Tennessee tornado victim talks about the storm that ripped through her home
Meg Selby's home was destroyed by a tornado and speaks out on 'Your World.'
This is a rush transcript from "Your World," March 6, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS: You're looking live at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, President Trump on his way there after touching down in Georgia just moments ago.
He may get a briefing on the coronavirus. And we are there.
Welcome everyone. I'm Charles Payne, in for Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."
The president's visit comes as we are seeing more selling on Wall Street, worries the coronavirus could cut into economic growth, despite today's monster strong job numbers.
Could a bailout be in the works?
More than that in a moment, but first to Jonathan Serrie at the CDC with the latest -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Charles.
Right now, I'm across from the CDC on Clifton Road. This is on the outskirts of the Emory University campus, ordinarily a very busy street in the late afternoon, but there's a heavy police presence here, as you can imagine. They have temporarily closed off traffic, waiting for the president to arrive.
While he's here on the CDC main campus, he will be meeting with leadership of the agency and also with some of the scientists, the disease detectives at the forefront of the coronavirus response, as he's trying to draft the ongoing response, which is a constantly moving target, coronavirus is, and also, at the same time, reassuring the American public, which obviously has concerns about how coronavirus will affect their health and the economy.
This meeting at the CDC, though, almost never happened, because of a false alarm. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was a problem at CDC with somebody that had the virus. It turned out negative, so we're seeing if we can do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERRIE: The Trump administration and the CDC are closely monitoring the situation aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship, which received coronavirus test kits out at sea by helicopter.
Officials became concerned when a 71-year-old man died from COVID-19 after returning from an earlier cruise. This afternoon, public health officials announced three more coronavirus cases from that earlier cruise. However, two of the three individuals have already recovered.
The Trump administration is also watching a cluster of COVID-19 cases, some of them fatal, affecting residents of a nursing home just outside Seattle. And in several U.S. cities, local officials are concerned about a growing number of cases of community spread. These are cases in which people are getting sick despite having no high-risk travel exposure and no contact with any other confirmed cases.
So, President Trump, when he meets here at the CDC, will be likely discussing these concerns with leadership here at the CDC, as well as scientists at the forefront of coronavirus research -- Charles, back to you.
PAYNE: Jonathan, thank you very much.
Now this headline in The Los Angeles Times today, "Chaos at Hospitals Due to a Shortage of Coronavirus Tests," how serious is this?
With me now, Dr. Anita Gupta.
Dr. Gupta, thanks for joining us.
DR. ANITA GUPTA, ROWAN UNIVERSITY: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
PAYNE: These headlines have been part of the issue from the very beginning. And it's sort of shocking to a lot of people that they persist. What's going on?
GUPTA: Well, look, first of all, the United States is a global leader in public health. And the net effect of everything that's going on with the coronavirus is that we need -- we have the capacity to address this.
We have the resources. And we need to be that public health leader. And I believe the White House, the CDC has all the resources to address this, and we can get there.
What is important is that the United States public needs be reassured right now, needs to understand the data. And I think that's where we need to be. The question really comes out on, what are -- what are the resources that we have? What are the screening measures? What is the availability of testing?
And I think that's really what we need to understand, as a public health citizen, as someone that understands the gravity of illness and disease.
PAYNE: Well, and to that point, two, three weeks ago, we heard from the ministry administration officials, Peter Navarro, that there was a boatload of mask and other equipment on its way to America from China. Of course, they had their own issues, so they turned the vote around.
I mean, is this also a cautionary tale for us to start to produce some of these things at home, so, when we have these issues, we're not relying on the rest of the world?
GUPTA: Well, look there is such an important question here on testing, right? And you're raising a very important question.
When we start developing things too quickly, we have to look at the safety and efficacy and the quality. We want people and the communities that we live to really have the best available type of testing that's reliable, that is specific, that is sensitive enough to detect disease.
And, first of all, there are many tests that are potentially out there, but are they accurate? Are they going to be reliable? So we don't -- the last thing we want is a test to be false-positive or false-negative.
PAYNE: Right. Right.
GUPTA: So, due diligence, due diligence is so important. And I'm sure that the American public wants that to occur, as I would, as anybody would.
So time and due diligence is always so important when we try to address public health emergencies. And I'm sure that's going to be part of the conversation today.
PAYNE: When we see videos in South Korea of folks driving up and getting tests as they sit in their car, they're getting the coronavirus test, I mean, again, I'm sure it comes -- it begs the question the accuracy of it.
But, by the same token, people are wondering why the preeminent health care system in the world, the number one country in the world, we're seeing headlines in these places where they don't have the proper equipment, the proper testing equipment.
And, by the way, how long will it take? Apparently, the administration said that there would be enough tests at the end of this week to provide another 400,000 tests and a lot more next week.
So, do you feel we're catching up to this?
GUPTA: Right.
Look, I know that the FDA put out -- loosened the requirements to do further testing, but there are other agencies involved. Everybody has the capacity to address this. And those are the conversations that are occurring. And we are waiting to hear what that looks like.
And I know scientists are working very hard around the country and around the world really to address this as vigorously as they can. And, again, I can't emphasize, the United States is the global leader in public health, and we will get there.
But what is so important is that we reassure the American people that we are doing everything that we can, that I know in our community of physicians that there is so much work being done. But it is so important to advocate for prevention, that people -- and people are cautious out there right now.
PAYNE: OK.
Dr. Gupta, thank you very much.
Meanwhile, folks, the White House considering some targeted stimulus to deal with the economic impact from the coronavirus, but they're not calling it a bailout.
To FOX Business' Kristina Partsinevelos at the New York Stock Exchange with more on that -- Kristina.
KRISTINA PARTSINEVELOS, FOX NEWS BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Charles, the traders here saying that volatility is essentially going to be the new norm right now with these massive swings.
And, yes, you did have the administration that is looking into a stimulus help mitigate the losses. But if we take a look at just the Dow today, wow, within the last 15 minutes, we really saw a 500-point swing to the upside. So traders were buying and selling just within the last moments of the day.
If we take a look, though, so we did we did close in the negative, I will say, a little bit less than 1 percent lower, the same thing for the S&P 500 down 1.7 percent, the same for the Nasdaq, a little bit less than 2 percent lower.
But for the week, if we can bring those boards up, we did eke a slight gain for the week for the Dow. So not everything was bad.
But talk about wild roller coaster. We ended one day in the positive, in the green, 1,000 points higher on Monday. Then we were in the red. Then we're in the green. So it's this constant roller coaster, which is why today was so important.
You had the economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, come on FOX Business, and he said that they are looking into a stimulus -- we're not going to call it a package, we're not going to call it a bailout, but some type of stimulus.
Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Some of the sectors might need some temporary assistance. So there are number of things. I look at it as a micro. I look at it as targeted and timely.
And I think that would be the most effective response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PARTSINEVELOS: When he said that, you saw an upswing and the markets actually picked up from their session lows.
But you have a lot of sectors that have been really hurt by the spread of the virus, more specifically about travel, the travel sector. So we have United that said that they're going to be cutting international travel by 20 percent, domestic travel by 10 percent. You have JetBlue that said that they're going to be focusing on cutting costs, there's going to be a hiring freeze.
So you're seeing the shares of those companies -- United is the only one that closed slightly higher today, but it's not just airlines, cruise lines. Today, Disney announced it would allow guests to cancel their sailings for a full refund.
And they're going to actually start screening crew members and guests that join the boat. And so to bring it full circle, we have this market sell- off, but, unfortunately, it seems like the volatility may be here to stay, because it could take months for the effect of the coronavirus to dissipate -- Charles.
PAYNE: Kristina, thank you very much.
And, folks, want to take you back to a live look at the CDC in Atlanta. This is where President Trump is about to be briefed on efforts to combat to coronavirus outbreak.
We will take you there right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I just spoke to the governor of California, Gavin Newsom. We had a good conversation. We're both working on the ship together.
It's close to 5,000 people, so, it's a big ship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAYNE: As we wait for President Trump at the CDC, he says he's working with California Governor Gavin Newsom to get those passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship back home.
Passengers are now being tested.
Claudia Cowan in San Francisco with the latest -- Claudia.
CLAUDIA COWAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And, Charles, those -- testing is being expedited.
And the president off on his numbers a little bit. We have a closer to 3,500 people on board this ship. And for them, the test results will determine what will happen next.
For now, passengers are just hunkering down in their cabins on board the Grand Princess, which is about 70 miles off the coast of San Francisco, waiting to hear if this virus is circulating among them.
We have learned at least eight passengers who were on this ship's previous cruise to Mexico have tested positive, including the California man who died on Wednesday. Yesterday, helicopters delivered hundreds of hundreds of test kits to the ship. It took a few hours to collect samples from about 45 people who were identified as showing flu-like symptoms.
The kits were then flown back to a Bay Area lab for analysis. California's Viral Disease Laboratory in Richmond is one of the most advanced testing sites in the world. Once the results are known, the state and the CDC will determine when and where the Grand Princess will dock.
Might be in San Francisco. Could be somewhere else. Officials say the location must provide for the safety of the surrounding community, as well as the passengers and crew.
Meantime, the ship's captain telling everyone to stay in their cabins until further notice. They have Wi-Fi to stay in touch with family and menus, so they can order room service. Most of the public areas, like the gym and casino, are closed. Not the way these folks hoped to wrap up their two-week cruise to Hawaii.
The Grand Princess was supposed to return here tomorrow and sail right back to Hawaii. That cruise has been canceled. Everyone is getting their money back, as we have been talking about other cruise lines, including Disney, also changing their cancellation policy, as travelers reconsider their plans amid fears of this coronavirus.
Meantime, there are now 60 confirmed COVID-19 cases here in California. Charles, we hope to note soon if that number goes up.
PAYNE: Claudia, thank you very much.
From San Francisco to Los Angeles, where they just declared a local emergency.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is with us now.
What does this entail? A local emergency, what does it entail, and what are the differences that citizens there can expect to see?
KATHRYN BARGER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY 5TH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR: Well, when we declared the local emergency, it was done really based on the need to bring down federal and state dollars.
And one of the things I made clear is, this is not a time for anyone to panic. This was done purely in preparation for L.A. County to be prepared, because we knew that we would have cases. We just didn't know when we would have them.
And they came, coincidentally, basically the day that we declared the state of emergency.
PAYNE: So, California, of course, in proximity to China and other -- and South Korea and other places.
Obviously, there's going to be a handful. We saw reports where as many as 8,000, almost 9,000 people were being monitored. Any updates on people who've recently traveled to areas where there was a major -- where there have been major outbreaks?
BARGER: Yes, we're now up to 13. We had two today. And we have been able to trace the origins and when they were exposed.
And, again, what we're telling people is, first of all, social media is a curse and a blessing. People are putting things up on social media thinking that they have it. In L.A. County, we can now do testing. The federal government has been incredible, providing us with financial resources and also allowing more test kits here.
So, I mean, we are on top of this. I'm sure we're going to see more cases. But at this point, the 13 cases, we can directly link to where the exposure came from. And that's good news.
PAYNE: It is good news.
And the idea is, these other folks that you know have had this recent travel history, though, what's being done with them? Do they self-report? Does -- is there -- do they have public officials that are checking in on them? Are they going to work? What's going on there with the possibility that someone may have contacted this outside the country?
BARGER: Well, that's a good question.
So what we have got is, Dr. Ferrer, who's our public health director, is in close contact with those. They self-report, and they quarantine themselves. And they're linked with a public health nurse who constantly checks up on them.
And it is self-reporting, and it's been successful. We have had many people that are currently self-quarantining themselves and are being closely monitor here by our director of public health and the public health department.
PAYNE: You talked about the Internet being a cursing and a -- a blessing and cursing. We all agree with that.
The idea of declaring an emergency also makes people a little bit nervous. Your assessment so far of your county? Do you see any noticeable anecdotal changes in commerce? Are people doing less things outside, social gatherings? Are you starting to see that yet?
BARGER: Absolutely, especially in areas where you have got a high Chinese- American community. Restaurants and all have definitely been negatively impacted.
And stores, really mom-and-pop stores, people are afraid to go out. We're encouraging people. I mean, we just had the lunar new year, and I made a point of going to all the events to show that, in fact, if you wash your hands, which, by the way, good hygiene, with or without the coronavirus, is smart.
But it has a -- it has had a negative impact, definitely. But it's also had a negative impact on the way people are treated. We have had some reports of people being verbally...
PAYNE: Yes.
BARGER: ... confronted. And that's unfortunate.
PAYNE: We -- well, yes, and we have heard those reports.
Thank you very much. We really appreciate you sharing your update with us. And we will check back in with you real soon.
BARGER: Thank you. You take care.
PAYNE: And, in the meantime, folks, we are waiting for President Trump. He's at the CDC.
The White House pressure campaign building in the meantime on the Fed to cut even more. But will that help stocks even out?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The Fed should cut, and the Fed should stimulate. And they shouldn't do that, because other countries are doing it.
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: It is a timely and targeted micro-approach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAYNE: Message to the Federal Reserve in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak: Cut it out, and keep cutting rates.
But is it too little, too late to help this market and the economy from the virus that keeps going viral?
Let's ask our market pros, Chris Robinson and Gary B. Smith.
Gary B., the Fed had the 50 basis-point emergency cut wall. Wall Street believes they will be another 50 basis point at the March 18 meeting. But some folks would like to see it sooner.
GARY B. SMITH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I don't want to see it at all, Charles.
I'm still scratching my head at what problem this is trying to solve. I understand, during a financial crisis. I understand, during an economic slowdown, when things dry up and people just don't want to do economic activity for a variety of reasons not related to them, quite honestly, dying.
How are you going to stimulate an economy when people just don't want to go to rest -- look, I don't care if they made, they supported the cruise ship industry and gave me round-trip passage to -- back and forth to England for $100. People are just not going to want to say, oh, OK, well, then I will potentially risk my life, or then I will potentially be docked offshore for two weeks.
So it's a solution in search of a problem.
PAYNE: Well, I read somewhere where the Diamond Princess is coming back in service next month.
I'm going to tell them you're not down. Don't send you an invitation.
SMITH: I'm not doing it.
PAYNE: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
SMITH: Chris, I think one of the thinkings here is the wealth effect, that maybe the Fed can curb that sort of behavior that Gary B. just talked about, but if they can stem the market from going down, people will still feel wealthy, so that maybe they're still spending money, instead of seeing the stock market in some sort of a spiral, where they freeze up.
CHRIS ROBINSON, CME TRADER: Right.
And I think the one thing we haven't talked about is the fact that the 10- year -- with the 10-year being where it is, you have seen a huge uptick now. People are going to refinance. So, that right there is a stimulus really in disguise.
I mean, if you can refinance and save thousands of dollars a year on your on your mortgage, that is a stimulus right there. So don't discount that.
And a lot of the heavy lifting has already really been done by the 10-year, courtesy of the market. I mean, with the 10-year at or below 1 percent, how much lower will it go? Does it have to go to zero? Will that make a difference?
So I think that that is something that the market has digested. And you look at how we settled at the end of the day here, the Dow actually up for 400 points on the week, that was a great recovery.
Now, we have been whipping around and 1 and 2 and 3 percent moves. But I know, all in all, a good recovery.
PAYNE: Right.
ROBINSON: And we will see. Maybe the worst is behind us. We have to get through the next couple weeks.
PAYNE: Well, great points in terms of refinancings up 222 percent week over week, also cheap gasoline. Some people say that's the number one input that can influence people's behavior, Gary B.
So those are good things that, ironically, are coming out of this. What about the idea of the federal government, this administration, doing some targeted -- what Kudlow called micro-help for certain industries?
We know the airline industry is going to go back to the White House hat in hand and say, we need a bailout?
SMITH: Dumb.
Look, I don't like it. I never liked supporting industries. Look, if it's not one thing, it's another. Then where does the government stop on any kind of crisis? I'm not saying these industries are severely affected.
But, listen, if you're in the cruise ship industry, if you're in the airline industry, you have to prepare for these black swan events. What, do we go out there and do we support every industry that's affected by a black swan event? Do we target industries that are hurt by hurricanes, by floods, by China coming in with being the low-cost producer?
Where does it stop, Charles?
PAYNE: No, it's a slippery slope.
And, by the way, many people say -- said the airline industry after getting bailed out after 9/11 never rescinded those bag fees that they said were temporary.
SMITH: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
PAYNE: Chris, you alluded to the way this market closed.
A lot of folks out there actually looking to buy this market. They think it is overdone, it is oversold. What are some of the things that you need to see, as someone who's a professional watching these markets tick by tick?
ROBINSON: I think the number one thing is, if you take the correction that we had, from the high tick to the low tick, it was 16 percent. Bear market is 20 percent.
So we haven't tested that level yet. That's very, very big. That's roughly 2,700 in the S&P. That's a huge level. If we can get through the next two, three weeks without going down there, and seeing what's down there, this -- again, this may be behind us.
PAYNE: OK.
ROBINSON: This market was overdue -- overdue for a correction. We had a 1,000-point rally in the whole year in the S&P.
(CROSSTALK)
PAYNE: Yes, this felt five years in two weeks.
Gentlemen, thank you both very much.
Gary B., no cruise ships, no airplanes.
SMITH: Thanks, Charles.
PAYNE: I don't know how you're going to get around, my friend.
(LAUGHTER)
PAYNE: All right, now, before heading back to the CDC, President Trump visiting tornado-ravaged Tennessee.
My next guest says her home may be destroyed, but her resolve is not.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAYNE: You're looking live at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, the president arriving moments ago, where he will be hearing from the experts on the coronavirus.
And we will be right back in just 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAYNE: We're getting our first inside look at the CDC, as President Trump has just arrived there moments ago.
You can see Dr. Ben Carson.
Jonathan Serrie is also there.
I'm sorry, Dr. -- I'm sorry.
Jonathan Serrie is with us -- Jonathan.
SERRIE: Hi, Charles. Good to see you again.
The president is indeed inside the CDC, taking a tour and also meeting with not only the leadership, but also some of the scientists here, the disease detectives on the forefront of coronavirus research.
Some of the main things on the Trump administration's radar right now are those clusters of either confirmed cases or potential cases.
You have the confirmed cases in Washington state, many of them surrounding a nursing home just outside of Seattle, where several people have died. They're keeping a close eye on that, and also another cruise ship, the Grand Princess, which remains off the California coast, as the passengers are undergoing screening.
They actually flew out coronavirus tests by military helicopter to those -- to that ship. And those passengers now taking those tests, and then, once they determine -- once public health officials determine the situation the ship, then they will decide the best facility where it should dock -- Charles, back to you.
PAYNE: Jonathan, thank you very much.
And before the CDC President Trump today visiting Tennessee in the wake of those devastating tornadoes that have left at least 24 dead.
FOX News' own Steve Harrigan is in Cookeville, Tennessee, with more.
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Charles, we're watching a similar scene just repeat itself over and over again.
This time, it's actually the homeowner, his brother and a friend trying to clear the debris field where their house once stood. A few hours ago, President Trump was on the ground here meeting with survivors for about 35 minutes. There was a real question mark whether or not the president was just going to fly over the damage or come down on the ground.
He really shook a lot of hands and hugged a lot of people. And it was very welcome to this traumatized community. Here's the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to be with them. We're going to be with them all the way.
And I can tell you, the governor feels the same as I do. And the mayors, I want to just congratulate you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIGAN: We're getting more details on this storm from the National Weather Service.
It was actually four tornadoes that hit down, and the worst one hit right here, at 200 mile-per-hour winds. So we have got 100 houses here completely demolished, a lot of these people not only friends, but relatives, so this community, emotions still very raw -- Charles, back to you.
PAYNE: Steve, thank you very much.
And, in fact, many in Tennessee now faced with rebuilding after the devastation.
My next guest had only minutes to get to the storm cellar in her Nashville home before it was destroyed.
Meg Selby joins us now by phone.
Meg, thanks for joining us.
MEG SELBY, TORNADO VICTIM: Thank you for having me, Mr Payne.
PAYNE: Explain -- describe -- because, from what I have read, this came out of nowhere. Everyone was kind of caught off-guard. And it sounds like this is almost a miracle that you were able to make it.
SELBY: Right.
So, Monday night, we ere home kind of doing our typical morning -- or Monday night routine, just dinner and watching TV. And we kept seeing on the news, the local news kept panning to Southern Kentucky, where they were having -- or experiencing storms.
And we watched it from that perspective, and even were getting in touch with people up there just checking on them. So it really didn't occur to us that -- because it didn't really sound like it could head this way.
And we went to bed normally. And about maybe two-and-a-half-hours after we went to bed, we were very fortunate that our phones alerted us that there were storms in the area.
And then we turned on our local news.
PAYNE: Right.
SELBY: And we were very, very fortunate and lucky that our local meteorologist was very serious about this in just her tone and how she was talking to everyone about it.
And it really helped us take it more seriously and act a lot quicker than, if I'm being really honest, we have in the past. So we are very -- all of us in our neighborhood -- I mean, it really looks like a war zone around here. We're all very lucky.
There aren't any casualties in our neighborhood. And...
PAYNE: Although the state has been hit pretty hard, 24 deaths, a lot of devastation.
How important and impactful was it to have President Trump arrive there, and Jonathan describing him shaking a lot of hands, hugging a lot of people, particularly in this environment where we're supposed to be doing fist bumps?
I'm sure people really appreciated that.
SELBY: Absolutely.
I mean, I think all this support is amazing. And I think really getting to have him there and see what we're all really going through makes it more real for him to. And I think it makes us feel less alone in this.
And we all really need all the support we can get right now.
PAYNE: And for you and your family rebuilding, I know it's going to be expensive and costly. But you're up to the task?
SELBY: Yes.
We actually started a GoFundMe page and just starting to kind of understand what this process is really going to look like. Again, we're all going to need all the help we can get. And we're going to rebuild, and we're going to stay, because this is our community. And we don't want to be anywhere else.
PAYNE: But you feel confident, everyone around you?
I mean, this is when we find folks in places like Tennessee seem to be at their best, when it's coming back from something like this.
SELBY: Absolutely.
I think -- I can barely describe how many volunteers have been in our neighborhood and helping us clean up and salvage what we can. It's meant the world to all of us. It's -- in this difficult time, you just need all the people around you.
And it's amazing how many people have come from far and wide to really help us clean up and get ready to start over again.
PAYNE: All right. Well, Meg, our thoughts and prayers are with you. And we appreciate you taking the time. Thank you very much.
SELBY: Thank you. I appreciate it.
PAYNE: So, forget panicked selling in the markets. The coronavirus is creating panicked buying in the stores.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAYNE: Another live look inside CDC.
Earlier, I said Dr. Ben Carson was on camera. That was an error.
Meantime, we do wait for the president to make possible remarks. And when he does, we are there.
Meanwhile, folks, people are stocking up amid the coronavirus outbreak. Stories are selling out of materials -- stores, rather, selling out the materials, as this fear continues to spread.
I want to bring in FOX Business Network's Deirdre Bolton with the latest -- Deirdre.
DEIRDRE BOLTON, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hey, Charles.
Costco's CFO said -- and I am quoting him -- "It has been nuts."
So people are posting on social media these pictures of lines that are wrapping around retail stores, as shoppers stock up on bottled water, canned soup, instant mac and cheese. You're looking actually at blank shelves and then these notices from the retailers, saying, sorry, we're out, but people also buying up goods almost as if they were in a snowstorm, Charles, so toilet paper and tissues and paper towels.
This family that owns a chain of local shops in Pennsylvania saying that's pretty much how they prepared with their own inventory. The difference, though, they say this time is this kind of panic buying for some of the products that we have been talking about, so Clorox wipes, Purell hand sanitizer, bleach, and other cleaning supplies.
If you want to know what that has done to the retailers for this week, we're going to show. You can see on your screens there. So, Costco, Target and also Walmart all up for the week. We know we have had a volatile one, but it seems as if more and more people are getting out there. They're buying what they need.
And that is giving some support to those retail stocks, at least from a weekly basis.
Speaking of panic buying, Democrat Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts says Amazon is not doing enough to prevent virus-related price-gouging. So there are stories of two bottles of Purell, for example, listed for $100.
To be clear, Senator Markey is not accusing Amazon directly, but says Amazon is not policing its third-party marketplace platform well enough.
Now, Amazon, for its part, says, listen, we have already removed more than a million listings. We're doing the best that we can. Senator Markey, by the way, gave the CEO, Jeff Bezos, a deadline of March 18 to explain a couple things, how Amazon determines price-gouging, how many warnings specifically it has issued to abusive sellers, and then what kind of resources Amazon is devoting to combat price-gouging.
Outside of retail, Charles, you know, we have been following these two stocks. You have as well. Two companies that are working on vaccines. So you have Gilead Sciences. That closed at a 52-week high today. The company is saying it has a potential treatment that could be available this month.
Another one in the same vein, Moderna -- Charles, back to you.
PAYNE: Thank you very much.
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