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White House Hosts Middle East Signing; Putin Offers Aid To Lukashenko; WHO Report: World COVID Response Inadequate; NASA: There May Be Life On Venus. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 15, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM and I am Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, too much water and not enough; as Americans struggle with unprecedented wildfires and a record setting hurricane season, Donald Trump denies the climate crisis.
A big dose of reality from the world's largest vaccine maker: the Serum Institute of India warns that it could be years before there are enough COVID shots for everyone.
Plus, making peace in the Middle East without the Palestinians, Israel is set to sign historic agreements with the UAE and Bahrain.
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CHURCH: Good to have you with us.
We begin with extreme weather and extreme skepticism. A combustible combination in this year of extremes. Right now, Hurricane Sally a category 2 storm is closing in on the U.S. Gulf Coast and the state of Louisiana. It is still recovering from another hurricane less than 3 weeks ago. Five named storms are churning in the Atlantic. The most at one time in nearly 50 years.
This has been the busiest hurricane season since 2005. Meantime in the western U.S., nearly 90 wildfires are still burning all along the coast. In California, Monday, president Donald Trump blamed poor forest management, not climate change, which scientists say made these fires worst.
Trump, suggesting without evidence, that climate change would go away on its own. Democrat Joe Biden says the fires are more proof that President Trump's America is not safe. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: OK. It will start getting cooler.
CROWFOOT: I wish --
TRUMP: You just watch.
CROWFOOT: I wish science agreed with you.
TRUMP: Well, I don't think science knows, actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How many suburbs will have been blown away in superstorms?
If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze?
If we give a climate denier four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised when more of America is underwater?
We need a president who respects science, who understands that the damage from climate change is already here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Those wildfires have burned a record amount of land in several Western states. They have killed at least 35 people. And in Oregon, nearly 2 dozen more are believed to be missing.
CNN's Kyung Lah is in California where there seems to be no end to these fires in sight.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reinforcements in the 8-day battle in Southern California's Bobcat fire. Choppers are finally in the air, pounding the steep hillsides, aided by planes dropping fire retardant, helping exhausted ground crews in the hills.
DIV. CHIEF OSCAR VARGAS, ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST: As you can see, it is so steep, it is challenging to get the firefighters up on the hills. So we rely on aircraft to put it out or slow it down so we can implement our tactics in front of the fire to keep it from growing.
LAH (voice-over): This is just one fire of nearly 100 deadly wildfires burning in the West from California to Oregon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
LAH (voice-over): Half a million of Oregon's residents have been warned they may need to evacuate. Entire neighborhoods and lives already lost, among them, 13-year-old Wyatt Tofte of Lyons, who died while trying to get his 71-year-old grandmother from the fire. Those who made it out describe the horror of their escape. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the worst experience. It's scary.
LAH (voice-over): More than 5 million acres across the West have burned, including the state of Washington. The state commissioner visiting the small town of Malden (ph), Washington, was overcome by the loss.
HILARY FRANZ, WASHINGTON COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS: I wake up in the morning just praying.
[02:05:00]
FRANZ: I pray that we will not lose one firefighter's life, one citizen's life, one home, one community. It is a horrible feeling when you are basing (ph) so much on prayer.
LAH (voice-over): The worst part, say firefighters, the height of fire season is still weeks away.
LAH: Are you worried about the fire, guys who are out here, everybody worried about (ph) what they're going to look like in November?
VARGAS: Absolutely. We think about the safety every day and the long term effects. If we're seeing this kind of fire behavior now, we could see similar or worse conditions later in year as the fuels, the vegetation and the trees, continue to dry out.
LAH: Firefighters are stretched incredibly thin. They could absolutely use more bodies. But they are simply out of help with all the fires raging in the West. Plus, they are dealing with incredible heat. They are not looking forward to what is lying ahead in the coming weeks -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Sierra Madre, California.
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CHURCH: At the same time, the U.S. Gulf Coast is bracing for Hurricane Sally as its outer bands begin to move onshore. It is now a strong category 1 storm. It could become even more destructive when it makes landfall likely late Tuesday.
This normally crowded and busy marina in Mississippi now sits empty. Mississippi and Alabama are under a hurricane warning, as is southeastern Louisiana. The National Hurricane Center warns of life threatening storm surge and flash flooding. Many communities spent the weekend sandbags to deal with rising water.
Residents in coastal towns also boarded up their homes to avoid damage from hurricane force winds. The governor of Mississippi warns that, as the storm slows down, residents should be prepared for the worst.
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GOV. TATE REEVES (R-MS): Now is the time to prepare. Continue to monitor the weather but be prepared for the worst case scenario, because of this storm slowing from 12 to 8 miles an hour. It could get worse before it gets better. We will just have to see. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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CHURCH: To a newly-obtained recording from a conversation between the U.S. president and legendary journalist Bob Woodward. They indicate President Trump is more focused on the economy than the public health crisis caused by the coronavirus.
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BOB WOODWARD, "THE WASHINGTON POST": It's going to be a contest between you and Biden. It's going to be a contest between both of you and the virus. The virus is set -- because it's in real people's lives. You know, all those tens of millions of people who don't have jobs, who don't have --
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TRUMP: I know.
WOODWARD: Listen. I mean --
TRUMP: Nothing more could've been done. Nothing more could've been done.
WOODWARD: Well --
TRUMP: I acted early. I acted early.
WOODWARD: This will be the history that we start the first draft of. And it will continue --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: So you think the virus totally supersedes the economy?
WOODWARD: Sure. But they're related, as you know.
TRUMP: A little bit, Yes.
WOODWARD: A little bit? I mean --
TRUMP: I mean more than a little bit. But the economy is doing -- look, we're close to a new stock market record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: For the second straight day, Mr. Trump ignored the experts and held an indoor campaign rally, this time in Phoenix, Arizona. Not many masks inside and no real attempt at physical distancing, except, of course, for President Trump, who was seated farther away from everyone else.
On Monday, the U.S. recorded more than 33,000 new COVID cases and some 400 deaths. There are more than 6.5 million infections nationwide.
Meanwhile, we are hearing that, even when a vaccine is finally approved, it could be years before everyone gets their injections. Athena Jones has our report.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A major warning on the vaccine front. The world's largest vaccine maker telling the "Financial Times" there won't be enough vaccines available to inoculate everyone in the world until the end of 2024 at the earliest, if two doses are needed to provide immunity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of the studies are showing that to get an adequate immune response is going to require two doses probably spaced a month, you know, apart.
JONES: But --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we need to keep in mind is that it may not require first and foremost, everyone in the world to get vaccinated, to slow down or even stop the spread.
JONES: Meanwhile a bold prediction from vaccine maker Pfizer which is already manufacturing hundreds of thousands of doses in the hopes its COVID vaccine is deemed safe and effective.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will know the product works by the end of October.
JONES: Six months after the president declared a state of emergency, the combat COVID-19, still a mixed picture across the United States. With 24 states showing a downward trend with new infections, 16 states holding steady and 10 states in Puerto Rico on the rise. New infections up 55 percent in Wyoming, 36 percent in Wisconsin and 10 percent in Connecticut.
Texas now behind just New York and New Jersey in the total number of COVID-19 deaths. In California where cases are falling, San Francisco to date reopening hair and nail salons and gyms. With limited capacity and face coverings required. COVID spread and higher education remains a concern with more than 45,000 cases reported at colleges and universities in all 50 states.
One reason seems like this one near NYU over the weekend are raising eyebrow. And there are new concerns about politics impacting U.S. agency scientific guidance. A federal official telling CNN assistant health and human services secretary Michael Caputo and his team, have been altering the CDC's weekly science reports so they don't undermine President Trump's optimistic political messaging on the virus.
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: They are trying to crack the message from our scientific organization. This is not about the message. This is about science.
JONES: In fact, "The New York Times" reports Caputo accused CDC scientist of sedition on Facebook, stating, without evidence, the agency was harboring a resistance unit determine to undermine the president.
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CHURCH: Athena Jones with that report.
CHURCH: Dr. Scott Miscovich, joins us now from Kaneohe in Hawaii. He is a family physician and national consultant for coronavirus testing.
Thank you so much for being with us.
DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So the world's largest vaccine maker is warning it will take until 2024 for everyone across the globe to get vaccinated if a particular vaccine requires two doses. What is your reaction to that?
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MISCOVICH: Well, most of us in the field that are following this and our experts believe that it is not if, we believe that there is no question that any vaccine is being developed will require two doses.
So I completely concur in my last two times I was with your show. I basically have been passing on the recommendations from the inspector general, Jerome Kim of the International Vaccine Institute and this is broadly accepted as the standard.
It is going to be a challenge to find a vaccine that we can give across the world that will require less than two and then to distributed, I concur, it is at least 2024 before the world will be able to get it. And that is not even take into account who will be willing to get the vaccine, which is a whole other question.
CHURCH: Absolutely. I mean, that is truly sobering, of course but China has said that not everyone needs to be vaccinated and that they will only focus on frontline workers, the elderly and the vulnerable groups. Does that make sense to you? Does everyone need to be vaccinated in the end?
MISCOVICH: In the end, I mean, most of us believe that vaccination is going to become part of just like your annual flu vaccination where you are going to get a flu shot and a COVID vaccine. That will be because we are going to have general mutations of this, although much slower than the flu, that we will be requiring ongoing vaccinations into perpetuity. That is what most of us believe.
Now what China is referring to is that whole concept of herd immunity, that if you get above maybe 65 or 70 percent of your population with some form of immunity, whether that is with contracting the disease or getting a vaccine, then the spread is greatly reduced but that is not what we are looking for, because that still means people will die. That still means our families are vulnerable and will die. So that's -- doing this hallway and in countries like the United States, we want to all be protected. And we want school aged children up to our elderly to be protected.
CHURCH: Of course. And we have learned that the top spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, Michael Caputo, has been altering the CDC's weekly coronavirus reports to give a positive spin on the virus and Caputo at the same time, has accused government scientists of sedition and claims the CDC has a resistance unit aimed at undermining President Trump. As a doctor, what is your reaction when you hear this injection of politics into the fight against this pandemic?
MISCOVICH: You know, let's put the reality in. Most of us who have been following this from the beginning have been critical for how slow the CDC has responded and actually, it's exactly the opposite. Where we are seeing the CDC were being more forward with bringing together the information we already know but they will wait and they'll sit on it, longer periods of time as they study it. Which is OK.
So it is so far opposite of what he is stating. We want more from the CDC. They are not altering anything. We just need the truth. The people of America are ready for the truth. And they need it now, not waiting for two months until it's altered.
CHURCH: And why do you think they are sitting on it?
MISCOVICH: You know, I think there is a big political influence. I mean, most of us who follow it know where the data stands right now. Most of the things that we know now, we will not hear from the CDC until six weeks, maybe eight weeks from now. And most of us do believe there is a political influence to that versus if you listen to people who studies this, we will be talking about things like the vaccines or those things. We talked about this two months ago but the government is slow to react to it. Probably because of influence.
CHURCH: And Doctor, when you see images of President Trump's rally Sunday and his event Monday, all of which have few people wearing masks and no social distancing, how concerned are you about events like that and, of course, the impact they will have in a couple of weeks from now?
MISCOVICH: Well, I can take this a step further. I have dealt with two high-level world class expert epidemiologists and we have done analysis where we have taken a closed environment and it could be a sporting environment or in this case a political environment of 25,000 people.
Now we took data based off of 25,000 people and having a potential super spreader embedded or just people that are positive. And the calculations which I could make available to viewers is that 179 people at the end of that event will ultimately lose their lives.
So one 25,000 on an event with the data we have with how the disease is spread currently in the environments that those are being kept will lose up to 180. Now you can multiply that downward and say half of that if it's only 12.5. We are still probably talking almost a 100 people will die because they attended that event.
And you look at it -- masks, that is number one. You cannot have a closed environment where -- human density is how coronavirus is spread, respiratory droplets.
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MISCOVICH: What is in common with those political environments? People are yelling. People are screaming. People are doing things so that it even multiplies the way -- same thing with the sporting events. That would multiply the number of people who could spread it and who eventually could contract it and die.
CHURCH: Those numbers are shocking. And what is heartbreaking is it is so avoidable, as you mentioned. Wear a mask. Scott Miscovich, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
MISCOVICH: Thank you for having me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The U.S. is cracking down on imports from China, including companies it suspects of using slave labor. We are live in Beijing.
And some Hong Kong residents say the freedom they came in search of is no longer there. More on the dangerous journey by sea for those who think escape is their only choice.
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CHURCH: Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have taken a new turn. The Trump administration has issued new restrictions on Chinese imports from companies suspected of using slave labor. Let us head to Beijing and CNN's Steven Jiang.
Steven, good to see you.
Is this new trade tension about slave labor or something else?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: Rosemary, this is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency issuing 5 new orders targeting companies making clothing, cotton, computer parts and hair products in one industrial park where they say one internment camp is located.
The Chinese government, of course, has long insisted these camps are vocational training centers offering reeducation and job training as part of their counter-terrorism and counter-extremism efforts.
But the U.S. government as well as former camp detainees and activists have said these are places where ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are subject to abuse and torture and forced to work in heinous conditions.
That's why the U.S. Customs are now trying to block products made in these camps. But this is a narrowly defined initiative. There is a wider effort being considered that would potentially ban all cotton and tomato products made there.
That would be a much stronger initiative but officials say that is still being legally reviewed because its unique nature of targeting an entire region, not just one company and one facility. They insist they are moving in the right direction, getting more serious and aggressive and cracking down on slave labor involving ethnic minorities -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Steven, what is the story behind the sudden departure of U.S. ambassador to China Terry Branstad and what is his new role?
JIANG: The departure itself was not entirely shocking, because, according to multiple sources we've spoken, to the ambassador had always intended to serve only one term with his age being a main factor here.
[02:25:00]
JIANG: He is 73. But a sudden announcement and the fact that the top U.S. government representative in China is leaving his post at a time when bilateral relations have hit an all-time low, of course, have caught the attention of a lot of people.
Now we have learned that Mr. Trump has asked Mr. Branstad to go back to Iowa to campaign for him. And he is very much recognized in this state and the surrounding Midwestern region and presumably he would be an ideal candidate to talk about how getting tough on China would be good for the American people.
The ambassador has an interesting story because he's always been very proud of his personal relationship with Xi Jinping. This is one of his favorite books. It's called "Old Friends: The Xi Jinping-Iowa Story." He gave this copy to me.
This book contains several photos of the two men dating back to the early 1980s. But it seems like despite this close relationship he has been unable to leverage this to benefit the overall relations that many would argue is not his fault. He is a participant in this process of the Trump administration's China policy but is not a central figure. That would be people in the White House in Washington.
So, Rosemary, he is leaving earlier than expected but he's probably leaving a largely symbolic role in China.
CHURCH: Steven Jiang, joining us live from Beijing. Many thanks.
Twelve Hong Kong residents arrested at sea in August were not detained for being activists, says chief executive Carrie Lam, she says they were running from legal responsibility.
Travel by sea to south rule (ph) Taiwan is becoming more popular among those who say their freedoms are in danger. CNN's Ivan Watson has more now from Hong Kong.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hong Kong has always been defined by the sea that surrounds it. But for Ha Sze-yuen, the ocean is much more than just a pretty backdrop.
This was how he escaped to freedom. One night in 1975, he tells me, he and a friend fled Communist China in a homemade rubber dinghy. They started paddling towards the lights of Hong Kong.
Ha made it to Hong Kong, then a British colony, and build a life here. But these days, he no longer equates the city with freedom.
"They promised us 50 years with no changes," he says, referring to the agreement China made before the British handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
"But now they are taking away more of my freedom every day."
A growing number of people are fleeing the port city that once served as a sanctuary.
WATSON: This is one of the last islands before Hong Kong gives way to international waters. This is, locals say, a well known smuggling route.
The new phenomenon here is that people are starting to try to escape the territory by sea.
WATSON (voice-over): Last month, the Chinese Coast Guard intercepted and arrested a boatload of 12 Hong Kongers, who illegally crossed Chinese waters, officials say.
The detainees were almost all fleeing criminal charges linked to last year's increasingly violent anti-government protests. Their families gave an emotional press conference Saturday, calling for China to treat them fairly and return the 12 to Hong Kong.
WIFE OF DETAINEE WONG WAI-YIN (through translator): I want to tell my husband, do not worry. I will wait for your return, whether it will take 10 years, 20 years or a lifetime. We will not give up on you.
WATSON (voice-over): Earlier this summer, the Chinese government imposed a national security law that strips away part of Hong Kong's autonomy. Security forces began rounding up opposition leaders as well as anyone who tries to peacefully protest.
The boatload of fugitives was captured by Chinese authorities while trying to make the more than 700-kilometer or 440-mile journey to Taiwan. A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity fearing prosecution, says at least 2 other activist boats have successfully made a similar escape.
Taiwan says the number of Hong Kongers requesting to settle here more than doubled this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): Right now, everyone somehow is trapped in Hong Kong. They can't find another way to escape.
WATSON (voice-over): Among the new arrivals, some activists who do not want to be identified because they fled criminal charges in Hong Kong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): It is much safer here.
WATSON (voice-over): People like this 19-year old face a lifetime in exile, perhaps never seeing their families again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): For the most, I really want to go home.
WATSON (voice-over): Back in Hong Kong, 73-year-old Ha Sze-yuen says he sympathizes with the younger generation now fleeing the city.
"I support them," he says, adding, "I know what it means to fight for freedom" -- Ivan Watson, CNN --
Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:30:00]
CHURCH: Well, the White House will be in the world spotlight later today as it hosts the signing of major agreements in the Middle East.
Perspective ahead on what the deal's do and don't mean for the region.
Back with that in just a moment.
CHURCH: A big signing ceremony is just hours away at the White House.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are set to ink separate normalization agreements with Israel.
So let's bring in CNN's John Defterios for perspective on the deals and what they signify for the region. He joins us live from Abu Dhabi.
Good to see you, John.
So there is the formal signing in Washington, of course, but the two sides, the UAE and Israel have already moved ahead on the business front.
What does that tell us about their intentions?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, if I was going to rank the intent, Rosemary, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd have to give it an eight or nine.
The only things that are missing here is whether the UAE will get formal clearance to get the F-35, which Israel almost has veto power over because of its security alliance with the United States. And also this expanding umbrella. It's including Bahrain, Oman's already given a verbal kind of sign off and there are discussions about Morocco, and eventually Sudan at the same time.
This is not the peace for prosperity deal by Jared Kushner but it is the Plan B, which has the Sunni shield aligning with Israel.
And when it comes to the UAE and Israel, they're defining kind of three categories. Let's take a closer look here. It's medical, technology and banking.
The second bullet point here in terms of technology is Group-42 and NanoScent of Israel.
This was announced even before the normalization of relations was even being talked about. So that gives you a signal, this has been in the works for a while.
Banking, an obvious collaboration here between the UAE and Israel if it's [ph] built on. And I would say phase two has to include the UAE's sovereign funds. There's over a trillion dollars of sovereign wealth in the Emirates here.
Investing in Silicon Wadi, investing in technology, investing in security, property development, tourism. Even the Expo for 2021.
And this sounds a little bit cynical, but I would even say it's an insurance policy if Donald Trump is not reelected, right?
Because even if he goes and there's a Biden presidency that has a different policy towards Iran, there is an alliance here.
And that I think is why they're moving so swiftly to solidify those ties with the cement beam business. If you will, Rosemary.
[02:35:00]
CHURCH: John, is the real motivation here that Israel and the Gulf States share a common enemy in Iran and what does that mean for Tehran?
DEFTERIOS: Yes. I think again, this is why this came together so quickly. Because UAE, as a small country, feels somewhat vulnerable and it has Israel with the alliance here. And that would mean U.S. banking all the way through between the Sunni alliance and the Israelis.
And I think, again, even if Joe Biden comes into place, it's keeping the economic isolation against Iran in place.
You could look at the numbers here, Rosemary, and quite severe. We're looking at a recession of six percent for Iran. That would mean 20 percent over three years since the Trump sanctions were in place.
Unemployment of 16 percent. You'd have to put youth unemployment around 28 or 30, which is extraordinary in itself. And oil production at 1.9 million barrels a day. Iran is resilient,
but it was producing 3.5 million barrels a day before those sanctions came into place.
And I thought it was even interesting as of late, you heard President Rouhani of Iran saying to its allies like China and Russia, this is the time for you to speak up because we are so isolated.
And then they see the alliance between the UAE and Israel, and it's building. It'll mean more of the same going forward.
And the tension's rising in the region at the same time, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Incredible. John Defterios joining us live from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks, as always.
Well, Russia is throwing a financial lifeline to the embattled president of Belarus.
Vladimir Putin met with Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi on Monday confirming a 1.5 billion dollar loan. The allies would also hold joint military drills.
Belarus has been gripped by protests since last month's presidential election which opposition groups say was rigged.
Mr. Putin also says Belarus will be the first country to receive Russia's coronavirus vaccine.
Well, Putin critic and Russian opposition leader Alexei is now off a ventilator. He's being treated in a German military hospital after being poisoned last month before boarding a flight from Siberia to Moscow.
Doctors say Navalny is able to leave his bed for short periods of time.
French President Emmanuel Macron pressed his Russian counterpart for answers during a phone call on Monday. Vladimir Putin says it's unfounded and inappropriate to accuse Russia.
Well, still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
The U.K. is imposing new rules on gatherings. Why people there may have to be a lot more fussy about who gets to be part of their social circle.
Back in a moment.
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[02:40:00]
CHURCH: In the coming days the world will reach 30 million confirmed coronavirus cases. As a new report finds, there was a collective failure to prepare for
the pandemic. That's according to an independent voting convened by the World Health Organization.
The report also says leaders must realize they don't need to choose between protecting the public versus the economy.
In Israel, a surge in cases has led to a second general lockdown. It's set to start on Friday. Schools, dine in restaurants and entertainment venues will all close for at least three weeks.
Brazil is reporting another nearly 500 COVID deaths bringing its nationwide death toll past 132,000. That is the second highest globally.
And Turkey is recording its most fatalities since early May, more than 60 within 24 hours. That's after easing restrictions around that same time.
And in the U.K., a strict new rule has been imposed on social gatherings. Scott McLean has that story.
SCOTT MCCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Summer is not quite over yet in England, but the party officially is.
After one last weekend of relative freedom, strict new rules are now in effect limiting the maximum size of a social gathering from 30 people down to just six.
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BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: I'm sorry about that. And I wish that we did not have to take this step.
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MCCLEAN: As coronavirus cases rise sharply, fueled mostly by younger people, the British Government is trying to avoid mass infections turning into mass hospitalizations and rising deaths.
Spain and France are now seeing both.
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CHRIS WHITTY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, ENGLAND: We're following a pattern extremely similar to what France followed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCCLEAN: The new rules come after police complained that the old ones were too difficult to enforce, with limits on the number of households, indoors, different rules for outdoor get togethers and business gatherings. And a dizzying array of exceptions.
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JOHNSON: I know that over time the rules have become quite complicated and confusing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are confusing, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCCLEAN: In central London, we couldn't find anyone well versed in the old rules, but almost everyone we met knew about the new ones.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it's gone down to six people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't gather in more than six.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number seven's very dangerous or something. I get the impression that seven people's a no no. But other than that...
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The message is so confusing, but if people just use their common sense I think that they'll be OK.
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MCLEAN: Even on a Monday, we found one group of seven sitting outside a pub.
But most people said they've always been careful to follow what they knew of the rules.
Enforcement, though, has been rare.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen it, no.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are still going to meet up. I don't think it's going to change anything. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To tell the truth, I've not seen no police enforce anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: The prime minister is promising the new rules will come with stricter police enforcement.
If that doesn't work, he may have to take more drastic measures to stem the tide of Britain's second wave.
Scott McLean. CNN, London.
CHURCH: And finally, there is word that scientists think they have found evidence of life on Venus.
They detected traces of a gas called phosphine. It's toxic to humans but it could be evidence that microbes live in the clouds of the planet. Little organisms like that would be a big deal, of course.
The head of NASA calls it the most significant development yet in building the case that there's life outside of here. Of what we know.
Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. WORLDSPORT is up next.
See you at the top of the hour.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi there. Thanks for joining us today
I'm Patrick Snell in Atlanta.
We start with all the continuing fall out from Sunday's highly tempestuous Liga match between fierce rivals, Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille.
A match that made global headlines after Brazilian superstar Neymar alleged he was the target of a racist slur during the game at the Parc de Princes.
The South American was one of five players sent off amid a full-scale brawl.
Neymar shown a straight red card for striking Marseilles Spanish defender, Alvaro Gonzalez.
Now as Neymar left the pitch the forward is believed to have told an official about an alleged incident of racist abuse.
On Monday, the 28-year-old Neymar taking to Instagram. He doesn't directly address Gonzalez by name, he said I wanted those in charge of the game to position themselves impartially and to understand that there is no longer such a place for a prejudiced attitude.
The Brazilian adding: "I thought I could not leave without doing something because I realized that those in charge would not do anything, did not notice or ignored the fact."
He finished: "You know what you said. I know what I did. More love to the world."
Well, after the match, Gonzalez via Twitter saying there is no place for racism. While his club, Marseilles saying the defender was not racist as he quote, "has shown through his daily behavior since joining the club," end quote.
We will stay across [ph] all the key updates from that developing story right through this Tuesday and beyond.
Now I want to get to England where splash the cash Chelsea had begun their new Premier League campaign with three points. This at Brighton Monday night.
Expensive German recruits, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz both making their Premier League debuts on this occasion.
The West Londoners running out in the end comfortable winners 3-1 in a match that featured, look at this -- a stunning strike.
How about that for your first ever League goal for Chelsea youngster, Reece James. The ball flying into the back of the net. So good. There you go. We'll show it to you again.
That made it 2-1 Chelsea. Kurt Zuma's deflected effort putting the game to bed for Frank Lampard's man.
A winning start. And three points heading back to Stamford Bridge.
Now the other fixture Monday night in England seeing victory for Wolves at Sheffield United. Two very early goals here seeing off the Blades.
Wolves Mexican star Raoul Jimenez who scored the best part of 30 goals across all competitions last season, he grabbed the opener in just the third minute of play with a really nice finish.
And then Roman Saiss making it two just three minutes later with a nice header.
No coming back for the hosts, 2-0 Wolves the final score there. Three points for them.
Right. Here in the United States, as we've been reporting on CNN, wildfires continuing to rage across the country's west coast. All this as well amid the ongoing global pandemic.
This the scene then during Monday night's major league baseball double-header in Seattle, the Mariners hosting the Oakland Athletics. Now well before first pitch, it wasn't certain if the conditions,
especially in terms of the air quality over there, would be OK to even play in.
Oakland pitcher Jesus Luzardo was asked about just that. Here's what he had to say. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESUS LUZARDO, OAKLAND ATHLETICS BASEBALL PITCHER: I'm a healthy 22- year-old. I shouldn't be gasping for air, I guess you could say. For missing oxygen when I'm kind of getting to the line.
So that's -- I'll leave it at that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: Now to something rather special for fans of the Dallas Stars to celebrate. Their is through to ice hockey's prestigious Stanley Cup. This for the first time in two decades.
The NHL playoffs taking place in Canada due to COVID-19. Up 3-1 in the series. The Stars looking to put away the Vegas Golden Knights to book their spot in overtime. Two apiece.
It's the Stars' young Russian player, Denis Gurianov, winning the game, scoring a power play goal. His team just loving the occasion there.
They win the Western Conference final 4-1 by the way. They'll play either the New York Islanders or the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Stars are indeed aligned.
The dust has settled on this year's U.S. Open in New York, a tournament Novak Djokovic would likely wish he could replay. After the default that shocked the world of tennis and beyond.
What the Serbian superstar is now saying about last Sunday's big fall from grace.
[02:50:00]
SNELL: Welcome back to this Tuesday edition of CNN's WORLDSPORT.
Now it was just over a week ago that the top ranked men's tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, was disqualified from the U.S. Open in New York City when after a bout of frustration he inadvertently hit a line judge with a ball.
It meant elimination from the first Grand Slam of the COVID-19 era. It also meant elimination from a tournament that he was expected to go on and win.
Had he done so, the Serbian would've closed to within two of Roger Federer's all-time record tally of 20 Grand Slam titles. Later that same night, Djokovic taking to social media where he acknowledged his actions were wrong. Saying he'd been left, quote "sad and empty."
Now though, in the buildup to next week's French Open in Paris, he's been reflecting further.
On Monday, the seventeen-time major winner opened up about it all in his first TV interview since the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOVAK DJOKOVIC, 17-TIME MAJOR TENNIS CHAMPION: I obviously went through ups and downs in my career and managing to control my emotions more or less.
But it's -- you're alone out there. It's a lot of intensity and a lot of pressure. And you have to deal with all of that. So sometimes, situations like this happen.
And I cannot promise or I cannot guarantee that I will never, ever do anything similar to that in my life. I don't know. I'm definitely going to try my best that something like that that never happens again. Obviously.
But anything is possible, really, in life. So I'm going to take this in as profound as possible for me, as a big lesson.
And I've been thinking about it, I've been comprehending, I've been talking to my team, of course. And it's just one of these things that is just unfortunate. And it happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: A very interesting perspective there he was sharing with us.
All right. Well, instead of Djokovic, it was actually Austria's Dominic Thiem who went on to win his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.
While it was Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka who triumphed for the second time at Flushing Meadows by beating Victoria Azarenka Saturday in the women's final.
Now much of her career, Osaka has shied away from the limelight, really shied away from it.
But at this U.S. Open, the 22-year-old has used her platform in the most powerful way to raise awareness o f victims of racial injustice here in the United States.
With more, here's CNN's Christina MCFARLAND.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA MCFARLAND, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: She was the shy girl of tennis. A two-time Grand Slam champion not always comfortable in the limelight.
But this tumultuous year has brought about a change in Naomi Osaka, a staggering sporting and public transformation in just four months that began during lockdown in early May .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLAND: I want to ask you about something you posted on Twitter. You spoke about the fact that you're done with being shy. What prompted you to tweet about it?
NAOMI OSAKA, U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S FINAL WINNER: I don't know. I want to also take like the quarantine to just think about everything.
And for me, I have a lot of regrets before I go to sleep. And most of the regrets is due to I don't speak out about what I'm thinking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLAND: She put an end to that when she boarded a plane to Minneapolis to join the protests over George Floyd's death.
In numerous tweets that followed, Osaka became a constant and leading athlete voice against systemic racism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSAKA (VOICE OVER): Black rights are human rights and this movement is not a trend.
If our humanity makes you uncomfortable, get used to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLAND: Even voicing support for police reform. But her voice grew louder when lockdown ended and tennis resumed.
Forcing a 24-hour pause on the Western & Southern Open semifinal as part of a wider protest after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
In a tweet she said: "Watching the continued genocide of black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach."
[02:55:00]
At the U.S. Open, her fight went global without having to say a word.
With seven masks displaying the name of black victims of alleged police or race violence, one for each match to the finals, Osaka had to keep winning to wear them all.
Fuel for her to stay focused and comfort for the victims families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Continue to do well. Continue to kick butt at the U.S. Open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Would Osaka recognize herself discussing her shyness just a few months ago?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSAKA: There's a lot of points where I see myself in situations where I could've put my input in. But instead I held my tongue and then things kept moving in a way that I didn't really enjoy.
And I feel like if I asserted myself then maybe I would've gotten the opportunity to see what would have happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLAND: In the past four months, some of the hardest any of us can remember, this U.S. Open champion has found her best game and her voice.
Just imagine what the years ahead may have in store.
Christina McFarland. CNN, London.
SNELL: A very powerful stance indeed.
Really poignant news to get to now. This concerned the NBA great, Pau Gasol.
The Spaniard and his wife Catherine naming the newborn baby after the daughter of his former Lakers teammate, Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in California earlier on this year.
"Our little one has finally arrived" -- via Twitter. "The delivery went really well and we couldn't be happier. Elisabet Gianna Gasol, a very meaningful name for our super beautiful daughter."
There Pau Gasol via Twitter.
Do make sure you join myself and Don Riddell for later Tuesday editions of CNN WORLDSPORT.
But before we close, why not do some reflections now on the huge sporting weekend that was. A weekend that two athletes are likely to never, ever forget.
We leave you with our latest Rolex minute.
