Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President-Elect Joe Biden to Announce Cabinet Picks This Week; Trump Campaign Appeal to Block Pennsylvania Vote; Sidney Powell Disavowed by Trump Legal Team; Avoid Thanksgiving Gatherings Says Dr. Fauci; Los Angeles County to Re-impose Restrictions Due to Large Spike in New Cases; Trump Defends Withdrawal From Paris Climate Accord; Israeli PM: Should Be No Return To Iran Nuclear Deal; British Prime Minister To Announce New Testing Program; Turkey Enacts Restrictions To Stem Spread Of Virus; New Yorkers Scrambles To Get Tested Ahead Of Holidays. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 23, 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)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Hi, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN. So, coming up --

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER PSAKI, SENIOR ADVISER, BIDEN/HARRIS TRANSITION TEAM: President elect Joe Biden will be announcing members, cabinet nominees, this week. He is looking forward to that, to introducing members of his team to the American public.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW (on camera): We look at some of the names topping Joe Biden's cabinet list and the reaction they are getting. Plus, President Trump's legal losses keep on piling up and he's also losing support from Republicans, with more now saying it is time for the president to accept his defeat.

And it looks like a COVID vaccine could be coming sooner rather than later for many Americans.

Weeks after the U.S. president lost the election to Joe Biden, the White House still seems determined to block the transition of power for as long as possible. Donald Trump is refusing to accept the loss and there are no signs of him conceding anytime soon.

However, a growing number of high-profile Republicans have had it with his campaign's legal absurdities and long shot court challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: What's happened here is, quite frankly, the content of the president's legal team has been a national embarrassment. I've been a supporter of the president. I voted for him twice, but elections have consequences. And we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn't happen. The country is what has to matter the most, as much as I am a strong Republican and I love my party, it's the country that has to come first.

(EN VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Now, among those speaking out against the president's actions, a Republican congressman from Michigan where the president had been pressuring state officials to dispute the vote count that shows he was defeated. That longtime Republican congressman says the fight for now is over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. FRED UPTON (R-MI): The voter spoke. And here, again, in Michigan, it's not a razor thin margin. Its 154,000 votes. You got to let those votes stand -- 154,000 votes is plenty to overcome. I mean, it's over. The longer this lasts, languishes, the time then escapes from us from actually seeing a peaceful transition to the next administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW (on camera): Michigan will be in the spotlight again on Monday when its board meets to certify the state's election results. But we are hearing one Republican member will try to block that certification.

And then in another battleground state that went to Biden, Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, most counties are expected to certify results in the coming day. But the Trump campaign is filing an appeal after a judge shutdown their earlier attempt to throw out millions of ballots. If Pennsylvania and Michigan manage to certify their votes, that will be the ultimate death blow to the president's efforts.

Now, instead of following the time honored tradition of a peaceful transition of power, the president spent much of the weekend golfing, as you can see here. The main reason this transition needs to begin now and not later is not political. American lives are, literally, at stake.

The pandemic is reaching unprecedented numbers with incredible speed. Sunday marked the 20th straight day with more than 100,000 new infections and more than 256,000 people in the U.S. have died.

Joe Biden, meanwhile, is moving forward with his cabinet selections with several names said to be announced on Tuesday. We are told one of them will be Tony Blinken, a long time foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration. He will be nominated to serve as secretary of state. The details now from Arlette Saenz.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Joe Biden is set to roll out his first cabinet picks on Tuesday. And the announcements are shaping out to be foreign policy-focused. CNN has learned that secretary and state is expected to be among the first jobs that Biden announces for his cabinet.

And the leading contender for that position is Tony Blinken, someone who served as deputy secretary of state and has longtime ties to Joe Biden, having served as this national security adviser while he was vice president.

Now, Biden also is expected to announce his picks for national security adviser and ambassador to the U.N. The top contender for the national security adviser role is Jake Sullivan, someone who served as a national security advisor for Biden when he was vice president.

[02:04:59]

And the top contender, the leading contender for ambassador to the U.N. is Linda Thomas Greenfield. She is a longtime diplomat who worked in the State Department. And she is also a woman of color, which would fulfill a part of Biden's promise to have a diverse cabinet.

Listen to what one of Biden senior advisers had to say about how Biden's cabinet will be diverse?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PSAKI: The cabinet and the team will look like America. So that means diversity of ideology, diversity of background, and he wants to have a range of view of people at the table.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ (on camera): Now, all of those leading contenders for those foreign policy and national security positions all have decades of experience in the sector. Biden throughout his campaign has said part of his goal would be restoring America's standing in the world and repairing relationships with allies.

So, in the coming days, as he is rolling out these foreign policy- focused cabinet positions, Biden is trying to make it clear how his administration would look and operate in the early days of the White House. Arlette Saenz CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.

CURNOW: Meanwhile, President Trump's legal team is trying to cut ties with lawyers Sidney Powell after she started spreading wild conspiracy theories about the election results. Here's Jeremy Diamond with that.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, just over a week after President Trump named Attorney Sidney Powell to his legal team and his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the president's legal team now says that Sidney Powell is not a member of his legal team.

Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, two of the attorneys for the president's effort, saying in a statement, "Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump legal team. She is also not a lawyer for the president in his personal capacity."

Now, this notion that Sidney Powell never was a member of the legal team is absurd. Not only do the president named Sidney Powell in a tweet as he was announcing the members of his legal team, but just a few days ago, Sidney Powell appeared right alongside Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis at Republican National Committee headquarters to talk about their legal effort.

Giuliani, in fact, saying that he was in charge of this investigation alongside Sidney, referring to the attorney Sidney Powell. Now, Sidney Powell has been tracking in conspiracy theories about the 2020 election over the last week during which she has been a member of that legal team.

She has alleged that the CIA was somehow involved in rigging the election. She has alleged that the late leader of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez was also involved, and she's even accused Republican governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, of also rigging the election in that state in favor of Joe Biden.

None of these claims of course, have any basis in fact or reality. But nonetheless, she has been trafficking these claims as a member of the legal team, and they are not all that far from what the president and his lawyers have also been saying. The president has alleged this conspiracy theory about the Dominion voting software saying that it somehow deleted votes in his favor.

No basis in reality. It's something that's been repeatedly debunked by state and federal officials across the country over these last several days. Now, as this is happening though, the president is losing in the courts, one case after the next, more than two dozen cases have been either dismissed or withdrawn by the Trump legal team.

And Republicans are beginning to increase the pressure on the president saying that it is time for him either show the evidence that he has in court or to move on and allow this transition process to happen.

Pressure coming in on Sunday from Republican senator Lisa Murkowsky, saying that the transition needs to happen right now. Others beginning to raise the alarm as well, saying that the delay in the transition could cost American lives amid this pandemic. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

CURNOW: Natasha Linstaedt, professor of government at the University of Essex joins me now from Colchester in England. Good to see you. I want to talk first about the Biden team. We know that they are plowing ahead with their plans.

What is clear by some of their appointments is that Mr. Biden is sticking with those he trusts, those who have a long service in the State Department, the national security arena, and generally, the ones we know so far. You saw Jen Psaki there, are alumni of the Obama administration. No surprises then or is this seem actively trying to avoid surprises? NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Well, I think

that is what Biden is trying to do, trying to bring the U.S. back to what he said normal and trying to restore trust, particularly with American allies and that's what we see with these appointments.

With Blinken and Sullivan, these are national security and secretary of state positions that are very similar in terms of their world view. It's about multilateralism. It is about trying to work with others. It's about soft power. It's about trying to be a leader.

And they understand that the U.S. is going to need to lead on a number of issues, whether it be the environment or the pandemic, global cooperation on trade.

[02:10:01]

And the U.S. has been accused of not having any sort of global leadership on some of these major issues because the Trump administration and its American first foreign policy has been very disorienting, very chaotic, and unpredictable.

And I think that's what Biden is trying to do with these recent possible nominations, is restore trust in American leadership.

CURNOW: What's also interesting is that, as he is pushing ahead, making announcements, often capturing the news cycle, particularly on Sunday morning here in the states, I mean, this is all happening while his win is still being challenged without any proof of fraud. It certainly seems like he's trying to send a message that there is a new sheriff in town and that Mr. Trump is now just a secondary story.

LINDSTAEDT: Right. And I think he's trying to ignore what Trump is doing even as Trump continues to file lawsuits. All these lawsuits thus far have been dismissed because there is really nothing there. And he knows that these are just sort of made up cases.

And in plowing ahead and moving forward, he knows he needs to because this is a crisis situation for the U.S. There is not really time for Biden to wait around until Trump decides to concede because we know Trump is never going to concede. So, he needs to move ahead with whatever planning that he can do in the meantime, because the U.S. is at a very critical point with the pandemic.

CURNOW: Yes, it certainly is. We also know that Mr. Trump is all but disappeared, certainly, at the G20 over the past few days. He has been golfing. But it appears this president, I mean, at least according to our reports from Nic Robertson in Saudi Arabia, has barely made an effort to engage in the G20.

But also, you have that many worry that his team is actively setting fires for the Biden administration to put out or trying to box him in on foreign policy matters. How justified is that concern?

LINDSTAEDT: No, it is a real concern. Trump appears to be pushing some sort of scorched earth policy here. He is not focusing on any of the task at hand whether it be foreign policy, as you mentioned, with the G20 summit, or with the pandemic.

He is mostly focusing on himself. What we have is reports of him golfing or reports of him filing new lawsuits or asking for another recount. I mean, just look at the Georgia recount, which is within his rights to ask for another recount.

This could be really costly for the Georgia taxpayer. That's going to cost possibly, you know, $8 million or $9 million for them because we know how expensive the Wisconsin one was. These are efforts that aren't helping the U.S. tight now, to be focusing on all of these different types of lawsuits.

But this is very -- this is a characteristic of him. You know, he tends to get into a hole, try to focus on his own interests whenever he feels that he has been slighted or wronged instead of really putting the nation first.

CURNOW: How concerned are you that these lawsuits, and even a lot of this political pressure on, say electors in a place like Michigan? How concerned are you that, in some way, it could delay the transition?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, it is delaying the transition, even though as Biden tries to move ahead. He does not have access to the documents that he needs to have access to that are really critical for him trying to resolve some of the great problems that the U.S. is facing.

We talked a lot about the pandemic and national security matters, but there are all kinds of other issues as well. I am not concerned that Trump is going to just stay in the White House and just never leave. I think the writing is on the wall, more and more Republicans are applying pressure on him.

And Republican lawmakers know that he lost. They know that this wasn't a fraudulent election. And they know that none of these lawsuits are going to come to any kind of fruition here. And so it's just a matter of time before he leaves.

I'm sure he's not going to concede and he'll quickly announce that he's going to run in 2024. But by delaying this transition, first of all, he is just shattering one of our important norms, and it's a critical norm of any democracy that you have a peaceful transfer of power.

But he is just trying to make it more difficult for anything Biden does to be successful. And it seems to be completely out of spite.

CURNOW: Okay, thank you very much for that perspective and analysis. Thank you for joining us. Natasha there -- Natasha Lindstaedt, appreciate it.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

CURNOW: So you're watching CNN. Still to come, the U.S. could be weeks away from a coronavirus vaccine, but how long before life actually gets back to normal? A medical expert weighs in on that. Also, more restrictions in California as officials report record

infection numbers. How the new measures will impact restaurants in America's second largest city?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: Our plan is to be able to ship vaccines to the immunization sites within 24 hours from the approval. So, I would expect maybe on day two after approval, on the 11th or on 12th of December, hopefully, the first people who will be immunized across the United States, across all states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW (on camera): So that was the head of Operation Warp Speed here in the U.S. predicting that life for Americans could return to normal as early as May if enough people are vaccinated. He says the process could begin within the next few weeks if the FDA approves the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine.

Now, new data shows us just how urgently that vaccine is needed. Take a look at this graph. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than a quarter of all the cases in the U.S. have been reported in the month of November alone.

And health experts say infections will continue to rise as families gather for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Now, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious diseases says people should really seriously consider those plans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: One of the spots, if you, want to call them, where you have a risk is seemingly innocent family, friends get together indoors. I mean, it seems like the most natural thing. So that is the reason why when you tell people, consider the people that you want to get into your own family unit.

[02:20:02]

Do you want to bring a large number of people with a big dinner party or a social event? And when you are eating and drinking, obviously, you have to take your mask off. We know not that those are the kinds of situations that are leading to outbreaks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW (on camera): Well, California has reported its second highest infection spike since the pandemic began. More than 14,000 cases were registered just on Saturday alone. And the outbreak is one of the worst in the U.S. and is about to force a very big change of life in Los Angeles as Paul Vercammen now reports. Paul?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The number of new COVID-19 cases in California just skyrocketing. It has tripled since the beginning of November. And that means more restrictions throughout California, among the most severe here in Los Angeles County.

You will not see scenes like the one behind me anymore where people are dining outdoors or even indoors in Los Angeles County. They are closing down restaurants for indoor and outdoor dining. That starts Wednesday at 10:00. You can only pick up and deliver. We talked to the GM at this oyster bar, she is absolutely just shattered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: It's really truly devastating. It's really upsetting. I just think about all our staff, all of my friends and colleagues in this business, everybody is really hard-hit. We are all struggling to get by as is with our patio set up, so this is a real blow for us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERCAMMEN (on camera): The economic ripple effect tremendous. Not only will employee's hours in these restaurants have to be trimmed or people will be laid off, but then all of the vendors and everybody else linked to the restaurant business is also going to see yet another downturn as the pandemic just rages on here in California. Reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.

CURNOW: Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips is the chief clinical officer at Providence Health System and she joins me now live from Seattle, Washington. Doctor, good to see you. So, as Thanksgiving week begins here in the U.S., you just heard Paul reporting about it. I understand that you've said that Thanksgiving should be delayed, postponed. How serious are you about that?

AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, I know we can't really honestly move the date of Thanksgiving, but like the concept is that exactly like Dr. Fauci said. If we get to friends and family together right now, we're only going to contribute to what is happening and that is this crazy shooting up of the number of cases.

And so, if we could somehow have a Zoom Thanksgiving right now, we'll avoid an ICU Christmas. That said, people need to get together. We need to see our loved ones and our family. And so when my kids were little, they used to do this half birthday thing like, right.

You know, six months after their birthday, they'd call it their half birthday. I think we need a half Thanksgiving, you know, Thanks- living, you know, on the 4th Thursday in May, so that we can actually celebrate together safely, and right now, kind of hold back.

CURNOW: As people move and meet across the country, I think there have been millions of people who have already taken flights. How prepared are you for the infections that will inevitably follow? You talk about an ICU Christmas? COMPTON-PHILLIPS: As prepared as we can be. Right now, health care systems across the country are drowning in patients, which is scary because we take everybody as they come in. And what happens when we run out of places to put patients, and what happens when we run out of doctors, and nurses to be able to care for those patients when they come in.

That's when we know the death rate can actually start going back up again. In the past few months, we've done a much better job of figuring out how to help people survive COVID. But if hospitals get overwhelmed, it's going to go the other direction.

CURNOW: So, as rampant and virulent as this virus is right now, and particularly here in the states where, as you say, totally off the charts, what are you watching for that the Biden team is trying to do, although, not with a lot of help from the Trump administration? Does their game plan makes sense to you and does it give you some optimism?

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Well, it does give me optimism. The thing that gives the shivers is that it is still not for several other weeks away. And we have to get between now and then. And we really could get out of control in the country unless people do the right thing and stay home and avoid going out, which absolutely is so hard on businesses in the country.

But we have to have people alive to be able to, actually, work with those businesses and keep them in business. And so for right now, we have to get control of the virus, and that cannot wait until Joe Biden is inaugurated.

CURNOW: You also heard some positive news coming out. We've heard a lot about it -- about the vaccination and the vaccination process.

[02:25:02]

Do you think America will be the last country to really get a handle on this virus just by the sheer number of people who have it even if this vaccine is rolled out?

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: We have a long way to go until we have mass - herd immunity here in the U.S. -- enough people vaccinated that we can stop transmission of the virus from the vaccine itself. And that's why we have to do these other things to get control of the virus first including keeping people from congregating together like in restaurants and bars, and making sure we're wearing a mask out public.

Because if we wait until March or April by the time we have sufficient numbers of people vaccinated, the death rate is going to go way up. So, it's a both end.

CURNOW: Okay, Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips there. Really appreciate you taking the time. Good luck. I know you and all of the people who work for you must be very exhausted. I wish all the best of luck for the next week and the next few weeks.

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Thank you. CURNOW: So coming up on CNN, the G20 Summit wraps with President Trump slamming the Paris Climate Accord once again. He's happy though with U.S. oil production. That and more from the summit, live from Saudi Arabia. Stay with us on (inaudible).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. It is 29 minutes past the hour. You are, of course, watching CNN. Thanks for joining me.

[02:29:598]

So, the G20 summit wrapped up on Sunday. And what is likely to be his last event on the global stage, President Trump railed against the Paris Climate Accord in a prerecorded speech. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I withdrew the United States from the unfair and one-sided Paris Climate Accord a very unfair act for the United States. The Paris Accord was not designed to save the environment it was designed to kill the American economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, the president also praising his efforts to expand U.S. fossil fuels despite their effects on climate change. And he boasted that the U.S. is the world's number one producer of oil and natural gas. Let's go to our Emerging Markets Editor, John Defterios.

John joins us from Abu Dhabi. You've been monitoring these comments, and the reactions. Certainly, Mr. Trump, seemingly to want to base is base back home as he attacked the Paris Climate Agreement yet again. How those go down with the G-20 members?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Let's say it was an unusual situation Robyn because everyone loves singing from the same -- except for Donald Trump. Even though the host nation which is a major oil and gas producer Saudi Arabia, they had two priorities going into the G-20 summit.

One was COVID-19 response and equitable distribution of the vaccines going forward. And number two was climate change they made it extremely clear. So Donald Trump coming in and kind of breaking all the dishes and then deciding to focus instead on leaving the climate accord was a shock. Just to put it no other way.

We know that Joe Biden, the President-Elect, has said that he will rejoin the accord itself. On many occasions, over the weekend, the G- 20 leaders started talking about multilateral agreements and having global collaboration going forward.

Even the Ursula Von Der Leyen President of the European Commission, the Former German Politician in Angela Merkel's party, came back said on many occasions look without mentioning Donald Trump; we look forward to more collaboration in the future.

And particularly when it comes to climate change it did seem like Donald Trump popped into the wrong venue at the wrong time because it was a session talking about safeguarding the environment. And he was even in the reasoning why to pull out for the U.S. worker?

CURNOW: We also know that Mr. Trump made a point at the G-20 to tout America is the number one oil and gas producer in the world. You talk about all of the other leaders seeing from the same him sheet was this is another example of him perhaps being off message and also the wrong venue for this particular decoration?

DEFTERIOS: Well, there is a time in a place for everything, Robyn, but it just didn't seem like the right venue again to be talked about the rise of supremacy of the U.S. oil and gas producers particularly again because the host is Saudi Arabia which has the largest proven reserves in the world.

Yes, the U.S. is the number one producer but it is because Saudi Arabia and it's kind of part of within this OPAC plus structure in Vienna. Russia has pulled back production for the last 3 years, we've had three major downturns in the last 5 years, and as a result, the major producers are saying we had to pull oil off the market to stabilize prices.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we had prices go negativity this year remember back in April. So Donald Trump still sticking to his narrative yes we're number one in oil and gas but at the same time U.S. production has dropped 3 million barrels a day because they over producer and was not making a profit.

Some of the major shell basins particularly in Texas where we've seen the unemployment rate go up three and four fold over the last year because of COVID-19 and because of the overreliance on oil and gas and those oil producing states. So again an unusual thing for the president to day it almost sounded like a campaign, basically, pitched by Donald Trump right.

And instead he was doing into the G-20 which is saying let's recognize climate change and making a transition to renewable at the same time.

CURNOW: Okay, thanks for that update there, live from of Abu Dhabi, John Defterios, thank you. So Israel's Prime Minister has a message for the incoming U.S. President. He is warning about Iran's nuclear program that is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:35:00]

CURNOW: Hong Kong Democracy Activist, Joshua Wong has been remanded into custody after pleading guilty to charges connected to last year's anti-government protests. Wong was charged with two other activists Agonist Charles and Ivan Lamb for allegedly inciting and organizing an unauthorized assembly. Sentencing is set for December 2nd, and he faces a maximum of 5 years in jail. And Israel's Prime Minister has a warning for U.S. President-Elect, Joe Biden, on Sunday. Benjamin Netanyahu said "There can be no going back to the previous nuclear agreement with Iran. We must stick to an uncompromising policy of ensuring that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons".

Mr. Netanyahu was a fierce opponent of the nuclear deal, but the Obama Administration supported. Biden was of course, also part of that administration. Well, I want to go straight to Oren Liebermann, who joins us, now live from Jerusalem. Hi Oren, what more can you tells us?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Robyn, so many more of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speeches and actions over the course of the past four years were directed to an audience of one, that being President Donald Trump.

As you pointed out Netanyahu was perhaps most vocal opponent of the Iran Nuclear Deal was the support of Trump's maximum pressure campaign against Iran, and sanctions. Now it seems his audience of one has shifted to President-Elect Joe Biden, and he's putting forward his priority list or perhaps it should better be called his wish list from U.S. foreign policy under President-Elect Joe Biden.

Priority number one there is the Iran Nuclear Deal. Netanyahu does not want to see a return to the previous nuclear deal especially given how hard you worked against it. And how much you pushed pressured and prodded Trump to leave the deal, and impose and keep imposing sanctions again Iran.

What's interesting here is that the assessment on this end was that a nuclear deal was coming regardless of whom on the election; Trump and Biden have both made it clear they wanted a nuclear deal with Iran. The assessment here at least is that Iran was simply waiting for the results of the election to see who they would be negotiating against.

Now, there is a debate within Israel's Intelligence Community about whether leaving the detail by the U.S. and imposing sanctions was the most right move. That is underscored for example by the IAE in the court last week that said that Iran has moved centrifuges to a facility in -- and it has begun a -- in excess of the limits of the JSCPOA.

If Iran has gone beyond those limits then perhaps the intelligence communities debating leaving the deal was the best idea. That being said Robyn Netanyahu has made his position clear nuclear deal on his opinion was a mistake and returning to it is not what he wants to see.

CURNOW: And also if you can just give us the reaction on the ground to the imminent arrival of Israeli spies Jonathan Pollard?

LIEBERMANN: Well, that's a big win for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Another gift handed to him by the Trump Administration and the right wing government here and Netanyahu and many, many others across the political spectrum are celebrating Pollard's return. It is an open question as to when he will be back, because his wife is receiving medical treatment in the U.S. They're not going to come back until it's over. So it's still could be a few weeks and then Robyn perhaps according to Israel's current restrictions, Pollard would have to quarantine for two weeks upon entering the country.

CURNOW: Okay, thanks for that Oren Liebermann there in Jerusalem. Thanks Oren.

[02:40:00]

CURNOW: Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom, I am Robyn Curnow, if you are an international viewer, World Sport is next. If you are joining us from here in the United States, I will be right back with more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Its 44 minutes past the hour. I'm Robyn Curnow, and you are watching CNN. European leaders are putting new pandemic plans into place.

The French President is getting ready to address the nation on Tuesday. France is seeing some signs of progress, a lower positivity rate and fewer people in ICUs.

[02:45:00]

CURNOW: And then in the coming hours, the British Prime Minister is expected to announce an extensive community testing program for hard hit regions under heavy restrictions. Boris Johnson will also outline how England will exit its second national lockdown come December. For more on some of the progress being made in Europe, we have Jim Bittermann reporting from France. But first Anna Stewart is in London with more on Boris Johnson's message for those in the UK. Anna.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: The UK government will present their winter plan to parliament. It includes an end to England's national lockdown on December 2nd as planned although it certainly won't be a return to normal. The country will reenter the regional three tier system and actually some of the measures within those tiers are expected to be strengthened and more regions are likely to enter the strictest of the tiers.

Discussions are also underway at number 10 Drowning Street regarding Christmas, whether there's a way that they can allow families to see each other over the festive period. Perhaps, there will be a temporary easing of restrictions. There is better news for 2021.

The government says it's confident that it will be able to ease restrictions across the nation as it looks forward to having some sort of vaccine rollout program in place as well as mass testing. Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in France and several other European countries where lockdowns have been in place for three weeks or more, the efforts are beginning to bear fruit. The COVID numbers, the rate of increase in hospitalizations, the number of ICU beds needed for COVID patients are beginning to go down.

The French Prime Minister said Friday we're on a good path, and sent a further signal by saying that President Macron will address the nation on Tuesday. Speculation is already running high that at least some of the country's tough restrictions which are in the close of all non essential shops will be eased at least somewhat.

But the government -- also is quick to point out that any relaxing of restrains will come only gradually. In Germany, a spokesperson for the Chancellor says the situation is stabilizing, although health authorities there are still worried that antithetical systems, especially ICU beds remain stretched. None the less, across Europe authorities are starting to look more hopefully at the coming of vaccines and figure out ways to distribute them. Jim Bittermann CNN, Gilles, France.

CURNOW: Turkey is reporting a new high in daily Coronavirus cases there. The country registered more than 6,000 new infections on Sunday. This comes as Turkey implements new measures in an effort to stem the spread. Restaurants we know are closed, shopping hours are limited and there is a partial curfew during the weekends. I want to go now to Jomana Karadsheh who joins us from Istanbul. Hi Jomana?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Robyn. What we're seeing here in Turkey is what you're seeing in other parts of the world. Over the past few weeks, the number of infections has started to rise at an alarming rate.

In the past few days, you know Turkey has shattered its own records announcing on Friday more than 140 COVID-19 deaths. That is the single deadliest day since the start of the pandemic and on Sunday, as you mentioned, the health ministry here announcing 6,000 new, as they call them patients.

Turkey's figures are not really comparable to the rest of the world because they only announced the number of people who have tested positive and show symptoms. So, it's not all the positives. But that figure, that is the highest number also since the start of the pandemic.

And, you know, Turkey has been criticized by not revealing these numbers, that it's not really showing the true extent of the outbreak and the situation in the country. But what we do know from officials, Robyn, is that Istanbul, the country's largest city, the commercial capital of Turkey accounts for about 40 percent to 50 percent of all infections.

And, you know, after weeks of causing the government to enact some tougher restrictions, you could feel the government's reluctance, especially when you consider the fragility of Turkey's economy but faced with this and the rising number of ICU bed occupancy now at the highest rate since the start of the pandemic, at about 70 percent, 50 percent occupancy of beds at hospitals.

Officials are saying, look, the situation is still under control. It's still fine at the hospitals. But to protect the health care workers, to try and relieve the pressure that they are under right now, they have had to put these measures in place, announced by President Erdogan last week.

As you mentioned, coming into effect this weekend, that includes a partial weekend curfew. You've got also a curfew that is age-based, people under the age of 20 and over the age of 65 are only allowed out of their homes for about three hours different times of the day on a daily basis.

[02:50:00]

KARADSHEH: Restaurants shut, only takeout and delivery service. Restricted times for shopping and other things like the barbers and hairdressers also very limited hours in which they can work. And, you know, some opposition lawmakers, some medical groups here in the country have criticized the government saying, look, this is not going to be enough.

There should be some sort of a strict two to three week lockdown to try and bring this under control. But we heard from President Erdogan yesterday saying they believe that these restrictions are enough right now to bring down this surge over the next few weeks but saying that requires the compliance of the population that people need to be committed to these restrictions. Otherwise, there are going to be stricter measures that they could enforce, Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks for that. Jomana Karadsheh three live in Istanbul. Thank you. So Canada's largest city, Toronto, is now under a partial lockdown as it battles a surge in COVID infections. Over the next four weeks, indoor gatherings will be restricted and businesses will only be allowed to provide pick up services.

The city is seeing one of the worst outbreaks in the country with hundreds of new cases being reported daily. And despite a record number of cases here in the U.S., many Americans are still planning to travel this holiday week.

On Friday and on Saturday, transportation officials counted more than 2 million travelers at U.S. airports, making it one of the busiest travel periods since the pandemic began. Evan McMorris-Santoro shows us how New Yorkers are preparing for the holiday season.

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm outside an urgent care facility standing in lower Manhattan standing in front of a five and a half hour line for a COVID test. It is not a rare line in New York, there are lines like this all over the city as New Yorkers scramble to get tested ahead of the holiday season.

America is dealing with an unprecedented surge in Coronavirus cases. 83,000 Americans are currently in the hospital with complications from COVID. That's a record number. It's the 20th straight day of more than 100,000 new cases. As that holiday travel season comes, people like the ones here in line are hoping that a test will make it safe to visit family but medical experts say that's just not the case. There's no safe gathering size and there is no safe way to travel for these holidays.

They're begging Americans to make the hard choice to stay home this time around. Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, New York.

CURNOW: And firefighters in Kansas City, Missouri are mourning the loss of two long time member of their department from Coronavirus. Captain Bobby Rocker died Saturday at 60 years old. Paramedic Scott Davidson died the next day. He was 45. Another Kansas City firefighter died from Coronavirus back in April. The Fire Chief says she's devastated and morale is at an all-time low.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA LAKE, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI FIRE CHIEF: We've known those two individuals have been hospitalized for a while, and you know, this was always a -- you know, this was worst case scenario that they would never come out of the hospital alive. And, you know, it's devastating. It's devastating to all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Four years ago, you remember the story. We reported it every Thanksgiving. A grandmother and a high school student were introduced over that mistaken invite, that text message to Thanksgiving dinner. Their story went viral and since then -- have celebrated the holiday together every year with their families. And they kept the tradition going this year despite the pandemic and the empty seat it's created.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dear heavenly father, thank you for bringing everybody here together safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their tradition lives in the hearts of so many around the world. Thanksgiving just wouldn't be the same without Wanda and Jamal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANDA DENCH, LOST HUSBAND TO COVID: I didn't want to miss Thanksgiving with Jamal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grandma Wanda thought she was texting her real grandson, but accidentally texted teenager Jamal instead. Out of courtesy she invited Jamal over for Thanksgiving dinner. The two have now celebrated with their families together ever since.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DENCH: This year is definitely different than all the years in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The pandemic has taken so much, and took the one whose smile, hugs and warmth made Jamal and his girlfriend -- feel right at home. Wanda's husband Lonnie passed away from COVID-19, Wanda there with him in his final moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENCH: Five minutes later and he passed away. Sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She knew her first Thanksgiving without him would be hard, but Jamal and -- would make sure she wouldn't be lonely this holiday. They decided to have an early mini-Thanksgiving together with Wanda, her daughter and the real grandson. A seat and candle left at the head of the table knowing that even though Lonnie isn't here, his spirit is. Jamal knows he would hear this.

[02:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMAL HINTON, CELEBRATES THANKSGIVING WITH DENCH FAMILY: I would just like to say hi, say thank you for helping me -- welcoming me into your home with open arms from day one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lonnie would always stay grace before the Thanksgiving meal. He was Wanda's biggest cheerleader. So, in his honor, surrounded with family by blood and family by choice, Wanda led the prayer knowing Lonnie would be proud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENCH: Thank you for all the blessings and thank you so much for having Lonnie in my life. I miss him, but I know he's in a good place. So, to everybody here, I love you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Amen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Beautiful piece. Also finally a sign though of holiday cheer in Paris. I want you to take a look at these pictures -- has been lit up with Christmas lights adding much needed brightness to a pretty dark and somber year, isn't that fantastic?

The city is in the middle of a lockdown of course, but officials say there is reason to be optimistic. Over the past week infection numbers and hospitalizations have fallen and the health agency says the current wave of cases may have peaked. Well, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. You've been watching CNN, stay with us. Rosemary Church picks up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)