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Trump Pushes Unproven Claims about Mail-in Voting; Pelosi Calls for House to Return to Address Postal Service; Democratic Convention to Consist of Virtual Events; New Zealand Delays Election Until October 17 Due to Virus; Democratic Leaders to Tackle Pressing Issues Facing U.S.; Tends of Thousands Demand President of Belarus Resign; South Korea Orders Church Members to Get Tested; Japan's Economy Posts Biggest Contraction on Record; Tijuana's Red-Light District Bustling with U.S. Tourists. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 17, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Not so special delivery. Nancy Pelosi summons lawmakers back from summer break to block Postal Service changes.

[00:01:31]

One hundred seventy thousand Americans dead from COVID-19, and a warning from his CDC director that this fall could be downright awful.

Plus --

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BRUNHUBER: Election outrage pours into the streets of Belarus, and just a few streets away, the newly reelected leader held a demonstration of his own.

Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to you, our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

With a debate raging in Washington over mail-in voting and Democrats accusing the Trump administration of trying to sabotage the Postal Service during this pandemic, the U.S. House speaker is now taking action.

Nancy Pelosi is calling on lawmakers to return to Capitol Hill this week to vote on legislation to protect the Postal Service and prevent any changes to its level of service before the election.

President Donald Trump has flat-out admitted he opposes at least some emergency funding for the postal system, because he believes an uptick in mail-in voting will favor Democrats. Now, this all comes with the Democratic National Convention set to

kick off in less than 24 hours, but this will be a scaled-down version of what we're used to seeing. No raucous crowds this year because of the coronavirus. Instead, all the speeches and events will be done virtually from across the country, culminating later this week with Joe Biden accepting the Democratic nomination for president.

Over the next four nights, we'll see a who's who of Democratic leaders and rising stars endorsing their party's platform, including the Clintons, the Obamas, and former 2020 candidates, as well.

Now, several states are also considering legal action against the Trump administration and the U.S. postmaster general over the issues with the Postal Service. Democrats say recent changes have already slowed mail delivery, and a number of states fear any further changes that could hinder mail-in voting in the run-up to the election.

In a letter to House Democrats on Sunday, Speaker Pelosi wrote, "Lives, livelihood, and the life of our American Democratic -- democracy are under threat from the president."

Now, President Trump has offered no evidence that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud. Earlier on CNN, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tried to make sense of the president's false claims. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: By the way --

(CROSSTALK)

JACK TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: There is no evidence of voter fraud, though.

MEADOWS: That's -- not --

TAPPER: There's no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

MEADOWS: There's no -- there's no evidence that there's not either. That's the definition of fraud, Jake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile Houston Democrat Adam Schiff told CNN the president's allegations are politically motivated.

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REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The president doesn't want to improve the functioning of the post office, because he thinks that higher turnout, more Americans voting, is a bad thing for him personally, even if it's exactly what our democracy needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's John Harwood has more on this developing story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The crisis over the U.S. Postal Service in the 2020 election is escaLating. The House of Representatives have already planned to call in Donald Trump's postmaster general for questioning about reductions in service.

[00:05:04]

Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the chamber back into session, probably next Saturday, in order to consider legislation halting those changes in service.

The backdrop for this: long-standing funding problems for the Postal Service that have caused deliveries to slow. The administration is less than eager to restore services to the full level, both for fiscal reasons, and also because Donald Trump has been raising doubts about the integrity of mail-in balloting. Coronavirus pandemic has led increasing numbers of Americans to want to vote by mail, rather than go in person so they can avoid getting sick.

The question now is, do Democrats have the leverage to force Republicans to go along with them, either on halting the policy changes or infusing the $25 billion they say is necessary to shore up the Postal Service.

The advantage Democrats have is that, way beyond the electoral considerations, every American uses the Postal Service, and huge numbers of Americans rely on it for checks, for commerce, and for delivery of vital medications. That is the lever the Democrats hope to force Republicans to the table. We'll see what happens this week.

John Harwood, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Kamala Harris slammed President Trump for floating a racist birther conspiracy about her. The president said he wouldn't be pursuing questions about Harris's eligibility, but he didn't dismiss the theory as false.

If elected, Harris would be the first black and Asian-American vice president. She was born in Oakland, California.

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SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESUMPTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: They're going to engage in lies. They're going to engage in deception. They're going to engage in an attempt to distract from the real issues that are impacting the American people. And I expect that they will engage in dirty tactics, and this is going to be a knock-down, drag- out. And we're ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: And the new CNN polls shows the race tightening substantially. Overall, 50 percent of registered voters back the Biden-Harris ticket, while 46 percent say they support Trump and Pence.

So for more on all this, let's turn to senior political analyst Ron Brownstein in Los Angeles. Thanks so much for -- for joining me here.

I want to start with that notorious third rail of American politics, the U.S. Postal Service. Like everyone, I'm grappling with the idea that this could be an essential campaign issue. We heard, you know, Democratic congressman kind of call it more serious than Russian interference. I mean, are you surprised this has blown up like this?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Only in the sense that it has been previously sacrosanct. But not in the sense that so many things that were previously sacrosanct are now in question.

I mean, I don't think we fully have the vocabulary or the mental constricts in the U.S. to grapple with what we are dealing with. I mean we -- you know, we think of ourselves as a two-century-plus functioning democracy.

And the idea that there would be a systemic challenge to the rules of democracy, to the kind of legitimacy of democracy, coming from all places, the Oval Office, it's just something that our system is not prepared to deal with.

But I think if you look systematically at what's happening, whether it's what the president is doing with the Postal Service; the way he is trying to tilt and manipulate the census, the counting of our country, to benefit other Republicans; what he's done with career criminal prosecutors; what he's done with firing IGs; the way he's used the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security, as kind of, you know, a personal militia almost. In all of these ways, we are seeing a president who is trying to weaponize every component of the federal government to his advantage, to his party's advantage, in a way that is, frankly, I think, unprecedented in American history.

BRUNHUBER: But most of those things you listed there for voters are fairly abstract.

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

BRUNHUBER: The Postal Service is something, you know, tangible.

BROWNSTEIN: You can touch.

BRUNHUBER: I'm just curious whether you think Republican voters will follow President Trump on this one. After all, we've seen his ability to completely shift Republican opinion on, you know, things like Russia, for instance.

BROWNSTEIN: Right. It's a great question. Because there's no doubt that rural America, and older American who rely on the Postal Service to deliver prescriptions, are especially vulnerable to the idea of a shut -- of a slowdown. And those are Republican constituencies.

But you know, I mentioned the census, and in the same way, what the president is doing on the census is potentially hurting Sun Belt states from -- you know, from east to west that right now are predominately represented in the Senate, at least, by Republicans. And none of them are complaining.

So it is not 100 percent clear to me that their -- that his voters will, you know, defend the idea that the Postal Service, A, should be providing kind of a normal service; but B, that this is unfairly changing the rules of democracy.

I think it's an open question. More likely than not, there will be a backlash, but if you're -- if the implication of your question is that it's not guaranteed, I find myself thinking that, as well.

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BRUNHUBER: Yes, although voters do often vote against their own self- interests.

But anyway, I want to turn to the -- to the convention, a convention unlike any other.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BRUNHUBER: For the Democrats, presumably, it will be less like a rock concert and more like a slick TV show. So how can they generate the energy and excitement without all the -- the confetti and balloons? What's the strategy here?

BROWNSTEIN: You know, it's really challenging. And I think their answer is to make everything shorter. I mean, people are going to be on and off, and as you say, they are thinking of it exclusively as a TV show.

I think we have no idea the impact this is going to have. On the one hand, you would think without the crowds and the -- kind of the audience, and all the energy, it's going to be a little bit muffled. And it's not going to land with -- you know, detonate with as much force as we have traditionally seen.

On the other hand, there are a lot of people at home. There are a lot of people watching television. The ratings are up for sports. They're up for the cable news. They're up for the broadcast news. So it's possible they will have a bigger audience.

The long-term trend is that conventions don't move the vote as much as they did 30 and 40 years go, because we are so polarized and so dug in. We're in trench warfare.

What Biden can realistically hope to do, I think, is not so much expand his lead over Trump in the horse race, as it is to fill in a lot more about who he is and why he is still relevant to people's lives in 2020 when he's 77 years old, 50 years after he was first elected to public office. The widest span in American history between a candidate's first nomination for president and his first election to public office. I think that's his biggest job: to make himself relevant, particularly to younger Americans, to question whether he understands their lives and their challenges.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll see. Thank you so much for your analysis. Always appreciate it. Ron Brownstein in L.A.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Well, another blow to the U.S. in its battle against COVID- 19. The virus has now claimed more than 170,000 American lives. But what's unsettling is how quickly the United States hit this new milestone. It comes just 18 days after the U.S. reported 150,000 fatalities.

Over the weekend, President Trump disagreed with an assessment by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who had warned the country could be headed for its first autumn ever from a public health perspective. He says the double threat of COVID-19 and seasonal flu could have a catastrophic impact on the U.S.

So for more on this now, we're joined by Anne Rimoin, who's an epidemiology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Thank you so much for -- for taking some time to join me here. I want to start with that dire prediction about the severity of the crisis in the fall. I recently got my flu shot almost entirely based on those projections by the nation's top experts.

President Trump, however, disagreed with those assessments. Now, only about, you know, some 45 percent of Americans get their flu shots, and I know many people will say, Oh, I'm healthy. I don't need it. So what's your message to them this year? How bad you expect things to be this fall?

ANNE RIMOIN, EPIDEMIOLOGY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES: It's really important that everybody get their flu shot this year. More so than ever.

You're absolutely right, under a normal circumstance, only around 45 percent of Americans get the flu shot. There's a lot of misperception here about what a flu shot does. People are often confused, thinking that the -- that the side effect of maybe having some aches and some flu-like symptoms, means that the flu shot is giving you the flu.

You know, we have to work really hard to make sure people understand why it's important to get the flu shot, that everybody really needs to have maximum protection right now, because if we are mixing up whether or not you have coronavirus, or influenza, the symptoms are very, very similar. We could be running into a lot of problems.

Second of all, it's also important, is that, you know, influenza, under a mild season, you end up with many people that are hospitalized. And so if we have coronavirus and influenza. At the same time, our hospitals are really at risk at -- at being overrun. A third thing that people should keep in mind is that, if you get

influenza, it means that your immune system is going to be stressed, and that could make you more susceptible to coronavirus. So you could end up with a one-two punch here. So it's very important for so many reasons to get the flu shot this year.

BRUNHUBER: This sounds like a stupid question. I didn't do the research ahead of time, but can you -- can you have both at the same time?

RIMOIN: You know, I don't think that there have been any cases of influenza, and the -- and coronavirus occurring at the same time. I could be wrong. I do not remember reading any reports about that yet, but there's no reason that you couldn't be co-infected.

BRUNHUBER: OK, interesting. Well, so you know, despite all the grim case numbers, we're continuing to inexorably reopen. Things like even movie theaters. Would you go see a movie right now?

RIMOIN: Right now, I would not feel comfortable going to see a movie. We don't have a situation here in the United States where we have a low enough rate of community transmission to be comfortable being able to do that.

[00:15:06]

Furthermore, we do know that -- that being in closed spaces indoors increases the probability of getting coronavirus. And so, you know, across the board, thinking about going to a movie theater when we have not been able to get the spread of the virus down to a level that is -- that is acceptable, where we're only having very small outbreaks here or there that we can do contact tracing and testing and isolate and quarantine.

You know, it's only at that point that we should be able to consider doing anything like going to a movie theater where we have many, many people together in an area where they're taking their masks off, they're eating popcorn, they're in a very closed space. Just not a good idea right now.

BRUNHUBER: Now you just mentioned testing. After months of increases in testing, daily tests trended downward for much of the last two weeks. So why are we going in the wrong direction here on testing? And why does that matter?

RIMOIN: The United States has done a terrible job of being able to get enough testing from the very beginning, we really struggled. We've been doing much better.

But in the last few weeks we've seen a downturn in the amount of testing. I mean, some of it has been supply chain. Some of it has just been such a large demand for testing. You know the labs are stressed. There's a problem with reagents. And so, you know, testing has never really reached the threshold that we need here in the United States to be able to really be doing enough to -- to be able to really have the information that we need here. You know, the Harvard Institute suggested that -- the Harvard Global

Health Institute suggested that we needed at least a million tests per day to slow the spread of the virus. You know, there's some -- there's some debate over whether or not we need -- actually need a million a day, but -- but it seems logical to me. A million a day would make sense for us to be able to really get our arms around this.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Last question here. We're placing so much hope in vaccines, and there's been plenty of good news on that front. But I was troubled to read that vaccine trials are having trouble recruiting black and Latino people. What effect does that have, particularly since, you know, those are the two groups most at risk?

RIMOIN: This is a really important problem. You know, vaccine hesitancy is something that we're very concerned about for when we roll out this vaccine.

But we also really need to understand, and vaccine hesitancy has been something that has been very common in -- or more prevalent in some minority populations.

And so, you know, it's not surprising that we'd be having trouble also recruiting minority populations into these trials. But that -- it's such an important thing. You know, we really need to know how this vaccine is going to work in all populations, and in particular in vulnerable populations.

We've seen very high rates of mortality and severe outcomes in Latino populations, in particular. And so it's very important that this vaccine is very well-studied in the populations that need it the most.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Well, thank you so much for this. We appreciate it. Ann Rimoin from UCLA.

RIMOIN: My pleasure.

BRUNHUBER: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, with New Zealand battling a new coronavirus outbreak, it has to reconsider when voters will go to the polls. We'll have that story just ahead.

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BRUNHUBER: More than six million coronavirus infections have now been confirmed across Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil is the worst- hit country in the region, but some of its neighbors are also seeing rising infection rates.

This weekend, Peru reached 552,000 cases, the sixth highest total in the world.

Now the emotional impact is becoming too much to bear for families in Peru and all around the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER (voice-over): They were family, not just photos on a well or numbers in a death toll. The Diaz family in Peru recently lost five members of its family to the coronavirus. A tragedy, they say, it's difficult to bear.

"It's something very shocking," one family member says, "because not only my mother left, but also my grandparents, my uncles, but the recovery has been slow."

Their losses are just a snapshot of the sickness that's sweeping the globe. Over the weekend, the WHO reported a record number of new cases worldwide in the 24-hour period. And in Latin America, COVID-19 cases have ticked up, passing the six million mark.

More than half of those infections are in Brazil. Experts say it hasn't reached the peak of its health crisis. But despite that, it reopened some of its iconic landmarks over the weekend, with masks required and limited admission.

The city of Seoul is tightening its social distancing measures to try to contain its worst outbreak of the virus since March. Officials say some clusters are linked to religious gatherings and warned there could be tough times ahead.

"The situation is showing the early sign of another wave of epidemics," one official says. "If we cannot control the virus spread properly, we will face a dangerous situation."

Cruise lines have been largely moored since the beginning of the pandemic, but as of Sunday, some Mediterranean cruise members can sail again, carrying only European passengers with strict rules about excursions.

Italy is trying to stop travelers from bringing the virus back from holiday. It began testing people coming from popular tourist spots like Spain, Greece, Croatia, and Malta at airport checkpoints.

A more welcoming arrival in Frankfort, where a couple separated for months, since he's German and she's from Brazil, was finally able to reunite after Germany allowed unmarried partners from non-E.U. nations to enter the country.

"It's just an incredible feeling," the man says. "I'm going to see my darling again after six and a half months." A rare scene these days, where social distancing perhaps shouldn't be required.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Coronavirus concerns are prompting New Zealand to move its general election back by four weeks. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the new election date will be October 17.

[00:25:04]

The nation's most populous city, Auckland, is dealing with a recent outbreak of the virus after more than 100 days with no locally- transmitted infections. And in the last 24 hours, the country has reported nine new cases.

So for more on this, let's turn to journalist Angus Watson, live from Sydney, Australia.

When President Trump floated the idea of delaying the election because of COVID, he was pilloried. What's been the reaction to Ardern's decision in New Zealand?

ANGUS WATSON, JOURNALIST: Well, Kim, ahead of this decision that Jacinda Ardern made this morning, the majority of New Zealanders wanted the election to be postponed as a result of this cluster that's developed in Auckland, after 102 days without a case of community transmission in New Zealand, that country of 5 million people.

So, there was a -- there was a poll showing that 60 percent of people, of respondents in New Zealand, wanted it to be pushed back the election. It could've been pushed back until November. Jacinda Ardern taking the decision to push back until October instead. She says that it won't be pushed back any further. This is what she had to say about that this morning.

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JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: Ultimately, the 17th of October, in approximately nine weeks' time, provides sufficient time for parties to pass around the range of circumstances we could be campaigning under; for the electoral commission to prepare; and for voters to feel assured of a safe, accessible and credible election.

Due to this decision, I am proposing that Parliament reconvene tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So it just goes to show, Kim, just how -- just the lengths that New Zealand is willing to go to crush coronavirus. It wanted to extinguish the virus in New Zealand. It almost get there.

But this -- these cases now, these 58 cases linked to Auckland have come up from 100,000 tests this week. They want to get out on top of it. They have pushed Auckland back into lockdown, to try to do so.

Now New Zealand was going into its election with Jacinda Ardern the firm favorite to win. So this wasn't a political decision she wanted to make, Kim. And it's actually been welcomed by her opponents.

So New Zealand will go to the polls now in October instead of September, and hopefully, the coronavirus situation will be under control by then, Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. All right. Thank you so much for that report. Angus Watson in Sydney. Appreciate it.

Well, it will be a convention unlike any other. Coming up, the Democratic convention is a virtual experience, and the speakers we'll hear from. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:15]

BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to you, our viewers in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, the Democratic National Convention kicks off in a matter of hours, and the party has a lot on its plate. The pandemic, the recession, racism and civil unrest in the U.S. This week, we'll hear from many of the party's big names: Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders headline Monday's speeches. Jessica Dean tells us what else to watch for.

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 2020 Democratic National Convention is set to kick off on Monday, and this is going to be a convention unlike any convention we've ever seen, as Democrats work around the pandemic and work to make sure everyone is socially distanced and safe, as they also try to rev up the Democratic Party and build support around Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

And we're getting some details on logistically how this might work. We're told first that there are four different sets that they'll be using: Los Angeles, New York, Wilmington, Delaware, here in Wilmington, Delaware, where we're told that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will give their acceptance speeches. And then Milwaukee, which is where the full convention was originally slated to take place.

In addition to that, there will be speakers all across America from different historic sites that will be giving their speeches, which we're told will be much shorter than we're used to seeing at these conventions. These will be more like two to five minutes. We're used to seeing 10, 15 minutes from some of these speakers.

And then, additionally to that, we're told broadcast kits have been sent out all across the country to delegates and different members of the party who will be able to set up those broadcast kits in their own living room.

There will be a truck here in Wilmington, Delaware, that will be able to see those feeds from all these people across America and be able to punch up reaction shots. They'll also use that for their roll call.

We're also told that there will be an MC and various MCs that will carry the program. Because again, remember: this is going to be like just a television broadcast. Typically, a convention is broadcasting to both the room and TV. In this case, they are simply broadcasting out TV -- out to TV and also across all the various online platforms.

We're also told that there will be a host of speakers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, starting with a real variety within the Democratic Party on Monday that includes Bernie Sanders, Michelle Obama, and a Republican -- former Republican governor, John Kasich, who actually ran for the Republican nomination back in 2016, now speaking at the Democratic National Convention.

So a lot to watch as we move into Monday.

Jessica Dean, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. So we want to take a closer look at some of this week's convention speakers.

Let's start with Gretchen Whitmer. She is an outspoken cricket [SIC] -- critic of President Trump. The Michigan governor's profile is on the rise, following her criticism of the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Then we have former presidential candidate and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who urged Biden to seize the moment and choose a woman of color as his running mate, even though that put her out of the running.

And as we mentioned, lifelong Republican John Kasich is a forthright critic of President Trump. He ran against him in the 2016 presidential primaries, as you may remember, and he also supported Mr. Trump's impeachment. The former Ohio governor is now standing behind Joe Biden in this race. And Kasich told CNN's Don Lemon why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH (R), FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: The great things that happen in our country, whatever they are -- women's suffrage, civil rights -- they happen when we come together, not when we're divided. So I felt that Joe Biden would be a unifier, and he would stop this division. And we could get back to, you know, sort of a civil conversation. Could be arguments, could be strong, but at the end of the day, I think that he will include people, not exclude them, and stop the name-calling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:35:03]

BRUNHUBER: And of course, CNN will be bringing you live coverage of this year's all-digital Democratic National Convention. And that starts Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. And then on Monday, August 24, we'll be covering the Republican National Convention.

Well, the opposition movement in Belarus is swelling one week after a highly-contested presidential election. On Sunday, a sea of protesters filled the capital, Minsk, demanding the country's longtime president step down. Fred Pleitgen was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tens of thousands of people turned out to this demonstration near the city center of Minsk to a demonstration that was called for by the opposition in Belarus.

Now, they called for mass demonstrations on this day, and as you can see, many, many people following that call. The crowds that we see here are very, very peaceful, and mostly, their message is also very positive.

They're calling for change. They want Alexander Lukashenko, the longtime dictator of this country, to step down. And they want new elections.

Now, of course, at this point in time, it doesn't seem as though Lukashenko seems to want to do that. He called for a rally of his own, where pro-government forces actually bussed in people from other parts of the country to have a demonstration in the city center of Minsk.

Lukashenko also made an appearance at that demonstration. He shows no signs of wanting to step down. He still says that he won the contested election last Sunday by getting about 80 percent of the vote.

But as you can see, the masses who are coming out here say they do not for one second believe that that is true. They believe the opposition are the ones who won the election, and they are calling for a new election, for Lukashenko to step down, and also for an end to police brutality.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Minsk, Belarus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Joining me now is CNN security analyst Samantha Vinograd, who served on the National Security Council during the Obama administration.

So I want to start with -- with Belarus, the U.S. response. The Trump administration has expressed concern about the election, saying it wasn't free and fair. There is pressure on the administration for a stronger response. But you know, obviously, this is very complex both for the U.S. and Russia. Walk us through this.

SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think unfortunately, the U.S. response is hindered by the administration's own actions here at home.

Under any other administration, the United States could credibly call for the protection of peaceful protesters, and call for a new, free and fair election.

Unfortunately, because of attacks against Americans just this summer here in the United States, not to mention the fact that President Trump is arguably attacking U.S. elections in the United States, the United States doesn't have a leg to stand on when it call -- when it comes to promoting democracy overseas.

That said, the United States is likely, in addition to these statements that are undoubtedly doused in hypocrisy, to take certain punitive measures, like sanctions, perhaps under something known as the global Magnitsky Act.

And at the same time, I would assess that they are likely urging the European Union to implement sanctions -- sanctions of their own.

Now the E.U. is Belarus's second largest trading partner, so it is possible that E.U.-level sanctions could have some sort of a bite and could start to pressure the Alexander Lukashenko regime to change their course of action.

BRUNHUBER: Quickly, do you think Russia will intervene here? Will they come to -- to his aid?

VINOGRAD: Well, Lukashenko has made what looks like a desperate plea for Putin's support. I think it is likely that Putin will try to prevent actual democracy from breaking out on Russia's borders, because it worries him with respect to more democracy close to Moscow, close to his own hold on power.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So I want to pivot back to the U.S. now. The Democratic Convention begins and -- with, you know, domestic issues: COVID, racial equality, the economy, the Postal Service, of all things, guaranteed to take center stage.

What type of foreign policy issues have enough resonance to make it onto the virtual convention stage?

VINOGRAD: Well, I think at a very strategic level, we will likely hear from the president and the vice president and other speakers about the need to restore U.S. credibility on the international stage; the need to protect American sovereignty at the most basic level from things like foreign attacks against our country; and the need to implement a foreign policy agenda that is designed to protect Americans, rather than a foreign policy agenda that is really a way for the president to pursue policies that he views as personally beneficial to him.

This is likely going to be about the restoration of a strategic foreign policy agenda that is grounded in actual analysis, is grounded in actual intelligence, and is grounded again in what's good for this country.

[00:40:03]

China, I would expect, would make an appearance as a hot-button topic right now, and Russia will probably make -- have more than a mention, as well, based on the fact that this president has really opened up America to attacks by Vladimir Putin.

BRUNHUBER: What about the Middle East? You know, the Trump administration scored a huge win, brokering the deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which Biden claimed a measure of credit for, saying it was a product of multiple administrations. He said he's broadly committed to -- to continuing on that path, you know, presumably with other Gulf nations signing similar deals.

But in terms of foreign policy, how does he walk that tightrope during the election without completely undercutting the Palestinians? VINOGRAD: Well, having worked very closely with Vice President Biden,

I can say from firsthand experience he believes deeply in the need to pursue actual Middle East peace deals.

I think that the difference here is how you define Middle East peace. This president has really isolated the Palestinians, has taken measures that harm the Palestinians, was at one point supporting the annexation of the West Bank.

What we will likely hear from a Biden-Harris presidency is a more balanced approach to ensuring that Middle East peace is pursued in its truest form, which is, again, a two-state solution that meets the desires, wills -- and wills of both the Palestinian people and of the state of Israel and Jewish Israelis.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thank you so much for your time. We appreciate your insight there, Sam Vinograd.

VINOGRAD: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: South Korea is seeing a new spike in COVID cases, and officials warn it could be the start of another big outbreak. We'll be live from Seoul with the details. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: South Korea's health minister warns the country could be seeing a massive resurgence of coronavirus cases. Almost 300 new infections were reported nationwide on Sunday. Most of them were locally transmitted.

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The recent spike has been traced back to a religious service in Seoul, and thousands of church members there have been ordered to get tested.

We have CNN's Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul with the details.

So Paula, this outbreak tied to a church but not just any church, right? There are politics involved here, too. Take us through this.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kim. We really feel like we have been here before. Another religious group, a church in this case, which has seen an outbreak, a similar situation to what we saw back in February and March with a religious group, Shincheonji then, which was really the -- the ground zero of the outbreak in the country.

So we understand that there were more than 4,000 visitors that went to this one particular church in Seoul. And according to officials at this point, they're still trying to track down more than 1,000 of them. They say many of them are simply not answering their phone. They say more than 500, they don't have tracking details for, so they're bringing the police in to try and find out exactly who was there and make sure that they are tested and that they are quarantined. Now, also, you did mention the fact that this is political. This

church is very anti-President Moon Jae-In. They just held a press conference this Monday morning, and they had banners that said, "Jaeling (ph) -- Moon Jae-in is the Best Disease Prevention." So just to give you an idea of the political friction between the two sides.

And they're also saying that they're going to -- to take the health minister of the country to court, as well. They say that these suggestions that they are not cooperating, that the main reverend is obstructing the chance of contact tracing, is defamation. It's simply not true.

So we do have this combative element to this, as well. But the health minister has said that this could be the early stage of a massive recurrence. There are serious concerns that this particular outbreak and outbreaks at a couple of other churches, as well, could see some significant positive cases coming -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: So many factors complicating things there. Thank you so much, Paula Hancocks in Seoul. Appreciate it.

There's dismal economic news coming out of Japan. The country's economy suffered its biggest contraction on record in the second quarter. GDP shrank by nearly 28 percent when annualized, slightly higher than what was expected.

This is Japan's third straight quarter of contraction. So for more on this let's bring in Kaori Enjoji, joining us from Tokyo.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Japan's economy, like you know, that of many other countries, has been weekend during this crisis, when everything basically grinds to a halt. But the -- the scale of this decline is quite something still.

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: Yes, it is catastrophic, and I think it just goes to show the toll the virus has taken on some of the biggest economies in the world.

I mean, it was really a race to the bottom in the April to June quarter. And Japan, as you said, logged a decline of 28 percent, quarter on quarter, on an annualized places.

Still, on a quarter on quarter level, this is a drop of 7.8 percent. We have not seen this kind of figure since modern record -- modern data started, back in 1980. So this is a historic low.

And consumption effectively dried up, because the stores were closed during a national emergency. And then you have exports, which tend to drive the Japanese economy, basically on a standstill; because trade was not happening anywhere in the world.

I mean, the big question is what's going to -- what's recovery going to look like? And the economists I speak to say it's going to be patchy at best.

And this is because there has been a surge of new virus cases since the middle of July. And the government has said that it wants to keep the economy try -- keep the economy going, not force a national emergency. And economists are wondering whether that might be backfiring.

So, although most people think it will be a little bit of a modest recovery, modest is the key word here. And I think with these relief packages that the government has now expiring at the end of September, there are hopes that there could be some new ones rolled out before they do.

Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. In these are unprecedented times, so many governments basically learning on the fly here. Thank you so much, Kaori Enjoji in Tokyo.

Still ahead, rising infection or risking starvation. How the pandemic is forcing sex workers in Mexico to decide between their jobs and their well-being. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Nonessential travel through the U.S.-Mexico border will be restricted for at least another month to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

So far, the U.S. has confirmed almost five and a half million cases, while Mexico has reported just over 500,000. But Americans could be making the problem worse in the Mexican border town of Tijuana. As Matt Rivers reports, the city's red light district is still bustling with U.S. tourists despite the pandemic.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Go out and work, risk your life. Stay at home and go hungry. It's the pandemic's impossible choice for many in Mexico, and it's tough enough if you're a cabdriver or a store clerk. And it's another if you're a sex worker.

Here in Tijuana, Mexico's, famed red-light district, prostitution is legal. Just south of California, Mexicans and Americans both fuel a thriving industry, normally. But officially, the government forced all sex-related businesses to close back in March.

ROBERTO TORRES, STRIP CLUB OWNER: I don't think we're safe to open yet, so I'm not going to put myself at risk or my employees at risk either, so --

RIVERS: Roberto Torres had to close his strip club, and his female workers left. Where they all went, he's not sure, but he knows some businesses nearby aren't following the rules.

TORRES: People are opening. Certain places are open. Certain hotels are open. RIVERS: So in the middle of a pandemic, Americans and Mexicans are

still paying to have sex here, with people like Alejandra (ph). She is a sex worker and told us that fearing for her life is her new way of life.

"I don't know if the person I'm with that day has the disease or not," she says. "I'm so scared for my health and for my daughter's."

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But she says her daughter is the reason she still goes out: six years old with her mom's income her only way to get a meal.

"What will I do tomorrow if I end up getting sick, but I still have to go out, even though I don't want to?"

So after she speaks to us, she walks back out into that world, and we followed. That night we arrange a ride-along with state police through the red-light district. This is not an area where cameras are very welcome, so the cops required us to wear body armor.

Driving around, it's obvious there were a lot of working women out and about, but where they're working isn't immediately clear.

(on camera): So the streets here are a lot quieter than they normally are, and that's because the government has forced a lot of these businesses to shut down.

But what the police that we're with are telling us is that the business is still going on. It's just happening behind closed doors.

(voice-over): In sex hotels that are still operating near normal with patrons like this American. CNN agreed not to use his name, because he fears losing his job.

(on camera): And you still see a lot of Americans here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots of Americans here.

RIVERS (voice-over): He says he's being safe, except for the part where he has sex with a stranger.

(on camera): I think a lot of experts would say it's not safe. I mean, but you think it's safe enough?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe I'm pretty well-educated about all of this, and I feel completely safe.

RIVERS: As the sex trade continues, the lives of everyone involved are at risk, but for the workers, the money earned puts food on the table. It's two sides of a very dangerous coin.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Tijuana, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: And on that troubling note, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber, and I'll be back in just a moment with more news. Stay with us.

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