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Democrats Formally Nominate Joe Biden For President; AOC Endorses Bernie Sanders, Praises Progressive Movement; Jill Biden Endorses Husband Joe In Emotional Speech; Victoria Coronavirus Outbreak Tied To Quarantine Hotels; Mali's President Forced From Power; Belarus Election Crisis As Factory Workers Protests Threaten Regime; Joe Biden Finally Got the Nomination; Joe Biden and President Trump on Opposite Poles; Pandemic Silenced Classrooms; Bipartisan Senate Confirms Russia Collusion; USPS Postmaster General Change Course; Schools Reopening and Closing. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 19, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church live at CNN center. Thanks for joining us.

Well, for Democrats, hoping to take back the White House from Donald Trump, it is now official. Joe Biden is the party's nominee. All 50 states plus U.S. territories around the globe pledge their delegates for the former vice president. It was a purposeful show of diversity and enthusiasm on the second night of the national convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN CARNEY (D-DE): Delaware is proud to cast 32 votes for our favorite son and our next president.

SEN. THOMAS CARPER (D-DE): Our friend in Delaware, Joe Biden.

(APPLAUSE)

Joe Biden (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you very, very much from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family. And I'll see you on Thursday.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Biden's wife, Jill, spoke from the Delaware school where she once taught, delivering a personal appeal for her husband. She said, although the U.S. may seem hopelessly divided, Joe Biden could bring people together and carry the country forward. Tuesday night's criticism of Donald Trump was left to two Democratic

Party elders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If you want a president who defines the job of spending hours a day watching TV, snapping people on social media, he's your man.

Denying and destructing and demanding works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame. But in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards.

JOHN KERRY, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: When this president goes overseas it isn't a goodwill it's a blooper reel. He breaks up with our allies, and writes love letters to dictators. America deserves a president whose looked up to, not laughed at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And the Democrats also hammered home their message, that Joe Biden can work with Republicans to get things done. They played an emotional video, highlighting his friendship with the late Senator John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But in the 1970s, Joe was assigned a military aid for a trip overseas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. SEN. John McCain (R-AZ): I was the navy Senate liaison and used to carry your bags on overseas trips.

BIDEN: The son of a gun never carried my bags. He was supposed to carry my bags, but he never carried my bag.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's senior political analyst Mark Preston joins me now from Washington, D.C. Good to see you.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, good morning, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Joe Biden except the Democratic presidential nomination, no surprise there, and his wife, Jill, spoke and compared a broken family to a broken nation that can be fixed with love, understanding, and compassion. So, what else did she say, and will her message resonate with voters?

PRESTON: Well, you know, it's interesting, what she didn't say is she didn't talk about Donald Trump. Because we heard a lot about Donald Trump last night from the speakers, trying to set up the comparison of Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, so they set Donald Trump up last night as being somebody who's not relatable to people, somebody who only cares about himself.

And then we see today, we saw the speakers trying to focus on Joe Biden being a person, somebody with great morals. In this case, we hear Jill Biden talking about how they actually met, and how she, you know came to become the mother to his two boys, you know, who had tragically lost their mother, and Joe Biden who tragically lost his wife, you know, a few years ago.

So, I think what we saw tonight from Jill Biden is a humanizing factor, she tried to talked about her husband in just very simple terms, but also in terms that would try to connect with, I think, Americans across the country.

CHURCH: Right. And then Cindy McCain participated in an 8-minute convention video, celebrating the unlikely friendship between her late husband Senator John McCain and Joe Biden. What impact might a video like this have on those disgruntled Republicans out there?

PRESTON: Yes. I think what's interesting is that, this was the continued threat that we saw being woven last night from John Kasich and others we saw three prominent Republican women who came out for Joe Biden.

But what we saw tonight, to your point, we saw Cindy McCain really connecting to Joe Biden. To John McCain on a level of friendship, a level of, again, as we're showing pictures there, this idea of honor and service to the country.

And I think that that was done rather effectively, and then of course we saw Colin Powell come up, the former secretary of state, a Republican who came out and endorsed Joe Biden as well.

[03:05:00]

So, again, this connective thread that we are going to see throughout, you know, the next couple of nights, where Joe Biden not only appealing to liberals in his party, but really trying to appeal to disaffected Republicans and independents here in the U.S.

CHURCH: Yes. And then tough words from former President Bill Clinton who said the Oval Office should be a command center not a storm center. What else did he say, and will his message of Trump chaos resonate beyond the traditional Democratic voter?

PRESTON: yes. You know what's interesting is a couple things. One is where Bill Clinton spoke -- he s spoken the nine o'clock hour, which still primetime, and a lot of people will have seen his speech, but you know, in past, in past elections, we've seen him speak in the 10 o'clock hour. That's the golden hour, that's the hour where the likes of Joe, Jill Biden, will speak in the 10 o'clock hour.

We saw others, of course, Michelle Obama last night speaking, now we see Bill Clinton out there, the study hand. He is really trying, I think, appeal to those Democrats, those diehard Democrats who might be out in the Midwest, who might be upset with the way that Washington is running, but they liked the Bill Clinton policies of his time that Bill Clinton, you know, was a fairly steady hand at the presidency even all the commotion that he did create for.

So, I think that is who he reached out to. But it's interesting that he was not necessarily put on the docket to speak tonight to try to reach out to young voters. We saw that from AOC who came in and ended up -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who came in and did one of the nominating speeches for Bernie Sanders.

CHURCH: Mark Preston, many thanks to you for joining us. I appreciate it.

PRESTON: Thanks so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, Donald Trump responded to Biden's nomination on Twitter, retweeting post questioning Biden's mental faculties, an attack he has used before.

Meantime, the U.S. postmaster general, President Trump appointed is backing down on cutbacks that threaten mail-in voting in the upcoming election.

Ryan Nobles has that report.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, the postal service is changing course. Walking back plans to institute big changes that critics say had the potential to disrupt the fall election as millions of Americans plan to cast their vote by mail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The Democrats want to make it a political issue, it's not a political issue, it's really about a correct vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: The announcement comes as Democrats push a bill in Congress to increase funding to the post office, and protect its ability to deliver ballots on time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: They felt the heat, and that's what we are trying to do, is to make it too hot for them to handle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: All while President Trump continues to attempt to discredit the vote by mail system. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will be on Capitol Hill Friday to answer lawmakers' questions.

Meanwhile, the campaign for president is heating up. President Trump punching back after the first night of the Democratic National Convention. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I thought it was a very divisive speech, extremely divisive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: It was a night where Democrats landed blow after blow on the commander-in-chief, headlined by the former first lady, Michelle Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Those last words, it is what it is, seemingly an attack on Trump's use of the dismissive term to describe the staggering coronavirus death toll in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They are dying, it's true. And it is what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: All this while the coronavirus hotspots continue to pop up across America. The president entertaining the idea, promoting the therapeutic Oleandrin, an extract of a toxic plant because it was suggested by his big supporter, Mike Lindell of MyPillow who serves on the board of the company pushing the supposed treatment.

Lindell claims the therapeutic was tested, and is being looked at by the FDA but could provide no proof or evidence of the study in an interview with Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE LINDELL, FOUNDER, MYPILLOW: This thing works, it's the miracle of all time.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You said -- sir, you said you've seen this test. Where is it?

LINDELL: The tests are out there. The thousand people phase one, phase two --

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Where -- where is the test? Show it to us. LINDELL: I don't have the test --

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Name how are you different than a snake oil salesman?

LINDELL: I think my platform stands by itself, the platform that God gave me of integrity and trust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Ryan Nobles, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: An exhaustive bipartisan U.S. Senate investigation confirms and even goes beyond what special counsel Robert Mueller found last year. Russia's intelligence services used ties to the Trump campaign to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election to help Donald Trump win.

The three-year probe found extensive contacts between then Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and a Russian intelligence officer which, quote, "represented a grave counter intelligence threat."

[03:10:02]

Democrats on the intelligence committee wrote this is what collusion looks like. Senator Mark Warner stressed that Americans must learn from this report to prevent election interference from happening again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): This report is 1,000 pages long, twice as long as the Mueller report. I would urge every American to read it, to draw their own conclusions, unprecedented amount of Russian intervention in a myriad of contacts with individuals affiliated and associated with the Trump campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: As for the committee's Republicans, they say the report did not conclude there was a coordinated conspiracy with the Russians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): We found absolutely no evidence whatsoever that Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia to meddle in our elections.

Second, the FBI made some very troubling mistakes, especially by relying on Steele dossier against the advice of the CIA and without verifying this foreign document or the sources that were used to create it.

And third, Russia still is meddling, and now so with China and Iran. The 2020 elections are only a few months away, and we must do better than we did in 2020. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, he joins me now from Charlottesville, Virginia. Good to have you with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Larry, let's start with the DNC. Of course, we have seen two nights now of speeches and videos, the purpose of course to unite the party behind Joe Biden, and even to try and bring us some disgruntled Republicans along the way. Has any of this work so far? And will those recalcitrant far- left progressives climb on board, do you think?

SABATO: Well, the good news for Democrats is this is about as united as the Democratic Party gets. By nature, it is a coalition party. There are many factions. That's been true for many decades, nothing new here.

But there is an overriding desire to get rid of Donald Trump, and that is what is uniting Democrats, and basically all their policy disagreements for the vast majority of say, Bernie Sanders supporters, they said we are going to deal with that on of November 4th, the day after the election.

CHURCH: And, Larry, of course, the big political issue right now is President Trump's undermining of the U.S. Postal Service, and mail-in voting. For now, those changes that were slowing down deliveries have been put on hold, but many voters still wonder if their ballot will get counted. There is a lot of concern. Where do things stand, and what are the political ramifications of all of this?

SABATO: Well, there is no way that the postmaster general and the Trump people would have agreed to stop this process unless the heat had become unbearable. Even Republicans were coming on board with those opposed to these changes, at least before election day.

So, they have had to pull back, but you just noted the key thing -- they managed to get out there, a message to the large majority, probably, of Democrats, who had planned to vote by mail. Now they wonder what should they do?

They're not going to vote on election day, most of them. They want to vote by mail, but the Trump people and the postmaster general have undermined their confidence in the system.

So, Democrats have got to spend some time rebuilding that confidence, and making sure that the changes they have pledged not to fulfill actually stay undone until after the election.

CHURCH: Right. And Larry, A Senate intelligence committee report just out details the security risks posed by Donald Trump's 2016 campaign with its Russia contacts. What are the political -- the political ramifications of this? And ultimately, do voters care about this issue?

SABATO: I'm not sure that voters care anymore. They should care, but I don't think they are focused on it. And we have had this intermittently for years now. But the facts coming out of the Senate intelligence committee are disturbing, to have the campaign manager, one of the candidates of Donald Trump who won working for years with someone who was a Russian agent?

You know, in the old days, that would have been the end, not just of the campaign manager, but of the candidate. We live in a different era, and I think, probably, it was difficult to manage this so that the truth came out in a way that would be powerful, and would have an impact on Trump.

[03:14:57]

CHURCH: Larry, just finally, how surprised are you that with the handling or mishandling of the pandemic, high unemployment racism division in this country, that Joe Biden wouldn't be further ahead in the polls because we are seeing him really only a few points ahead of Donald Trump.

SABATO: Yes, that's true. Some polls like CNN's had Biden up only four, but I believe in polling averages, and the average for Biden is actually around 8 and a half percent, which is remarkable. That's an Obama level victory. Now, will it be the same in November? I have no idea. We'll have to watch.

Look, we live in an era of really extreme polarization. It takes a lot to pull anybody away from Trump, or to pull anybody away from Biden. So, we've got to live with that and recognize that the old days when you had landslides of 60 percent, or even for that matter, 55 percent, they are gone, at least for the near future, the foreseeable future. They are gone.

CHURCH: Yes. It's going to be a tight race, for sure.

Larry Sabato, always a pleasure to chat with you. Many thanks.

SABATO: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And still ahead on CNN Newsroom, a rising Democratic star delivers a short but memorable speech at her party's convention. Hear what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said about the progressive movement in America.

And the former second lady who could become first lady talks about how the pandemic has changed our schools and our lives.

Back with that in just a moment.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back. Well, the pandemic got less play on night two of the Democratic

National Convention. But it's still loomed large as speech after speech brought forth a longing for a return to normal.

One of the most compelling moments came from Jill Biden's address, the wife of the Democratic presidential nominee is a professor and longtime educator. And she spoke about the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways, and missing the murmur of ideas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S WIFE: Yes, so many classrooms are quiet right now. The playgrounds are still. But if you listen closely, you can hear the sparks of change in the air. Across this country, educators, parents, first responders, Americans of all walks of life are putting their shoulders back, fighting for each other. We haven't given up. We just need leadership worthy of our nation, worthy of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meantime, the world surpassed 22 million coronavirus cases on Tuesday. And the U.S. remains one of the biggest drivers of those rising totals. The country just recorded another 44,000 cases and more than 1,300 deaths. But that comes after a slight glimmer of hope on Monday.

Nick Watt shows us what's happening across the country.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The good news? This country just logged less than 40,000 new cases in a day, first time in nearly two months, very high, but falling. The bad news, we are still averaging more than 1,000 lives lost every day to this virus. And here is the key metric. In nearly half of states, the number of tests coming back positive is still too high.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: When you look at New York City right now, it's less than 1 percent. That's what you want the whole country to be. There are parts of the country where it's 15, 18, 20 percent. That's really high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: New infection rates are now falling in the south, but rising in the heartland. Some returning Missouri State University students are packing a quarantine go-bag just in case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLI DUECKER, STUDENT, MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY: I also bought hand sanitizer and bleach and Clorox wipes where I can find them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Across the country, that path back to in-person classes is pitted with potholes. Eighty positive tests in Notre Dame yesterday alone, all underground classes will now be online only for at least two weeks. And at UNC Chapel Hill, it's well, that, according to the student newspaper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REEVES MOSELEY, STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT, UNC CHAPELL HILL: We saw, you know, four clusters across the entire campus in just three days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: The university is now running out of quarantine beds in-person undergraduate classes are done after just a week. Tomorrow, they will move to remote learning only.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: You go in. People get infected. Boom, they close them down. So, it is better to ease in, perhaps, with a virtual, until you see what's going on when you're in a really hot zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: In Miami-Dade, Florida nearly 600 public school employees have tested positive for COVID-19. The Los Angeles school district now plans to test every single student and staffer around 800,000 people. Herculean, Sisyphean?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN BEUTNER, SUPERINTENDENT, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: We want to keep schools from becoming a petri dish. We want to keep all the community safe. We need to test and trace at schools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: A quicker easier saliva test could be available within weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT GIROIR, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: It's basically spit in a tube. It does not need a swab, it does not the special transport media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: But we're told testing is not a panacea. This fight will always be largely on us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIROIR: It's part of a comprehensive plan. You have to do the things that the surgeon general and we all tell you, the 3 W's. You got to wear a mask, you got to watch your distance, you got to wash your hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Sounds simple, but you know, we spoke with a faculty member from UNC Chapel Hill who said that her college campuses is a microcosm of the entire United States. There are just not enough people who are willing to follow public health guidelines.

Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

CHURCH: Dr. Celine Gounder is a CNN medical analyst and former New York City assistant commissioner of health.

[03:25:01]

She also hosts the podcast Epidemic, and joins me now from New York. Always good to chat with you, doctor.

CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: My pleasure.

CHURCH: So, we are seeing schools at all levels now battle COVID-19 outbreaks. Another college, Notre Dame, has just now taken its classes online due to infections there. What is the best way for them to work out what to do in the absence of any real guidance out there?

GOUNDER: Rosemary, I think the big picture is that we need to look at this as a societal problem, not a problem that's limited to certain businesses like bars and restaurants, or limited to certain schools, but rather something that's happening across the community.

And as long as you have spread throughout the community, you are going to have spread on college campuses and other schools. You're going to have spread in bars and restaurants and other facilities.

So, this is really a problem that needs to be addressed as a community problem. And that hasn't been done in a concerted fashion nationwide, all at once, even now. And so, we continue to play this game of whack- a-mole where we beat down the problem in one place and then see it pop-up and yet another.

CHURCH: Right. And then of course, while this is happening, new cases across the country are coming down slightly, which of course is a good thing but still at around 40,000 a day. And deaths are still averaging 1,000 on a daily basis. How is this possible six months into this pandemic? And do you think the decline in cases maybe perhaps due to more people wearing masks?

GOUNDER: I do think masks have had an impact. I do think people are finally hearing the message that masks work to protect yourself, to protect others against transmission of the virus. So that certainly has helped here. We are scaling up testing, but even now we still don't have nearly the level of testing we should have.

And in many parts of the country, the rates of transmission, the rates of new cases are so high. Options like pool testing where you combine a couple different specimens into one and tested as a batch, simply are not feasible because there are such high rates of transmission.

CHURCH: Yes.

GOUNDER: So, there is a lot that really needed to be done that still hasn't been done.

CHURCH: I guess there is a lot of hope on that saliva test, isn't there? I mean, do you support that and see that as a possible game changer here?

GOUNDER: I do think the saliva test is a game-changer. This allows us to spare ourselves using those nasal swabs. So that's a huge savings right there. That was a rate limiting step. We were running out of those. So, to not need those, to not need really special specimen collection kits to be able to use the routine laboratory chemicals and machines that we already have on hand and not need to procure anything special makes a big difference.

CHURCH: Doctor, new studies show immunity may now last a little longer than previously thought, perhaps three months or more. And we are also learning that the threshold for herd immunity could be lower than previously thought at around 50 percent of the population.

How significant is all this for reaching some level of herd immunity given that a mask is about all we've got, plus that possibility of herd immunity? Or can that only happen once there's a vaccine?

GOUNDER: Well, I think the way to think about herd immunity is that you are really layering different things, different protective interventions to reduce everybody's risk of spread. So, masks are actually a big part of that. But if you combine masks and social distancing and the fact that some

people have had the virus, or at least in the short term probably immune to reinfection, that can have a dramatic reduction, yield a dramatic reduction in transmission of the virus which could really buy us time until we have that vaccine.

CHURCH: It always gets back to that mask, doesn't it? We just need to wear them.

Dr. Celine Gounder, thank you as always.

GOUNDER: My pleasure.

CHURCH: Well, Democrats are making a point to highlight diversity and inclusion in their national convention. But are they giving progressive members a big enough voice? Our experts weigh in, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers watching here in the U.S. and all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church. Well, Joe Biden has officially secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. President. On the second night of the Democratic National Convention. Party delegates from across the country, formally endorsed him in a virtual roll call vote and he also got support from key members of his party.

Including former President Bill Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. But one of the holdout was House Democrats Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. In a short speech, she backed the nomination of Senator Bernie Sanders and praised the progressive movement he's laid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Infidelity and gratitude to amass people's movement working to establish 21st century social, economic, and human rights, including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages, and labor rights for all people in the United States.

A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long term stability for the many, and who organized a historic, grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN political commentator Angela Rye joins me now from Los Angeles. She is also the former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus. Also with us is Ana Navarro, CNN political commentator and Biden supporter from Miami, in Florida. Good to see you both.

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to see you.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, Anna, let's start with you. We just heard from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her role was of course to speak in support of Bernie Sanders. It was very short. What did you take from that? And have progressives being sufficiently included in this process? Or does the Democratic Party run the risk of looking like it is snubbing them yet again?

NAVARRO: From my perspective, I feel it's been a very inclusive, very big tent convention. Where there have been progressives. Where there had been Latinos and African Americans, and moderates, and Republicans.

[03:35:00]

And I think it's less about looking at the labels of whether you are disenfranchised Republican or whether you are a never Trumper or whether you are a progressive or a moderate, it's less about labels and it's more about all hands on deck. It is time to unite to put bygones a side.

We have seen what Joe Biden has done that by putting Kamala Harris on the ticket. We had seen that Bernie Sanders did that yesterday in his convention speech asking everybody to join and keep, you know, our eyes on the prize, beating Donald Trump, electing Joe Biden. CHURCH: And Angela, what do you say? Because this was a problem back

in 2016, wasn't it? When Bernie Sanders didn't get the nomination and Hillary Clinton did, the far left progressives were furious and some did not vote. Some even voted for Donald Trump. So, will the DNC be able to unite the party and unite all parts of the party and get them on board with a Biden/Harris ticket?

RYE: Well, and I think that the work is still left to be done, right. You know, today a number of my friends and folks on my team were like, why is AOC being used for this? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is, you know, AOC is the acronym used often to say her name. And folks were frustrated. Like, you know, she is such a powerful, strong, young voice in the party. Definitely the future of not just the Democratic Party, but progressives.

I think is you know, very few that there are a number of young people who don't like the boxes of Democrat, Republican independent, and want to just be known only to endorse Bernie Sanders of I think she was the second in the speeches. Second thing, he's endorsements or his nomination, I think it's a missed opportunity.

And so, you know, to Ana's point you know, yes, the Democratic Party is the big tent party, but when it comes to the pomp and circumstance of convention, very rarely do you hear all of the diversity and the voices. I think the most diverse moment tonight was the nominating process for Joe Biden. I love that. That was beautiful. All types of folks in labor, in teachers, in you know, elected officials, and folks who are long term party folks and then folks who are activists.

To me, that is the party. But what I really want to understand is why we are not focusing on all of the issues that these different members of the party in this big tent have and how we best address them. I think that is going to be the next frontier and it is critical to ensure that he has the votes he needs to get across the finish line in November.

CHURCH: Right. And Ana, the DNC has already been criticized for a lack of Latino representation. Only three have their own speaking slots over the whole of the four nights. What do you say to that and how can Biden and the DNC reach out to encourage Latinos to vote for a Biden Harris ticket?

NAVARRO: I'll tell you. I was very bothered by that and I brought it up to Joe Biden himself. I spoke to him a few days ago and I brought it up to Kamala Harris and too many members of the campaign. That being said, once I have actually seen the conventions, it doesn't feel that way. Yesterday's DNC was Eva Longoria, a great actress and self- made woman. A woman from Texas, ninth generation American, but also a great activist and philanthropist.

And a woman who stands up for a good causes. She was there the entire night. We heard from Senator Cortez Masto. Is there more work to be done? Absolutely. Do the numbers with Latinos have to get better? Absolutely. Do Latinos feel that they should not be taken for granted and they want their votes to be earned and they want respect? Absolutely. CHURCH: Right. And Ana, I will put this question to both of you, but

Ana first. We all watched and listened as Jill Biden made her address appealing to Americans to vote for her husband, Joe, to make families safe, bring love and compassion to the presidency. How will that message resonate with female voters? Anna, first.

NAVARRO: Look, I think it will resonate with all sorts of voters. I think the idea of a president and a first lady who showcase empathy, humanity, who are able to comfort other Americans. Who are able to rise from challenges and obstacles and great grief and continue. Put one foot in front of the other as she said about Joe Biden.

For me also, the beginning of that package which was a video narrated by Cindy McCain, the widow of John McCain. And then hearing John McCain in his own words, it brought back just the close friendship that there was between John McCain and Joe Biden for so many years and how much they believe in the institutions of government. And in democracy and in America being a shining beacon on the hill for the world, the entire world.

[03:40:10]

In comparison that to what we have in Donald Trump, who I think many, including myself, receive as a threat to American values, a threat to American security, and a laughing stock internationally. So, I thought it was emotional, I thought it was beautiful and I though -- you know, it brought Joe Biden the human, the family man, the father, the husband, the son into our homes.

CHURCH: And Angela, the last word goes to you on that.

RYE: Yes. Anna, you probably could make me cry but I don't know what's going on with my eyes. They were like, all of the sudden they are like burning but I would say, you know, one of the most important things to me Ana, throughout this process has been your voice, truly. Because I know you are always speaking your truth and so, I know that things are resonating with you, they did really well.

So, you know, again, I was floored by her speech and I thought she was phenomenal. You brought up the word that Michelle Obama, of course used it yesterday, empathy and the action behind empathy. And to see her in a classroom, they even had her styled like a teacher today was beautiful. And then to hear Joe Biden talked about the strength she brought to their family and how she even said the way that you bring a broken country together is the same way you bring a broken family together, and that being her own personal testimony was incredibly powerful and (inaudible). So, kudos to the speech writers and for her for delivering.

CHURCH: Great to talk to you both. Angela Rye and Ana Navarro, thank you.

RYE: Thank you so much.

NAVARRO: Thank you. CHURCH: And still to come, an investigation is underway to find the

source of a coronavirus outbreak in Australia. We will explain why health experts say it may be linked to the very places meant to contain it. We will have a live report.

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[03:45:00]

CHURCH: German researchers are shedding light on the possibility of COVID transmission on airplanes. A new study found in March, two passengers likely caught the virus after sitting through a five hour flight from Israel to Germany. Researchers say the two was sitting across the aisle from several infected passengers. At the time, passengers were not tested for the virus before boarding. There were no mitigation measures in place and masks were not required.

Well, as the Australian state of Victoria fights to regain control of its coronavirus outbreak, a judicial probe is being told that almost all the active cases there can be traced to two quarantine hotels. Journalist Angus Watson joins us now from Sydney. Good to see you, Angus. So, what happened at these quarantine hotels that may have resulted in the spread of COVID-19?

ANGUS WATSON, JOURNALIST: Well, Rosemary, it just goes to show how a vicious second wave of COVID-19 can come from the smallest ripples. In this sense, the ripple was a family of four who checked into the Rydges Hotel after they had come down with coronavirus in May.

Now that family of four accidentally passed that virus on to security guards who are working at the hotel, trying to keep everybody there safe. And those security guards then passed it into the community in Melbourne and what we have now is thousands of cases since May and hundreds of deaths as well, Rosemary.

Now, there has been a judicial inquiry that has been set up into just how this happened. How did such a small number of cases turn into the many thousands? The judicial inquiry had its hearings yesterday and one of the state epidemiologists said that 99 percent of cases in Victoria through the second wave since May can be traced back to two hotels, the Rydges Hotel and the Stamford Plaza Hotel there in Melbourne. 90 percent of them come from the Rydges Hotel, this hotel where the family of four was being quarantined, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So how might this change the way security is down around this quarantine hotels?

WATSON: Well, it is an imperfect process as we know, Rosemary. Here in New South Wales we had our first case of a security guard from a hotel quarantine setting come down with coronavirus. They are not quite sure how that happened. It could be because simply that security guard touched the same surface as an infected traveler coming into Australia and being quarantined, may have touch and being passed on that way.

The New South Wales government here says that they are on top of that matter and they don't think it's a threat to the community. But the Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of New South Wales said today that she believes it's a miracle that we have gone so long without a case getting out of that hotel quarantine setting, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. And it's just very heartbreaking because at the very beginning, Australia did so well fighting this. Angus Watson, joining us from Sydney, Australia. Many thanks.

Well, after months of political unrest the president of Mali abruptly resigns under a lot of pressure. And we will explain the revolt that has forced him out of office.

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[03:50:00]

CHURCH: The president of Mali has announced his resignation hours after rebel soldiers detained him and the Prime Minister in apparent coup. The announcement follows months of anti-government protests that have called on Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to step down.

Critics say he has failed to address government corruption and a growing jihadist insurgency across the country. The leaders of Tuesday's revolt say they are now planning a political transition. And CNN's David McKenzie joins me now live from Johannesburg. Good to see, David. So, what is the latest on all of this?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest was this address, a late night address on national television by the now former President Keita, who rarely put it very plainly that he had little choice in this matter. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IBRAHIM BOUBACAR KEITA, RESIGNING MALIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If today had pleased some elements of our armed forces to conclude that it should end with their intervention, do I really have a choice? Because I do not wish for any blood to be spill to keep me in office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: He's announced his resignation, the dissolution of parliament earlier in the day on Tuesday, Rosemary. He was arrested as well as the Prime Minister detained is probably a more accurate description. And several senior government leaders taken to a military barracks after a day of confusion and fear in the capital Bamako.

Just a short time ago, the military group calling themselves the national committee for the salvation of the people also addressed the nation saying they are instilling a curfew, closing off the borders of the country and in their words working towards a transition towards an election. Now many of the grievances they listed including corruption, failure to put down an insurgency in the country's north are similar to protests that have gone on for many months. Whether they actually move towards a democratic dispensation will be

made to be seen. There is a huge amount of pressure from the regional bloc and elsewhere for them to release the president and put that president back in power.

CHURCH: David McKenzie bringing us the latest on the situation in Mali, many thanks.

Well, European leaders are urging and end to political violence in Belarus as anti-government protests are now in their 10th day. Factory workers have joined the opposition movement, threatening the economy under embattled President Alexander Lukashenko. Demonstrators want him to resign saying this month's election was rigged.

[03:55:03]

Now a leading opposition figure is urging European leaders not to recognize the results. And CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now live rom Minsk. So, Fred, what is the latest on all these developments?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Rosemary. Well, last night, there was still a very big protest by the opposition on Independence Square which is right in front of the parliament, where they brought about 10,000 people to bear. But we are also seeing here now on Belarus is that the government of Alexander Lukashenko and a security forces are seeming to be trying to make a comeback.

Earlier today there was a protest and sort of a semi-strike going on in a tractor factory and there are riot police actually turned out and disperse those folks. There's' also some other places where demonstrations have been taking place over the past couple of days. We are now for the first time, we are starting to see those security forces again and we have also heard of some arrests taking place.

As you've noted, all of this comes in front of this diplomatic backdrop as the E.U. council had its emergency meeting where it is going to talk about the situation in Belarus. At the same time of course, you had a lot of phone diplomacy going on as well between Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Putin and then calling on Alexander Lukashenko and for the first time now, the De facto head of the opposition said Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, are coming out with a message in English, urging the E.U. council not to recognize the election. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SVETLANA TIKHANOVSKAYA, BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I call on you not to recognize this fraudulent election. Mr. Lukashenko has lost all the legitimacy in the eyes of our nation and the world. Honorable leaders of Europe, I call you to support the awakening of Belarus. I call on all countries to respect the principles of international law. I call to respect the serenity of Belarus and the choice of Belarusian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PLEITGEN: The opposition obviously calling for new elections then for

Alexandra Lukashenko to move aside, but as we are starting to see today, it seems as though that could be quite a long process still ahead. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Right. Thanks so much, Fred. And I am Rosemary Church. I will be back in just a moment.

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