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Quest Means Business
Former Top Trump Adviser Arrested On Fraud Charges; American Initial Jobless Claims Rocket Above One Million Again; Kremlin Critic Navalny Hospitalized After Suspected Poisoning; UK Adds Portugal to Travel Corridor List, Removes Three Others; University of Miami Kicks off Fall Semester, In-Person and Online; Uber and Lyft Given Temporary Stay on Court Order; Battling "Work From Home" Burnout; Stay-At-Home Sports Fans Drive Online Betting Growth. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 20, 2020 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:24]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right. Stocks are pretty much flat, but in positive territory. Tech stocks are headed for another record
high despite the spike in initial jobless claims. Those are the market and these are the stories behind them.
Steve Bannon is arrested and charged with multiple counts of wire fraud.
The U.S. jobless claims are headed in the wrong direction, back above one million.
And Joe Biden prepares to make his pitch to the American people on the last night of the Democratic Convention.
Coming to you live from New York, it is Thursday, August 20th. I'm Zain Asher and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
A former chief adviser to Donald Trump will soon make his first court appearance after being arrested on fraud charges. Steve Bannon and three
others are accused of cheating donors who contributed to a crowdfunding campaign that promised to use all of the funds to finance a U.S. border
wall with Mexico. Prosecutors say they lined their own pockets instead.
Here's how President Trump reacted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know nothing about the project other than I didn't like when I read about it, I didn't like it. I
said this is for government. This isn't for private people. And it sounded to me like showboating. And I think I let my opinion be strongly stated at
the time, I didn't like it. It was showboating and maybe looking for funds.
But you will have to see what happens. I think it is a very sad thing for Mr. Bannon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Last year, one Board member of the crowdfunding campaign told "The New York Times" that Mr. Trump not only knew about the project, but said it
had his blessing.
Let's bring in Kara Scannell. So, Kara, much did the President actually know? What do we know for sure here?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Well, there is no allegation in the indictment today of the President having any knowledge or involvement in
this alleged scheme.
In fact today, Steve Bannon and three others were charged with defrauding investors with two counts, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud,
one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
But the men are accused of raising money through this online fundraising site called, We Build the Wall. They have raised $25 million.
Now, prosecutors said that they told investors that they would use the money, all of the money for construction, but in fact, according to
prosecutors, they used the money to pay their personal expenses.
According to the indictment, the individuals, including Bannon had exchanged text messages between each other discussing this arrangement and
had used shell companies in which to move the money in order to conceal the actual origin.
So we are expecting Bannon to appear in the courthouse just behind me later today. He will have his first appearance. We have not yet heard from Steve
Bannon. His lawyer has declined to comment.
But we may see Bannon afterwards. We are waiting to see if he is going to say anything. But this is a big development for -- a big news today for
Steve Bannon, and also just one of the latest individuals who are close to the President who has been charged with a crime.
There was Roger Stone, a longtime adviser, Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman and of course, Michael Cohen, his former personal
attorney.
Steve Bannon though today facing the charges. He will be in court shortly and then we will see if he has anything to say to address these allegations
head on.
ASHER: So, Kara, how was this alleged scheme actually uncovered? How were authorities tipped off?
SCANNELL: Well, you can see from the indictment as that there was certainly a money trail and a paper trail. It looks like prosecutors were
able to trace these funds that went from the donations that came into the GoFundMe account, this online fundraising group that then went to Bannon,
went through shell companies into others involved in this alleged scheme.
So prosecutors seem to have a sense of how they have moved the money here. They also have indications through the indictment that they also they also
have seen text messages between the men.
So, certainly, it appears to be a document-heavy case and one where they have followed the money.
ASHER: All right, Kara Scannell, live for us there. Thank you so much.
The latest jobs figures in the United States show a setback for the economic recovery, another 1.1 million workers filed initial claims for the
unemployment benefits last week.
For economists, it dashes hopes for a smooth and steady growing back in the labor market after last week's report was the first since March under a
million.'
Cristina Alesci is with us from New York. So Cristina, when you look at these numbers, initial jobless numbers rising above one million.
What does that tell us about the state of this recovery?
[15:05:12]
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the bad news here is obviously the initial unemployment claims came in at
over a million and economists and investors were hoping that last week's sub-one million number would hold through this week. It didn't.
And essentially what this says, Zain, to your question, is that the jobs recovery is going to continue to be pretty uneven. But I don't think this
week's report really fundamentally changes that outlook that we are going to have just a bumpy ride from here.
Unfortunately, there is going to be more pain ahead because of a number of things that we have been reporting, just anecdotally. For example, Boeing
has already warned that it is going to have to make more cuts.
We have had retailers announcing that they are going to be closing more and more stores. For example, Lord and Taylor today saying that they are going
to have to close more stores than originally thought under their restructuring plan.
And then cities and states are seeing their budgets completely obliterated.
So we are likely going to see reduced jobs numbers from that section of the economy, which is a really important one. So all of this is very bad news
against the backdrop of people in the administration like Larry Kudlow insisting that we are in some kinds of V-shaped recovery, which is kind of
insensitive and disconnected from the fact that millions of Americans are still unemployed.
And by the way, they are still not getting that enhanced unemployment benefit of $600.00 a week. Of course, the President has said that you know,
he has actually signed an executive order that would allow for some disaster relief funding to provide people, unemployed people with a $300.00
benefit.
Only a few states have taken advantage of that so far. We are going to have to see how the rollout goes in the rest of the country. But when you look
at the jobs number, it is very clear that it is not a V-shaped recovery.
Sure, we could have a V-shaped recovery in some pockets of the economy, for example, like the housing market, and then, of course the stock market has
been on a tear. And also showing a V-shaped recovery. But not everybody is fortunate enough to own a home or stocks.
So, Zain, a very uneven recovery, and possibly fueling, actually probably fueling more and more inequality between the highest income earners and the
lower income earners here.
But certainly, a lot more pain to come -- Zain.
ASHER: Yes, it's certainly a tale of two Americas at the very least. Christina Alesci live for us there, thank you so much.
Wall Street is continuing its trend of shrugging off negative news about the state of the economy. All three major U.S. markets are higher. The S&P
500 is within striking distance of another all-time closing high.
As things stand now, the NASDAQ appears set to close at its third record high of the week. Wall Street records come during a pandemic that ravaged
the economy for average people.
It is a wealth gap that's only getting worse. Vanessa Yurkevich tells the story of those being left behind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS REPORTER (voice over): There are two economic realities in the U.S. right now. Wall Street is surging.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got it. All-time high for the S&P.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: The NASDAQ looking to extend those record gains.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): But on Main Street, the economy is spiraling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For us, it's been a lot of stress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is not getting better. It's getting worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): There is a disconnect. The stock market has recovered from the pandemic while the U.S. unemployment rate tops 10
percent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN FRIEDMAN, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, BROWN UNIVERSITY: Wall Street is primarily reflecting the profits of firms, which have a very different
trajectory than the lives of workers.
There is no doubt that this recession is widening the already large inequalities in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): The Federal Reserve helped Corporate America and markets by injecting trillions into the financial system while keeping
borrowing rates low. At the same time, more than 100,000 small businesses have closed, taking with them thousands of jobs.
The landmark, Fraunces Tavern sits in the shadow of the New York Stock Exchange. Owner, Eddie Travers says revenue is down 80 percent even with
government stimulus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDIE TRAVERS, OWNER, FRAUNCES TAVERN: Of course it is frustrating for us to look at that. To see that the stock market is doing incredibly well and
for us, as we see it at the moment, it is not going to be pretty for us, our families, and our businesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): Like the majority of low-wage workers, Travers's employees don't have the option of working from home as most high-wage
earners do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVERS: We sell an experience, you know, it is an experience of visiting the restaurant, and we can't package that up and put it in the car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): That simple difference has dramatically slowed low-wage job recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRIEDMAN: High wage workers are essentially back to the employment levels they were in February and March, whereas low wage workers are still only
half recovered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:10:17]
YURKEVICH (voice over): White workers gained back nearly twice as many jobs lost as black workers during the pandemic. Latinos also trail white
workers in jobs recovered.
Lucie Joseph was terminated from her job as a gas station cashier in Florida in June after she recovered from COVID-19. She says she was making
$13.00 an hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCIE JOSEPH, FIRED FROM GAS STATION CASHIER JOB IN FLORIDA: My world turned upside down. It was like a knife put into my heart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): She says she is barely getting by on unemployment while she looks for a new job. A search made even more critical because of
her 10-year-old son, Bailey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH: When you are a single mother, you have got no one to help you, so you are alone. How am I going to pay rent? You know? I have got to put a
roof over my son's head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): There are no record highs for Joseph and her son, only lows she is trying her best to climb out of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH: How are you going to say the economy is coming back where everything is closing down? That's not the truth. We are all suffering. I'm
suffering.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH (voice over): Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: While Donald Trump routinely claims credit for stock market highs, Joe Biden is portraying himself as the savior of Main Street as he prepares
to accept the Democratic nomination for President tonight.
At the convention this week, the former Vice President and his allies are laying out their case why Biden should lead the U.S. through this economic
recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Joe's plan to build back better includes making the wealthy pay their fair share, holding corporations accountable,
repairing racial inequities, and fighting corruption in Washington.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe won't just put his signature on a check and try to fool you into thinking it came from
him.
He will work to make sure that your paycheck reflects your contribution to and your stake in a growing economy.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), DEMOCRATIC VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Joe will bring us together to build an economy that doesn't leave anyone behind,
where a good-paying job is the floor, not the ceiling.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He will rescue the economy like Joe helped me do after the Great Recession. I asked him to
manage the Recovery Act, which jump started the longest stretch of job growth in history.
And he sees this moment now not as a chance to get back to where we were, but to make long overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a
little easier for everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Penny Pritzker served as Barack Obama's Commerce Secretary. She joins us live now from Aspen, Colorado. Penny, thank you for being with us.
What is the number one thing that Joe Biden needs to do in order to relieve this country of some of its economic woes?
PENNY PRITZKER, BARACK OBAMA'S COMMERCE SECRETARY: I think there are actually three things that Joe Biden is focused on to bring this country
back to an inclusive economic growth.
The first is a plan to end the pandemic, and to basically listen to the scientists and listen to the experts to be able to bring therapies and
vaccines to all of us.
The second is, he has developed an inclusive economic competitiveness plan. A plan that invests in our work force, gives people the kind of benefits
that are necessary in order for them to be able to work. Invests in manufacturing so that we make vital products here in the United States,
invests in R&D so that we are leading in the technologies of the 21st Century, like 5G, and A.I., and Quantum.
And finally, investing in clean energy so that we have an environment that is healthy for all of us, but also that we have the energy supply that we
need in order lead the world.
And finally, the thing that Joe Biden plans to do and will do is put America back in a leading position globally. He will work together with our
allies and he will work against our adversaries, and so I think that a combination of these things will bring greater certainty and stability to
our country and to our citizenry and certainly will help businesses make more investments.
ASHER: You talked at the beginning of your answer about ending the pandemic. But how much is Joe Biden's hands tied just in terms of what he
can do economically to revive the economy without there being a vaccine and when there appears to be a second wave in this country as well?
PRITZKER: Well, there is a lot to do. You can make investments, you know, in our workforce, make sure that we have training, make sure that we are
leveraging our community colleges, and make sure that we are helping those who have lost their jobs, upskill, so that they are qualified for the jobs
that are open and available.
You can invest in R&D. You can put us back on a clean energy program, which is something that Americans want. So there's a lot to be done. But
simultaneously, you know, as President, you have to do a lot of things at the same time. And simultaneously you're addressing the pandemic and the
conditions and setting a tone -- which is we all need to wear masks, this is not optional. This is not a choice. This is what we need to do.
[15:15:35]
ASHER: Obviously, Joe Biden's priorities as you just laid out are going to be domestic. However, if you look at the bigger picture, the world's two
biggest economies are at lager heads. The U.S. and China. What do you think Joe Biden's strategy -- I mean, once he sort of takes care of the economy
here, given the pandemic, what do you think his strategy is going to be when it comes to handling China?
PRITZKER: I think first of all, his strategy is to make sure the United States is competitive, and that economic competitiveness plan that I just
laid out is something that is essential not only for us domestically, but frankly, the Chinese fear it. They fear our competition, so that's number
one.
Number two is to stand up and hold China accountable to their responsibilities globally, like playing fair, whether it is around
intellectual property protection or following the rules of global trade so that, you know, China and the United States are at least on a level playing
field with one another.
So there is lot that Joe Biden can do and will do to stand up to China and to put the United States and continue to put the United States in a
competitive position and make sure that all Americans are benefiting from that.
ASHER: We are living through a tale of two Americas right now. I mean, obviously, you know, almost every day on this program, I talk about the
fact that we are either at or nearing or hovering around record highs in term of the stock market.
At the same time we are witnessing ordinary Americans really suffering especially given that it has been several week now since they have had that
unemployment insurance, $600.00, a week that they so desperately need.
Why is there this divergence between what Wall Street is experiencing on the one hand and what Main Street is experiencing?
PRITZKER: Well, I think we need to -- you know, look, the issue of inclusive economic growth is something that I have been passionate about
since before my time as Secretary of Commerce and making sure that every American has the opportunity to adjust and thrive as we transition into a
much more digitally led economy.
And that's something that's central to the plan that Joe Biden has put forward, and what you are seeing is using significant growth in our
digitally lead businesses, and you're seeing significant pain in our, you know, travel or tourism or restaurants or Main Street type retail, if you
will.
And you know, we are going through a massive transition in that respect.
I think, you know, the ability to bring back travel and tourism goes right to the heart of needing to handle the pandemic. Without handling the
pandemic, without all of us feeling safe, we are not going to get, you know, on a plane or go to a hotel, or eat out at restaurants at the rate
that we were before.
And so, you know, there's a lot to be done, and Joe Biden understands that. And for me, this issue of, you know, fundamental to the competitiveness
plan is investing in our people so that the recovery is inclusive of everyone.
ASHER: And then you know, just in terms of obviously, yes, it is a priority to make sure that this recovery is inclusive. But you know, we
have sort of stalled in terms of having a stimulus bill that gets passed for example. If he continue to wait and those stimulus checks aren't sent
out, you know, what is going to be the consequence in terms of this recovery?
PRITZKER: Well, Congress recognizes I think they have got to get their act together, that this crisis is not over and their possibility has not ended.
And so, I am hopeful that they can find common ground because Americans are suffering and we cannot allow -- as we transition through this horrible
virus -- that we let Americans flail. So, I think there is enormous pressure on Congress, and frankly on President Trump to take action and the
executive actions are -- as you have seen, the Business Roundtable has come back and said we cannot implement these executive actions. So Congress
needs to act.
ASHER: Penny Pritzker live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate you joining us.
PRITZKER: Thank you.
ASHER: Still to come, the fall semester is officially under way at the University of Miami. We will talk to its President about how students are
keeping safe.
Plus, the Kremlin is accused of targeting a major opposition figure. We will have more from Moscow just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:22:38]
ASHER: Russia's most prominent opposition leader is currently in the hospital fighting for his life on a ventilator. A spokesman for Alexei
Navalny claims the fierce Kremlin critic was poisoned with a cup of tea. He fell ill while onboard a flight headed for Moscow and that is where Matthew
Chance joins us from live now.
So, Matthew, just walk us through what happened here.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, well, at moment, let me just tell you what is going on right now. Alexei Navalny
who is Russia's most prominent opposition sort of figure, sort of anti- corruption campaigner in the country is currently unconscious in an intensive care ward this the Siberian City of Omsk where his plane made an
emergency landing earlier on after he suddenly got sick on board when he was en route on that commercial flight back to Moscow.
This absolutely, I mean, I think horrific images taken by a fellow passenger of the situation on board the aircraft when it touched down in
Omsk when the medics came on board to evacuate Alexie Navalny.
You are seeing these pictures, but the audio on pictures, you can hear the sort of moans of agony that Alexei Navalny is making. It is really quite
compelling and it underlines just how much pain, how much discomfort he was on when he was taken away on a stretcher, put into an ambulance outside,
and taken to the local hospital in Omsk.
Now, what supporters of Alexei Navalny say and what his people who were traveling with him insist and what his lawyers say is that this was a
clear-cut case of poisoning. They want the police to open up a criminal investigation into this. They haven't done that so far.
And actually, the doctors at the hospital where he is being treated -- he's on a ventilator there. He's in a very serious condition. They are saying,
look, we haven't quite made the diagnosis yet. We are still carrying out tests. We are not prepared to say that he was absolutely, you know, without
a shadow of a doubt, poisoned.
If they do stay that, of course, that would be massively controversial because Russia has a very poor record of, and I suppose protecting its
outspoken critics.
I mean, there have been a number of instances over the past several years of people who are, you know, outspoken against the Kremlin, critics of the
Kremlin or Vladimir Putin sort of meeting sticky ends or being poisoned or being sort of silenced with violence in some other way.
[15:25:15]
CHANCE: And so, this almost automatic suspicion when it emerged that Alexei Navalny, this extremely high-profile critic of the Kremlin had been
taken ill, is that well, is this just another example of that terrible kind of trend of Russia's most outspoken critics being silenced in this way --
Zain.
ASHER: Matthew Chance live for us there. Thank you so much.
It is back to school season in the U.S. and several universities are already walking back their reopening plans. We will talk to the President
of the University of Miami about the unprecedented challenges colleges are facing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Hello. I'm Zain Asher. There is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when as universities become new hotspots for COVID outbreaks, the
University of Miami President tells us about the challenges of reopening a college campus, and the pandemic has upended the sporting calendar, but
gamblers are still finding ways to bet big on line.
Before that, this is CNN, and on this network, the facts always come first.
A former top adviser to Donald Trump has been arrested on fraud charges and is due in court soon. Steve Bannon and three others are accused of skimming
money from a crowdfunding campaign that promised to build a U.S. border wall with Mexico. President Trump says he has no direct knowledge of that
project.
A U.S. Federal judge has ruled that President Trump must hand over years of tax returns to New York State prosecutors. Attorneys are seeking the
records as part of an investigation into the President's business practices. Mr. Trump's lawyers have already appealed.
[15:30:10]
And the U.K. is adding Portugal to its list of travel corridor countries meaning, arrivals will no longer have to quarantine for two weeks. However,
arrivals from three other countries will. Those being Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago.
A top White House coronavirus official is calling for surge testing at colleges and universities as thousands of students return to campus. Dr.
Deborah Birx made the comments in a private call obtained by the Center for Public Integrity. Higher learning institutions in at least 15 states have
already reported outbreaks. CNN's Natasha Chen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Zain, university educators across the U.S. are facing some difficult decisions. Some schools are definitely still
going all virtual with their classes for their fall courses. Other schools have decided to bring students back in-person. For example, the University
of Alabama has announced that they will continue in-person learning as well as sports activities. That of course comes with its own risks.
For example, in the University of Mississippi, they've announced 16 new cases. The University of Notre Dame and University of North Carolina have
both said they need to temporarily suspend their sports programs for a few days, at least, because of clusters on those campuses. The University of
Tennessee at Knoxville said 350 students are in isolation because of an off-campus party.
Now, off campus activities are where we get into some difficulty because a lot of these places do have strict rules about mask requirements and social
distancing when on campus, but these schools cannot always control what happens off of their property. In the University of North Georgia area,
they had to respond to a situation last weekend where many students gathered close together not wearing masks at an off-campus party there.
So, this isn't just a difficulty with universities grappling with what to do, we're also seeing these challenges in the lower grade levels as well,
kindergarten through 12th grade across the country in public school systems. And here in Georgia, we've seen some schools have to temporarily
close while positive test cases come in and more people are quarantined in the largest school system. In Georgia, tonight, is having a protest,
teachers are protesting because that school district is trying to bring kids back into the classroom and the teachers feel that's just not safe at
this time. Zain?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: The fall semester is already underway at the University of Miami in Florida. Students there were given the option to attend classes in person
or online. Anyone wishing to return to campus had to test negative for COVID-19. The university serves approximately 17,000 students. Julio Frenk
has been president of the University of Miami since 2015. He also served as Mexico's health secretary from 2000 to 2006. He joins us live now via
Skype. Mr. Frenk, thank you so much for being with us.
So, I understand that the University of Miami is reopening now with about 20 percent in-person classes, 33 percent virtual, and the rest are hybrid.
How did you come up with that particular formula in terms of minimizing risks to students?
DR. JULIO FRENK, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI (via Skype): Yes. We've gone through an incredibly meticulous process of planning. And we decided
to stay away from that false idea that either you open completely, and then that's a huge risk or you close completely and that's zero risk. There's
actually risk involved also in not opening. So, we decided for this model, where we first gave the choice to students about 25 percent chose to be
fully remote for the entire semester, a variety of reasons.
Some of those are students with underlying medical conditions, who shouldn't come to campus and we told them so. And others just -- they
didn't feel safe. Seven, the three quarters that decided to come are divided and most of them have a hybrid format, in which part of their
classes are in-person, part of them are followed online. And they are joined simultaneously with those that are fully remote. So, it is a hybrid
model. It requires some technology, but it's working so far very well.
ASHER: You talked about the risks of not opening and I'm curious, you know, if students choose the online version model, what sort of impact do you
think that has on the overall quality of their education? Do you think it's the same?
FRENK: We think the instructional piece of a fully remote option is it's equivalent. Now, the campus experience is more than that. You -- especially
if you're a residential student, you live there, you are engaged in a community. You're part of that. So, instruction is a big part of education.
It's a necessary part of education, but everything in education.
[15:35:11]
So, the piece that you don't have is that in that element of the residential experience. Now, if you choose to -- like, three quarters of
our students chose to come to campus, we've been very clear that this semester, and we hope it's only this semester, you will have to sacrifice a
lot of the ways we associate that social interaction with campus life. You're going to have to wear a face cover all the time, indoors or
outdoors, you're going to have to refrain from having more than 10 people together and everyone needs to have face coverings and keep social
distance.
There's a number of restrictions and we asked our students to affirm that they are willing to comply with that. And we also have mobilized to what we
call positive peer pressure. We're devising very innovative system of what we call Public Health Ambassador, 75 students who are there to make sure
that their own classmates are safe and don't engage in risky behavior.
ASHER: OK. But I just want to touch on what you said just a second ago about the differences in terms of the experience of virtual learning versus
in-person learning. You talked about the fact that if you opt for virtual learning, you're missing out on that sort of residential experience, which
brings me to my next question, which is, you know, for parents who have paid for in-person learning, for those parents and those families who are
not getting that, should they at least be given a partial refund?
I mean, obviously, this is a debate that is happening nationwide across the country with a lot of colleges. What are your thoughts on that?
FRENK: Oh, you know, we absolutely do not -- we waive all the charges that are associated with being on campus, all the room and board if you were
planning to come on one of our residential units, or subscribe to one of our meal plans, you know, some of the fees for the -- for the health
system, the world -- the Wellness Center, a number of additional charges that go at that are inherent to the residential experience. Those are not
charged. The instructional piece is the -- it's roughly equivalent.
ASHER: Beyond that, though, I mean, beyond just sort of like, OK, obviously, you're going to be charged for room and board because, of
course, that would be hugely unfair. But beyond that, though, should there be even more of a discount for people who are opting for virtual learning
or who have to have virtual learning?
FRENK: We feel that the fully remote option, the instructional piece of education is equivalent, so much so that many of the students that are on
campus are in that hybrid model. And they follow that. And we give you know, it's -- it is -- we've invested very major resources to have a pretty
high quality, virtual experience, both whether you're on campus, in the hybrid model, or whether you're fully remote at your house.
So, those are roughly equivalent. It's the other elements that are -- that marks the difference. And that's where a lot of most of the students
actually want to have and are willing to take the risk of coming on campus and have committed themselves to behaving in a very specific way,
understanding that that social experience is going to be highly constrained this semester as well.
ASHER: Well, you know, it's not easy decisions that are being made. And certainly, there are challenges for a lot of colleges across the country,
not just the University of Miami. All right, Dr. Julio Frenk, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much. We'll have much more news after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:40:00]
ASHER: The ride-hail companies Uber and Lyft have gotten a last-minute reprieve from a court order. They say would have put them out of business
in California. Both had threatened to suspend service in the state by the end of the day. The companies have been ordered to classify drivers as
employees rather than contractors that would entitle them to paid sick leave, minimum wage and other benefits. The original deadline was Friday,
both companies were down most of the day in terms of their share price. But those prices have since come roaring back.
For more on this, let's bring in CNN technology reporter Brian Fung. So, Brian, Lyft is actually threatening to suspend all operations in
California. What more can you tell us?
BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Right. Well, this one's a real nail biter here. Lyft and Uber had both said that they would be forced to
suspend their operations in California if a court didn't intervene. And now, it appears that that has happened, in fact, that a court has said that
this order that would otherwise have forced these companies to shut down their services for the time being, now these companies will no longer have
to do that because of this day.
Now, of course, this litigation is still ongoing. These two companies have been fighting a big court battle with the state of California over whether
or not they can classify their employees as contractors, meaning that they wouldn't have to provide those drivers with the same benefits as if they
were employees. But now, the companies are appealing that ruling from the court. And oral arguments in that appeal are expected to come in October.
So, there's much more room for this to play out.
Overall, this is a very pivotal case because it could set the tone for how these businesses -- business models are allowed to function in other parts
of the country if the other states follow suit.
ASHER: So, in terms of what Lyft's argument here is, just in terms of why their employees are technically contractors and not really employees, and
what are they saying? Is it just that, you know, they see themselves as a middleman in a digital marketplace, connecting drivers and riders as
opposed to a transportation company in and of itself?
FUNG: Right. From the beginning, Uber and Lyft have said that they are technology companies and that the workers who drive for Uber and Lyft, they
emphasize the flexibility that they receive when they are allowed to pick their own schedules when they decide to want to drive.
And that Uber and Lyft have said is sort of the core as to why these are -- should be considered contractors and not full time employees, who would
otherwise be eligible for things like the minimum wage or workers comp benefits and other types of employee benefits that would, you know, you'd
normally expect from an official, you know, a formal HR sort of relationship.
ASHER: Brian Fung live for us. Thank you. At the start of the pandemic, working from home might have felt like a welcome change. Now, with longer
days and less interaction, some employees are starting to feel burnt out. CNN's Clare Sebastian takes a look at the line between working from home
and living at work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHEN COLBERT, TELEVISION HOST, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: Hi. Welcome to my bathroom.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Back in the spring, we were still able to laugh about working from home and its potential
pitfalls. Five months on, many no longer see the funny side.
STEVEN KHONG, CEO, CURACUBBY: What started off as like a vacation from the office, I believe has turned into more of like, gosh, I don't want to use
the word imprisonment because it sounds so negative, but it's starting to feel like that.
[15:45:00]
SEBASTIAN: Steven Khuong runs Curacubby, a 4-year-old startup that provides I.T. and payment solutions to preschools and daycares.
KHUONG: All of our employees are amazing. And I know they're really resilient. But when four out of six people come to us, and they're like,
Hey, there could be an emotional breakdown coming pretty soon. When you're in an environment where there is no physical proximity, everything just
feels like there's no end to the day.
SEBASTIAN: And that is showing up in statistics. The National Bureau of Economic Research estimated in July that working from home means the
average person's workday is 48.5 minutes longer based on their analysis of a sample of workers in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. That's
partly due to sending e-mails after hours. And for many of us, this isn't a normal work from home situation.
PETER CAPPELLI, PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT, WARTON SCHOOL OF UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: If you have school aged kids at home, and they're trying to
do school work at the same time that you're trying to do office work, then you're trying to do both jobs at the same time. And a lot of that is new.
It is not a particularly balanced experiment.
SEBASTIAN: Another challenge, convincing employees to take time off. New York venture capital firm Eniac Ventures is shutting down completely for
two weeks this month to make sure employees rest. And some are taking more drastic measures. Elephant Ventures, a software and data engineering
company is now testing a four-day workweek with 10-hour days.
ART SCHECTMAN, CEO, ELEPHANT VENTURES: A four-day week also helps you create a clear boundary between work and life. And it helps restore some of
that balance for folks when they're working from home. And then, the added productivity benefits of having a much earlier start.
KHUONG: Curacubby Team, welcome to another hour of 2000s trivia.
SEBASTIAN: Steven Khuong is planning more virtual events like this Trivia Night to help boost morale. He's even looking into partnering with a
customer to provide employees with childcare. He's worried for his company's future.
KHUONG: If we're to hire five people right now, how do you train him? You can't get them all in one room. The sense of cohorts have kind of
disappeared. I think that there could be a potential delay in our ability to meet certain goals for the company based on the lack of efficiency and
scaling.
SEBASTIAN: Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.
ASHER: Sports have finally returned in the U.S. but the fans are still stuck at home, and that's made boom times in the online betting area. We'll
talk to the head of an industry leader, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:03]
ASHER: Online sports betting has taken off in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic, even as major sports leagues went on hiatus, the
gambling platform, DraftKings, says its revenue grew by taking bets on golf, NASCAR races, and UFC fights, as well. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins
joins us live now from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Jason, thank you so much for being with us. So, just walk us through how the landscape in terms of
sports betting has changed during the coronavirus pandemic.
JASON ROBINS, CEO, DRAFTKINGS: Well, at first, you know, there was almost nothing going on in terms of traditional sports. So, we saw customers
gravitating to things like eSports. We also launched a number of new initiatives, things like free-to-play pools on political debates and T.V.
shows. As sports started to come back, starting with, you know, MMA, NASCAR and the PGA Tour, we saw record take up on those. In fact, June which
really only had a handful of sports including no other than those major U.S. sports live, we saw over 20 percent growth in revenue.
And then, you know, the other fun fact is, during one point during the sports hiatus, table tennis was the largest betting sport, accounting for
over half of our revenue. So, pretty remarkable to see people just jumping from thing to thing, and we're hoping a lot of the new things they tried
out they'll stick with now that traditional sports are coming back.
ASHER: OK. So, going into the NFL season, that's, you know, a big one for you, you know, there's been so much uncertainty. How do you maintain
interest and what sort of season do you anticipate the NFL one will be?
ROBINS: Well, based on everything we're hearing, publicly, of course, we are hearing publicly that the NFL is on track to play. I have seen nothing
to indicate that there's any intention to scrap games or cancel a season, or anything like that. So, our expectation is at the NFL will play as
scheduled. Certainly, there's some uncertainty around college sports. That's probably the big one. But other sports like baseball, basketball,
EPL, all are going according to scheduled spike, even with baseball, a couple of hiccups, they still continue to play and do well. NHL. So, we're
hoping it'll be a very packed sports calendar in the back half of the year. But either way, whatever happens, we'll be prepared.
ASHER: And so, yes, you talked about college football. I mean, just the fact that, you know, there's just, again, so much uncertainty when it comes
to college football. How much of an impact has that had on revenues?
ROBINS: College football is not a huge piece of our revenues. It's certainly meaningful. But what we're seeing is there's such enormous
increase in response, because I think probably driven by people being cooped up at home, maybe not spending as much money on things like
vacation, travel and, you know, going out to nice dinners and things like that quite as much, we're seeing a real significant increase across the
other sports, including many of these new sports like eSports that I mentioned. So, we're confident we'll be able to make up any gap caused if
there is a delay in college sports, or if it doesn't occur, if there's no college sports seasons at all.
ASHER: So, the fact that people aren't necessarily spending money on restaurants, on going out, they have -- they have much more discretionary
income, on the one hand, but also, we're at a time now we're in the middle of a recession, people are losing their jobs. You know, they don't have as
much discretionary income as they would have had possibly this time last year. Surely, yes, I mean, their spending habits are changing, but how much
of an impact does that have on business, the fact that, you know, people are losing their jobs, and we are in the middle of recession, and there's
not as much discretionary income?
ROBINS: You know, it's really hard to say what the net effect will be. Obviously, there's a negative impact on people's wallets and willingness to
spend when, you know, unemployment goes up, and certainly, you know, we think that the most important thing is that the government and others focus
on getting our economy and our people back to a healthy and stable environment. That said, I do think in the short term, you know, there will
be potentially hundreds of billions of dollars of entertainment spend in some of those other categories, I mentioned, and it goes away.
And while I think certainly some of it will, you know, be eaten up by the fact that people may not have as much money in their pocket, our belief is
that there will be still additional discretionary entertainment spend available. And we also think there's a lot of momentum behind the industry,
in general. It seems like more and more states are considering sports betting legislation, and we're hopeful that we'll have many more places
that we can offer our product to also help offset any reduction in consumer spend.
ASHER: And at the same time, there is obviously competition with, you know, companies like FanDuel, for example, MGM, as well, online betting. I mean,
how do you -- just in this tight environment, how do you make sure that you stand out in the middle of the competition and that people still choose
you?
ROBINS: Well, first of all, it's an exciting time and it's great to see lots of really, you know, strong companies with great, you know, brands and
reputations that are interested in the space. Our belief is that ultimately the best product will win in this market. I know there's a lot of focus on
marketing. And we certainly do a fair bit of that.
[15:55:14]
But we think at the end of the day, the customer is going to go with the best product, the best user experience. And so, that's where we're making
our investments. And at this point, we have almost 1,000 engineers. We completely own and control entire vertically integrated technology stack
for our sports betting product, and we continue to make more and more investments and making sure that we have the absolute best technology and
the best customer experience.
ASHER: Jason Robins live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, we are in the last few minutes of trade on Wall Street. Markets are continuing
their trend of shrugging off negative news about the state of the economy. After starting the session lower, the Dow has climbed back and will eke out
a gain of about 45 points or so. That's despite data from the U.S. Labor Department that another 1.1 million Americans filed initial jobless claims
last week.
All three major U.S. market indices are higher. S&P 500 is up about half of one percent within striking distance of an all-time closing high. The magic
number we are looking out for is 3,389. We are very close to that number, as you can see on your screen. The NASDAQ just cannot be stopped; it is up
more than one percent, continuing to ride the blistering rise in tech shares. It could close at its third record high of the week. And that is
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I'm Zain Asher coming to you live from New York. "THE LEAD" with my colleague, Jake Tapper, is next. You're watching CNN.
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