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PA State Supreme Court Dismisses Another Election Case; U.S. Surpasses 12 Million Coronavirus Cases; Trump Signals WH Exit, Then Says Biden Must Prove Votes; Trump's Legal Losses Pile Up As Court Blasts Lawsuit; Biden Extends Lead In Milwaukee; Interview With Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber (D); College Students Forced To Return Home When Campuses Close; Canada's Atlantic Bubble Bursts As Cases Spike. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired November 28, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: With every day, Joe Biden moves closer to the oval office and President Donald Trump's request to overturn the election looks a little more ridiculous. 53 days from Biden's inauguration, President Trump still refuses to admit defeat.
Yesterday and today, when he wasn't golfing, President Trump was tweeting out more unfounded claims about fraud in the 2020 election. Even after a judge, one he appointed tossed out yet another Trump campaign lawsuit. And last hour, we learned that another case filed in Pennsylvania by a Republican Congressman was thrown out by the State's Supreme Court.
And while the president focuses on the election he lost, the American people continue to be sickened by the coronavirus at an alarming rate. Today, marking the 26th straight day, the U.S. has recorded more than 100,000 cases a day, more than 4 million new cases just this month alone.
We're going to have more on the pandemic in just a moment. We begin though first at the White House, with CNN'S Jeremy Diamond. And Jeremy this week, President Trump said he would leave the White House if the Electoral College confirms Biden's victory. Then he backtracked. What have you learned, is he any closer to accepting the reality of this loss?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, privately now, Jessica we've been told for a couple of weeks that President Trump understands the reality here, that he is unlikely to be able to overturn the results of this election. But he has continued fighting nonetheless and publicly making these baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
But now, the president's claims come against the backdrop of the fact that while he's trying to make his case in public, he's also trying to make it in court and judge after judge, court after court has been rejecting the president's claims.
The president's campaign lawyers and their allies have now lost or had to withdraw more than 30 cases in state and federal courts across several key battle ground states, the latest defeat coming in that Pennsylvania Supreme Court this evening. But yesterday, there was also a defeat in the third circuit court of appeals, also in the State of Pennsylvania, as the Trump campaign was attempting to decertify the results of that election, essentially throwing out millions of legally cast ballots.
The blow came from a Trump appointed judge, Judge Stephanos Bibas writing for the third circuit court of appeals. He said this. He said calling an election unfair does not make it so charges require specific allegations, and then proof. We have neither here. The campaign's claims have no merit, he writes. That was, again, the latest in a series of scathing rebukes that the president and his allies have faced in the courts, and the president is also facing defeat as it relates to recounts in key battleground states.
As he was claiming today that there was widespread fraud in the State of Wisconsin, talking about illegal votes, despite a total lack of evidence, his campaign had paid for a recount, $3 million paid to - have recounts in two key counties in the State of Wisconsin.
And Milwaukee County just certified the results of its election yesterday after completing that recount, and the results, Jessica, Joe Biden picked up 132 additional votes in that state as a result of that recount. So now the question, is how much longer does the president continue to keep this up?
And I think one date that is - that I've heard about from the president's advisers and others close to the White House is December 14th. That is when the Electoral College will actually vote for the next president of the United States, locking in Joe Biden's victory. And you heard the president a couple of days ago. He said that if the Electoral College does indeed certify Joe Biden's win, he thinks it's a mistake but will leave the White House from January 20th. Of course, he undercut his case just hours later. So we'll just have to wait and see. Jessica.
DEAN: We'll see if he reverses course yet again. Jeremy Diamond at the White House for us tonight, thanks so much. Also in Washington, Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, her husband, Doug Emhoff and D. C. Mayor Muriel Bowser stopping by the holiday market to support small business Saturday.
Harris bought puzzles, honey and art and while small businesses have fought for years to survive against online and big box competitors, they are now some of the hardest hit casualties of this pandemic. And CNN'S Natasha Chen is in Lawrenceville, Georgia. And Natasha there is no stimulus deal in sight for these small businesses. How are small business owners coping?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now Jessica, they are barely surviving. And when we're talking about small business Saturday, the holiday season sales, there's never been more at stake than this year. And a lot of people understand that. Some of the small shop owners that we have talked to here on the square in Lawrenceville just outside of Atlanta, they tell me about how they had to lock down in the beginning.
And now that we're in the holiday season, they're not going to be seeing the holiday party bookings that they would typically get at the venues, at the restaurants, so that revenue is not coming in. In fact, the owner of Universal Joint restaurant here on the corner Bruce Kennedy tells me, if it weren't for the PPE loan earlier this year, his restaurant may not have survived.
[19:05:00]
He says it is critical for our leaders in Washington to provide more aid for small businesses very soon. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE KENNEDY, OWNER UNIVERSAL JOINT RESTAURANT: It's not, you know, Democrat, it's not Republican. We're just people. We need help. And so you know, I would take all the politics out of it, that's what we're telling everybody here, you know take it all out. And let's just be people, it will help each other out, because we got to get through this together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: He said we don't need politicians, we need friends. And really we've seen all day that there are a lot of friends of these local shops here in Lawrenceville and I'm sure it's a similar case across the country where people feel that affinity with their local stores. And in fact one of the stores told us that they had shoppers come in saying that their children, giving them their wish list, said please don't buy this on Amazon, please get it from that store in the square so people understand small business Saturday and the holiday sales in a way that really is more resonant than ever before, Jessica.
DEAN: Just the anguish on that man's face, Natasha Chen thanks so much. And with me now, CNN Political Commentator and Former Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang, Andrew, it's great to have you with us. I know you are in Georgia, and I think you were able to just hear the anguish in that man's voice.
He owns restaurants. You're not in congress. We understand that. You don't necessarily have power to do anything about it. But what do you tell somebody like that now? There are millions of Americans out there that desperately need help and congress is simply not delivering for them.
ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We need better leadership out of congress, Jessica. That restaurateur is not alone. Almost half of independent restaurants may close in the next number of days. And I talked to members of congress who represent small towns in Western Massachusetts and Iowa and a lot of these towns only have one restaurant.
That one restaurant has shut its doors forever. So imagine being in a town and your one restaurant closes. That's happening in towns across the country. Congress needs to come to the table and do what three quarters of Americans know is necessary which is pass a cash relief bill. And I pray they get it done before year end because 12 million Americans are about to have their benefits expire.
DEAN: And you know, Andrew, you ran for president, you've been in the political swirl. What do you think is the holdup? Why can't congress look at each other and look at that man in Georgia and say we've got to do better than this?
YANG: The restaurateur said it in one word "politics". The Democrats and Republicans each have been blaming each other, and there's been a gap in views on what the next steps should be. But everyone around the country knows that you're seeing coronavirus infection rates go up at a time when, again, benefits are about to expire. So we need to put politics aside. And that's a very difficult thing in Washington.
It's incredibly unfortunate. It's one reason why I'm here in Georgia campaigning. Because I thought the best thing I could do, would be to help give Joe a unified government. Perhaps then we would see a cash relief bill. But even then it couldn't come until the New Year, which is going to be far too late for many restaurants and businesses around the country.
DEAN: And you mentioned you are in Georgia. You're talking about President-Elect Joe Biden, about giving him a Democratic controlled senate. There are two senate runoffs there in Georgia. And obviously, we know you are a well-known fan of math. So I want to talk about a couple of math problems for Democrats though in these senate runoffs.
First off, Joe Biden received 100,000 more votes than the Democratic candidate John Ossoff, but Ossoff is challenging Republican incumbent Senator David Purdue, who won the same number as President Trump. So how do you think Andrew they're going to make up that deficit, when 100 percent of Republicans seem to be backing David Purdue, while not every Biden voter seems sold on Ossoff?
YANG: It's going to be a turnout battle Jessica because there are a lot of voters in both camps that think that the election is done. They don't know that there's a special election in January 5th, they don't know that there are two senate seats and the balance of the senate is going to depend upon who comes out and votes on January 5th. You can still register to vote in Georgia.
So if you are watching this and you're in Georgia, you can register up to December 7th. You can vote early starting December 14th. That's why I am here, that's why there are so many organizers on the ground, is that whichever side gets their voters out will win. And I think it would be unrealistic to expect turn out to be as high on either side as it was in November because a presidential election gets attention like nothing else.
DEAN: True, absolutely. And runoffs are obviously are the opposite. They to your point some people may not even know they're happening. If we're looking at that other senate race there in Georgia, we talked two Republicans Doug Collins and Kelly Loeffler.
[19:10:00] One more votes combined in Raphael Warnock and the next two talked Democrats combined. So how does Warnock win then if Collins voters decide to back Loeffler? It seems again there is just a deficit there again. Do you think that's a turnout issue?
YANG: Kelly Loeffler doesn't have many of the benefits of incumbency Jessica, because she was never actually elected, she was appointed. There are many people here in Georgia who don't know much about her. The dynamics of this race though are really are going to depend upon turnout because the fact is most people are going to show up to the ballot box and support either both John Ossoff and Reverend Warnock or David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler.
They're unlikely to split their ticket. So it's vital that Democrats get every single voter out here in Georgia, and I believe there are going to be many Trump voters who may not participate. There are even some conspiracy theories out there. It's interesting, if you say to the folks in Georgia that the election is rigged, but then you also say, and come out and vote January 5th, it's kind of an incongruent message.
DEAN: Yes. We heard that from Ronna McDaniel was in Georgia today and someone asked her about that is it already done and she really said no, you have to vote, you have to vote. And our Ryan Nobles reported that, she did get through to people there, but that she had to explain, it's not fixed. So you do kind of have that push and pull of what we're hearing from President Trump and then people think, well, if it's rigged, I don't need to vote, which is interesting on the Republican side.
This runoff election is set for January 5th. We do know President Trump is headed to Georgia next Saturday. We have been told by incoming Chief of Staff Ron Klain, we expect President-Elect Biden to go down there, as well. Does this become just like a redo of Georgia in the presidential election where you have these dueling messages from Trump and Biden?
YANG: It really should, Jessica, because we have seen the Mitch McConnell as abstractionist in the senate movie before. That's what happened during the Obama years. And unless we want to subject the Biden administration to the same dynamic, Democrats need to come down to Georgia or send resources in to make sure we get every single voter out. So it's not surprising to me at all that Joe is heading this direction. I imagine he's going to have a lot of company.
DEAN: All right, Andrew Yang for us tonight, thanks so much for being with us.
YANG: Happy holidays, Jessica.
DEAN: You, too. Right now, cases of the coronavirus are surging across the country. Experts are warning the number of deaths from the virus could soon surge, too. Even double. So what effect will holiday travel have on the pandemic? Our doctors are standing by.
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DEAN: We have breaking news in to CNN tonight. This is a troubling report. The United States has recorded a new highest hospitalization number tonight. The highest numbers of hospitalizations, 91,635 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and that is according to the COVID tracking project.
CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Seema Yasmin joins me now with more along with Dr. Jeremy Faust an Emergency Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital. Welcome to both of you. These numbers are just stunning. Dr. Faust, your reaction to that news that I just reported?
DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Unfortunately, that is not surprising news. We have seen case spikes go up and up. We know that a lot of this - some people would say well, cases are going up because we're doing more testing. Well, when you see numbers like this, you can say that well, actually that's not just the case.
We've seen that this is really affecting people at the hospital level. And at once you are sick enough to be hospitalized the mortality rate is pretty stable. We have gotten a little better at this since the spring, but not a lot better. We absolutely need a vaccine and so to see these numbers rising right when we have a vaccine in our sights is really frustrating and sad.
DEAN: Indeed it is. Dr. Yasmin vaccine expert Dr. Peter Hotez fears that the coming weeks will see a surge that he calls destabilizing. I want to listen to him for a second.
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DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR & DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We are going to be regularly hitting 2,000 deaths per day, but then going up to 3,000 deaths and 4,000 deaths per day. You know when hospital staff starts to get overwhelmed, that's when the death rates really go high. This is what happened in New York in March and April. This is what happened in Southern Europe in March and April, it's what is happening now as we speak in the U.S.
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DEAN: These numbers are staggering, Dr. Yasmin can U.S. hospitals and frontline workers keep up with that kind of surge, are you concerned, worried about what lies ahead?
DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I am incredibly worried about our doctors and nurses burning out mentally and physically, still there are health care workers that don't have the basic PPE provisions that they need, and having to reuse one time only disposable masks. They've been taking the infection back to their families and their kids have been getting infected. So this is not sustainable. And the way that impacts our patients means when hospitals are so crammed and the health care system is so overwhelmed, COVID-19 patients don't get the quality of care that they need, but also every other patient, your cancer patients, your heart attack patients, your trauma patients, everybody suffers when we haven't done our diligence to stop the spread of this infection and therefore overburdened the health care system.
DEAN: Yes. It's such a pressure on the entire health care system. Dr. Faust, we have another five weeks of holidays, which are normally everybody wants to be together. That is what we're supposed to do is get together and celebrate during holidays.
What are you telling your patients, your friends, even your family members about getting through this period without getting sick? Because I think it's interesting, a lot of people I talked to say well, I'm doing the same things. I'm doing, but I kind of got a little more lax. And now is when the virus is really raging at its worst.
[19:20:00]
FAUST: Yes. I have these conversations with my patients every day and my family and friends. And just like you said, our pods are porous. When I dig in and say well, what have you done lately, whom you seen? There is just a little bit of creep, things they wouldn't have done a few months ago, they are doing now because they feel like we have fatigue.
I'm fatigued going to work. It really helps to know that we're in this together. And yes, we are a little burned out. But I think if we feel that we're all in this together. Whether we're a hospital workers or whether we're in the community, where there is also being thought, day-and-day out, it makes it easier.
I really do think it does help to know that there is some kind of end in sight. I don't want to be that proverbial, you know the highlight reel where they're about to go across the end zone and trip up. We're not there yet. And so I really just think that giving people that motivation, that actually every day that we have fewer cases is actually not delaying the inevitable, it's a life saved in your hands.
But my patients always ask me, what can I do to help my love one? I give an organ. I give my life. All we're asking is, hold back, wear a mask and you know stick with the things we know that work for just a little while longer.
DEAN: Right. Wear the mask, wash your hands, social distancing. All those things that you guys have been saying over and over again. Dr. Yasmin there is hope on the horizon that we just talked about, the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine have take in place and officials want to be ready to move as soon as possible, if the FDA grants emergency used authorization.
Do you think enough Americans are going to agree to get this vaccine, what kind of education, do you think we need to be doing right now to ensure that enough Americans get that vaccine to make sure everyone stays safe?
YASMIN: So Jessica, what we're looking at is the need for about 200 million Americans to get vaccinated once a vaccine is found to be safe and effective and once it's approved. Say that's roughly two out of every three Americans that we need to get vaccinated.
That's double the number of Americans who are telling us through surveys that they would definitely get vaccinated. A recent survey by the COVID collaboration found only about one in three Americans say yes, if there was a COVID vaccine available right this minute, I would roll up my sleeve and I would get vaccinated.
Then when you look at marginalized groups, look at black communities and Latin X-communities, only about 15 percent to 30 percent of those groups are saying that they believe a vaccine will actually be safe. So while it's amazing science that we have developed a vaccine so quickly, beyond that logistical talent of transporting it, producing 400 million doses and administering it, we have to get public buy-in, otherwise the anti-vaccine movements all of that undermines our fight to end this pandemic.
DEAN: Yes. The hope ahead with a vaccine also on this day, where we have now seen the highest hospitalizations of COVID patients in this entire pandemic Dr. Seema Yasmin, Dr. Jeremy Faust thank you to you both. Have a great night.
YASMIN: Thank you.
DEAN: Well, President Trump continues to spread falsehoods about the election. President-Elect Joe Biden is moving ahead with his transition, naming three new members to his coronavirus advisory board. This as a group of mayors demand Florida's Governor let them enforce mask mandates amid a surge in new cases. One of those mayors joins us live, next.
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[19:25:00]
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DEAN: President-Elect Joe Biden this Saturday is beefing up his coronavirus advisory board. M.J. Lee is in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where Biden is spending the holiday weekend. But M.J. as we know, the transition work continues. One of these new additions to the COVID team is from a community that has been devastated by coronavirus. Tell us more about that?
M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know so far it's been a relatively quiet weekend here in Rehoboth Beach, but the Biden transition team as you said just announced several additional members to serve on its COVID-19 Advisory Board, and one of those names is Jill Jim actually she is a member of the Navajo Nation. And she is the Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Department of Health. And the reason that this stands out and is so notable is because this is one of the hardest hit communities by the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you look at the numbers, around 8,600 cases per 100,000 people in that community. This community has been forced to go on lockdown until December 6. So, again, beefing up it's our COVID-19 Advisory Board, the Biden transition team. It's one of the many things happening behind the scenes.
I will also note that we do expect a relatively busy week ahead for the Biden transition team as you know Jess. Joe Biden himself is expected to receive his first presidential daily briefing on Monday. These are the classified briefings that have basically been put on hold until the GSA formally ascertained that Biden was the winner. So that is expected to come on Monday.
And then sometime this week, we also expect that Biden will name some members to his economic team. We don't know exactly which positions are going to be announced, but one of those names could be Janet Yellen, who is expected to be named his treasury secretary pick, she is the Former Federal Reserve Chair Woman. And then there of course, many other announcements that are still to come, like Biden still has not named his CIA Director or his Defense Secretary.
[19:30:03]
So those are all announcements that could be coming in the weeks to come -- Jess.
DEAN: That's right. M.J., we look ahead to many more decisions and announcements from Delaware.
Thanks so much for being with us tonight.
Let's take you now to Florida in the face of the surging coronavirus numbers there. Mayors have begged Florida's governor to issue a statewide mask mandate, but Governor Ron DeSantis has so far ignored their pleas and has extended his order banning local governments from enforcing mask requirements.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber joins me now. And Mayor, thanks so much for being here.
The number of weekly coronavirus cases in Florida has roughly tripled since Governor DeSantis reopened the state in September. And you wrote in the letter recently to Governor DeSantis, quote, "I fully share your goal of reopening the economy and avoiding debilitating lockdowns and I know you're similarly concerned about the health of our residents. But I believe your approach is neither saving lives or livelihoods."
Mayor Why do you believe that?
MAYOR DAN GELBER (D), MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: Well, Governor DeSantis -- the mayors I talked with Democrats and Republicans in our group was bipartisan. We can't figure out what his plan is because it seems to me, opening up the economy and not allowing us to even do the things like we're like help people wear masks -- to require them to wear masks, which would help us.
I think it's pretty clear that he is pursuing this herd immunity concept that some of his advisers have become famous for advancing, and unfortunately, we're getting the worst of all worlds. We're getting a lot of virus in our state. We're about to hit a million infections and with over 18,000 deaths. But we're not doing any of the remedial measures to try to reduce the virus.
So, you know, it's really terrible right now, and I don't think it's going to get better unless he changes his mind about how to approach this.
DEAN: What do you think is the governor's reasoning here, not just for refusing to issue the mask mandate, but for also just blocking cities like yours from implementing their own?
GELBER: I think he is taking some very bad advice. I think a little bit of this came, or most of it came really before the election, President Trump was using this fella named Dr. Atlas, so our Governor did these two other doctors who have been promoting herd immunity by letting the virus surge in the community, which was also something that President Trump was doing, our Governor followed.
And the election is over now, so if this was for political reasons, it's time to end it and just get back to the health and welfare of our residents. But he doesn't seem intent to do that. Instead, I think he is stopping us from protecting our residents, while he is urging everybody to open up and worst of all, he has not used his bully pulpit to urge people to wear masks.
I get e-mails every day from people who yell at us for telling them to wear masks and cite to the Governor's position on it, which is just terrible when you're trying to open up a community like we are.
DEAN: Would you say the Governor has given up at this point?
GELBER: No, I think he's just absolutely following a path that makes no sense. But that might be the path of least resistance in the sense that people would love to open everything up. So he says go ahead and do it. I have these experts and they are outliers, and they're not mainstream people, but they say go ahead and open up the economy and let the virus surge.
But we're not getting herd immunity, we are culling the herd. We're killing people.
We had about 90 deaths in Florida just today and we have 4,000 hospitalized right now, 700 in Dade County. So this thing is going rampant everywhere and he is doing nothing to stop it. So the mayors and I have asked him to just reconsider and help us reduce the virus in our community and you know, fight about opening up, but at least help people, urge them to wear masks. They have to do that. It's the most simple thing to do to reduce the spread of the virus.
DEAN: Yes, it's also the most effective tool we have right now at this moment. Mayor Dan Gelber, thanks so much for joining us. We sure do appreciate it.
GELBER: Yes, sure. Thanks, Jess.
DEAN: As the country is experiencing a surge in new coronavirus cases, could college students fuel a new spike in cases.
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[15:38:38]
DEAN: Around six million people traveled by air in the U.S. ahead of Thanksgiving and many of them were college students forced to leave school as campuses closed for the semester due to the pandemic and that left families to figure out how to navigate this unfamiliar situation. CNN's Bianna Golodryga spoke to one student taking extra precautions.
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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (voice over): University of Michigan sophomore Elliot Boz took an extra test before leaving campus and reuniting with his family in San Mateo, California for Thanksgiving, a negative COVID test.
We first met Elliot on campus last week.
ELLIOT BOZ, STUDENT: My family is at home and you know, grandparents are back. So I want to make sure that, you know, that I'm cleared before I come back home.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): Despite a late plea from the C.D.C. advising people to stay put, he is one of the hundreds of thousands of college students who traveled home for the holiday, because staying put wasn't an option.
The University of Michigan and many other universities nationwide ended all in-person classes for the semester this week.
BOZ: I think everybody is kind of in the same situation. I'm not unique in any way in that sense. It's just an extra level of thoughtfulness. So I had to go out of my way, get the test, be diligent about, you know, wearing a mask, washing my hands and so on.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): These are the scenes health experts desperately wanted to avoid. Some 4.8 million travelers passing through T.S.A. checkpoints since the C.D.C. guidance came out last week.
[19:40:11]
BOZ: It's pretty tough because I think -- I think students kind of -- around the country are -- might be thinking differently about this and everybody wants to see their family. So I think in terms of travel, everybody is trying to do their best about how to travel safely.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): Universities across the country set their own COVID testing protocol before students left campus. There are no Federal guidelines in place, leaving health officials frustrated.
A. DAVID PALTIEL, PROFESSOR, YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Young asymptomatic individuals, the so-called silent spreaders are fueling the epidemic in this country and so colleges have a responsibility to ensure that they don't unwittingly unleash ticking time bombs into the nation's airports, train stations and Thanksgiving dining tables.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): Elliot's dad, Mike, says the family is comfortable with his son's decision to come home.
MIKE BOZ, FATHER OF ELLIOT BOZ: He is a responsible kid and so he got tested and so that negates the concerns. So overall, like there is -- there is always a risk, but the risk is minimized as much as possible.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): Elliot's parents and his 81-year-old grandparents will be together this Thanksgiving. But his older brother, Szura, a college senior in Los Angeles is not coming home from school.
GOLODRYGA (on camera): So what is this Thanksgiving going to be like for you? I bet a little bittersweet having your younger son home, but obviously, the full family can't be together.
MIKE BOZ: It's going to be a kind of a partial family. We have other family members who were planning to come and they're not coming anymore because of a spike in COVID, and so, it's not just my older son, it's other family members.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): It's exactly the kind of Holiday precautions Dr. Fauci and other experts are pleading with Americans to make.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: To the extent possible, keep the gatherings, the indoor gatherings as small as you possibly can. We all know how difficult that is because this is such a beautiful traditional holiday. But by making that sacrifice, you're going to prevent people from getting infected.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): Sound advice that will extend far beyond Thanksgiving for families with college students home for the rest of the year.
BOZ: In terms of the grandparents, it's really being thoughtful about when I see them and how I see them, talking with them sitting apart, you know, or when giving them a hug, you know, just being thoughtful.
GOLODRYGA (voice over): Bianna Golodryga, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Bianna, thank you and CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Seema Yasmin is back with us now. Dr. Yasmin, we heard that expert say these college students could be ticking time bombs that are being released back into their communities into airports, train stations, what do you foresee as students return home for the holidays? What's your level of concern with that? DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I'm really worried, Jessica
that as we are seeing record numbers of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations across the U.S., it's happening at the same time that there are so many people traveling, particularly by air because of the Holidays and because for some students, they'd rather stay put.
I've talked to many who would like to stay on campus, but have not been given that option. And so without any choice, kind of have to breach those C.D.C. guidelines. I would say just to remember to quarantine after you have traveled, where that's possible. I know not everyone has that kind of space in their home.
But if you can, quarantine for 14 days after you've traveled. Stay away from family members for that time period, and get tested, although because of the travel and folks wanting to get tested before and after traveling, it's really hard for people in some parts of the U.S. to get tested, and then to get their results quickly as well.
DEAN: Right. And even if you're a returning student and has been faithfully wearing that mask and did get a test and tested negative before coming home, it is not unfortunately a guarantee that anybody is virus free, right?
YASMIN: That's so right, and it's really important to remember that we don't kind of have that false sense of security. Yes, you've been wearing a mask. But remember, a mask in and of itself isn't alone. You still have to do physical distancing. You still have to avoid gatherings.
And a negative test, if you are being tested early after exposure. You could be infected, but not have enough virus in your body for a test to pick up. So that test is really a snapshot of your infectiousness, of your infection level at one particular time. That can change day by day.
And then researchers at Tulane University in New Orleans have told us, they've been testing thousands of their students. They found that nine out of 10 University students who tested positive for the coronavirus had zero symptoms: no fever, no cough, not even any fatigue.
So it's really important to bear that in mind though when they come through the door and your parent or grandparent and you want to just wrap your arms around that college student that you love so much, the quarantining part is really important because so many of us who haven't been able to get tested and who feel completely fine, we're walking around carrying the virus and we are capable of infecting other people.
[19:45:13]
DEAN: And you're right, it is so counterintuitive. Parents just want to throw their arms around their kids and vice versa and to think that they could give you the virus, it is hard to wrap your head around. Dr. Seema Yasmin, thanks so much for being with us.
YASMIN: Thank you. DEAN: While cases surge in the United States, one area of Canada that
was largely spared due to strict regional restrictions is now finding itself vulnerable as the second wave of the coronavirus approaches.
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[19:50:02]
DEAN: Canada's Atlantic Bubble that had been insulated from the coronavirus is now bursting. Across four provinces on Canada's Eastern Coasts, more than two million people were largely sheltered from the pandemic, until now. Cases across Canada have been spiking dramatically and CNN's Paula Newton explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For six months, Canada's Atlantic Bubble has been a sanctuary. Nearly 2.5 million people living mostly COVID- free.
Just listen to Erica Baker, a child psychologist and mother of three getting her kids ready to go to school.
ERICA BAKER, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MOTHER OF THREE: Right now, things have been very normal for them. It's been wonderful.
NEWTON (voice over): Normal, wonderful even. The bubble has made it possible.
At its outer edge, the Atlantic Bubble is just a six hour drive from Boston, but a world away from the current COVID reality. It includes four provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Going into the bubble from anywhere, even the rest of Canada, you have to quarantine for 14 days, and then mask mandates, distancing, aggressive testing and contact tracing have kept cases near zero or close to it for months.
BAKER: We've had exceptional leadership. They have provided us with the right information so far and I don't think that there's any reason to not trust that they are going to do the right things moving forward as well.
NEWTON (voice over): That leadership is about to be tested. As cases rise into the dozens, even here, they are acting fast.
DR. ROBERT STRANG, NOVA SCOTIA CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Yes, because if you look elsewhere, a small number of cases left unchecked explodes into a very large number of cases. Your healthcare system starts to get overwhelmed. You have lots of unavoidable severe illness and death, and we see that in other places and we're doing everything we can to avoid that.
NEWTON (voice over): Dr. Robert Strang is Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer and so-called caretaker of the bubble. He is putting in place more restrictions to indoor dining and shopping and now, quarantine- free travel to other provinces inside the bubble will have to end for a while.
For this retired senior, amateur musician, and one of the vulnerable, the bubble hasn't burst, but just adapting to what he calls the tsunami of cases all around.
GORDON FLOWERDEW, RETIRED SENIOR AND AMATEUR MUSICIAN: I actually feel that the Atlantic Bubble has been moderately successful at postponing the inevitable.
NEWTON (voice over): Health experts say that has saved lives.
NEWTON (on camera): There is another side though to the success of the Atlantic Bubble, especially because of the quarantine. Some argue the sacrifice has been too great, the hit to the economy too severe.
NEWTON (voice over): We caught up with Jennifer Hutton at Montreal's airport going back into the bubble, staring down her 11th quarantine. As an I.T. specialist, she has to travel for work and is thankful for the bubble, but --
JENNIFER HUTTON, HALIFAX, CANADA RESIDENT: It affected my wellbeing, my sleeping, my marriage, because when you're isolating over and over again, and you can't go out into public, in your own home, like you feel trapped and being trapped is not a nice feeling.
NEWTON (voice over): For now though, those in the bubble are acting fast to adapt to more restrictions, hoping it will strengthen people's resolve to fight on even when cases rise.
SARAH GOOSE, OWNER, LUMINATE CO. WELLNESS MARKET: I think that people are just like, let's get this done, let's get this over, let's have, you know, Thanksgiving and Christmas and let's, you know, solve this problem and have a safe space in our little bubble.
NEWTON (voice over): That little bubble, no matter how vulnerable now, has given families like the Bakers a shot at normal life and peace of mind. Even during the worst waves of this pandemic.
Paula Newton, CNN, Montreal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: President Trump's attempt to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania has been hit with a crushing blow. A Trump appointed Federal judge rebuked fraud claims because the Trump team did not have any evidence. Pennsylvania's Lieutenant Governor joins me live to react.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:58:56]
DEAN: It is hard to imagine two more different places than a prison and a prep school. But on the season premiere of "This is Life," Lisa Ling shows us how those two unlikely worlds come together.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING:" The founder of Ultimate Weekend, Mark Schillinger created this version to provide boys with something many have been without -- men.
MARK SCHILLINGER, FOUNDER, ULTIMATE WEEKEND: All this is based on ancestral wisdom, just like tribes back in the past. It's like a formal line of demarcation that says you're not a boy anymore.
LING (voice over): The idea was an old concept. Young men need a ritual to leave their childhood behind and they need grown men to show them how.
SCHILLINGER: The purpose is for young men to really get that they're not alone in their fears, their concerns, their worries about growing up.
LING: Why is there a need for just boys and men to have this weekend?
SCHILLINGER: This is not a camp where we're getting away from women because we don't love women. We just feel like there's a time in a young man's life and he should not be mothered now. He needs to be around a men and then following men who have a path they figured it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: You can catch back-to-back episodes of "This is Life with Lisa Ling" tomorrow night at 9:00 and 10:00 right here on CNN.
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