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Iranian President Accuses Israel of Killing Top Nuclear Scientist; Trump Losses Pile Up as Court Sinks Election Lawsuit; AstraZeneca Vaccine under Intense Scrutiny; Europe Assessing Measures to Avoid Third Wave; Video Shows Police Brutality in France; Mysterious Monolith Found in Utah Desert. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired November 28, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Iran vows revenge after its top nuclear scientist was killed in an apparent assassination.
The U.S. hits a new COVID milestone, 13 million cases as the CDC prepares to decide who will get the first vaccines.
And a new legal defeat for Donald Trump and some blistering words from the court as he tries to have legitimate election results overturned.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I want to welcome our viewers here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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NEWTON: The apparent assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist has sent shock waves around the world. With Joe Biden to be the new U.S. president, there's great uncertainty how Iran may retaliate.
President Hassan Rouhani told his cabinet Iran will respond to the murder, as he calls it, in time. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations demands the U.N. Security Council condemn the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. According to state media, his vehicle was ambushed on Friday on a highway east of the capital, Tehran.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but Iran is pointing the finger at Israel and vowing revenge. So far Israel has said absolutely nothing. As CNN's Nick Paton Walsh explains, the Israeli government has been complaining about Mohsen Fakhrizadeh for years.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Iran's most prominent nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, lived largely in the shadows. The force behind Iran's nuclear weapons program, gunned down Friday, in an apparent assassination, according to state media.
He was traveling in the city of Absard, east of Tehran when the reports say his car was targeted by gunfire and a vehicle explosion. Iran's defense ministry say that he and his bodyguards were gravely wounded, succumbing to their injuries at the hospital a short time later.
Believed to be aged 59, he is said to have headed the research center of new technology in the country's elite Revolutionary Guard. U.S. and Israeli intelligence services say he was the mastermind behind Project AMAD, a decade-long secret program to design an atomic warhead.
That effort was scrubbed in 2003. But it's claimed he continued the research, a reference made by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a 2018 press conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh. So here is his directive, right here. He says, the general aim is to announce the closure of the Project AMAD. But then he adds "Special activities" -- you know what that is -- "will be carried out under the title of scientific knowhow development."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH (voice-over): The Israeli government had no comment on the killing. But Iran has long blamed Israel's intelligence service for the assassinations of several of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh's colleagues, going back decades. Theories are emerging as to what they have to gain from his death, right now.
VALI NASR, AUTHOR AND DEAN OF JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: It is a twofold effect. One is slowing down the program and the other, which is something the prime minister Netanyahu would want, is to get Iran to do something that would make it impossible for the United States to engage Iran after January 20th.
WALSH (voice-over): Iran has long denied they plan to weaponize nuclear energy, claiming that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was merely an academic. For years, denying the IAEA's request to interview him.
A martyr for Iran, they vow revenge for the killing. Chief of staff of Iran's armed forces warns of, quote, "severe revenge" against the killers.
Iran's foreign minister tweeting, "Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardice -- with serious indications of an Israeli role -- shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators. Iran calls on the international community -- and especially the E.U. -- to end their shameful double standards and condemn this act of terror."
But the death of the scientist is about more than one man, aimed at damaging Iran's accelerating nuclear program and, above all, limiting the options for President-Elect Joe Biden to reopen diplomacy with Iran.
[04:05:00]
WALSH (voice-over): Namely, the 2015 nuclear deal so near to broken by the past months -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: For some reaction, CNN's Oren Liebermann is tracking the story from Jerusalem. But we begin with Ramin Mostaghim in Iran.
Iran reacting angrily. That part so far is predictable. What is not is whether or not they will go through with retaliation.
RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, it is also the pressure from the grassroots and hardliners, those who are devoted revolutionaries. As I talk to you in about 20 minutes or so, there are a group of people, young people, of course, who will go to the foreign ministry to shout for the revenge.
President's Rouhani's government, including his foreign and intelligence ministers, are under huge pressures, A, not to go for any negotiations with President-Elect Biden in post January 20 and at the same time, B, they're pushing the government of Rouhani not to rush up to the severe revenge for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani last year.
In 40 days will be the anniversary and also severe revenge for Fakhrizadeh. So the government of Rouhani is under pressure, given the dire economic situation, then you can see how it's a pressure for President Rouhani and his government at this moment while the international community is calling for something else.
And bear in mind that diplomacy is at a stake now and the negotiations chance for the President-Elect Biden is getting less and less.
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NEWTON: No doubt whoever carried this out knew it would make diplomacy much more difficult.
We'll go to you, Oren, in Jerusalem. Obviously Israel isn't going to say anything. From Nick Paton Walsh's report, he was a high value target for Israel for some time. That brings up the interesting prospect that they could have perhaps attempted an assassination, if it was Israel, at any time.
They chose to do it now, why, if in fact it was Israel?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An excellent point there. Israel's official response has been no comment from the prime minister's office, though we will see if and what responses are made when the Sabbath ends here in the next few hours.
A lot looks to be poisoning the well for the Biden administration, the deliberate attempt to derail any attempted negotiations on the part of a Biden administration, a future administration, to try to get back to some nuclear agreement with Iran.
It was Netanyahu who said there must be no return to a nuclear agreement with Iran. Saying the maximum pressure campaign is exactly the way to continue going. The speech we saw in Nick Paton Walsh's package, was in 2018, a major attempt by Netanyahu to convince president Donald Trump to leave the Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu has always opposed the nuclear deal. He has always been in favor of the sanctions, what's called the maximum pressure campaign against Iran. And that's not changing.
You're absolutely right that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was very high on Israel's essentially list of people to keep track of. But when it comes to Iran's nuclear program that is, was and will be their priority.
Why would Iran blame Israel so quickly?
Because this has the hallmark of other killings of nuclear scientists in the past, also blamed on Israel.
The question is, what is the response and what is Israel judging at this point?
At this moment, the IDF has not moved to high alert either on the Lebanese border or the Syrian border. Israel's assessment is, if Iran were to react, it's not a knee-jerk reaction. It's well thought out and planned. So now we wait and see.
NEWTON: Indeed we do, if there's any official or nonofficial response. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem and Ramin Mostaghim in Tehran, appreciate you both.
Middle East expert Fawaz Gerges teaches international relations at the London School of Economics. He joins us now.
There's a lot to untangle here.
[04:10:00]
NEWTON: I'm really happy to see you because I can think of no one else better to help us do it.
The question is, what is the end game?
It's clear that the timing was important for a reason. Obviously most people are saying that, as Oren said, it is poisoning the well for a Biden administration; that is on the record, we should say, saying they want that nuclear deal with Iran back in place.
FAWAZ GERGES, DIR. MIDDLE EAST CENTER, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Paula, the prime minister, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has a limited time, 50 days or so.
I don't know if your viewers know but Israel has been attacking Iranian targets in Syria quite frequently on a weekly basis. Israel is widely believed to have carried out major attacks in Iran, inside Iran, explosions and paramilitary attacks.
And this particular attack fits the pattern. What the Israeli prime minister is trying to do is provoke Iran to retaliate and ultimately trigger an Iranian-American confrontation before the end of this administration, in the next 50 days because the Israeli prime minister and other states in the region are basically anxious that the next U.S. administration will likely engage Iran and try to salvage the nuclear deal.
So the next 50 days, what you're seeing inside Syria, in Iran, the assassination of Iranian top nuclear scientists, fits the pattern, that Israel is pushing Iran's back to the wall and forcing it to retaliate.
My take is that Iran has shown considerable restraint. Iranian leaders naturally want to provide the pretext and the ammunition for the Trump administration to carry out devastating attacks against their nuclear and ballistic missiles.
NEWTON: What could change that calculus?
It is clear Iran has a lot to gain from a Biden administration here. But it's not a done deal. It won't be a new done deal. We had Ramin talk about the grassroots and talk about how difficult this is going to be for Iran to go back to the table with the U.S. government, any U.S. government.
GERGES: You're absolutely correct. Any kind of deal between the Biden administration and Iran is going to be extremely difficult, given what has happened in the past year or so. We're not just talking about the killing of the top Iranian scientist.
We're also talking about the assassination of the top Iranian general. If you were to ask me about the big picture, you have had the details from your many reporters in the field. If you ask me, the big picture, we -- well, historians -- and I could be wrong -- historians will look at this particular period about the Trump administration because we say that some actions produce the opposite results from the intended consequences.
And the unintended consequences is that the Trump administration, by pulling out of that the nuclear deal which Iran which was signed by President Obama, and the assassinating General Qasem Soleimani and now by Israel assassinating the top scientist, it will not only complicate U.S.-Iranian relations, we will look at this particular period as basically a tipping point in speeding up Iran's acquisition of an atomic bomb.
What you are going to see is not Iran retaliating against Israel or the U.S. now. What you'll see is a speedup process by Iran in order to acquire nuclear capacity, which they have done in the past years.
NEWTON: Right.
GERGES: So Iran is on the way to becoming an atomic, nuclear power, thanks to what the Trump administration has done. This might precipitation a major confrontation with the Biden administration. We should not really lose sight of that.
NEWTON: They do want to have a firm hand when they go back to the negotiating table. One of the issues that you talk about is the so- called breakout period has shrunk. They could be a few months from having a nuclear weapon.
Fawaz Gerges, thank you very much for joining us.
Just a reminder to everyone, we are still awaiting response from Israel. There's no indication or evidence they are the ones who are responsible.
[04:15:00]
NEWTON: Next on CNN NEWSROOM, it's another defeat for President Trump and his legal team as a federal appeals court rejects his challenge of some Pennsylvania ballots. And the court minced no words, turning away the case.
Plus, U.S. officials are meeting next week to decide how a vaccine would get distributed and who should go first.
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NEWTON: The Trump campaign's latest effort to change the presidential election outcome was squashed (sic) by another federal appeals court. Unprecedented and breathtaking are just two of the terms used in the ruling. Trump and his allies have tried to use legal battles to overturn election results in key states.
But that strategy has mostly ended in defeat, as it did Friday in Pennsylvania. CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is just the latest loss in what has been a string of more than 2 dozen lawsuits for the Trump campaign's legal team, all spearheaded by Rudy Giuliani.
Friday's loss in the federal appeals court came from a panel of three judges. One of whom, appointed by President Trump.
[04:20:00]
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): It is circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, who wrote the opinion that stated, plainly, "The campaign's claims have no merit. The number of ballots it specifically challenges is far smaller than the roughly 81,000 vote margin of victory.
"And it never claims fraud or that any votes were cast by illegal voters."
Now this is the exact sentiment that we've heard from other judges, both state and federal. And they repeatedly issued opinions that drill in on the fact that the Trump campaign has put forward no proof of widespread fraud and that, what they are asking for, to block certification and throw out votes, is really just too drastic for any courts to grant.
Nevertheless, the Trump campaign is vowing to, once, again appeal this time to the Supreme Court. All indications are that the Supreme Court wants to stay out of this fight.
In fact, there are several petitions pending before the nine justices, right now, challenging the ballots that were received in Pennsylvania after 8:00 pm on November 3rd. The Supreme Court, at this point, not acting on that. There is every indication that they will not take up this latest appeal out of Pennsylvania, especially since the vote has already been certified for Joe Biden there -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
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NEWTON: President-Elect Joe Biden's campaign spokesman said about this court decision, this election is over and Donald Trump lost, both in Pennsylvania and nationally. Desperate and embarrassing meritless lawsuits like this one will continue to fail and will not change the fact that Joe Biden will be sworn in as president on January 20th, 2021.
We want to dig in deeper into all of this with Natasha Lindstaedt from Colchester, England. She is professor of government at University of Essex.
It has to be said, it is the president's prerogative to launch these legal salvos and the court's prerogative to shoot them down.
I guess what I'm wondering, what is the collateral damage between all of this?
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Well, I think the main damage is what Trump is trying to do to our confidence in our electoral processes. We have said many times that there was the shocking poll, that 70 percent of Republicans thought the election wasn't free and fair.
That is incredibly damaging. We need to have complete belief in the legitimacy of our electoral processes. And he has really damaged this with all of these frivolous lawsuits that have gone nowhere. And they're not going to go anywhere. He's already accepted that the writing is on the wall and he needs to move forward.
But they're expensive. When he tries to get a recount, for example, in Georgia, this is going to be something the taxpayers there are going to have to pay for. And it's wasting his energy. He's still the president and needs to be focusing on the pandemic and other pressing issues for the U.S.
NEWTON: It is a good point that it's a distraction for anyone, not the least of him, who's trying to deal with hopefully a pandemic. You mentioned the recount in Georgia. In Wisconsin, they had a
recount, a partial one. The Trump campaign had to pay for it, a few million dollars. It ended up with 132 more votes for President-Elect Biden.
Clearly this isn't going anywhere. But let me push back a little bit. When you look at the polls, Republican voters, those that are really in favor of Trump, the vast majority actually believe that there is something to his allegations.
LINDSTAEDT: Right. I think that's the danger here because the electoral commissions have said this is the most free and fair election in U.S. history, that everything went as smooth as possible. This was due to the great effort they put into ensuring the electoral processes were free and fair.
That's the danger here. There's no evidence of fraud. When they try to provide any evidence, they haven't been able to provide any of it. When they go to the courts, they're careful about the way they talk about it. They don't use the word "fraud."
It's dangerous to then speak to the media and the American public and say there are millions and millions of fraudulent votes out there. I think that's really problematic.
NEWTON: How will this affect the incoming Biden administration?
They have been trying to take down the temperature. They have the statement we read out today. But they haven't been reacting too much. When you put all of this together, not just the challenges in courts, not just the recounts but also this latest event in Iran complicating things for the Biden team coming in.
What do you think the mission is here as Trump is on his way out?
LINDSTAEDT: I think the Biden team has a really uphill battle here because there's a lot that they're going to feel they have to reverse. There are a lot of relationships with global powers Trump has hurt and damaged.
[04:25:00]
LINDSTAEDT: Trump has followed this America first policy and rejected multilateralism. So Biden has to restore the U.S.' role of coalition building and try to also ensure allies that the U.S. is a more predictable ally.
Trump left the World Health Organization, withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, withdrew from the Paris accord and trying to withdraw from NATO, withdrawing 12,000 troops from Germany in July.
So there's a lot that Biden has to do, not just internationally but if you look domestically, there's clearly a very divided nation. He has to restore trust in our institutions and engage in some sort of action across the aisle so it looks like there's more bipartisan support across the policies they try to pursue. NEWTON: Yes, it certainly is, as you said, an uphill battle and not
many days to go since they just formally started with the transition last week. Natasha Lindstaedt, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
NEWTON: Good news for France, as coronavirus numbers there start heading in the right direction. Just ahead, we'll take a look at how the country will start easing restrictions this weekend.
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NEWTON: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
The U.S. crossed another sobering coronavirus milestone on Friday.
[04:30:00]
NEWTON: More than 13 million cases have been confirmed to date and more than 265,000 deaths. But there is, of course, some good news on the vaccine front.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says it has supported the first mass air shipment of a COVID vaccine and it says it will prioritize future flights carrying the vaccine. CNN's Alexandra Field has more on how the pandemic is weighing on the holiday weekend.
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ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The season usually filled with cheer is here, but the pain across the country only deepening.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I expect that the daily death rate will double in the next 10 days. So, we will be seeing close to 4,000 deaths a day.
FIELD (voice-over): More than 90,000 Americans spent Thanksgiving in a hospital bed, another record-setting day for the 17th day.
DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Hospitals are full already. ICUs are full. In places like El Paso, we have been talking about accessing military hospitals. In other parts of the country, we're standing up field hospitals.
FIELD (voice-over): Deaths this week over at their highest level since May or forecasted to climbed by 60,000 in the next three weeks and health officials continue to warn about the holiday surge upon a surge.
DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: If you were with your family yesterday, stay home for the next couple of weeks while you make sure that you observe quarantine.
FIELD (voice-over): The CDC recommended people stay home for the holiday last week. Since then, around 6.5 million have passed through security at America's airports. More than a million of them flew on the day before Thanksgiving. That's record travel during the pandemic. But the busiest travel day is still to come, expected on Sunday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I can say for travel is that there really is no zero risk at the moment.
FIELD (voice-over): The pandemic hasn't put an end to Black Friday either. Deal hunters still lining up at some stores.
But this Thanksgiving weekend won't be all about football. 11 college football games canceled or postponed this week because of COVID. Positive tests also reported in the pros, including within the Browns, the Falcons, the Broncos and Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The race toward a vaccine lately fueling more optimism but now some confusion. A dosing mishap in AstraZeneca's trial gave a small group of study subjects less dosage but it was more effective than the planned dose, leading to broader questions about their trial.
But without any vaccines available yet, more places keep adding new restrictions. In Texas, Houston's mayor is eyeing a curfew.
MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D-TX), HOUSTON: Basically, we're going to look at people's behavior. We're going to look at the degree of community spread. Now, the positivity rate continues to go up, I don't take anything off the table.
FIELD (voice-over): But in Florida, where they are reporting 6,000 new cases a day, a decision from Republican governor Ron DeSantis to extend an order that rolls back virtually every COVID-related mandate.
FIELD: On the vaccine front, we learned that CDC advisers will meet next week, Tuesday, December 1st, to vote on who will get the first doses of the vaccine. Draft recommendations suggested that the early doses go to health care workers.
Others in the initial group could include people who are likely to get the disease, to spread it and to suffer the most severe consequences of it, such as nursing home residents.
But no one will get any vaccine until it has received the emergency use authorization from the FDA -- in New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.
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NEWTON: That's the situation in the United States. Meantime, many countries in Europe are struggling to contain the second wave of the coronavirus. Germany surpassed 1 million cases Friday after it confirmed more than 20,000 new infections. That's according to Johns Hopkins University.
This comes as Chancellor Angela Merkel said restrictions and a partial lockdown would last until December 20th.
France is set to begin easing its restrictions this weekend. ICU and COVID positivity rates have been declining during the past week. For more on all of this, we're joined by CNN's Jim Bittermann.
Good news -- we haven't had a lot of it. I've been interested to see the different approaches in Europe, especially now as it comes to the holidays. This is good news for France at least.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, Paula. In fact, after a month of lockdown, a very tough month of lockdown, things are starting to ease up slightly but ever so slightly.
Shops, stores, hairdressers can open this morning. People can circulate more than up to 20 kilometers from their front door -- up to now, it was only a kilometer. They can stay out for three hours. Places of worship are reopening.
[04:35:00]
BITTERMANN: Shops and stores, both clients and storekeepers, this is the time of year when they make about 20 percent of their income in the month leadup before Christmas so they're quite anxious. The customers as well were anxious to get their Christmas shopping underway.
We saw one department store, big department store this morning, where a number of people were -- the clients were lined up out front and the various employees of the store were all lined up in double rows to applaud the incoming clients. So it's a great deal of relief, even if it's a very small step, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes. It's poignant you say that. So many small businesses suffering through this.
In terms of how they're going to handle the holidays, do you think there may be a change, depending on what happens in the next few weeks?
Emmanuel Macron has made it very clear, the health care system has to be protected.
BITTERMANN: Exactly. He said everything is contingent on the numbers. On the 15th of December, they're planning to open up cinemas, theaters, what have you here, if the numbers are going in the right direction. Curfews remaining in place through December except for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and into January.
And the first opening of the bars, restaurants, cafes, so much a part of life here, Paula, as you well know, won't be until, at the earliest, January 20th. So still some distance off. Across Europe, the picture is really different in every country, depending on how the countries are grappling with this idea of how to get through the holidays.
In Britain, they have this idea of a Christmas bubble, which will go from the 23rd through the 28th of December, in which you can get together in a number of three households but no more.
In Northern Ireland, is in the midst of a very severe circuit breaker lockdown right now, hoping to get the numbers down for Christmas.
In Germany, Madame Merkel is saying not going to be another announcement, everything is going to stay in place until December 20th, not making any plans for what the Christmas traditions might be.
So it's a little bit different in every country. The Italian prime minister said, this is going to be a different Christmas. And that's certainly true.
NEWTON: Absolutely, as we all brace for what that is going to mean in the next few weeks. CNN's Jim Bittermann near Paris, appreciate it.
The CDC has called an emergency meeting for Tuesday. It intends to vote on recommendations of who will receive the coronavirus vaccine first. That is once the FDA issues its own authorization.
We want to talk more about this with Sterghios Moschos, an associate professor of molecular virology.
Thanks so much for joining us. A lot of questions about the vaccine and the vaccine approval. I want to talk about the vaccine approvals going on too quickly.
If I understood you correctly, do you feel they are approving them too quickly or they can do it in a short order?
STERGHIOS MOSCHOS, NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY: I think it's important to understand that regulatory bodies have been working hand in hand with the companies to see whether or not vaccines are safe and effective.
Now what we've seen in the last couple of weeks is that, in emergency situations, people working overtime, critical conditions, mistakes happen, as have happened with the AstraZeneca vaccine. It's essential we maintain transparency and clear lines of communication with the agencies and pharmaceutical companies.
Unfortunately, you and I are sitting outside of that bubble, if you like, of the communication. We do not get to see all of the data, much as we would love to, those of us who are appropriately trained. This is how the system works.
There is a group of highly expert individuals created by regulatory bodies. And they review the data. As long as they keep the data open, we're going to be in good hands.
There's no such thing as a perfectly safe vaccine. Water isn't safe if you drink too much of it. We have these emergency use approvals with a continuing gathering of data. So anything potentially untoward is caught as quickly as possible and we make sure are mitigated as fast as possible. For the average person, this is not worth worrying over.
[04:40:00] MOSCHOS: For the first month of vaccination and perhaps a few day after the second booster, we are still vulnerable to the disease. Second of all, it will probably last us as a minimum six months, probably a year. No one knows after that. We haven't had yet a year of coronavirus around. So let's not get ourselves too far ahead that this will open up immediately.
NEWTON: So many good points. We talked about the AstraZeneca and the Oxford University vaccine.
When it goes to the data and the dosing, what more do you think needs to be seen?
Because this has confused everyone. Even when you speak to people involved in the study, they themselves say they do not know what is at work there.
MOSCHOS: Yes. So I don't know, either. I'm not part of the study and I can't, you know, bring much light on it, if you like. What I can say is the regulatory bodies worldwide before we had any news about any of the vaccines had said 50 percent perfection and efficacy would have been good enough, OK?
The Oxford vaccine has exceeded that. Whether it's in Brazil, where data suggest 60 percent or in some cohort where it suggested 90 percent if you get half the dose. The point is the originally defined barrier has been exceeded. And therefore if the vaccine is safe, it's worth distributing it.
We cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater because, much as I love the technology, I spent all of my career researching (INAUDIBLE) futures. Much as I love that Moderna's therapeutic approach is so good, they still need a minus 7 degrees to move things around. So getting this for everybody is practically very, very difficult. We need something that will be useful for the wider community and useful for the world all over, not just us.
NEWTON: As many people pointed out, it's not the vaccine, it's the vaccination that's important. If you are dealing with less efficient, effective, that's OK if you're able to distribute it to more people.
Before I let you go, once we start to see those vaccinations in a small portion of the population, especially if it goes to the vulnerable, do you see a lot of this virus subsiding by the week and the month?
MOSCHOS: No, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not. Once we protect the physicians, nurses, the vulnerable straightaway, the rest of us should understand we don't know what the long term effects of the virus are. And 30 percent of the people that get the infection will develop long COVID-19. We don't know what long COVID-19 means yet and you do not want to find yourself on that side of the population or demographic with protracted fatigue for the rest of your life.
There are people who have gone through the first wave of the infection and are still experiencing fatigue, low grade fever symptoms and flu symptoms that debilitate their everyday lives. You don't want to end up in this, end up dead. But you don't want to end up with serious problems in your quality of life. So just be careful about yourself.
NEWTON: Yes. We are all going to be thrilled when we see those first doses. Don't get your hopes up too soon. Sterghios Moschos, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
MOSCHOS: You're very welcome.
NEWTON: Allegations of police brutality are enraging people in France. After the break, incriminating videos, a controversial bill. We'll take a look at the outrage and protests that are now sweeping the country.
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NEWTON: There is outrage in France after footage of police beating a Black man was leaked. Four officers have now been suspended. This comes as the country is also reeling from other allegations of police brutality. CNN's Melissa Bell has more.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The images have shocked even the French president, according to a spokesman. They were captured by a security camera inside this man's Paris music studio.
You can see the music producer being violently beaten up by police officers, images that were published by a French website on Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, an investigation had been opened and police say the officers have been suspended.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These images are unspeakable, extremely shocking and as soon as I learned about them and what happened, I asked for the suspension of those police officers.
BELL (voice-over): In a statement on Friday, the prosecutor's office said four officers have been summoned and would be taken into custody to be heard by the internal disciplinary body of the police. Michel (ph) is still in hospital, says his lawyer. He says he was ducking away from them because he was not wearing a mask and didn't want to be fined.
MICHEL ZECLER, MUSIC PRODUCER (through translator): Of course, I was scared. I had my phone in my hand. There was a policeman pointing a gun at me, hiding.
What is that about?
Was I armed too? Are they going to shoot as soon as they have an angle?
Of course, I was afraid. I'm a man. I was afraid. The people who have to protect me are pointing their guns at me.
BELL (voice-over): It's unknown if the officers have attorneys. They made no public statement. CNN affiliate BFM says the officer's report said they smelled marijuana when they encountered Zecler. His lawyer says the only alleged violence he faced, her client, was also nearly the victim of a miscarriage of justice, since the police had initially accused him of trying to take their weapons.
HAFIDA EL ALI, VICTIM'S LAWYER (through translator): If we didn't have these videos and if there were any pretension I hadn't acted as I had, unfortunately, my client would be under a committal order today.
BELL (voice-over): The investigation into what happened to Michel Zecler is the second one relating to allegations of police brutality opened in France this week.
The other surrounds pictures taken of the dismantling of a migrant camp on Monday. Images show police chasing people down the streets and a journalist being surrendered by police with batons. An investigation is underway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I would like to say to the police and gendarmes that I support them unfailingly. But the quid pro quo for this support is, obviously the interior minister's demand for absolute respect for law and ethics.
BELL (voice-over): The two investigations come in the very week that France's national assembly approved a controversial bill that limits the publication of images of police with the intent to cause them harm. It still needs to be approved by the senate but protesters are marching against the bill that will make it harder to hold the police to account.
And many wondering whether it is the police that needs protection from harm -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Coming up, a tantalizing mystery in the Utah desert, a tall metal pillar sticking out of the ground in one of America's most remote spots.
[04:50:00]
NEWTON: Who found it and who put it there?
A CNN mystery.
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NEWTON (voice-over): No, not a movie set. It's parliament meeting in Taiwan that devolved into a vicious brawl. Mayhem erupted when lawmakers from Taiwan's main opposition party started throwing buckets of pig guts at the premier.
Now at the heart of the bitter dispute some lawmakers are angry the government will soon allow imports of U.S. pork containing an additive that's banned in the European Union and China.
Taiwan's president posted on Facebook that Taiwan is a free market and people are not forced to eat the meat. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party condemned the chaos, saying it was a waste of food and, quote, "disgusting."
They're right about that.
Now the great wilderness writer Edward Abbey said the desert wears a veil of mystery. Now in the hinterlands of Southern Utah there's a mystery, indeed. Astonished pilots have discovered an otherworldly metal monolith standing tall and silent among the red rocks.
[04:55:00]
NEWTON: So who put it there and why?
Andrew Adams of CNN affiliate KSL has a look.
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ANDREW ADAMS, KSL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Captain's log, star date 11-18-2020. The crew of the Utah DPS helicopter traveled to South Utah on a mission to count big horned life forms (ph) with wildlife (INAUDIBLE) --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around. And there's like what?
He's like, there's this thing, just this thing back there. We got to go look at it.
ADAMS (voice-over): The crew had spotted an object of unknown origin on the red surface.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, the intrepid explorers go down to investigate the alien life form.
ADAMS (voice-over): In the middle of the barren desert stood a mysterious metal monolith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say it's probably between 10 and 12 feet high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is just wild.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're kind of joking around it, if one of us suddenly disappears, then I guess the rest of us make a run for it so...
ADAMS (voice-over): Pilot Bret Hutchings (ph) says it didn't look like it was dropped there, that it was firmly planted into the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're like thinking, OK, is this some like NASA stuff got there or something or are they bouncing satellites off it or something?
ADAMS (voice-over): It seemed less scientific and more artistic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm assuming it is, you know, some New Wave artist or something, you know, or somebody just was a big "2001: A Space Odyssey" fan.
ADAMS (voice-over): The similarity to the space movie was unmistakable, as was the bizarre effect it had on observers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just because it was kind of unusual, this stuff.
ADAMS (voice-over): The universe is filled with the unexplained and this journey to Southern Utah only raised more questions. As the crew headed home, they only wished they had the answers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we've never -- that's (INAUDIBLE) that's been about what the strangest thing that I've come across out there in all the years of flying.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: I bet.
Now Utah's Department of Public Safety says it doesn't yet know who or what placed the monolith and we will bring that story to you when they find that out.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton. I'll be back in just a moment with more news.
