Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Six passengers now testing positive aboard SeaDream I cruise; More European countries breaking records amid second wave; UK, Spain, Italy & France each has passed 40,000 deaths this week; French lockdown to remain in place for at least 2 weeks; UK has highest COVID death toll of all European nations; Astronauts prepare for SpaceX Dragon launch; The Masters tees off after seven-month COVID delay; Book by former President Barack Obama describes relationship with Biden; Obama details challenges he faced during presidency. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired November 13, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You are watching "CNN Newsroom," still with me for third hour, John Vause, coming up. As the votes continued to be counted, Joe Biden's lead continues to grow. CNN calling Arizona blue.
Lockdown light. How Europe is trying to prevent the spread of a second wave of the coronavirus.
Also, launching into history, the first of many commercial space flights, authorized by NASA, ready to go.
Political gravity seems to be taking hold, even from a president reluctant to embrace reality, with Joe Biden's lead in the 2020 race continuing to grow.
CNN now projecting Biden has won the state of Arizona. The current count has Biden ahead of Trump by more than 11,000 votes. This will be the fourth state Biden has been able to flip from republican to democrat. That puts his electoral vote count at 290, 20 points ahead of the 270 needed to win the presidency.
Just hours earlier, the Department of Homeland Security rebuked Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, declaring the 2020 election the most secure in American history. Going on to say this, right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.
Yet, Donald Trump is refusing to concede, even though a growing number of his influential Republican colleagues are breaking ties with him, recognizing Joe Biden as president-elect.
Here is CNN's Jim Acosta with the details from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In hiding for much of the week since he last addressed the public, President Trump is finding out a lame duck cannot be stubborn for very long, as some in the Republican Party are making the way for Joe Biden.
A growing number of GOP senators are calling on the administration to begin providing intelligence briefings to Biden, a standard practice during a peaceful transfer of power.
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD, (R-OK) (voice-over): There is no loss from him getting the briefings and to be able to do that. And if that's not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well and to be able to push and to say, this needs to occur. So that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for that actual task.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Another influential figure in the party, GOP strategist Karl Rove, is urging Mr. Trump to make a graceful exit, as soon as his longshot election challenges are finished, writing in The Wall Street Journal, once his days in court are over, the president should do his part to unite the country by leading a peaceful transition and letting grievances go.
Ohios' Republican Governor Mike DeWine is echoing that.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): I think that we need to consider the former vice president as the president-elect. Joe Biden is the president- elect.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Other Trump allies aren't dealing with reality.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): He's not president right now. Don't know if he'll be president January 20th. Whoever is, will get the information.
ACOSTA (voice-over): When White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked about Biden receiving intelligence briefings, she punted the question to -- get this, the White House.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I've not spoken to the president about that. That would be a question more for the White House. But I will say that all laws are being followed with regard to an expected transition, though we expect to continue on as the Trump administration.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Democrats say they've had enough.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): These Republicans are all auditioning for profiles and cowardice.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Sources tell CNN the president is not expected to acknowledge the election results until he has exhausted his legal options later this month. Some of Mr. Trump's friends say that the time to call it quits.
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS HOST: Time is coming soon to say goodbye with grace and dignity. You know, I know it is hard to hear, but that is the way I feel about this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ACOSTA (voice-over): The president and his advisers may then turn to crafting an announcement that Mr. Trump is eyeing the 2024 race, with one source close to the president telling CNN, it is something he is reviewing.
Until then, sources say the president still wants to settle scores and may fire more top officials in the coming days, including CIA Director Gina Haspel, cybersecurity security official Chris Krebs, and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Other homeland security officials are already being forced out.
Mr. Trump is also lashing out at Fox News, tweeting, very sad to watch this happen, but they forgot what made them successful, what got them there. They forgot the golden goose.
The president doesn't appear to be spending much time dealing with the coronavirus, as more of his close associates are contracting COVID-19, including advisor Corey Lewandowski, one of several aides and allies to catch the virus since last week's election party.
[02:05:05]
ACOSTA (voice-over): So much for Mr. Trump's promise that media coverage of the virus would vanish.
TRUMP: On November 4th, you won't be hearing as much about this. It's going to be -- right now, it's COVID, COVID, COVID.
ACOSTA: As for the potential for the president to fire CIA Director Gina Haspel, I'm told by a close adviser she has been on thin ice with Mr. Trump for months and could be in jeopardy as his lame duck period grinds on.
Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Despite Trump's recalcitrance and obstruction, president-elect Joe Biden is moving ahead with the transition as best he can. But the delays caused by the election loser and his Republican enablers will not be without consequence. CNN's Arlette Saenz has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Joe Biden is plowing ahead with his transition planning, completely unfazed by the actions or lack of actions from the Trump administration.
Biden has continued to field congratulatory phone calls from world leaders, including a phone call with Pope Francis, where the two talked about climate change and the need to help immigrants and refugees. Those issues are ones that Pope Francis has talked about often.
And this was not just an official call for Joe Biden but also a personal one as he would be only the second Catholic to become president when he makes it to the White House.
Biden also spoke by phone with congressional leadership, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. They talked about the coronavirus and also their desire for there to be a bipartisan COVID relief package during the lame duck session.
But one key conversation that Joe Biden still has yet to have is with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The two men have had a very long working relationship together, including brokering many, many deals. But so far, that conversation has not taken place and that is a relationship that could be critical to Biden if Senate Republicans are able to hold on to the majority come January.
Now, Biden is here in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware where he and his wife Jill Biden own a vacation home together. He is continuing to meet with his transition advisers as they are applauding the next steps ahead.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Biden's new chief of staff, Ron Klain, gave his first interview Thursday night. He talked about optimism that Biden will be a unifying leader not just for the United States but for world leaders, as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON KLAIN, PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN'S APPOINTED CHIEF OF STAFF: What you saw, obviously, was dancing in the streets in the United States, but all over the world, as other people and other countries welcomed the return of the U.S. under a new president, new vice president.
As a global leader, as a country that is going to be a force for change, as a country that is going to work with our allies to help tackle the challenges like climate change, challenges like fighting global pandemics like the one we're in right now and those that may come later, you know, the deal with global security and national security.
So, I think what you are seeing is a very, very positive reaction around the world from our allies to this new leadership team in the U.S., a leadership team led by Joe Biden, who many of them know for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: And to Los Angeles, Jessica Levinson, professor of law at Loyola Law School. It is good to see you, Jessica.
JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.
VAUSE: OK. A few Republicans, just a few, small number, now telling Donald Trump, you know, embrace reality. But, you know, for the most part, the last days of the Trump presidency seem to be a reflection of his first and only term. This is delusional president with little regard for tradition, norms or the Constitution, being empowered by a Republican Party incapable of standing up to Donald Trump. So, in many ways, it is hardly a surprise.
LEVINSON: But other than that, I think things are going really well, wouldn't you agree?
(LAUGHTER)
LEVINSON: Yeah. I mean, precisely, John. So, this is a situation where, you know, so many people are really anxious about how do we go from today, November 12th, to January 20th, which is I think when a lot of people, not just Democrats but also independents and I think some Republicans will say, OK, it's President Biden now, it's not presumptive president-elect Biden, it's not president-elect Biden, it's President Biden, he's in office, and now he has a lot of work cut out for him.
And I think that the answer is exactly what you talked about. The more that the GOP will abandon Trump and abandon his plans to keep these legal fights going, where I think at this time he is zero in 12 in these legal suits, then the faster this will go.
It's not going to be smooth as what we are used to, but let us remember, under the law, President Trump does not have to concede. He doesn't have to go to the inauguration. He doesn't have to acknowledge the results. He doesn't have to acknowledge reality. He just needs to leave.
VAUSE: And just over two hours on Thursday morning, Donald Trump rage tweeted about the vote count in Arizona, about election observers in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
[02:10:04]
VAUSE: He claimed he would win Georgia, he will not. Best of all, though, he thanked the celebrity Scott Baio for a photo of coffee mugs with individual letters all arranged to Trump is still your president.
Meantime, over in the real world, Joe Biden is out there announcing key appointments within the administration. He is talking to world leaders. That is despite the State Department refusal to facilitate those calls. Biden has announced new policy measures.
You know, this is a stark contrast at this point. But Biden doesn't really have any other option right now. He needs to go out the room. He needs to set the tone of the (INAUDIBLE) of government.
LEVINSON: He has -- you're absolutely right. He has no other option in the room. It's funny. I thought I was going to have this kind of big release moment on Saturday where I was going to see president- elect Biden, vice president-elect Harris, and think this is where our nation is going, we are going back to the status quo.
I am so, in fact, happy to hear his kind of typical platitudes of what we are used to in the leader of the free world. But for me, what really got me was it is so minor. But when president-elect Biden put out the list of people he wants on his coronavirus task force, it was a list of scientists and scientists with amazing pedigrees.
For me, that was the real shift. We are not going from people who are denying science and denying facts. We are now going to a place where we are going to have the best and brightest minds in the room. For me, that was the moment when I really felt the shift.
VAUSE: Yeah. What we have in the meantime is that Trump and his allies are arguing this election is not decided because of all these ongoing legal cases alleging voter fraud. As you mentioned, there are 12 right now.
Here is part of the court transcript from a case in Philadelphia where the Trump campaign is suing to prevent mail-in ballots from being counted. This centered on less than 600 ballots.
The judge very specifically asks the Trump team if they are alleging fraud. He asked, I am asking you a specific question, and I am looking for a specific answer. Are you claiming that there is any fraud in connection with these 592 disputed ballots? Trump's lawyer replies, to my knowledge at present, no.
The judge then asks, are you claiming that there is any undue or improper influence upon the elector with respect to these 592 ballots? Again, Trump's lawyer replies, to my knowledge at present, no.
It's not a good sign when even your campaign lawyer says he doesn't consider that there is conspiracy or fraud going on.
LEVINSON: Well, yes. And John, I am really happy that you read that transcript. I read it, as well. And I think one thing that's really important for people to focus on in this post-election litigation, first is that there is the typical type of litigation or legal question that we see and that is asking for a recount in Wisconsin, asking for recount in Georgia. That's our normal course. When it is close, as a candidate, you are entitled to say it's within the margin, I want a recount.
But then this is zero to 12, these lawsuits that are being filed. That is separate and apart and distinct from what we typically see. In part, that's -- what you read in the court case is showing us one thing that is really important to focus on, which is that there is a difference between the rhetoric outside the courtroom and the rhetoric inside the courtroom. And outside the courtroom, it is voter fraud, the integrity of the electoral process, it is corruption, it is stolen ballots, it is dead people voting. And inside the courtroom, when lawyers are under oath and they are signing things under penalty of perjury, it's very different. And of course, the punchline is that none of these suits affect enough ballots to swing enough states to change the outcome.
VAUSE: Yeah. Good point. Jessica, we will leave it there. Thank you very much. Jessica Levinson there in Los Angeles.
Hopes and fears in Europe. Hopes the second wave of the coronavirus will pick in the coming days, but fears record numbers will fall ill and die between now and then. More on that in a moment.
Also, hitting the high seas in the midst of a global pandemic. (INAUDIBLE), the first Caribbean cruise in months, will set a new safety standard for the coronavirus, it did not.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Coronavirus infections are breaking daily records in the U.S. and so, too, with just a few days delay, the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
Johns Hopkins University reports more than 10.5 million total U.S. infections. More than 240,000 people have died. One influential model now projects deaths could reach 439,000 by next March. There is a warning. That number could jump higher if states relax mask and social distancing restrictions.
In the meantime, the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary says he expects targeted vaccinations will begin in December, widespread vaccines available by April. No vaccine has been authorized yet. The drug company Pfizer released some positive data about its vaccine candidate earlier this week. It is hoping to apply for regulatory approval by the end of the month.
The U.S. is less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and health experts say more Americans are going to die if they try to celebrate like normal.
Here is Nick Watt with the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We know that these informal gatherings of family and friends are actually what are contributing to this latest surge. I don't know how much more we can sound the alarm about what's going on here.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since November 1st, more than one million Americans have been infected. Hospitalizations are now at an all-tome high.
MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: I admitted more patients with COVID-19 on my last shift than I ever have.
WATT (voice-over): And the death toll is climbing.
KEENE MENDENHALL, LOST BOTH PARENTS TO COVID-19: He looked at us, he smiled, and he gave us the thumbs up. And that was the last memory that I have of dad.
WATT (voice-over): This wave dwarfed the spring and summer surges.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I doubt we are going to eradicate this. I think we need to plan that this is something we may need to maintain control over chronically. Certainly, it is not going to be pandemic for a lot longer because I believe the vaccines are going to turn that around.
WATT (voice-over): And in the meantime, a national lockdown? But less than half of Americans are very likely to comply to stay home a month, according to a new Gallup poll, down from 67 percent in the spring.
FAUCI: There is no appetite for locking down in the American public, but I believe that we can do it without a lockdown.
WATT (voice-over): We used to talk a lot about hotspots. Now, almost the entire country is hot. Average case counts are rising in 44 states.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We've seen huge spreads from funerals, weddings, just people getting together to watch football.
WATT (voice-over): All these colleges were supposed to play Saturday. Now, they're not, because some line ups are just so depleted by COVID- 19. There is also a surge up in Canada, sparked, in part, by their Thanksgiving held in early October.
The CDC now says the best way for Americans to give thanks this year is online.
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST, DIRECTOR OF CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION PROGRAM AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: The good news is that next Thanksgiving is going to be fabulous. It is going to be the best ever. This Thanksgiving is going to suck a bit.
WATT: So here in the U.S., unlikely there will be a national lockdown, but certain places are reintroducing restrictions. The city of Chicago has just announced a stay-at-home advisory. Ohio, which has had a mask mandate since July, says that it will now actually send agents out to enforce that mandate. In New York City, the mayor says he is prepared to close schools down again if the positivity rate in that city keeps on rising.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The French prime minister says the coronavirus is responsible for every one in four deaths right now.
[02:20:00]
VAUSE: France is not the only country in Europe with hospitals on the brink.
CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now live from Paris. A lot of countries right now are struggling, especially in the ICUs.
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Really what we've seen over the course of the last couple of weeks in several European countries is this tendency to install a second lockdowns, beyond the ones that we saw last spring. They are not as strict as they were. The question is whether they will bring down these hospitalizations and those entries into ICU in time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BELL (voice-over): The first COVID-19 wave in Europe was stopped like this. Cities like Paris lockdown for weeks with millions of Europeans confined to their homes, and it worked. The first wave was under control by the summer. But two weeks into the second national lockdown, cases and hospitalizations are still rising throughout France.
(On camera): Paris, under this second partial lockdown, feels very different. Take its most famous street, the Champs-Elysees. Anything that you might do for fun, visit a stop, go to a restaurant, go to a cafe, well, you can't do. Everything is shut.
But this time around, kids are in school and many more people are going out to work, an effort on the part of the government to try and keep an already battered economy as open as possible.
(Voice-over): But will the partial lockdowns now in place in several European countries prove strict enough? From Belgium's beaches to the cafes of Italy to the streets of Paris, a fine line is being sought between too much and too little freedom on a continent that's been hit hard by the second wave.
This week, the United Kingdom had its highest single day death toll. ICUs in several European countries are under strain. In Naples, some hospitals so overwhelmed that they've been giving oxygen to patients inside their cars while they wait for rooms to admit them. And France this week transferred dozens of patients from cities where hospitals are full to other cities and even to Germany.
CATHERINE HILL, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: I think we are heading rather fast toward a major medical catastrophe where the hospitals will not be able to cope with the patients, whether they arrive because they have COVID-19 or whether they arrive because they have another emergency, and because these lockdowns are rather mellow.
BELL (voice-over): This week, Italy became the fourth European country to past the million-case mark. A growing number of its regions are now in partial lockdown, although people have continued to meet in bars and cafes.
CRISTINA PANETTA, STUDENT: People today don't take this situation seriously.
MAIA AMARA, STUDENT: If we will get another lockdown, OK, people will not die because of coronavirus but will die because they don't work, they don't have money.
BELL (voice-over): Patients with restrictions have been wearing thin these last couple of weeks. In Milan, protesters faced off with anti- riot police who fired tear gas. In Spain, there were protests against mask wearing. In France, more resistance with teachers going on strike over the difficulty of enforcing social distancing in classrooms.
Restaurateurs meanwhile are doing what they can to try and weather the storm. Many are doing takeaway for the first time since this could be the shape of things until a vaccine is found.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BELL: The French prime minister you mentioned at press conference from last night also spoke once again about the help that the government will be given to people like those restaurateurs and all those businesses who had to close as a result of the second partial lockdown.
What Jean Castex also spoke to was the fact that there is the very beginning of a hint of some improvement in terms of the number of new cases. There were more than 30,000 yesterday, more than 30,000 in the day before. That is a high figure. But it is far shorter than more than 60,000 we saw at one point last week.
So, there is a sense of a slight improvement that we've seen in other countries, as well, in Belgium, for instance. But by the time that translates, in terms of hospitalizations and entries into ICUs, you have to wait a couple of weeks. That is why this question of whether these lockdowns are strict as they need to be is ever so urgent.
VAUSE: Melissa Bell, thank you. Melissa Bell there reporting for us from Paris. Please stay with us. Coming up, we will have more on this. We will speak with an infectious disease and global health expert at the University of Oxford in England.
Now, other news this hour, Ethiopia's northernmost region, Amnesty International says many civilians have been brutally killed in a massacre. This comes as fighting rages between the Tigray region's ruling party and Ethiopia's military. Many now fear a civil war will break out as the fighting intensifies.
U.N. says almost 11,000 refugees have fled to Sudan, many preparing -- possibly preparing for 100,000 more.
[02:25:00] VAUSE: Half of them are children. Ethiopian officials are trying to rally support for the troops. What is also seen in the capital, many answered the call to help by donating blood.
An international peacekeeping force says seven of its members were killed at a helicopter crash in Egypt. This happened during supply mission in Southern Sinai. Five Americans are among the dead, along with one French and a Czech national. Another American survived.
Officials said it appears to be an accident caused by technical issues. The group known as Multinational Force and Observers oversees the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.
At least 26 people are dead and more than a dozen missing after Typhoon Vamco made landfall in the Philippines late Wednesday night. That is according to our affiliate, CNN Philippines. More than 180,000 people were evacuated as the typhoon battered the country.
It made landfall on the northeastern coast as the equivalent of a Category 2, causing flooding and two to three meter storm surges. It later made a second landfall on the island of Luzon, where landslides and mud flows blocked a number of roads. This is the fifth storm to impact the Philippines in just over three weeks.
On the wake of adorning power grab by Beijing, some teachers are now beginning to leave Hong Kong because of restrictions on what can and cannot be taught in schools. Selina Wang has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sara (ph) is ready to say goodbye to Hong Kong, her birthplace and home, all for her 8-year-old son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want him to grow up in an environment with enough freedom and he can have a chance to do what he wants to do, not be restricted by some invisible red line.
WANG (voice-over): She is a teacher in Hong Kong planning to move to the U.K.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are open for different options, OK, like cashier at supermarkets or even cleaners or doing dishes. So anything is possible. I think we placed more value on giving my son the option and the freedom.
WANG (voice-over): In the summer, the Chinese government imposed a national security law that bans secession, subversion, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign powers, giving Beijing the power to quash opposition with fines and prison sentences.
Now, the battleground has moved from the streets to the classroom. Teachers are under scrutiny and school publishers and libraries are removing or altering materials that can violate the law.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said illegal ideas and pro-independence concepts cannot exist in schools. Beijing has blamed the city's schools for radicalizing young people.
REGINA IP, CHAIRWOMAN, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL EDUCATION PANEL: Shouting profanity.
WANG (voice-over): Regina Ip is a pro-Beijing lawmaker. She says the changes will teach a more balanced history of China.
IP: There are complaints about teachers using the classroom as a vehicle of the political beliefs, even stirring up hatred of the police or of the Chinese government or of the people of China.
WANG (voice-over): But those changes worry some parents of young children. College teachers are feeling the pressure, too. Chinese University of Hong Kong professor Rowena He is known for her research on the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, a banned topic in China.
ROWENA HE, PROFESSOR, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: We never know what the red line is. That is the root of censorship and self- censorship.
WANG (voice-over): This year, for the first time, the Tiananmen vigil was banned. Authorities blamed coronavirus restrictions. But many fear it is gone for good.
HE: Until the day that the government stop imprisoning people for what they say, what they write, what they teach, what they believe in, people would have the same fear. But then I don't think that means that we should stop doing the right thing.
WANG (voice-over): One of Rowena's students plan to become a teacher herself so she can keep the memory of 1989 alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need someone to continue to teach the next generation and continue to tell them what is right and wrong, not just let them be rushed (ph) by the government.
WANG (voice-over): Sara's (ph) biggest fear for her son is what the city could become in the decades to come. By leaving Hong Kong now, she is hoping she won't have to leave his home again when he grows up.
Selina Wang, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: It's been a few months since the cruise ships caught the world's attention for how rapidly the coronavirus spread on board. Now, one ship is trying to make headline for being COVID-free. We will show you what happened. Not good.
And a little later, former President Barack Obama's new memoir, revealing a stunning contradiction between his transition of power and the political turmoil playing out right now at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back everybody, thanks for staying with us. I'm John Vause. SeaDream I was meant to show the world how the cruise industry could set sail safely during the global pandemic. It just hasn't worked out as planned. Passengers onboard have told CNN positive cases have risen from one to six in less than 48 hours. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has our report.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The passengers aboard the SeaDream I that we've been in touch with throughout the day then reported back to us, all the company that owns a ship, the SeaDream Yacht Club, would tell us that more than one passenger has now been confirmed as testing positive for the coronavirus. The ship has now returned to Barbados where testing on both the crew and passengers is underway.
We were able to talk to several passengers aboard today - aboard the ship today. It was said that they are waiting anxiously to see when and how they will be able to disembark the ship
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENE SLOAN, PASSENGER: SeaDream really thought that they had this figured out. I think they thought that they could block COVID at the door. The ship had a very rigorous testing schedule, more rigorous than what some of the big lines are planning to do when they come back in a few months.
BEN HEWITT, PASSENGER: It's just so disappointing that this happened because everybody had their hopes up high, and we can't see anything more that they could have done. It is just such a horrible virus; it gets everywhere, even with constant testing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPMANN: What is really remarkable about this latest case of coronavirus aboard cruise ships is that the SeaDream Yacht Club company said that they expected that this sailing was really going to be a model of how to operate cruise, voyages during the pandemic. That people before they got on board the ship were tested multiple times; they were tested throughout the voyage. There were temperature checks, there was oxygen level checks, and then, when they went to destinations in the Caribbean, and this was the first sailing of any company in the Caribbean since the pandemic shut down operations.
And then when the SeaDream I went to destinations, they would go to empty beaches, places where their passengers would not interact with people on those islands, so that they were essentially in a bubble, and that they felt the SeaDream Yacht Club company that this would keep people safe, that the routine and regular testing, and then not interacting with anybody outside the cruise ship, that that would really lead to a safe experience. But, what this has shown is how difficult it will be for the cruise lines to return as long the pandemic rages on. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
VAUSE: Well, across Europe, resurgence in (ph) cases has seen many countries impose new pandemic new restrictions and those restrictions appear to be having some effect, and seem to be working.
[02:35:00]
For now, we're joined by Dr. Peter Drobac, he's an Infectious Disease & Global Health Expert at the University of Oxford in England.
Doctor, good to see you again. If we look at what's happening across Europe right now, in Germany, lockdown light as they describe it and other measures are having an impact, a positive impact. Similar situation in France, Italy, Spain, and a number of other countries as well. So, these measures actually work; they just take time to kick in.
So, with that in mind, when do you expect to see this peak happening in Europe? Is there a timeframe you have? And then, once it kicks in, will it be a dramatic fall in cases, or will it plateau? How do you see it playing out?
DR. PETER DROBAC, INFECTIOUS DISEASE & GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERT, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: Yes, we have seen a similar pattern across Europe where when the full surge started, I think everyone was a little bit slow to act, started with some really kind of small tinkering around the edge measures. But really, over the last couple of weeks, have started with more significant restrictions called lockdown light.
The difference between the lockdowns now and in the spring is that they are not as severe. Schools are typically staying open; more essential businesses are staying open. We've learned a lot more about how spread happens, and have been able to be a bit more sophisticated that way. The problem is, when more stuff is open, you are not going to have the same effect with this kind of lockdown versus a more severe one back in the spring.
So, we are just starting to see a bit of a flattening in some countries after about two weeks. My concern is that a lot of countries are promising that the lockdown will be limited to, say, four weeks. But really at four weeks' time, when you don't lockdown as severely, you are going to see a much slower leveling off and a much slower decline, really over months, right. So, after four weeks what you are actually going to be seeing is that a country is going to be at the peak of its hospitalizations and deaths, and that is a very difficult time to say, let's ease our foot off the gas pedal.
VAUSE: The other issue seems to be lockdown light is not as restrictive as they were before. Also, some of the evidence coming out from some countries said these restrictions are being ignored a lot more than they were in the first round. That seems to be almost a guaranty to take a crisis into a catastrophe.
DROBAC: Yes, pandemic fatigue is real and I think we have seen that just about everywhere. People have been very resistant to many of these new measures, and so adherence isn't as high. There is not a sense of national solidarity that we saw in so many countries, and global solidarity, early on in the pandemic. And that is important because individual behaviors matter. Each time we make a choice not to make that extra trip to the shop, not to see a friend or have a play date, each one of those things is really important for reducing the overall spread. So, when people aren't adhering, it does reduce the effect of these policies. It's not just the policy, it's what each of us does.
VAUSE: Yes. In the United States, we are coming up with the Thanksgiving Day holiday in less than two weeks. It's a big day for travel, a big day for gatherings. Health officials say just basically skip it this year if you can. The same seems to be true for Christmas travel across Europe, many countries will be implementing travel restrictions quite possibly. When do you think there will be sort of a decision on that? When will they know if it is going to be safe in Europe to travel for the holidays?
DROBAC: I suspect a few more weeks from now, as a lot of countries reach the end of their sort of stated four-week period and assess the situation. The reality is, I don't think we are going to be in a place where this kind of thing is safe. We know that holiday travel and holiday gatherings is going to be extremely high risk. These informal family gatherings that are indoors can be super-spreader events.
So, it is hard to see, frankly, it is difficult as it is to understand how is going to be safe. We are not going to be at a level where it is really going to be a safe level of transmission. So, my worry is either that they are going to open up and it will significantly fuel the pandemic, or that they are going to have to share some really hard news after getting peoples' hopes up that they might have something like a normal holiday season. It just not going to be if you want to stay safe.
VAUSE: Yes, this is the year not go home for Christmas or Thanksgiving or whatever I guess for so many people, but it's tough. It's tough for many people to accept. Peter, thank you very much. Peter Drobac, there at Oxford University.
DROBAC: Thank you.
VAUSE: Still ahead, enter the dragon. SpaceX hopes a rocket launch on Saturday like this will herald a new era and we will explain why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here, ignition, lift off as the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon go NASA, go safe deck, Godspeed, Bob and Doug. A miracle has--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That was SpaceX Crew Dragon launch from earlier this year. It was a test flight to the International Space Station to show that SpaceX had the capability to actually carry out this mission. And now, it has approval to do just that. Two astronauts onboard will be sent into space in the next couple of days. That will be on Saturday, weather permitting. The company will launch its first operational crew mission to the International Space Station.
Four astronauts will be onboard including 3 Americans and a Japanese astronaut. SpaceX's Dragon Mission will essentially serve as a taxi service for NASA between Earth and the Space Station. There are 3 scheduled flights over the course of the next year. The project lays the groundwork for future missions to the Moon and also to Mars.
Leroy Chiao is a former NASA astronaut who served as Mission Commander on the International Space Station. Currently, he is a member of the Safety Advisory Panel for SpaceX. He joins us now from Houston. Good to see you, Leroy. It's been a while.
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Nice to be with you - nice to be back with you.
VAUSE: Absolutely. Let's just back up here, because in May, we had the test flight. That was a big deal. We had SpaceX taking two astronauts to the Space Station. Now that SpaceX has proved it can do it, so this is like the start of operations. So, if that initial flight in May was like the Kitty Hawk flight, what - we are now looking at the launch of the world's first kind of airline or space line, or what are you going to call it?
CHIAO: Well, that's a rough analogy. It's not a bad analogy. I would say that the flight test was a little more than Kitty Hawk. It was actually a full up run to the Space Station, and then automated systems, and docking, and astronauts onboard, monitoring everything, and it was a very clean flight test, came back with very few significant anomalies, and the ones that were noted were all worked through and looked OK. So, NASA was confident enough to declare this next flight that's happening in just two days an operational flight, and declaring the vehicle operational and ready for commercialization.
VAUSE: Yes. So, SpaceX proved it has the capability of doing this, necessary, yes, you can, so now welcome to the races (ph). Quickly, do you have any idea what the timeline could be from this private operator working for NASA to some full-scale commercial enterprise?
CHIAO: So, SpaceX really is operating like an airliner, kind of viewing that analogy, in that they are operating the vehicle, they have their own control center. Of course, they are sitting side by side with NASA in the Mission Control Center at NASA. So, it's not exactly a pure analogy, but basically, NASA is going to be contracting with SpaceX, and hopefully not too long with Boeing as well, for these commercial flights to bring NASA astronauts to the Space Station, to and from.
Now, the idea is that jump starts other opportunities, and there's at least one other commercial space company that is planning to use SpaceX spacecraft for commercial activities aboard the station. So, I would like to see this workout. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will all happen. VAUSE: You are on the Safety Advisory Panel for SpaceX, and you mentioned just a moment ago, there were a number of issues that were identified during that test flight in May. So, everything from tiles on the heat shield which didn't actually perform as expected, to the splash down zone on re-entry and what needs to be done there. So, what were those issues? How serious where they?
CHIAO: Yes, so of course, there were a couple of issues that were kind of significant, as you mentioned, had a little bit more erosion in certain parts of the heat shield than has been expected.
[02:45:00]
But, they were within limits, well within limits. So, those were gone off (ph) SpaceX went off and studied those, came up with explanations and fixes. So, we think that SpaceX has that all licked.
There were other issues not related to that flight, but related to a satellite launch, with some concern about the Falcon 9 engines. But then, those were looked at, and pencils were sharpened, and those were all taken care of and figured out.
And there were some question about parachutes. During the landing, some of the parachutes were - not all the parachutes were recovered, and so we couldn't - NASA couldn't really examine the post flight. And so, there were some questions about how well did they perform, although they obviously brought the capsule back safely.
All that was worked through, and so NASA and SpaceX are confident enough to declare this next mission in just a couple of days operational. And that is a big step, it's a huge step. So--
(CROSSTALK)
--it's a lot of work.
VAUSE: Assuming it all does go according to plan. For the first time ever, there will be, what, seven people onboard the International Space Station, living and working altogether? It seems to be a fairly crowded space or cramped space, at least. You spent some time up there, what's it going to be like having people - seven bodies onboard?
CHIAO: It won't be bad. The space station is bigger than you think. Of course, the whole space station, with its solar arrays fits roughly inside of a football field. Livable volume, of course, occupies a smaller footprint.
But even when I was there, I mean even though during the handovers there were five people aboard, it didn't feel that crowded. Now, the livable volume is about double than it was when I was there.
And remember, we used to fly seven aboard the space shuttle at the same time. And that was a much smaller volume, and it won't be seven for the entire six months, it'll just be seven for a while until they rotate the next crew down and another crew comes up. So I think it will be fine. Everybody's going to be have plenty of space, nobody is going to get too crowded, it will be fine.
VAUSE: Does someone get to sleep in the Dragon, the crew?
CHIAO: You know, someone could. (LAUGHTER) Dragon, of course, functions as one of the lifeboats, when it is docked to the station. Traditionally, we don't sleep in the vehicles, but there's no reason you couldn't.
VAUSE: Good to know. Leroy, thanks for your insights into this. It's some good positive news in a year that has not had a lot of positive much.
CHIAO: Oh my goodness, yes, I agree. I agree, yes.
VAUSE: Take care.
CHIAO: Thank you. You too.
VAUSE: OK, it all comes down now to the weather, so will the weather cooperate with this launch? CNN's meteorologist Tyler Mauldin is here with the forecast. So Tyler, how is it looking?
TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey John, it's not as clear cut as we would hope. You see, there is a cold front that just swept through Florida. It's the same front actually that played pinball with Eta, and pushed it out into the Atlantic.
I bring it up because this is the transition month for the state of Florida, where they transition from the rainy season to the dry season. And with that transition, we see cold fronts push through from time to time.
Unfortunately, sometimes, those cold fronts can get hung up over the area. They can just stay in one position and meander around, giving way to cloud cover and rainfall. As you can see at 7:30 in the evening on Saturday local time, there is the chance for some cloud cover and some rainfall across central and south Florida.
There is more than - there are more than a dozen criteria that have to be met in order for the launch to go off. And let's see here, what are we going to see on Saturday evening? Well, it looks like the winds will cooperate for us, there will be some cloud cover around.
And what about the isolated showers? There is the chance that we could see some isolated showers around by 7:49 on Saturday evening, and also cloud cover too, and it's all because of that front that is lingering around the area. So, fingers crossed that the weather does cooperate for that instantaneous launch at 7:49, John. If not, it will get rescheduled for Sunday evening at 7:27. And FYI, I'll just give you a heads up and everyone at home, SpaceX will begin live streaming the launch four hours prior to launch time.
VAUSE: Good advice, because NASA is sort of advising people, if they want to go, stay safe, socially distanced apart and be safe, and that kind of stuff. But, me, I'll watch on the livestream.
MAULDIN: Absolutely.
VAUSE: Tyler, thank you, appreciate it.
One of golf's most prestigious tournaments, the Masters, is usually played in April at the Augusta National Golf Course. This year, it is taking place during a rainy November. The Masters was delayed seven months because of the pandemic. Right now, all eyes on defending champ, Tiger Woods, who is looking for his 6th green jacket. Andy Scholes reports, Tiger Woods' opening round did not disappoint.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Thunderstorms giving way to sunshine here at Augusta National for day one of the Masters. And I say day one, because round one is not complete yet.
[02:50:00]
The first ever November Masters had a 3-hour rain delay, just after play started.
And since it gets dark early in the fall, many players are going to have to finish up round one tomorrow before starting round 2. Now, the story from Thursday was the play of the defending champion, Tiger Woods, the five-time Masters champ, tying his best first round ever in Augusta, with a 4 under bogey free round. Tiger 3 shots off the lead right now. And after his round, he said, this Masters is definitely different.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, DEFENDING MASTERS CHAMPION: No patrons, no roars, no - we asked a few of the camera guys where the ball end up, because we just didn't know. So, it's very different. Lot of firsts today and this is the kind of the way this entire year has been. And the fact that we are able to compete for Masters this year, considering all that's being gone on, it's a great opportunity for all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And your leader heading into Friday is England's Paul Casey. He played a bogey free round on his way to 7 under. The 43-year-old has 5 top 10 finishes in his 13th start here in Augusta, but still looking for that first major win. So they will finish round one on Friday, before beginning round two. The good news is the weather for the rest of the weekend looks like it's going to be beautiful.
VAUSE: Thank you Andy Scholes. We'll take a short break. When we come back, a sneak peek into Barack Obama's latest book. The former President set to release his two-part memoir next week. Find out how his (inaudible) there's a shock, and what is happening right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Former U.S. President Barack Obama's latest memoir, set to be released next Tuesday. It spans from his early days as a candidate through his 8 years in office. CNN's Brian Todd obtained an advanced copy and did a little reading. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the home stretch of Joe Biden's campaign, former President Barack Obama was front and center, energizing crowds and building support for his close friend.
BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: And it felt like the old days. For 8 years, he was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision.
The former President delves into his complete confidence in Joe Biden in his new memoir, A Promised Land, obtained by CNN. And says this about selecting Biden as his running mate in 2008. "My gut told me that Joe was decent, honest, and loyal. I believe that he cared about ordinary people, and that when things got tough, I could trust him. I wouldn't be disappointed."
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: We never saw Joe Biden really going out and contradicting the President or undermining him or trying to attack him or even there being whispers in the media about disagreements between Joe Biden and Obama.
(CROWD CHEERING)
TODD: Some of the most powerful sections in Obama's 768-page book deal with the struggles over racial tension in America during his time in office. Donald Trump's race baiting and birther conspiracy theory, the false claim that Obama was not born in the U.S., were particularly frustrating.
Obama's White House team initially saw birtherism as a joke, but Trump persisted. Obama, against the advice of his aides, released his birth certificate in the White House briefing room, but then told young staffers, "We are better than this, remember that."
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have great respect--
TODD: Still, it seemed an unsettling tone had been set.
[02:55:00]
OLORUNNIPA: Especially in the second half of President Obama's time in office, he did spend a lot of time battling the very forces that brought Trump into power, the sentiment against him as the first black president, the angst within the country about the idea of the changing demographics.
TODD: Obama writes that his predecessor, George W. Bush, could not have been more gracious during their transition, that Bush's daughters Jenna and Barbara gave Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia their own tour of the White House. "President Bush would end up doing all he could to make the 11 weeks between my election and his departure go smoothly."
April Ryan, who covered that transition and others, laments what we are going through now, with Trump refusing to accept Biden's victory.
APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It is the ugliest that we have ever seen, and our founding fathers are probably turning over watching this, from wherever they are.
TODD: Obama also gets intensely personal, especially about the toll his presidency took on his wife, Michelle. "All her previous sources of frustration became more concentrated, more vivid. Whether it was my round the clock absorption with work, or the way politics exposed our family to scrutiny and attacks."
RYAN: They put their lives on the line. They were vulnerable. They put their hearts on the line to be attacked, to be chastised, to be made fun of.
TODD: One of the White House reporters we interviewed, Toluse Olorunnipa, says he'll be interested to hear how former President Obama sees the upcoming Biden administration, whether Obama will view that as a return to normal, or whether that's even possible. We may learn that in the next volume of Obama's memoir, which is coming later. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, the cruel twist to this pandemic is that, often when we need those closest to us the most, the virus keeps them away. That is what happened to Kenneth and Betty Meredith. The virus sent Kenneth into a care home, leaving Betty on her own. Well, that lasted about 5 weeks, until Betty decided enough, she was not going to be without the man she's been married to for more than 70 years.
So, she decided that they would move in together, and that is the moment there when they reunited, and that is kind of what true love looks like. One of the care home staff members said Betty was actually going to be making this dramatic move, so she decorated the facility's dining room and arranged for a romantic meal, just for the two of them.
Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause. CNN Newsroom continues with my colleague and friend Michael Holmes, just after a short break. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
