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Trump Speaks After Refusing To Commit To Peaceful Transfer Of Power; Rewilding Brings British Farm Back To Life; GoFundMe: $625M Raised For COVID-19 Relief Over 6 Months; Trump Refuses to Commit to Peaceful Transfer of Power; Dow Makes Modest Gains on Back of Goldman Sachs and Tech Shares; Facebook Links to Face Accounts to Russian Military Intelligence Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 24, 2020 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:27]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right. Let's look here. The Dow is only just higher after another volatile day of trading. We have had some

soft economic data and a whole slew of uncertainty as we head into the U.S. election just six weeks away.

Those are the markets and these are the reasons why. Investors are faced with the unthinkable as the U.S. President will not commit at this point to

a peaceful transition of power.

And Goldman Sachs cuts its growth forecast in half for the U.S. fourth quarter. The U.K. unveils plans now for workers hit by new coronavirus

restrictions.

Coming to you live from New York, it is Thursday, September 24th. I'm Zain Asher. And this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Investors gouge risk, they tend not to put their trust or their money in politically unstable countries. Until recently, peaceful transfer of power

had never been a concern for investors in the world's nation's top economy. But now, the U.S. President is making it one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to see what happens. You know that. I have been complaining very strongly into the

ballots and the ballots are a disaster.

QUESTION: I understand that. But people are rioting. Do you commit to making sure there is a peaceful transferal of power?

TRUMP: We want to have -- get rid of the ballots, and you'll have a very trans -- we'll have a very peaceful. There won't be a transfer, frankly.

There will be a continuation.

The ballots are out of control. You know it. And do you know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know it better than everybody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Even in a year of historic unrest, the U.S. remains a far cry from severe instability, but its partisan politics that have made the strength

of its institutions all the more important to investor sentiment.

Republicans say those institutions are not in any danger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA): I know you want to create a hypothetical.

QUESTION: But it is not a hypothetical if the President is making the case.

MCCARTHY: No questions, no calms, no concerns, it is going to be peaceful. This nation is designed that way. This nation will have it that way and

that's exactly what will take place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: White House reporter, Sarah Westwood joins us live now from Washington. Kevin McCarthy there saying it is going to be peaceful. There

is not going to be no problems.

But when President Trump himself was asked about the peaceful transfer of power, his exact words were, "We'll see what happens." What did he mean by

that?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, Zain, he did not at all commit to the peaceful transfer of power in those comments yesterday. That

have had Republicans on the ropes today having to answer for those comments and many of them downplayed what the President said as just rhetoric.

Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican said the President was just saying crazy stuff, but that we always have and always have will a peaceful transition

of power. That's sort of what you also heard from the Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy there.

It has put Republicans in a tough spot. You've seen some of the more vulnerable Republicans senators for example have come out and be more

sharply critical of the President's comments such as Senator Susan Collins from Maine.

But the broader picture is that this comment from the President has sparked concern not just because of the context in which he said it, not committing

to a peaceful transfer of power is in and of itself problematic for a lot of American voters, but also because of what the Trump campaign has been

doing over the past few week and months, filing lawsuits across the country challenging ballot laws, vote by mail rules and also laying the ground work

for some sort of massive legal challenge potentially after the election hinting that there could be irregularities.

And the President's rhetoric has been undermining confidence in the mail-in voting system that has been expanded dramatically to keep people safe

during Election Day because of the pandemic.

ASHER: Sarah Westwood live for us there. Thank you so much.

Democratic stability and economic stability go hand in hand. On Wall Street, the outcome of the U.S. Presidential contest don't typically have a

drastic impact. The result investors fear of course uncertainty.

Economists are warning a constitutional crisis could trigger a market selloff and wreak havoc on the value of the U.S. dollar.

Reliability around a smooth transition of power has been one of the U.S. economy's greatest assets. Joe Biden responded to Trump's comments by

asking, what country are we in?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: What country are we in? I'm being facetious. I said, what country are we in?

Look, he says the most irrational things. I -- I don't know what to say about it. But it doesn't surprise me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:02]

ASHER: Modern history is littered with economies that have been ravaged when democracy fails. Zimbabwe, once Africa's breadbasket collapsed under

40 years of Robert Mugabe.

The U.S. and Europe applied sanctions for rigged elections, economic mismanagement, inflation and drought hit hard.

Last year, in Bolivia a contested election led to social unrest and growth evaporated. A new election is planned for next month. But Moody's already

issued a new downgrade believing the damage is done.

And most recently we have seen Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko was inaugurated Wednesday. The U.S. State Department said his reelection was

neither free nor fair.

In the weeks of turmoil, labor has been disrupted. The currency is sharply lower and foreign reserves are dwindling.

Cailin Birch is a global economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. She joins us live now from London. Cailin, thank you so much for being with us.

So, if there is not a conclusive result on November 3rd in terms of the U.S. election, and if the current President refuses to accept the results,

what happens to markets?

CAILIN BIRCH, GLOBAL ECONOMIST, ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT: Well, they are headed for a volatile few weeks and potential potentially few months, and I

think we are already seeing the reality of that being priced in.

The VIX Volatility Index, which effectively measures how fund managers expect the level of volatility in the market at any given time have already

risen considerably up between four and six times the normal amount of volatility surrounding elections for this November. So we are already

seeing warning signs of that.

I think probably the most likely scenario that we can expect to see is that we will see an early lead for President Trump as in-person votes are

tallied and started to be released first and that we will see Mr. Biden then picking up a little bit of the lead and potentially pulling ahead

later in the evening as more postal votes are counted.

That obviously for the quotes that we just heard raises as lot of important questions given that the Trump campaign and Mr. Trump himself have already

started to lay the groundwork of questioning the validity of the Postal vote system in itself, and then we find ourselves in a serious dispute.

I think, realistically, as I said, we could see that start to go on for at least weeks, if not months. By December 8th, states have a window that will

have ended to handle any disputes around the election outcome within their states before they send their slate of electorates to the Electoral College

to vote on December 14th.

So that doesn't really leave a lot of time, and I think we will see a severe amount of market volatility in that few week span where the outcome

is still in question.

ASHER: And beyond the volatility, though, beyond the volatility especially when it comes to markets, what are the consequences of a sitting President

not accepting a result for investors? Just in terms of the economic risks of that, in terms of the long term.

BIRCH: Yes, short-term and long term. I mean, the fear now is that we are already in a very fragile economic recovery where we are going to see a bit

of a plateauing in terms of the rate of recovery in the fourth quarter from the coronavirus induced crisis and around kind of November and December

time, and heading into 2021 we will already be in a bit of a fragile economic period.

So a severe crisis like this where we see questions around a presidential election is absolutely unwelcome. And I think to really be able to point to

specific elements, so for example, would the U.S. credit rating be downgraded? Would we see a correction, a downward slump of 10 percent or

more in stock markets?

All of that really relies on how quickly the results -- rather, the dispute is resolved, and I think there, there is a pretty small chance and I would

give it 10 percent or less that we ends up at Inauguration Day without an answer to who has won the presidential election.

It is most likely to be because we find our sides in protracted court battles where we have state courts and Federal level counts debating

whether or not recounts are allowed or determining the validity of votes.

That is again, a small percentage, but a realistic chance we could get to January 20th and not have an answer yet. Now, were that to happen? I think,

again, this is a worst case scenario, but the biggest economic risk there, and where we would potentially see a credit rating downgrade or a longer

term impact setting in is that we would see a stalemate in Congress, not see Congress push forward any legislative progress until the dispute is

resolved.

That means a potential government shutdown. I mean, when you think about the risk of kind of budgetary stalemate and a broader government shutdown

in the context of a coronavirus recession, that is a real concern and one that could take months and maybe years to unwind.

ASHER: But as you mentioned, in terms of the idea of not having a President on Inauguration Day, that is a remote scenario, it is worst case scenario,

but no doubt there could be some questions.

Cailin, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

BIRCH: Thanks.

[15:10:09]

ASHER: All right, let's look here. It has been an up and down day for U.S. stocks. Right now, the Dow is on the up. Let's take a look, only ever so

slightly though. It is shrugging off signs that the American labor market recovery is slowing.

Goldman Sachs is gaining nearly five percent after an upgrade to buy from UBS. The note points out that Goldman is likely to benefit if there is

post-election volatility due to increased trading revenue.

All right, still to come here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. After a dismal summer, European airlines are in dire straits as coronavirus case is on the

rise once again.

We will see if they can survive the pandemic. We will have a live report for you from London's Heathrow Airport.

And United Airlines will begin offering free coronavirus tests to some passengers next month. We will tell you who qualifies for it, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Breaking news. We have learned that Facebook has identified and shut down accounts that it says were linked to Russian military intelligence.

Donie O'Sullivan joins us live now from New York. So, Donie, walk us through what more we know at this point, and also what sort of activities

were these accounts engaged in?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Hey, Zain, yes, Facebook just announcing this news in the past few minutes saying that they found and

shut down accounts, fake accounts, fake personas that they say are tied to Russian military intelligence.

They said this activity was mostly focused on countries near Russia, Syria and elsewhere not in the United States, but Facebook's head of Cyber

Security Policy who I spoke to a little earlier today told me the concern is that these sort of infrastructure, these fake accounts could be used in

the weeks to come as part of an operation to try and interfere with the 2020 U.S. Presidential election here.

Russian military intelligence, of course we know from U.S. prosecutors and U.S. Intelligence communities, this specific group was involved in the

hacking and leaking of documents tied to Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016, and the Democratic National Committee.

Facebook said while they have no evidence that there is a specific plan in place for that to happen again in 2020, they are take these steps now to

try and get ahead of it and try and mitigate any of those risks.

They also took down some other accounts from Russia run by a few different groups as they have done a few weeks back, so I don't think they are under

the impression that they have caught all these fake accounts, but they are trying to be transparent about what they are doing and telling us what they

are seeing.

And also, of course, briefing the F.B.I. and lawmakers and intelligence agencies here in the U.S.

[15:15:29]

ASHER: All right, Donie O'Sullivan, live for us there. Thank you so much.

The British government has unveiled new measures to protect the economy amid a second wave of COVID-19. They include help for workers whose hours

have been cut, and an extension of business loans as well, business loan repayments rather. Airlines are among the companies in desperate need of

aid.

Anna Stewart joins us from London's Heathrow Airport. So Anna, just walk us through what these new measures actually are that Chancellor Sunak has

unveiled and obviously, it is slightly less generous or a lot less generous than the furlough scheme, but how many jobs could they really save?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It is a lot less generous, Zain. Lots of people were kind of hoping maybe the furlough scheme would be extended. It is not.

It will end next month.

In its place, this new job scheme which essentially -- and the key word here is viable. It will only help the salaries of those workers who are

employed to at least a third of their normal working hours.

If they are, their employer has to tough up their salaries slightly in conjunction with the government and they can get up to 77 percent of their

normal pay. It's a bit of a head scratcher, but lots of people are criticizing this because if you work out sort of the math behind it, it

would be cheaper for a business to employ one staff member fulltime and two staff members working 50 percent of hours.

So it is not necessarily doing exactly what the government might want.

Some sectors are really welcoming it, particularly hospitality. We spoke earlier this week, new curfew restrictions means forcibly reduced hours for

that sector. But this is about viable businesses. It is not going to help some sectors like the arts for instance. In the U.K., theaters, live music

venues. Almost all of them remain closed. So this doesn't help them.

There are a few other measures keeping the sales tax for hospitality and tourism lower for longer. Various loan schemes, support of the self-

employed. You mentioned that it is not quite as generous as it was before. It certainly isn't.

The Chancellor didn't put a price tag on this new scheme. However, capital economics believes the new job scheme will cost around 5 billion pounds, or

$6 billion, whereas the furlough scheme cost over $50 billion -- Zain.

ASHER: And also, Anna, I mean, just walk us through specifically how will it affect airline workers which have been obviously struggling at time like

this. How much will this scheme by the Chancellor help stave off those job losses especially when you consider the fact that a lot of countries have

that 14-day quarantine in place.

STEWART: Yes, I mean, this was something that the airline sector was really keen to see, more measures targeted at them and frankly, they weren't

necessarily there.

The job scheme will help some sectors slightly, some sort of people within the travel sector, but certainly not all and it has gone far short of what

the trade body, Airline U.K. wanted to see, particularly as you mentioned, what they really want to see is replacement of the 14-day quarantine for

passengers arriving into the U.K. from different countries. They cannot recover without that, they say, and this is echoed as a sentiment across

Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEWART (voice over): Europe had a summer break from coronavirus. Beaches were busy in Spain's Canary Islands. The Seine was lined with sun bathers

in Paris.

As cases of COVID-19 declined in June and July, tourism picked up. Planes took off. Airlines like EasyJet increased their capacity, hopeful for a

recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHAN LUNDGREN, CEO, EASYJET: We set out early on that we thought it was going to be about 30 percent of our original plan for the summer. We got a

good start on that.

So, in the beginning of August, we actually upped that guidance and we said we believe we are going to be about 40 percent for the period of July,

August, and September.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART (voice over): Unfortunately, these expectations were soon dashed. Starting with Spain, a surge of COVID-19 cases led to a web of travel

restrictions between different countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIAN YANOSHIK, TRANSPORTATION ANALYST, BERENBERG: We started to see some of the customer confidence go away. It's the view that it is not just worth

the trip and the anxiety and the worry about being able to come back and effectively, you know, be able to go to my job or go to school and these

sorts of things.

STEWART (on camera): This is London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest, although as you can hear, not many planes taking off or landing at the

moment.

Last month, passenger numbers here were down over 80 percent and it is going to get worse as more airlines start to cut back capacity for the come

months. Many are calling on governments for financial support and also an agreement on a coherent COVID-19 travel policy for the whole continent.

LUNDGREN: We also like to see that they quarantine system that is play, that that is redesigned. So it takes into account much more a regionalized

approach so it doesn't just do a blanket quarantine across all of the countries because infection rates varies quite a lot in different areas, so

we'd like to see it based on risk, we would like to see it that is also based on a regional approach.

And then you have also them introduce testing so you can have testing in the places that are higher risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART (voice over): Even with these measures, air travel will take years to return to normal. And Europe's smaller airlines may not survive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YANOSHIK: My view is actually 2021, maybe late 2021 might be the time where you might see challenges in terms of bankruptcies or really aggressive

restructures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEWART: Zain, airlines in Europe have already announced job cuts of over 50,000, and just this morning, Ryanair have already cut several thousand

said they may have to cut more if demand doesn't pick up by the end of the year -- Zain.

ASHER: And so we will see what ends up happening. Anna Stewart live for us there, thank you so much.

United Airlines is set to become the first U.S. carrier to offer coronavirus testing to certain U.S. passengers. Pete Muntean joins us live

now from Washington.

So, Pete, if airlines end up adopting this beyond just United, could this be the lifeline, the desperate lifeline that the industry needs to stay

afloat.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: We will see if this is expanded, Zain. You know, United says this is just a trial right now offered to

passengers flying from San Francisco to Hawaii only, but United says this could be expanded to other markets by the end of the year.

What is so interesting here is that United says it worked alongside the Hawaiian government to try and come up with a special dispensation so that

passengers who produce a negative COVID test before their flight could bypass Hawaii's otherwise mandatory 14-day quarantine.

You know, airlines know that that's one of the reasons passengers have been staying away from airline travel. Air travel still depressed, only about 30

percent of what it was a year ago here in the United States. Here's how this works.

United is giving passengers two options. They can either take a rapid coronavirus test at the airport, get the result within 15 minutes. But that

costs $250.00 or they can send away for an at-home kit, take the test at home and produce a negative result within 72 hours of their flight. That

costs $80.00.

You know, we will see if this is expanded, Zain. It is something the industry wants. Just this week the International Air Transport Association

said rapid coronavirus testing of passengers at airports is the way to open up otherwise shuttered international routes.

The IATA says that it is time to do this, and it should be on governments to set this up and fund it, and in the on airlines, like in this case.

ASHER: So they want the governments to set it up. They want the governments to fund it. Do they also want the government to make it mandatory as well,

before passengers fly, they have to take a coronavirus test, this is what you do.

MUNTEAN: Well, IATA has been hard on this for a while and has said that this is really the only path forward. Before, only up until this week, IATA

said this could be a way, just a patchwork, a tapestry of different layers to prove that flying is safe once again.

Airlines are swearing up and down that flying is safe and healthy, but now, this could be the key they say to get passengers back and they are

desperate for them.

ASHER: So for United to offer this in a more widespread manner beyond just sort of that route from San Francisco to Hawaii. What is that dependent on?

MUNTEAN: Well, I think one of the real barriers here is cost. You know, the rapid test, $250.00. The at-home test, $80.00. United tells me on

background that the cost for those tests will go down. But essentially it is pay to play. You have a barrier to entry that's an expensive addition

onto your ticket. Otherwise, a normally expensive ticket from San Francisco to Hawaii right now. United says that there is probably some pent up demand

that sees that people want to fly from California to Hawaii, a particularly popular route although not a cheap one.

ASHER: All right, Pete Muntean, live for us there. Thank you so much.

The CEO of Volkswagen America says California's plan to phase out gas powered cars is in line with the company's own strategy. The state wants

all new cars to be emissions free by the year 2035. This came on the same day that Volkswagen unveiled its new electric SUV.

On Wednesday, Scott Keogh told me there is a huge market in this country for electric cars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT KEOGH, CEO, VOLKSWAGEN: You know the point I keep making is it's not a battle between Tesla and us for the 200,000 or 300,000 electric cars sold

in America. It is about the four million in this segment who are driving ICE today who need to be introduced to electrification.

And if you look at Tesla's announcements yesterday, it was very much what we are saying, get the right price point to drive adoption.

And the bigger opportunity is to get four million converts not go back and forth with Tesla and that's the opportunity we clearly want to pursue and

we will pursue.

[15:25:23]

ASHER: California just announced that by 2035 all new cars in the state must be emission free. How does that affect your business even when it

comes to just time line of actually manufacturing even more electric vehicles?

KEOGH: We heard rumors this was coming last night, and obviously I had a chance to see the press conference by the Governor. Look, I think this

speaks to a couple of thing. I think it speaks to industry and states working together. Let's make no mistake, California is the largest market

in America. That state is 20 percent of the overall car market.

It puts us in a very good position. We have a plant localized in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We have the battery technology, the cells, actually

localized in America as well. So this will allow us to ramp up.

But you know, the truth of the matter is, it is not about government proclamations or any proclamations. It's about the consumer loving the car,

and so they have to buy the car. The government doesn't buy the car. So that's why we are always focused on a consumer proposition, cool car, great

tech, great price. That's what we have here.

But, certainly we are aligned and supportive of what the governor is doing and I think it plays to our strategy, frankly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right, still to come, the data behind pandemic-related donations, GoFundMe has released its latest fund-raising figures. We will

speak with its CEO next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Hello, everyone. I'm Zain Asher. Welcome back. Donald Trump has just delivered remarks outside the White House. Let's listen in?

TRUMP: We are going to Charlotte, the Charlotte area. We will be talking about healthcare. We have a lot of good things happening with respect to

healthcare and very positive on preexisting conditions.

[15:30:07]

(TRUMP SPEECH)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right, President Trump outside the White House there, answering a whole host of questions, a whole range of

questions, including just at the very end there about Breonna Taylor, the death of Breonna Taylor, and that grand jury decision we saw yesterday that

sparked a number of protests across this country. The President expressed empathy for law enforcement. He also said that he is very close in terms of

finding a Supreme Court Justice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And also, doubling down on questioning the integrity of the U.S. election. The idea

that he doesn't simply trust ballots and saying that he's not share -- sure if the election in this country is going to be free and fair.

White House reporter Sarah Westwood joins us live now from Washington. I want to bring her in. So, just in terms of the last part of that, this idea

of the president doubling down on questioning the integrity of the U.S. election, what happens in this country, if on November 3rd, in the early

hours of November 4th, the President simply refuses to accept the results of the election. What happens then?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Zain, that's a question that's keeping a lot of people up at night right now because the President

has spent weeks undermining confidence in the legitimacy of mail-in voting. We heard him just now saying, he doesn't know if there will ever be a way

for expanded mail-in voting to be free and fair in the White House today. The White House Press Secretary pointedly said only that he would accept

the results of a free and fair election. But if he's the one determining what is free and fair based on these debunked information, these conspiracy

theories that Trump and his allies have been promoting, that could obviously be very problematic.

Now, the White House has sought to draw a distinction in a lot of instances between absentee ballots and mail-in voting. There's not a lot of

distinction there. There's just no evidence that there is massive mail-in fraud. We heard the White House Press Secretary earlier today and the

President just now bringing up these very limited incidents that are under investigation of ballots being discarded, or not getting to the election

offices. But again, there is no evidence and election experts on both sides of the aisle agree there is no evidence that there is any kind of risk of

widespread fraud.

Even some of the President's own intelligence officials, members of his administration have stressed that mail-in voting is safe. And that's a

system that a lot of people are going to rely on come November, but the President there, not taking an opportunity to clean up his comments which

have caused so much controversy today. But instead, as you mentioned, doubling down on that controversial sentiment, that perhaps we may never be

able to, in his eyes, trust the results of the election.

ASHER: And another question, just pivoting slightly, Sarah, the President was asked. I heard a reporter asking him, what are the protesters fighting

for? What are people protesting in this country in the wake of that grand jury decision we saw yesterday? And he refused to answer the question. He

was asked it very clearly, very loudly a number of times. What does it mean for this country in terms of the racial divide if the President wins

another four more years?

WESTWOOD: Well, Zain, that's a constant criticism that the President has faced that he hasn't done enough to address what's driving people out into

the streets for these protests that he's focused on a very small subsection of the protests that have turned in some cases violent, and trying to paint

all of the protests with a broad brush. So, that has been a source of criticism for the President. We did hear him say that the case of Breonna

Taylor, the black woman who was killed by police was very sad, but he also expressed sympathy, more specifically for law enforcement who have been

caught up in unrest in Louisville and around the country due to protests over the sentence that was the charges that were handed down this week from

the Attorney General in that state.

[15:40:13]

So, the President has done very little to acknowledge the root cause of all of these racial tensions that we're seeing. And it's not clear that

anything would change with a second term, Zain, that he would acknowledge any of the pain that many in this country are feeling in that case.

ZAIN: Right. Sarah Westwood live for us there. Thank you so much. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: As part of our "CALL TO EARTH" commitment, CNN is showcasing solutions to critical issues impacting our environment. All this week, we

are highlighting biodiversity and the efforts of those working to protect ecosystems around the world. That's essential to keeping ourselves and the

planet healthy. Today, we take you to a British farm doing extraordinary work, transforming itself into a place of astonishing biodiversity by

letting the animals take charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've seen this explosion of life, and life has come back because of a new habitat has been created with a whole lot of big

animals. There hasn't been any chemicals used on this land for 20 years. Everything from the soil up has changed and brought back life into this

landscape.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Knepp is a 3,500-acre state in the south of England. It's the family home of Charlie Burrell and his wife Isabella Tree who have

transformed it into a place of astonishing biodiversity.

CHARLIE BURRELL, ENGLISH LANDOWNER AND CONSERVATIONIST: I can see a little Piglet there. I inherited this state age 21 in 1985. We are on this very

poor and cultural land. So, after 17 years of conventional farming, I got to a point when I just felt that I couldn't go on because we actually were

beginning to lose serious money and the future looked pretty bleak.

[15:45:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 20 years ago, the couple stopped dairy and arable farming, instead choosing to let nature take its course. The process

pioneered by American and Dutch conservationists; it's called rewilding.

ISABELLA TREE, KNEPP ESTATE OWNER: It's about kicking off natural processes again in a system. And then, as human beings trying to stand back from it

as much as possible and let nature perform. So, one of the things you can do is introduce free roaming herbivores and all of them, the way they

disturb the land, the way they trample and rustle, everything they do has a hugely important knock-on effect, there's a domino effect (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The estate has attracted many rare species, like turtle doves, white stalk, and purple emperor butterflies.

BURRELL: This is the food plant of the butterfly, and we have Knepp now acres and acres of this plant. This butterfly is an incredibly rare

butterfly. Here, you can see it in their hundreds. This could be the most common butterfly in Britain, if we allowed this plant to go back into our

lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Intensive agriculture and climate change have been two of the biggest drivers of a devastating loss of biodiversity worldwide. But

Knepp's success shows it is possible to reverse that process.

BURRELL: One of the things that Knepp has given people is this feeling of hope, because within 15, 20 years, quite a lot of rare species of their

populations are growing again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has also helped bring in new revenue from organic meat sales and glamping and Safari business, which Burrell says has helped

double profits. Once leap of faith, rewilding has offered Knepp, as well as nature, a second chance.

BURRELL: To see a landscape in your own country. And what you've been missing, suddenly come to life has been this extraordinary revelation, this

surprise, this feeling of not just joy that we can do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And we'll continue showcasing inspirational stories like this as part of the initiative here at CNN. And let us know what you're doing to

answer the call with the hashtag #CallToEarth. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:02]

ASHER: Dr. Anthony Fauci says it's troublesome that outside influence could be placed on any decision to approve a coronavirus vaccine. The top U.S.

health expert was responding to President Trump's suggestion that he may overrule his own government's guidelines and vaccine approvals in order to

speed things up. Here's what Dr. Fauci told CNN's Sanjay Gupta a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The issue is that the scientist and the FDA have put this forth

as what their proposal for the criteria for EUA. Under normal circumstances, that decision is there, as the Secretary approves it, and

that's it. Something that comes from without that is not a scientific consideration would be troublesome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: The latest unemployment data paints a dire picture of the U.S. economy, another 870,000 Americans filed last week for first time benefits.

That's slightly up from the week before. Meantime, Goldman Sachs is cutting its GDP forecast for the fourth quarter in half, citing stimulus, deadlock

in Washington. It now says it's more confident a vaccine will be widely available by next June, instead of early next year. And with millions of

people out of work in this country, many are turning to online fundraising to make ends meet. GoFundMe says a whopping $625 million has been raised

for COVID relief over the past six months. In the U.S., nearly 60 percent of those fundraisers were to help small businesses or the unemployed.

Tim Cadogan is the CEO of GoFundMe. He joins us live now from Los Angeles via Skype. So, Tim, thank you so much for being with us. Just walk us

through the overall trend between March, end of March and now in terms of what you've seen since the pandemic started.

TIM CADOGAN, CEO, GOFUNDME (via Skype): Yes, sure. Happy to be here. So, we saw a tremendous amount of activity really first in Europe and then in the

U.S. in March. And then, that sort of sustained through the next three months and has gradually been kind of stepping down. But it still remains

at a pretty significant level. Because as you mentioned in your previous story, they're the aftereffects, in terms of the economic impacts is still

pretty significant. So, that's what we've seen so far.

ASHER: And looking at the numbers, it's sort of peaked around the end of March. You've seen the highest numbers of campaigns launched and the

greatest amount of money raised around March 26th, March 25th. That's when it peaked. Were you surprised that it peaked so soon after the pandemic

started? And also, we're seeing most activity in areas like New York and Washington. Why is that?

CADOGAN: Well, at this point, I don't think I'm surprised by anything. I do think that, you know, the intensity.

(CROSSTALK)

CADOGAN: Yes, the reaction was obviously, you know, it was the pandemic hit everyone incredibly fast, and New York was so severely hit. So, we saw a

very big spike in activity. But that activity did continue to roll at a pretty high level. I think you also saw a very significant move to help

with PPE and frontline workers, because there was that shortage early in the crisis. And then, you started to see an increasing number of campaigns

for small businesses, and for unemployment related to businesses.

And that kind of built through March, April, and into May and June, as it was clear that the pandemic was going to last for longer. And those effects

began to be felt in a more profound way for those businesses. And it went from being, we're going to be off for two or three weeks to this looks like

it's going to be happening for much longer. So, that's kind of how it turned out.

ASHER: And, obviously, the more people are launching campaigns, the more money is being raised, the more that GoFundMe ends up taking, of course, in

terms of transaction fees. Has that allowed you to expand just the fact that you have this pandemic, you have more people raising money on your

platform, there's more transaction fees that you're able to get, has that allowed you to expand in terms of just even hiring more people?

CADOGAN: Well, just to clarify, the way we make money is actually through tips. So, donors can donate, can tip us on top of their donation. So,

that's our -- that's our revenue stream. But, yes, we have been expanding, unsurprisingly, with the increase of usage and decrease of demand, we've

expanded our service team, so that we can make sure that we're for everybody. And just now we operate in 19 markets around the world. It's not

just the U.S. And we've been expanding our product technology teams, so we can continue to make the product better. So, it could be available and even

easier to use for more people, so they can -- they can get more support.

ASHER: And just in terms of what's happening here in the United States, there's a stimulus relief package that has stalled. You've got just this

week, 870,000 Americans filing first time -- for first time benefits. What's your view on the fact that Americans without congressional help at

this point, are now having to rely on each other more than ever before in order just to maintain their livelihoods?

[15:55:19]

CADOGAN: Yes, I mean, like, we've always been a complement to major government and philanthropic programs. And the power of GoFundMe is it

allows you to get financial support. But it also allows you to do that in a one-on-one connected way with the people that you know and the people that

care about you. And so that the emotional quotient of the support is almost as important as the financial side.

And if you see -- and if you talk to campaign organizers, when their campaign is finished, as they're thinking about it, what they often talk

about is, Hey, I got this support. And it was so moving to me that 300 people or 1,000 people or 20 people, some of whom I don't even know stepped

up and helped me. And so, that very kind of grassroots one-to-one democratic model complements what is out there in terms of government and

other bigger institutions.

But, yes, look, this is a time of unparalleled need. We've -- most of us have never lived through anything like this. And so, people are resorting

to, you know, a lot of different ways to get help. And we are glad to be a part of that puzzle and to be able to help people out.

ASHER: Right. Tim Cadogan, thank you so much for being with us. We'll have much more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. Let's take a look here. We are in the last few minutes of trade on Wall Street. It's certainly been a bit of an up and down choppy

day for U.S. stocks. The Dow is up about 58.68 points or so, despite signs that the American labor market recovery is slowing. Another 870,000 workers

filed for first time claims for unemployment benefits last week. Lukewarm economic data there and a lot of uncertainty as we head into the U.S.

election six weeks from now. All right. That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I'm Zain Asher in New York. "THE LEAD" with my colleague Jake Tapper is next.

You're watching CNN.

ANNOUNCER: CNN Breaking News.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to THE LEAD, I'm Pamela Brown in for Jake Tapper today. And we begin with Breaking News.

Moments ago, President Trump sowing more doubt about the election after he made an alarming statement that has set off --

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