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New Day Sunday

Record 91,000 Americans Are Now Hospitalized With COVID-19; U.S. Surpasses 13 Million Coronavirus Cases; Colorado Governor And His Spouse Test Positive For COVID-19; CDC Advisers To Vote Tuesday On Which Groups They Recommend Get Vaccine First; Trump's Legal Losses Stack Up; Biden Team Reveals New Members Of COVID-19 Task Force; Police Crack Down On Secret Parties Flouting COVID Restrictions. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired November 29, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:14]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: COVID-19 hospitalizations reaching record highs.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Essentially the entire America is a hot spot.

GOV. GINA RAIMONDO (D-RI): If we don't take it seriously, our hospitals will be overwhelmed within a matter of weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Case after case are brought forward by the president and his allies being thrown out of court.

RONNA MCDANIEL, CHAIR, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Trust us, we're fighting. We're looking at every legal avenue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An historic moment for college football. Vanderbilt University's Sarah Fuller breaking down barriers with an unprecedented kickoff.

SARAH FULLER, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY KICKER: I just want to tell like all the girls out there that you can do anything you set your mind to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: There is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. Good morning to you. There is expected to be one of the busiest days for travel during the pandemic. People who traveled for the holidays are now moving again and, of course, this is happening during this worsening coronavirus surge.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The timing's potentially dangerous here. There's a record number of people battling COVID-19 in hospitals across the country right now. CNN's Polo Sandoval is tracking it. Polo, we know vaccines are what is keeping hope alive because that seems to be on the horizon for us. But so much concern right now about what is to come as we wait for that. What are you hearing? Good morning to you, by the way.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning to you, Christi.

That's right. We're slowly getting to that point but the reality is we're not there yet that a vaccine is be being widely distributed to the population. So, of course, the main concern, this morning on what's like is going to be a very busy travel day is that we are likely going to see a repeat or at least possibly going to see a repeat of some of those scenes that took place at airports across the country, people crowding at gate areas, unable to practice social distancing.

As you mentioned a little while ago, the CDC had warned people against holiday travel. And now those who defied that advice from federal officials are probably going to have to go home today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): With the Thanksgiving week drawing to an end, experts are warning the COVID-19 pandemic will likely get much worse in the coming weeks before a possible vaccine begins to offer some relief. U.S. COVID hospitalizations hit an all-time record on Saturday as more than 91,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID- 19, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Saturday is the second time there have been over 90,000 Americans hospitalized with COVID. Thursday was the first.

DR. BARBARA FERRER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR: We are continuing to see a high number of daily new cases and an alarming increase in the number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. This is and remains a serious cause for concern.

SANDOVAL: In California, L.A. County will implement tighter restrictions amid a COVID surge there. Also on Saturday, the U.S. added over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases marking the 26th consecutive day the U.S. has topped that benchmark according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has now surpassed 13 million coronavirus cases. Four million new cases came in the month of November alone. The CDC projecting up to 321,000 COVID deaths by December 19th.

Now the good news -- the FAA has announced the first mass air shipment of COVID-19 vaccine. And CDC advisers will be voting on December 1st on who gets the vaccine first. Most likely health care workers and high-risk populations will get priority to receive a vaccine when one is approved and available, says Dr. Esther Choo, professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. As far as when children will get the vaccine --

DR. ESTHER CHOO, PROFESSOR, EMERGENCY MEDICINE AT OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: That's kind of a phase three thing most likely because children for the most part have been doing well in this pandemic. They are on the list, but we're going to try to focus on older folks and those with multiple comorbidities first. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Last night we learned that Jared Polis now becomes the latest U.S. governor who test positive for the coronavirus. His office releasing a statement last night reading in part, "Governor Polis and first gentleman Marlon Reis learned that they have tested positive for COVID-19."

His office went on to say that both are feeling well, they are isolated and at this point are asymptomatic. That's certainly underscores -- the reality here is that the virus really -- has spread significantly. Recently the governors of states like Nevada, Virginia, Missouri, as well have also tested positive.

BLACKWELL: We also send our best out to the governor and the first gentleman there. Polo, thank you.

PAUL: Dr. Saju Mathew is with us now. He's a public health specialist and primary care physician in Atlanta.

[06:05:03]

Saju, good to see you again. I want to talk about this vaccine that we need to get in two doses. We need to remember. Because there are some things we need to think about in terms of getting this.

First of all, there's a need keep track of people who got the first dose and then being reminded that they need the second dose. There's concern that the first dose may make people sick enough that they wouldn't go back and get the second dose. And then there's also the question of if I get my first dose say at CVS and I get my second dose at Walmart, is there going to be documentation of that?

What do we know, Saju, about any sort of tracking system or universal system that is going to help document and track people who do get their doses or those who need it?

DR. SAJU MATHEW, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes. Good morning, Christi. Really exciting to know that for the first time ever the world might actually have the first coronavirus vaccine ever. That's huge. Secondly, everything you mentioned are really, really good questions that need to be answered.

Now I'm in the primary care field and we vaccinate 95 percent of patients, both adults and kids, with hepatitis vaccines which, by the way, hepatitis B are three shots, hepatitis A is two shots. So in our field, we're used to multiple shots, and we do have a centralized system in Georgia which is very effective. When a child comes in, we can take a look and see if they've had the measles, mumps, or rubella shots. Extremely helpful. Now, if they get a shot at another state that might be difficult.

So, the beauty about rolling out this vaccine, Christi, will be hopefully the time that the Biden team will have to implement a centralized system where we can track who gets the shot. And listen, the responsibility should also fall on the patient or the person getting the vaccine.

I want to get out of this pandemic. If I get a shot at Walgreens, I'm going to try to make sure that I go back to Walgreens a month later. And if any country can pull this off, I really think that we can here in the U.S.

PAUL: Good to know. I love to hear the optimism there. We hope that is the case.

Let's talk about what's happening in Rhode Island now. They're starting as of tomorrow to shut down certain aspects of the state in terms of bars, gyms, movie theaters, and bowling alleys, but they're keeping schools open. Now we're talking to a psychologist in the next hour about the mental stress and emotional stress that children are feeling from virtual school and not being able to go back to school.

Is it necessary in your mind to keep those schools open for the safety and -- the mental health of our children and how do you balance that now especially with Rhode Island closing everything else?

MATHEW: Yes. Listen, Christi, there was an entire course dedicated when I was a medical student to the cognitive development of a child when they go to school and the interaction with their peers. It is absolutely key that our kids stay in school.

But let's think about where we are right now in the pandemic. With the cases soaring, a million cases really a week in the month of November, you've got to think about the entire U.S. as a red zone. And when that happens, it's easy to keep a school -- to open a school, but is it going to be able to keep -- are we going to be able to keep the school open. I think that's going to be the million-dollar question.

Kids definitely don't seem to be affected with COVID like adults do. But remember, they can transmit the virus to adults. If they live an extended family with parents or older people, they can transmit the virus. And also a lot of kids are asymptomatic, Christi. And we're not necessarily testing kids.

So I think that the answer is a little bit more complicated. But to make it simple, you've got to think about the community spread, and you've got to think about what happens in these buildings, prolonged contact and proximity. Schools overall have done a good job. But I still think that we are not really counting the number of kids that are getting sick and perhaps affecting teachers, bus drivers, and our school nurses.

PAUL: I want to get back to the vaccine real quickly before I let you go. There have been some questions about we know studies and polls have shown us that almost half of the people in America have questions and hesitations about taking the vaccine. There are -- we've also had some people on our air in the health community saying they know health care professionals who also have trepidations about that.

So with that said, Dr. Jonathan Reiner talked about the idea of paying people to get the vaccine. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think it's a fabulous idea. We need to vaccinate 70 percent of the population. So if you look at our experience wearing -- trying to get people to wear masks, you know, we tried altruism, you know, protects your neighbors and that didn't work.

[06:10:01]

More recently we tried to get people to protect themselves. And that doesn't seem to work. So maybe money works. And I'm all about paying people to do the right thing.

So sure, so many people in this country are hurting financially. They need stimulus. They need some stimulus money. Get vaccinated, send the government your receipt, and get paid. I'm OK with that. Let's do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Saju, do you agree with that? What is the reality behind that?

MATHEW: You know, I actually agree with Dr. Reiner. Call it an incentive or a bribe. Let's think about the most high-risk group here -- obviously the vulnerable population will be the elderly and people in nursing homes. They've bought into the vaccine -- I've actually been taking an informal poll with my patients. The elderly, their question is, hey, when can I get it?

But when it comes to the young crowd, Christi, between 18 and 35, a lot of my patients are saying, no, I'm not going to get it. It's just going to be a cold for me so why would I get the vaccine? So providing an incentive, again, whether you call it a bribe or an incentive, I think that that will work. And because this virus is so infectious, we have to make sure that at least 80 percent of the population get the vaccine, otherwise we're not going to get out of this pandemic. So I think it's a good idea.

PAUL: Dr. Saju Mathew, always good to see you, sir. Thank you for being here.

MATHEW: Thank you, Christi.

BLACKWELL: President-elect Joe Biden is adding to his COVID-19 advisory team and President Trump's legal losses are stacking up. Of course, we're covering all the political developments this morning.

Let's start CNN's Kevin Liptak. He is at the White House. Kevin, Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Another blow to Republicans and to the legal fight to overturn the election there. Any reaction from the Trump team?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: None yet. And this was a unanimous decision by the high court in Pennsylvania rejecting a lawsuit that was brought by a state Republican lawmaker there, essentially trying to throw out mail-in ballots in the state, a justice on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court saying that they have failed to allege that even a single mail-in ballot was fraudulently cast or counted. And none of this seems to be preventing the president from continuing on his false claims about illegal voting and fraudulent voting.

The president saying that his case in Wisconsin is based on illegal votes, despite the recount there that he paid $3 million for, surfacing 132 more votes for Joe Biden. The president continuing to say that his case in Pennsylvania is based on fraud despite his own personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, saying in court that their case was not about fraud and two courts in that case now rejecting the Trump's case.

Now, the president himself has been kind of behind the scenes this weekend. He's spending the past two nights at Camp David. He was on his golf course. But beneath the surface, this administration is working very hard in these final weeks of the administration to sort of cement many of the decisions that the president worked on during his four years in office. Taken individually, they might not seem that big a deal, but taken together, what emerges is this picture of an administration that is working very hurriedly, very quickly to try and cement the president's actions.

And just to tick through a few of them in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president announcing troop withdrawals, essentially leaving Biden a new dynamic in those war zones as he comes into office. Threatening new sanctions in China and Iran. We're told that those are on the docket for the next several weeks. Essentially stymieing any attempts at diplomacy by the Biden administration toward those countries.

On the environment, the president opening up new drilling leases in Alaska, rolling back protections for migratory birds. At the treasury department, pulling back funds that were meant for this Federal Reserve lending program that could provide relief to people during the coronavirus pandemic, making it difficult for the Biden administration to restart that very quickly. At the justice department, pushing these federal executions through before the end of the president's term. Five scheduled before he's set to leave office.

Homeland Security, cementing some of these immigration rules including making the citizenship test harder for people who are trying to become American citizens. Also rushing to complete the border wall, rolling back protections for federal workers, and pardons. Last week the president pardoned his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

We're told the lobbying has increased for more pardons in the remainder of the president's term. So all of this an indication that the president, his aides, his cabinet members all realize that his administration is coming to an end, that he won't be president after January 20th.

PAUL: Kevin Liptak. Good to know, thank you so much.

President-elect Joe Biden is bolstering his coronavirus advisory team. CNN political reporter Rebecca Buck is following the latest. Rebecca, good to see you this morning as well. What more can you tell us about the people he's -- that's on his roster?

REBECCA BUCK, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Christi. Well, Biden has said that some of his priorities in fighting the pandemic and taking on health care issues in general would be mental health and health issues among Native Americans and he is following through on the rhetoric now with these new experts he has adding to his coronavirus advisory panel.

[06:15:12]

The first, Jane Hopkins. She's a registered nurse and a mental health expert. He has also added Jill Jim who is executive director of the Navajo Nation Department of Health. So obviously focused there on Native American health care and issues. And again, Biden, the key here, has said that he'll not only name these experts to his advisory board and to his administration, but that he'll also listen to them, that he'll take the lead of scientists and health experts when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. So this is the president-elect following through on some of what we heard from him in the campaign.

Now in the meantime, of course, this transition is continuing to plan for the response to the coronavirus pandemic. This week they began receiving coronavirus-related updates from the federal government. As part of that ascertainment from the General Services Administration, getting updates on Operation Warp Speed, for example, and progress on the vaccines and logistics surrounding the distributions of those vaccines.

But this coming week, Biden as the president-elect, will begin receiving the presidential daily briefing which, of course, contains highly sensitive classified information, and is a typical marker not only of the presidential transition but also of the presidency itself. We've heard that Donald Trump was not as interested in receiving this briefing, but we do expect Biden will take on a more traditional approach to this.

And finally, this week one thing we'll be watching for will be Biden naming members of his economic team. Last week the focus was national security and foreign policy with some of his nominees. This week we are expecting an economic focus.

Of course, we've already reported that Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair, will be named as his treasury secretary, nominated as his treasury secretary. This is a pick that got a lot of appreciation and applause from Democrats across the spectrum, moderates, progressives.

And it gives a sense of what we can expect from Biden on some of his other economic picks, for example, council of economic advisers, OMB, are some of the positions we'll be watching for. So these will obviously be very much scrutinized because of the role that the economy will play early in his presidency. The coronavirus recovery that is going to be necessary. But we already have a sense of what Biden might you do -- Christi, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Rebecca Buck, thank you. BUCK: Thank you.

PAUL: And be sure to watch "STATE OF THE UNION" today starting at 9:00 a.m. Jake Tapper is going to be joined by the White House's coronavirus testing czar Admiral Brett Giroir and Missouri Senator Roy Blunt. That's right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: So we're 10 months into this pandemic, and you know the rules -- stay out of crowds, social distance. You imagine that this is a bad idea then, and cracking down on these underground dance parties, police across the country. We'll show what they're finding.

PAUL: Also this morning we're seeing tributes to the man behind that mask there. Yes, his name is David Prowse. And he has passed away but he was Darth Vader. We'll tell you more.

BLACKWELL: Plus, Sarah Fuller on the field for Vanderbilt and makes college football history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:28]

PAUL: Twenty-two minutes past the hour. Look, we get it, pandemic fatigue is real, and it is setting in for a lot of people now 10 months into the coronavirus restrictions.

BLACKWELL: And police are seeing more of these crowded, underground parties that violate the guidelines on gatherings. CNN's Stephanie Elam has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From a fight club called the Rumble in the Bronx --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These activities were illegal and sometimes deadly before COVID-19.

ELAM: -- to a warehouse shooting in Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turned out that it was a gathering for a large party.

ELAM: Coast to coast, secret parties busted by cops like this allegedly illegal bottle club with 120 people inside last weekend in New York City where deputies also shut down a swingers club with 80 people inside.

SHERIFF JOSEPH FUCITO, NEW YORK CITY: The best and most pragmatic method for sheriff's deputies to save lives is to maximize enforcement at these types of dangerous gatherings.

ELAM: In Los Angeles, two warehouse parties in recent months led to two different shootings, exposing a reality that even in a pandemic, people are determined to party. LAPD says many of the warehouses are falsely booked as video shoots.

CAPT. STACY SPELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: And then the fact they're in industrial areas, you know, oftentimes they don't get the same kind of attention that, you know, it would get in residential areas.

ELAM (on camera): What would LAPD tell these warehouse owners?

SPELL: We ask them to ask more questions, to be more selective. And to try to better identify what the purpose of that is going to be.

ELAM (voice over): the extent of the problem here, unknown. But on the same night of this warehouse shooting two weeks ago --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a big party going on.

ELAM: There were social media posts from this gathering in downtown L.A. And this one posted just last weekend.

The parties are often organized online with no location given until hours before the event. LAPD says in an era of police reform, the department must think hard about sending armed officers to a gathering where no additional crimes are reported.

SPELL: And so in those instances where a response would be more geared towards public health issues or we could direct, you know, unarmed response, you know, through we have partners in the fire department. There are other entities that could better respond to those kinds of things.

ELAM: A curfew in Los Angeles County may have had an impact. We found two separate warehouse parties canceled last weekend just hours before the curfew was to take effect.

In California, raves were held outside in San Bernardino County where the local health department says it approves and monitors them.

[06:25:01]

But in the cold weather of New York --

FUCITO: The Sheriff's office would be concentrating on large-scale gatherings.

ELAM: Authorities have declared the underground party is over.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Thanks for Stephanie for that report.

So we are still fairly early into the transition process. About 7.5 weeks until inauguration but President-elect Biden is now facing accusations of elitism after just a handful of nominee announcements. We'll take a look at these accusations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: President-elect Joe Biden's transition team tells us to expect a flood of announcements of appointees in the next weeks as he ramps up toward inauguration day. But already there are accusations of elitism.

[06:30:02]

Joining us now is Toluse Olorunnipa, CNN Political Analyst and White House Reporter for The Washington Post. Toluse, good morning to you.

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So you've got a piece in the Post about how Republicans are trying to cast Joe Biden as an elitist and, of course, this is after President Trump who lived in a gilded penthouse in Manhattan and flies from private golf club to private golf club. And said this, in 2018, sat one if we have it, guys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: I meet these people, they call them the elite. These people, I look at him, I say, that's elite? We got more money. We got more brains, we got better houses, apartments, we got nicer boats, we're smarter than they are, and they say the elite. We're the elite. You're the elite. We are the elite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Better houses, nicer boats. How are Republicans building this narrative about Joe Biden?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, it's a nakedly political strategy. They're trying to tag him with this brand of elitism, in part because he's selected, you know, highly qualified, highly educated cabinet selections, people who went to Ivy League schools and who have spent a lot of time working for government, who've worked white collar jobs for the majority of their lives. Now, they don't talk about the fact that many of President Trump's cabinet officials are Ivy League educated and very wealthy, and spend a lot of time in corporate America.

But the idea is to really tarnish Biden's image. Biden has spent a lot of time talking about himself as middle class, Joe, the kid from Scranton, someone who's going to look out for working class Americans. And that's why he was able to win in Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, places that President Trump won four years ago, in part because he was able to not only speak to the suburban voters, but also to some of the white working class voters that President Trump had won over four years ago.

So a lot of these Republicans who are looking at 2024 people like Senator Rubio, Senator Holly, Senator Tom Cotton, they're all trying to specifically brand Biden as someone who's looking out for coastal professionals, who's appointing officials who will manage and maintain the status quo and not look out for working Americans. It's something that, you know, is difficult for them to make that case

when they have been silent for the past four years about President Trump's choices and his embrace of elitism. But they are making the case nonetheless, and they are trying to make sure that Biden from the very beginning has to be constrained by the fact that he is being tagged with this, this brand of elitism and not looking out for American workers.

BLACKWELL: So, is the Biden team dismissing this out of hand? Are they sensitive to the narrative at all?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes. I've talked to a couple of folks on the Biden transition, and then they are very quick to point out the hypocrisy behind this. They're saying that this is all about politics, that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are the first joint team to come into the Oval Office without any Ivy League degrees. Obviously, Kamala Harris went to Howard University, Biden went to Delaware, went to school at the University of Delaware.

And they are pointing out that they do have middle class backgrounds, and they do have stories of their own. That they can relate to middle class Americans and working class Americans in ways that President Trump and his very wealthy cabinet might not be able to do.

So they are pushing back hard against some of these accusations and pointing out that it's not a bad thing to have highly educated and highly qualified people in government saying that President Trump, one of his mistakes was that he appointed people that did not have experience, and they did not know how to work the level levers of government to get things done.

So they are pushing back pretty hard against this narrative, trying to make sure it doesn't set in before Biden takes place, takes office. But they do recognize this, they do see this as a potential challenge, and they do see that some of the people that are looking at running in 2024 are the people that are making this argument the most strongly. And they're trying to push back on this quickly as they can.

BLACKWELL: We will see as the days and weeks go on toward the inauguration how the cabinet will shape out. We also know that there are questions about the diversity of those nominees from the president-elect. Toluse Olorunnipa, thanks so much.

OLORUNNIPA: Thank you.

CHRISTI PAUL, HOST: We are seeing so many reactions from people as you all learn the death of British actor David Prowse. He's the actor who played Darth Vader from the original Star Wars trilogy. We'll tell you more of what we know now.

[06:34:36]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: David Prowse, the British actor who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy has died. He was 85. PAUL: Yes. We are bringing Chief Media Correspondent and Host of "Reliable Sources" Brian Stelter for more on this. What do we know about his death, Brian? I know that it said something about a short illness.

BRIAN STELTER, CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. David Prowse was 85 years old, best known for playing perhaps the greatest movie villain of all time. And he brought this imposing stature, all six foot six inches to the role of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. So many fans loved and appreciated him and also many of his colleagues, and I'll show you what Mark Hamill said in just a moment.

[06:40:00]

But the life of David Prowse is so interesting. He is this man who showed up for Star Wars, voiced all the scenes, then later found out that James Earl Jones was being brought in to actually provide the voice of Darth Vader, because Prowse's voice wasn't deemed fitting for the character.

And so, Prowse plays this physically imposing villain in Star Wars, and yet in profiles he said he was best, he was proudest of something very different in his life and his career as an actor. He was proudest of doing public service announcements in the United Kingdom for kids crossing the road, teaching them road safety, teaching them how to cross safely. I think that's a beautiful contrast. The person best known for playing Darth Vader was proudest of his work trying to save children's lives when crossing the street.

As I said, Prowse was 85. Here's what Mark Hamill, of course, Luke Skywalker himself, said on Twitter overnight. Hamill saying, "So sad to hear of David Prowse death. He was a kind man and much more than Darth Vader. Actor, husband, father, a Member of the Order of the British Empire, three-time British weightlifting champion and safety icon." As I mentioned there, the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as he loved them.

You know, when I heard this news overnight, it made me really miss the old-fashioned experience of going to the movie theater. You know, we're living in this awful year where many theaters have been closed. Many people haven't been to the movies all year long. Star Wars is the kind of film that belongs on a big screen theater, whether you're seeing the newer ones of the original trilogy. And so, this year of all years, you think about the impact of film to really change people's lives. And David Prowse was a part of that.

BLACKWELL: You know, I need to go back and watch the original trilogy after all this talk of Star Wars. I've not seen it. And it's --

STELTER: Wow, what a confession.

BLACKWELL: I know. I've never seen it. I saw one. I saw the one with Jar Jar Binks and that was enough for me to say I don't want to see the rest of them. So I need to see the initial ones now after seeing these old pictures. Brian Stelter, thanks so much. PAUL: Thanks, Brian.

STELTER: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Sometimes (inaudible). Be sure to watch "Reliable Sources" today at 11:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: Yes. So listen to this, speaking of something you might want to see. If you're driving through New Jersey, you may see this sign. "Wear a friggin' mask." Rock icons Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi teamed with comedian, of course they did, Jon Stewart to promote coronavirus safety in a campaign to get residents to mask up.

BLACKWELL: Yes. You see them here pictured on the billboard with their mask on. New Jersey natives, all of them, have joined forces before back in April as part of a pandemic relief fund benefit.

PAUL: All right. To Europe, we are taking you next old tensions have exploded into some new scenes of violence. We're going to Paris where the term "City of Lights" took on a chilling new meaning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:14]

BLACKWELL: So parts of Europe are under lockdown right now but the tensions and frustrations, we're seeing those publicly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Police in London arrested more than 150 people during some protests yesterday.

PAUL: Yes. Some groups were protesting lockdown measures. Others were marching against a COVID vaccine. Now, arrest charges included breaching coronavirus regulations and assaulting a police officer and possession of drugs. England's lockdown is set to end on Wednesday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Let's go to France now as there are some easing of restrictions there. More than 130,000 people were on the streets across the country, sometimes violently clashing with police. The root of the frustration there, the controversial new security bill.

PAUL: Yes, let's see what was happening. In Paris, there were some protesters who put up barricades, it started fires. This, as well, police were seen firing tear gas. Now, that bill Victor mentioned, it would make it illegal to film and publish images of police officers under certain circumstances.

BLACKWELL: Critics say this would prevent journalists from reporting on police brutality. Melissa Bell has the story from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MELISSA BELL, PARIS CORRESPONDENT: This is a protest against the Global Security Bill that currently forwarded to French Parliament. Already it had attracted a great deal of controversy as they went before the National Assembly. Because essentially, one of its provisions would make it a punishable offence to publish pictures of policeman with the intent to cause them harm. That was already the subject of a great deal of controversy. Then this week, two separate investigations open into allegations of police brutality have further fed the anger that led to the crowds here today.

The bill so far has passed the National Assembly. It should be before the Senate in December. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So Mike Tyson back in the ring. Here what's 54-year-old had to say about his first fight in 15 years and what's next for him. Also, don't miss the new season of "This is Life with Lisa Ling." It starts tonight. We want to give you a preview here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, HOST (voice-over): I think he's gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. We're inside.

LING (voice-over): Guiding Hudson and the other students through security gates is the boys English and theology teacher, Jim Nicoletti.

LING (on-camera): Do you talk much about what the boys are about to embark on before they go in?

JIM NICOLETTI, TEACHER: Well, it's tricky because you don't want to give away too much. You want it to be a surprise. You want to be a healthy shock. Geography matters, getting kids out in the community matters. I'm always telling students don't let school get in the way of your education, a lot of good stuff to see out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:50:00]

PAUL: "This is Life with Lisa Ling" premieres with back to back episodes tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute airs on December 13th. Here's a preview for you.

[06:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER (voice-over): Sometimes a photograph can capture the mood and the attention of the world. In June, one image did just that.

During the protests on the streets of London events turn violent. Black Lives Matter group was there to condemn statues and people with racist ties and many white protesters were there to protect the statues. Things got heated. One man, Bryn Male, a white former police officer wandered into the crowd, and he started to get beat up.

One of the Black Lives Matter protesters, Patrick Hutchinson, saw that he was in peril. Patrick moved in, picked up the injured Bryn, carried him through the crowd to safety.

PATRICK HUTCHINSON, BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTER: The biggest thing for me was making sure that no harm came to him because I knew if harm had come to him, the narrative would just be changed and then the blame would be full on the young Black Lives Matters protesters. We made sure we got him out of there safely.

COOPER (voice-over): Patrick, the father and grandfather, hopes that everyone who sees the image understands that the responsibility to do the right thing resides in all of us.

HUTCHINSON: We just want equality for all races, for all people, that right now were the ones who seem to be the oppressed ones. And it's about time things would change, you know, the world over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You can vote now for your most inspiring moments, it's at cnnheroes.com and thank you for checking it out.

BLACKWELL: There no quarterbacks that can play on the Denver Broncos in their game against the New Orleans Saints coming up.

PAUL: And it makes you go, well, how are they going to do that? Lauren Carolyn Manno has been looking at for it. She's with us in this morning's Bleacher Report. Good morning, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you both. The Broncos could be turning towards a wide receiver from their practice squad in order to fill in. This is really worst case scenario for the Denver Broncos, for any NFL team to not have an available quarterback especially on such short notice with the team telling us about this last night, in their game set to move as planned for later on this afternoon.

The NFL ruling the Broncos three eligible quarterbacks starter Drew Lock and backups Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles as ineligible due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. The three quarterbacks tested negative but still need to sit out for five days according to league rules.

Denver's team statement didn't specify who the players came in contact with but multiple outlets are reporting that it was quarterback Jeff Driskel, who was placed on the team's reserved COVID-19 list on Thursday. ESPN reporting the three sideline quarterbacks were not wearing masks at one point during contact with Driskel. Wide receiver Kendall Hinton played quarterback at Wake Forest for three years. He could take his first NFL snaps as the team starter later on this afternoon when they host the Saints running back Royce Freeman could also be an option for the team. A lot of Broncos players are upset about the situation including tight end, Noah Fant, who said "I'm not one to complain but NFL y'all can't possibly send us into a game without a quarterback. The most important position to an offense, we don't even got a backup."

Meantime, Mike Tyson back in the ring for the first time in 15 years taking on Roy Jones Jr. in LA. Both former champions showing flashes of their younger selves during the eight round exhibition. But the bout ended in a draw. At 54 years old though, not sure Mike Tyson got a fair shake. He would be open, he says, to doing something similar again.

And Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five Conference football game on Saturday. Fuller's kickoff to start the second half was the only time that she got on the field as the Commodores were shut out by Missouri 41-0. She got her shot at football after several players were ruled out due to COVID-19 contact tracing. And she said, it proves that you can do anything that you put your mind to a great reminder of that, Christine, Victor. It's exciting to see her get out there just for a minute anyway.

PAUL: Yes. I was -- we were hoping to see more of her but the fact that we saw her at all. I have great significance. I know for my daughters, they were watching and they were cheering her on just like we all were. So it is a moment. Thank you so much, Carolyn, good to see you.

BLACKWELL: Thanks, Carolyn. You know, one thing about Santa.

PAUL: What about Santa?

BLACKWELL: One thing about Santa, he will always find a way to make the magic of the holiday happen.

PAUL: He will. He's even taking visiting malls across the country seriously, but he wants you to know that that safety is extended to you.

BLACKWELL: Yes. So special guidelines and precautions now, including having to wear masks in photos. But as one of Santa's old buddies once said, what if Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously, they're in mask and we're separated from Santa but it's still good to have the tradition and going to have a picture for every year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I asked Santa for buy me game house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Nintendo Switch but he couldn't find one, I would like a skateboard. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm asking Santa for a Jaguar, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Sure, if we're all asking why not? I want to show you a zoo in Denmark and what they came up with to keep kids safe, so they could see Santa.

Look at this. He's in a giant snow globe. Kids can even -- you see him they're given a high five.

BLACKWELL: I love this. I love Santa found a way to make sure they get to still see the kids.

PAUL: That is beautiful. Hey, the next hour of NEW DAY starts right now.