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Biden Reaches Across Political Divide In Pennsylvania; Debate Canceled After Trump Refuses Virtual Format; Coronavirus In Europe; Ballot Rules, Cyber Attacks Stoke Concerns; Hurricane Delta Aftermath; North Korea Unveils Enormous Ballistic Missile; Cuba's Economy Suffers From COVID-19 Safety Measures. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired October 11, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST (voice-over): President Trump is cleared to return to a public schedule but this doesn't mean he's tested negative for COVID yet.

Coronavirus cases are surging in countries across Europe. What's being done about this second wave, we'll explain.

And North Korea unveils a new weapon during a parade this weekend.

Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to you our viewers here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I am Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

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BRUNHUBER: U.S. president Donald Trump has received the all-clear from his doctor in his bout with COVID-19. It was just last weekend that the president was in the hospital. On Saturday he reappeared publicly to briefly address supporters crowded on the White House lawn and tell them the coronavirus was disappearing.

Soon afterward a memo from Dr. Sean Conley announced the president no longer appeared to be contagious and could resume his public activities but the doctor's cheery note left questions about the president's health after such a serious disease. We have details from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, is now clearing him for a return to public activities. Dr. Conley writing in a new memo released late Saturday night that the president is no longer considered a risk of transmission for the coronavirus to others.

Now let me read you a part of this memo by Dr. Sean Conley, where he writes, "This evening I'm happy to report that in addition to the president meeting CDC criteria for the safe decision of isolation, this morning's COVID PCR sample demonstrates by currently recognize standards he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others.

"Now at day 10 from symptom onset, fever free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus."

The doctor goes on to say that he will continue to monitor the president's health as he returns to a more active schedule. Now President Trump, of course, did not wait for this memo before holding a event on the White House South lawn on Saturday.

Trump did stay at quite a distance from the several hundred people who attended this event on the South Lawn of the White House. While most folks were wearing masks, they were not observing any social distancing, packed quite closely together just two weeks after the event at the Rose Garden of the White House that is now considered a superspreader event and perhaps the origin point for many of those positive coronavirus tests that we have since seen at the White House.

President Trump needed this memo to get some more public confidence in his return to an active schedule. And that is exactly what he's going to be doing this coming week. He'll be hitting 3 battleground states, Florida, Iowa and Pennsylvania, this coming week -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

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BRUNHUBER: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is reaching out to independent voters and disaffected Republicans. Biden returned on Saturday to Pennsylvania where he was born, telling voters he'd work just as hard for those who don't support him as those who do.

He also linked America's current economic woes to the president's mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic. CNN's Jessica Dean has more.

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former Vice President Joe Biden campaigning in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania on Saturday. He traveled here to Erie, Pennsylvania. It's in a county President Trump won narrowly in 2016 and it's tailor made for Biden's economic message that he's been delivering specifically to white working class voters in towns like Erie.

Notably, Biden touring a train facility and a union hall before giving a message that can be described as his economic bread and butter message.

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JOE BIDEN (D-DE), FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The top 100 billionaires in the middle of this pandemic, they made $300 billion additional. Hear me now? One hundred individuals made $300 billion this year.

And what did the bottom half get? They got the kick, they got the slide down, because the fact is the president can only see the world from Park Avenue. I see it from Scranton, I see it from Claymont, for real. You all know what I'm talking about. You all see it from Erie.

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DEAN: In the meantime, vice president Biden's campaign reported that he underwent PCR testing. That's the gold standard COVID test on Saturday.

[04:05:00]

DEAN: And that test came back negative. The campaign has said that Joe Biden will be continued to be tested regularly and always when he travels -- Jessica Dean, CNN, Erie, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. For more on all this let's bring in Thomas Gift in Oxford, England. He's director of the Center for U.S. politics at University College London.

Thanks so much for joining us. As we just heard, Joe Biden campaigning in Pennsylvania, courting some who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016.

Any evidence he's making headway?

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, I think, based on the polls, Kim, Biden does seem to be courting disaffected Trump voters. That is essential if he wants to flip states from red to blue. Pennsylvania is where Biden is from and my home state. Biden has been crisscrossing that state in places like Erie and Gettysburg.

A new Quinnipiac poll shows he holds a lead in Pennsylvania, which Trump won in 2016 by less than a percentage point.

I think key to converting those Trump voters in parts of the mid- Atlantic and the Rust Belt is appealing not only to the rim counties of some of these major cities but also emphasizing this clear economic message in smaller towns, predicated on Trump's failures to deliver on his pledge to bring back blue-collar jobs hit by globalization and automation.

I think given national unemployment numbers that are still reeling from COVID-19, Biden has a real opportunity to flip some of these disillusioned Trump voters with a pragmatic economic message.

BRUNHUBER: And money helps as well. Biden has been spending big, in particular now pouring money into states that once, you know, basically looked out of reach here in Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Iowa.

I read, according to advertising analytics, he'll double the present spending. Biden has a lot more money to spend.

What are we to make of that fact and the effect going into the last weeks of the campaign?

GIFT: Well, Kim, in politics, money definitely tends to follow the leader and that's what we've seen here with Biden.

He started last month with $466 million in cash reserves. That's roughly $141 million more than Trump had -- that's a really sharp reversal, I think, it should be said, in the numbers compared to the beginning of the election season, where it was Trump's campaign team with the much bigger war chest.

Right now, there is less than a month to go before the election so both candidates are going to be going on spending sprees. I think there is more evidence that how money is spent is more crucial than how much money is spent.

But clearly the fact that Biden can outspend Trump puts him at an advantage at reaching more voters and for sustained periods.

The large donations that have funneled to his campaign, especially after Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, give Biden the resources to expand and solidify his ground game and also to pay for a real barrage of ad buys.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Let's turn to the president now. I'm interested in the crowd that the president had as his first public event since his diagnosis. The crowd was made up mostly of Black and Latino people, who were invited by Blexit, that wants draw Black and minority voters from the Democratic Party.

The Black vote largely assumed to break almost exclusively for Democrats but it might actually surprise people to hear that the president's support among African Americans has actually grown since 2016.

Any idea why that is?

And if it might have any effect on the race?

GIFT: Well, I still think it's an uphill battle for Trump in courting Black voters. Trump says that Black voters are embracing his pro-job, pro-police agenda and rejecting what he calls a radical social agenda of the Left. That is basically his words.

So he's trying to make the case also that, pre-COVID especially, unemployment rates among Black Americans were trending toward record lows. And he's saying he's in the best position now to speak to real kitchen table issues that many Black Americans are grappling with.

I think the problem for Trump, though, is that any inroads he might be able to make with Black voters are largely overwhelmed by his history of race baiting; his inability, for example, in the last debate to categorically condemn a white nationalist group and the general tendency to aggravate rather than heal racial divisions in the United States.

I actually feel like a place where Trump has been making even more progress than -- among the Black vote is among Latino voters, where you are seeing some enthusiasm for the president that perhaps you didn't see in 2016.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and especially Florida, a key battleground state.

GIFT: Right.

BRUNHUBER: Now many Republican strategists are still scratching their heads at the president's decision not to do the virtual debate, which meant that it was canceled.

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BRUNHUBER: Conventional wisdom is, if you're down in the polls, you want a chance to lay a few blows on your opponent, with millions watching on TV. It's the front-runner's advantage to skip out on it to avoid making mistakes.

So what's the thinking there?

Is it because of the format?

Because obviously the town hall didn't go that well for the president when he did one last month.

GIFT: I think your assessment is right on, Kim. I think Trump definitely sees a clear tension here in deciding whether to debate.

On the one hand, a typical candidate, as you said, who is trailing nationally in the polls, especially by the margins that Trump is, would jump at getting on stage with roughly three weeks left until the election. Any chance you have to get in front of the American people, make your case, isn't an opportunity you want to squander.

On the other hand, the general consensus is that Trump's performance in the first debate didn't do him in the favors. I think that's putting it mildly. And the polls that have come out since September seem to bear that out.

So the last thing Trump wants to do is repeat his performance from the first go-around. And ultimately the Trump team campaign has done the cost-benefit analysis. And I guess they feel the political pros of sitting out this debate outweigh the political cons.

I'm sure there was a lot of internal dissension, which could lead to Monday morning quarterbacking if Trump can't turn this around soon.

BRUNHUBER: Seems like rally, rally, rally. Thank you so much, Thomas Gift. We appreciate you coming on.

GIFT: Thank you, Kim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The model that has often been looked at during this pandemic is giving the U.S. a serious wake up call. The model is based on current conditions, so let us look at what those are right. Now.

As you can see there, most states are seeing an increase in cases compared to a week ago. Now at this hour, Johns Hopkins University has the number of lives lost in the U.S. at slightly more than 214,000. The University of Washington model projects a total of almost 400,000 COVID-19 deaths by February 1st.

The model also says that if social distancing mandates are relaxed that number could go over half a million but that same model predicts that if almost everyone in the U.S. wore masks, tens of thousands of lives could be saved.

Europe's worst day for COVID-19 may be yet to come. When we come back, live reports from Paris and London for a look at some disturbing new trends.

And a little later on, the pandemic has devastated the airline industry and tens of thousands of its employees. We're going to show you one flight attendant's tearful goodbye. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: For months, there have been warnings about a second wave of COVID-19 striking Europe. But instead of just shadowing the first wave, well, this round may be even worse. France has set another daily record reporting almost 27,000 new infections in the past 24 hours.

The Netherlands also reached its highest daily number. And Poland has been breaking its record for four days straight. Italy has yet to surpass its highest daily tally set in March, 6,500 cases. But it came close on Saturday, reporting almost 5,800.

All right, for more let's bring in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in London, where a top English medical officer says they are at a tipping point.

But first to our Melissa Bell in Paris.

Melissa, we were just talking yesterday about France, you know, breaking a record and today again a new record.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. More than 26,000 new cases announced on Saturday night. It is the third record in a week set in France in terms of the new cases.

As you mentioned, that's being repeated across the European continent; the Netherlands, Portugal both setting fresh records on Saturday and a number of countries introduced in the last few days fresh measures. Madrid now on total lockdown.

Countries like Belgium having closed their bars and restaurants, four cities in France closing their bars and cafes yesterday.

So a number of countries trying to take measures. But still, with those record rises, of course, the fear will be over the course of the next couple weeks how that will translate into the number of people who are seriously ill and need to end up in ICU.

The figures here in Paris remain extremely worrying; already an emergency plan has been triggered for the greater Paris region because, when you have day after day those record rises, what you see, a couple weeks later, are record rises in terms of people entering ICUs.

And ICU beds kept for COVID patients are limited. Already some cities warning some operations, some emergency care is going to have to be put aside in order to deal with what authorities fear could be a flood of COVID-19 patients entering ICU over the next few weeks.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you for that, Melissa Bell in Paris. Let's go now to Salma Abdelaziz.

Possibly more restrictions in the U.K.?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Kim, we are expecting more an announcement from Boris Johnson on Monday. But we just saw a statement from one of the country's top scientists, saying they are reaching a tipping point, that more deaths will follow in the coming weeks and decisive action need to be taken if history were not to repeat itself. Of course, referencing the pandemic in the spring.

The prime minister's statement is really coming after a very confusing and worrying week across the U.K. where we've seen the number of cases nearly double; now almost a quarter million cases across the country.

We've heard from the country's health secretary, saying the country is in a perilous moment. We've seen a rise in hospitalizations in the north, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, all of these cities dealing with the resurgence in the virus. We've heard very little from 10 Downing Street.

So people are asking questions, what are the next steps?

What will be taking place?

Am I under stricter measures?

And when does all of that start?

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ABDELAZIZ: These are the answers that prime minister Boris Johnson has to give to the House of Commons on Monday. While we don't know the content of the announcement, there have been reports to local media that the country is considering a three-tiered system, similar to what's happening in France, where you carve out the country geographically. Each area is put in one of three levels based on its rate of

infection. Those at the highest level 3 will have to face tougher restrictions including the shutting down of pubs and restaurants, banning mixing households.

And potentially there's a financial package to help businesses that have to shut their doors. But again, what we're hearing over and over from experts is the prime minister needs to come out, he needs to provide clear and simple instruction to the public if we are to stem this second wave, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, so crucial in every country. Thank you so much, Salma, in London.

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BRUNHUBER: For more on all of this I'm joined by Dr. Peter Drobac, an infectious disease and global health expert at the University of Oxford.

Thank you so much again for joining us. So we just heard there about the worrying situation across much of Western Europe.

How worried should we be that, as the cold weather approaches, we see, you know, a return of some of the scenes from earlier in the year, when the surge was at its worst?

Or generally speaking, you know, have we increased capacity, treatment, testing and so on that, as bad as things might get, the worst generally speaking is behind -- behind you in Europe?

DR. PETER DROBAC, INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERT, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: I wish it were but this is really an alarming time actually, Kim. And thank you for having me. We all knew that there was a real risk as we move into winter and everyone is forced back indoors.

There was, of course, going to be a risk of a second surge. What's been really surprising I think is the rate with which things are really getting bad. And we've seen alarming increases in new case rates across much of Europe, certainly here in the U.K.

And as we just heard, also increasing numbers of hospitalizations and also ICU admissions. So really showing that this is real. It's hard to compare case numbers to where we were in March. Testing capacity is so much greater now.

But it's clear that, at least in some countries, we're starting to see hospital and ICU admission rates that are maybe 10 days behind where we were when things really got bad back in the spring.

So we, I think, have every right to be concerned about the situation. And we're on one of those exponential growth pathways again, which means there's really no time to waste and, unfortunately, having to implement stronger restrictions. BRUNHUBER: Well, then, you know, with those as we are seeing, you

know, in Europe and also here in the U.S., you know, places like New York. With more restrictions, we also see more resistance to those restrictions, you know.

With protests, we've seen court cases and so on. You know, pandemic fatigue is almost as prevalent as the pandemic itself.

Is there a cure for that?

Because obviously, if people get sick enough of the restrictions and the measures, they won't follow them, which exacerbates the crisis and so on.

DROBAC: I think it's natural to be fatigued by what we've all been through. And I think most of your viewers around the world have experienced lockdown or something like it at some point in recent months. And we're all desperate to get back to normal.

That's why these coming weeks and months are going to be so difficult because we need to take action that's quite strong.

But there's a lot more resistance to doing so. I don't know that there's a cure for it. But what we really need, first off, is clear consistent and science-based communication from our leaders.

One of the things that's been lacking, certainly in the U.K. and some other settings, has been a comprehensive kind of long-term strategy. So we seem to lurch from really severe restrictions to almost being encouraged to get back to normal and get back out there and go on holiday and go to restaurants.

And we're swinging back and forth. We need to realize we're still in the early phases of this pandemic. Even, if and when a vaccine comes, it won't be a magic bullet. So we need a strategy that's going to allow us to save lives, save the economy, get something back to normal but really look on the order of months and even the next couple of years as opposed to looking a couple weeks in advance.

BRUNHUBER: Wow, that's what a lot of leaders don't want to hear, of course. You know, as we're seeing here perhaps to distract from the fairly dire COVID situation in the U.S., President Trump pointed to the worsening situations in other parts of the world.

He said, quote, big flare-ups in Europe, big flare-ups in Canada, which is right.

Some Republicans that I speak to like pointing out that all the countries like Canada and Germany that were so high and mighty, you know, talking about making everyone wearing masks and so on, are seeing huge spikes. So they say it's proof that these measures don't work.

[04:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: The virus is going to do its thing and we might as well just open up everything back.

So you know, is there any merit to that argument?

How do you fight back against that argument?

DROBAC: I agree with you, Kim, this is probably mostly intended to distract from the failures of the U.S. response. But look, this is not a competition, right. We should be cooperating to find the best ways to get through this and to suppress the virus.

The question we should be asking is what's happening in New Zealand, in Japan, in South Korea, in Taiwan, in Thailand that's allowing them to suppress or even eliminate the transmission of the virus to levels that they're able to actually get pretty well back to normal.

They're having sporting events with full stadiums, people out in bars and restaurants and they're working. Their economic hit is far less than countries that struggled. They don't have something we don't have. It's not like they have some magical technology, that they have greater resources than we have in Europe or the United States. We should be asking, what can we learn from them.

BRUNHUBER: I want to tap into your expertise here, you know, on the virus itself and how it affects people. We know that people who are obese have higher risks of hospitalization. I think it's double the risk.

But there's a new warning from the CDC that even moderately excess weight may increase the odds of severe disease. So obviously that could put a lot of us much more at risk.

So how much weight are we talking about here and what might the increased risk be?

DROBAC: There are dozens of studies now that demonstrate an association between overweight and obesity and an increased risk of more severe disease, hospitalization and death. And as you said, amongst those who are obese compared with those with healthy weight, it's about 13 percent risk of increase, a 50 percent increase of death

Interesting, though, there's almost a linear increase in risk as body mass index increases above normal. So even those who are mildly overweight with a BMI of the 25 to 30 range, which is not a range that a lot of people would consider, you know, very much overweight.

There is some increased risk and that just continues to go up as BMI increases. And, of course, with the rates of overweight and obesity in the United States, that means quite a number of people are at higher risk.

BRUNHUBER: A good warning for all of us. Dr. Peter Drobac, we appreciate it. Thank you so much.

DROBAC: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Well, with the U.S. election just about three weeks away, President Trump has been actively sowing distrust about mail-in ballots and that has many voters worried.

Ahead, destruction and devastation. We'll look at the aftermath of Hurricane Delta after it made landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Stay with us.

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[04:30:00]

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

President Trump will be back campaigning this week after being stricken with COVID-19. His doctor issued a memo late Saturday, saying the president no longer appeared to be contagious and is safe to leave isolation. Now it's still not known if he has tested negative for the virus.

But even before the doctor's announcement, hundreds of supporters crowded the White House lawn at he made his first appearance since last Monday. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he told them the coronavirus was disappearing.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden who announced his latest COVID test was negative campaigned in the battle ground state of Pennsylvania. His message to voters, the Trump administration's economic policies have been a huge windfall for the wealthy but not for working class families.

Millions of Americans have already cast their votes. And with fears and confusion over the security of mail-in ballots nationwide, many people are taking no chances to be sure their vote gets delivered on time. We get more on that from CNN's Abby Phillip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CEDRICK BROWN, DETROIT VOTER: I'm not comfortable sending my ballot through the mail. I'd rather just come in and drop it off.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As millions of voters begin casting their ballots in person or by mail, the Postal Service acknowledging in court documents that there has been a significant drop in first class on time mail delivery.

The USPS saying it will increase staffing and make other changes to fix the problem. In battleground Michigan, voting is ramping up and so are the worries from voters. MARTEZ ROBERTSON, DETROIT VOTER: I want to personally make sure it got handed in. With all the talk of problems with the mail and that sort of thing, I wanted to be sure.

PHILLIP: In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott is facing at least two separate federal lawsuits after he issued an executive order restricting ballot drop boxes to one per county because he feels they'll be more secure. Opponents say this is no less than voter suppression.

CHRIS HOLLINS, HARRIS COUNTY CLERK: To make it so that our voters who have disabilities, our elderly voters have to drive over an hour, more than 50 miles in some cases to drop off their mail ballot, it's unfair, it's prejudicial and it's dangerous.

PHILLIP: Millions of voters have just hours left to register to vote for the 2020 general election, including competitive states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Texas. Already some 2.6 million general election ballots have been cast according to CNN and Edison researchers survey of election officials in 24 states reporting voting data.

And in six of those states where party data is available, registered Democrats make up more than half of the ballots returned.

In Pennsylvania, ongoing disputes over the changing ballot rules, poll watchers, new voting machines and the spread of disinformation are adding to the challenges some from the President himself.

TRUMP: They had Trump written on it and they were thrown in a garbage can and this is what's going to happen.

PHILLIP: Today we are also learning about a new cyber security threat. CNN has obtained an e-mail from the Democratic National Committee warning campaigns about fraudulent Team Blue Take Action e-mails sent by a hacking group with malicious attachments. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: That was CNN's Abby Phillip reporting there.

And on Saturday, a federal appeals court allowed governor Greg Abbott's directive to remain in place for now. It allows for just one ballot drop box per county in Texas.

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BRUNHUBER: Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate Republicans are both blasting President Trump's latest stimulus proposal but for different reasons. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls the $1.8 trillion offer "insufficient" and "one step forward, two steps back" while Senate Republicans are indicating they think the amount is too high.

The stalemate almost ensures the Congress won't pass another stimulus package before Election Day.

And the squabble in Washington is affecting millions of people, especially airline workers, who are facing furloughs by the tens of thousands. Pete Muntean has more on how they're suffering.

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BREAUNNA ROSS, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: As all of you know, the airline industry has been impacted greatly by this global pandemic.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When flight attendant Breaunna Ross addressed the passengers of her American Airlines flight, she didn't expect to leave them with a tearful goodbye.

ROSS: For myself and one other crew member on our flight today, this means we will be furloughed October 1. And, unfortunately, this was my last working flight before that day comes.

MUNTEAN: Airlines say they will recall Ross and the roughly 50,000 workers they cut last week, but only if they get $25 billion in a new stimulus bill.

New tweets from President Trump have thrown a deal into disarray. It's the latest breakdown in talks with House Democrats that airlines call disheartening.

ROSS: People see numbers on TV, but we are real people that are really struggling right now.

MUNTEAN: Ross says she's living on savings from her last few months on the job.

Just furloughed workers say new federal help is their best hope; 8,000 flight attendants at American Airlines alone are now looking for jobs.

ALLIE MALIS, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: It's been a roller coaster. It's -- we have been high. We have been low. We have been on the verge of making this happen for so long and then for it to all just fall apart.

MUNTEAN: In a new letter, airline unions are urging Congress to pass a stand-alone stimulus for airlines. President Trump tweeted his support, but House leaders stress the bill failed you in the Senate. Airline unions say lawmakers must end this stimulus standoff, with workers caught in the middle.

SARA NELSON, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: These are people who have been on the front lines since the beginning of this virus. Hiding is cruel and it's got to be reversed.

PROTESTERS: Save our jobs. Save our jobs.

MUNTEAN: There could be more furloughs if Congress does not act. Delta says it will furlough 1700 pilots starting November 1st. Southwest says its employees could face pay cuts without federal help -- Pete Muntean, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER (voice-over): What you're seeing there is devastation and destruction. Images from the U.S. state of Louisiana after Hurricane Delta made landfall Friday night. It's now categorized as a post tropical cyclone.

At its worst, the storm knocked out power to a quarter of the state's residents. It downed power lines and trees and severely damaged homes. Luckily, no deaths have been reported.

Heavy rain and flooding were a big problem. Delta dropped more than a foot of rain on Louisiana. The storm also has affected other southern U.S. states, putting millions under flash flood watches.

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BRUNHUBER: And thousands of National Guard troops are in Louisiana helping emergency crews as residents reel from back to back storms. CNN's Martin Savidge has more from Lake Charles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It turns out that Hurricane Delta was not the destructive killer that had been feared. Still, the governor of Louisiana said it had a greater impact on the western part of Louisiana than they had expected, primarily in the issue of knocking out power.

More people lost power during Delta than they did during the more powerful Laura 6 weeks ago. The governor says at the height of the outages during Delta, 25 percent of all electricity customers in the state lost power.

The good news is that it's not expected to take weeks to restore. The other good news, so far, no deaths attributed to the storm, although I'll underline "so far."

The awful irony here in Lake Charles is that this community was so devastated by Hurricane Laura at the end of August, it's really hard to tell where the damage of one hurricane ends and where the destruction of the next storm begins.

But we do know there is additional destruction here. We know that by the blue tarps, which were put there by the homeowners starting to make very basic repairs. Now blue tarps are torn, shredded, ripped and strewn all over Lake Charles.

That means the homes have been damaged again and homeowner and all the people who live in them will have to start over again, which they are already doing, relying on the help of their friends and neighbors in their community again -- Martin Savidge, CNN, Lake Charles, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And if you're looking for ways to help those impacted by Hurricane Delta, the "Impact Our World" team can show you how.

[04:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: Just go to cnn.com/impact and we'll continue updating the impact world page with more information that comes available.

Well, it was a rare admission by North Korea's leader. He says his economic plans have failed. Just ahead, how that didn't stop the country from unveiling what could be the world's largest ballistic missile. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): What you're looking at there is what analysts say could be one of the world's largest ballistic missiles. North Korea unveiled it at a parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Workers Party.

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BRUNHUBER: South Korea's military said it would maintain full readiness to respond immediately to any North Korean threats. Our Will Ripley has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Back on New Year's Day, January 1st of this year, when Kim Jong-un promised to unveil a new strategic weapon. That was, of course, before the COVID-19 pandemic ground the world to a halt and left the hermetically sealed Hermit Kingdom more isolated than ever.

Now we're getting our first look at what many analysts believe is that weapon, one of the largest world's largest ballistic missiles. It's massive. It's carried by an 11 axle truck. At the climax of an almost 2-hour military parade in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

I've covered these parades many times over the years and they always bring them out at the end, do it for the drama. The ground is actually shaking beneath your feet as they pass by.

Experts are telling us this missile right here could potentially carry multiple warheads, only increasing the threat to the mainland United States, despite dozens of "love letters" between President Trump and Kim Jong-un -- Trump's words, not mine.

This is the kind of thing that North Korea would typically love to showcase for the foreign media, including CNN, who has been invited almost every year. But this year things are different.

[04:45:00] RIPLEY (voice-over): Borders are closed due to COVID-19, essentially shutting down trade in an already struggling economy, battered by international sanctions over its nuclear program.

A widespread COVID-19 pandemic inside North Korea -- keep in mind, they have very limited, outdated medical resources. That would be catastrophic. This year we barely saw Kim Jong-un in public when compared to previous years.

He disappeared from public view for weeks on end, leading to speculation about his health. But Kim appeared to be back in full form at this military parade, staged in the middle of the night with slick special effects, including a drone flyby. Certainly, the most dramatic North Korean military parade I've ever seen.

Perhaps the most drama came from Kim himself, dressed in a gray suit and appeared to be almost crying, sobbing at times, tears rolling down his cheeks as he thanked the North Korean people for their hard work during exceptionally hard times.

North Korea has been absolutely battered this year, faced crippling sanctions over the nuclear missile programs, the economic catastrophe of closing the border because of the pandemic and natural disasters like a massive typhoon and flooding.

Things got so bad in North Korea that Kim did something that his grandfather and father never did. He admitted that his economic plans were a failure and that millions of his people, already scraping by, are suffering.

That was reflected in his face and echoed by his audience. Many people were heard crying right along with him. North Korea may struggle for food and electricity but they did show the world their missile program is only getting stronger -- Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A shaky cease-fire appears to be holding in the province of Nagorno-Karabakh where Armenia and Azerbaijan have been battling for two weeks. As CNN's Nick Paton Walsh tells us, the big question is, can it hold long enough for the two sides to establish a more permanent peace?

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: For the most part, it does appear there is some good news emerging from the escalating conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed forces in the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A cease-fire was declared at noon local time Saturday. And for some parts, that appears at least to have been adhered to in name.

Now both sides agreed to this under the auspices of the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Both foreign ministers summoned to Moscow and late on Friday night it was announced this cease-fire would go into place. It is supposed to enable the exchange of prisoners for the dead to be collected from the battlefield after two weeks, frankly, in which hundreds have died. Many of them civilians during intense shelling, it's fair to say, by both sides.

But today this day, Saturday, has not been a clear picture of peace for the slightest. Both sides accusing the other of violating the cease-fire. Azerbaijan accusing Armenia of shelling some of its cities, saying they tried to fire a Scud missile.

Azerbaijan said it used an S-300 system to take out of the air, according to a tweet from Azerbaijani presidential aide. At the same time Armenian-backed forces at the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh also sustained shell fire.

Both the accused sides deny, of course, they had something to do with this. And it is often common, sometimes, in cease-fires, to see occasional violations. The question here really is whether or not this cease-fire, sustained in spirit, if we see these tit-for-tat exchanges escalate.

It's common to see accusations like this after two weeks of bitter fighting. But the next phase is supposed to be trying to formulate some sort of broader political settlement here. Further negotiations using a settlement process hasn't really functioned particularly well over the past years but will be put back into the fray again to try and get some sign of conclusion here or calming of the violence.

Russia finally stepping in with this diplomatic pressure to get both sides to agree to stop the fighting. Turkey also vying for influence in Russia's near abroad has been rhetorically, and some accuse, practically accusing the Azerbaijani offensive that's proven pretty high-tech and pretty well resourced.

It appears to have taken some ground from Armenia. But the escalating casualties here and the increased risk that Moscow rancor could be drawn fully into a conflict by this means the cease-fire is good news.

As I say, it is not perfect. There are clearly violations on both sides that both sides seem to wish to deny. But it remains to be seen whether or not they will withdraw from it in principle over the next phase of negotiations that can, in fact, begin to go forward -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: After the break, we'll take you to Cuba, where a COVID- related border closure and the lack of tourists is crippling the economy. Please stay with us.

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[04:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: Cuba has relatively low infection numbers for COVID-19 but

the pandemic is having a dire effect on the tourist-dependent country. CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Havana with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alejandro takes me for a spin in his '54 Chevy convertible. He painted it bright pink, he says, to grab the attention of potential customers.

A driver like Alejandro earns $30 an hour, more than what some Cuban government workers make in a month driving tourists around Havana. The only problem is, these days in Havana, there aren't any tourists.

"There is nobody," he says, "zero tourism, zero earnings. No one thought it would last this long."

In early April, after the first cases of coronavirus in Cuba were brought in by tourists, Cuba closed international borders. Tourism, a pillar of the Cuban economy, came to a screeching halt.

Once packed with visitors, 400-year-old plazas in Old Havana now sit empty. Brand-new hotels built by the Cuban government are cordoned off. Drone video shot over Havana show endless empty streets.

OPPMANN: By taking extreme measures, like closing international borders, Cuba has managed to keep the number of confirmed coronavirus cases relatively low compared to much of the rest of the region.

[04:55:00]

OPPMANN: But we have seen that, when the government begins to lift those restrictions, the numbers go shooting back up.

As of right now, there is no word on when Cuba will reopen to the rest of the world.

OPPMANN (voice-over): In July, Cuba opened a handful of government- owned hotels on isolated keys where international visitors only have contact with hotel staff. Few tourists so far have visited.

The island still also reeling from the U.S. embargo and increased Trump administration sanctions. Cubans who own the restaurants and rent their homes have now gone six months with little to no earnings.

COLLIN LAVERTY, CUBA EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL: People really are struggling but somehow people continue to get by with the casas particulares, the rental homes, restaurants. It seems like people, for the most part, are just grasping and trying to hold on until there's an opening again.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Alejandro says classic cars like his have become an endangered species on the road here, as most drivers cannot afford gas or to maintain their cars. He is pinning his hopes on a vaccine that Cuba is developing. "I'm hopeful our doctors finish the vaccine and vaccinate everyone,"

he says, "and we can go to a new normal, because things won't go back to normal."

Until then, Cuba and Cubans will have to wait to rejoin the rest of the world -- Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. We'll be back with more news. Stay with us.