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Trump Backs Down, Signs COVID Relief Bill and Averts Shutdown; Unemployment Benefits Lapse for Jobless Americans After Trump Delays Bill Signing; Trump's Delay Could Prevent Americans From Receiving Aid This Week; House to Vote Today on Boosting Direct Payments to $2000; Americans Will Receive Second Stimulus Check of $600; Officials Identify Nashville Bomber, Focus Turns to Motive; Hospitals Brace for Post-Holiday Surge; At Least 8 Patients Treated at Nashville Hospitals After Bombing; Nashville Officer Gets Emotional Describing Moments After Bombing; Small Businesses Reeling From Damage After Nashville Bombing; December the Deadliest Month in U.S. for COVID; TSA: 1.3 Million People Passed Through Airports Sunday; Nearly Two Million Vaccines Administered So Far in U.S.; Hospitalizations Growing at an Alarming Rate. Aired 11-11:30a ET.

Aired December 28, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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


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[11:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We're finally getting some financial relief after President Trump signed an emergency COVID relief deal and headed back out to the golf course this morning. Now, before signing the bill last night, the president held it hostage for five days.

He railed against it, he threatened to dismantle it entirely and he demanded changes that ultimately went nowhere, all the while golfing in Florida over the Christmas holiday.

Now those five days of delays were long enough for unemployment benefits to run out for millions of Americans and they nearly forced a government shutdown for no reason at all.

President Trump sowing all of this chaos before backing down and signing the very bill he'd opposed, but only after the damage was done and the suffering of Americans was prolonged. And yes, as I mentioned before, President Trump back on the golf course this morning.

So why hold up the relief and threaten to shut down if he was just going to sign it in the end. Let's go to Boris Sanchez at the White House. Boris, maybe you can answer that question, why did he do this?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's a terrific question, Brianna, because at this point as the president spends another day at his golf club here in Palm Beach, he has nothing to show for this delay in signing the COVID relief package that could ultimately hurt a lot of Americans who are currently struggling right now.

The president did not get any of the demands that he's been publically pushing for over the last several days. And they include cutting what he deems is unnecessary spending. Important to point out, this COVID relief package was paired with the Omnibus spending bill, the whole government spending bill, the president conflating the two and suggesting that things like foreign aid should not be in the coronavirus relief package.

They're not. The president calling that wasteful even though a lot of that foreign aid and other things that he's railing against that he calls poor were actually part of the White House budget and requested by the White House.

The president also pushing for an increase in those stimulus checks to Americans from $600 to $2,000. At this point it is unclear that law makers are going to pursue that, the president sort of putting forth this idea that he wants these paychecks increased even though it's clear that he had influence in what Congress ultimately signed off on.

He's sort of throwing his negotiator, Steve Mnuchin and Mark Meadows under the bus with this. We should point out the Senate Majority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell came out with a statement lauding the president for finally signing off on this bill.

But he does not mention in this statement, congratulating the president, any of the issues that the president wanted reviewed; including a review of section 230, that liability protection for social media companies and what he wants, a strong focus on election fraud even though there's no evidence of wide spread election fraud, Brianna.

KEILAR: That's right. There is no evidence of it. Boris, thank you so much. Live for us from Florida. I want to go now to Capitol Hill where the House is expected to vote today on increasing stimulus checks to $2,000. This is what our CNN congressional reporter, Lauren Fox, is there tracking.

So this vote, Lauren, could pit some House Republicans against the president. But is this going to have enough votes ultimately to pass do you think?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, we expect this vote to happen tonight, Brianna, on those $2,000 stimulus checks. And this is really an important moment because as you pointed out, this is the time when Republicans will have to decide whether or not they want to support increasing the price tag of this big stimulus bill over these $2,000 checks or whether they want to stand with President Trump and give him exactly what he is asking for.

Again, these $2,000 stimulus checks for every individual. Now the question on the table is whether or not it can actually pass. And we do know that tonight's vote, because its' going to be happening under a suspension of the rules is going to require two-thirds majority.

That's a significant number of votes and it's more than just what a House Democratic majority can do on its own. So it will require Republicans to actually vote for this proposal. Now I'm told that the Republican leadership is not whipping this bill. They are giving Republicans the opportunity to vote their conscience on it.

But it's going to be worth watching. And even if it passes the House of Representatives, still no sign of what Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will do if it comes to the U.S. Senate. The question of course, whether or not McConnell would put this on the floor as a standalone bill or not, Brianna.

KEILAR: Would that be hard for Mitch McConnell if this were to pass the House by such a considerable margin? Would that be difficult for McConnell to not proceed? I mean how would he rationalize not proceeding with it?

FOX: Well, I think there are a couple of factors that the majority leader is weighing right now. One of them, of course, what do you do if there's an overwhelming vote in the House and so many Republicans vote for it.

But what do you do about the fact that there are a little Republican members in his conference who don't want to take a vote on a $2,000 stimulus check in part because they're concerned about the ballooning deficit, in part because they never wanted this stimulus bill to be above a $1 trillion proposal.

[11:05:00]

It's sitting nicely around $980 billion right now. So that's sort of the two factors that the majority leader is weighing. Now nobody knows the Senate floor and Senate procedure like Majority Leader McConnell. So whether or not he finds a way to avoid a standoff still remains to be seen. I expect that we will hear more from him in the upcoming days, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Lauren Fox, our eyes and ears there on the ground in Capitol Hill, a busy time right now. Eligible Americans will receive a second round of stimulus checks in the Coronavirus relief package of $600, which is half the amount that Congress provided in March. It could be days though or weeks before these checks land.

Joining me now is Michele Evermore. She's a senior policy analyst for the national employment law project. Michele, that's the question I think Americans want to know, OK, when am I going to see this check? When will I get this money?

MICHELE EVERMORE, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW PROJECT: Well, unfortunately it takes states a little bit of time to program these new benefits into computer systems. So it could take up to two to three weeks, maybe even a little bit longer than that. But states have known that this was coming and so they've gotten started on programming this into their computer system. So hopefully it will be up and running soon.

KEILAR: OK. So that's -- that's the good news that they maybe anticipated this. He held off, the president did, on signing this bill for days and I wonder, Michele, how that affects unemployed individuals who are in key pandemic assistant programs during what is this final week of the year?

EVERMORE: Well, by waiting until Sunday he's introduced a great deal of uncertainty. There is language in the relief bill that says that the bill can't apply two weeks after it started before the bill was enacted. Well, Sunday it happened before the bill was enacted, Sunday morning happened.

So it's not clear if benefits will be payable for this week. There's a theory that maybe benefits can be payable this week, we're just not sure yet. So we have to find out.

KEILAR: Meaning, do people basically get back pay for this week, is that what you're saying and that's unknown?

EVERMORE: That's right. So the 9 million people collecting pandemic unemployment assistance, the 4.7 million about collecting pandemic emergency unemployment compensation that ran -- that is for people who ran out of regular unemployment insurance. It's not clear if they will get a benefit this week.

And it's also not clear if the $300 will apply to this week. We have to wait for guidance from the employment and training administration at the Department of Labor.

KEILAR: All right that's -- I mean that's uncertainty obviously that Americans who are hurting don't want to hear. And I know that you've been talking to different agencies, what are you hearing about the struggles of Americans.

EVERMORE: So the struggle out there is tremendous. It's actually sometimes hard for me to open my email because people are righting to me about really tough choices they're having to make, whether they're going to pay their rent or buy groceries for their children, take their prescriptions, people are getting evicted, people are getting foreclosed on, selling things that they shouldn't have to sell like their automobiles. It's -- it's -- it's brutal out there.

KEILAR: It's brutal. I mean like you said, you're hearing these stories; obviously they effect you very deeply. So you know the need, as you're hearing from people, do you think that $600 is enough?

EVERMORE: So actually, $600 would have been great but this extension is only $300. So I mean I guess the average unemployment is around $350, $370 per week. This will double what people were getting. And it's important to remember that in many states the average unemployment benefit by itself is below the poverty level.

KEILAR: No, that's a very good reminder. Michele Evermore, thank you so much for explaining this to us.

EVERMORE: Good talking with you. Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Coming up; officials now identified the man who they say detonated a bomb inside of an RV in Nashville. What we know about the suspect and what we're learning if anything about why he did it.

And later, how hospitals around the country are bracing for another surge in coronavirus cases as millions of Americans travel for the holidays.

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[11:10:00]

The mayor of Nashville says it's a miracle that more people were not hurt in that explosion downtown on Christmas morning. And today, he praised the police who responded as Angels wearing blue.

Authorities released this new police cam video of the bomb that was going off and you can see a police officer walking out of view when moments later we see this powerful blast lighting up the street.

Police say 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner was the bomber. He was the only person killed in the explosion. So why did he do this, this is still a mystery. CNN's Natasha Chen is in Nashville for us. And Natasha, I know you just got an update on the number of people who are being treated in hospitals after Friday's blast, what can you tell us?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Brianna. At least eight people that we know of were sent to hospitals after this explosion on Friday. Centennial Hospital said they received three patients who were discharged the same day.

And then Vanderbilt University Medical Center said they received five people who were in stable condition.

And so what's really amazing is that there weren't more serious injuries and no fatalities besides the suspect you just mentioned and that is because of the officers quick action, of the six people who responded to the scene because of initial reports of shots fired. That's still being investigated whether those were real gun shots or the recording of the sound of gun shots.

[11:15:00]

And then while they were there they started hearing this recorded message coming from that RV, very eerie message with a countdown to an explosion and the song Downtown by Petula Clark. They started knocking on doors to get people out of their apartments.

Remember this is Christmas morning, the shops were not planning to be opened but a lot of people were asleep. Here's Officer Brenna Hosey talking about those moments after the blast.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

OFFICER BRENNA HOSEY, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE: I ran to the intersection to check on Miller (ph) and Noelle (ph) to make sure they were OK. Saw Sipos (ph) running towards the intersection as well. Sorry. That's when I got on the radio to make sure Wallace (ph) was OK. Couldn't get a response from him but from the blast he had some hearing loss.

So that's when Amanda (ph) got on, said that he was OK. So I was just trying to make sure all of our people were OK and then going from there trying to figure and what was the best course of action.

(END VIDEO)

CHEN: And the officers who spoke to us also said they did not see anyone in or around that RV at the time, and so this is obviously a lot of questions that still have to be answered by investigators who are looking into the motive, why did Anthony Quinn Warner do this.

And -- and they are looking at his history, people he might have spoken with, come into contact with. And of course, over the weekend we did watch federal agents go into his home coming in and out with evidence bags, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. Natasha, it is amazing to hear Officer Hosey speak there. Thank you for bringing that to us. Natasha Chen covering this in Nashville for us.

Fortunately no one else was killed but the livelihoods of small business owners in the area were destroyed on Christmas morning. And that includes Pride and Glory Tattoo, which is part of historic downtown Nashville since 2014.

You're looking there at what is left of that business right now. And the owner of it, Pete Gibson, is joining us to talk about this.

Pete, first off, I mean we're looking at the damage here. We're so thankful that this didn't happen during business hours and that we're here talking to you certain about a huge loss for you but there is no loss of life. And for that we're thankful.

Tell us what you're going through; tell us what this was like.

PETE GIBSON, OWNER OF PRIDE & GLORY TATTOO, DAMAGED IN EXPLOSION: You know it's just -- it's kind of -- it's unreal. It's something that you -- you don't prepare for or even think about and especially on Christmas day. I mean much less it's just -- it's -- it just has us all heartbroken and we're just trying to take one foot in front of the other.

And you know, step by step and get through this. So it's just -- it's a lot.

KEILAR: No, and I -- it is the last thing that you would think. I think for folks who are familiar with this area, it's certainly not anything that you would think would happen in an area like this. I know that you had actually seen an RV, is that, in the area. Can you tell us about this?

GIBSON: So I recall a few weeks ago, I recall pulling up to the shop and seeing an RV very, very similar to that one parked right outside the shop. It's hard to say if it the exact RV but I -- it's not every day you see a old, old RV downtown. And so I'd -- I have a good feeling it's probably that one.

KEILAR: And have you been able to talk to the police at all about that?

GIBSON: I have. I've talked to a few investigators and police and what not.

KEILAR: So I mean -- I'm assuming you have seen the photo that we are looking at and I wonder if you have seen more of the entire -- it looks like the entire facade of the building is gone, the entire interior of this business is gone.

What is your understanding of the damage of -- and here we have the -- a picture of the store front in -- as it was original and it's a beautiful store front. What is your understanding the damage here?

GIBSON: So right now I haven't been able to get in person down there. I've just seen pictures, like you said, and it's -- it's horrible. It's -- I know those streets like the back of my hand as it's my life, it's my love, I -- I'm down there every day of the week for years and I can't even -- you know I can't even make out what the shop was or is or where almost and it's truly heartbreaking.

KEILAR: Yes, I mean it's -- it's the destruction of your home, right. Even if it isn't your physical home it's obviously a place you're so familiar with. What is this going to mean? Where -- what are you doing going forward, what is this going to me for you and your employees? It's already been a tough year.

GIBSON: It's been a rollercoaster of a year that's for sure with the Nashville tornado and all COVID and now this. It's quite the rollercoaster and we're just trying to -- all my employees and I, we're taking the steps -- one step in front of the other mentally first, making sure all the guys are OK.

And Evan (ph), Cody (ph), Jordan (ph), and Mike (ph); we're all going to get through this together as a team and it's -- like I said, just one step in front of the other mentally first and then we're going to start the rebuild process.

[11:20:00]

But I truly believe that we're going to be all right and we're going to get through all this.

KEILAR: Well, Pete, I know this is tough. I can hear it talking to you. But I'm so glad -- I'm so glad to be talking to you about what you're going through. We're very sorry, obviously for the loss of your business. But it is good to be talking to you and that you are safe and your employees are safe. So thank you for joining us.

GIBSON: You're welcome. Thank you.

KEILAR: Pete Gibson, who is with -- he's the owner of the Pride and Glory Tattoo parlor, which was damaged in the explosion in Nashville. There are other small businesses that were destroyed and you can head to gofundme.com/supportfornashvilleownedbusinesses, like Pete's.

Still ahead, December is now the nation's deadliest month for the pandemic. How much worse could it get if there's a holiday surge in cases?

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[11:25:00]

The month of December isn't even over and it's already the deadliest month since the pandemic began. The number of fatalities are almost double that of November's toll. As the country is surpassing 19 million reported COVID cases and there are growing concerns about yet another surge following the Christmas holiday.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: We're very concerned and we always see a little bit of a bump after holidays and sometimes a large bump. But what the important thing for people to understand is that even if you traveled, it doesn't mean you just throw your hands up in the air and say oh well. That are measures that you can take.

And the CDC, I'd like to remind people recommends that three to five days after travel or after you've been around people without a mask on; you go out and get tested.

(END VIDEO)

KEILAR: Despite warnings to stay at home, the TSA says almost 1.3 million people were screened at U.S. airports Sunday alone, which made it the busiest day for air travel since the pandemic began.

And the back drop for all of this, the CDC says almost 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine have already been administered. Let's bring in Dr. Craig Spencer to talk about this. He is the director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center.

Doctor, thank you so much for being with us. And -- and you hear that statistic that more than a million people pass through U.S. airports yesterday alone. How concerned should we be about that?

DR. CRAIG SPENCER, DIR. OF GLOBAL HEALTH IN ER MEDICINE, COLUMBIA UNIV. MEDICAL CENTER: I think we need to be really concerned, especially because right now we're seeing really record level deaths from this pandemic, as you mentioned, December has been the deadliest from COVID-19.

And COVID-19 has, in recent weeks, been the number one cause of death in the United States. We know that it looks like hopefully cases are leveling off. We're not going to know for sometime because data around the holidays is always a little hard to interpret.

But we still see 118, 119,000 people hospitalized. There are projections that in about two weeks we'll have 3,700; 3,800 Americans dying every single day from this. And no, we haven't seen the worst of this. And traveling, spreading that virus around is only going to make it worse.

KEILAR: When we look -- there's an analysis actually that we, CNN, have done on HHS data when it comes to hospitalizations. And here's what it shows, it shows the share of ICU patients with COVID-19 in the U.S. has been steadily increasing each month since the end of September.

So September it was 16 percent of ICU patients that had COVID-19, 22 percent the following month, 35 percent at the end of November. And right now you're talking about nearly 40 percent.

What does that say to you? What -- how are you reading that and what are the implications for the health of Americans there?

SPENCER: What I don't think a lot of people understand is that not all doctors or healthcare providers are interchangeable. Yes, we were able to take Operation Warp Speed and really squeeze seven or eight year process from a vaccine roll out into just under a year, which is miraculous; it takes about as long to train a doctor or a nurse; you know 6, 7, 8, 10 years for some specialist. We can't speed that up any faster than we already do that.

Right now hospitals are overflowing in many places across the country. Doctors and nurses are needed where they're at. And unlikely earlier in the -- in the -- in the outbreak when we had providers from all over the country come help us out in New York and in the Northeast, we can't do that now. We can't rely on providers from other places because they're busy in their own hospitals.

ICU attendings, ICU doctors and nurses, laboratory technicians are needed where they're at because the needs are so great and we just don't have any flexibility like we did early in this outbreak. And that means providers are going to be stretched further, more exhausted, and ultimately patient care will suffer.

KEILAR: And so -- I mean to that point the surge in California has overwhelmed the healthcare system there to the point where doctors say they may have to start rationing care. And it's -- you know it's -- this is something that we hear doctors warn about, the reality of it is what you said, which is that there are fewer doctors, fewer nurses, fewer healthcare professionals to do the same work.

I think it's -- it's difficult, I will tell you, sometimes talking to doctors and nurses to say OK, exactly how is that playing out. But what does that mean if you are a patient and you are in the hospital with COVID now say as opposed to several months ago, how is that care going to change for you because the demand for the care is so high?

SPENCER: Look, once again I don't think people recognize is that we don't have a magic bullet against COVID, one of the only medications we know that's proven to help is -- is steroid injection.