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Two Officers Shot in Unrest over Breonna Taylor Case; Protest Erupts after Police Officers Indicted; Sports Star Reacts on Breonna Taylor Decision; Trump Hesitates on Peaceful Transition; Honoring the Late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; North Korean Troops Kill a South Korean Official; Exhibit Of Life In Moira Camp; Second Wave of Coronavirus in Canada; United States Braces for Potentially Worse Second COVID-19 Wave; Intense Effort to Save Stranded Whales; Creek Fire Becomes Largest Single Blaze in State History; California Requiring New Cars to be Emission-Free By 2035; Protest Ignited over Court Ruling; President Trump Praise Kentucky's A.G.; Controversy Hangs over Vaccine Trial; FDA Won't Jeopardize Families' Health; Dr. Fauci Straighten the Facts. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 24, 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]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, outrage spreads across the United States after one officer was charged in Breonna Taylor's case but not with her death.
U.S. President Trump makes a startling statement. He won't commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the November election.
And rescuers in Australia are doing everything they can to rescue the surviving whales after hundreds beached themselves in a mass stranding.
Two police officers were shot and wounded Wednesday night in Louisville, Kentucky during a night of unrest that led to dozens of arrests.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shots fired. Shots fired.
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CHURCH: Video from the Louisville police appears to be the moment one of the officers was shot. A suspect is in custody. Public anger spilled onto the streets in Louisville and across the country when it was announced that no officers would face charges for the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor whose apartment was the target of a drug raid last March. One former officer was indicted for wanton endangerment for shots that
he made in a neighboring apartment. The state's attorney general said despite strong public sentiment about the case, the facts did not support indictments in Taylor's death.
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DANIEL CAMERON, KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Breonna Taylor's death has become a part of a national story and conversation. But we must also remember the facts and the collection of evidence in this case are different than cases elsewhere in the country. If we simply act on emotion or outrage there is no justice. Mob justice is not a justice.
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CHURCH: Louisville's interim police chief said the two wounded officers did not have life-threatening injuries.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more on the grand jury's decision that reignited protests in Louisville and across the country.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Outrage in the streets after a controversial grand jury decision in the police killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor in March. Three Louisville officers were involved in a gun battle with Taylor's boyfriend where she was shot multiple times, and only one was indicted.
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CAMERON: The fatal shot was fired by detective Cosgrove.
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PROKUPECZ: Detective Myles Cosgrove not indicted.
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CAMERON: Sergeant Mattingly was the first and only officer to enter the residents.
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PROKUPECZ: Sergeant Jon Mattingly not indicted either.
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CAMERON: According to Kentucky law, the use of force by Mattingly and Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves.
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PROKUPECZ: Only former Detective Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment, not to Taylor or her boyfriend but to the apartment next door.
Back in June, Hankison was fired and reprimanded by the interim police chief in a letter. It accused him of wantonly and blindly firing into Taylor's apartment through a curtain. Several of those shots went through the neighbor's house. The officers were executing a no-knock search warrant for a narcotics investigation, but the attorney general says a witness heard the police knocking before they broke down the door.
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CAMERON: Evidence shows that officers both knocked and announced their presence at the apartment.
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PROKUPECZ: Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker says he never heard police announced themselves.
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KENNETH WALKER, BREONNA TAYLOR'S BOYFRIEND: All of a sudden someone started beating on the door. They refused to answer when we yelled, who is it?
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PROKUPECZ: Walker fired the first shot hitting Mattingly in the leg. In a matter of seconds, the three officers returned fire.
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WALKER: Fifteen minutes later Breonna was dead from the hail of police gunfire.
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[03:05:01]
PROKUPECZ: Breonna Taylor's family and supporters were expecting stronger charges against the officers, manslaughter. The family's attorney, Ben Crump, calling it outrageous and offensive. The attorney general urged the public not to politicize the decision.
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CAMERON: There will be celebrities, influencers, and activists who having never lived in Kentucky will try to tell us how to feel -- suggesting they understand the facts, but they don't.
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PROKUPECZ: But on the streets of Louisville, the National Guard has been called in to prepare for protests as the mayor announcing a three-night-long curfew beginning at 9 p.m.
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MAYOR GREG FISCHER, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: We must plan for the potential for large gatherings. I urge everyone to commit once again to a peaceful, lawful response.
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CHURCH: CNN's Shimon Prokupecz there. And as we've mentioned, those protests did not stay peaceful with those two Louisville officers shot and wounded in the unrest, both are in hospital and again a suspect is in custody.
So, let's talk now with CNN law enforcement analyst, Charles Ramsey. He is also the former Philadelphia Police Commissioner. Thank you, sir, for talking with us.
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's quite all right.
CHURCH: So, no officers have been directly charged in Breonna Taylor's death, but one officer was charged with wanton endangerment while two others involved were not indicted. What is your reaction to that outcome?
RAMSEY: Well, based on the information provided by the attorney general in this afternoon's press conference, I actually agree with the grand jury's decision. I do believe the one officer should have been charged with what he did. It was reckless and certainly a criminal. The other two officers, however, that were actually making entry into the apartment, I agree they should not have been charged criminally.
One officer was shot as he entered the apartment by Mr. Walker who fired the first shot. And they were justified in returning fire. It's unfortunate. It's tragic that Breonna Taylor lost her life. It's tragic that anyone would have lost their life in a situation like this, but at the same time, when the officers were fired upon, to think that they would not be justified in returning fire, I think is not very sound.
Obviously, it's not OK just to, you know, shoot people and so forth. You have to remember, there was a settlement made by the city to the family of Breonna Taylor of $12 million.
CHURCH: Right.
RAMSEY: Which again, does not bring her back, but finally criminal charges against those two officers under the circumstances, I think would have not been appropriate.
CHURCH: And sir, the Kentucky attorney general we mentioned, says this was not a no-knock warrant despite a dozen witnesses saying they did not hear them announced that they were police.
RAMSEY: Right.
CHURCH: And when people called 911 about the shooting, they said to send the police. So, they apparently were not aware that officers were already at the scene. What does that reveal to you?
RAMSEY: Well, there was one person that said he did here the police announce their office. Even Mr. Walker said that they knocked at the door, even having said that, it was a no-knock warrant. They didn't have to knock at all. But they did knock. They did announce themselves based on the information that we have.
Now, you have to remember that the whole point of knocking and announcing is for the people inside the apartment that you are about to enter, not for all the neighbors that may or may not have been within earshot of hearing what was going on. Many were asleep. This was after midnight. They were awakened by gunshots so they would not have heard it to begin with.
So, that's going to be a point of controversy. I wasn't there. I don't know whether or not they knocked and announced. But there was insufficient evidence to prove that they did not.
CHURCH: And there are calls for the evidence to be released to the public. How likely is that and what do you think should be done about these officers?
RAMSEY: Well, there is a pending trial, but I do believe as much as possible, should be released to the public. Because this is going to be problematic the longer that information is held confidential.
I think one of the biggest areas that need to be explored is the area of the search warrant itself. Now none of the officers executing the search warrant applied for the search warrant. That was done by a different detective. But how fresh was that information? What led them to that apartment would to begin with? Was this a confidential informant? Was this the result of an investigation?
[03:10:03]
What made them believe that there was either evidence of a crime that had been committed or instruments of a crime that would be present in the apartment at that particular point in time?
Now I've heard that they did have some information back in January. This was March. It has to be fresh information in order for the search warrant to really be on solid ground. But a judge did sign it. So, I don't know. I haven't read the complaint for search warrant. So, I don't have particular information about it one way or the other. But I think it's very important to know because why were they there to begin with? What was it about her about her apartment that tied her to any criminal activity?
CHURCH: Yes. Still a lot of questions to be answered. Charles Ramsey, many thanks.
RAMSEY: Thank you.
CHURCH: And as we heard there, even though Taylor's apartment was raided with a so-called no-knock warrant, Kentucky's attorney general said one witness heard police announced themselves first, but some of Taylor's neighbors say they only heard a commotion and gunshots.
CNN's Drew Griffin spoke with several of them. DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Of the three
neighbors that we talked to, not one of them heard anybody shouting police. One person admitted they heard shouting. The other two did not hear any knocking. And that includes the direct neighbor of Breonna Taylor, the person who with her son and boyfriend who was there that night are the subjects of these three indictments by the grand jury.
That apartment is directly next door. She did not hear anything about the police being knocked. We did not speak to the one witness that the attorney general spoke of, but we know during that night that one neighbor did poke his head out according to police and was told to get back inside. I assumed that was him.
But this was late at night, a lot of people were sleeping. So, the question remains, even if police did say their names or shout their names, if anybody understood exactly what was happening or who is that that door, Kenneth Walker says they had no idea it was the police.
CHURCH: Now unlike a criminal trial in which both a prosecution and defense are presented, a grand jury only hears one side. Those jurors then decide if an indictment is warranted.
CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson explains what that might mean in the Breonna Taylor case.
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JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: A grand jury assesses the evidence and establishes whether there is reasonable cause to believe that there was a crime. And that the officers in question committed it. That gives you a lot of leeway with respect to the grand jury to what you ultimately conclude. And you don't have to, by the way, be unanimous.
Why is all this relevant? We've all been said that a grand jury will indict (Inaudible). Well, it depends what information they are saying. And its contradictory evidence and information -- what I'm concerned about is how the case was presented. What did they hear? What would -- what information were they given from which that they drew the conclusion?
So, yes, it's very concerning. I don't live in Kentucky, right, to the attorney general. But if a person outside of it having evaluated it, followed it, and viewed the evidence. I am concerned with respect to the conclusions that the grand jury reached. And I want to know what information they were given such that they reached the conclusion rendered that we offered today.
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CHURCH: And U.S. President Donald Trump is praising the Kentucky attorney general handling of the Breonna Taylor case calling him brilliant and a star. And saying he is doing a fantastic job. But he did not directly weigh in on the case itself. Instead, President Trump said this.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Justice not -- justice is not often easy. It does not fit the mold of public opinion. And it does not conform to shifting standards. It answers only to the facts and to the law. If we simply act on a motion or outrage, there is no justice. Mob justice is not justice. Justice sought by violence is not justice. It just becomes revenge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: now he also responded to the unrest in Louisville Thursday night, tweeting, praying for the two police officers that were shot tonight in Louisville, Kentucky. The federal government stands behind you and is ready to help.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is urging people protesting that Breonna Taylor decision to be peaceful, he tweeted this. Even amidst the profound grief and anger today's decision generated violence is never and can never be the answer. Those who engage in it must be held accountable.
[03:15:00]
Jill and I are keeping the officers shot tonight in Louisville in our prayers. We wish them both a swift and full recovery.
Well, President Trump is threatening to overrule U.S. drug regulators over a coronavirus vaccine. We will explain why he says they are the ones playing politics.
And the U.K. is mulling controversial trials that deliberately exposed volunteers to COVID-19 as the country experiences a spike in cases. We are live in London with the latest.
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CHURCH: The number of new coronavirus cases keeps rising in the United Kingdom, and the government is taking action. Just hours ago, it launched a contact tracing app designed to help control the spread of the coronavirus, and it's also considering very controversial clinical trials in which volunteers would be deliberately exposed to the virus.
So, let's get more from CNN's Cyril Vanier. He joins us live from London. Good to see you, Cyril. So, let's start with those clinical trials that deliberately infect volunteers, of course this raises some ethical concerns. How likely is it that they will go forward with this?
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, we are not sure exactly where the government is in there thinking. There has been some reporting in the British press that perhaps there would be an announcement next week. For the moment, they are saying only that they are considering it.
As you say, Rosemary, this is not without controversy. What we're talking about here is controlled human infection. I repeat, you are going to give healthy subjects volunteers, yes, but healthy volunteers, you're going to expose them to the virus.
So the way it works is, step one, you inoculate them with one of the many vaccines, vaccine candidates that are currently under development, but they are not finalized, not finished, because the whole purpose of the operation is to try and speed up the development of the vaccine.
Step two, you then purposely expose these volunteers to the coronavirus. We are talking possibly 100 to 200 people, and then it would be monitored in a very controlled, careful way to see how they respond, and how the vaccine is working.
This is different from a normal phase three clinical trial, because normally what you do is you would inoculate tens of thousands of people abroad across sections of the population and different parts of the country, and then you would wait. You would just wait to see who gets the coronavirus as a part of their day-to-day lives, and that tells you how efficient your vaccine is, how strong it is.
But here, you would be directly and purposely deliberately exposing these volunteers to the virus. Therein you see the ethical problems, especially as we are talking about a virus that has no known cure, Rosemary.
So, that is the ethical dilemma. With that said, there are many scientists who are on the side of these challenge trials and they believe it could shave months if not more off the research for a workable coronavirus vaccine.
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CHURCH: And there, just very quickly, there are a lot of volunteers who are interested in being a part of that, aren't there?
VANIER: Yes, absolutely. Look, there is one nonprofit organization that has been spearheading this online and they have got 37,000 people as of the last time I checked yesterday who have signed up for this, including 2,000 in the U.K. Now these are people who are willing to be exposed to the coronavirus, by and large, they are younger people.
And the scientists have already said and the nonprofits have already said, you would have to infect, you know, under 25's, people whose chance of dying through exposure to the virus is already very low lower than 0.01 percent. Again, Rosemary, that's still not zero percent.
CHURCH: Yes. That's the critical point, isn't it? Cyril Vanier, many thanks, joining us live from London. I appreciate it.
Well, President Trump is accusing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of playing politics when it comes to stricter guidelines for approving a coronavirus vaccine and he's threatening to overrule the FDA. On Wednesday, its commissioner made a commitment to America vowing the
FDA will not authorize or approve a vaccine that we would not feel comfortable giving to our families. And he says the FDA will not bow to any political pressure. The agency is considering new rules that will likely push the vaccine approval past election day and that's not what President Trump wants to hear. He has repeatedly said the vaccine could be ready by November 3rd.
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TRUMP: It's extremely political. Why would they do this, when we come back with these great results, and I think you have those good results.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, when did you expect --
TRUMP: Why would we -- why would we be delaying it? But we are going to look at it, we are going to take a look at it, and ultimately the White House has to approve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Experts and lawmakers sparred at a Senate health committee hearing on Wednesday over New York's response to the pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci took Republican Senator Rand Paul to task over his understanding of the disease.
CNN's Nick Watt has that and more.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York once the world's hotspot, today the most heated topic during COVID-19 response hearings on Capitol Hill.
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SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): How could he possibly jumping up and down and saying, Governor Cuomo did a great job, he had the worst death rate in the world.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: No, you misconstrued that, Senator, and you've done that repetitively in the past. They got hit very badly. They made some mistakes.
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WATT: Dr. Anthony Fauci beat back at Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
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PAUL: Right now, if you look at immunity, immunity that they're no longer having the pandemic because they have enough immunity in New York City to actually stop.
FAUCI: I challenge that, Senator, because --
(CROSSTALK)
PAUL: I'm afraid -- I'm afraid --
FAUCI: -- I want to -- please, sir, I would like to be able to do this because this happens with Senator Rand all the time. You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said that, in New York, it's about 22 percent. If you believe 22 percent is herd immunity, I believe you are alone in that.
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WATT: This pandemic now so politicized, the FDA commissioner also felt he had to say this.
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STEPHEN HAHN, COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUGS ADMINISTRATION: Decisions to authorize or approve any such vaccine or therapeutic will be made by the dedicated career staff at FDA through our thorough review processes and science will guide our decisions. FDA will not permit any pressure from anyone to change that.
LEANA WEN, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: What stood out to me, is that so many of the questions were about trust, and this is a position that I could not have imagined that we would be in several months ago.
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WATT: Today, Johnson & Johnson begins global phase three trials of its potential vaccine. The company says it could be ready for FDA review early next year and this is key. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, unlike the others currently in phase three trials in the U.S., is a single dose. So, easier, quicker to apply.
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HAHN: In the end, FDA will not authorize or approve a vaccine that we would not feel comfortable giving to our families.
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WATT: Meantime, nationally, we seem stuck at around 40,000 new confirmed cases a day. Two weeks ago, just nine states were seeing average new case counts rise. Today, that number is 22. In Kentucky, that average daily case count tripled since mid-summer, a 36-year-old nurse named Cassie, among the recently infected.
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CASSIE MAYNARD, NURSE: I want to be upset, I want to be angry, I want my daughter healthy.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WATT: Nationally, death rates were falling, but --
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JEANNE MARRAZZO, DIRECTOR DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: That decline in death that we were seeing in late August is no longer being sustained.
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WATT: We just passed 200,000 dead in America, could be over 300,000 by years end.
[03:24:58]
And the World Health Organization now saying it's not just the pandemic we need to fight, it is an infodemic. Mountains of misinformation that are undermining the fight against this virus, that are polarizing people, and that are, frankly, costing lives.
They are calling on all of us to fight this misinformation because, as they say, the closer we get to a vaccine, the more important truth and trust are going to be.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
CHURCH: So, let's talk now with Dr. Jonathan Reiner. He is a CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine at George Washington University. Thank you, doctor, for being with us.
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: My pleasure.
CHURCH: So, President Trump is now saying he may overrule the FDA on approval of a COVID-19 vaccine, accusing the FDA of playing politics by insisting on stricter guidelines that what would result in delaying approval. What is your reaction to that?
REINER: It would be unprecedented and unacceptable. I think if the president would exert authority over the FDA, and essentially overrule the career scientists, physicians and professionals at the FDA, I think there would be, essentially, an uprising amongst the physicians and public health officials in the United States. I think most physicians would then assume the vaccine was suspect and would not recommend its administration to patients.
We are at a critical point in terms of public confidence in the vaccine. Most of us have spent our careers reinforcing the notion that vaccines are safe and necessary and important, and that's how we've gotten an average lifespan in this country to 80 years.
But this kind of action, unilateral action by the White House would do great damage to vaccine science and the confidence of the public in this, and it is completely unacceptable. The president needs to let the FDA do their work.
CHURCH: And of course, you have to wonder how many people would be willing to let someone stick that in their arm if those are the circumstances.
REINER: Right.
CHURCH: So, doctor, at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci challenged Senator Rand Paul on his baseless suggestion that New York is only doing while now because it has achieved herd immunity. What was your reaction to that fiery exchange, and what does it reveal to you?
REINER: Well, it revealed to me that one person in that conversation that they were talking about, and that person wasn't Rand Paul. The senator suggested that, perhaps, the reason why New York has a COVID positivity rate of less than 1 percent now has to do with, perhaps, they've already achieved herd immunity, and he completely misstated the facts and Dr. Fauci was having none of that.
If, perhaps, 20 percent of the New York State or New York City population has been exposed to the virus, that's far below what any scientists believes is close to necessary for herd immunity, and that's about where people think the virus has been in New York maybe about 20 percent of people have been exposed to it.
CHURCH: And Dr. Reiner, we are also learning that Dr. Deborah Birx is apparently distressed about her diminished role in the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and is questioning how long she can remain in that role. She believes Trump's new controversial medical adviser Dr. Atlas who is not an epidemiologist is feeding the president false information about masks and other things. So, what is your reaction to that development?
REINER: I think Dr. Birx is rightfully distraught about her situation here, she's been marginalized because I think at some point her telling the truth, particularly when she stated during the summer that the pandemic was raging in parts of the United States angered the White House and they marginalized her.
So, they brought in Scott Atlas who is a radiologist at Stanford who has stated that the science of mask is uncertain. He's doubted that children can transmit the virus efficiently, and he has been a proponent of herd immunity, despite the fact that he has tried to walk that back.
He testified before a Senate committee in May about heard immunity, he's been interviewed on Fox News about that, and that's where he did his interview for his job on Fox News. He told the president via that outlet what the president wanted to hear and the president hired him.
CHURCH: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, always good to get your medical advice. Many thanks.
REINER: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
[03:30:02]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And still to come, there are growing concerns President Donald Trump may not be willing to leave the White House if he loses the election. We will hear the stunning statements he just made about that.
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CHURCH: A chaotic scene in Louisville, Kentucky, were two police officers were shot and wounded when protests turned violent. A suspect is in custody. The unrest erupted late Wednesday after a state grand jury decided not to indict officers in the death of Breonna Taylor who was killed last March in a botched drug raid. One officer, one former officer was indicted for Wanton Endangerment for firing shots that struck a neighboring residents.
The grand jury's decision that no officer would face charges in Taylor's death sparked renewed protests in cities across the country. And this was a situation just a short time ago in Los Angeles where demonstrators had blocked traffic near downtown.
And joining me now from Los Angeles is journalist, Jarrett Hill, who covers politics and pop culture. Good to see you, Jarrett. And we are seeing these protests across the country. And we saw those pictures there in Los Angeles where you are in response to the lack of charges brought against those officers, responsible for the death of Breonna Taylor. What all can this protests achieve do you think?
JARRETT HILL, POLITICS AND POP CULTURE JOURNALIST: You know, I think, protesters really something we always have to remember that this country was founded on protests. It was founded in and on protest, right. Saying like, we are not happy with the things that are happening and this is the way that we have always been shown. That we are supposed to express that displeasure.
So, when we see these protests happening across the country it's really as American as apple pie, if you would, right? For people to be out in the streets saying the government is not doing what it's supposed to be doing. The system is not working for us. And we need to come out and voice that. And that's what I think we are seeing across this country.
CHURCH: Right. And as you say, it is important that people get out and they voice their concerns in these sorts of situations, but how much do you worry that when these protests turned violent like the shooting of the two police officers in Louisville -- that plays right into the hands of President Trump and increases his chances of reelection. Do you worry about that?
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HILL: I don't think that people are going to vote differently because of protests. I think that the president has really tried to use protests, especially with Black Lives Matter, specifically to be a bit of a wedge issue for folks, but realistically, if you are adhering that message from the president and believing it, you are probably already decided about how are going to be voting.
I think what's more important in this situation though is really recognizing that people are going to take that message and believe whatever they want to believe. If you believe that black lives matter, the president taking this kind of a moment is not going to have an impact, but I think it's also important to recognize the people that are oftentimes violent, that are, you know, burning things down, that are you know, harming cars are shooting at police officers, are oftentimes not folks that are affiliated with black lives matter.
Oftentimes we see it online where there have been breakdowns of these kind of events where we see that these are people who kind of jumped into the protest and used that as an opportunity to be a disruptor, and really it hurts the name and the cause of the protests and the movement.
CHURCH: And what is your reaction to the decisions made as a result of that grand jury, and what do you think should happen to these officers?
HILL: Well, I would turn that around and ask the people listening, if you are someone who has been waiting for this moment for Breonna Taylor, for over 180 days, you saw the story going and growing and growing and see people have been discussing it. And then after all of that time, you wait for justice and this is what you get? The one charge that was made was for the neighbors? Being harmed in their home?
But nothing for Breonna Taylor who is doing nothing. Who is innocent in her home and brutally murdered with all of these shots? I think if you are a person that is waiting for that justice and this is what you got, you'd probably be pretty upset too.
CHURCH: So, where do you see this going from here? Because -- it also highlights where black women stand in American society, doesn't it?
HILL: It absolutely does, right? Like the neighbors who I believe are white folks. Their walls being harmed, because no one was -- no person was harmed in there. Their walls are being harmed and disrupted in their homes were more important than the life of women who has been dead for months. That is the message, right, from the Louisville police department, and really from this country when you have Donald Trump who stands by the police in every single instance.
And he will say there are a couple of bad apples, but we don't say that there are a couple of bad apples when a car is on fire during a protests. We don't talk about bad apples when you know, a broken window happens. We only talk about bad apples when we are talking about police officers. And someone is dead here. Right?
So, I think that the message to the people across this country is we don't care about you, especially if you are black, and even more if you are women. And I think that is really, really awful. I think that is why we see people so upset. People -- and I've said this here on this air before. People are not only upset. They are also tired. We are burnt out. We are a country that has been through racial protest all throughout the year, but also COVID-19.
We've dealt with a president who is a dumpster fire of stories every single day that we are being great about. And then we see an election that is coming that does not look good for a lot of folks. And when I talk to black folks around the country that are friends of mine, a lot of us are concerned about where this country is getting or even go over the course of the next six weeks. So, all of those things combined, put together with this moment of how frustrated we are about the ways that Breonna Taylor (inaudible). I think it really creates a perfect storm of a lot of things.
CHURCH: All right. Journalist Jarrett Hill joining us live from Los Angeles. Many thanks to you. I appreciated it.
HILL: Thanks, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Well, sports star Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James expressed surprise and frustration with this verdict. Kaepernick tweeted this. The white supremacist institution of policing that stole Breonna Taylor's life from us must be abolished for the safety and well-being of our people, #abolishthepolice.
And James wrote, the most disrespected person on earth is the black woman. I promise you I will do my best to change this as much as I can and even more. Love to you Queens.
And with just 40 days to go, U.S. President Donald Trump has made a stunning remark about the presidential election responding to a reporter's question he refused to say if he would accept the will of the American people, and commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses the election. Just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, really quickly, win lose or draw on this election, would you commit here today for a peaceful transferal of power after the election? And there has been writing (inaudible), there's been writing in many cities across this country? Red and -- you're so called red and blue state. Would you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transferal of power after the election?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we are going to have to see what happens. You know that. I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster.
[03:40:06]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand that, but people are writing from that to making sure that there's a peaceful transferal of power.
TRUMP: We want to have -- get rid of the ballots and you will have a very trans -- we will have a very peaceful -- there won't be a transfer, frankly, there will be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it, and you know, who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know it better than anybody else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And CNN's chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, says President Trump's view on a handover of power is unprecedented.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Not only has no president ever said anything like that. As far as I'm aware, no president has ever thought anything like that. You know, one of the touchstones of American democracy is when the two presidents, the incoming and outgoing president take the limousine together from the White House to the capital through the swearing in.
Including, you know, the defeated president. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. George Herbert Walker Bush and Bill Clinton. They sit there together in the limousine as a symbol of the peaceful transition of power. I don't see any scenario where Donald Trump agrees to participate in that sort of ceremony even if he loses this election, and I think it is tragic, but revealing about his character and presidents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And amid all the political wrangling, tributes are being paid to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. President Trump will visit the court today to pay his respects. On Wednesday, a powerful scene on the steps of the Supreme Court, rows of Ginsburg current and former clerks awaiting her casket.
Later, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited. Bill Clinton nominated Ginsburg to the court back in 1993. Inside, her fellow justices reflected on her legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT: -- in court and in our conference (inaudible) but when she spoke, people listened. Tough, brave, a fighter. A winner. But also thoughtful. Careful. Compassionate. Honest. She will live on in what she did to improve the law and the lives of all of us. And yet, still, Ruth is gone, and we grieve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, thousands of members of the public stream past her casket Wednesday. It will remain at the court today. On Friday Ginsburg will become the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capital. President Trump is expected to announce Ginsburg's replacement on Saturday.
Well, North Korean troops have killed a South Korean maritime affairs official who apparently crossed the border into North Korea. A top general with the south Joint Chief of Staff said the man went missing in waters of Yeonpyeong Island on Monday. He said after the man then crossed into North Korean waters, troops there opened fire killing him and later burned his body. It is unclear what the man was doing and why he was shot.
Well, the Moria migrant camp in Greece was once the largest refugee camp in Europe. Today it is a pile of ashes. CNN went there before the fire through an immersive film experience set to launch in London on Thursday. Phil Black shows us what the camp was like back then. And the horrifying conditions the migrants are living in now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One night of fire and panic left this blacken marked on Lesbos. The Moria migrant camp is gone. Some of the world's most desperate people now have even less. When we visited the camp earlier this year we saw it as it was, humanitarian groups say you've got to move people out of here on to the mainland somewhere to relieve the pressure here on Lesbos. A (inaudible) slum. Population more than 18,000. We met families with little food, water, sanitation, and no reason to hope.
You know hours, days, weeks?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 13 days.
BLACK: 13 days.
Boy or girl?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boy.
BLACK: What is his name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amid.
BLACK: Walking through the Moria refugee camp here on Lesbos is a truly confronting experience, perhaps the most surprising thing is simply the scale of it.
The camp is gone but it is still possible to get a sense of that experience of how these people were forced to live. This exhibit in London is like a time machine, it puts you back among them. Back in the crowded, filthy conditions of Moria.
[03:45:15]
The display, a collaboration with CNN, is part of the imperial war museums refugee season. It surrounds you with images and noise from the camp. It's powerful and immersive. A tool designed for walking in the shoes of people whose stories are often misunderstood. That human connection is also the goal of the broader exhibition here, which charts 100 years of people fleeing their homes because of war.
SIMON OFFORD, CURATOR, IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS: We wanted to show that refugees are not just born refugees. They start off as normal people with everyday lives, and they are forced to make this horrible, horrible decision.
BLACK: One display occupies the whole floor of the museums famous atrium. A history of bombs by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei explores the terrifying hardware that often drives people to leave their homes.
AI WEIWEI, ARTIST: Many refugees told me, I still remember this, the bomb comes down like a rain. So, that makes them think this is unbelievable. Those bombs can come dam like rain. And that made a deep impression on my mind.
BLACK: Back on Lesbos, those who lived in Moria before the fire must now sleep where they can. A London museum exhibition isn't going to change their lives, but it might help others understand how they got there.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: With the arrival of cooler weather in the northern hemisphere has virus experts on edge. We will show you how COVID and the flu could bring a double disaster as temperatures drop. We will be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Well, Canada's Prime Minister is not just warning of a second wave of the virus. He says it's already arrived. Infections in Canada have nearly tripled during the past five weeks.
Paula Newton has details on that and Justin Trudeau's response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a very sobering message from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and it is incredibly rare for a Prime Minister in Canada to address the nation in this way. The issue is Canada's exponential growth of coronavirus cases.
Now, just a few months ago, we were talking about Canada crushing the curve. In absolute terms, the numbers still aren't that bad, averaging about 1,100 cases per day and that would be for the last week, at issue though is the exponential growth, and that is what is concerning everyone including the Prime Minister. Take a listen.
[03:50:00]
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: It's all too likely we won't be gathering for thanksgiving. But we still have a shot at Christmas. Together, we have the power to get the second wave under control.
NEWTON: Canadian thanksgiving in just a few weeks and really what the Prime Minister is hoping is that in six to eight weeks they might get this pandemic under control again. An issue here has been young people, about two thirds of all the new cases are from people under the age of 40 and everyone here right now, they are saying should be keeping those social contacts to a minimum.
The problem has been that people have been doing things that they assume are harmless. Dinner parties, having friends over, and that has led to a lot of community transmission. The exponential growth is what's really concerning people here. About 1,100 cases on average per day for the last week.
It doesn't seem like a lot, but that trend line could continue to grow, and if it does, health experts fear that the caseload could grow four or five times in the next four or five weeks. Trudeau telling Canadians, look, you have done it before, you can do it again. You need to crush that curve.
Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And the U.S. is now bracing for a likely second wave of coronavirus infections. Even though it is still struggling with the first. Experts are even more worried and say it could be far deadlier this time around.
CNN's Brian Todd explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A flu shot rush for the fall is on. Millions of Americans trying to bolster their protection from Influenza and avoid getting coronavirus, as we receive new warnings about a cold weather surge of COVID cases.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALERGY AND INFECTOUS DISEASE: We are entering into a risk period, and we've got to act accordingly as we enter into that risk period.
TODD: The approach of fall and winter has renowned experts warning of a second wave, which could turn out worse than the first, and get the U.S. possibly to previously unthinkable death tolls by year's end.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some modeling out more recently that suggests that by the end of the year, we could actually be close to 300,000. And I think that's not at all unfathomable given the progression of this pandemic.
TODD: A respected model from the University of Washington recently projected possibly 378,000 deaths in the U.S. by the end of the year. October was the deadliest months during the 1918 flu pandemic. Experts say these viruses can take off simply when the air gets colder and thinner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whenever there's the air is dry, then those particles can kind of, the wet particles that come from like a cough or sneeze can kind of linger about a little easier rather than a humid day, where they might just fall directly to the ground, or be a sort of heavier atmosphere.
TODD: Another dangerous factor experts say, fewer of us will have that protection from being spaced apart outside during the winter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People spend more time indoors and more crowded settings, so it facilitates person to person transmission. Transmission through droplets or through aerosols intrinsically is more efficient in an indoor setting. Particularly in a crowded indoor setting. TODD: Schools getting back in session, those which aren't sticking to
remote learning, also present a danger experts say, as children in close quarters start to get those runny noses, spread virus between each other, then possibly carry at home to their parents or grandparents.
According to CNN's estimate, college campuses in the U.S. have experienced collectively nearly 60,000 cases. Experts are also worried about the double whammy of the arriving flu season, overlapping with coronavirus, as daily deaths and overall cases continue to rise in more than 20 states.
I'm absolutely worried about hospitals being overwhelmed because also, if we have a flu season and a COVID surge at the same time, you know, those aren't going to go together, right? So, if the behaviors that prevent flu also prevent COVID, and we are not doing the behaviors to prevent COVID, that means we will have both of the viruses. It's really, sort of, a two for one.
TODD: But the experts we spoke to stress this fall and winter don't have to be so dire, that there is reason for optimism. They say if more people take those simple and effective measures of wearing masks and distancing, these could actually be milder seasons coming up, another reason for optimism? This virus is not going to take us by surprise this fall and winter. We know how to combat it, and there are more potential treatments now.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: A tragedy off the coast of Australia, we will show you the race against time to rescue stranded whales.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:55:00]
CHURCH: A wildlife catastrophe is unfolding along the western coast of Tasmania, Australia. Almost 500 pilot whales have mysteriously beached themselves and some 380 are dead or dying. But as Angus Watson shows us, scientists and volunteers are trying to save as many as they can.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANGUS WATSON, JOURNALIST: A desperate effort by rescuers to judge which of these whales are still alive before attempting to refloat them and move each individually to the safety of deeper waters. Over 450 of these pilot whales have been found stranded on Tasmania's treacherous coastline since Monday. Scientists are considering this as one event of mass beaching, as mysterious as it is sad.
KRIS CARLYON, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST, MARINE CONSERVATION PROGRAM: The animals that are still alive, we think we do have a chance with those, given that they are, what they would call at this stage and we're pushing ahead with risk at this stage.
WATSON: The situations was demoralizing enough on Monday, the discovery of around 200 more early on Wednesday, left the rescuers deflated. Hundreds are now dead, only a lucky few have been saved.
NIC DEKA, REGIONAL MANAGER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE: Certainly from the air, they didn't look to be in a condition. That would weren't rescue, they appear to be dead, but (inaudible) the ground crew before we microphone or call on what we do.
WATSON: Scientists can't yet say how this happened.
CARLYON: As far as we know, this was a natural event, so we can accept that we are going to lose some animals. This is such a tricky event, such a complex event, that any whale we save, we're considering a real win.
WATSON: Australis rugged and remote southern island has seen grim mass beaching events before. Particularly with pilot whales, known as close knit and social animals. That doesn't make pictures like these and easier to see.
Angus Watson in Sydney, Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, the California creek fire has officially become the largest single wildfire in the state's history. The Creek fire has been burning in the Sierra range for almost three weeks. Officials say it has charred more than 1,170 square kilometers. California fire officials tell CNN that many things have continued to feed the flames, but the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Well, meantime, California's Governor blames climate change for hot, dry weather that's fueling the fires, now Gavin Newsom hopes to call things down by requiring that all new cars sold in the state be emission free by 2035. Newsom blames transportation for half of California's greenhouse gas emissions. Besides the climate benefits, Newsom says, his executive order will help California dominate the emerging zero emissions industry.
And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church, be sure to connect with me on Twitter at Rosemary CNN. And I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Stay with us.
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