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New Day Saturday
Artist Leaves Positive Message In Parks Across St. Louis; Biden Extends Lead In Milwaukee After Trump Requests Recount; Iran Vows Revenge For Killing Of Top Nuclear Scientist; Holiday Shopping Season Could Help Small Business Owners; Female Kicker Poised To Make History; Japan Sees Sharp Increase In Suicide Among Women. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired November 28, 2020 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN HOST: She is leaving messages of hope in parks across St. Louis and she has been doing this since April.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: She's gone through 50 boxes of chalk and written nearly 70 messages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JURNI BAYOC, ARTIST: My mental health was a little wacky. So, just hearing the positive messages or reinforcing them again, I mean, it made me feel really good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Do what makes you feel good. You can read some of the messages on her Instagram page @chalkintheloop, that's her handle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After a Thanksgiving like no other, America headed into a black Friday like no other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am so worried about everything that's happening over Thanksgiving because we have a massive surge on top of another massive surge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feels good. I feel safe. There's nobody out here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, now 2,000 deaths per day are going to be the new normal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The world waits for the ultimate weapon to battle the pandemic to officially arrive.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The political theater absolute totally has to stop JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're at war with a virus, not with
one another.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran has now accused Israel of being behind the assassination of its top nuclear scientist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a two-fold effect, so one is to slow down the program. The other one is to make it impossible for United States to engage Iran after January 20th.
ANNOUNCER: This is "New Day Weekend" with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: I hope you are seeing a picture like that wherever you are this morning that sunshine, autumn, in all of its glory there. And the White House, of course, at 8:01 on this Saturday Morning. We're grateful to have you with us. I hope Thanksgiving was good for you.
I do have to tell you, these next several days could be the most critical yet in the fight against Coronavirus because concern about a post holiday spike in the most populous county in the U.S. is taking dramatic action.
BLACKWELL: For people living in Los Angeles County, if they're not in the same household, they cannot get together. There's a now stay-at- home order. It does not include church services or protests. This goes in effect on Monday because of what officials are calling an alarming leveling of new COVID-19 cases.
CNN's Polo Sandoval is following this and many other threads of the pandemic. Polo, how long wills these restrictions last? And what do we know about enforcement?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At least about three weeks here, Victor. And what L.A. County officials are trying to do here is urging people not only to stay home, but to stay socially distanced. As you mentioned they're asking people, at least prohibiting these gatherings, be it private or public with people outside of individuals' households.
This goes back to a couple weeks ago when L.A. County set this threshold of 4500. That was the key number. Should their five-day average of new cases either reach or exceed that, then these additional measures would kick in.
And that is precisely what happened yesterday. As of today, more than 19,000 Californians have lost their lives to the Coronavirus. Until yesterday, only two states New York and Texas had reached that sobering milestone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR & DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We're in the most dangerous public health crisis this nation has faced at least for the last hundred years. We're going easily to 200,000 new cases per day it will be accelerated because of the Thanksgiving holiday. It will be accelerated again over Christmas. And I'm so upset about the deaths.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Those death rates, along with the number of infections and hospitalizations continue climbing throughout much of the country with front line health care workers putting their lives on the line to save patients.
DR. HASSAN KHOULI, CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, CLEVELAND CLINIC: It is disheartening to see some of our colleagues our nurses our respiratory therapists our physicians, falling ill and looking them in the eyes to see how this is impacting them. This is as real as it can be. And we have to we have to follow all of the things that we know work.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Including mask wearing, social distancing and following post-Thanksgiving advice to quarantine when in doubt about possible exposure. Health officials say that's especially fortunate if you attended a holiday gathering this week with guests outside of your household or with people not taking precautions.
DR.AMY COMPTON-PHILIPS, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, PROVIDNCE HEALTH SYSTEM: If you expanded your bubble over Thanksgiving, the CDC asks us to stay quarantined for 14 days. And so, we're going to do everything we can to get as close to that as possible.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Multiple health experts are warning that the latest spike hasn't even peaked and likely to worsen significantly in the coming weeks, putting a bigger strain on hospitals across the country.
UNIDENFIED FEMALE: People can't get their serious surgeries if there are no ICU beds available because of COVID. So this is really becoming a tragedy within a tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL (voice-over): In the race to secure a safe COVID vaccine, a CDC Advisory Committee will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday voting on who would be among the first to be vaccinated first line healthcare workers and those at high risk of infection likely to be prioritized.
[08:05:00]
SANDOVAL: The World Health Organization also calling for more research on a vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca, a dosing mishap in their trial gave a small group of study subjects less dosage but was more effective than the planned dose leading to questions about their trial.
We should also point out that there are still plenty of hospitals across the country that are doing OK. They are able to keep their head well above water. In fact, here in New York, Mt. Sinai is one of them. The chief medical officer said just yesterday, yes, they are seeing a sharp increase in their COVID patients.
However, those numbers are still well within their ability to actually take care of those patients, Victor. But a point to point out, that certainly doesn't apply to others facilities across the country. We brought the stories from doctors and nurses to our viewers, almost every day now of these doctors and nurses that are doing everything they can to try to save the lives of their patients. But yet, they're still caught in this crisis.
BLACKWELL: So many across the country in big cities and small. Polo Sandoval thanks so much.
PAUL: The health experts fear that we're letting our guards down because of the holiday, that's going to add to the Coronavirus surge that we're witnessing. I asked Dr. Abdul El-Sayed about his concerns. This is what he said earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ABDUL El-SAYED, EPIDEMOLOGIST: I want to be clear about something. When the historians write about this COVID-19 pandemic, they're not going to write about those first 100 days that we all experienced as a shock.
They're going to write unfortunately likely about this spike in COVID- 19 because this is the moment when, unfortunately, we're starting to see the kind of acceleration and the kind of spread of COVID-19. Not just in speed but also in geography, right?
In the past, we had COVID-19 spikes relegated to a number of cities with a lot of international travel. Unfortunately now, over the summer, it's had an opportunity to spread at a low grade into every nook and cranny of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Thankfully, you know vaccines that they're on the horizon Dr. Sayed says he expects them to first go to people at highest risk healthcare workers, seniors people with chronic conditions and after that into communities where there is a significant amount of spread.
BLACKWELL: Staying with the pandemic, President-Elect Joe Biden says that he will listen to the experts and the scientists.
PAUL: CNN's Rebecca Buck is following the latest from Washington. So Rebecca, what are you hearing this morning, regarding the Biden Administration's plan for distributing the Coronavirus vaccine?
REBECCA BUCK, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, as a the candidate for President Joe Biden said that he would listen to the scientists when it comes to the Coronavirus pandemic and their recommendations and indeed that is what we're expecting him to do when the CDC meets to recommend who should get this Coronavirus vaccine first.
Dr. Celine Gounder, who is on the advisory panel for Biden when it comes to the Coronavirus, said that he intends to follow the CDC's recommendation when it comes to prioritizing the vaccines for certain people. She said she extracts that the people you might think of would be the ones who are first in line, so elderly people, healthcare workers, first responders, people who have preexisting conditions that would make them more susceptible to a more serious form of the virus.
But the key here, she said, in terms of Biden's response is to not politicize this and to really just heed the expert advice and follow the data wherever it may lead. Obviously, a very stark contrast to what we have seen over the course of this past year in terms of the current administration and how they have very starkly politicized the Coronavirus pandemic.
Already though the Biden team has overcome one major challenge in terms of planning ahead for how they're going to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic. This week, the General Services Administration, as you all know, ascertained Biden's victory as President-Elect.
That means that now his team is able to coordinate with federal government officials. Get access to federal government data and information when it comes to planning for this pandemic. And of course there is a lot of planning to do, not only in terms of how they're going to respond to the pandemic itself.
We're expecting a very difficult winter ahead. And we're already seeing some spikes across the country hospitals filling up. So, that would be one element. But of course, then there are logistics of this vaccine rolled out. Already some pieces put in place by the current administration. But Biden is going to have to finish the job when he takes office as president next year. So the planning for that is already well underway. Christi, Victor.
PAUL: All right. Rebecca Buck, thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: Kevin Liptak now at the White House. So, yesterday, and good morning to you, Wisconsin's largest county certified its election results. And President-Elect Joe Biden picked up even more votes anything from the White House or from the campaign on that?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the campaign is signaling that they'll appeal this decision. What they're trying to do is essentially disenfranchise twenty tens of millions tens of thousands of absentee ballots. But the time is running out. The deadline to certify the vote in Wisconsin is Tuesday.
[08:10:00]
LIPTAK: And, remember, the president requested this recount. He paid $3 million for it. The result yesterday was 132 more votes for Joe Biden than before. Meanwhile, the president is still spouting these false claims about the election, even after he said he would be willing to leave the White House when the Electoral College affirms Joe Biden's win in December.
He's placing some conditions on that now, he wrote on Twitter, Biden can only enter the White House as President if he can prove that his ridiculous $80 million votes were not fraudulently or illegally obtained. Now the only person having trouble proving anything on all of this is the president himself.
There's actually ample proof that the election was not fraudulent whether it's statements from the federal government, Republican and Democratic state election officials who have all said that there was no widespread voter fraud in all of this.
The president continues to see his legal cases collapse in all of this. The latest came in Pennsylvania with another scathing decision from a judge. This time, a federal appeals judge who was actually appointed by the president himself, saying calling an election unfair doesn't make it so and saying that ballots determine presidents, not briefs.
And now the president is continuing all of this, he's continuing to try and sow doubt among his supporters about the results of the election. But if you needed any indication that the president knows that his term is coming to an end, it's this rash of rule making pardons that we expect in next several weeks all of it is a sign that the president is fully aware that he will not be president after January 20th.
PAUL: Kevin, I want to ask you about something else that's making some headlines this morning. What we're learning about the Justice Department that perhaps they may be trying to speed up some changes that involve criminals on death row regarding rules around methods of execution. I don't think I've heard of firing squads much before this, but what do you know?
LIPTAK: Yes, so this is another example of the Trump Administration trying to push these rules through before the president's term ends. And what it does is it expands the type of executions, the methods of executions that could be used.
And in this case, they specify electrocution and firing squads. Now, this would be used in cases where the normal method of execution, which is lethal injection, isn't available. And this would be only for federal executions. Now, there's no indication at this point that the federal government is planning to execute anyone by firing squad.
But what this rule does is allows in the future if a lethal injection isn't available in states that do allow these alternate forms of execution, if the crime was committed in those states that could be used by the federal government.
Now, this is all coming as President Trump and his Attorney General Bill Barr are seeking to rush through these executions, to finalize these executions. Right now, there are five federal inmates set to be executed before the president leaves office.
Joe Biden has said that he opposes the death penalty. It's not clear that he would halt these executions. If these executions all go forward before the president leaves it would be the most during a presidential transition since 1884, guys.
PAUL: Oh, my goodness. Kevin Liptak, we appreciate it so much. Thank you. BLACKWELL: Iran is vowing to retaliate for the killing of one of its
top nuclear scientists. Coming up, we speak with Jason Rezaian an Iranian American journalist, who is imprisoned in Iran about these developments.
PAUL: Lawmakers in Taiwan, oh, they're throwing pig guts at the premiere. What led to this? We'll talk about it. Stay close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:15:00]
BLACKWELL: New video in now of protests in Iran after the killing of the country's top nuclear scientist. Protesters, some of them students have been burning American flags, Israeli flags while chanting down with Israel. Iranian State media says that Mohsen Fakhrazadeh was assassinated yesterday in an ambush outside of Tehran.
Top Iranian officials blame Israel but have not provided evidence for that claim. So far, Israel is not saying anything about responsible for the killing. Jason Rezaian spent 18 months in an Iranian jailed after being convicted of alleged espionage this was during a close door trial in 2015. He was released in 2016. Joining us now is Jason Rezaian, a CNN Global Affairs Analyst and "Washington Post" Global Opinions Writer.
Jason good morning to you first, this name, Fakhrazadeh, is not a household name across the U.S. just start with this statue of scientist and the significance of his killing.
JASON REZAIAN, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, that is the good question Victor. Thanks for having me on. Mohsen Fakhrazadeh has been the top nuclear scientist in Iran going back almost 30 years. And it's understandable that it is not a household name because the government of Iran would like to protect his identity and the identity of other people working on their nuclear program.
So in 2018, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that Israel had obtained a whole cache of Iranian nuclear documents, Fakhrazadeh's name was one that he put out there as a key member of the nuclear program.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his first major speech as Secretary of State which was specifically about Iran also spoke of Fakhrazadeh. So this is very important failure in Iran's nuclear hierarchy.
[08:20:00]
BLACKWELL: So Iran is blaming Israeli. As I said at the top, Israel is not claiming responsibility. The U.S. is not saying about who is responsible, potentially. But if you had to list out the top for lack of a better term, suspect here, would Israel be at the top of that list?
REZAIAN: Yes, I think Israel would be on top of that list for a couple of reasons. Their intelligence services in Mosad are the best trained and most developed in that part of the world. They have a history of targeting Iranian assets inside Iran and around the region.
And they have good reason to want to curtail Iran's nuclear program. Also, they want to make it very difficult for President-Elect Joe Biden to restart any negotiations with Tehran. So, it seems like they're the likely culprit whether or not they ever decide to take credit for it.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about that, because I asked the general hurtling about this last hour from the military perspective, but I want you from geopolitical prospective it happening in the last couple of months of the Trump Administration why potentially if Israel is responsible, now would be the time to execute this type of attack?
REZAIAN: Well, there is a very short window. We're looking about, I guess, seven weeks now until President-Elect Biden takes office. Israel, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf Arab nations are concerned about the prospect of new talks about between the U.S. and Iran. They - if you recall, in 2015, when Iran and world powers were negotiating over Iran's nuclear program.
At that point, those same countries did not want to see that deal happen. And they're very concerned that President Biden will re-enter that deal or come up with a new deal with Iran, which will kind of, you know, flush all of their plans from the last four years of the Trump Administration when they had a free hand down to it.
BLACKWELL: Former Defense Minister in Iran, Military Adviser to the Ayatollah Khamenei overnight said that those responsible for this killing will be like lightning. And you've got the minutes now being moved into the Persian Gulf or the military says that's for the withdrawal of Afghanistan. To suggest or question if the U.S. is on the brink of war would that be hyperbolic at this point?
REZAIAN: Look, I think we've been on the verge of a major escalation with Iran since the very beginning of this year, when we decided to assassinate their top general who was in Iraq, General Soleimani. It's been an incredibly tense year. There have been lots and lots of back and forth. But I think that part of the plan here is try and goad Iran into a big response.
The reality, Victor, is that Iran does not have the military capabilities to stand up to any kind of battle with the U.S., Israel or any of our regional allies, who are much better prepared militarily, or they have much bigger arsenals than Iran does.
So, you know, I think Iran is very good at heightening the rhetoric. But I doubt that you'll see any major response. And I think one really important thing to remember here is that this is a major failure of Iran's security intelligence apparatus.
It's not the first nuclear scientist that has been assassinated inside of Iranian borders. Part of those protests that you saw earlier where asking that question, how is this possible? Who is defending our country? I think that's a question that the Iranian leadership is going to have to answer for themselves. BLACKWELL: Yes, we're ending 2020 pretty much in a place, not a direct
comparison, but where we started with the killing of Qassem Soleimani. And just a couple month ago in a conversation with Fareed Zakaria, Javad Zarif said that the book is not closed on the response to that will see if there is some response during the Trump Administration if there is something more than what we saw with the missile strike in Baghdad that I should say injured - gave brain injury, or caused brain injuries in more than 100 U.S. troops.
But no one was killed. No life-threatening physical bodily harm to any of those troops. So we'll see what the next step is. Jason Rezaian, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
REZAIAN: Good to be here.
BLACKWELL: Thank you and congratulations on the new baby.
REZAIAN: Thanks so much.
BLACKWELL: What's his name?
REZAIAN: Justice.
BLACKWELL: Justice, that's a great name. All right, have a good morning.
REZAIAN: You, too.
BLACKWELL: Christi.
[08:25:00]
PAUL: I liked the end of that conversation better than the one I'm going to have right now. I can't believe I have to tell you this in the morning or anytime, that there was a vicious brawl that broke out in Taiwan yesterday during a parliament meeting and lawmakers from Taiwan's - do you see what they're throwing there?
I know you don't know what that is, but I will tell you, it's disgusting. They're slinging buckets of pig guts, yes, pig guts, at the premier. All of this coming from better disputes running inputs of U.S. pork that contains and additive that is banned in the European Union and China. The President Taiwan says it's a free market and no one is forced to eat the meat. The ruling democratic progressive party condemned the chaos noting it was a waste of food and, was "Disgusting".
BLACKWELL: I can't even get like my belt and my cell phone through some of the scanners. How did they get buckets of pig guts?
PAUL: I don't know
BLACKWELL: Anyway, a lot of mom and pop businesses barely hanging on during the pandemic. It's small business Saturday. And find a small business. We'll talk about how these small businesses really need your help? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:30:00]
PAUL: Well, the man fired by President Trump for calling the 2020 election, "The most secure in American history" says Americans should have 100 percent confidence in their vote.
BLACKWELL: So there's this interview with "60 Minutes" with Chris Krebs, he is the Former Director of the Cyber Security Infrastructure Security Agency he says there's no evidence that voting machines were manipulated by any foreign actors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask for your reaction to some of the vote fraud that the president and his team has been alleging. Votes tabulated in foreign countries.
CHRIS KREBS, FORMER DIRECTOR, CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: So, all votes in the United States of America are counted in the United States of America. I don't - I don't understand this claim. All votes in the United States of America are counted in the United States of America, period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Communist money from China and Cuba used to influence the election.
KREBS: Look, I think these - we can go on and on with all of the farcical claims alleging interference in the 2020 election. But the proof is in the ballots. The recounts are consistent with the initial count. And to me, that's further evidence, that's confirmation that the systems used in the 2020 election performed as expected. And the American people should have 100 percent confidence in their vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: House Majority Whip James Clyburn wants President-Elect Joe Biden to appoint more black people to prominent positions in his administration Clyburn; you know this is an influential figure in South Carolina politics, in American politics.
He endorsed Biden in February before South Carolina's Democratic primary. And Biden's win in South Carolina then catapulted him to the nomination. Biden you know nominated Kamala Harris to be Vice President, as nominee for U.N. Ambassador and I always spoke to CNN's political competitor Errol Louis about the key roles Jim Clyburn is looking to help fill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, SPECTRUM NEWS: Now, what Jim Clyburn wants is maybe more than people expected. But he wants to name the DNC Chair. He wants a fellow South Carolinian to be in charge of the party nationally. He wants more black appointees to more serious departments. Not just - I think he has a candidate for that, too. But he wants to help name the Head of Agriculture very important in South Carolina, by the way. He wants to help name the new attorney general who would be in charge of the Justice Department.
This is you know, this is politics. This is as real as it gets. The old adage is that you fight with your enemies before the election. And then after the election, you fight with your friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: All right. Let's talk about small business Saturday, because that's what we are doing today. It was initially started on a Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to get out of the malls and support small businesses.
Well, ten years later, we're in the midst of a pandemic. And it may be even more important to shop local this holiday season. Ted Jenkin, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of oXYGen Financial are with us right now Ted, good to see you this morning.
TED JENKIN, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, OXYGEN FINANCIAL: Good Morning.
PAUL: I think - I know just in doing this segment, I learned a lot about small business that I didn't know regarding how they really prop up our local communities. How much they gave to us. So help us understand the importance of supporting them right now?
JENKIN: Well, let's remember, Christi, that small businesses create 64 percent of all private sector jobs. And last week we had another 742 thousand people that filed for unemployment for every dollar this holiday season that you spend locally, in your local business community, 70 cents of that dollar stays within the community.
And that small business owner reinvests 25 cents of that dollar back into the small business community. So yes, we care about the economy, but this holiday season you should look at your local economy.
PAUL: That's what they do how are these small businesses doing right now though?
JENKIN: Well, it's a mixed bag. You would not say it's a barbell economy Christi. Look, you have mom and pop retailers and restaurants that got hammered this year. And you have areas and sectors like home improvement that have skyrocketed.
In the PPE, it did save some businesses here. But at the same token, there are billions of dollars from bankruptcies now in small businesses that just didn't make it. Yelp most notably recently did a study and it say 60 percent of the businesses that said they were going to temporarily close.
This is 100,000 businesses, Christi; now say they're going to permanently close. I don't think we've seen the end of the carnage of small businesses going bankrupt.
[08:35:00]
PAUL: And I know you know we're just coming off of Black Friday a lot of that extending through the weekend, obviously. But small businesses get on that bandwagon as well. We can get deals from them right now, in our support, yes?
JENKIN: Well, definitely, you mentioned at the top, it's small business Saturday for participating retailers. You can get 5 to 15 percent off. And look, if you're uncomfortable going into a local store. You can get online or on the phone. And the one thing that you can do with a local business owner Christi that you cannot do with Amazon or Walmart or Target is negotiate.
You want a pair of boots, you want a handbag, you want some sporting goods equipment. They want to make a deal because they have to stock up on revenue right now in case there are more curfews or another lockdown. It's an important holiday season for small business owners.
PAUL: Yes, it is. And on that note, what do you know about a second round of PPE? How vital is it?
JENKIN: I mean, I think we'll have something coming here, Christi, down the road. But 90 percent of the PPE money it's already been spent by business owners. And I think we're kind of at that fork in the road where we say do we let capitalism take its course and some businesses survive and some fail and other new ones are born in the changing economy that we're in right now.
Or do we inject more money in the system and try and give these business owners another chance to make it through the next wave of the pandemic. It is very difficult but I think we'll see some skinny down version of the PPE over the next several months.
PAUL: Already. Bottom line, go out and support your small businesses. They do an awful lot to keep us going, too. Ted Jenkin, always appreciate it, sir. Thank you.
JENKIN: Thanks, Christi.
BLACKWELL: Could be a huge day in college football for this young woman. Why she's about to do something that no other woman has done before?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:40:00]
PAUL: Well, the Buckeyes have to cancel a football game today because of Coronavirus concerns.
BLACKWELL: Carolyn Manno has more in today's "Bleacher Report." Carolyn, good morning to you tell us about it.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you both. Well, as a loyal Ohioan, and Christi knows just how good this Buckeye team is. Fourth ranked Ohio state and looking to move to 5-0 against Illinois this afternoon but that's not going to come to fruition now after further outbreaks of Coronavirus within the football teams program.
The Buckeyes team facility is shut down. All team activities suspended after Head Coach Ryan Day and several other members testing positive for COVID-19. This is the second Buckeye game called off this season. One more may lose them a shot at the big ten title.
Meantime, the NFL is ordering its teams to close their facilities Monday and Tuesday, citing a rise of COVID around the country and also an increase in travel during the holiday weekend. That will not apply to teams playing the Monday night and now Tuesday night's game.
The Ravens and undefeated Steelers are squaring off on Tuesday after a Coronavirus outbreak on the Ravens squad. If that does happen, the Ravens game against Cowboys which was initially scheduled for Thursday night will also be moved back.
And despite coming in as heavy underdogs five time major winner Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley cruising to victory in the match on Friday providing plenty of entertainment while doing so. The pair got off to a hot start against Steph Curry and Peyton Manning going 4 up through 7 and they kept the pressure on all the way. Barkley knew it was over and wanted the bosses to get ready for a short day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY, BASKETBALL HALL OF FAMER: Hey, do me say favor; call Jeff Zucker and Craig Berry. Tell them to get some of those "law & order" reruns ready in about five more holes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: Charles and less entertainment the match lasting eight more holes but Barkley and Mickelson proving victorious. It was a really fun afternoon for the post Thanksgiving crowd that was hungry for a little bit of golf and also a great opportunity to give back. The event raised nearly $5.5 million for historically black colleges and universities. And 3.5 million meals were donated to Feeding America.
And college football history expected to be made later today as kicker Sarah Fuller suits up for Vanderbilt. Fuller has made the trip to Missouri. If she plays she'll be the first woman to play for a power 5 conference school. She's a goal kicker on Vanderbilt SCC Championship Soccer Team she tried out she was added to the football roster this week after several other specialist has to go into quarantine due to COVID-19 testing.
She posted a message on Twitter saying let's make history #playlikeagirl and #anchordown. She's also going to be wearing that phrase play like a girl on her helmet. That's in reference to a nonprofit that helps girls get involved in sports and also provides them with career opportunities as well. So we're all ready for her right around noon time is when we'll see if she doesn't make history Christi and Victor.
PAUL: You know it, me and my girls we're ready to watch that one and cheer on from Atlanta. Thank you so much, Carolyn Manno.
BLACKWELL: Thank you Carolyn.
PAUL: We have a programming note for you, "This is life" with Lisa Ling. It is back. Returns tomorrow night. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you say young men need most right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not broken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gives big money here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go after it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel nervous about what's going to happen after?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But that's part of life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are your doctors learning from you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only physically.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does it feel like to carry the hopes of these men?
[08:45:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No more dividing, stand together!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are in different parts of the world, but we're fighting for the same thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes courage to take a stand for what is right in this world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's comical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "This is life" with Lisa Ling, back-to-back episodes tomorrow at 9:00 on CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Well, you don't want to miss it. We always learn so much about people "This is life" with Lisa Ling, premiering with back-to-back episodes tomorrow night right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: Japanese officials are blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for a significant increase in the number of suicides. We're going to take a deeper look into the mental health toll of the pandemic, next.
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[08:50:00] BLACKWELL: The financial challenges, the isolations, the fears of actually contracting the virus, all caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. And they're contributing to an increase in mental health problems around the world. Earlier in the pandemic, the World Health Organization said that it was concerned about the effect on people's mental health.
PAUL: Yes, in Japan, in particular are seeing a severe increase in the number of deaths by suicide particularly among women. Here is CNN's Selina Wang.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eriko Kobayashi tried to kill herself four times.
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ERIKO KOBAYASHI, DEPRESSION SUFFERER: I was really poor, I'm ashamed to say it but I short lifted then. I worked full-time and even overtime but did not have enough money to live.
WANG (voice-over): She was working for a publishing company but couldn't make ends meet. Now she works at an NGO, but since the pandemic the stress she felt then is now back.
KOBAYASHI: My salary was cuts, and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I constantly feel a sense of crisis that I might fall back into poverty.
WANG (voice-over): Japanese women are bearing the brunt of job losses from the pandemic often working in industries like hotel, food service and retail.
KOBAYASHI: Japan has been ignoring women it is a society where the weakest people are cut off first.
WANG (voice-over): In October more Japanese died of suicide than from 10 months of COVID-19 partly driven by suicide among women which had increased 80 percent from the previous year.
KOBAYASHI: They are suffering so much. They just feel it's better to die.
WANG (voice-over): Koki Ozura started a mental health hotline in March. 70 percent of the people asking for people are women.
KOKI OZURA, FOUNDER, "A PALACE FOR YOU": They lost their jobs, and they need to raise their kids, but they don't have any money. They attempt suicide.
WANG (voice-over): His nonprofit receives about 200 messages a day. Koki says his 600 volunteers are not enough to keep up with the volume.
OZURA: I've seen messaging - accept messages like - by father or my husband tried to kill me.
WANG (voice-over): Why, because of the pandemic?
OZURA: Because of the pandemic, yes. And before the pandemic they had like a place that they can escape like schools or that - or the office.
WANG (voice-over): Japan has long struggled with one of the highest suicide rates in the world but the number had been decreasing up until the pandemic. The government has invested in suicide prevention but Eriko says it also requires changing society.
KOBAYASHI: It's shameful for others to know your weakness and misery so you hide everything and in - we need to create a culture where it's OK to show your weakness.
WANG (voice-over): Several Japanese celebrities have taken their lives in the recent month which often causes an increase in suicide in the general public Kyoko Kimura a 22-year-old professional wrestler and reality TV star died of suicide after a barrage of hate on social media. His mother says the pandemic has compounded the challenges for women.
KYOKO KIMURA, MOTHER OF DECEASED WRESTLER: The women used to take care of children and the household. Now they have to work as well, so all the social strain piles up on the women.
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WANG: Now in her 40s Eriko is much better at dealing with her anxiety and hopes that by speaking publicly about her fears more people will do so and realize they're not alone before it's not too late. Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
PAUL: Well listen, if you or someone you love needs support, or needs someone to talk to please call this number 1-800-273-8255 that's 1- 800-273 talk people are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for you.
BLACKWELL: All right, coming up in the 10:00 hour, we're going to talk about all of the misinformation that's being spread right now. We've got a guest; "The New York Times" Writer who dove into the Facebook feeds two of baby boomers.
He said what he found was a nightmare. He's going to share what he saw, what he found. We're going to learn what he collected and what we can learn from that. That's all coming up in the 10:00 hour. Be sure to join us then.
PAUL: We will see you then, but do stay close "Smerconish" is coming up next.
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MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: Amazon was primed for a pandemic. I'm Michael Smerconish in Philadelphia.
