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U.S. Records More Than Four Million New COVID-19 Cases In November; Trump Denies Reality In First TV Interview Since Election; Millions Of Travelers Returning Home Today As Coronavirus Cases Surge. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 29, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:35]

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

We begin with a 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 infectious diseases doctor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: 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. And you know -- and when I give that message, I don't want to frighten people that except to say, it is not too late at all for us to do something about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Dr. Fauci is 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 Taskforce had this message for travelers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Do the Americans who traveled for Thanksgiving or gathered actually be fully quarantining right now?

ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, H.H.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY: 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 to cash strapped states needed to effectively distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine.

And I'll ask again, where is President Trump? Well, he spent the morning denying reality and trading conspiracy theories with one of his favorite FOX News hosts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The whole world is watching and nobody can believe what they're seeing, and 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: Let's begin with this rambling, unhinged nearly hour long diatribe by the President, a President who still refuses to admit he lost the election and continues to spread conspiracy theories and disinformation.

For more, let's bring in Jeremy Diamond at the White House. Jeremy, that was a tough -- it wasn't really was an interview to watch. But I mean, he made very few public appearances, President Trump, and has taken few questions since the election. But today he went into friendly territory. He faced no pushback on these flat out lies.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He faced no pushback at all in what was basically a 45-minute propaganda session by the President of the United States. And what we heard from the President was a mixture of lying and disillusionment and disbelief, frankly, from the President's over his election defeat to Joe Biden more than three weeks after that loss actually happened.

The President is suggesting at times that the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice might have been involved in rigging the 2020 election. He said that thousands of dead people voted. He talked about ballots being thrown away. Poll watchers being thrown out of rooms.

All of these claims, the President offered no evidence for and we know that they're not true because they've been thrown out of one court after the next, which have denied any evidence of widespread voter fraud. In fact, the President's legal team has rarely actually made the case of voter fraud in the courtroom, because they know that there really isn't any widespread evidence of that.

And when they have brought that evidence in, the judges have said that the Trump Campaign's claims have no merit. They've said that there is no evidence to back this up. And they've certainly denied the idea that all mail-in votes should somehow be thrown out, because the President of the United States is casting doubt on them.

But even as he expressed disbelief at the fact that he could have possibly lost to Joe Biden, he also seemed to acknowledge for brief moments during this 45-minute venting session, that it would be difficult for him to win this, particularly in the United States Supreme Court. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Do 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 affidavit, sworn affidavits and it's very hard to get a case to the Supreme Court. It is about the machines -- Dominion.

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Is there a path to victory?

TRUMP: I hope so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:05]

DIAMOND: And you hear it there, "I hope so," but at the same time, acknowledging as he did a couple of other points during that conversation, that that it's very unlikely that the Supreme Court is going to overturn the results of the election, and we know from our legal experts that it's even less unlikely that that is going to happen.

Now, the President wouldn't say at what point he is ever going to give up this effort to overturn the results of the election, stop trying putting forward these meritless cases before Federal and state courts across the country. But he did make very clear that he never plans to admit that he lost this election and that he plans to sick by his belief that this election was rigged as wrong and as baseless, as it may be.

The President said at one point, "My mind will not change in six months" -- Amara.

WALKER: Wow. Jeremy Diamond at the White House. Thank you.

Despite what the President is talking about today, fears of another COVID surge is what's on the mind of most Americans as the Holiday week wraps up. Thanksgiving travel is expected to peak today in what has already been a record breaking week for passengers since the pandemic began.

Millions traveled in defiance of public health guidance and today, millions will return home. Natasha Chen at the Atlanta airport and Natasha, what are you seeing there?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Amara, it's actually going pretty smoothly as far as passengers go, and it is very different from what you've seen in years past because this spot where I'm standing, typically where people come up the escalator as they arrive. On a Sunday after Thanksgiving, I wouldn't necessarily be able to stand here typically, I can probably see a stampede.

So you see it's a lot emptier. The Atlanta official -- airport officials here expected about a third of what they would typically see during Thanksgiving week, Sunday being the busiest of Thanksgiving week. So we will see some of those numbers reported later on. But so far, from the numbers T.S.A. has reported as far as what

they've screened this past week, they hit more than a million passenger screenings on three separate days starting from the Friday before Thanksgiving. That's breaking records, because the only time that's happened since the pandemic began, was one day back in October.

So people definitely deciding to travel even though it's less than normal. We met somebody who just came home after flying to Las Vegas to have a Thanksgiving with five family members. I asked him about the difficulty in making that decision to actually travel and see family. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DWIGHT YOUNG, RETURNING FROM LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: It's a risk you take every day walking out of your home, you know, risking your life. So, I just wanted to be around my family just in case it might be the last time that I ever get to see them. So, you know, it is all about making sure you be around people that you love, and that's what the holidays is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And he did say that he was going to quarantine himself at home for a couple of weeks just to make sure he didn't pick something up on the way back and he doesn't want to spread anything to other people here in Atlanta -- Amara.

WALKER: Natasha Chen at the airport, thank you so much, in Atlanta. Let's turn now to Martha Baker. She has a union representing thousands of healthcare professionals in Miami called SEIU Local 9091. Martha, a pleasure to see you and have you.

We know nurses are the backbone of your union. And in many ways, they're the backbone of our healthcare system. First up, how are your members holding up during this time as you hear Dr. Fauci saying that we're going to see a surge superimposed on the surge.

MARTHA BAKER, REPRESENTATIVE, SEIU LOCAL 1991: Yes. Thank you for having me. And on behalf of our members, thank you for, you know, shining a light on what it's like to be inside a hospital, where sort of our members are dealing with, you know, taking care of two weeks later, what happens out in our -- you know, public surroundings. So, you know, they're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

They have been through, you know, what feels like a surge, obviously, back in July and August, when our hospital had over 50 percent of our patients. Jackson Health System has six hospitals, and each of our hospitals had over 50 percent of their patients that were COVID. So that's when we had 150 nurses sent in to help us survive that, and I don't know how we would have done it. I said it was like the Calvary riding in.

Now, the problem is every state, you know, is surging. I don't know where the Calvary will come from at this time. But, you know, we're holding down. You know, it's climbing slowly, but surely. Everybody is expecting that these holidays will be a test of our behavior in the communities and see what happens.

But, you know, not only do people get their own vacations canceled because staffing is tight. You've heard people talk about it's not the beds as much as it is the nurses and the doctors and the caregivers that need to be there. So people get their vacations cancelled with their holiday, with their loved ones, and then they put their life at risk every day taking care of patients with COVID, when, you know at this point, we are all getting smarter and we know how to kind of manage this.

You know, I wish we had leaders that would actually mandate masking, you know --

WALKER: Yes, tell me more about that. I mean, do you feel like your governor is doing enough while we're seeing, you know, states like California imposing stricter restrictions on restaurants, mask mandates in some places by mayors.

BAKER: You know, our Governor DeSantis in Florida is, you know, we call him not so fondly, but we call him Little Trump Jr. You know, he wanted to build the wall. Thomas little toddler, let's build a wall. It's fun when it was back election time in '16.

But, you know, this is a shame that we have leaders, we have some local mayors -- thank God -- Mayor Gelber is one of the best and now mayor Daniella Levine Cava as a mayor, but our Governor said we can't enforce it, wearing a mask, which is crazy.

I call the mask the best vaccine ever. You know, we've seen very little regular H1N1 in our hospitals. You know, there's -- the mask has prevented a lot of spread of everything else that's spread by droplet like the H1N1 flu.

But this COVID obviously, the masks are what are what is saving the healthcare workers' lives as they are inside the hospital taking care of these patients. You know, and everybody in public should wear a mask. It's just the smartest and best thing to do.

WALKER: Yes, so many studies have shown that if every single person in this country wore a mask every day for a, you know, week or two, we would see a huge drop in infections and even the death rates.

You know, I was really struck, Martha, by what you were saying, you know, just the frontline workers not taking vacation, waiting for the shoe to drop. Give me a sense of what's going on. I'm very familiar with the Jackson Health System. My husband trained there.

There are so many wonderful physicians and nurses and support staff at the several hospitals in that system. What do the hospitalizations look like right now in terms of the capacity with COVID-19 patients and how are you preparing for this next surge that's coming in the first two weeks of December as predicted by health officials?

BAKER: Right. I mean, caregivers and our hospitals and we look at it not only in Florida -- Dade County -- Miami Dade County, but we also look at the numbers obviously right inside our hospital and our team looks at it every day with our members to just follow the trend.

We've been climbing from you know, 107, one teens, one twenties, one thirties -- you know, every week maybe it goes up to five to 10. And you know, in the summer we had 600, so we are nowhere surging like that and I'm hoping that we can manage this surge a little better at least in Miami Dade because we have had the Miami Dade mayor and surrounding cities like City of Miami and Miami Beach mandate the mask. And you know, that wasn't until recently that Mayor DeSantis said no enforcing that or whatever reason that was.

We we're keeping it down. You know, the northern part of Florida which we often call a whole different state is -- they are the ones not wearing the masks You know, that's the red zone of Florida and they are not wearing the masks and perhaps you know, we're not -- if Florida has got 5,000 or 6, 000; over half of them are in the northern part of Florida.

WALKER: Got it.

BAKER: And I don't wish this on anyone, but, you know, obviously mask is the best message if anybody can get anything from this is, wear the mask. You know, it's protects you and protects others. And, you know, people don't realize, you don't know.

I mean, this young man I heard on before that travels and quarantines in, but you don't know what you picked up on the plane and dropped off at your family. You may never get it. You know, it's just -- the mask just makes it so much safer and --

WALKER: I hear your message loud and clear. And I think that's a great message, Martha, which is masks are the best vaccine.

Martha Baker, we're running out of time, but we appreciate you joining us. We will stay in touch and wish you the best of luck. Thank you so much.

BAKER: Thank you so much.

WALKER: All right. Still ahead, many New York City schools now planning to reopen in a week, but with spiking cases across the country, is this the best idea?

Plus restaurants struggling to remain open as stricter pandemic restrictions go into effect and temperatures drop? We're live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:22]

WALKER: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says opening schools is the right direction and the right decision. This, as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announces plans to begin reopening some schools for in- person learning starting next Monday.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joining me now from New York with more. So, Miguel, tell us how will this work? MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's hope it does

work. It's certainly going to be bureaucratic and very difficult because it's been fits and starts for New York City trying to get the nation's largest school system back up and operating. This will be the second attempt to get it up and operating once they shut it down again back in November.

Essentially elementary school kids and pre-K, so kids three through fifth grade will be able to go back if their parents had said they could go back to in -school learning. Also kids with the worst disabilities, they will be able to start to go back on the seventh, the pre-K through five, those kids can go back; on the 10th, the kids with the worst disabilities, they can start to go back. But they have to have had previously said that they wanted to do in-person learning.

This will essentially do away with this hybrid system where some kids were going to school a couple of times a week and then staying home the rest of the time and learning from home. So they will try to get kids back into school essentially under this new system. And then we'll see how the rest of the year goes into next year.

For many students, this is only about a third of the elementary schools in the system. For many students, they will have to wait until they can re-sign up to go back to the in class sessions some in the future -- Amara.

[15:20:11]

WALKER: And Miguel, I mean, despite the fact that health officials are warning of a surge upon a surge in the coming next couple of weeks, nearly 400 people were caught packed in a New York City club this weekend, obviously in clear violation of the city's coronavirus restrictions. What do you know about this?

MARQUEZ: Yes, and it's not the first time the authorities here have shut down several clubs throughout the city, throughout this pandemic. The rates -- that seven-day positivity rate is up now over four percent, so eight is climbing even in New York City that had such a horrible spring with this pandemic.

This was a club in Midtown Manhattan, pretty brazen. They didn't even have a liquor license. Four people were arrested on various charges. But it was basically 400 people shoved into a small Manhattan space, no liquor license. Clearly, an illegal party even if there wasn't a pandemic.

But clearly, people are going to take every risk they can just to have a good time. The threat obviously is that if they can -- you know, they may be fine, but the people they give it to may not -- Amara.

WALKER: Incredible. Miguel Marquez, thank you very much. Live for us there in New York.

In Los Angeles County, new stay-at-home orders go into effect tomorrow. California is in the midst of a steep surge in new infections, adding 15,000 new cases today. These new restrictions will ban most public and private gatherings. And this is tough news for restaurants that are already struggling to survive. And now cold weather is on the way further threatening areas where outdoor dining is still allowed.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is in Pasadena. Hey there, Paul, how is the new stay-at-home order being received there?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is an interesting and developing story, Amara, because Pasadena is the island in the sea of Los Angeles County that is still allowing for outdoor dining.

I'm going to bring in the city's Director of Health and she is going to help us understand more than a few things here. One of them is, as we look at Pie & Burger, this is a landmark Pasadena restaurant. They are saying that just so long as the servers wear a mask and a shield, they can continue to operate. But Dr. Goh, come on in here. Dr. Ying- Ying Goh, first off talk about this. You are dealing with -- at these restaurants and other places -- this coronavirus fatigue. Tell us about that?

DR. YING-YING GOH, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: Well, we know that people are getting tired and may not be following the guidance. So our message is that we are in a dire situation of increasing cases and increasing hospitalizations. So now, we are increasing enforcement to go with that because we know the rules that are in place work.

You have to wear face coverings. You have to not have gatherings of multiple households. We have to have protocols in place for every business sector and do activities outdoors that are physically distanced. So we're asking restaurants to do that we are enforcing it.

VERCAMMEN: Yes, you have closed down completely for no takeout, no delivery. You have closed down five restaurants on Friday, then you allowed some to reopen on an emergency situation and what was it that they make for them to be shut down?

GOH: Well, these protocols have been in place for many months now. So, the restaurants know what they need to do. In addition, we've done a lot of communication, letting them know because of the surge, we're going to be doing more enforcement.

The closures were because of violations of spacing, not wearing face shields, and operating indoors. And so they know that once they fix that, we can have a hearing, we can look at how they've changed, made the changes and continue to follow protocols, then they're able to open again.

Once their health permits fold, they cannot provide service even for takeout or delivery.

VERCAMMEN: Now, all of Los Angeles County I think other municipalities are watching Pasadena because you're staying open outdoors. But as you saw from let's say the beach closures, when LA County closed down beaches, people flocked to Orange and Ventura counties. Is there a concern that you could be exposing your residents -- this is a city of about 140,000 -- to whatever virus other people might be carrying from outside the city by allowing them to dine here.

GOH: So, we're watching very carefully, including requiring the restaurants to take reservations and limit capacity and make sure that the crowds are not gathering outside their restaurants.

Of course, we're worried and so we will take -- we're prepared to take any additional restrictions if it doesn't work. As we see the surge continue, we will take more restrictions.

VERCAMMEN: Great. I thank you so much for taking time out, Dr. Goh. So, there you have one of the myriad of stories just sort of developing here in LA County. Pasadena allowing outdoor dining, but also cracking down hard on restaurants at the same time, and of course, that's a lot of jobs at these restaurants and no one wants to see these hours cut or jobs go away right before the Holidays -- Amara.

WALKER: Yes, very tough decisions that are having to be made. Paul Vercammen, thank you.

Still ahead, the Georgia Senate runoff heats up with Democrat Jon Ossoff flat out calling Senator David Perdue, a crook. How the nail- biting runoff is playing out, next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15: 29:31]

WALKER: With control of the U.S. Senate hanging in the balance, the runoff races for Georgia's two seats are heating up.

Today on CNN, Democratic challenger, Jon Ossoff not only defended his claims that his Republican challenger, Senator David Perdue is a crook, but he also double down on his accusations against Perdue who has been under scrutiny for the timing of his stock trades during the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON OSSOFF (D), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I think that a sitting U.S. Senator exploiting his office, exploiting his access to privileged information, exploiting his power to enrich himself while his own constituents are suffering and dying, absolutely make Senator Perdue a crook and he is afraid to come out and debate me because he won't answer these charges because he can't defend the indefensible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:30:18]

WALKER: All right. Joining me now is Julian Zelizer. He is a historian and Professor at Princeton University and a CNN political analyst.

Julian, good to see you. Both races in Georgia are seeing a flood of negative ads. And now these tough attacks on all sides. How do you think the tone of all this is going to impact turnout and who actually wins in January?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think a lot of voters are energized about this race, not just because of how they feel about the candidates, but what it means about the Senate. So I think it's going to get nastier. I think the President's aura won't make things better as he attacks the election results. And I think Ossoff wants to attack Perdue in terms of who he is as a politician, and also what a victory for him would mean for control of the Senate.

WALKER: You know, Julian today, President Trump once again lashed out at Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp, and the Secretary of State for not intervening on his behalf. And he said he was ashamed of endorsing Governor Kemp in his race.

I mean, does this impact the race at all? And it's really surprising to have to say this because I did -- you know, talk to Secretary Raffensperger, one-on-one last week, and he told me despite it all, he is still a proud Trump supporter. What do you make of this divide?

ZELIZER: Well, President Trump isn't loyal to the Republican Party, he tends to be loyal to himself. So it's not surprising he'll turn on Republican officials who are not supporting him. The question is, does he ultimately turn his voters off to the G.O.P. in Georgia? Does this backfire for the Republican Party?

On the other hand, he did carry a lot of weight in the Senate races and so, I think Republicans are hoping that overwhelms any negativity.

WALKER: Oh, well, we'll see how that happens, especially when you have President Trump who has been challenging and undermining the integrity of the election system. Let's turn now to what has become a tale of two presidencies, Julian, current and future contrast best illustrated by their Thanksgiving week messages. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know we can and we will beat this virus. America is not going to lose this war. We'll get our lives back.

Life is going to return to normal, I promise you.

TRUMP: Don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccine because the vaccines were me and I pushed people harder than they've ever been pushed before.

BIDEN: Our democracy was tested this year, and what we learned is this: the people of this nation are up to the task.

TRUMP: This was a massive fraud. This should never take place in this country. We're like a third world country. We have machines that nobody knows what the hell they're looking at.

BIDEN: America as a nation, not of adversaries, but of neighbors. To love our neighbor as ourselves is a radical act. It is what we're called to do. TRUMP: But don't ask, don't talk to me that way. You're just a

lightweight. Don't talk to me that way. Don't talk to -- I'm the President of the United States. Don't ever talk to the President that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Night and day. What are some of the major differences you think we are going to see, especially in the Biden presidency?

ZELIZER: Well, look, the Biden presidency is going to be one that focuses on governance, it focuses on experience and expertise as assets for the administration. And it's going to focus more on the problems facing the nation, at least what we're seeing in the early weeks, rather than the enemies who are attacking the President.

This has been Biden's consistent message as a candidate and now as President-elect, and I think in these final weeks of the Trump presidency, we're hearing the same thing play out again and again, but it's going to be about the pandemic. It is going to be about containing and ultimately eradicating the disease and I think that's where Biden is going to put his entire effort.

WALKER: Do you think after January 20th, it'll be the end of us hearing from President Trump, or will he be teasing a run in 2024? What do you think?

ZELIZER: There's a lot more to come of President Trump. I think whether he runs in 2024 or not, he is not going to be silent. I think he wants to remain a political presence and he understands that he has a lot of strength within the Republican Party.

So I don't think this is going to stop and I think we will continue to hear and to see that former President Trump as a major figure in public life and as a divisive figure as he's been since the start.

WALKER: So you think he will continue to hold sway over the Republican Party. Julian Zelizer, appreciate your expertise. Thanks so much.

ZELIZER: Thank you

WALKER: Next, President Trump's scorched Earth tactics raising alarms, why the President is scrapping key environmental regulation before Joe Biden takes office.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:17]

WALKER: In the waning days of his administration, President Trump has moved to roll back environmental regulations before President-elect Joe Biden can take office. Included in that is auctioning off drilling rights in wilderness areas, allowing more logging without an environmental review and easing air pollution standards.

Joe Biden on the other hand has signaled his approach to environmental issues by appointing former senator John Kerry as his environment czar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: President Joe Biden will trust in God and he will also trust in science to guide our work on Earth to protect God's creation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Fred Krupp is the President of the Environmental Defense Fund, and he he's joining me now. Thank you so much for joining me.

FRED KRUPP, PRESIDENT, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: Hi, there.

[15:40:08]

WALKER: I mean, first off, you know, how will Joe Biden be able to roll back all of Trump's rollbacks on environmental policies, I mean, how much can be undone by Joe Biden?

KRUPP: Well, Amara, he can do a lot. First of all, of the policies that President Trump has put into place, we've won 80 of 97 court cases because they've been done very sloppily. And especially these last few are being rushed through in a way that makes them frankly illegal.

So we expect most of what Trump is doing now, perhaps all to be able to be undone because, frankly, the leases, for instance, in the Arctic are just plainly illegal.

WALKER: You've said about President-elect Joe Biden that his goal has to be slashing climate pollution. Are you confident he's ready to do that?

KRUPP: I am. First of all, the appointment of Secretary Kerry is a great appointment to be climate envoy. Second of all, the President- elect has said he's going to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on day one. We're the only country in the world that's not part of that. So, that's a good sign.

And lastly, he's made it clear that he is going to slash climate pollution from the power plants, the electricity producing power plants. Right now, every American should have the opportunity to buy pollution free electricity, and he has also promised to slash climate pollution and health causing pollution from cars, trucks, and buses. Those are all commitments that I expect he will honor.

WALKER: And, you know, it's interesting that you bring up the Paris Climate accord because fittingly in President Trump's last G-20 attendance in recent weeks, he was railing against the Climate Accord saying that it was designed to kill the American economy. And like you said, President-elect Joe Biden has said that he would rejoin the Accord. Tell us what that would mean, in effect and what kind of regulations we will start seeing in the United States to abide by this Accord? KRUPP: Well, first of all, the United States will make its own

Nationally Determined Commitment --NDC -- that's the jargon for we get to decide what we are going to do ourselves. Secondly, there is the authority under the Clean Air Act for the President to put into place standards to make sure that things like methane pollution from our oil and gas industry are limited.

These are standards that President Trump undid. President Biden can put them back in place and make sure there are new standards for all existing oil and gas wells. In addition, he can put these standards in place for power plants, cars, trucks and buses as mentioned before.

WALKER: Fred Krupp. Appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

KRUPP: Thank you.

WALKER: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:33]

WALKER: She made headlines two years ago when she successfully campaigned to win women the right to drive in Saudi Arabia, but that victory came at a steep price. Loujain Hathloul was arrested.

With her case now in the country's National Security and Terrorism Court, her family and human rights activists around the world are increasingly worried for her health and safety. Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice over): Saudi Arabia's most well-known female prisoner, Loujain Hathloul has gone from jailed rights activist to alleged national security threat. Her sister is horrified.

She alleges Loujain has been tortured in prison.

LINA HATHLOUL, SISTER OF LOUJAIN: My parents saw that she was very weak, that her body was shaking and that her voice as well. But even with that, she was still very focused and wanted to read her whole defense. Her and other activists were being electrocuted, water- boarded, flogged, beaten, and deprived of sleep, forced fed.

ROBERTSON (voice over): Saudi authorities have repeatedly denied allegations of torture and sexual abuse in their jails.

Hathloul law campaigned for women to drive. Then just weeks before Saudi's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS gave the go ahead for the long awaited reform, she was arrested.

Human rights groups called on world leaders to use last week's virtual G-20 Summit in Riyadh to pressure MBS to allow her release. Instead, days after the event wrapped, Hathloul appeared before a judge only to learn her case was being referred to a notorious terror court.

ADEL AL JUBEIR, SAUDI MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I believe the charges have to do with receiving money from hostile governments in order to pass it on to dissidents and hostile groups to Saudi Arabia.

ROBERTSON (voice over): So far, the Saudi government hasn't published its evidence and Saudi's courts where evidence would be presented are notoriously difficult to access. International pressure for Hathloul's release isn't working. Unclear if President-elect Joe Biden who was promised to take a tough line on Saudi can make a difference.

JUBEIR: We're not subject to pressure. These individuals were arrested under our laws and our courts have jurisdiction and they decide. We don't allow people to put pressure on us in order to do things that are against our interests.

[15:50:09]

ROBERTSON (voice over): Unclear, too, when Hathloul's next court appearance will be, although the venue is set Saudi Arabia's Specialized Criminal Court, which according to human rights group, Amnesty International, is intrinsically unfair.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[15:55:06]

WALKER: Two worlds: one of promise, one of punishment come together for an unlikely experiment on tonight's season premiere of "This is Life" with Lisa Ling. Lisa brings us a unique look at a prison and prep school that have formed an unlikely bond over literature. Here's a preview.

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LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" (voice over): For the next eight weeks in a program called Exercises in Empathy, everyone in this room will take a deep dive into one of Shakespeare's greatest plays the story of "Hamlet."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This masterpiece is filled with questions prompting us to think deeply about our lives.

LING: Why a reading program?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm an old English teacher and I think every book we read is a little engine for empathy really. It draws people together.

Hamlet expresses his trust in his friends.

This is what we read and it is how we read it. There's also why we read it and who we read it with.

As a teacher, it's the -- we read it with peace that is really kind of like, wow, it's a different book based on who you discuss it with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Wow. Fascinating. Joining us now is the host of "This is Life," Lisa Ling. So Lisa, great to see you by the way. You're actually kicking off the season with back-to-back episodes. The first as we just saw, it focuses on prep school students and prisoners, and then the second focuses on an intense retreat for boys in crisis.

Why did you want to start off the season focusing on young men?

LING: Well, thanks for having me on the show. You know, when we shot these two episodes, we didn't intend for them to air together, but in many ways, they do go together. Both of them, while they take place in entirely different environments. One is set in a prison and the other deep in the wilderness. They sort of take on some similar issues.

And some men from unlikely places sort of step up and be the models of manhood that many of these young men need. I mean, when you think about the models that we have for young men now, they aren't exactly the most exemplary models of manhood, at least in government or business. You know, there's been a lot of name calling and bullying and a lot of greed.

And in both of these episodes, we will meet men who are actually stepping up and filling really important roles for young men who might otherwise not have them.

WALKER: And Sunday's second episode, it takes an exclusive look at a retreat just for boys who are struggling with a host of issues and you were actually the first woman ever allowed to attend. What did you learn from that?

LING: Well, look, I think we all probably know young men who are struggling right now. Young boys drop out of school at higher rates than girls. The suicide rate among boys between 15 and 24 is four times higher than it is of girls, and girls generally are more communicative and they seek out other people to talk to when they're going through things. Boys very often internalize it.

And again, in both of these episodes, we will see what happens when young men are given the permission to actually feel and how transformative it is.

WALKER: Fascinating stuff. As a mother, as a sister, as a cousin, I mean, these are important issues that you talk about and I really do look forward to watching it.

Lisa Ling, appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

LING: Thank you.

WALKER: And be sure to tune in to an all new season of "This is Life" with Lisa Ling. It premieres with back-to-back episodes starting tonight at nine Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

Now, I want to leave you with the story of love finding a way even during the separations forced upon us by the pandemic. It comes to us from 81-year-old Stephano Bozzini, who lost his wife of 47 years this past week. Carla had been hospitalized in Central Italy with an illness unrelated to the coronavirus, but because of the pandemic, her husband was unable to visit her. So he put a chair outside her hospital window and he did this.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

WALKER: Just beautiful, isn't it? The serenade was posted on Facebook and then shared around the world. A Mayor from a nearby town also took to Facebook and thanked the gentleman, Stephano Bozzini, for his gesture that quote, "Reminded us all what truly caring for each other means."

And I am Amara Walker in Atlanta, thank you so much for being with us today. CNN NEWSROOM with Boris Sanchez starts now.

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