07/01/20 07/01/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we are now having 40,000 plus new cases a day. i would not be surprised if we go u up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. amy: the nation's top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci is warning the coronavirus pandemic in the united states could spiral out of control as the country reports 47,000 more

covid-19 cases, a new daily high. on tuesday, alaska, arizona, california, georgia, idaho, oklahoma, south carolina, and texas all announced new single day highs. we will speak to "the atlantic's" ed yong, who warned two years ago about the country's unpreparedness in an essay titled "is america ready for a global pandemic?" but first, we go to jamaal bowman, the former middle school principal who will be heading to congress if his commanding lead remains over 16-term congressman eliot engel. >> eliot engel, and i will say his name once, used to say he was the thorn in the side of donald trump. but you know what donald trump is more afraid of than anything else? a blacack man with power. amy: all that and more, coming up.. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.o, ththe quaranante report. i'm amy goodman.n.

the e united states is experiencing thehe world's worst outbreakak of covid19, which uld soonon spiral out control and less urgent steps are taken to isolate e confmed cases and conduct contact tracing. that was the stark warngng of top u.s. iecectioudiseseas expe dr. antnyny fau in testimony to a senate committeee tuesday. >> when you have an outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country they're doing well, they are vulnerable. i made that point very clearly last week at a press conference. we can't just focus on those areas that are having the surge. it puts the entire country at risk. we are now having 40,000 plus new cases a day. i would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. .dr. fauci's warnings

the u.s. has 4% of the worlds population but has rececorded me than one quarter of worldwide coronavirus cases and deaths. in california, governor gavin newsom is set to announce new rollbacks of reopenings after ra record rise in new cases and hospitalizations. in houston, hospitals have begun transferring covid patients to other parts of texas as houston has become a newew epicenter of the pandemicic. this is drdr. peter hotez, deanf ththe baylor college of f medic. >> it is very alarmrming the rae of acceleration is extreme. we are seeing daily dramatic increase, almost a v vertical slope. some of the models saying we may be at 4000 cases a day in eararly, middle july. he could be catastrophic for the city. amy: a new report finds s s.

health workers filed m more than 414100 complaints about a lack f personal protective equipment during the pandemic, even as hundreds died of covid-19. the report from kaiser health news and the guardian found officials with the occupational safety and health administration rapidly closed many complaints without issuing g citations. researchers found just a single instance when osha issued a fine -- a $3900 penalty for a georgia nursing home that failed to report worker hospitalizations onon time. brazil's official coronavirus death toll is set to pass 60,000 today, second only to the united states. the world health orgrganization warns the pandemic is worst in the americas, where the number of covid-19 deaths are projected to nearly triple to 627,000 by october 1. thisis is carissa etienne, the who's regional dirirector for te americas. c countries s seeing

that do not embrace preventivive measures or relax restrictions too soon can be flooded with new cases. amy: voters went to the polls tuesday in colorado, utah, and oklahoma. in colorado's senate democratic primary, former governor and presidential candidate john hickenlooper defeated andrew romanoff, colorado's former house speaker. hickenlooper won almost 60% of the vote and will now face republican senator cory gardner in november. colorado saw a major upset in one of its republican congressional primaries. gun rights activist lauren boebert defeated five-time republican congressmember scott tipton, who had been endorsed by president trump. boebert owns a restaurant called shooters grill in rifle, colorado, where she encourages her staff to openly carry their guns while working. in utah, the republican primary for governor remains too close to call. spencer cox has a narrow lead over former governor jon huntsman. and in oklahoma voters narrowly approved a measure to extend

medicaid to 200,000 low-income adults, making oklahoma the fifth state to approve such a ballot measure. in kentucky, former marine fighter pilot amy mcgrath has been declared the winner over progressive state representative charles booker in last week's closely watched democratic senate primary. mcgrath received 45.4% of the vote. booker received 42.6%. mcgrath outspent booker by a margin of nearly 10 to 1. booker's popularity soared in recent weeks as he took part in black lives matter protests. he spoke against police violence. mcgrath will now face senate majority leader mitctch mcconnnl in november. in sououth dakotota, the presidt of the oglalala sioux tribe hahs orderered president trump to cancel a planned visit to mount rushshmore on july 3 for an independence day celelebration. julian bear runnnner told thee guardian -- "the lands on which that mountain is carved and the lands he's about to visit belong to

the great sioux nation under a treaty signened in 185851 and te fort l laramie treaty of 1868 ad i have to tetell him he doesn't have permimission from its original sovereign owners to enter the territorory at this time." meanwhile, south dakotaa republican governor kristi noem said tuesday the thousands of people attending trump's mount rushmore event will not be required to wear a mask or to remain six feeeet apart. >> we will be giving out free fast masks if they choose to wear one, but we won't be social distancing. amy: governor noem's comment came even as a growing number of republican officials called on americans to wear masks in public. this is tennessee republican senator lamar alexander speaking on tuesday. >> unforortunately, , this simie lifefe-saving practicece has bee part of ththe polititical debate that says this, if you are for trump, you don't wear a mask. if you're against trump, you u .

that i is why am suggesteded ife president t occasionally wear ra mask. amamy: a new york judge has ordered a preliminary injunction against the publication of a a tell-all book by donald trump's niece. in a statement, a lawyer for mary trump called the injunction a first amendment violation and prior restraint on core political speech. the book titled "too much and never enough: how my family created the world's most dangerous man," reportedly describes "a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse" in the trump famimily. in wilmington, delaware, democratic presidential candidate joe biden tuesday slammed president trump's disastrous response to the pandemic, calling him a "wartime president" who's s surrendered o the coronavirus. >> the crisis is real and it is surging, mr. president. yourur promises and predictions

and wishful thinking pulled out of thin air are not only doing the country no good, it makes them lose even more faith in their government. america knows this crisis isn't behind us, even if you don't. amy: biden called on everyone to wear a m mask to slow community spread of the coronavirus. he fendeded off a reporter''s question about the state of his mental health. >> have you been tested for some degree of cognitive decline? beenhave constantly tetested. lolook, all you have to do is watch me and i can hardldly wait to compare my cognitive capability to that cognitive capability of thee man i am running g against. thank yoyou so much. amy: here in new york on t the city councncil tuesday approvedn 88 billilion-dollar austerity bubudget that purports t to cut1 billion from the new york police departmement but critics say the move fails to meet a core demand

of protesters who are demanding a reinvestment of nypd funds in social programs. in a statement, new york congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez wrote -- "defunding police means defunding police. it does not mean budget tricks or funny math. it does not mean moving school police officers from the nypd budget to the department of education's budget so that the exact same police remain in schools." early this morning, dozens of police officers in riot cure surrounded a peaceful encampment of protesters who remained camped outside the hall for over a week. this is one of the protesters. at safeow when we look communities, they don't have some magic key or magic code for safety. what they have our resources. best public schools in the country most of they don't have police roaming around their neighborhoods. amy: in north carolina, thee alamance county sheriff's office

mobilized an all around-the-clock police presence at a confederate monument in the city of graham, as city officials say they've indefinitely suspended permits for demonstrations and will order the arrest of anyone who engages in protest. the intercept reports police have aggressively questioned people they think might be protesters, telling them they're not allowed to carry signs. meanwhile, armed neo-confederate supporters have repeatedly gathered near the monument. in mississippi, governor tate reeves has signed a bill ordering the removal of the confederate battle emblem from the mississippi state flag. at a signing ceremony, governor reeves said he will continue to oppose the removal off confederate monuments. >> reject the mobs tearing down statues of our history, north and south, union and confederate, founding fathers and veterans. i reject the chaos and and i am proud it

has not happened in our state. i also understand the need to commit the 1894 flag to history and find a banner that is a better emblem for all mississippi. amy: under mississippi's newly signed law, a design for a new flag must contain the motto "in god we trust." the supreme court has issusued a major ruling backing the right of states to fund private religious education using taxpayer dollars. the 5-4 ruling came in a case focused on a tax credit program in montana that helped students attend religious schools. education secretary betsy devos hailed the ruling as a turning point in the history of american education. the american civil liberties union said the ruling is an attack on the very foundations of the separation n of church ad state. in immigration n news, a federal judge in washington, d.c., has struck down a trump administration asylum restriction that banned most asylum seekers from central

america, the caribbean, and africa from applying for refugue at the u.s.s.-mexico border -- instead forcining them to first seseek asylum in countries they pass through on their way to the u.s., particularly, mexico or guatemala. the ruling tuesday marked a legal victorory for refugee advovocates who challenged the near-total ban on asylum. in arizona, a letter signed by over 100 immigrant prisoners held at the la palma correctional cenenter near phoex details inhumane conditions at the immigration and customs enforcement jail and a negligent response to the coronavirus outbreak. prisoners say they're being coerced into cleaning the jail without protective gear, under the ththreat of solitary confinement. a similaleletterraftftedy immigrant prisoners held at the nearby eloy detention center says -- "we are certain that staff are the ones getting everyone else sick. days ago a sergeant was a new victim of covid-19. he collapsed on the job here in eloy." over 220 prisoners at eloy have test p posite fofor vid-1919, one ofhehe larst o outeaks of any e e jailn ththe untry. in more immigration news, three

asylum seekers at a border encampment in the border town of matamoros, mexico have tested positive for covid-19. for months, advocates and public health experts have warned of a possible catastrophic outbreak in the crowded encampments housing thousands of asylum seekers stuck in northern mexico. a nenew trade deal meant t to replace the 1994 american free trade agreement goes into effect today. among its provisions, the u.s.-mexico-canada agreement includes additional labor protections aimed at making it easier for mexican workers to unionize.. this comes after prominent mexican labor lawyer susana prieto terrazas was arrested in the northern border town of matamoros over accusations of inciting riots for her ongoing supppport of striking maquiladoa workers. this is a spokesperson and attorney for the prieto family. >> 15,000 workers haveve expresd their will to join us. at the moment, their defenseless

. it is a warning to the workers. not only that, the more than 3800 cases were prieto is the have a limimit in the cleanser left unprotected. amy: cnn reports the white house was provided with intelligence in e early 2019 inindicating r n actors were ofoffering bountieso killll u.s. soldiers in afghanistan. cnn cited an unnamed source, who said the warning over russia bounties was also included in the president's daily briefing sometime in the spring of this year. president trump says he was never briefed on the claim because u.s. intelligence agencies did n not find this ino credible. "the wall street journal" is reporting the national security agency has strongly dissented from the assessment of other intelligence agencies that russia has paid bounties. israeli prime minister benjami netanyahu is vowing to proceed with his plan to annex occupied west bank territory in the coming days despitite internationanal condemnation and

grgrowing opposition within israel. netanyahu had originallylylanned toto begin the annexexatiototod, july 1, , but the country's alternate prime minister, benny gantz, is now calling for a delay in part due to the coronavirus outbreak. meanwhile, in washington, senator bernie sanders has signed on toto a letter drafafty representative alexandriaa ocasio-cortez calling for cuts to u.s. military aid to israel if the annexation plan proceeds. carrie lam marked the 23rd anniversary of the formamal handover of the former british colony to china with a flag-raising ceremony. meanwhile, officials banned an annual pro-democracy march for the first time, arresting dozens of unauthorized protesters under a controversial new security law giving china sweeping powers over hong kong. the number arrrrested is estimad near 200. back in the united states, several women who accused convicted serial rapist and former hollywood mogul harvey weinstein of sexual assault and harassment have been awarded $19

million in restitution payments as part of two class-action lawsuits. the women were also released from non-disclosure agreements. weinstein is currently serving a 23-year sentence after being convicted of rape in february. he still faces criminal charges in los angeles. and the author rudolfo anaya has died at the age of 82 in new mexico. he was known as the godfather of chicano literature in part for his landmark 1972 novel "bless me, ultima." despite being one of the most influential chicano novels, the book has been repeatedly banned by school districts in arizona and elsewhere. anaya once asked, "what is it about literature that makes people fearful?" in 2015, president obama awarded rudolfo anaya the national humanities medal. and those are some of the heheadlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report.

when we cocome back, we will be joined b by jamaalal bowman, the former bronx middle school principal who will be heading to congress if his commamanding primary lead remains over the 16 term congressmembeber eliot eng. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is dememocracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i am amy goodman in new w york city with my cohost jujuan gogonzalez 20 from his h home iw jersey. juan: welcome to all of our listeneners and viewewers from around the country and around the world. amy: as voters went to the polls tuesday in colorado, utah, and oklahoma, the results from last tuesday's primary race in kentucky came in, and former

marine fighter pilot amy mcgrath has been declared the winner over progressive state representative charles booker. mcgrath outspent booker by a margin of nearly 10 to 1. booker's popularity soared in recent weeks as he took part in black lives matter protesters and campaigned with the slogan "from the hood to the holler." he took a brief lead in votes last week, but mcgrath's campaign pulled ahead tuesday after the final mail-in ballots were counted. this comes amid a surge of victories for progressive candidates of color in congressional primaries, including here in new york where mondaire jones and ritchie torres are poised to become the first two openly gay black men in congress, replacing lawmakers who are retiring after decades in washington. and in what would be a major upset, jamaal bowman has claimed victory over new york representative eliot engel, the foreign affairs committee chair who has served in congress for more than 30 years. bowman is currently leading by 25 percentage points, but absentee ballots are still being

counted. bowman ran on a green new deal, medicare for all platform and recently joined protests demanding an end to racism and police brutality. he is a former bronx middle school principal who was endorsed by senators elizabeth warren and bernie sanders, representative alexandria ocasio-cortez and the new york times. in a minute, he'll join us but first, this is part of his address to supporters last tuesday night. >> the impact of poverty on our children and dealing with issues of institutional racism and sexism and classism and xenophobia and everything that keeps the majority of us oppressed is what we designed this campaign to fight against. so tonight as we celebrate, we don't just celebrate me as an individual, we celebrate this movement movement designed to , a push back against a system that's literally killing us. it's killing black and brown bodies disproportionately, but

it's killing all of us. eliot engel -- and i'll say his name once -- used to say that he was a thorn in the side of donald trump. but you know what donald trump is more afraid of than anything else? a black man with power. that is what donald trump is afraidid of. amy: that is jamaal bowman, addressing supporters on election night. many have compared bowman's apparent victory to alexandria ocasio-cortez's stunning defeat of democrat joe crowley two years ago. progressive political strategist karthik ganapathy said -- "a middle school principal with no prior political experience defeating a 20-year incumbent -- that is an aoc-level upset." jamaal bowman joins us now from his home in the yonkers. welcome back to democracy now! thank you so much for being with us. to respondd continue as you did on prprimary night,

this, well, the final results are not in but it looks like you have such a major lead right now. what do you think it it? >> we connnnted with the peoplee vevery early on in this campaig. all people, , not just a small segment of t the district. we went to o co-op city, we went to gun help p projects. we cononnected with those who hd and mostly disenfranchisised ignored by cumbersome e and p pe in our pololical system for decades. we wanted to connect with them first. we did not just target them who consistently vote inin primarie, we t targeted everyone.. those who are registered democrats who havave become disengaged from the system. we wanted d to let them know tht their voices matattered, that ty were important, , and we needed ththeir brillianance and experie to help us craft the policy that we are going to bebe fighting fr in washington. we had a an amazing teamam and a meetining field progrgram to o s get ththat time.

i want to delve intnto how your experience as a public school teacher and a assistant viewipal helped frame your of progressive politics when itt comes to education. we just heard about the supreme decision that is goioing to make it easier for religious schools to be able to access scholarships through tax credits , and we know how the education secretary betsy devos wants to increasingly provide federal ,ssistance to private education and in their bronx, you have to deal with growing charter school chains, which are semi private like success academy and others. can you talk about this whole issue ofofducation,, privatization, and how this s hs shaped your view? >> absolutely.

i had a front row seat to the attatack on pupublic schoolslsak on teachers unions, and the privatization of our schools. and the taking resources from public schools and investments in charter schools. i had a front receipt to that throughout my 20 year career,, particularly my y 10 years as a middddle s school principal.l. outside of servrving as a principal, i a also worork on education organizing, witith orgaganitionons like aqe, and others, , pushing back against charter schools, conference natitional moratorium on c crter schools and pushing them back against the overuse of standadardized testing -- becaue it has been used come as you know, as a weapon to call schools and teachers failing so they can ultimately be closed and reopened a as a for-profit charter entity. it is something i've been fighting for and against throughohout my career,, particularly over the last eight years. at that privatization is not just happening in public schools.

it is happening in housing and health care, happening when you impact u utilities and the of fossil fuels on our environment and how we continue to support fossil fuels and not move toward clean, renewable energy. so the corporatization, the privatization, and the wealthy elite are attacking all of our public institutions. it is our time, our job to fight against that. juan: you have also been on record as supporting reconstruction platform of susupporting of ththe funding oe police. what is your reaction to the latest results in city councilil wherere they are -- they're supposedly a $1 billion reduction in the police budget that mayor de blasio and counselor supported but critics are saying thihis is basically playing with numbers, s shifting servicices to other agencies b t nonot really a affecting t the f the popolice department except r the one academemy class that wil not be -- not take place this

summmmer? >> y yes, i agree w with the critics. wewe need a hiringng freeze wite nypd. we need to truly cut $1 billion in nypd spending, not just shifting that money to the department of education, for example, to maintain school safety agency will act in the same capacity and conduct the same functions that they did prior to the so-called cut. this requires leadership and this requires a reimagining of public safety. and that restructuring of the way our schools and our nypd currently conduct themselves. we need investment, true investment in school counselors, psychologists, social workers, additional teachers -- especially now as we respond or come back from covid-19. the learning gap that was there before is growing. if we don't invest in more teachers and infrarastructure to

mamake sure we can lower class size and fococus on one-on-one instruction and mental health supports, our kids will continue to suffer. ing and a true defund investment in public health. amy: last month, eliot engel was microphone asking bronx boborough president ruben diaz, jr. if he could speak at a rally after a night of protestss against police vioiolence. he then told diaiaz that "if i didn't have a primary i wouldldt cacare." listen closely. >> [indiscernible] too many folks. >> [indiscernible] >> said that again? >> if i didn't have a primamary cocome i wouldn't care. everybody has a primama. amy: i want to turn to eliot engel reaeaing to aococ's endodorsement of your campaigign a candidate forum. >> this is not a dictatorship.

ththis is a democracy. we should not have one person hi, , think she canan an with whoeoever is elected to congres. that is not what democracy is about. amy: jamaal bowman, you got endorsed by aoc, by senator , and eliot warren engel, the former chair of the foreign affairs committee, was endorsed by nancy pelosi as well as hillary clinton. if you can delineate starting with the green new deal, your differences and how you think you'll challenge even the democratic leadedership in congress -- not just the republicans, the direction you think they need to be going that is different right now? takake anyone, i don't corporate e pack mononey. we a are completetely supportedy grasassroots organizations and individuduals w who support our campmpaign financially, so we te

no corporate pac money at all. we are accountable to the people, notot operations. as an two, my background educator has prepared me and trained me to first and foremost serve the peoplele in my disisi. so whihile i will also be inn wawashington fighting g for the right policy and resources and pushing a racial justice agenda, i will be providining exemplalay constituentt services come i is something that congressman engel was criticizeded throughout hiss campaign. the third d piece, i will reiterate what i said before, racial justice and institutional raracism is someththing we haveo fightt directly,y,rgently, a and something that lives within everery american i institution. so part ofof our reconstruction agenda involves putting together a truth and reconciliation committee to look at the history of racism and slavery and its impact on us today. we see it in police brutality

and mass incarceration, but it is also in housing and education and health outcomes as we have seen from the covid-19 epidemic. that is something that congressman engel had not done. he had not been a leader on any of those issues throughout his time in congress, and that is why the people have resounded voted us resoundedly in in this race.e. juan: jamaal bowman come in terms of housing, given in support of t the cancel the rent movement as a result of the economic dislocation the country is going through from the covid-19 pandemic. critics s say that is not realistic, that landlords also have bills and especially small landlords, but yet there are over 800,000 rent-stabilized tenants in new york city, many of them suffering because they cannnnot pay the rent. talk a about the cancel rent movement. >> if people don't have jobs and

they can't pay their rent, how are wewe going to holdld them accountable by taking them to eveviction? in termsms of the e small lalan, we support a m moratorium on mortgageges regegarding small landlords because they y are sml and they do have their struggles. but we're talking about larger realistic corporations and the real estate lobby that has been dictating how we do housing policy in new york state for decades. we need a cancellation of rent. we need a cancellation of small mortgages. we need a cancellation of utilities. we need to end evictions, a blockade on evictions. people,to invest in the the working-class people of our city, state, country. it was very easy for us to write trillions of dollars for wall street, very easy press to bailout the airline industry and the cruise industry.

we need to bailout the working-class people of this country, and that is what the cancellation of rent is all about. let's focus on the people,e, ininvest in the people. amy: jamaal bowman, do you think governor, did not go far enough? he signed this measure yesterday to prevent tenants from being evicted for nonpayment of rent during this period of the coronanavirus. of c course, they will havave ty doubtful rent soon. -- they will have to pay that full r rent soon. >> it needs to be canceled. as we deal with his coronavirus and peopople e endure what i is happening t their lives, it needs to be canceled outright, not a moratorium m because they will b be held accountablele for that on the backend, which is something we are against. amy: i wanant to ask about a challenge you got about a week byore the primary election rabbi avi weiss in your district when he wrote an open letter in the riverdale press cocondemning what he called your anti-israel views. you replied to him in your own "open letter." i want to read part of it. you wrote --

"the uprising across the country against police violence also makes me empathize with the everyday experience and fear that comes with living under occupation. just as the police force is an intimidating force in so many black communities, i can connect to what it feels like for palestinians to feel the presence of the military in their daily lives in the west bank. i can also understand the crushing poverty and deprivation in the gaza strip. i believe palestinians have the same rights to freedom and dignity as my jewish brothers and sisters. i will fight for their liberation just as hard as i will fight for yours." i was wonderining if you could expand on that and then comment on the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu's plans, to annex the occupied with bank, parts of the occupied west bank. he has put it off for today. in the letter that alexandria ocasioio-cortez wrotote that was supported by senator sasanders d others sayining that if he moves forward, the u.s. shouould cut military aid to israel.

manirirst of all, i'm a black in america. i know what it feels like t to feel inferior r because of the color of your s skin or bececauf who you are and to feel like you're constantly under attack because of your racee. i understand the history of this country completely and i know it my ancestors have gone throuough inin this country. in that understanding, i can connect with palestinian suffering, notot just in israel have in papalestine, but acrcros the world, and i can connect with jewish suffering in their safety and security and their history. what i've talked about from the beginning of this campaign is our trauma and common huhumanit. that is something -- that is what i am -- that is how i'm trying to bridge the gaps and open doors to new understanding and new conversation amongst the black community, jewish community, palestinian community, and all communities -- anyone who is felt oppressed

in this country or throughout the world. in terms of the annexation, it is something we have been critical of throughout our campaigngn. the annexation, the occupation, detaining of palestinian children. palestinian people have a right to self-determination, to safety and securityty, a and to their n country -- which is why we support the two state solution. the annexation undermines is getting to a two state solution, which is why we have been critical of it throughout o our campaign. juan: jamaal bowman, i would like to ask about the presidenential race. you obvioiously have e been very critical of presidident trump pd now he will likely be facing joe biden as the democratic candidate for president. your sense because joe biden is not part of the wing of the democratic party that you belong to, do you support vice president biden and what are your concerns about how this race will work out over the next months? >> i d dsupport vivice president

biden. i'm going t to do everything iny power to helelp him get elected. and work witith him and d hold m accountable for ththe progressie vavalues that i repreresent as i stand for and as the people of ththis district and rather can treat stand d for. country stand for. this is time for a bobold leadership a and bold vision for medicare for all, a green new dealal, and using those policy platforms to get people back to work and d deal with issues of environmnment injujustice andd institututional racism in all is forms. i'm going to fight for joe biden to win because we have t to deft donald trump. i look forward to working with him to make sure ththat we move the country inin a direction tht everyone is demananng right n n. amy:y: jamaal bowman,n, when you expect the f final results t toe inin for your race? >> we have heard next wednesday or thursday. hopefulllly we w will get the results that. amy: i want to thank you for being with us, jamaal bowman claimed victory last weeeek in the democratic party's nomination foror the 16h

congressional diststrict in westchesteter county and the brx over 16-term congressmember eliot engegel. eliot engel was the house of the house affairs committee. jamaal bowman has been endorsed by senators elizabeth warren and bernie sanders, , representative alexandria ocasio-cortez, and "the new york times." former b bronx middle schohool principal.l. when we come back, the man who prededicted the panandemic two s ago, ed yong. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this s is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i i am amy goodman with juan gonzalez. the united states's expense in the world's worst outbreak of covivid-19. tuesdaday marked the highest reported in the cocountry in a single day since

the pandemic began with 47,000 new cases reported. eight states -- california, reporteddexas, also record daiaily higighs as the vs sprereads rapidly across the soh and wewest. the number of u.s. cases have reportedly risen by y 80% in the papast two weeks. on tuesday, dr. anthony fauci, warned the u.s. could spiral out of control and less urgent steps are taken. >> when you have any outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country they are doing well, they are vulnerable. i made that point where he clearly last week that a press conference. we can't just focus on those areas that are having the surge. it puts the entire country at risk. we are now having 40 plus thousand new cases a day, and would not be surprised if we go

up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. amy: a number of states are reversing opening measures as they face astronomical rises in cases. california governor gavin newsom said he'll soon announce new rollbacks of recent reopenings after a record increase in new cases and hospitalizations. on monday, arizona governor doug ducey reversed the state's reopening and ordered the closure of bars, nightclubs, gyms, movie theaters and water parks. governor ducey had previously banned local officials from implementing their own covid restrictions more stringent than the state. in texas, governor greg abbott ordered bars to close last week, and hospitals have begun houston transferring covid patients to medical centers in houstonrts of texas as becos a new tspot. cresp castro tweeted --

it is not just the u.s.. the virus is spreading faster around the world, too. as thelolobal death totoll passd half a a million earlier t this weekwoworld althth oanizatio head tedros adhanom ghebreyesus warned "the worsrst is yet too come." over.all want this to be we all want this - -- to get on with our lives. is, this is reality .ot even close to being over although many countries have ,ade some progress, g globally the pandemic is actually speeding up. amy: well, for more, we go to washington, d.c., where we're joined by ed yong, a science writer at "the atlantic" who has been covering the pandemic extensively since march. his latest pieces are "covid-19 can last for several months" and

"america's patchwork pandemic is fraying even further." two years ago he warned the country's unpreparedness in an essay "is america ready for a global pandemic?" let's begin with these astounding numbers. the u.s. has a little more than 4% of the worlds population but more than a quarter of the world deaths and reported coronavirus cases. how is this possible? what is the u.s. doing wrong? >> it is truly shohocking and disgraceful. a cocountry withth the resourcrs that w we have should not be in this state. i think above all else, the single factor that is leading to this is the lack of federal coordination andnd leadership. the fact that there is no unifying hand coming from the white house means that the

country is forced by this pandemic is a bunch of disconnected states. the response has therefore been weaker than the s sum o of its parts. that is why we are in the situation where entirely predictable pattnsns are ememerng. knew w at if states reopened to ely in t south a west and all ound the country thout puing in t measure neceary to contata and suppss theirus, testing, ntact tring,g, a so on, at would see new surges in cases. and that is exactly what w are seng now. the trtredy currently unlding intsouth and w wes idoubly trag becauset t was tirerely predictable and experts have warned about it. juanan: i want to ask you, what about the reality that whether it is a liberal state or california o or more c conservae states like texas and florida

were the leaders were skeptical and tried to reopen verery quicy -- calififornia was s the firsto close -- cap people stay at home, anand yet it is seeing a huge surge. to what dedegree is this a resut of direct policies of the states or is it just the fatigue of a lot of americans were justst not accustomed to just staying at home and maintaining social distance for such a long period of time? clubs you can't separate any off these things. the reason why we w went into a period of social distancing under the first place was because the u.u.s. wasted time n the early parts ofof the year wn it had w warnings and did not gt ready to capture the virus a ast arrived within our borders. the thing g spread in cases arising in everyone goes into panic mode. and justifiably, lockdown to reduce t transmission. but that comes with innate implicit deal, a bargain on the

part of the people that we will show this financial and emotional and mental it in order that the government can use the hospitals,re up our to improve the public health infrastructure, to just get ready. and to do that effectively, can't the site of the state, as the trump white house is done, "do your own thing." you need the federal government with deep pockets and extensive power to say, "we are operating on this consistent framework so that you must -- the states may do something different according to the needs of your population, but we're going to act as one." and that was not done. and that means, unfortunately coununtry the end of spriring, regardless of whetether you aree democratic or republican state, red or blue, leaders were in this weird position where a lot of them had to reopen because people were getting toward, because people were stretching the limits of their mental and financial patience.

because we did not use that time welcome the time that all of us fought with the sacrifice, we're in the situation where the virus was never brought to heal and is now raging out of control again. we talked a lot about second wave. we never even us eight the first one. juan: i also want to ask about the possible other ways -- one of my concerns has been increasingly, not jujust in the u.s. but acrcross the world coce as the w world has become more urbanized, as s more and more people are crorowded into megacities and has neoliberaral policieses have resultlted in ls and less investment in public health infrastructure, are we facing the potential for more pandemics in the future? we're hearing now, foror instan, rereports a a new strain of h hs beginning to spread in the countryside ofof china, swine f.

extendncern, does it beyond the coronavirus to potential otheher pandemics on e horizon? >> absolutely. this is -- in many y ways, thiss by far not the worst pandemic we could be saying. this virus is deadly and spreads well, but it does not spread as well as measles. it is not as deadly as other coronavirus. this could be worse. we are already flunking this quite basic test in really spectacular fashion. say, urbanizizion, crowded citities are an issue, t other cocountries that have successfully contain the viruslike hong kong and south korea, other states and nations also have big crowded cities. globalized,are in a urbanized world should be an excuse for americans to look past his feelings during this crisis. on top of those things that a

lot of other country share, we add this strange health care system that ties help to unemployment. we add a long legacy of racial discrimination, which means now black and brown and indigenous people are suffering disproportionately. they are getting infected and dying from coronavirus far more than other p people. we add a specific disinvestment in public health that is s very mumuch an amererican p phenoment wewe have become complacent. wewe have reduced the money that goes into the people -- you sto us fm gettinsick ithe rst plac in favor t treatg peopleho a arelready sk.k. the combined burden of all o these choices left to fester and rot for decades is coming to fruition now. now we are seeing the impact of all of these things that people have talked aboutut and could he been prevented and are making

the pandemic so much worse. amy: do you think if we had medicare for all, a national healthcare system, that it would have dealt w with the system muh better and working against thihs patchwork approach this country, ed? >> yes. i think it is very clear that is the case. it is not going to bebe a panac, the single thing that fixes everythingng. ththe problem with the pandemics u.s. is founded on multiple different fronts. hehealth care access is certainy one of them. with the global health security index that rank for nations according to their preparedness, the u.s. ranked number 1 -- which now in a hindsight seems a bit dubious. it even then, in terms of health ofe access, ranked 175th out 195 countries, one of t the wort in the world. do i thinknk universal health ce would emit a difference? absolutely. as with other social policies -- paid sick leave, housing pay,

things that would allow people, the agency to take their health and their own hits and stop themselves from getting infected in a way we know poor and disadvantaged people currently are. amy: on tuesday, democratic presidential candidate joe biden blasted trump's "historic president trump's "historic mismanagement" of the coronavirus pandemic. he was speaking in wilmington, delawaware. he comompared his response with trump's. >> and april, released a plan to secure the supply chain for personal protective equipment, search nationwide testing through a pandemic testing board, and launch the nationwide health core to focus on contact tracing. trump suggestions? americans should inject disinfectants into their bodies. amy: that is joe biden yesterday. in south dakota, the president of the tribe has ordered

president trump to cancel his for his in up in his s day celebration. the south dakota republican governor, close ally of trump, said tuesday the thousands of people attending trump's mount rushmore event will l not be requirired to wear a mask or remain six feet apart. this is what she said. >> we will be giving out free face masks they y choose to wear one, but we won't be social distancing. amy: can you talk about this? people say if we''re not going o stand six feet apart, we should be looking at six feet under. others are saying here is president trump who cares more about t dead confederates than e does living americans. last seen golfing this weekend at his private club. can you talk about trump in particular, what joe biden is

proposing? you have called the catastrophe at the white house, you have referred to it in all sorts of ways. what trump has done? toi am running out of ways describe it, honestly. i think to have a rally at this essentially assuage your own narcissism at the cost of lives of americans and your own supporters seems utterly baffling. it seems counterproductive. but just a massive moral failure. a president should be providing clear, consistent evidence. he should be wearing a mask in public. he should be setting an example for the rest of the nation. pandemics are e already going to be divisive times. so if people are scrambling for information, looking at each other with suspicion -- we need

populationto unify a that threatens to be fragmented. but trump is doing what trump has always done in moments of genuine crisis and panic, he is stoking a culture war, testing people against each other, and thinking about himself and his career above all else. we are seeing the effecects of that plalay out across the coununtry. the people whoho turn out to his rally are putting themselelves t danger. and for what? ussis whole pandemic has shown that having someone at the top who is ill-suited for the job and unable to carry out the duties of that office is a huge problem in a crisis like this. if joe biden were be -- were to be elected, all of the problems far,described in this so

racism, health care inequality come if you have a candidate who is running on the platform of going back to the good old days, the good old days were what led to this. we need progressive, radical reform to get the u.s. into a situation where it can more effectively fight the pandemic of the future that we absolutely will happen. can we possibly do that with trump in the white house? i don't think we can. but it is a challllenge for anyy person occupying that office to do with in the future. , help usyong understand more about what you learned about how the disease spreads. we know there are some people who get covid-19 and don't infect other people. there are those who are super spreaders. and there are more increasing reports that some people suffer flu for monthths and months and there is the potential for brain damage in some people. could you talk about what you have learned? >> so one of the things that

makes this virus so challenging is it can spread from one person to another before showing any symptoms. this bread allows it to move stealthily without being easily detected. it should not be a dealbreaker, testing should be able to contain it. an thing that i thinink is understated problem, under reported is the issue of people getting "mild cases" who don't need to go to the hospital, don't need ventilators. but a number are suffering from severe symptoms for months. people who had been bedridden incapacitated, dealing with the rolling,g, debilitatingg symptos for 2, 3, 4, five months now. the so-called long-haulers who have written about our being dismissed by a lot of medical professionals. they are being dismissed by their frieiends and familily bee we have the idea of covid as

disease goesy mild away after two weeks. ththat is very much a caricatur. it happens in some caseses. universrsalt the picture of the disesease by a ay means. and we need to start understanding what is happening to folks who are staying at home , whose lives have been completely uprooted, who aren't going to hospital, and who are suffering from covid-19 for a long period of time. medium ande a wave a long-term disability as a result of this. it is s not just looking at deah were confirmed cases. we need to see the people who are dropping to the crackeds in the system of the narrative we're telling about these disease. amy: and a vaccine, if it were to be developed, how everyone gets it? > look, we all one of vaccin. thatat is the end gamame. if you look at how the pandemic

is playing out and our response to it, i can preretty safely predict a lot of people wilill e confused, misinformed, will refuse to get a vaccine. i can tell you the vaccine will be distributed inequitably. so the people who most need it right now, people in nursing homes, people in the black, brown, indigenous communitiess will be the last to get it. we need to fix a lot of these ununderlying issues that have affected america's culture and health system for a long period of time so that by the time we get appropriate mededical countermeasures,s, they can b be distributed fairly, equitably, and efficiently. amy: we have to leave it there. ed yong, thank you for being with us, science writer at "the atlantic." correction, trump did not go to bedminster in new jersey, he went to trump national in potomac falls, virginia, as the pandemic rages. that ends today's show. a huge thanks to all of our team

working at home as well as working here in the studio to make sure democracy now! continues. remember, show that you care by wearing a mask. protect all.l.