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Trump Announces Emergency Authorization Of Plasma; Twin Storms Marco And Laura Barrel Towards U.S. Coast; Belarus Protests Two Weeks In And Unabated; Christchurch Mosque Terrorist On Trial; California Wildfires Rage; Trump Seeks to Pump New Energy into His Reelection Bid; India's Poorest State Facing Both COVID-19 and Flooding; Mexico Navigates Distance Learning during Outbreak; Bayern Munich Win Champions League. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 24, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

MEGAN RAPINOE: We can have a better life. And I think we don't have to live, particularly with what's happening now. I don't think we have to live in this world, I think it can be better.

And so, for me, I try to use all of the resources or platform or microphone if it's given to me to do what I can to make the world a better place.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. President Donald Trump makes a self- described historic announcement in the battle against coronavirus.

Skeptics dismiss the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma though as hype ahead of the Republican Convention now just hours away.

Also terrible twins, tropical storms Marco and Laura barrel toward the U.S. coast. Laura has already left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean.

And later in the program, delayed but not denied after a competition that was put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic, Bayern Munich claim European football's biggest prize.

Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, with the start of the Republican National Convention just hours away, the U.S. President Donald Trump touting a possible treatment in the fight against COVID-19.

But already, much debate over whether enough data is out there to prove it'll work. And, of course, the president's credibility in this area predicting such things is suspect.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has given emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma for treating patients hospitalized with coronavirus.

The plasma would come from those who have recovered from the virus and have antibodies which may help fight the infection.

President Trump making that announcement on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today I'm pleased to make a truly historic announcement in our battle against the China virus that will save countless lives.

This is a powerful therapy that transfuses very, very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients to help treat patients battling a current infection. It's had an incredible rate of success.

Today's announcement will dramatically expand access to this treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: But that is not entirely true. An emergency use authorization is not a full approval from the FDA. And while plasma treatment has seen some success, multiple experts say that more data is needed to determine any clear benefits against COVID-19.

Also, to get enough plasma you need to get donors, of course, and the ability to track which ones have the most effective plasma.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond with more on the announcement from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump on Sunday announcing that the FDA has approved an emergency use authorization for a potential coronavirus treatment and that is convalescent plasma.

Now convalescent plasma certainly has been used already in about 70,000 patients here in the United States alone and there is some promising data behind it.

But certainly randomized controlled clinical trials have not yet reached a conclusion about this convalescent plasma's efficacy. But, nonetheless, the president insisting that this is a historic breakthrough.

Now while this may be certainly an incremental improvement, something that will widen the availability of plasma, to call this a breakthrough simply is not the case.

But the president insisting that he was able to overcome what he called a log jam at the FDA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I think that there might have been a hold up but we broke the log jam over the last week, to be honest. I think that there are people in the FDA and actually, in your larger

department that can see things being held up and wouldn't mind so much -- that's my opinion, very strong opinion. And that's for political reasons.

This has nothing to do with politics, this has to do with life and death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Those comments followed a tweet that the president issued in which he made similar accusations about the FDA accusing members of the quote/unquote, "deep state" of trying to undermine him by slow walking the approval of vaccines and coronavirus treatments.

We should note there is absolutely no evidence to back that up.

And what is interesting here, of course, is that the president appears to have put some significant pressure, political pressure, on the FDA to grant this emergency use authorization.

And the timing, of course, is very notable. The president is set to begin the Republican National Committee over this coming week and the president certainly looking for a win. So this appears to be the one of the president was able to find for himself.

But again, the way that the president described this as a breakthrough, as something historic, not the case.

[01:05:00]

The jury is still out on convalescent plasma but there is some promising data behind it.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta told Anderson Cooper the announcement caught many by surprise despite claims from the FDA saying that it made its decision based on facts alone.

Dr. Gupta says the reversal speaks volumes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This was surprising to a lot of people.

Just a couple -- three days ago, on the FDA's website itself it said there was not enough evidence to support emergency use authorization. That was just a couple of days ago.

It's not clear at all that there was any more data presented -- I've gone through their memorandum of -- decision memorandum, and I don't see any new data being presented. So -- I know the coronavirus task force members did not get any new

data. So it's really unclear to me what exactly happened here.

Just a couple days ago there wasn't enough data. Now, all of a sudden on a Sunday night, there's enough data to proceed with this emergency use authorization.

What is clear is the data that's been out there is not the sort of evidence that people typically want, actually comparing this particular treatment to a placebo.

What they were talking about was actually comparing this particular treatment to itself. Did you take it early or did you take it late? What they found was that if you took it early you had benefit versus taking it late.

But again, how did that compare to people who compare who didn't take it at all? That's what people really want to know. And there's not good data on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Another health expert says the new treatment authorization is clearly the result of political maneuvering and not scientific data.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM HASELTINE, CHAIRMAN & PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL: The first thing to say is the data does not support the approval of this drug. That's clear. I've seen the data.

And secondly, this is not a breakthrough. This is a modest improvement for people who take it very early if it's an improvement at all. So the FDA was correct, the NIH is correct.

Back to your second question. This seems to me to be a clear administration thumb on the scale for a political purpose. And that's what I've been afraid of all along both for diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: On the eve of the Republican National Convention White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, announced that she is leaving her post at the end of this month.

Her husband, George Conway, a vocal critic of the president, also announced that he's withdrawing from the Lincoln Project, an Anti- Trump political action committee, and taking a break from Twitter.

Both said they need to focus on family.

With Kellyanne Conway writing, quote: "This is completely my choice and my voice. In time I will announce plans for the future.

For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama."

HOLMES: Conway is scheduled to speak at the Republican Convention though it is unclear if she will still do so.

President Trump's appearance though, that's a sure thing. A Republican source saying he will make an appearance every single night, and the convention will deliver a quote "optimistic and upbeat message."

Now that could be challenging, of course, given more than 176,000 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. and an economy in tatters.

Hours ahead of the convention the Trump campaign released its second- term agenda, which includes the creation of 10 million new jobs in 10 months, and the promise of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year.

Two weeks past the highly contested presidential election in Belarus and the opposition movement is still going strong. Thousands of people protesting in the capital city Minsk on Sunday.

The country's defense ministry warning that soon demonstrators will have to face not only police but the army as well.

President Alexander Lukashenko arrived at the presidential palace after the protest wearing body armor and holding an assault rifle.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Despite threats and intimidation the opposite has once again managed to bring scores of people out here to the streets of Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

And many people that we've been speaking to say, of course, they're afraid to come out here, of course, they're afraid that maybe once again the security forces could turn violent.

But they believe they need to come out now or maybe change won't happen at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's actually our last chance, really. Because if it's -- if we're not free tomorrow, we will never be free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This nation has never been as united as it is today. I'm proud. For the first time of my life, I'm so proud of my country, of my people.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [01:10:00]

PLEITGEN: Now all this comes after an up and down week for the opposition. It started off very strong but then towards the end of the week you could feel that long-time dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, was trying to strengthen his grip on power once again.

He claimed that NATO was threatening to invade the west of Belarus which NATO has said was absolutely not true.

And he also said that he would bring protests like these to an end very soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"People are tired. People want peace and calm," Lukashenko said. "We need to give them that, we need to put an end to all this."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: But as you can see, the people here are not allowing threats from their own president to hold them back.

Many of them telling us they'll continue to come out here every weekend till Alexander Lukashenko finally allows for new elections and steps down.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN. Minsk, Belarus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And protesters in Belarus are finding sympathy from other European countries.

In Prague a group of protesters lined the Charles Bridge to show their solidarity, some holding signs saying "No violence."

And there was a nearly 19-mile long human chain of protestors in Lithuania lining up from the capital Vilnius to the border with Belarus Sunday.

Now the man responsible for New Zealand's worst ever mass shooting will learn his fate in the days ahead.

The first day in the sentencing of Brenton Tarrant just wrapped up. Over the next four days the courtroom will be filled with members of victims' families as well as survivors of the attack.

Tarrant pleaded guilty to murdering 51 people and the attempted murder of 41 others after he opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch in March of last year.

For more on this, let's go to CNN's senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, joining me now from Hong Kong.

What have you been hearing in the court there, Ivan? IVAN WATSON, SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we heard a

detailed account of the premeditation, the reconnaissance, the research that Brenton Tarrant conducted of these two mosques in Christchurch that were so viciously attacked in March of last year.

With a crown prosecutor detailing how the 26-year-old Australian began preparing in September of 2017, a year and-a-half ahead of time, for the deadliest attack in New Zealand's modern history.

That he frequently visited the areas around the main mosque in Christchurch, that he flew a drone over it, and researched the Islamic calendar to find times when the mosques would be full.

In addition to obtaining a gun license ahead of time, and stacking up weapons and ammunition to prepare for this.

We also have begun hearing from dozens of victims, both survivors and relatives of victims who are being allowed to make what are described as impact statements to the court and also to the self confessed terrorist and killer himself.

Take a listen to what one grieving mother had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYSOON SALAMA: May you get the severest punishment for your evil act in this life and in the hereafter. We know that Allah is the most just.

You transgressed and you thought you can break us. You failed miserably. We became more determined to hold tight to Islam and our beloved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Another victim called for a death penalty in New Zealand for Brenton Tarrant. He is facing lifetime in prison and could potentially have all options for parole removed.

Another mother of a deceased victim had a very different message. She said she had no option but to forgive Brenton Tarrant.

And that was one moment when eyewitnesses say -- the only moment where there was a visible emotional response from him where he actually put his hand up to his mouth.

Michael.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Ivan Watson, thanks very much. Appreciate that there in Hong Kong.

We'll take a quick break here on the program.

When we come back, a history-making event as two dangerous storms make their way towards the Gulf Coast of the United States.

We're tracking the destructive paths of Marco and Laura. We'll get the latest from the CNN weather center.

Also the weather has hindered the around the clock work of firefighters in California.

Just ahead, the forecast for the region as wildfires rage across the state.

[01:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The U.S. Gulf Coast bracing for not one but two major storms. Marco was just downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it inches towards the Louisiana coast. And Laura is expected to reach hurricane strength as it makes landfall later in the week.

Now in the Dominican Republic at least nine people have been killed, almost 500,000 without power in the wake of tropical storm Laura. Thousands of shelters set up now for displaced residents.

Meanwhile in Haiti, the storm dumped heavy rain across a battered nation already. Winds as strong as 72 kilometers an hour. Many villages flooded, landslides reported across the country as so often happens when it rains in Haiti.

Tropical storm watches and warnings now stretch from Florida to Texas in the U.S. And in Louisiana, people lined up for supplies as they prepared for a possible double hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm getting prepared. Gassed up my car first, that was the first thing I did. Long lines but needed the gas. Want to be prepared in case if it strikes then I have the ability to -- enough gas to get out of harm's way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And portions of Louisiana under mandatory evacuation orders as well.

Our Martin Savidge with the latest from New Orleans.

[01:20:00]

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By themselves, each storm would be considered manageable by emergency officials. But combine their impacts and no one's really sure what to expect.

Locally, officials have said residents had until nightfall Sunday to finish their preparations, saying wherever you are when it gets dark is where you should plan to be for the next 72 hours.

For the most part this should be a shelter in place event, meaning that most people will ride out the storm where they live.

There are some mandatory evacuations in coastal areas particularly those that prone to flooding outside of the flood protection system. But there's no evacuation order for the city of New Orleans.

The real fear is flooding. The storm surge and rains from Marco will likely cause some flooding. The problem will be can the waters recede either naturally or be pumped out mechanically before the next storm, Laura, brings more flooding potential.

The governor is warning there may not be enough time or opportunity between the two storms to carry out significant rescue operations if people become trapped by high water.

Officials are warning for the first 72 hours, many in the paths of these two storms could be on their own.

Back to you.

HOLMES: Martin Savidge, thanks.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with more. What's your take?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Michael. Seventy-two hours certainly -- not even the length of time between these two storms. So really going to be an incredible set up when you have two tropical systems, potentially two hurricanes.

But as this point, Marco, as you know, it has already weakened to a tropical storm. And you'll notice Laura a tropical storm back to the south and west of this particular region.

And here's the perspective of Marco. We're watching this system weaken rather quickly rather quickly. Notice winds 110 kph, that is about 10 kilometers shy of what would be a hurricane and a lot of wind shear above this.

So the storm is essentially being ripped apart from the top down.

But the steering environment does bring this close to land within the next 24 hours either making landfall right along the coast of Louisiana there as it approaches the state of Texas, or even potentially raining itself out and never making landfall across this region.

Certainly a lot could change within this particular feature as we watch it rapidly weaken.

But the water already set in motion, that's the concern. Four to six feet or upwards of two meter storm surges across that region of Southern Louisiana near -- areas around, say, some of the southern parishes around, say, Grand Isle.

But here's topical storm Laura sitting there across portions of Cuba. The concern with this particular storm is that not only does it kind

of deviate and shift a little farther south of Cuba which would avoid most of its mountains but it enters the Gulf of Mexico on the western periphery. West of where Marco was where wind shear resulted in its weakening.

So the National Hurricane Center believes the exact opposite will happen with this particular storm and it could strengthen potentially up to a category two even saying this get up to a major hurricane come Wednesday when it approaches land.

But notice the offshore platforms, over 600 of which dot this region, Michael. Of course we know with Marco impacting the area, about 100 have already been evacuated.

And now the concern is another system comes in.

Again, the National Hurricane Center really stressing that this storm system has the potential to rapidly intensify. So we're going to watch this very carefully as it approaches land by Wednesday.

HOLMES: All right, Pedram. Thanks very much for that. Pedram Javaheri there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now thousands of firefighters, some of them working around the clock, literally 24 hour shifts. They're battling hundreds of wildfires across the State of California, no end in sight.

Many of those fires started by lightning. The fires scorching more than half a million hectares of land and still they've had to call in reinforcements just to keep up.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is in Calistoga, California with more.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, there's is smoke in the air and tension in the air.

That's because they know that there's a strong possibility of these lightning strikes, a red flag warning all over Northern California, Central California.

Here's the command post where they're helping to dispatch the 14,000 firefighters now on the lines in California. And speaking of those lines, this gives you what they're up against. This is the LNU Complex.

The black line means they've got containment either by digging it with bulldozers or shovels or backfiring. The red, that's where there's no containment whatsoever, on these monster fires.

Firefighters have been pouring in from other states including Oregon. We spoke with one of those firefighters who's out on the line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICHARD CORDOVA, CAL FIRE CAPTAIN: This is historic. Something that we've seen in the past but not to this magnitude. Our resources are stretched thin.

And what we're worried about is the system coming in causing the same havoc throughout the state and trying to get resources to protect the citizens of California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: This is Calistoga, California. They've had their share of trouble with fire over the past half decade.

[01:25:00]

You can look over here and one of the firefighters advising a resident as to what's going on here with evacuations, the potential for more blazes.

And people here showing appreciation.

A woman drove up and heard that firefighters needed pillows -- or at least were trying buy some pillows, so she handed them 12 to 14 pillows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLLY OGDEN: We love them, God bless them. We're nothing without them. And thank God they're here. And they just put out so much -- look how hot it is, how the air is horrible.

They're out there fighting these things for us. The least that I can do is bring some pillows. Wish I could do more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: So back here on the ground, this sense of anticipation. What will this weather bring them? Will it be more of these lightning strikes that caused so much trouble before?

They're just crossing their fingers and hoping they get through the next 24 to 48 hours.

Back to you now, Michael.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Paul Vercammen now. Thanks.

So let's go back to Pedram Javaheri now.

And tell what you're seeing there in California. These lightning strikes -- it's hard to believe just how many fires are going on at once.

JAVAHERI: Yes. I was looking at the numbers here, 12,000 lightning strikes in the past 10 days, Michael. Igniting about 600 fires across this region.

So you do the math. That's one in every 20 strikes that is igniting fires across this area. The U.S. average is typically one in every 900 strikes ignites a wildfire.

So really speaks to how dry this landscape is.

In fact, portions of California, say Barstow, work your way into Arizona, Yuma, into Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 100 days since the last time it rained across this region.

Of course, to the north we go we have a red flag warnings. The northern half of the state of the California in its entirety covering by this.

And then you notice the smoke certainly not just impacting the State of California. The pollution shifting all the way eastward as far across -- eastern as areas around, say, Chicago seeing some of the impacts of this particular fire.

But, of course, the second and largest fires -- third largest fires in state history taking place simultaneously across this region.

And this is the concerning forecast. Looking into the next couple of days, widespread area of excessive heat, once again humidity very low and thunderstorms abound across this region.

So we're watching that very carefully.

When you know how dry this landscape is, it really kind of brings the perspective of what's happened here. Where at one point, some 66 acres per minute or essentially a football field equivalent, was being consumed every 1.2 seconds here.

That is how expansive the nature of the fire is that we're watching here across the state of California, Michael.

HOLMES: All right, Pedram. Thanks very much, appreciate that. Pedram Javaheri there.

We're going to take a quick break.

When we come back, the roll call just hours away. Party delegates will renominate Donald Trump for president.

A preview of the political spectacle that is about to unfold at the Republican National Convention. When we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:33]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

Less than 24 hours now until Donald Trump and Mike Pence are renominated for another four years in office. President Trump plans to be in the spotlight every day of the Republican National Convention.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is in Charlotte, North Carolina with a preview of this made-for-TV event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The city of Charlotte, North Carolina will play an important role in the Republican National Convention this year, perhaps not the big role they expected to play when they won the bid for the convention more than a year ago, but a lot of the activity taking place here on Monday will be very important for President Trump's campaign.

That's where the delegates will come from around the country. More than 300 of them and cast their ballots for President Trump and Mike Pence to be the ticket for this year's presidential election.

And President Trump will actually be here. He and the Vice President will thank the delegates for their participation. He'll deliver brief remarks.

Now this is not his formal acceptance. That's not going to happen until later in the week on Thursday when President Trump officially accepts his nomination and that will happen at the White House.

In fact most of the activity will shift from Charlotte to Washington almost immediately. Many of the speeches that will take place that happened live will originate out of Washington and that includes speeches from Second Lady Karen Pence and Melania Trump will also deliver her remarks from Washington as well. The Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Baltimore and deliver his remarks from Fort McHenry.

Now this is something that President Trump has a lot riding on. He, of course, former reality television show star himself, he's told his team that he wants this convention to be bigger and better than what we saw from the Democrats last week. He's even brought in some of his former colleagues from "The Apprentice" to help produce all of the events that take place this week.

A lot riding for President Trump and we shouldn't forget that there are two hurricanes that could make their way onto the Gulf Coast sometime during the week of this convention which could add a further complication to this entire process.

Ryan Nobles, CNN -- Charlotte. North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Doug Heye is a CNN political commentator also the former director of communications for the RNC. A pleasure to see you again, Doug. I wanted to start off actually with one of your tweets, if we can put it up for people to look at. It says GOP enthusiasm is unlikely to match the intensity of the last election given Trump's first term success in filling existing court vacancy. So often, you said, you see a team win a championship. They may lose the urgency for the repeat. What do you expect from this RNC convention? And what will be different to how the Democrats handled theirs?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think we know precisely how it will different yet. You know, the Democrats were preparing for this inevitable virtual convention while the Republicans I think, honestly were kidding themselves for a while that they might be able to move locations and so forth.

They maybe less prepared than Democrats were. But what we've seen I think surprises a lot of people is, you're not seeing a lot of senators or members of Congress who otherwise would clamor to be on a stage for a convention. And certainly were four years ago.

Ted Cruz, being a very prominent example. I look at the list today and to some extent it resembled either the Addams family or a really bad Glastonbury where you look at the lineup for the bands and if none of them that you want to see.

Democrats who are really trying to expand their base, expand their appeal to people is why you have very popular -- folks in the country like Barack Obama and Michelle Obama to name the two most prominent examples.

[01:34:59]

HEYE: Republicans really seem to be doubling down on their base. We'll see if that's a successful strategy for them.

HOLMES: Yes. I think half the keynote speakers are either married to or related to the President which sort of says something in itself.

I mean it's going to be hard for the President to do what the Bidens -- what the Bidens did pretty much in centering their narrative about the family around their message. Especially given the book by Trump's niece. And now his sister's rather withering comments about President's character.

The thing is, and tell me if I'm wrong, it's not like his base doesn't already know the character of the man. And this seems like a president though who doesn't really want to grow the tent.

HEYE: Yes. Look, voters made up their minds one way or another, by and large, on Donald Trump not just a long time ago but well over four years ago. You were either very much for Trump or you decided you're not going to vote for Donald Trump. There's a very small sliver of voters who were trying to be in an area where they could be persuaded one way or another.

And that's where I think the Trump campaign is really behind on things right now. Not just with the gender gap but if you were talking to Democrats in January and February obviously everywhere in the world it's a very different conversation between now and then. But Democrats were really scared about Donald Trump being able to campaign on a positive economy and that that would whisk him for another four years in the White House because incumbents don't lose in positive economies.

But we know right now we have a death toll that's above 170,000 people -- 170,000 Americans, and we have an economy with more than 10 percent unemployment and so much insecurity and pain the country. It's really hard to see how they're going to be able to persuade people. This may be an election more on motivation than it is persuasion.

HOLMES: Yes. Well, yes, good point. The campaign adviser, Jason Miller, he was saying that Republicans are going to present a -- he called it an optimistic and upbeat convention this week in contrast with what he described as a massive grievance fest by the Democrats.

But, you know, we've seen the President constantly harp on negatives if Democrats win and you've got speakers like Nick Sandmann, you've got the gun-toting Missouri couple. I mean that doesn't exactly suggest the convention is all going to be positive and uplifting.

Do you think there is danger in leaning into culture war stuff like that?

HEYE: Not just leaning in but leading with it. And you know, Jason Miller has been a friend of mine for more than 20 years and a sincere friend not just a Washington D.C. friend when you say that, you don't need it.

But it's really hard to see the optimism coming from him and other folks with the Trump campaign except that they're paid to be because of the bad news that you have throughout the country. You know, one of the things that the Trump campaign is talking about right now is violence in the streets and how that may be Joe Biden's America but we are really in Donald Trump's America right now.

So how do you sell that vision of what may happen under somebody else's leadership when it's happening under your leadership is a really tough sell, I think. Even if you are purported to be "The Salesman".

HOLMES: It is a good point. He said think of the smoldering ruins of Minneapolis, (INAUDIBLE) of Portland, the bloodstained sidewalks of Chicago which is all happening on his watch. So it's an interesting thing to try to push out as a negative.

I wanted to ask you this, too with all his talk of what he calls the dangers of mail-in voting, and literally saying he said, quote, "The only way they're going to win, the Democrats, is by a rigged election." Is he setting the scene for a loss? Also, aren't comments like that just dangerous to the public's faith in democracy? The only way I can lose is if it's rigged.

HEYE: You know it hurts me as somebody, you mentioned I used to run communications for the Republican National Committee, to say that the President from my party is saying dangerous things. But there are also hypocritical things. And I wish I had him sitting right next to me instead of about 10 feet behind. I received a mail piece from the North Carolina Republican party just yesterday, urging me to send in an absentee ballot for Donald Trump. Now, I haven't lived in in North Carolina since 2004, it might have been a piece directed towards my father who died in 2016, in which case that's either bad mismanagement or they're trying to get somebody to vote fraudulently.

And I would point out the last time I had dinner with my father before he passed away he said to me he's reluctantly voting for Trump, this is in 2016. But man if Joe Biden is running he voted for he'd vote for Joe in a second. So probably not the target audience one way or another.

HOLMES: Wow, interesting. Doug Heye, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

HEYE: Thank you.

HOLMES: And tune in to CNN for the coverage of the Republican National Convention starting later today for our international viewers -- 4:00 a.m. if you're in London, 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday in Hong Kong.

And heading into the convention a new CBS News/Yougov poll putting Joe Biden ahead of President Trump by a 10-point margin among likely voters. Now that is exactly what the polling looked like before the Democrats launched a convention week ago. So no post-convention bounce.

[01:4000]

HOLMES: Now on Sunday, Biden responded in a TV interview to one of Mr. Trump's many personal attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MUIR, ABC HOST: I want to turn to the blistering attacks we've seen from President Trump just this week alone on your mental fitness, whether you're up for the job.

His campaign has called you diminished and I am curious how you'd respond to that.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Watch me. Mr. President watch me. Look at us both -- what we say, what we do, what we control, what we know. What kind of shape were in. Come on.

Look, I think it's a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they are fit and whether they are ready. But I just -- the only thing I can see to the American people, it's a legitimate question to ask anybody. Watch me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. We're going to take a quick break.

When we come back here on the program, India's poorest state facing two crises at once: the coronavirus which is bad enough, of course, but also massive flooding. A look at how the region is coping when we come back.

Also we'll see how Mexico is coping with the challenge of distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: 13 people were killed during a stampede following a police raid of a club in Lima, Peru. Authorities arrested nearly two dozen people attending an unauthorized party there, including the club's owners. The health ministry also announced that at least 15 of those arrested had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Peru has banned large gatherings and imposed a curfew to help stem the spread of the virus.

India now has more than three million coronavirus cases -- a terrible milestone, of course, that it crossed this weekend. On top of that, the country's poorest state is also facing another disaster -- terrible flooding.

Vedika Sud reports.

[01:45:02]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Overcrowded hospitals, lack of medical staff, and a health care system that is on the verge of collapse.

Bihar, one of India's poorest states is in the midst of a huge twin crisis.

PRATYAYA AMRIT, PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF HEALTH, BIHAR: On the one hand, we have a very severe flood situation. And on the other hand, the corona's impact on the state. So, it's a dual challenge for us.

SUD: A top COVID-19 hospital in Bihar's capital Patna was in the midst of controversy in July. Reports of bodies abandoned in wards for hours, even days went viral. The hospital has assured an investigation into these things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice children --

SUD: In the second week of July, Shatrudhan Kumar, the son of a COVID- 19 patient, recorded this video of a body, lying right next to his mother's bed, in the same hospital.

SHATRUDHAN KUMAR, RESIDENT, PATNA BIHAR (through translator): I called the hospital authorities to remove the body. They said the body would be removed within a half hour. It was finally removed after 2 days.

SUD: While the hospital did not respond, specifically to Kumar's allegations, it admits it did not have enough staff to handle bodies. They say new protocols are now in place to avoid such incidents.

RAMANAN LAXMINARAYAN, SENIOR RESEARCH SCHOLAR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Public health infrastructure is not up to snuff. Most of these deaths were likely happening outside of Patna and that's where the caseload will be. But that is also where the hospital capacity really doesn't exist to tackle the epidemic.

SUD: Although 160 miles away from Patna city, in the village of Ismailpur (ph) this health care facility caters to over 50,000 people. It has 40 beds, and just one doctor as of now. Sanitation levels are poor.

Over eight million people have already been affected by the floods in Bihar. with overpopulated relief camps maintaining social distance remains a challenge.

LAXMINARAYAN: The flooding is definitely going to make things worse in Bihar because of the crowding a lot of people into the flood relief camps where the conditions for easy transmission of COVID exists.

Sud: For a state that has a population larger than Egypt, the health care system is overstretched, leaving Bihar gasping for breath.

Vedika Sud, CNN -- New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Britain's prime minister is trying to convince parents to send their children back to school when classes start up in September. Boris Johnson says, it is vitally important to have children in classrooms, and keeping them out would be more damaging than the virus itself.

Schools around the world, of course, are coping with the challenge of educating young minds in the middle of a pandemic.

And Mexico like so many other countries, is moving much of its learning online. But not everyone has Internet access.

CNN's Matt Rivers has a look at how they're overcoming that problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Jimenez family has got the morning routine down. Get up, get dressed, a little desayuno (ph), breakfast and off to school which this year will be 10 feet away in the living room.

"It stresses me out a little," says mom Mariana, not knowing how to do this exactly.

Mexico's 30 million students start class this week, but not in the classroom. This year it is all remote learning.

"It's good we're still having class," says this 12-year-old Giselle (ph), "but I am sad because I was going to start a new school." But taking math class online isn't so easy in a country where many don't have Internet. To see how that is being addressed, we went over to Canal 11, a TV station where classes was already in session, sort of.

We watched as Professor Morales was on camera, in the studio, teaching about the properties of sound.

He says it's not for the kids I know in a class anymore, but, behind the camera there's millions of kids who still need that knowledge.

He is part of Mexico's ambitious plan to record and broadcast classes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for preschoolers on to high schoolers. The hope is to reach nearly all kids this way. About 93 percent of Mexican households have a TV. Only 56 percent have Internet.

For kids who don't have TV, there will be radio programs as well, including in indigenous languages.

"It was a tough decision not to reopen schools," says Maria Melendez but by doing TV and radio classes that means not letting the education gap get wider.

[01:49:47]

RIVERS: The education gap. In a country with vast economic inequality, closed schools like this one can make a big difference. If you are well off your Internet connection gives you access to online classes. If you are not well off, you're getting classes the same way you watch cartoons. In other words, the rich get smarter and the poor might not.

"Their only learning this year will be what they get from a TV," says Arandi (ph) Jacobo Martinez, a public school teacher. "And if they have any questions, our ability to help will be really limited."

Simply put, the ministry of education doesn't have enough students with Internet. But, it does have a lot of teachers, who use words like "mission" or "calling" when they talk about their work.

"It is so important to be here," he says. "I'm representing other teachers and it's our job to make sure every kid gets educated."

The Jimenez family has Internet but their public school isn't offering online classes. So they will be watching them on TV instead. That hasn't stopped single mom Mariana, who also works at home, from coming up with daily schedules for her kids.

"It has to work," she says. "We need to give it our all."

She's even helping her neighbors' two young kids. The girls say, they are on board with this new school year, mostly. We asked if they miss their friends.

"Yes," she says, "and my teacher as well."

For kids, there are some things even a little extra TV time can't fix. Matt Rivers, CNN -- Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Quick break again and when we come back, a champ crowned in the UEFA champions league with the German powerhouse adding to its growing legacy. We'll have that after the break.

[01:51:20]

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HOLMES: When the coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a screeching halt, it was uncertain whether the year's most prestigious football tournament, the UEFA Champions League would be able to crown a champion. Well, crown one it did. Germany's Bayern Munich adding another title to their growing legacy.

Patrick Snell with the details.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Lisbon (ph) assessing for the 2020 Champions League final, a match played behind closed doors on Sunday at the end of this COVID-19 curtailed competition. But PSG's Brazilian superstar Neymar would discover just what it is like to come up against a truly inspired Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer.

While moments later, the prolific Robert Lewandowski could've put Bayern Munich ahead, but the Polish striker denied by the woodwork, much to the anxious concern of the 5,000 fans watching back in Paris.

Both teams did have plausible claims for a penalty. Kylian Mbappe likely agreed this decision didn't go his way. And then just shy of the hour mark, the winner, it's Paris-born Kingsley Coman rising superbly to shatter the hopes and dreams of his former club.

Nurtured in their own academy, the now-24 year old breaking the hearts of all connected with the lavishly-backed team from the French capital.

The defeat just too much for Neymar. A picture of devastation at the final whistle. His dejection, in stark contrast to those jubilant Bayern players.

And then party time. Bayern hoisting aloft the most coveted prize in European club football. Munich, also now the first team to win the champions league by winning every single match.

And what a moment, too for 19 year old Alfonso Davies now, the first Canadian to win the champions league, and the youngest defender too.

Bayern's sixth triumph in this competition, moving them on a level with Liverpool and behind only Milan and Real Madrid

And the Bavarian giants are now also celebrating another historic treble after winning the Champions League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup for the second time in just seven years. Back to you. HOLMES: Patrick Snell, our thanks.

And thank you for watching. I'm Michael Holmes.

Don't go away though, I'll be back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM after the break.

[01:57:39]

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END