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U.S. Surpasses Quarter of a Million COVID-19 Deaths; Trump Bunkered in White House, Attacking the Election and Democracy with False Claims and Firings; Pfizer Submits COVID-19 Vaccine for FDA Approval; Trump Faces Legal Cases after White House Departure; Australia Apologizes to Afghanistan for Suspected Unlawful Killings by Special Forces; Nigerian Activist: Peaceful Protest Turned Deadly; Fighting to Keep Culture Alive During COVID-19. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired November 19, 2020 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, at least one American every minute is dying from the coronavirus. A soaring daily death toll has pushed the total number of lives lost in the U.S. for the pandemic to more than 250,000.
And on, that only silence from the soon to be ex-president of the United States. Instead, Donald Trump is spreading conspiracy theories about the election and filing pointless lawsuits.
Plus a federal investigation into Australia's special forces of 36 war crimes while deployed in Afghanistan.
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VAUSE: At this point, it's hard to imagine how much worse the pandemic in the United States could be. It seems each new day sees a record for infections, hospital admissions and death. More than a quarter of 1 million people have died in less than 10 months in the U.S. By far, more than any other country and much higher than even the most dire predictions from the White House.
During the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, officials talked of a worst-case scenario for the entire pandemic from start to finish, no more than 240,000 dead. And the most deadly days of this pandemic are still to come.
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ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, M.D., ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH: This will get worse. We have had 1 million cases documented over the past week. Our rate of rise is higher than it even was during the summer. There are so many more cases that we have that deaths are going up.
And unfortunately, we do anticipate this to continue, at least for the next couple of weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That was the assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, a key government department and one of many refusing to work with the incoming Biden administration. That is until a federal agency, which is run by a Trump loyalist, officially declares the winner of the 2020 election.
President-Elect Biden has warned stalling by the Trump administration could delay distribution of a vaccine. But that vaccine would not save lives now as this pandemic spirals out of control in almost every corner of the United States. CNN's Nick Watt reports.
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NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New York City is the biggest school district in the nation. So many parents right now scrambling to balance work with child care for the morning.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): That's the law in the orange zone and the red zone. Follow the facts.
QUESTION: I'm confused --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: And I'll tell you what need.
QUESTION: -- they're still -- parents are still confused as well. The schools are going to close tomorrow.
CUOMO: No, they're not confused. You're confused.
WATT (voice-over): Meanwhile, in Iowa --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make sure you don't have a blood clot in your lung.
WATT (voice-over): -- more than 76,000 Americans now hospitalized with COVID-19. That's an all-time high.
GOV. STEVE BULLOCK (D-MT): In some places, we're already out of beds and room to put even new beds.
WATT (voice-over): So Montana's mask mandate goes statewide Friday.
In Michigan, a three-week pause kicks in today. No more indoor dining, bars, movie theaters.
GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): The inherently dangerous situations are when you are inside with people from a different household or many different households for a prolonged period of time with masks off. WATT (voice-over): In South Dakota, the governor still won't mandate masks.
GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): People that want to wear masks should wear masks and people who don't shouldn't be shamed because they choose not to.
WATT (voice-over): In Oregon, there can be no more than six at a Thanksgiving table this year.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's Orwellian in a place like Oregon to say if you gather in numbers more than six.
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MCENANY: We might come to your house and arrest you and you get 30 days of jail time.
WATT (voice-over): Orwellian or just life-saving?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We're all in this together as a nation. If one element of the country or multiple elements of the country don't cooperate with an infectious disease, we are going to continue to be in trouble.
WATT (voice-over): There were 1,707 lives reported lost Tuesday, COVID's deadliest day in America for six months. The average daily death toll is now rising in 33 states.
DR. TOM INGLESBY, DIRECTOR, JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY: I'm the most concerned I've been since this pandemic started. States across the country are having the most rapid rise they've seen since the start of this.
WATT (voice-over): Good news, the FDA just authorized the first fast at-home self- test and Pfizer now says its vaccine is 95 percent effective. And they'll file for FDA authorization within days. Moderna won't be far behind.
ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: By the end of December, we expect to have about 40 million doses of these two vaccines available for distribution, pending FDA authorization, enough to vaccinate about 20 million of our most vulnerable Americans.
WATT (voice-over): But likely early summer before it's widespread.
BULLOCK: There is light at the end of the tunnel. However, that tunnel is long.
WATT (voice-over): And some places, panic buying is now back; also, long lines at food banks and COVID-19 testing sites. The pain of this fall now resembles the spring. And it's getting worse.
WATT: The situation in New York City is very interesting. So they reach 3 percent positivity, which triggers the closure of all schools. So now in New York, kids can't go to a classroom. But an adult can still go to a bar to get a beer. It's complicated -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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VAUSE: Dr. Celine Gounder is on the Biden-Harris transition COVID-19 advisory board and she is now with us from New York.
First of, all congratulations on your appointment. You've got quite the job ahead. Good to see you.
DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's good to see you.
VAUSE: The president-elect has talked about the potential deadly consequences caused by Trump delaying this transfer of power. One of the key pieces of government data that the incoming administration needs but has been denied access to, just some of the big ones here?
GOUNDER: I think understanding where we are in terms of our supply chain, what materials are where.
What is the quality control being done around them?
And how easily can we deploy them to other parts of the country where they may be needed even more?
This might include everything from gowns and gloves to ventilators. One of the things that we found out earlier on in the pandemic is that many of the ventilators that were in the stockpile were actually not functional.
So we really need to know numbers, locations, quality, so that we can get a sense for what else we might need to be getting our hands on and how best to use the limited resources we have.
VAUSE: I remember apparently the maintenance contract for those ventilators had lapsed and not renewed and about 3,000 of them were not operational at all.
What was interesting this week is we had a nurse from South Dakota, who left many people stunned when she talked about patients who had died from COVID-19 but still in denial about the virus. There is similar story now from another nurse, actually, from El Paso in Texas.
She tweeted a conversation she had with a older COVID patient about the news about how the pandemic was playing in the background.
She tweets, "He mentions hating 'fake news.'
"He says, 'I don't think COVID-19 is really more than a flu.'
"I clarified, 'Now you think differently though?'
"He replies, 'No, the same. I should just take vitamins for my immune system. They (the news) are making it a big deal.'
"I'm shocked. I'm at a loss for words. Here I am, basically wrapped in tarp, here he is in a COVID-19 ICU.
"How can you deny the validity of COVID? How is this possible?
"Misinformation is literally killing people in mass (sic)."
And most of the misinformation has come from one person, the president.
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TRUMP: This is a flu. This is like a flu. It is a little bit different but in some ways it's easier, in some ways it's a little bit tougher.
It's going to disappear. One day, it's like a miracle, it will disappear.
And this is their new hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Many bad decisions about this pandemic can be rolled back. More testing, more contact tracers, more, PPE.
How do you rollback misinformation which is how ingrained in some people that they're willing to die before admitting the pandemic is serious and real?
GOUNDER: I think this may well be the most damaging aspect of the current administration's response, the way it has sown mistrust, has propagated conspiracy theories. This isn't the first time that I've seen this kind of thing happen.
I was an Ebola aid worker in West Africa. They were in the middle of their own presidential elections.
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GOUNDER: And the response to Ebola became very much tied up with the politicization, the politics of those elections.
Unfortunately, a similar thing happened, where people said Ebola is a hoax. Ebola is not real.
But I think one striking difference is that, once Ebola hit some of these communities, most families really started to take it seriously. They had to see it with their own eyes. But once they, did it was really a wake up call.
I have to say it's really heartbreaking for me to see Americans getting sick with COVID, in the ICU with COVID, on their death bed with COVID and still not believing this is real.
VAUSE: The president-elect held a Zoom roundtable discussion with those on the front lines of the pandemic. An emergency room nurse from Minnesota spoke in stark terms about the impact COVID has had on the health care workers of this country.
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MARY TURNER, ICU NURSE: The physical impacts of this virus have been devastating. I myself have held the hand of dying patients, who are crying out for their family that they can't see.
I've taken care of coworkers, as they fight for their lives on a ventilator and knowing that they got sick because of the hospital, where their government hasn't protected them.
I'm sorry, I'm so emotional.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, you got me emotional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It was a very telling moment. But away from the exchange with the president-elect, what seems incredibly unfair is to ask doctors and nurses and others, who again put themselves and their families at risk to save lives in the pandemic, which could have been under control if everybody had worn a mask and kept their distance.
GOUNDER: Yes, the impact on the health care system has really been severe. We have been functioning and rationing scarcity mode when it comes to personal protective equipment.
People are exhausted, emotionally, physically; we have also been under attack by politicians, including the president himself, who accuses us of trying to make money by billing for COVID.
You know, the combination of all of these things and then seeing our fellow Americans not always being willing to make some sacrifices themselves to help save lives has been really demoralizing. And this is really just a great tragedy for all of us.
VAUSE: Dr. Gounder, good to see you. Thanks for being with us.
GOUNDER: My pleasure.
VAUSE: Pfizer's vaccine with final trials showing it's 95 percent effective. The drugmaker and its German partner, BioNTech, say they will seek emergency use authorization from U.S. authorities within days. More now from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some potentially really good news coming from German vaccine maker BioNTech and from Pfizer, the companies announcing some really good data in their phase 3 trials: 95 percent efficacy and also over 94 percent efficacy in older age groups of people above the age of 65.
Now in our exclusive interview, the CEO of BioNTech told me that they are going to apply for emergency use authorization with the FDA this Friday. Let's listen in.
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UGUR SAHIN, CEO, BIONTECH: We might get authorization or conditional approval already in 2020 which might help us to start distribution of the first vaccine batches already in 2020.
Our goal is to supply several 100 million of doses in the first 4-5 months of 2021. It's already having an impact, beginning impact on the control of COVID-19.
PLEITGEN: Are you confident that these vaccines are now or the existence of these vaccines signal the beginning of the end of the pandemic?
SAHIN: I'm confident that if everything goes well and if we have a very organized vaccine supply that we could have a normal winter 2021, normal summer and winter 2021.
PLEITGEN: I want to go to the logistics a little, bit because there were some questions. Obviously your vaccine needs to be stored at minus 70 to minus 75 degrees and some say that makes the shipping of it quite difficult.
How do you feel about that?
SAHIN: Since the development was so fast, we weren't able to work out better conditions. So better conditions or more stable conditions and the variation (ph) and we are working on a formulation, which could allow us to ship the vaccine, even maybe at warm temperature.
PLEITGEN: The data that you released today showed very good efficacy in older people. They are obviously some of the most vulnerable.
Can you just walk us through how important that is?
SAHIN: Now we see that we have an overall efficacy of 95 percent.
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SAHIN: And in elderly people we have more than 94 percent. So that means there's no difference between the age, different ages and there's no difference between the ethnicities, which makes, of course, the pandemic supply and control very efficient.
PLEITGEN: I know you said at the very beginning you believe making this vaccine is a duty.
How do you feel about that now?
SAHIN: Now, with our first product, most likely being approved in the next few months, we accomplished one of our dreams, to enable with something that we develop could be used by people worldwide and could be hard for (ph) to control a disease.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PLEITGEN: So If everything works out for BioNTech and Pfizer, they could be putting a lot of vaccine on the market in the not too distant future. The two companies are saying if they could supply up to 50 million doses of their vaccine this year and up to 1.3 billion next year.
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VAUSE: Thanks to Fred Pleitgen for that report.
Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the Trump campaign asking for yet another recount in a key state which Joe Biden won. The very latest from the White House in a moment.
Also allegations of competition (ph) killings and blood lust by Australian Special Forces deployed to Afghanistan. Those disturbing details later this hour.
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VAUSE: It seems Donald Trump's legal team is not done losing, at least not yet, despite one win from 28 lawsuits. Also the campaign is filing for a recount in two Wisconsin counties.
All the time, Donald Trump remains largely unseen but frequently heard on Twitter. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he wages a brazen campaign to subvert the 2020 election, President Trump is also avoiding public scrutiny, hunkering down in the White House and dodging questions.
It's been more than two weeks since Trump took reporters' questions, a dry spell believed to be the longest of his presidency. And his top officials are also evading accountability.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell us why you're not going to take any questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary --
MCENANY: I'm sorry I have a meeting to run to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can you not take questions?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why won't anyone in this administration take questions? DIAMOND (voice-over): As Trump stays out of sight, he's still using his social media megaphone to spread lies about the 2020 election and to silence those telling the truth; the latest firing by tweet, Chris Krebs...
CHRISTOPHER KREBS, FORMER CISA DIRECTOR: I'm here today to tell you that my confidence in the security of your vote has never been higher.
DIAMOND (voice-over): -- a top cyber security official at the Department of Homeland Security, who joined state and local election officials in calling the 2020 election "the most secure in American history."
Trump calling that statement "highly inaccurate," before repeating many of the same claims Krebs has been debunking.
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DIAMOND (voice-over): Several Republican lawmakers pan the firing.
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): I was very disappointed when I found out that he had been terminated.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Trump is dealing with his own disappointment. Courts in key battleground states have handed him a string of losses. And most states are inching closer to certifying the election results.
Powerless to stop Georgia from completing its audit today and certifying a Biden win this week, Trump blasting the process as "a joke" and calling for the state's Republican governor to intervene.
In Michigan, where Republicans backtracked on a partisan attempt to stop votes from being certified in a key Democratic county, Trump launched a futile protest, arguing the state cannot certify the election.
Biden's margin of victory in Michigan, nearly 15 times greater than Trump's in 2016. And in Wisconsin, where Joe Biden leads by 20,000 votes, Trump's campaign requesting recounts in two Democratic strongholds backing off plans for a pricey statewide recount.
Meanwhile, his top attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is making dubious arguments in a federal court in Pennsylvania, drawing concerns from Trump allies.
MICK MULVANEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I still am a little concerned about the use of Rudy Giuliani. It strikes me that this is the most important lawsuit in the history of the country. And they don't -- they're not using the most well noted election lawyers.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Even as Trump's legal options fizzle, he's still refusing to concede, leaving the head of the General Services Administration, Emily Murphy, to decide whether the transition can begin.
So far, Murphy won't sign off and two people who've spoken to her say she feels she's in a no-win situation and struggling with the weight of the decision.
Pressure is still building on Trump to grant Biden intelligence briefings, including from Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been working to contest Biden's win.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The president is contesting the election. And I would urge him to give intel briefings to Joe Biden.
How much further to go?
I don't know.
DIAMOND: And as the president's refusal to concede drags on, we are starting to see some splintering among Republican lawmakers. Senators Pat Toomey and Kevin Cramer, both Republicans, saying on Wednesday that they believe that a Biden transition should begin, even as the Trump campaign continues to make its legal challenges in court.
That's not the mainstream Republican position, though. That position was articulated by senator Ted Cruz, who, on Wednesday, said he believes that those legal challenges need to be exhausted first before the transition process should begin.
But one thing is clear is that, as the United States hits this quarter of a million deaths, a really devastating mile marker, health experts are unanimous in believing that, the longer that transition process is delayed, the more it will hurt the Biden administration's ability to tackle this coronavirus pandemic on day one -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.
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VAUSE: No other president has left the White House facing the level of legal jeopardy possibly waiting for Donald Trump on January 20 next year. The inner financial workings of Trump world, including alleged hush money payments to cover up extramarital affairs, is under investigation by the New York district attorney.
While the New York state attorney is reviewing the stated value of Trump's assets to determine if the value was inflated by Trump to boost his credit rating when borrowing money but then underreporting asset values to reduce the amount paid in property taxes.
Potential crimes include bank insurance and tax fraud, money laundering and preparing false business records. Maryland and the District of Columbia are suing Trump over alleged violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prevents a president from profiting from foreign governments.
Their case related to the diplomats who have stayed at the Trump hotel in Washington D.C.
There are two defamation lawsuits, another brought by his niece, Mary, who is suing over her share of the estate of her grandfather, Fred Trump.
Joining me now from Chicago, former federal prosecutor, now CNN legal analyst Renato Mariotti.
So you are also the host of "On Topic" podcast. So great to have you with us. It's been a while.
That's quite the list. I want to add a few more to it while we've got you. A couple others out there, possible obstruction of justice from the Mueller report, which details four occasions when Trump tried to interfere with the Russia investigation; possible charges of bribery resulting from the conversation Trump had with the president of Ukraine; conspiracy to defraud the United States over Trump's interference with the Postal Service before the election.
OK, so when you look at all of that, out of all of that, is there one or two which stand out in particular, as being more likely to move forward and seeing conviction?
RENATO MARIOTTI, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, I think the Manhattan district attorney's investigation is very likely to move forward. We know that they're investigating Trump. They told the court that. They seem very motivated and pretty far along, so if I were representing Trump, I would be very concerned about that
Certainly I would say the existing civil lawsuits will be a concern, although obviously less serious than a criminal charge.
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MARIOTTI: On the federal side, I think those obstruction of justice counts are the most concerning, simply because we know they've already been investigated and there appears to be sufficient evidence to convict. So there is no question marks there, whereas with some of these other potential charges, there is question marks.
There would need to be an additional investigation or otherwise a prosecutor on day one in a Biden administration could make a decision to prosecute.
VAUSE: With that in mind, the Mueller report, if you remember, there was nothing Donald Trump wanted more than to actually testify in the Russia investigation. Here he is.
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TRUMP: I would love to speak because we have done nothing wrong. I would love to speak, I would love to go, nothing I want to do more. I would love to speak. I would love to. Nobody wants to speak more than me. In fact, against my lawyers, because most lawyers say never speak on anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And when he says there is nothing he'd like more there, I guess he actually means he just doesn't want to do, it and he never did. But he did supply a few written answers.
But is there any reason why federal prosecutors would not pick up where Mueller left off?
MARIOTTI: There could be a desire by the new administration to move on, because the energy spent on this project could potentially hurt them politically, although I don't think there will be a proper prosecutorial reason.
But in terms of a prosecutorial reason, a couple might be, first of, all that they're just may be a difficulty obtaining a conviction, given that you need a unanimous jury verdict. And a lot of people in the United States voted for Donald Trump and may be inclined to believe him or vote to acquit him, no matter what the evidence looks like.
VAUSE: We also have this issue of the power of the presidential pardon. And let's just go back in time, to the moment which left many stunned and outraged when Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon in September 1974.
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GERALD FORD, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon, for all offenses against the United States, which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed.
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VAUSE: How do you see the pardon being used in the next 60 days?
What will Trump do?
MARIOTTI: Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump tried to pardon himself. It's not clear whether he can do that and it's thing that's never been tried before. I think a savvy person would just resign a day early and have President Pence pardon him.
But I'm not sure that's what Donald Trump will do. But one way or the other, I think a more likely thing for Donald Trump to do is pardon every friend or associate he's ever had, trying to make sure that they don't have an incentive to flip on him or just to reward them for their friendship or assistance towards him. VAUSE: Very quickly, is there a connection here between Donald
Trump's refusal to transfer power and the legal jeopardy he's facing once he leaves office, besides the obvious?
MARIOTTI: Look, we've heard some reports that he's concerned about being arrested. I imagine he would love to stay in office and continue to have those protections for the rest of his life.
It doesn't look like that is possible at this point, so I imagine that part of what he is doing is angling to continue to keep the power and influence he had or as much of that as possible once he leaves the presidency.
VAUSE: Renato Mariotti in Chicago, good to see you, thanks for being with us.
MARIOTTI: Thank you.
VAUSE: Still to come, Australia launching a criminal investigation into alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan. Details on that disturbing report up next.
Plus an eyewitness account of how a peaceful protest in Nigeria turned deadly when the army allegedly opened fire.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Australia's top general is apologizing to Afghanistan for suspected war crimes carried out by Australian Special Forces.
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A report by the inspector general claims to have credible evidence of nearly 40 killings carried out between 2009 and 2013. Some of the accused are still serving in the military. Australia now plans to launch a criminal investigation.
CNN's Ivan Watson is tracking developments, live this hour from Hong Kong.
This is pretty graphic stuff in the report. We're talking about a bloodlust and, you know, competition killings.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, this has been Australia's longest war in Afghanistan, some 19 years. And the Australian military now very much trying to come to terms with a real pattern of, frankly, frightening and very disturbing allegations of war crimes.
So you've had a four-year investigation and inquiry into this conducted by Australia's military inspector general. And at the conclusion of that, the chief of the Australian defense force has announced that he's going to accept all of the recommendations made by this inquiry, going on to state that the inquiry came to the conclusion that there is credible information to substantiate 23 incidents of alleged unlawful killings of 39 people. And that they were allegedly perpetrated by 25 Australian Special Forces soldiers, predominantly from the elite Special Air Service Regiment, the Australian SAS. And that the majority of these incidents took place between 2012 and 2014. Take a listen to what he also had to say.
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ANGUS CAMPBELL, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE CHIEF: Those alleged to have been unlawfully killed were all people under control; in lay terms, prisoners, farmers, or other civilians.
This shameful record includes alleged instances in which new patrol members were coerced to shoot a prisoner in order to achieve that soldier's first kill, in an appalling practice known as blooding. Further to this, throw-down weapons and radios were also reportedly
planted to support claims that people killed were enemy killed in action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now the Australian defense chief personally apologized to his Afghan counterpart in a phone call. According to the Afghan government, so did the foreign minister for Australia, in communication with her counterpart. And the Australian prime minister has expressed deepest sorrow to the Afghan president in a phone call hours before this inquiry was made public.
The Australian defense chief has gone on to say that he will revoke meritorious unit citations awarded to the Special Operations Task Group, which operated in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013; will also refer individuals that have been accused of war crimes to the Office of the Special Investigator. And that the 2nd Squadron of the Special Air Service will be struck off the Army order of battle.
So this seems like a very serious campaign of reform that the Australian Defence Force is about to embark on, with, also, recommendations for compensation to be paid to Afghan civilians, allegedly killed by the Australian military.
Also coming as a real blow to the reputation of Australia's most elite SAS fighters who did the bulk of the on-the-ground fighting and operations and missions in Afghanistan during this long period -- John.
VAUSE: Ivan, thank you. We appreciate the update. Of course, there's a widespread culture within the Special Forces which prevented anyone actually calling out what was happening. So it's something that we'll be looking at, as well. Thank you.
We have new details on the alleged shootings of peaceful protesters in Nigeria last month. Demonstrators tell CNN multiple people were killed when -- and wounded when the army fired on their protest against police brutality in Lagos. Here's part of one woman's account.
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D.J. SWITCH, NIGERIAN PROTESTOR: Everybody, look at this. These are the bullets that were falling. They were falling by our site (ph). We were dodging bullets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Local authorities are downplaying witness accounts. The army denies any involvement. But CNN spoke to that protestor again. She's now in hiding and says the Nigerian government still has not addressed the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SWITCH: The Nigerian army that is supposed to protect us came with no warning, none. Nobody -- no representative to come speak to us, first, at least. They just came in, guns blazing.
We heard gunshots from behind -- from behind the toll gate, because we were on one side of the toll gate. And we heard gunshots from behind and people running. So what we did was just to go down and sit down and just stay still, wave our flags. So -- because we -- we believed that, if we waved our flags, they would see that we are not here to cause any arm -- harm. We're not here to cause any troubles. We're just here protesting, as is our right to do so.
So there was no warning. Nothing. It came shooting. People were just dropping. I can't even explain that to you. It was such a chaotic scene that most times, I'd find it difficult to close my eyes without seeing those scenes.
It is our right to protest anything that we see, and change that we demand.
The Nigerian government has used force from the beginning, starting with trying to infiltrate a peaceful protest with thugs. That didn't work out. And then they've moved to bringing the military in.
So the same government that says that they had ban saws -- and this is going from four to five years now. They keep banning the same saws, is saying that he wants to have a dialog. The president hasn't even come out once to address the shooting at the target (ph).
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VAUSE: The Nigeria army has not responded to CNN's request for comment.
Still to come here, from thriving to now just barely surviving. COVID- 19 has hit the arts and culture hard. Theaters, music venues, cinemas all trying to work out how, and when, and if they can reopen.
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VAUSE: Chances are it will be a long time, if ever, before we feel safe enough to sit in a darkened room next to a bunch of strangers. Movie theaters and other entertainment venues are now trying to work out how they can survive in a post-pandemic world.
Here's CNN's Anna Stewart.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Royal Ballet had a spring in their step. After months of preparation, they performed for their first live audience in early November.
KEVIN O'HARE, DIRECTOR OF THE ROYAL BALLET: It was amazing. It was amazing. It was such a feeling for everybody in the whole house. Everybody worked so hard to get us to this point. And so it was very bittersweet that it was our opening night but also our closing night.
STEWART: The next day marked the start of England's second national lockdown. This time, the show will still go on, at least online.
(on camera): Tell me why you made this decision. Because surely you could have followed the company.
O'HARE: Yes, we could have, but it's just so important for them to do what they're trained to do, and to be in the studios and rehearsing together, and performing. It's their job. It's their life. They need to be here training, and we need to be performing for the public.
STEWART (voice-over): We caught a dress rehearsal. The final state of preparation before their livestream performance.
Behind the scenes, dancers have spent months training in bubbled pairs. Classes have been socially distanced, and they're tested twice a week.
Outside, London's West End is empty. Its gilded theaters boarded up. Most theaters never reopened between lockdowns.
FIONA ALLAN, RESIDENT, U.K. THEATRE: There's a huge appetite for just a cultural experience. But we have no time frame here as to when we think we might be able to return to being viable businesses. And by viable businesses, I mean able to operate without social distancing.
STEWART: The U.K. government has a $2 billion arts recovery fund in place, a mix of loans and grants for struggling venues, on top of the renewed furlough scheme. It's propping up venues of all sizes across the U.K., although not all have received money yet.
O'HARE: The thing that I'm really most concerned about is the freelance workers, because we rely on those amazing artists that come in and design ballets: lighting designers, you know, choreographers. That is the real worry, because they have slipped the net.
STEWART: More help may be needed for this sector. When the Royal Opera House can fling open its doors once again, less than half the usual audience size will walk through them due to social distancing. It's financially unsustainable, a high price for keeping culture alive during COVID.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT is next, and then I'll be back in about 16 minutes from now. See you then.
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