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U.S. Brokers Israeli-Emirates Deal; Biden-Harris V. Coronavirus: Day One; Europe To Reimpose Travel Restrictions And Testing; Kamala Harris's Story Reawakens The American Dream; WHO Sets Five Percent Target, U.S. Tops Five Million; Trump Attacks Biden's Approach to the Virus; Positivity Rates, Death Counts Rising Across U.S.; U.S. Military Cases Spike in South Korea; Hong Kong Media Mogul Jimmy Lai Speaks about His Arrest; Earth Sees Impact of Extreme Climate Change; Daniel Cormier Prepares for His Final Fight. Aired 1- 2a ET
Aired August 14, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching second hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Ahead, a U.S. brokered deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates upends the old approach of Israeli concessions in return for diplomatic recognition.
The irony of playing politics in the midst of a pandemic as coronavirus cases top five million in the U.S. Donald Trump accuses Joe Biden of ignoring the science.
Also CNN speaks with Hong Kong media mogul, Jimmy Lai, after he was arrested and then released. Why he says he is not an advocate for independence for Hong Kong.
A ground-breaking deal, a tectonic shift in the Middle East, a stab in the back, a nightmare for Iran. All the descriptions of a U.S. brokered deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. president says he is expecting the leaders of both countries to visit Washington relatively soon for a formal signing agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After 49 years, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalize their diplomatic relations.
Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates' lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Now part of the deal, Israel has agreed to suspend plans to annex parts of the West Bank, at least for the time being.
The two countries will exchange ambassadors, they'll signs pacts on investment, tourism, direct flights, security, technology, telecommunications, energy, health, culture, the environment.
All of the stuff the Israeli prime minister -- who actually has his own problems right now --puts this in the win column.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL: Israel and the UAE are two of the most advanced countries in the world.
Together, we'll transform the region and forge an even better future for our people. This is a future of peace, a future of security, and a future of prosperity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, we Elliot Gotkine, a journalist in Tel Aviv standing by live. We also have CNN's Sam Kiley in Beirut this hour.
But Elliott, just to start with you. What is really interesting about how this has all played out is that there was always this belief that the Israelis would have to give up something to get diplomatic relations with an Arab country.
Not true anymore. They gave up practically nothing.
They put something which they may have been going to be doing on hold but they -- there was no guarantee it would happen anyway.
So this is an incredible deal which Netanyahu has struck.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: John, from Prime Minister Netanyahu's perspective, this is peace for peace.
And he's certainly feeling vindicated that his long-held belief and, indeed, policy of effectively ignoring the Palestinians and trying to forge better relations with the Arab World can indeed happened without any concessions to the Palestinians.
And, as you say, without really without any concessions to the other party in terms of the peace agreement.
We've seen Israel signing peace agreements with the Egyptians in the past -- of course, they returned the Sinai Peninsula in that deal. Peace agreements with Jordan.
And really this is the first time that Israel has signed such a deal or has agreed to sign such a deal which doesn't really involve any concessions.
Yes, he has agreed to postpone the annexation of the West Bank or parts of the West Bank, the Jordan Valley and other settlements.
But Netanyahu was adamant last night, just in the moments after this deal was announced, that this is still on the table, it is still his policy. And it will still go ahead. VAUSE: We go to Sam now in Beirut. Because, Sam, there was always this belief that the traditional view of the peace process, it would be an inside out process.
In other words, there would be peace with the Palestinians on the inside and from that you get peace on the outside with the Arab World.
Now -- at least this is Netanyahu's belief and it looks like it's panning out, it's from the outside in.
With the Arab World because there are others, apparently, other Gulf States at least who they say are willing to make a similar deal with the Israelis who are willing to make peace. And then that will bring about some kind of peace deal with the Palestinians.
SAM KILEY, CNN SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. At the strategic level, John, this is all about the relationship between the Gulf States, a very bad relationship between the Gulf States, particularly the Emirates perhaps and the perception that Iran is a major threat.
And, of course, the other country in the region that sees Iran as a really dangerous threat are Saudi Arabia and, of course, Israel.
They've led the charge, if you'll excuse the pun, on that issue. So there's a natural affinity there.
[01:05:00]
At the same time, the Emiratis especially are very frustrated indeed with the Palestinian leadership, which they consider geriatric, incompetent, corrupt, lacking ideas and incapable of advancing their own case, much less modernizing the landscape that is the Middle East.
Now, in that context, they have been quite keen, the Emiratis, to try to normalize relations with Israel. But they have been very, very concerned over the Israeli plans to
annex the West Bank.
They are seeing, therefore, this deal to suspend the proposals to annex the West Bank, not abandon but suspend them, as an effort to keep the two-state, the idea of a two-state solution -- a Palestinian State and an Israeli State in the West Bank and in Israel living side by side -- alive.
Now as far as the Palestinians are concerned this is nothing short of a betrayal.
But it does give the Emiratis now leverage with the Israelis. It puts them in the room, it makes them part of the conversation. And that is something that they think is something of an achievement.
And this what Becky Anderson -- had an exchange with the foreign minister of the Emirates. And this is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ANWAR BIN MOHAMMED GARGASH, MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: So there was a long, I would say, internal dialog and dialog also with the Americans.
About how could we do it, is it the right moment? And I think we figured out there's never a right moment here. There's never a right moment.
But at the same time, if we really get this commitment, it will be like defusing the timebomb on a two-state solution.
As I said, ultimately, the solution is in the hands of the Palestinians, in the hands of Israelis, and we urge them to go back to the negotiating table.
We know that prospects are dim right now, but we hope that through this we can actually achieve something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: Now, John, anybody who, unfortunately for somebody like me, who's been on this story for about 20 years would probably observe that the Emiratis being -- expressing hope over experience, should we say. Somewhat charitably.
The Israelis have not committed to ending their settlement program. They have not -- certainly not going to end their demand that the whole of Jerusalem is going to be and demanded to be internationally recognized as their capital rather than a shared element of Jerusalem as a part of a capital of a Palestinian state down the line.
So the Emiratis really have actually simply got this back to the status quo ante. To the point at which, at least for now, the Israelis will not annexed the West Bank as they have threatened to do.
But all of the other policies remain in place.
But critically, I think it does give the Emiratis a voice, it gives them influence over the debate. Perhaps representing Palestinians without -- whilst cutting out the Palestinian leadership.
The Palestinian leadership most certainly saying that this is a betrayal and, of course, invoking the status of Israel as an example of why they see it as a betrayal. John.
VAUSE: Yes. The Palestinians -- the one party which seemed to be left out of the whole equation here at the moment.
But Sam, thank you. And Elliot Gotkine there in Tel Aviv, thank you as well.
VAUSE: Joining me now from Jerusalem for more on this. Gil Hoffman, chief political correspondent and analyst for "The Jerusalem Post". He joins us on the line.
So Gil, until now the basis for this whole Mid-East peace between Israel and the Arab World was this 2002 initiative.
And part of it said that Israel would achieve full diplomatic relations only when there was full Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied since June 1967, the establishment of a Palestinian State, East Jerusalem as capital, just an agreed upon solution to the Palestinian refugee question.
Not only is that paradigm dead, but now it seems other Gulf States are willing to establish diplomatic relations under these terms. In fact, Israel gets everything at once and gives up nothing.
What has happened that has made such a dramatic change possible?
GIL HOFFMAN, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT & ANALYST, "THE JERUSALEM POST" (Voice Over): There's been an impact of Iran's role in the region.
The old adage of the enemy of your enemy being your friend is very much true in the Middle East right now. The countries around Iran feel threatened by Iran.
And also, realize that that Israel was never really an enemy and that relations with Israel as the top economic and technological country in the region is something that benefits them.
Also, the country that's closest to the current president of the United States.
[01:10:00]
And so that made countries realize they don't have to wait for the Palestinians anymore.
That their own people are being harmed by waiting for the Palestinians to finally come back to the negotiating table and make the concessions necessary to help their own people.
And so there is this new paradigm. And it's not peace for nothing, it's peace for peace. And that's a very good thing.
VAUSE: Could this have happened without the Trump Administration making it very clear from very -- from the earliest of days of after Donald Trump's inauguration that it would be the most pro-Israel White House ever?
HOFFMAN: Well, the Trump Administration certainly tried a different strategy than any president ever had before. And it apparently it's working.
The Arab World realized that the road to Washington went through Jerusalem and that wasn't such a bad thing. And that that has led to them finally making concessions that other presidents didn't succeed in getting them to do.
And it could very well be that Joe Biden will be the president of the United States in another few months but this is send something that will send a message to him that maybe Donald Trump's way of doing things is something that potentially can continue working.
Whereas what was done with Barack Obama while Joe Biden was vice president didn't succeed in bringing Arabs and Jews together other than a dislike of Obama himself.
VAUSE: Yes. It certainly has been a different way of doing business and it certainly has achieved a very different result.
Gil, thanks for being with us. Gil Hoffman there on the line from Jerusalem.
HOFFMAN: Pleasure.
VAUSE: The U.K. is adding France, Malta and the Netherlands to its travel quarantine list as many areas of Europe brace for a second wave.
Germany and Italy among other European countries seeing a rise in the number of confirmed cases according to Johns Hopkins University.
CNN's Scott McLean picks up the story now, reporting from London.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the summer heats up in Spain, so has the coronavirus pandemic, daily new infections the highest they've been in months.
Some of the worst spikes have come in Madrid, Barcelona and Saragossa where the Spanish air force is building a brand-new field hospital to deal with the surge of new patients.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARANCHA GONZALEZ LAYA, FOREIGN MINISTER, SPAIN: So situation is under control, outbreaks are the new normal.
The important thing is to manage them in a responsible manner to prevent them from becoming a sanitary crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Spain has had the most confirmed cases in Western Europe and once had one of the strictest lockdowns too.
But as restrictions eased, cases have risen, many linked to young people and nightlife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through translator): Because we do not take care or take precautions nor pay attention to the health ministry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: It's a similar trend across Europe where overall infections are rising.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EMERGENCY HEALTH PROGRAMS: Call that a second wave, you can call that a second spike, you can call that a flare-up, you can call it anything you like.
Take the pressure off this virus, the virus will bounce back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Italy, once the epicenter of the pandemic, is now requiring visitors from Spain, Croatia, Malta, and Greece to be tested for the virus.
Greece, which was spared the worst of Europe's first wave, just registered its highest daily increase ever.
France is also seeing its sharpest rise in cases since its lockdown ended. And even requiring masks outdoors in some places.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVER VERAN, HEALTH MINISTER, FRANCE (through translator): Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 now are younger, 20 to 40, and less fragile. And because older people continue to protect themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: So far, the number of deaths in Europe is holding steady, but experts warn more deaths will follow if new measures to control the virus aren't taken soon.
Scott McLean. CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: New Zealand is scrambling to contain its outbreak as the country reports 12 new coronavirus cases.
In response, more than 15,000 people were tested just on Thursday. The most in a single day for New Zealand since the pandemic began.
Auckland has also been put under lockdown as authorities warn the number of infections is likely to rise.
CNN's Selina Wang is following these developments live from Hong Kong.
So Selina, I guess what we're seeing from New Zealand is that they beat this once and clearly they're taking a very similar approach which is this decisive, overwhelming action at the very earliest of stages.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. They're pursuing this complete total elimination approach.
So even though we've only seen a dozen or so new cases each day, they are putting a strict lockdown back in place.
So in Auckland, a city of about 1.7 million people, they are under the level three restrictions which mean that people are required to stay at home except for essential trips.
The rest of New Zealand, meanwhile, is under a lower level two alert.
And I'll be monitoring a press conference in a few hours to see if those restrictions are going to be extended.
[01:15:00]
As you said earlier, this is a very similar approach that they've taken since the beginning of the outbreak.
New Zealand has achieved international praise for its very hard and fast early response to the COVID pandemic. Back in March, they instituted one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. And it has been effective thus far.
They achieved a more than 100-day streak before this new recent outbreak in cases. And for most people in New Zealand, life had resumed back to normal.
And so this is going to be an interesting test case . To see if the rapid-fire strict response is going to be effective and be able to quickly clamp down on this new outbreak and allow people to quickly return back to normal life.
VAUSE: What is really stunning when you look what's happening in New Zealand is the level of detail they have about who and where these few cases are.
WANG: Absolutely. So the first outbreak was initially found in Auckland. It was four people linked to a family there and that's why Auckland has the strictest lockdown.
The new cases that were reported today, they're linked to two students as well as one preschooler. So those schools have been shut down. And health authorities say that they are contact tracing the closest contacts of those people.
And you're right. This aggressive approach is what has made New Zealand's response so effective so far.
But right now, what is really a mystery to them is just where the origins of this outbreak are.
They said that, according to a genome sequencing, health officials say that it is linked to strains that they have seen in Australia and the U.K.
They're also looking into what health officials say is a low possibility, that it could have come from frozen packaging.
We do know that the virus can live for longer periods of time in refrigerated environments. And health officials in China have said they have detected traces of the virus on frozen seafood.
So still a mystery as to where it's come from.
But all it takes is a mystery and a few cases for New Zealand to say goodbye to normalcy.
VAUSE: Yes. Clearly, reacting to this in a way that I guess we're not seeing in other places like the United States. So it seems they have a fairly good idea of where this is all heading.
Selina, thank you. Selina Wang there, in Hong Kong.
Well, Mexico and Argentina have announced a major deal with AstraZeneca to produce 150 to 250 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine in the first half of next year.
It would be distributed throughout Latin America except Brazil at a cost of three or four dollars a dose.
Brazil's government reported more than 60,000 new cases just on Thursday. The country now has 3.2 million infections. More than 105,000 people have died.
President Jair Bolsonaro is still pushing for the entire country to reopen, saying he expects the economy to recover by the end of the year.
Bolsonaro has been downplaying the pandemic since it began.
Chinese authorities are urging people to be careful when buying imported meats after a sample of frozen chicken wings from Brazil tested positive for the virus .
Xinjiang health officials say everyone who may have come in contact with the product has tested negative.
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention have repeatedly said there is no evidence of food transmission and the possibility of it is highly unlikely.
Still to come here. The U.S. Democratic National Convention is next week.
Already, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are calling for a simple life- saving move which Donald Trump won't even consider as a major part of their campaign.
Also, we'll find out how Harris's multi-cultural background shaped her into the woman many are calling the future of the Democratic Party.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:00]
VAUSE: The U.S. Democrat National Convention is just a few days away. And Joe Biden and his vice presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, are making the coronavirus pandemic a central issue in their campaign for the White House.
Details now from CNN's Jessica Dean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens. Step up. Do the right thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT:. Joe Biden calling for governors to implement an immediate mask mandate. Saying it could save tens of thousands of lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Every single American should be wearing a mask when they're outside for the next three months at a minimum. Every governor should mandate mandatory mask-wearing.
The estimates by the experts are it will save over 40,000 lives and the next three months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Biden has previously said if elected he would consider using his authority to mandate face coverings.
Joined by running mate, Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democrat today pushed back on those who opposed such mandates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It's not about your rights, it's about your responsibilities as an American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: A day after their public debut on the Democratic ticket, Biden and Harris were briefed on the coronavirus pandemic and the economy by a host of experts. Including former federal chair, Janet Yellen, and former Surgeon General, Vivek Murthi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I've been doing these briefings with two of the four docs up there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Today's events aimed at drawing a contrast with the Trump Administration, offering a vision of how a Biden-Harris White House would confront the crisis facing the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: That's what real leadership looks like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Harris continuing her indictment of President Trump's handling of the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: There may be some grand gestures offered by the current president about a vaccine. But it really doesn't matter until you can answer the question, "When am I going to get vaccinated?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The former vice president also weighing in on the president's comments Thursday saying he opposes additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service because he does not want it to go toward expanding mail-in voting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Pure Trump. He doesn't want an election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The campaign's focus on policy today comes as it announced bringing in big money since Biden announced Harris as his vice presidential pick. Raising $34 million on Tuesday and Wednesday.
DEAN: Biden and Harris did not take questions on Thursday. But on Wednesday, they told my colleague, Arlette Saenz, that they would campaign together in the fall if science allows.
Going back to the theme that we have seen from the Biden campaign that they really want science to lead their decisions.
Jessica Dean, CNN. Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: For Donald Trump, it seems, old habits die hard. He's back to a bit of birtherism now, he used that before with Barack Obama.
Now he refuses to reject the same false claim about Kamala Harris who was born in the United States to immigrant parents.
CNN's Nic Robertson takes a look at how her background influenced the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kamala Harris speaks passionately of her heritage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America. One from India, and the other from Jamaica.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: A daughter shaped by the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: My grandparents were phenomenal. We would go back to India like every other year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Her grandfather, an accomplished diplomat. A young Kamala Harris would walk the beach with him and his buddies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: They would talk about the importance of fighting for a democracy and the importance of fighting for civil rights. And that people would be treated equally regardless of where they were born or the circumstances of their birth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Values Kamala's mother, Shyamala Gopalan, embraced and her parents indulged.
Her brother, Harris's uncle, awed by her drive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. GOPALAN BALACHANDRAN: Can you imagine 1959, a 19-year old girl who has done home science and B.A. in Lady Irwin College --
[01:25:00]
-- going to a PhD program in biochemistry at the University of California at Berkeley all by herself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: She met Kamala's father, Donald Harris, an economic student. Together becoming civil rights activists and marrying.
They had two girls, Kamala then Maya, divorcing when Kamala was seven.
Those early years, spending time with Jamaican grandparents too, her father well regarded in Jamaica.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BERNAL, FMR. JAMAICAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Professor Harris is a very urbane, thoughtful, calm person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Although Ambassador Bernal never met his friend's daughters, he's sure they benefited from his country's qualities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNAL: And it's this quality of self confidence -- and I am sure that the children would have imbibed some of that from a Jamaican born in Jamaica.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: But it was her mother who would raise her and influence her the most.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: She was a brown woman. She was a woman with a heavy accent. She was a woman who many times people would overlook her or not take her seriously. Or, because of her accent, assume things about her intelligence.
Now, every time, my mother proved them wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(Crowd applause)
HARRIS: What's up, Oakland?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Like mother, like daughter, a trail blazer.
And maybe all the way to the White House.
Nic Robertson. CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Just programming notes. CNN will be covering every angle of the 2020 presidential elections.
Make sure to tune in for our coverage of the party conventions on August 17th, that will be the Democrats. And August 24th for the Republicans.
Of course, our daily coverage on the election at the cnn.com website is available 24/7.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM. The World Health Organization wants each country to see a positive coronavirus test rate of less than five percent. What does that actually mean, and why is it not happening in the U.S?
Also ahead. Jimmy Lai speaking out about his arrest. Why the media mogul says he does not want independence for Hong Kong?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(Health & Wellness)
MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI, LOS ANGELES: Please wear a mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Social distancing is absolutely critical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE USA: Continue to practice good hygiene, wash your hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've heard these things, over and over.
And according to a new study, these steps won't just help coronavirus from spreading, but could pretty much prevent any future outbreaks.
The study published in the journal "PLOS Medicine" said that in order for that to happen 90 percent of a population has to adopt these behaviors.
The research is based on the interaction of people in the Netherlands, but those behind the studies say it can be applied to other countries.
Researchers say governments need to continue to drive home how easily coronavirus spreads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: These are our instruments of freedom. Because they will give us the freedom to open and to stay open, and to be able to protect those who we love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:29:55]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me John Vause. Well, U.S. health experts say not only is the coronavirus epidemic not under control, it is in fact dangerously out of control. That's according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. There are now more than 5.2 million cases in the United States, more than 167,000 people have died.
The CDC says, the way things are going, the virus could kill more than 20,000 additional people by early next month. And as the country suffers, and waits for a national strategy, the U.S. President is attacking his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. He is taking a different approach to this pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Every single American should be wearing a mask when they are outside for the next the months at a minimum. Every governor should mandate -- every governor should mandate mandatory mask wearing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe doesn't know too much. Unlike the Biden approach, our approach is guided by science.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes. Ok then.
Well, to be clear the advice from the CDC, the World Health Organization, even the White House's own task force is to wear a mask, wear a mask.
But the Trump administration, some Republican governors, even Donald Trump himself have spent months giving conflicting guidance on masks, or they flat out refused to wear them in the first place.
Meanwhile, the director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health says there's not going to be an October surprise coronavirus vaccine. So if you are hoping for that, it's probably best to give up.
Well, a deadly game of tug of war is on right now. On one side, U.S. school districts and businesses and other groups that are reopening and refusing to wear masks. On the other, health experts who say we need to do better to save lives.
Here is CNN's Athena Jones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Bottom line is I am not pleased with how things are going.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, Dr. Anthony Fauci raising concerns about disturbing trends in parts of the country. DR. FAUCI: This is the thing that is disturbing to me is that we're
starting to see the inkling of the upticks in the percent of the tests that are positive which, we know now from sad, past experience that that is a predictor that you're going to have more surges.
JONES: This warning comes as the U.S. confronts the deadliest day of the summer -- 1499 people lost to COVID-19 Wednesday. And as CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield makes this blunt admission.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: This is the greatest public health crisis that hit this nation in a century. We were under prepared.
And we need to owe it to our children and grandchildren, that this nation is never underprepared again for a public health crisis.
JONES: Redfield warning that if at least 95 percent of Americans don't follow basic public health recommendations like mask wearing, handwashing, and social distancing --
DR. REDFIELD: This could be the worst fall from a public health perspective we have ever had. I'm not asking some of America to do -- we all have to do it.
JONES: While new cases are steady or falling in 43 states, deaths have averaged more than a thousand a day for 17 days now. And COVID test positivity rates are on the rise in 35 states, with Texas leading the nation at nearly 24 percent even as the number of tests being conducted nationwide continues to decline.
Meanwhile in Martin County, Florida, north of Palm Beach, an entire elementary school classroom and one bus route, were placed under quarantine one day after the district reopened for in-person instruction and a student began exhibiting symptoms.
Nationally, more than 2,000 students, teacher and staff members across five states are under quarantine due to COVID concerns.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: There is just no way, right now where this epidemic is raging across the south in Florida, in Georgia, in Alabama, in Mississippi, in Louisiana and much of Texas that you can open up schools safely.
JONES: Still it's game on in Utah tonight, a state with a positivity rate of almost 9 percent. Two high schools facing off in the first football match of the season --
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: I feel like the Titanic. We have hit the iceberg and we are trying to make decisions on what times should have the band play. Not having close (ph) sports this year and controlling this virus to me would be the number one priority.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine at George Washington University joins us now from Washington.
Dr. Reiner, good to see you.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Nice to see you.
VAUSE: Ok. I want to start of with when it comes to tracking the spread of the coronavirus, it's not just the number of tests which actually matter, but specifically, it is the test positivity rate which is one of the major metrics here.
And right now, when we look at the numbers in the United States, and what we're hearing from Dr. Fauci is that there is this increasing concern that those numbers are ticking up.
[01:34:41]
VAUSE: So explain exactly what that means and why that would be a concern right now because across the U.S. it seems, you know, the number of new cases every day is slowly starting to come down.
DR. REINER: Right. So when you see a drop in the number of identified cases every day, it is important to understand whether the drop in incidents of -- or identified cases is the result of a decline in the incidents of the virus or is it simply a decline in testing.
And what we have seen over the last few weeks is a decline of testing in the United States. The U.S. had been testing, routinely, over 800,000 cases per day. But for at least a two-week period, we had dropped to about 700,000. So we had gone from really more like 800,000 to 900,000 cases a day, to 700,000.
And consequent with that we also saw a drop in the number of identified cases. So if you look at the positivity rate, which is simply the proportion of identified coronavirus positive patients to total number tested, what you can see is that that has actually ticked up a bit over the last several days from about 7.3 percent to 7.8 percent.
Think about the positivity rate as sort of the odds of hooking a fish when you toss a hook into the water. If every time you cast, you know, you get a fish, there are probably lots of fish in the pond, you know. And that's the same way for this testing. If a lot of patients were testing positive, there is a lot of virus in the community.
So when we see a positivity rate that is not dropping, and in fact is going up a bit, you wonder if we are not doing enough tests. And that really has been the consensus among public health experts that some of the decline in testing in the United States were a consequence of less testing.
VAUSE: You know, the WHO says the positivity rate needs to be at or below 5 percent for 14 days before a country or a region can start easing up on those restrictions. But even when countries, you know, like New Zealand for example, even when they reach that benchmark, what we're seeing is that there is a return of the virus.
In the case of New Zealand and other places, they're looking at a possibility that may be imported by freight. And you know, three cities in China have now discovered that there was coronavirus imported on frozen food.
So how concerned are you that, you know, contaminated shipments may be, you know, the next spreader of the coronavirus globally?
DR. REINER: You know, I'm not really worried about that. I am worried about putting down person-to-person spread in places like the United States, which is far and away the predominant mechanism of transmission.
This is primarily a respiratory virus. And it's acquired principally by inhaling either droplets or aerosolized particles. Almost certainly there is some transmission on surfaces, but primarily this is a respiratory virus.
And I think societies that have instituted universal mask wearing and quarantining of infected patients and large scale testing have been successful in putting down this virus. I'm less worried about cargo and services. Now we will have to see how that pans out.
VAUSE: I guess for the most part, we just show the reason why we are seeing, you know, a return of cases or an uptick in cases in places like Europe and elsewhere along with the United States. You know, the reasons are essentially pretty much the same.
You know, people get relaxed. They ease up on social distancing guidelines and other measures like wearing a mask. (INAUDIBLE) they let their guard down.
The big difference though is how these countries react. You know, there are decisive measures being taken by New Zealand, for example, whereas other places haven't moved so quickly.
DR. REINER: Exactly. And places that have been most successful are those the take this most seriously. You look at places like Taiwan or Hong Kong or New Zealand, and even China. Their surveillance systems are designed to detect upticks in the virus in a way that their public health system can react. So they can contact trace and quarantine those infected.
In the United States, when you have 55,000 new cases per day, it is impossible to have enough people to contact trace that number of new cases. Only when you get the virus down to low levels can you then do that kind of mitigation.
VAUSE: Dr. Reiner, it was good speaking with you. Thank you for taking the time.
DR. REINER: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: U.S. troops arriving in South Korea will face two weeks of quarantine. CNN's Paul Hancocks reports exclusively on how one U.S. base on the Korean Peninsula is dealing with the threat from the coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Keeping fit with a five month old baby is a challenge. Working out when your whole family is in isolation with coronavirus is something else.
Sara and Lincoln Henjum (ph), their infant, and one of their six-year- old twins tested positive shortly after arriving in South Korea from the United States. They are among thousands of military personnel, switching in and out of the country this summer.
MAJOR LINCOLN HENJUM, U.S. FORCES KOREA: My wife has a little of bit of a chest congestion. So she's coughing a little bit. Myself, I just have a weird sense of taste. So everything I eat or drink takes a like burnt bread.
[01:40:03]
HANCOCKS: And they're all staying in two rooms in a special isolation facility on base, along with the family dog.
HENJUM: That's my son's bed here. All the beds are twins. And then there's my bed over here.
HANCOCKS: How are the children coping? I mean how are you keeping them busy?
HENJUM: We do get one hour of outside time between 3:00 and 4:00. We play kickball. We play some tag. We walk the dog a little bit.
HANCOCKS: Not the best start to a new posting but not unusual either. U.S. Forces Korea say of 152 positive cases, the vast majority have been incoming personnel since June when the Pentagon started to lift transfer and travel restrictions.
The U.S. military in Japan is facing a similar challenge.
COL. LEE PETERS, U.S. FORCES KOREA SPOKESPERSON: They come here, we can't control what happened, where they were at. We can control upon their arrival here.
HANCOCKS: The U.S. military insists once their personnel lands they enter and remain in a bubble.
COL. MICHAEL TREMBLAY, U.S. ARMY GARRISON HUMPHREYS: The part -- the direct boss right from the airport, we're going to walk into the reception center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wash their hands. After they signed in, we make a clear accountability of everyone we have here.
HANCOCKS: After a short briefing, they have their first coronavirus test.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They sit down like this soldier is doing. fill this out and then we are preparing to do a laboratory sample, which is behind you.
HANCOCKS: From there, straight into special quarantine quarters for 14 days.
COL. TREMBLAY: Nobody is exempt. And the private to a three-start general, everybody goes through the quarantine process.
HANCOCKS: Everyone is allowed 90 minutes a day outside, so long as they social distance. Colonel Peters says the second test before being released from quarantine is key.
A 5th of those who tested positive then had no symptoms at all. The U.S. has cases if they haven't had a single local transmission case in more than three months.
All cases have been imported. For the Henjum Family -- all they can do now is play games.
Watch television, work out and wait for recovery.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, South Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Jimmy Lai is a pro-democracy media mogul in Hong Kong, he's speaking out about his recent arrest. Two of his sons were also arrested under the new controversial national security law. Police accused them all of colluding with foreign forces and conspiracy to defraud.
CNN's Will Ripley just spoke to Lai about his arrest. He joins us now from Hong Kong.
One thing about Lai though, you know, he could pretty much go wherever he wants. He's got the money, he's got the connections, but he is staying put there in Hong Kong.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And he says he won't leave because then it would basically diminish much of what he has devoted his life as an activist to which is, to promote the freedom of speech and expression, and of course, the free press because he owns -- he's a media mogul. He owns a newspaper. This one, as a matter of fact.
Which, you know, despite Jimmy Lai's arrest this week, they published a full page ad today from a university students' union here in Hong Kong. Talking about the fight for freedom.
I'm not sure if anything in the ad technically would violate the national security law. But it certainly dances along that line. And Lai says that his journalists, there were 200 police officers in their newsroom, and instead of being intimidated, many of them were emboldened. He says a lot of the people who work for that paper are activists just like him.
But not everybody who is being arrested has the legal resources he has to fight this. And so he says that people really need to have a good think about whether or not the penalties are worth the mission, you know, that he and other, you know, kind of hard-core Hong Kong activists chair because there really has not been a significant protest in this city since the law is passed. But partially due to the pandemic but also because of fear over the new law.
Another thing that he wanted to make a very clear distinction about is his position on Hong Kong independence. Because calls for independence are one thing that can get you in jail, really quickly, around here. Here is what he said.
JIMMY LAI, ACTIVIST: It's very stupid to think that Hong Kong can be independent when they can send troops to, you know, to plan you down in three hours, you know. This is not possible.
RIPLEY: Because a lot of people associate you with the pro independence movement. So you are going on the record saying, you are not pushing for independence? But you want people to have the right --
LAI: To keep the rural then the freedom we have.
RIPLEY: And the right to say THAT they want an end to that..
LAI: Yes, exactly. The freedom -- you know, "the freedom of speech. I don't associate with the independence camp. I never have.
RIPLEY: Did you meet with U.S. Officials at the consulate in OTHER places as China alleges and, you know, trying to encourage U.S. officials in Washington, to double our connection in the states to sanction Hong Kong government leaders and whatnot?
LAI: Well, I did not do it in person. But in the interview, I did -- I said, you know, the only half that we can get from (INAUDIBLE) is the U.S., you know. And when they asked whether the U.S. should revoke the special status of Hong Kong I said that is senseless, you know.
[01:44:58]
LAI: What you should do is to censor in China or that's the kind of things I have said because when the national security law is here, whether you revoke the special status of Hong Kong or not. Hong Kong is dead because we fought (ph) the rule of law, our international financial center is dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: One of the accusations that Lai is facing is that he was colluding with foreign forces. And so it was important to make the distinction.
He did have some meetings here at the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong, but he doesn't believe that any of those meetings would have constituted colluding with foreign forces. He was detained by police for 40 hours. They searched his home, where we did the interview. They searched his yacht club, they searched the offices of the newspaper that he owns and well, they took his phone, his wife's computer and some documents.
He thinks it was all pretty worthless in terms of evidence. He doesn't think that police would have a whole lot to hand over to prosecutors and eventually to prosecute him under this law.
However, it's written in such a vague way that some of these charges, you're not exactly sure what constitutes the offense and I think -- Lai feel that his arrest and prosecution will be a real litmus test as to whether this is truly a draconian piece of legislation or if they're going to continue to uphold the rule of law here in Hong Kong.
And he certainly has a legal team to fight it unlike some of the other younger people who are facing charges and probably quite terrified about the prospect of three or ten or years or even life in prison for the most grave offenses, John.
VAUSE: Yes. It's terrifying. I guess the vagueness of the law is not a quirk, it's a feature. It's literally written that way.
Will, thank you. Will Ripley in Hong Kong.
Well, it's a grim reality of our warming world. There's a (INAUDIBLE) sending heat waves and intense tropical cyclones.
Coming up, a new report outlines how climate change is playing into all of that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: You may have noticed, the earth is now hotter than ever and U.S. government scientists have confirmed that. It's a key issue for voters in a world desperate to find a vaccine for coronavirus.
And now, there is this double whammy of a climate crisis and pandemic politics. You have seen these pictures -- intense wildfires raging for longer than ever -- parts of the Amazon, Australia, California in flames.
And now a new report from American Meteorological Society telling us the past decade has been the hottest ever. In particular the years since 2015.
Climate researchers though are not surprised. They say they have been speaking scientific truth to power for a very long time.
More now from Derek Van Dam.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is indeed harder and harder to be a climate skeptic these days with mounting evidence against our warming planet from record arctic sea ice loss to glaciers rapidly receding to habitats fully destroyed. The fingerprints of climate change are written all over Planet Earth.
[01:49:54]
VAN DAM: And sometimes, we need not look further than our own backyard.
Take, for instance, what's happening near Mont Blanc in Italy. One of the glaciers there is threatening to collapse a chunk of ice the size of the Milan cathedral, forcing evacuations in some of the villages below.
This is all thanks to the days and days of above average temperatures that have allowed for the rapid warming and rapid receding of this particular glacier.
Now, there's this. The American Meteorological Society coming out with its annual report, taking over consideration over 500 scientists from 60 different countries. They call this the earth's annual physical.
They say that the last decade was earth's hottest on record. And the past six years have been the hottest on record, each consecutively.
This is all thanks to the fossil fuel that we continue to burn and release into the atmosphere, this heat tracking gases like carbon dioxide, you can see how they moved across the planet in this animation behind me. But now we've noticed that carbon dioxide has set its highest ever recordings in 800,000 years of records.
They look back at ice core samples and they found now with averages of 410 parts per million, that that is the highest that the earth has ever experienced. And again, 800,000 years. I know we've had a heat wave over western Europe lately. There is a cooling trend in store remember, whether is what happens within the short term. Climate is whether averaged over several decades.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Well, Brazil's president says all those reports, all those images you saw of the fires burning in the Amazon -- they're lies, it's not true.
But according to data released by his own government, we find hotspots have actually increased since last year. More land has been stripped of being forested. Major international investors warn if (INAUDIBLE) or gun to protect the amazon, they will take this from Brazilian companies.
North Korea's Kim Jong-un says he will not accept international aid after recent flooding. Red cross and Red Crescent officials say nearly two dozen people have died, several more are missing, and more than 20,000 hectares of farmland was destroyed.
State media reports more than 16,000 homes also destroyed or damaged with many roads and bridges washed away.
Daniel Cormier will be fighting for the final time in the UFC this coming Saturday.
Up next, we will sit down with the UFC legend as he reflects on his career and that upcoming fight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: 41-year-old Daniel Cormier will have the final fight of his career in the UFC on Saturday. The former two-time division world champion has only lost twice in that career, which apparently is legendary.
One of those losses was to the man he will face this weekend.
World Sport's Don Riddell spoke with him about his upcoming match.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL CORMIER, UFC CHAMPION: It's good, but it's also -- it's sad a little bit, right. Everybody's time comes to an end. And I don't think you ever meet a professional athlete that truly wants to walk away.
But you have to understand that there is a time for everything. You know, and at 41 years old, you know, I get to fight the heavyweight champs of the world? And I couldn't have imagine going out with a better situation to becoming a champion again.
It has been bittersweet, but I think when you start thinking negative is when you become overwhelmed with sadness. I look forward to the next chapter, which I believe is going to be just as big as this one.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Connor MacGregor retires all the time and comes back all the time. So is this definitely for you?
[01:54:56]
CORMIER: Yes. This will be it for me. you know, I'm not one of those guys that wants to go and come, go and come, go and come.
At 31 years old Cormier can do that, you know, you can't do that when you're in your forties now. you know, you make a decision and you stand firm with it.
RIDDELL: What do you think you're going to miss the most about this life that you have had now for so long?
CORMIER: It's when you walk through the curtain and there are 20,000 people in the arena just yelling and screaming and going crazy. That energy is something that you will never be able to recreate, no matter what you do with the rest of your life.
But I will miss that energy of being a fighter. The fight weeks, the buildup, all these things that you take for granted while you are in it. You miss that whenever you are done.
RIDDELL: How much time have you given in the last few years to what your last fight is going to be like and feel like?
CORMIER: Let me tell you something. I may have played out a thousand scenarios. This was not one of them. Being in the midst of a pandemic with no fans, fighting in the UFC Apex in 25 foot cage. That was the one thing I could have never imagined.
I will not be able to bask in the adulation from the fans. And that's ok, you know, because I have had that for 24 fights. You know, I've been able to compete in front of people. This time I go do it with my army, with my soldiers that I am going to war with, my coaches. And we're going to capture another championship.
RIDDELL: So this will be the final fight in a trilogy with Stipe. Obviously you know him very, very well. Based on what has gone before, what are you expecting this time around?
CORMIER: You know, I think that he's going to come out and try to implement some of the same things that he did in the second fight that were successful for him. But I do anticipate some changes, you know.
Nobody tries to approach two fights in the same way. So I expect him to change some things up, but I'm expecting hungry, strong, refreshed. Stipe Miocic is (INAUDIBLE) on Saturday night.
RIDDELL: How often do you think about the way the second fight was going? Because you were looking good, right? And then it didn't end in your favor. Do you have any regrets about that?
CORMIER: I do. You know I mean I think when you regret a lot of things in life, you know. And I regret not being more prepared for the fight, for the long fight. I regret not keeping my hands up and fighting smart. I regret going away from the game plan that my coaches set up in front of me. I was willing to fight and he gives me confidence going into the third one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Our thanks to Don Riddell for that report.
And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Please stay with us. I'm John Vause.
My colleague, Robyn Curnow takes over after a short break. You are watching CNN.
[01:57:31]
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