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Trump Denies Reality In First TV "Interview" Since Election; Millions Of Travelers Returning Home Today As Cases Surge; L.A. County Lockdown Goes Into Effect Monday; Japan Sees Record Number Of New COVID Cases; Denver Broncos Have No Quarterbacks for Today's Game. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired November 29, 2020 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:18]

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. And thank you for joining me. I'm Amara Walker in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with the country firmly in the grip of a deadly pandemic and the situation worsening by the day. Four million new cases in November alone, more than 91,000 Americans are in hospitals, and a dire warning from the nation's top disease doctor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: What we expect, unfortunately, as we go for the next couple of weeks into December, that we might see a surge superimposed upon that surge that we're already in.

You know, and when I give that message, I don't want to frighten people, except to say it is not too late at all for us to do something about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: A surge superimposed upon a surge. Dr. Fauci urging travelers to take steps to protect themselves, as officials predict today will be the busiest day for air travel since the start of the pandemic.

A member of the White House coronavirus task force had this message for travelers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Should Americans who traveled for Thanksgiving or gathered actually be fully quarantining right now?

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH: No, that's not recommended to have a quarantine after travel unless you've had a direct exposure to a person with COVID for 15 minutes in close contact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Meanwhile, the economic woes for millions of Americans are also worsening. The pressure is on Congress now to pass legislation to help struggling Americans and small businesses, and also to provide the funding cash-strapped states need to effectively distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine.

And I'll ask again, where is President Trump? Well, he spent the morning denying reality and spewing false information on his favorite TV network, Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The whole world is watching. And nobody can believe what they're saying. You have leaders of countries that call me and say that's the most messed-up election we've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: With me now to talk more about this nearly hour-long rambling, delusional Trump interview is journalist Carl Bernstein, a CNN political analyst and Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES". Welcome to you both.

Carl, let me start with you, and get your reaction to what you heard from the president today who is unable and unwilling to face reality.

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's delusional. It's ranting. It's consistent with what people in the White House are telling me and others about his state of mind at the present and going back for a while, which is anything but stable in their view.

But I think we need to look at another deeper question. You just started this by saying his favorite network, about Fox. Interestingly, Fox is no longer his favorite network.

WALKER: That's true.

BERNSTEIN: And the reason is that even Fox has been reporting some of the reality of Trump's own unreality.

And so all of his war on the truth, which has been the hallmark and the most basic aspect, his line of his presidency, has now even been noted by Fox News.

And what has he done? He has left Fox News, except for this one favored anchor of his who conducted this incredibly delusional interview.

But Trump said one interesting thing and I'm going to quote Donald Trump. He said we don't have freedom of the press in this country. We have suppression of the press. You can't have a scandal if no one reports it.

The fact is the scandal is being reported. It's being reported all over, including even occasionally by Fox News. And that scandal is the presidency sensibility, mindset, lying, con job of Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States. That's the reality that he has met with a war on the truth for four years that has been very successful.

WALKER: You talk about this favored news anchor for President Trump, Fox host Maria Bartiromo. There's a reason for that. because as we saw during this interview, she wasn't pushing back at all against any of the president's false claims, disinformation. I mean they were basically flat out lies, Brian.

And she also agreed with pretty much everything President Trump said. And even at times encouraged him. Is Fox News complicit in spreading false and misleading information by giving the president this kind of platform?

[14:04:54]

WALKER: And let's talk also about Maria Bartiromo because I used to watch her when she was doing business news, and she had a pretty good reputation.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she was an acclaimed journalist. She knew how to ask all the right follow-up questions. But she's given up on all those skills.

She still has them probably somewhere but doesn't use them when she's interviewing Trump. She did not ask the necessary follow-up questions in response to the president's lies. And she took his claims very seriously, even though they make no sense.

Look, delusion is the word. Sadly, it's a very ugly word, but this is an ugly moment where Trump is backsliding, you know, rather than starting to get (INAUDIBLE) he's actually backsliding, digging in deeper.

And I think we ought to ask why is that? Well, I think a lot of that has to do with the audience. Carl is right that parts of Fox News are reporting the news, are moving on, covering the Biden transition.

But there are these popular talk shows on Fox that's still performs for the president. They're sycophants of the president. And those are the highest rated shows by far on Fox News.

That indicates to me that the hard-right base, the Trump base wants the propaganda. They want the lies. They want to believe the election is not over. They want to believe in voter fraud and all these other crazy things that have been blasted out of courts from coast to coast. They want to believe.

And Trump wants them to believe. So I think what he's doing is he's putting on a show for an audience that wants to be told they didn't lose.

And obviously he can't come to the grips of the term loser, but there's an audience out there that wants to believe these lies.

And that's probably the deeper issue the country has to grapple with and frankly that the Biden transition team has to grapple with.

WALKER: Yes. Carl, I mean about the only brief moments of clarity really during the rambling interview came when the president admitted that he may not have a legal path to overturning the election.

STELTER: Right.

WALKER: He and his lawyers have suffered losses, dozens of them, over 30 was counted in court. And he admitted that his court cases may not reach the Supreme Court.

Here he is talking about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Can you imagine, Donald Trump, president of the United States, files a case and I probably can't get a case even with -- and we have tremendous proof. We have hundreds and hundreds of affidavits, sworn affidavits, and it's very hard to get a case to the Supreme Court. It's about the machines of Dominion --

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK ANCHOR: Is there a path to victory?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I hope so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The fact that they're even talking about, is there a path to victory when it's clearly over, Carl? We have a president who refuses to concede and has ardent supporters who believe that this election was rigged.

Just big picture here, Carl. I mean what does this do to our democracy and to the fact that this country every four years, or every couple of years carries out free and fair elections?

BERNSTEIN: Look, Donald Trump has undermined our democratic institutions and especially our free electoral system, the election in particular the president of the United States, which is absolutely the bedrock of our democracy. And he has undermined it.

But I think we need a wider lens on all of this discussion of untruth. If it were up to me, I don't think I would have run the clip that we just put up on the air because once again it furthers his lies and gives them voice when we know what he's saying is not true.

But there's a much larger question here. We have been what was a cold civil war, a cold cultural civil war in this country that's gone on for 15, 20, 25 years. Donald Trump has brought it to the point of ignition, poured fuel on the fire, and we now are in a conflagration.

But in looking at that, we have to acknowledge that going back to the beginnings of talk radio, particularly right-wing talk radio, that there has been increasingly disinterest in the best obtainable version of the truth, which really is what good reporting, good journalism is.

And as Brian has suggested, people -- and this is not limited to Donald Trump supporters -- people increasingly over the last 20, 25 years have been looking for information in the media that reinforces what they already believe rather than looking and being open to the best obtainable version of the truth.

And what has happened in the Trump presidency is that this has been taken by his acolytes and supporters to a point where the mentality, the reportorially mentality even of supermarket tabloids, has come, not just Murdochism (ph) but absolutely wildly insane, total untruth has come to be the dominant media message for those people who follow Donald Trump and are his base.

[14:09:45]

BERNSTEIN: And that's the situation that we're left in, and what we in the press need to start looking at is, is there a way that we can somehow open up for all the people of America once again a willingness to look at and accept the best obtainable version of the truth.

And in the era of social media and the divide that Trump has so skillfully exploited, I'm not sure how possible it is that we can change this horrible war on truth which always, you know, truth is the first casualty of war. And that is what Donald Trump has done.

W6: Very scary times.

Brian, what can we expect, do you think, the next couple months up until inauguration day, especially knowing, you know, what President Trump has done to delay the transition, and we know in the past foreign adversaries have taken advantage of this vulnerable time of transition knowing that America is preoccupied especially right now?

STELTER: Right. We're going to see more announcements by Biden, more pouting by Trump, more calls to friendly outlets in order to advance this narrative. It's partly about a grift, it's partly about fund- raising. He wants to raise money in order to pay off campaign debts and be able to build maybe a new media apparatus in the coming year.

Judging by the number of fundraising e-mails Trump is sending now, it's not going very well. They're getting more and more and more desperate.

But here's one thing I am struck by. And this may sound a little more positive. If you would imagine three weeks after Trump wouldn't admit defeat, what do you think was going to happen. Would there be rallies? Would there be unrest? Would Trump supporters be out there in MAGA caravans and on boat tours, riding across the country shutting down highways, the way we saw right before election day? We have not seen that.

I actually think even many Trump voters are over it, they're tired, they're done. They want to move on. They might say in polls that they believe the election was rigged, but do they really believe it? Or are they just supporting the person they voted for. I actually think the lack of popular interests and protests and rallies and marches and caravans, it signals to me that even if people are buying some of what Trump is selling, they're not that interested anymore. They might be over it.

WALKER: We'll see.

STELTER: I don't know.

WALKER: And we'll see if President Trump indicates anything about 2024.

STELTER: Right.

WALKER: Carl Bernstein and Brian Stelter -- very important conversation. Thank you to you both for that.

STELTER: Thanks.

BERNSTEIN: Good to be with you.

WALKER: Still ahead, heightened concerns among public health officials as travelers return home from the Thanksgiving holiday.

Also many New York City schools now planning to reopen in a week but with spiking cases across the country, is this the best idea? I'll ask an emergency room physician when we come back.

[14:12:23]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Millions of people have been packing the airports this Thanksgiving week, breaking pandemic era records. The heavy holiday travel in defiance of CDC guidance urging Americans to stay home. And today the airports are packed again as passengers are heading home.

Natasha Chen, standing by at the Atlanta Airport with more. Hi there, Natasha. How busy is it there?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Well Amara, it's looking pretty smooth as far as passenger traffic goes. Of course, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport being the busiest airport in the world.

The officials at this airport estimate 190,000 passengers will come through here today. And throughout this past Thanksgiving week, the estimate was that there would be a third of the typical number of passengers they would see during this time of year.

Across the country, TSA screened more than a million passengers on three separate days during Thanksgiving week and that's breaking records because prior to that week, we had only seen it happen one time, back in October.

So definitely a lot more passengers coming through airports this past week. Although we are seeing things pretty smoothly here in Atlanta, we did talk to someone just arriving home, who told us she had a bit of a different experience a different airport.

Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN (voice over): So tell me what it was like today.

MIA PIOLI, RETURNING FROM BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: It was pretty crazy, actually. Boston airport was a lot busier than I thought it would be. I thought it will be a lot quieter, just because, you know, of COVID and everything.

You just got to get used to it. It's overwhelming, but I don't know how long it's going to last. So hopefully, it will be over soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: We don't know how long it's going to last. And that's the real key thing here. When I talked to her, she said that she and her family had a difficult time making the choice for what to do over Thanksgiving as many of us did. And she said that her family -- she and her family familiar would be getting tested in a few days just to make sure they didn't pick something up, Amara.

WALKER: Natasha Chen, appreciate your reporting. Thank you.

Public schools in New York City will begin reopening for in-person learning one week from tomorrow. Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing that school buildings will reopen in phases and students will be tested weekly.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joining me now from New York with more. Yes Miguel, break this down for us and how it will actually work?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is New York. So we hope it does work. It's going to be slow start. It's going to take some time. It's going to be bureaucratic.

These are the youngest of the youngest students. These are elementary students essentially that will start on December 7th, and then disabled students who really needed the most assistance and the most help and most sort of in-person assistance. They will then start on the 10th.

New York City abandoning the 3 percent rule, the 3 percent positivity rule which is sort of a one-size fits all policy. Now, they will go to individual schools and classes and track metrics within those schools to figure out if they have to curtail things, change things.

Here's why the mayor said it was necessary to start opening the schools again.

[14:19:42]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: Studies consistently show that younger kids are having less of a negative experience and there's less concern about the spread when it comes to younger kids.

Also that demands that our parents are going through and I feel for all our parents who experiencing so many challenges right now, how important it is for them to have their younger kids in school, how important it is at that age both educationally and socially, but also in terms of how parents juggle all the challenges in their life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: It is a lot of juggling for parents and kids these days. There is something else very, very important here.

This is not for all kids, now for all elementary students. Only those who had signed up for in-person classes earlier on. They can begin going back to school. Others, they'll have wait until they can re-sign up essentially again so that they can start to go back in to school.

This also does away with sort of hybrid learning. So if you had your kid at home three days a week, and in school two days a week. That's going to start going away under this new plan. Essentially, they can either stay home all the time and learn from home or they can start going to school like they're going now.

Largest school district in the country, largest school system in the country -- let's see how it goes. It's been fits and starts in trying to get New York City back into schools, Amara.

WALKER: Just a quick question Miguel, will the older kids at least be required to wear a mask when in school?

MARQUEZ: Each school is going to have its own rules, and these are not older kids. These are all much younger kids they feel that the way that they're going to manage both the physicality of the school classrooms and the kids themselves, a lot of them probably are not going to be wearing masks but they feel that they can keep them separate enough that they won't be spreading the virus amongst themselves and then taking it home.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Yes. Any parent of young kids, we all know how difficult it is to keep our kids wearing their mask if they actually do agree to put them on.

Miguel Marquez, thank you very much.

All right. Let's turn now to Dr. Elizabeth Clayborne. She is an emergency physician at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Clayborne, good to see you.

Let's first talk about the schools that are reopening in New York as we just heard from Miguel Marquez. We heard from Dr. Birx this morning from the White House coronavirus task force, emphasizing how mask mandates can help schools stay open. What do you think about the decision in New York to reopen schools a week from now, especially after hundreds of thousands of Americans are packing airports following Thanksgiving and a warning of another surge from health officials?

DR. ELIZABETH CLAYBORNE, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Absolutely. Well, thank you for having me, Amara.

I think as a frontline provider, a lot of us are bracing for this surge on top of a surge that we've been talking about for several weeks. And there is some concern with, you know, going back to school. I do think there's so many risks involved which is why it's important for the public to listen to their local public health officials.

It's something that's going to have to be tracked day by day. It sounds like they have a good plan for going back to school but that might need to be changed depending on what they numbers look like. And how we are seeing the case numbers potentially increase as well as hospitalizations when people do go back to school.

So, you know, in New York that might be very particular to their local infrastructure there of what happens. And so everyone needs to just listen to what the public health officials are saying in their region.

WALKER: Also about Thanksgiving holiday travel quickly, because Admiral Brett Giroir who is also on the White House's coronavirus task force was recommending that people get tested if you had traveled over the Thanksgiving holiday.

What is the best time to get tested? Because we know this incubation period most people start to experience symptoms after five to seven days. What's your advice?

DR. CLAYBORNE: Yes, I do think if you've had any contact with multiple individuals where you're sitting done eating or traveling, it is important to get tested. Usually that incubation period does last -- start around between five and seven days, so testing after five days from your exposure is a good idea.

It may require a little longer, but you have to understand that if you have a negative test at that point, it doesn't necessarily mean 100 percent that you're in the clear. You could develop symptoms later. So anytime you have symptom development or a test (ph).

Another thing that you can do, because a lot of people ask me, Dr. Clayborne, what can I do to help a frontline provider like you is I want people to think ahead and plan ahead.

And I'm a big proponent of people having advance care plans. So in addition to paying attention when you're traveling to where you're going to get tested, how that's going to happen, you should also take this time during the holidays to speak to your relatives, to your family members and talk to them about what your advanced directive would look like.

When you show up sick in an ER, I really only have a few minutes to decide what I might need to do. And if you cannot speak for yourself, it's integral that I have access to information about your medical history, your medications and who to talk to if you can't speak for yourself.

And that is another thing in addition to testing that I'm imploring everyone to take action right now no matter your age because of its importance.

WALKER: Important to be proactive, you're right.

I do want to play you some sound from Admiral Brett Giroir from this morning, what he had to say on CNN about public confidence in the vaccines?

[14:24:53]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: How are you going to convince Americans to take this vaccine?

ADM. GIROIR: So I want to make sure that all Americans know that these vaccines have been tested in tens of thousands of individuals. There are independent data safety monitoring board. There's going to be an independent transparent review. The Pfizer vaccine will have an advisory committee on December 10th. All the data will be out there.

The surgeon general and myself and all the team are really out trying to educate the public. We have to see what the data show but all indications are this is an extremely safe vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Do you think that's going to be enough to reassure or comfort anyone who might feel skeptical even though there's so much safety data out there about the efficacy and safety of these vaccines.

DR. CLAYBORNE: There is a lot of concern both from, you know, the public as well as medical providers. I know there's skepticism that exist on both sides. As someone who is going into work everyday and putting my health on the line, my family's health. I was actually seven months pregnant when this pandemic hit. I worked up until before my delivery. Fortunately I had a healthy baby girl and now going back to work with a five-month-old and a two-month-old at home, I still feel that I need some layer of protection.

And so I do believe in the systems of our government and able to do rigorous testing and checking of these vaccines to ensure they're as safe as possible. And although we're trying to be swift with our response with vaccines, we are still making sure that safety is first.

But I do think that it's going to take some experience, right, it's going to take those first people who receive the vaccine and people seeing that there's decent result with that for others to kind of buy in and be comfortable taking the vaccine when it rolls out.

But personally it is something that I plan to do, because my current exposure and risk when I go to work everyday is very high. And anything that can add a layer of protection to me is helpful.

WALKER: Dr. Elizabeth Clayborne, thank you. And congratulations on your baby. I also have a five-month-old so I think we had COVID babies around the same time. Thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

DR. CLAYBORNE: Thank you.

WALKER: All right. Still ahead, a pandemic in the winter spelling disaster for restaurants across the nation. We're going to talk to an owner who is struggling to make ends meet and is bracing for what is to come.

Also a worsening pandemic raising the stakes for President-Elect Joe Biden? The uphill battle he faces to fix the economy.

[14:27:18]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: The COVID-19 lockdown order by Los Angeles County goes into effect tomorrow. California is in the midst of a steep surge in new infections. In L.A. County, the health department says the number of cases is at alarming levels. Restaurants, already struggling to survive, face further restrictions.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is in Pasadena, where outdoor dining remains open for now. Paul, and add colder weather on the way, how are restaurant owners taking this new lockdown?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in Los Angeles County, most of them are hanging on by a thread and they don't like it. Now, here in Pasadena, this is the exception, and all eyes in the county right now are on Pasadena because Pasadena has its own health department, and it is allowing for restaurants to stay open for outdoor dining. But it is strictly enforcing its rules, which include not only for these servers to wear a mask but also a face shield, and tables have to be distanced by more than six feet.

So, they shut down five restaurants. That was on Friday night. They had an emergency hearing yesterday. They allowed three to reopen, then they shut down two more. So right now, four restaurants in Pasadena are shut down, but Pie 'N Burger behind me, it's iconic, is open for outdoor dining. And this is why I love YPB (ph).

Michael Osborn, come on down. He is the owner here of Pie 'N Burger. They do a lot of sales, a lot of volume, very frustrating Thanksgiving weekend. And it was you, among others, here in Pasadena that implored the city council to stay open. What did you tell them?

MICHAEL OSBORN, OWNER, PIE 'N BURGER: Well, we told them two things. One, we did not see any science behind the closure of outdoor dining. Nobody, the county, the state, no one has given us any information that outdoor dining is the cause of the rise in cases.

And the other thing was that coupled with the sheer fact that we have employees that are just hanging by a thread right here before the holidays, that were just starting to get back to work, and here we are with a three-week shut down, a minimal three-week shut down, it was just devastating. And I couldn't look my employees in the eyes and tell them there's no more work.

VERCAMMEN: Tell us what happens if they shut down outdoor dining, what happens to your employees?

OSBORN: Well, we're going to be back down to having two people working a day versus the five or six that we have now. So, look, we would be looking at cutting 150 to 200 hours a week here and it would just be minimal people.

And on top of that, in the state of California, the EDD, with their unemployment checks, is doing a horrible job of getting money out to people that need it.

VERCAMMEN: And along the lines in terms of the safety, there are now teams of inspectors going around in restaurants. You've heard they start shutting restaurants down. What have you implored your employees right now in terms of their safety? And I know you said that you make sure your people have their shields on, as well as the masks.

OSBORN: Yes. We've been compliant from the very, very beginning. We actually probably could put more tables out here than we have, but we're just doing a minimalist approach. You know, the face masks, the shields, everything to do, the guard up by the cash register, we've been doing the right thing from the very beginning.

VERCAMMEN: Great. Well, I thank you so much for taking time out bringing us up to speed with that.

So, Amara, as you heard from Michael, they are hanging on here. The rest of the county watching for Pasadena, and we'll talk to health officials later in the day and try to get a sense of just what's going on here because it's sort of like what we saw with beach closures.

[14:35:04]

L.A. County closes beaches and then people flock to Ventura County and Orange County, we think people from other cities will start attending these Pasadena restaurants. Back to you, Amara.

WALKER: You've got to feel for these small business owners. I appreciate your reporting, Paul Vercammen, thank you.

Well, the president-elect faces an uphill battle in getting people back to work and creating a sustained recovery for the economy. New data from the labor department show 20.4 million Americans are on some form of unemployment benefits.

With me now is Matt Egan, he is the Lead Writer at CNN Business. Hi there, Matt. So, we just saw Paul Vercammen's report on the devastation to the restaurant industry. Is it fair to say that the virus is still in charge of the economy right now?

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS LEAD WRITER: Yes, Amara. Unfortunately, the economy is still very much at the mercy of this pandemic. And as the health crisis gets worse, we can expect the recovery to get weaker. Just look at a series of real-time indicators, everything from restaurant reservations, what Paul was just talking about, to box office sales, to even right now we also see hotel bookings is very weak, even though people are applying more this holiday weekend. Airline bookings are still down by more than half before the crisis.

So it's no coincidence that we've also seen the job markets slow down. Back-to-back means unemployment claims have gone up. Claims are still well above the worst levels of the great recession. The jobs report is due out on Friday and it's expected to show that hiring slowed down in November. GDP is also expected to slow very sharply in the fourth quarter. J.P. Morgan is warning that the first quarter, the economy could actually shrink again, which would obviously be another big alarming development.

The good news, Amara, of course, is on the vaccine front. I mean, both Pfizer and Moderna say they have these coronavirus vaccine candidates that are highly effective. That means that once they're distributed, once people take them and, of course, they're authorized by the FDA, that could be a game changer for the economy. Unfortunately, that's going to take some time.

And so that's why we do need the federal government to sort of bridge the gap between now and the post-vaccine world (ph).

WALKER: Yes. There are millions of Americans at home right now concerned about what will happen after Christmas when their unemployment benefits run out. Congress has been on vacation this past week. And we know there's been gridlock on Capitol Hill for months now over a new stimulus package.

Obama administration economic adviser Austan Goolsbee was on CNN, he told Manu Raju this morning that democrats need to take a cold hard look at their options. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, FORMER OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, ECONOMIC ADVISER: It's not jumpstarting growth, it's just keeping people from being evicted, keeping businesses from shutting down permanently from what was supposed to be a temporary shock. And I think it's important. So if they have to accept half a loaf, then they should accept half a loaf, and then let's try to get another half a loaf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: I mean, now this is lifeline. It's going to be a lifeline for a lot of people. But, I mean, what are their chances of even getting a new stimulus plan by the end of the year? EGAN: Well, I think Austan is absolutely right on the importance of getting a deal. The chances are not great. We know that Congress has not been able to reach a deal on this. They couldn't do it before the election. They're really hesitant in much progress after the election. The hope is that they do get something done though, because there are some dire consequences. I mean, if there's no deal, it means more small business failures, more layoffs and, critically, some of these federal relief programs are going to go away.

About 12 million people who are receiving unemployment benefits could be left in limbo, that includes people who are self-employed and also those who have been out of work for a long period of time, because those two programs are set to expire. Also this eviction moratorium, that is set to expire at the end of the year. In March, the federal government, they put a stop to student loan payments and they waived interest on student debt. Again, that is set to expire.

So, clearly, this is no joking matter here. A lot of people really depend on Congress and the administration coming together in reaching a deal.

WALKER: So much financial uncertainty that so many people are dealing with right now. Matt Egan in New York, thank you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:00]

WALKER: Japan is seeing a troubling surge in coronavirus cases. More than 2,600 new COVID-19 cases were reported Saturday, the most ever since the outbreak began. The country is also now seeing a severe increase in the number of deaths by suicide, especially among women. Last month, more people die by suicide in Japan than from the coronavirus.

CNN's Selina Wang looks at the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eriko Kobayashi tried to kill herself four times.

ERIKO KOBAYASHI, DEPRESSION SUFFERER: I was really poor. I'm ashamed to say it, but I shoplifted then. I worked full-time, even overtime, but did not have enough month money to live.

WANG: She was working for a publishing company but couldn't make ends meet. Now, she works at an NGO, but since the pandemic, the stress she felt then is now back.

KOBAYASHI: My salary was cut and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I constantly feel a sense of crisis that I might fall back into poverty. WANG: Japanese women are bearing the brunt of job losses from the pandemic, often working in industries like hotel, food service and retail.

KOBAYASHI: Japan has been ignoring women. It's a society where the weakest people are cut off first.

[14:45:02]

WANG: In October, more Japanese died of suicide than from ten months of COVID-19, partly driven by suicide among women, which increased 80 percent from the previous year.

KOBAYASHI: They're suffering so much. They just feel it's better to die.

WANG: Koki Ozura started a mental health hotline in March. 70 percent of the people asking for help are women.

KOKI OZURA, FOUNDER, A PLACE FOR YOU: They lost their jobs and they need to raise their kids, but they don't have money. They attempt to suicide.

WANG: His non-profit receives about 200 messages a day. Koki says his 600 volunteers are not enough to keep up with the volume.

OZURA: And I've been messaging, accept messages like I'm (INAUDIBLE) by father -- by the father every winter (ph), or my husband tried to kill me.

WANG: Wow, because of the pandemic?

OZURA: Because of the pandemic, yes. And before the pandemic, they had like a place that they can escape, like the schools or the office.

WANG: Japan has long struggled with one of the highest suicide rates in the world, but the number had been decreasing up until the pandemic. The government has invested in suicide prevention, but Eriko says it also requires changing society.

KOBAYASHI: It's shameful for others to know your weakness and misery, so you hide everything and endure. We need to create a culture where it's okay to show your weakness.

WANG: Several Japanese celebrities have taken their lives in recent months, which often causes an increase in suicide in the general public. Hana Kimura, a 22-year-old professional wrestler and reality T.V. star, died of suicide after a barrage of hate on social media. Hana's mother says the pandemic has compounded the challenges for women.

KYOKO KIMUA, MOTHER OF DECEASED WRESTLER: The women used to take care of children and the household. Now, they have to work as well, so all the social strain piles up on the women.

WANG: Now in her 40s, Eriko is much better at dealing with her anxiety and hopes that by speaking publicly about her fears, more people will do so and realize they are not alone before it's too late.

Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER (voice over): If you or a loved one needs support or just someone to talk to, you can call 1-800-273-8255. That's 1-800-273- TALK. People are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:00]

WALKER: So what do you do if you're an NFL team with no quarterback? If you're the Denver Broncos, you play anyway. The team's three quarterbacks declared ineligible due to COVID contact tracing, but the show goes on this afternoon as they takes on the New Orleans Saints.

CNN's Carolyn Manno looks at dilemmas like this one that many teams are facing.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Amara. This is really worst case scenario for any team in the league heading into a regular season game without an option at such as a valuable position, especially on such short notice. But the team issuing a statement last night, saying they were in this predicament and having to play just a couple of hours from now.

The NFL ruling the Broncos' three eligible quarterbacks starter Drew Lock and backups Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles are ineligible due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. The three quarterbacks tested negative but still need to sit out for five days, according to league rules.

Denver's team statement didn't specify who the players came in contact with, but multiple outlets are reporting that it was quarterback Jeff Driskel who was placed on the team's reserved COVID-19 list on Thursday. ESPN reporting that the three sideline quarterbacks were not wearing masks at one point during contact with Driskel.

Many Broncos players are upset about the situation, including tight end Noah Fant, who said, I'm not one to complain but, NFL, you all can't possibly send us into a game without a quarterback, the most important position to win offense. We don't even got a backup.

The Broncos/Saints game is still on and so is Tuesday night's game between the Ravens and Steelers. That's despite at least 18 Ravens players being placed on the reserve COVID-19 list this week. If it is played, the Ravens will have Thursday's game against the Cowboys moved back.

Meantime, three-week ban on contact sports in California, in Santa Clara County, has left the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford University, wondering where they are going to play next. The Niners have two home games over the next three weeks while the Cardinal have one game on December 12. Those games might have to be played elsewhere now. Both say that they're working with local officials to determine the next steps.

Amara, long story short, this is continues to be a real quagmire for the NFL, who has worked tirelessly to avoid having to outright cancel a game. But the holiday travel and more positive tests are certainly making this process more difficult. Amara?

WALKER: Carolyn Mano, thank you.

And much more ahead in the Newsroom, but, first, another powerful season of This is Life with Lisa Ling premieres tonight with back-to- back episodes. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA LING, CNN HOST: What would you say young men need most right now?

[14:55:02]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not broken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a place to be heard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's big money here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go after the traffickers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, sheriff's office, come in.

LING: Do you feel nervous about what's going to happen after?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But that's part of life, life.

LING: Are your doctors learning through you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unequivocally.

LING: What does it feel like to carry the hopes of all these men?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No more dividing. Stand together as one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're from different parts of the world, but we're fighting for the same thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes courage to take a stand for what is right in this world.

LING: It's powerful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00]