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California: Thousands Of Firefighters, Hundreds Of Fires; Evidence Global Warming Increases Fire Risk By 50 Percent; Christchurch Mosque Terrorist On Trial; Bayern Munich Takes UEFA Cup; Convalescent Plasma Gets Emergency Use Authorization from FDA; Trump Plans to Appear Every Night at Republican National Convention; Joe Biden Responds to Trump Attacks Before RNC; Two Dangerous Storms Headed to U.S. Gulf Coast. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 24, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN HOST: After suggesting the FDA chief was part of the deep state, President Trump now praising him over a controversial call to combat the coronavirus.

Preparing for a party of one in Charlotte, Trump booking himself to dominate all four nights of the Republican National Convention. Plus, evacuations in California and Louisiana as fires ravaged the west and the gulf coast prepares for a one-two punch from an angry sea.

Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I am Michael Holmes and this is "CNN Newsroom."

In just a few hours, the Republican National Convention kicks off in the U.S. state of North Carolina. And President Donald Trump making waves by touting a possible treatment in the fight against COVID-19. But already, there is debate over whether enough data is out there to prove it will work.

The new treatment comes from convalescent plasma, from the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given Emergency Use Authorization for it despite saying there wasn't enough evidence to support it just earlier this week. President Trump, blaming the FDA on Sunday for delaying the use of the treatment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think that there might have been a holdup, but we broke the logjam over the last week to be honest. I think there were 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, a very strong opinion. That's for political reasons. This has nothing to do with politics. This has to do with life and death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the hold came after three top U.S. health officials argued that data was weak and there wasn't enough evidence to support the plasma treatment. CNN has spoken in many other experts who share that view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

WILLIAM HASELTINE, CHAIRMAN & PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL: The data does not support the approval of the struck (ph). That is clear. I've seen the data. And secondly, this is not a breakthrough. This is a very modest improvement for people who take it very early, if it is an improvement at all.

JONATHAN REINER, DIRECTOR OF CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION LAB, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Because there is no randomized arm to placebo, we don't know for sure the magnitude of the benefit. That's the problem with this. But this has been used in a lot of people. And the EUA, I am not sure it is going to change access all that much, it's mostly symbolic.

MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: By passing this EUA, it makes it less likely, potentially, that patients will enroll in trials. And so we may not get the gold standard evidence that we are looking for.

PAUL OFFIT, INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND VACCINE SPECIALIST: The question is, is there more data than if we haven't seen? And if there were more data, you would think that they would have presented those data because it only makes their case better.

By not presenting those new data, you wonder whether there really are any new data. And if there aren't, then what just happened? Is it the administration just bullied the FDA into approving something that they were uncomfortable about approving.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HOLMES: Now, the FDA is responding to claims saying the agency was pressured by the White House into making that decision, Commissioner Stephen Hahn said, "I took an oath as a doctor 35 years ago to do no harm. I abide by that every day. I've never been asked to make a decision at the FDA based on politics. The decisions the scientists at the FDA are making are done on data only."

[02:05:03]

I'm joined by Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, an internal medicine and viral specialist in Los Angeles. Good to see you again doctor. Let's talk about this announcement. It is a known potential therapy. It's been given to, I think 80 or 90,000 patients already. Not historic nor a breakthrough, as the president says. But talk about the fact that in a medical sense, shouldn't it be trialed to actually confirm its efficacy?

JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE AND VIRAL SPECIALIST: Absolutely. I think what is alarming to most people in the medical field is the fact that it does appear that politics is pushing science. So, let's start off with this. This is not a China virus. This is the SARS-CoV-2 virus. So we'll start from there.

And people that have it, most of them have antibodies that with other infections, other viruses, have been able to give that plasma to people and those antibodies can help lessen, if not cure the disease.

Well, right now since we are in such a state of alert with this pandemic, it's been tried sort of as a compassionate use for tens of thousands of people. The Mayo Clinic just did a retrospective analysis that looked at over 30,000 cases.

And what they found was that if you gave it within three days, 8.9 percent of the people died that were very sick, and if you gave it within four days after people getting sick, it was almost 12 percent. But it doesn't prove that this really does save lives.

You need to have a placebo arm. So the big danger that we're seeing is that in an act of desperation, we may be providing someone or people plasma that in the long run, A, it has not been proven to help, and B, we don't know the long term side effects.

HOLMES: Right.

RODRIGUEZ: This is not (inaudible) things are done.

HOLMES: And, you know, the other thing too, that's really critical is the FDA actually pump the brakes on this only a few days ago, saying let's wait on this. And then, you know, you got the president on Saturday accusing the FDA, run by somebody he appointed, of holding back on vaccine trials approvals, therapeutics.

And then within a day of the tweet, approval. I mean, do you think given what you have seen, there is at least the impression the FDA might have been pressured to do this and, if so, wow.

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. And that's the big danger. Listen, the politics could that Anthony Fauci, Dr. Collins, and Cliff Lane -- Dr. Cliff Lane, who is also at the NIH that I've known for years and worked with, who had research with it as far as HIV.

These are respected scientists. And they did not think that the Mayo Clinic study proved anything. As a mater of fact, the Mayo Clinic conclusion was that more studies needed to be done. So, it does appear that on day one, the FDA did not approve this.

And lo and behold, two days later after the president applies pressure, it's approved. The danger is, what will be next? What unproven regimen or medicine will be approved next?

HOLMES: And I think the closer we get to the November 3, the chances of something popping up, grow. I mean, I wanted to ask you too that, you know, what India saying last night, it could have a vaccine by the end of the year. You've got Russia's vaccine, whatever else Donald Trump promises before the election.

I'm wondering, do you think there are too many countries going at alone here. I mean, is there a risk of vaccine nationalism? Shouldn't everybody working together, a global effort here?

RODRIGUEZ: yes, absolutely. And that is what's happening. And the more you think about that, you know, it's almost like -- it's almost a race. When you're thinking about human lives, it shouldn't be a race. And everybody wants to be first to try to see how many people they can save.

Russia is trying a vaccine that hasn't even been tested, and this was my biggest concern when Trump said that he was going to leave the World Health Organization, that either we were not going to have access to a vaccine created in another country, or that we were not going to share our science.

This is a pandemic. This needs to have worldwide cooperation from all countries. Otherwise, it's not going to be pretty.

HOLMES: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez in Los Angeles, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for coming on.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you sir.

HOLMES: Now, ahead of the Republican Convention, President Trump is getting ready to lose a key member of his administration. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway announcing that she is leaving her post at the end of the month.

Her husband, George Conway, also announced that he is withdrawing from the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political action committee. Both said, they wanted to focus on family.

Meantime, a Republican source said the President Trump will make an appearance at the convention every. And the gathering will deliver an optimistic and upbeat message. That is going to be a challenge with more than 176,000 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. and the economy in a deep downturn.

[02:10:02]

Now, at the convention, Mr. Trump needs to convince Americans, of course, that they can trust him with a second term. Between the pandemic and the economic downturn, he's got his work cut out for him. Here is CNN's chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: We're going to win four more years.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind in the polls and weighed down by a deadly pandemic, President Trump is trying to pull off the ultimate sales pitch, and convince voters his first term is a success story.

TRUMP: I'm the only one probably that ever ran for office in this country that's achieved more than I said I would.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The way the president described his accomplishments in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, it sounds like Mr. Trump should be coasting to victory.

TRUMP: We've secured our borders, brought back or manufacturing jobs, rebuilt our military, wiped out the ISIS caliphate 100 percent. Killed our terrorist enemies, achieved American energy independence. And guess what, we're just getting started.

ACOSTA (voice-over): But hold on. On the president signature issue, the wall, there hasn't been that much winning. The administration has built less than 300 miles of new fencing along the border with Mexico, but most of that construction has replaced older barriers already in place. And no, Mexico did not pay for it, as the president promised four years ago.

TRUMP: I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I will have Mexico pay for that wall.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Instead, Mr. Trump is diverting billions from the military to bankroll his pet project and he's floating the idea of setting up toll booths at the border to somehow force Mexico to foot the bill.

TRUMP: We're going to do a toll, or we may do a toll for money being sent back and forth.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The president's claims on Isis and energy independence are closer to reality. But on the economy, it's a mixed bag.

TRUMP: They said manufacturing jobs will never come back. Remember, you need a magic wand. Where is the magic wand? Well, we have the magic wand.

ACOSTA (voice-over): After inheriting a healthy economy from Barack Obama, Mr. Trump did preside over growth in the manufacturing sector. But most of the gains had been in the south and out west, while key swing states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin were losing factory jobs in the months before the coronavirus.

Then, COVID-19 decimated the U.S. economy under Mr. Trump's watch, sending the unemployment rate skyrocketing. Jobs have come back, but the current recovery is far from certain. Polls show most Americans have simply rejected the president's handling of the virus.

TRUMP: No doubt in my mind, it will go away.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Mr. Trump's months of predictions that the virus will just go away have fallen flat, much like his recommendations of unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine, an obsession he tweeted about once again over the weekend. Questionable medical advice from a president who unforgettably suggested Americans inject themselves with disinfectants.

TRUMP: And then I see the disinfectant. It knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets on the lungs. ACOSTA (voice-over): The numbers are chilling, the U.S. leads the

world in COVID-19 deaths just by making up only 4 percent of the global population. More than five million cases, more than 170,000 Americans death and climbing. When asked on Fox what he would do with the second term, the president failed to provide an answer.

TRUMP: Well, one of the things that will be really great, you know, the word experience is still good. The word experience is a very important word, it's a very important meeting.

ACOSTA (voice-over): With another four years in office, aides to the president say he'll continue his focus on immigration where his crackdown on the border has already resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their families.

One area where the president would almost certainly leave his mark, the Supreme Court. Mr. Trump will have the ability to fill new vacancies on the high court, (inaudible) prospect for conservatives that comes with enormous consequence on critical issues facing the nation from gun control, to abortion rights. Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(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, and then we can put out there 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 vacancies. So often, you said, you see a team win a championship, then they lose the urgency for the repeat." What do you expect from this RNC convention, and what will be different to how the Democrats handle this?

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

[02:15:00]

It certainly worked four years ago. Ted Cruz being a very prominent example. I looked at the list today, and to some extent it resembled either the Adams family or a really bad Glastonbury where you look at the lineup for the bands and there is none of them that you want to see.

Democrats were really trying to expand their base, expand their appeal to people, that's why you're very popular. Folks in the country like Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, to name the two most prominent examples. 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 Biden -- what the Biden's 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 the 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 10th.

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 are either very much for Trump or you decided you were not going to vote for Donald Trump.

There is a very small sliver of voters who are trying to be in an area where they can 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 is a different conversation between now and then.

But Democrats were really scared about Donald Trump being able to campaign it 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 on security, and pain in the country. It's really hard for it 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, that gave me a good point. The campaign adviser, Jason Miller, he was saying that Republicans are going to present, he called it an optimistic and upbeat convention this week, in contrast with what he describes as a massive grievance-fest by the Democrats.

But, you know, we have 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 think (inaudible) exactly suggest the convention's going to be all positive and uplifting. Do you think there is danger in leaning in to cultural 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 and don't mean 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 I n the streets and how that maybe Joe Biden's America.

But we're really in Donald Trump's America right now so how 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 reported to be the great salesman.

HOLMES: It is a good point. He said think of the small ring ruins of Minneapolis, the anarchy 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 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, "The only way they're going to win, the Democrats, is by rigged election."

Is he setting the theme for a loss? And also, aren't comments like that, just dangerous for the public's faith in the 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. Well, they're also hypocritical things and I wish I had sitting right next to me instead about 10 feet behind me.

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 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 list management or they're trying to get somebody to vote fraudulently.

And I would literally point out, the last time I had dinner with my father before he passed away, he said to me he's very reluctantly voting to Trump, this is in 2016. But man, if Joe Biden is running, 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. Thank you so much.

HEYE: Thank you.

[02:19:58]

HOLMES: And tune in to CNN for coverage of the Republican National Convention starting Monday, 7:00 p.m. eastern time here in the U.S. For our international viewers, that is 12:00 a.m. Tuesday in London, 7:00 a.m. Tuesday in Hong Kong.

And heading into the convention, you've got a new CBS News/YouGov poll putting Joe Biden ahead of President Trump by a 10-point margin among likely voters. But that is exactly what the polling look like before the Democrats launched their convention a week ago. No post-convention bump.

On Sunday, Biden responded in a TV interview to one of Mr. Trump's many personal attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS 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 are up for the job. His campaign has called you diminished. And I'm curious how you'd respond to that.

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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 we're in. Come on. Just look. I think it's a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they are fit and whether they're ready.

But I just -- only and I can say to the American people, it's a legitimate question to ask anybody. Watch me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, a history making event as two dangerous storms make their way towards the gulf coast of the United States. CNN tracking the destructive paths of Marco and Laura. We will bring you the latest from the CNN Weather Center when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:00]

HOLMES: Welcome back. The gulf coast bracing for not just one, but two tropical storms. Marco, just shy of hurricane strength as it prepares to make landfall. And Laura expected to reach hurricane strength as it makes landfall later in the week.

Laura ripped through the Dominican Republic leaving nearly half a million people without power and killing at least nine people. Tropical storm watches stretch from Florida to Texas and the state of Louisiana has begun mandatory evacuations as Marco inches closer to shore. Our Martin Savidge with the latest from New Orleans.

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

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

For the most part, there 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 are prone to flooding outside of the flood protection system, but there is no evacuation order for the city of New Orleans.

The real fair (ph) 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's 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 path of these two storms could be on their own. Back to you.

HOLMES: Martin Savidge, thanks. And meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joining us now with more. I mean, a pretty rare event, two storm so close together.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You have to go back to 1959, Michael, for the last time that we had two storms at the same time into the Gulf of Mexico. And of course, we're watching Laura carefully as this forecast move, you know, directly into the Gulf of Mexico within the next 24 or so hours.

But here is what's happening. Marco as you noted has weakened. It's a storm system here that is pushing it very close towards portions of the state of Louisiana. It could potentially make landfall at about say Monday evening, into Tuesday morning, or could even just linger across this region and kind of skirt the coastal region and maybe rain itself out and not make landfall at all.

But the impacts, not going to change. We know the storm surge from the water in advance of this, it has already been moved. It could be as high as six feet. We do have hurricane warnings across this region. You'll notice even back west of this area has storm surge of two to four feet above what is normal high tide.

So it is an impressive number across this region. But watch what's happening with Tropical Storm Laura, because it is impacting portions of the island of Hispaniola. It's left a quite a bit of people here without power, and of course, fatalities as well across the region.

But the forecast track now, kind of avoids much of Cuba. That will allow the storm system to maintain its intensity, of course, Cuba is a very mountainous terrain there. And then notice, as it enters the Gulf of Mexico, water temperatures well conducive here to producing a stronger system.

And the National Hurricane Center really notes that this storm has everything it takes to strengthen rather quickly, unlike what we've seen with Marco. So Marco brings in the heavy rainfall and the storm surge threat.

This storm has what it takes, potentially, to get up to Category 2, maybe even Category 3 on Wednesday evening when it makes landfall. But notice the track of these essentially crossing one another within a 48-hour period. What we've done here, Michael, is highlight some of these offshore

platforms, about 600 oil platforms across this region, dotting this landscape. So, not only impacting that, but also millions of people on the east coast there of the state of Texas or western Louisiana.

And the rainfall, again, notice the eastern side of this around New Orleans. That's the rainfall forecast, as much as say four to six inches there from Marco, and an additional six to 10 inches, just west of this region coming in with Laura.

And of course, this is just the forecast guidance. You can certainly see this cross much, much closer and produce that amount of rainfall on top of one community or one region. So we're going to follow this here into the middle of the week. Michael?

HOLMES: Absolutely. Thanks for doing so. Pedram Javaheri, thank you. And we're going to take a quick break. When we come back here on "CNN Newsroom," California firefighters are battling blazes in the worst weather conditions.

Up next, firsthand insight into this emergency from the states forestry and fire protection agency. You are watching CNN, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Early July saw major league soccer kick off its first match since March due to the global pandemic.

Prior to the first game, players sent a powerful message in the fight for social justice.

In a sign of solidarity, players participated in a demonstration that lasted eight minutes and 46 seconds, the same amount of time the Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd.

Players raised their right fist and took a knee while wearing shirts and face masks that shared messages of unity for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The field was lined with over 100 members of Black Players for Change, a new organization created to give black MLS players a voice and assist in making systemic changes both inside and outside the league.

Throughout the tournament, players are also wearing personalized jerseys with names and messages on the back as part of the fight against racism.

For more information oh you can help in the battle against social injustice, go to cnn.com/impact.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. Thousands of firefighters working day and night battling hundreds of

wildfires across the state of California. And with the hot, dry weather there is no end in sight to this disaster.

The bush fires have burned more than a million acres of land. The state has had to call for reinforcements, just to keep up.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is in Calistoga in 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 Ellen You 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, CALIFORNIA 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.

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.

[02:35:00]

And people here showing appreciation.

A woman drove up and heard that firefighters needed pillows -- or at least were trying buy 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: Well, the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire protects over 31 million acres of the state's wild lands.

Joining me now from CalFire is Lynette Round. Thanks so much for doing so.

What is the situation right now in the areas in which you're operating?

LYNETTE ROUND, INFORMATION OFFICER, CALFIRE, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: Well, as you heard, up here in Northern California, our firefighters have been under some under extreme conditions.

With the heat wave we had last week and the lightning storms that came through which sparked these blazes, they've been put under some test in getting these fires contained.

HOLMES: I can't imagine what the needs are and the challenges that your people are facing. To even think about fighting so many fires at once. What are the needs that you have?

ROUND: So in the initial attack when these fires start out, we make sure we get our air and ground resources out to these fires as quickly as possible.

Our main priority is, of course, saving lives and then saving property and our natural resources. So when we can do that effectively, that's great. But when these seizures (ph) come, we also outside resources.

So we request them. And hopefully we can get them in, to get them out on the line as quickly as possible.

We've been very lucky to have these resources get there. We have 60 firing inches that are assigned to our incidents from out of state with 26 more en route.

We have 95 state-assigned aircraft assisting us. And we do have Cal Guard soldiers that have just come in as well. HOLMES: Yes. I've heard some pleas for international help even. Is that something that could be useful?

ROUND: Not at this time. We're doing actually quite well with the resources that have been coming in so far.

HOLMES: What do you see in the days and, gosh, even weeks ahead?

ROUND: Right. As we're looking at the weather, it's going to be another warm week ahead of us. And right now, we're in a red flag warning. Which means we're expecting dry lightning and little rain and some gusty winds.

So that can hamper our firefighting efforts as we try to contain these fires. And it even may spark some new fires.

HOLMES: And looking down the road a bit, I guess the Santa Ana winds also come in and they can be a problem.

ROUND: They can be. Our fire seasons here in California have, on average, expanded by about 75 days. And we've continued to experience larger and more damaging wildfires. And, in fact, eight of those ten largest wildfires here in Californian history have occurred in the past decade.

And we have number two and three on that list with the LNU lighting complex and the SDU lightning complex.

HOLMES: Extraordinary times and extraordinary work by the people there fighting these fires and trying to save property.

Lynette Round with Cal Fire. Really appreciate your time. Thank you.

ROUND: Thank you.

HOLMES: Joining me now is Noah Diffenbaugh.

He's an associate professor of earth sciences at Stanford University and a senior fellow at Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

Professor, great to have you on. Sorry about the circumstances.

Give us a sense of, historically, how big these fires are, how much worse they've become in recent years?

NOAH DIFFENBAUGH, PROFESSOR, EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA: Well, right now we have the second and third and largest fires in California's recorded history burning right now and they're still expanding. It remains to be seen.

Now they've only been burning for about a week. So we've had more than a million acres burn since the lightning strikes started last weekend. That's what's happening right now.

Over the long term, the area burned in the Western United States has increased around ten fold in the last four decades and we have very strong evidence that global warming has contributed about half of that increase.

HOLMES: Yes.

[02:40:00]

In fact, I was reading -- you were a senior author of a Stanford University study I was reading earlier and that referred to human causes that have led to global warming have made these fires much more likely.

What sort of role is climate playing in what's happening now in California? Not just now, but in recent years.

What have been the causes and effects?

DIFFENBAUGH: Well, so fires always result from the confluence of multiple ingredients. There's the vegetation that is burning, there's the winds. And the other climate variables, how much humidity is in the atmosphere, how hot it is.

And then there is, of course, also the ignition, whatever is the cause of the fire.

Where global warming is having the clearest effect is through temperature. That heat in the atmosphere is drying out vegetation, it's creating more flammable fuel on the landscape. It also means that when we have low precipitation periods, those droughts have been becoming more intense.

So we're seeing an extension of the wildfire season in California, Cal Fire now reports essentially a year-round fire season.

And that's primarily the result of the long-term warming that's happened in recent decades.

HOLMES: So what's the answer? How to mitigate what's been happening in California and elsewhere for that matter that is climate-related? What can be done?

DIFFENBAUGH: Well, climate change is really about risks.

And what we're seeing in California and more broadly in the Western U.S. and in other parts of the world is that the risk of extreme wildfire conditions is going up.

Global warming is putting a thumb on the scales.

The good news is that there are lots of opportunities to manage those risks. So how much global warming we get in the future depends on our greenhouse gas emissions. So there's opportunities to curb that trajectory.

But there's also a lot of opportunities to manage the risks right now. Home hardening, forest management, hardening of the electrical grid.

These are all measures that localities and states and countries can take right now to help build resilience.

And then the other key factor that we're really reminded of this week in California is how thinly stretched our wildfire fighting system, both the people and the equipment are, during these large events.

We saw it in Australia last year, we've seen it in California in recent years. It's happening right now.

So investments in that, in the people and equipment that respond to these fires are critical.

HOLMES: Yes. And when it comes to climate change, it's not like we haven't been warned.

We'll leave it there for the moment. Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor of earth sciences at Stanford University. Thank you, Professor.

DIFFENBAUGH: Thank you.

HOLMES: We'll take a quick break here.

When we get back, getting justice for the victims of New Zealand's worst mass shooting.

The man who killed 51 people in terror attacks on two mosques is going to be sentenced in the days ahead.

We'll have a live report on the first day of the hearing.

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[02:45:00]

HOLMES: The man responsible for New Zealand's worst ever mass shooting will learn his fate in the coming days.

The first day in the sentencing hearing of Brenton Tarrant wrapped just a couple of hours ago. Over the next four days, the courtroom will be filled with family members of the victims as well as survivors of the attack.

Now Tarrant pleaded guilty to murdering 51 people and the attempted murder of 40 others after he opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch in March of last year.

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

Bring us up to date on what happened today, Ivan?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a big part of today's hearing involved the crown prosecutor laying out evidence and an official narrative of what took place on this terrible day in March of 2019, the deadliest terror attack in New Zealand's history. And the prosecutor explained that this 26-year old Australian had begun preparations for this rampage as early as September of 2017 when he bought a firearms license in New Zealand. And describe how he traveled repeatedly to Christchurch to do reconnaissance around the mosques that he subsequently attacked.

Including even flying a drone over the Al Noor mosque where the most casualties were incurred. And that he had done research about the Islamic calendar and the times of day when there would be the most worshippers in the mosque.

And it turned out that the attack was carried out during Friday prayers. That is one of the busiest times in the week for a mosque.

Then going on to describe in quite gruesome detail how the confessed terrorist here went back and killed already wounded people at point blank range, including a three-year old child.

Another part of these hearings is giving a chance for dozens of survivors and relatives of victims to speak, to give their own testimonies to the court and to the convicted killer himself.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYSOON SALAMA: May you get the most severe 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: The suspect here, the convicted killer, faces life imprisonment -- there's no death penalty in New Zealand. One of the victim testimonies today called for the death penalty to be imposed in this case. Michael.

HOLMES: Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Thanks very much.

And we will be right back.

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[02:50:00]

HOLMES: When the coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a screeching halt, it was uncertain whether this 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 CORRESPONDENT: Lisbon the setting for

the 2020 Champion's 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's like to come up against a truly inspired Bayern keeper, Manuel Neuer.

While moments later the prolific Robert Lewandowski could have put Bayern Munich ahead but the Polish striker denied by the woodwork. Much to the anxious concern of the 5,000 fans walking 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.

[02:55:00]

His dejection in stark contrast to those jubilant Bayern players.

And then party time. Bayern hoisting aloft the most coveted price in European Club football. Munich also now the first team to win the Champion's League by winning every single match.

And what a moment too for 19-year old Alphonso Davies, now the first Canadian to win the Champion's League and the youngest defender too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALFONSO DAVIES: (Inaudible) the team's --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look out.

MULTIPLE VOICES: (Cheer)

ALFONSO: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Bayern's sixth triumph in this competition moving them level with Liverpool and behind only Milan and Real Madrid.

And the Bavarian giants are now also celebrating another historic treble. After winning the Champion's League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup for the second time in just seven years.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thank you, Patrick Snell.

Now the Indianapolis 500 took place on Sunday. Fair warning, you're about to see a pretty big crash.

U.S. driver Spencer Pigot hitting a pit wall with just four laps to go in the race. He was sent to a nearby hospital.

Good news. He later tweeted, as one does, that he was quote, "headed home after a long day."

His teammate Japan's Takuma Sato went on to win the race under a caution flag. Sato also won the Indy 500 in 2017, the first Asian driver to do so.

And having a little bit of a milk drink.

Thanks for watching. I'm Michael Holmes. My very good friend, Kim Brunhuber, will join you after a short break with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

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