing the family of ahmaud arbery. he is the author of "open season: legalized genocide of colored people." welcome to democracy now! can you explain what exactly happened? we are seeing this video for the first time this week, but ahmaud was murdrdered o on february 23. what happened? >> well, amy, it is clear from the video that this murderous duo, thihis father and son, the mcmichaels, profiled ahmaud because the believe,, basis of his race. , like witithat trayvon martin, that he was burglarizing a home or he had committed a burglarary yet there mask and aary

burgrglary tools, no burglary b. i mean, he is a t t-shirt and shorts on. but yet they claim that is the reason they stopped him. when you look at the video, it harkens back to yesteryear, thingsgs we thought we had overcome in america. i mean, it looks like a a lynch man.hasingng young black and when they kill him, there is no accountability. they go home and sleep in their bed that night. it takes 74 days before there is an arrest. in the arrest was not because the police or the law enforcement individuals saw the video, because they had it on day one in february. it is because we saw the video, amy. that is why we got an arrest finally after all of these days, even though these men chased him with a shotgun and a .357 magnum

and they executed ahmaud arbery in broad daylight. amy: this is an astounding story. ahmaud was a well-known jogger in the community. ran almost every day. can you then explained -- this was a sunday afternoon in broad daylight. take us on that journey y as you understand it at this point, not only are we following maud jogging in the middle-of-the-road, coming upon this pickup truck with the required -- retired white police officer in the back that she would not know he was as police officer, of course -- and is son with the shohotgun. but the men following arbery is filming this. >> william bryan, whwho we belie is ann accccomplice to this s r, he should be chargrged with aidg and abetting thee mcmichaels in their execution of about arbery.

amy, thatlievable, they would want to film this. it shocks the conscience. he just can't believe it, but it is real in 2020. we're not talkiking about 1920, we're talking about 2020, they can do this, ththere can be ocr proof on the video, but yet the law enforcement officialsls who came out to investigate this matter let them leleave and go hohome and sleep in their bededt night. that is why it is so outrageous to us and peoplple and committes ofof color. because we know w if the shoe ws on t the other f foot and it was ahmaud and his father marcus in that pickup truck and they had a shotgun and a .357 magnum and they chased greg mcmichael son in broad daylight and end up killing him, they know they would have been arrested from day one and they know they would

not have been given a bond. nobody would have had to justify anything. so why the two justice systems in america -- one for black america one for white america -- we are the united states of america. and even thougugh people my herond the -- thurgood marshall said we are going to make the constitution hours anyway because we are americans.s. piece w want to go to a a that talks about shirley after the shooting, the prosecutor jackie johnson r recused yoursef because gregegory m mcmichael hd worked in her office. the case was then sent to george barnhihill, who later recused himself from the case after mr. arbery's mother argued he had a conflict because his son also works for the brunswick district attorney. but before he relinquished the case, barnhill wrote a case to the police department which was

arguing by "the times," there was not sufficient probable cause to arrest arbery 's pursuers. this is an astounding story. explain ththe conflict here. again, mcmcmichael, retired pole officer. and investigatator >> he wawas a police officer and invesestigatr for the district attorney'y's office and worked fofor them for over 30 years. so we are very distrustful of any legal or law enforcement agencies in n the sououtheastern part of georgiaa because we feel they all know the mcmcmichaels d they're going to be biased in favor of the mcmichaels b becaue of those relelationships. eveven the current prosecucutore don't have trust for him because he has revealed his perspective. he had that vivideo.

he could have issssued an arrest warrant based on just the video like that georgia bureau of investigations finally did when they took over the investigation because it was probable cause in the video. you did -- i mean, it is probable cause.. like people are arrested on far less in america e every day, but they of the vivideo and they stl said there was not enough evidence just to arrest them. that is why we want a special prosecutor appointed and we want if these arethat individuals who currently work at the law enforcement agencies there in and around brunswick, georgia, who failed to arrest them either because of incompetence or intentional, they should not have anything at all to do with the prosecucution of this case. amy: ben crump, what force the

release of this video this week? and it comes at the same time that georgia has liftedd its lockdown. so there was i immediate protes. it is clear -- it is the protesters and the outcry across the country that have led to this -- to the arrest of the mcmichaels. talk about what forced this videdeo release. and it also was just released on a local website. >> yes,, ma'am.. apparently, a lawyer or a former lawyer associated with the mcmichaelsls, the murderous fatr and son d duo who executed ahmad y,y, released the video.. apparently, he said he released it becauause he felt that it was killers.xonerate these it m makes no sense to o . it is asinine howow they feel ts huhunting party, , this huntitig posse chasing this unarmed young

african-american throughouout tt community wass something that would exonerate them. amy, they teach us in first year law school about malice of forethought. that is, what is in the mind of the killer. we believe when they got in that truck with all of that firepower going to confront this young black man, that they had people intent -- evil intentnt. that you can look at their intentions and conclude that they s should be held liable for murder becauause we know, again, if that she wawas on the other foot and it was two african-american men w who got n their truck with this kind of firepower and killed an unarmed young white man in broad daylight, that they would be charged and convicted with murder day one. the time of this broadcast, you have -- in a little bit, the georgia

department of investigation is going to hold a news conference, then a major protest is going to be held. if you can explain what the georgia department of investigation had to say now the georgia governor says there will youustice, and also represented trayvon martin's family. trayvon martin would have been the sameme age o of ahmaud if hd lived and not been killed by george zimmerman. again, today is ahmaud's 26th birthday. if he could talk about what this means the georgia department of investigigation is involved and your comparison? close certainly. the similaritieses between trayn martin andnd ahmaud arbery are eeroe. theth of them were killed in month of fefebruary. trayvon on figure 26, 201212, ad ahmaud on figure 23rd, 2020. bothth of them m were accused of

burglary. trayvon in thehe gated community the scentingmaud in assures community. both of the killers who were armed claimed they had to kill ththese young unarmed black man because they were in fear of their lives.. and in both of the killers, aftetethey killed d these two unarmemed young g like man, , tn and ahmaud,, thehey both g got o home and sleep in their bed that night. had the prosecutors with trarayvon thatt had collelf interest in the prosecutors in georgigia that had allegeged coconflict off i ierest. and then you did not get an arrest for weeks. in trayvon's case, did not get an arrest for weeks and ahmaud's case was up in trayvon's case, the state police had to take

over the investigatition before there was an a arrest. ahmad's case, the georgiaia buru of invesestigations had toto tae over thehe investigation beforee there was s an arrest. objectiveses, you had evidence of a pursuit. trayvon, we had audio. we heard the pursuit. we heard the gunshot. visually's case, we see the pursuit with our own eyes and we see the gunshots, similar. is so eerily in the fact that they both would be 26 yearars old t today had ty lived tells u us all we need to knowow that, americica, we mumuo better. we must t do better. amy: what happens next? >> we ask there is a special

prosececutor brought in becausee haveve great distressed. and anybody working g in the southeast georgia l law enforcement community, and we want to make sure that we have a diverse jury panel because we don't want a repeat off cases past where you have no diversity on the jury. they don't understand the culture or the common like expenses of ahmad arbery. amy: w we want to thank you for joining us, crump, civil rights attorney representing the family of ahmaud arbery. author of "open season: legalized genocide of colored peoplele." he represented the f family of trayvon martin.. wewe will continue to follow ths story as it unfolds. when we come back, we look at the e deadly disparate impact of the pandemic on african-americans as told through the story of linda villarosa, looking at thosese zu club, black social organizatatin in new orleans during and after mardi gras. stay with us.

♪ [music break]

amy: "i'll fly away." tothis is s democracy now!w!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to look at the deadly, disparate impact of thee pandemic on african-americans as told through an in-depthth story fofor "the new york k times magazine" about t what happenedo the zulu club, a black social organizazation in new orleans, duduring mardi gras. usually the experience is s a j. the e coronavirus made it aa tragedy.y. as reporter linda villarosa writes -- "when the krewe of zulu paparade rolled out onto jackson avenue to kick off mardi gras festivities on f february 25, te party started for black new orleans. tens of thousands s of people lined the 4.5-mile route, reveling in the animated succession of jazz musicians, high-stepping marching bands from historically black colleges and universities and loose-limbed dancers dressed in zulu costumes, complete with

grass skirts and blackface makeup, an homage to the zulu people of south africa and, for some, a satirical spit in the eye to the past, when mardi gras was put on by clubs of white men who barred black people from taking part." linda villarosa writes that at the same time the mardi gras festivities brought over a million visitors from around the world to new orleans, the trump administration was repeatedly downplaying the risk of covid-19, even as the president was being warned by advisors about the potential of half a million deaths and an economic meltdown. members of the zulu club paid a terrible price. a recent study shows african-americans represent 13% of the u.s. population, but counties with higher black populations account for more than half of all covid-19 cases and almost 60% of deaths. for more, linda a villarosa jois us. she directs the joururnalism

program at the city college of new york andnd a contributining writer for thehe "new york times magazine," where her recent cover story appeared "'a , terrible price': the deadly racial disparities of covid-19 in america." welcome back to democracy now! takeke us back to that day where the zululu clugagathered. > thank you for having me. it is nice to hear you and see you. begins inll, carnanaval early january inin new orleans. there e have been a a whole bunf very l large events and acactivitieses, partieses leadip to the mardi gras day parade onn the e 25th. ththat is w where so many people gathered along the s streets. the zuzulu club is k known for throwing gold and paintnted coconuts outcomeme a t that the price that people want to catch. everyone was standing shshoulder almost,ulder, ararm inrm

trying to catch the coconuts and standing on the sidelines, being part of the parade.e. amy: y you are freezing a bit. i think you're going to come back in one second. we're speaking to linda villarosa wrote this amazing "new york times magazine" cover story called "a terrible price." this is the price we pay, by the way, one of the smaller prices, , inin this pandemic, people order to enensure and stop community spread, reporting to us from home. we'rere going to turnrn right nw back to l linda. linda, continue to tell us your story.y. standing shshoulder to shoder,r, arm inn arm, along the parade rououte as well as taking part in the parade. so it became, because it was so crowded -- it t was a joyful tie and a wonderful time. my daughter was there.

she was telllling me about it.t. hothouseme a c coronavirus just because no one knew what was brewing. amamy: so then talk about what happened. what were ththe warnings at the time in neww o orlea?? tell us than w what unfoldeded. >> behind-the-scenes at the louisiana department of health and even the local d departmentf health, there was worry but they were looking t to the federaral government for directionon. so no one e at the time e knew t was bad e enough to cancel t the parade or r cancel any of the festivitieies. also, , they were morore worried about people bringing -- visitors comining in, not what s actuallyapappening.. so now looking back, we rerealie that coronavavirus was alreadydy there. it was just the peoeople on the grouound did not know. especially, the people from the zululu club who were taking direction from all of ththe levs of government who were taking direction from the federal government. amy: what transpired after that?

tell us ththe zulu club's story. >> w what happened witith the zu club menen, it is s 800 mostly african-n-american men who were from all walks of life. they do ththis club all l year round, but the mardi gras season andhe heighght of their fun what they're doing, their parties and their festivals. after the 25th of february, some of them started getting ill. they were communicating with each other. it is a close knit group. they were learning about each other on facebook who was getting ill, and they were communicating with each other. when i started reporting the peace in early april, six men 20 died and another 30 -- avenue been infected with covid. by the time i finished, two more had died and 30 had been

infected. amy: so the overall number byy the e time you finish the storof people in the zulu club who died as a result of covid-19 that started with them just not being told at the time of the t true dangers of covovid-19 anand the threreat in new orleans. >> exactly. whenen i s started, it was six n had died and 20 had been infected.. when i finished, t morore d died,, total of eighght, and 30d beenen infected. that is the ones they knew about, the 30. the organizers of the zulu club think it is more. talk aboutvillarosa, the messages of the trump administration, what the president says matters at the time when all of this started. he was in india saying it was not a problem. if you could then talk about the racial disparities. this is an issue focus on in just the last time we had you

on, it was the racial disparities and the deaths of and theo give birth problem with african-american women who die in childbirth or after childbirth. but if h he could talk about ths issue thatat has become so signicicant in t this country nw in the pandemic. >> even n as thehe federalal gogovernment w dowownplayingng d , behind-the-scenes, there were organizations, i including the american amicable association -- medical associations come the naacp, d different lawyers grou, anand even politicianswerere knowing that these racial disparities that existst in the united states that make black people more vulnenerable to serious illnesses and other pepeople o of color, exixisted d were goingng to intercept with covid in the worst kind of way. like people are more likely to have the kinds o of underlngng coconditions that make covid moe serious. that jusust is a fact.. when covid came, it is what some

peopople of called the perfect with of terriblenesss people with already underlying conditions being hit with this really s serious, confusing vir. amy: and can you talk about the distrust that african-americans haveve of the e health care sysm and t the historical contntext o that?? > so we havee known f for thatries, decades,, years black people and oer people of color r are t treated unfairly n our current memedical stemem. how i think k of it is i don't think doctors and otr r health care provideders go into medicie in order t to do harm, b b it happppens because of momoly ununconscious bibias. it is been very well documementd ththatlalack people and o other people off color, butt specificically black people, hae unfair treatment -- whether it is in pain management, in the emergency room, when getting

c-sectctions during birtrth coml capsps of f treatmenents whererk ople j just are not treatedd wewell. amongre i ia d distrustt blblack peopople of ththe healte system, it i is real and it is evididence-based that t there ia problem that p people should be distrustful. amy: speaking g of history, i wawanted to go to nicocole hannh jones whoo just won a pulitzer prize for her lead essay for "the new york times 161619 project." shshe spoke to mtv last t month about ththe racial disparitiesen covid-related dedeaths. >> what we are starting to see as we learn that t black people arare disproportrtionately dying from thihis is this blaming a black community's and saying, that is becacause blblack people don't take care of f themselves. likeke people don't tatake caref your health.h. the truth h is that black people arare livining in a conststructd to prproduce designed the dispsparities we s see. it is s not accccidental thatatk people are the most likely to lilive near toxixic sites, the t areas whereve inn

there is a lotot of highwaysys, people have been i intentionally placed in the most honorable positions. amy: that was nicole hannah jones. linda villarosa, you were a contributor to the acclaimed "1619" project with an essay titled "myths about physical racial differences were used to justify slavery and are still believed by doctors today." up, if you could comment onon the significance of the 1619 project that you were a part of and also not only the pillars are going to nicole hannah jones, but to ida b wells as well in a special citation an award for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against doctors during the year of lynching. ifif you can take as fullircle? >> first of all, we are so proud of nikole.

i was honored to be part of that project. ii think it speaeaks to the powr of b black w women journalists, nikole andnd ida b. wells. didink what "1619 project" was take us back and look at the legacy of enslavement. there always people sang, slavery was a a long ago. ththat is nonot part of r expeperien.. but itit is. ouour chargege was to prove what happened during e enslavement still lingers today. amy: linda villarosa, thank you for being with us. she directs the journalism program at city college of new york and is a contributing writer for "the new york times" magazine. we will link to your story "'a terrible price': the deadly racial disparities of covid-19 in america." wewe will also link to the "1619 project." when w we come back, dr. leana n gave birth. just

she will tal abobout while prpresident trump gets tested every day at the white house, he downwnplays ththe need for regur testing throughout the country. stayitith us ♪ [ [sic break]

amy: "mio" by the puerto rican band buscabulla. the song is about the corporations that t use the isld as an unsustainable tax haven. this is s democracacy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine reportrt. i'm amy goodman. as more than 40 states begin to reopen their economies, many continue to face a severe shortage of tests. meanwhile, president trump gets tested every day at the white house yet downplays thehe importance of tests for the rest of the country. we're joined now by leana wen leana wen d dr., emerergencyy physician and public heaealth profofessor at george washington universisity. previously served as baltimore's health commissioner.

it is great to have you back with us. i want to talk about -- oh, and congratulations on giving birth. you just gave birth. but i want to ask you first about this i issue, president trump partly as a valet just tested positive for covid. he apparently went ballistic, yelling at his staff about him not being protected. a lot of people in this coununty feel that way. and the solution has been he is being tested every day at the white house. yet most people in this country have nothing like that access, not even to the first test. cacan you talk a about whyhy teg is so important, especially as the cocountryy reopens? >> firirst of alall, i wish thae valet recovers s and is i in god health. as a physician, that is always my c concern, , the concncern of people whoho are in a. widespred testing is so critical.

you need to have widespread testining because that is what e need in orderer to find out somebody who h has symptomss acactually hasas covid-1919. we also have to know n only fofor those e who haveve symomot also a asymptomatitic peoplele. because we know there i is a hih rate of transmission among people w who do not have any symptoms at all. we need that testing for the clinical reason of helping to guide clinical decisions and also to guide public health decisions, to understand what the true rate of covid-19 in communities. estimates are we need millions lien as, 5 million to 20 day come to be performed in order to help the country get back to normal and get back to reopening. that is why i'm so concerned about reopening now because we don't have nearly the capacity to do all of these tests. you can see, i think to the president's s own example, of wy

the testing is so important. it provides reassurance to the president, w why shouldn't t the testing be a available to alall amamericans to give eveveryone e reassurance that we need to safely return to work and school? amy: he wrote this piece o of tm but seven things the administration is getting wrong about testing." the white house press secretary, what,continually saying, one is to test every hour of every day, this is ridiculous? then we are president trump, vice president pence are being treated, are being tested every day. what are these seven t things? >> i have been listening,, i think isis a lot of people have come into the white e house coronavirurus task f force bries . now i don't know how often they will occur, but i was listening to them f frequently. during every briefing, it was always mentioned that governors, doctors, hospitals are bringing up the issue of insufficient tests. then one after the other, we would hear the administration

give these justifications for why we don't need more tests. they will say, well, we don't have the p perfect test, we need better t testing. perfect cannot b be the enemy of the good. no test is perfect. we just need these tests to be out there. another justification is, we cannot get enough tests. well, that is what the government is for. we can't say we can't get it done. we should be doing this backward and saying, what do we need in order to reopen this country safely? if it requires 5 million, 20 million tests a day, the next question should be, what can we do as a country to get there? what is the national effort directed by the federal government that is needed in order press to get there? it cannot simply be one e reason or anotherer. amy: wouldn't this be invoking of the war production act? president trump just went to arizona, a honeywell plant making masks, he went unmaklsed despite there were plants thing you should judge signs saying

you should wear a mask and the music playing over him was "live and let die." if you can talk about what that would mean just gearing up plants to not only make masks, but make tests. >> yes most of that only masks and testsm for the entire gamut of what we're going to be needed in this pandemic. this is not a one-time effort. we're not looking at something that is done in the next month, we're looking at many months, many years of needing many more supplies. ofortunately, we have lots health-care workers without protection. it is a travesty that they go without things they need to protect themselves when we could see that shortage coming. we should also never leave our patients in a position where they might have to fight for a ventilator, where health-care workers have to decide who gets that last ventilator. we know that is in issss we could be facing. then there are issues later on down the line, too. we always tatalk about a vacccce

as a a solution. well, vaccines are not the solution. vaccinations are. what if we don't have enough syringes or viaials or rubberer stoppers? if we e cannot get enough testss and swabs, what isis going to de the line w when we see w what we need to prododuce millions, maye billions of doses of vaccine in large numbers? we should be anticipating these needs now, not waiting until it is too late. that is thee role the fefederal government, , you're right, the defense production act, but actually to act like a federal government should in coordinating these national efforts instead of l lettingng individual states and hospitals and doctors to fend for themselves. amy: yet the situauation, dr. wen,. the white house is ending its daily medical briefings. it is rejecting the cdc guidelines as the country is reopening -- a 17 page memo that says what states should do if they're going to reopen. and they have forbidden the top

doc on the coronavirus task force, dr. fauci, from testifying before the house. the cdc issue of nonot allowing thisis report to see the l lighf day. talk about the significance of this. >> i wish that we had bririefins every single day by our medical experts in t the federalal government who are some e of the best d doctors and scientists in the world. the rest of the world looks to these leaders to give sound public health guidance. i know i do as a clinician, and clinicians all around the country do. as a formemer ogle public health offificial, i also depended on e cdc to p put out guidance that would help me in my jurisdiction to assist restaurants and schools -- they're so much that is happening around covid-19, we need the expert body to synthesize all of the research that is out there to help us with practical guidance for how to do things safely to reduce risk for everyone. franankly, the american people

need thahat information as well. i wish there were these daily briefings done by these exexpert doctors andd scientiststs where they talk about the state of covid-19, what is happening arouound the country. what is the latest research. how can businesses stay safe. how can individuals reduce our risk. that is what i would be turning to the cdc for. pay ae ignore science, we price. unfortunately, in this case, the price is going to be lives. amy: and the issue of masks, the importance of them. i want to this moment - -- we wl just play the first seconds of a, president trump quite surprised by this test exchange during an oval office meeting with medical workers marking national nurses day. sophia adams told president trump she'd been forced to use a single n95 mask for weeks due to a shortage of personal protective equipment at her new orleans hospital. close the ppe has been sporadic, but it has been manageable. we do it we have to do.

we are nurses. we learn to adapt and do whatever the best thing we can do for our patients to get the job done and get the care provided. trumka sporadic for you, but not for a lot of other people. >> i agree, mr. president. amy: there is president trump saying he heard the opposite as scores of nurses and doctors have died duringng this pandemi. i also wanted to go to people wearing masks and children -- you have a toddler, 2.5-year-old, and you have your justrn and you participated on cnn with sesame street -- if you could talk about children. should children wear masks outside? what should parents tell their children about who they are protecting w when they weaear te masks? >> that is an imporortant point about why it is that we are wearing masks. the guidance around masks has changed is the beginning of the pandemic, which is nonormal. as you find out more informamatn

about aa new virusus, the guidae should be changiging. initially we w were saying no masks and now we're sayining wer a mask. the reason is wwear a masask not to protect ourselves from other people, but to protect others are carrierse we of covid-19 i just don't realize it. it is actually a courtesy to everyone else that we are wearining a mask and therefore f we all wear masks, we will all be protecting each other and we are in this together. amy: i'm going quickly because we have so much to cover with you. one is kawasakaki disease. whatat warare now learnining children are facing during this pandemic? >> children still are lesess likely to have severe illness than adults, but we are finding in both children andnd adults tt ththere are these unexpected symptoms. this is a respiratory disease, but alsoso seems to be causingng problems, inflammation of our blood vessels or clots in our blood vessels. that is what we're are seeing in children and also even a young healthy adults, seeing young

healthy adults be afflicted with strokes that might lead them debilitated for life because of covid-1919. this is a seriouss d disease tht we need t to be p protecting ourselelves against.t. i just want to say even as states are reopening, that does not mean you should loosen your own social distancing restrictions. stay home if you can because social distancing is a privilege that not everyone has. amy: if you could talk about giving birth in the time of the pandemic. we spoke too you just days before, maybe a week before you gave birth. it was astounding to see you on the networks. when was the last time you went on tv right before you gave birth? and then you let backk on, the day after? >> another day after, but t a fw days after. we are all d doing our partt to help provide information during this pandemic. amy: tell usus what it was likeo go to the hospital during this pandemic to have your infant.

>> very different from the last time that i gave birth in the same hospital 2.5 years ago. the guidelines were constantly changing, soso i was not even se i could bring my husband with me during labor and delivery. i could at the end, but it still just means this is a a time of uncertainty. health care continues to happen. i would' ice for e everyone, no matter if you're pregnant or if you have any other medical condition, to have a list of your medications, or medical conditions, your emergency contacts with you at all times because you may not be able to have your advocate with you if you need to go into the hospital. make plalans, but also know thee plans could be changing as this is a time off uncertainty. i think it is also a time we have to grant each other a lot of grace as we are all going through this period together. wen, yourly, dr. words of advice as the country opens, whatt youou think is the most i important thing for peoee to do. >> frankly, we are not reaeady r

a safe reopening.g. wewe have not met the white house's own criteria. none of the states reopening have met the white house's criteria. reduce your own risk, wash her hands, stay social distancing as much as you cacan -- if you have to go back to work, ask your employer about whether particles are to keep you safe. do your part to reduce the risk for others. do not plan gatherings. this is not the time to plan play dates and dinner parties. it is not safe to do that. reduce your risk and know that in keeping yourself safe, are also reducing the risk for others around you as well. stay away from people. stay safe and stay well. no we can all do our part. amy: thank you so much, dr. leana wen emergency physician , and public health professor at george wasashington university. former baltimore health commissioner. we will linknk to her piece. as we wrap up this show, i

wanted to send good wishes out to a woman who has changed everything. very happy meaningful landmark birthday to naomi klein. happy birthday, naomi. democracy now! is working with as few people onsite as

>> this s is al jazeera. ♪ you are watching the news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes, out of work. april figures show u.s. unemployment at a record high. stranded by coronavirus travel restrictions, but now heading home. india begins the repatriation of thousands of nationals. suspicions surround the deaths of three indonesian fishermen on chinese vessels. jakarta pushes for answers. and a white father