Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
U.S. Tops 14M Cases as Deaths, Hospitalizations Soar; Biden: 'I'd Be Happy' to Get a Vaccine Once It's Approved; Biden, Harris Promise an Independent Justice Department; Sources: Trump Meeting with Attorney General 'Contentious'; Iran Foreign Minister: Lifting Sanctions Can Undo Uranium Enrichment Law; Officials Ignore Their Own Advice on COVID Measures; India's Transport Union Supporting Protesting Farmers; English Fishermen Caught in Net of U.K. Politics; Woodward & Bernstein Weigh in on Trump's Final Days in Office. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired December 04, 2020 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. Live from Hong Kong, I'm Ivan Watson.
[00:00:22]
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, another day, another devastating coronavirus record in the United States. Hear Joe Biden's plan to stop the spread.
And cases of do as I say, not as I do. Prominent American officials get caught ignoring their own advice about traveling during the pandemic.
Plus, Brexit, remember that? Negotiators say a deal could be just hours away. Right now, everything could hang on one industry.
Nearly nine months into the coronavirus pandemic, and the United States, the worst-hit country in the world, is facing its darkest days yet. The nation surpassed 14 million confirmed infections Thursday. According to Johns Hopkins University, it only took six days to add the latest million cases. And Thursday's case count of nearly 218,000 broke the single-day record.
These staggering numbers come on the heels of the nation's deadliest day. One American is now dying from COVID every 30 seconds, and hospitalizations are at an all-time high.
Still, experts warn these numbers are likely to worsen, as the country has yet to see the effects of the Thanksgiving holiday.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, President-elect Joe Biden says once he takes office, his first order of business will be to urge Americans to wear masks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the first day I'm inaugurated, to say, I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask, just 100 days, to mask. Not forever, 100 days. And I think we'll see a significant reduction if we occur [SIC] that -- if that occurs with vaccinations and masking, to drive down the numbers considerably.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now we're going to have more of that exclusive interview throughout the hour, but first CNN's Nick Watt has more of the latest headlines as U.S. states struggle to cope with the coronavirus raging across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D), LOS ANGELES: It's time to hunker down. It's time to cancel everything, and if it isn't essential, don't do it.
NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Coronavirus spread in Los Angeles is, officials say, terrifying. Only about 100 ICU beds left in a county of 10 million. It could all be filled by Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that California, just like everybody else, let their guard down.
MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, BIDEN CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: We need to do something now. I'd rather do it now and try to avoid the cases of the future than to wait to try to put this in place when the house is so on fire that, in fact, our -- we have crossed our case cliff, and hospitals, basically, are literally overrun. That's we're up against.
WATT: Nationwide, Wednesday was, by many metrics, the worst day of this pandemic. More than 200,000 new confirmed COVID cases Wednesday, almost a record. Last Friday was higher. More than 100,000 COVID patients currently in the hospital. That is a record, and beds aren't the only issue.
MARVIN O'QUINN, PRESIDENT & COO, COMMONSPIRIT HEALTH: The real issue for us is, will we be able to get the nursing staff and the physician staff to take care of these patients?
WATT: Two thousand, eight hundred four COVID deaths reported Wednesday, also a new high, passing April's peak.
DR. LEANA WEN, FORMER BALTIMORE HEALTH COMMISSIONER: We're soon going to surpass 3,000 deaths a day. We may even surpass 4,000 deaths a day.
WATT: The CDC now forecasts as many as another 55,000 Americans could die from now through Christmas.
WEN: I can't quite believe that there are still governors that refuse mask-wearing mandates, when that's something so simple that will save tens of thousands of lives.
WATT: The nation now readying for that vaccine rollout, as soon as the FDA gives the green light.
DR. TROY BRENNAN, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, CVS HEALTH: Our plan is to be ready to go as early as December 15.
WATT: Here's what a vaccine kit looks like. Gloves, etc., in case there's a shortage, and a card so you know when you need your second dose.
Three former presidents say they'll get vaccinated on camera to show it's safe.
(on camera): Within days, much of California could be back under stay- at-home orders. Why? Well, officials are worried that the hospitals are just going to be inundated. So from now on, if a region drops below 15 percent capacity of ICU beds, a stay-at-home order is put in place for at least three weeks.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[00:05:10]
WATSON: Ann Rimoin is joining me now from Los Angeles. She's a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Thank you for joining me. We've seen a pretty stark contrast between the outgoing President Trump and President-elect Biden, who's now proposing a 100-day mandatory mask order. And President Trump has had a -- an interesting relationship with -- with these masks.
Do you think this hundred-day order, if it goes into effect, that it could make a difference?
ANN RIMOIN, PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Ivan, I think that this mask -- this hundred days of masks is the exact thing that we need to be seeing here right now. We need a leader who's going to talk to us about science, about public health, and come up with simple, digestible steps to take.
A hundred days of wearing masks, I think that that's a wonderful way of communicating great public health, and making -- and making it clear to people this isn't forever. Let's do this for 100 days. We can reevaluate at that point. But it's something that gives people a sense of OK, I can manage this for -- for this period of time. It's not forever.
And I think that that's what the American public really needs to understand. This isn't forever. And if we can all do this, if collectively, we can all wear a mask, we can do what we need to do to drive these cases down. We have the ability to reopen the economy, to save lives, and to do what's necessary until we do have vaccines available that are going to really reduce mortality and allow us to get back to normal life. WATSON: All right. In this exclusive CNN interview, President-elect
Biden, he said that he plans to keep Dr. Anthony Fauci in his current position as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and that he's also going to make him chief medical advisor.
What's your reaction to that decision?
RIMOIN: This is fantastic news. This is fantastic news for so many reasons. Reason No. 1: Dr. Fauci is a national treasure. He's somebody who is a fantastic scientist. He really leads with science and just really, you know, great intelligence. He's also very empathetic, and he's very thoughtful.
He's also a very experienced person in public health, not only in research but also just in terms of being a public servant that really understands how it works.
The other reason this is so important is that this is critical for a smooth transition at a most critical moment in this pandemic. This is the moment we cannot be worrying about politics. We need to be worrying about the public health. And having somebody like Dr. Fauci, who will be able to seamlessly make this transition for public health, is really important. It's a wonderful first step.
WATSON: We're all very closely following the development and anticipated rollout of possible vaccines. You have three former presidents, Clinton, Bush and Obama. They've all indicated that they would be willing to publicly take these upcoming vaccines to improve public confidence in these.
Why is that so important in the U.S. right now?
RIMOIN: This is a very important public health strategy: getting people who are trusted, people who have authority, to do what is right and serve as an example.
I've spent my entire career working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, working on things like immunization and on Ebola. And when we had the Ebola outbreak in 2019/2020, we -- we had the president of the country, the head of the immunization program, and many public figures get that immunization on television.
In fact, CNN broadcasted when the -- when they got it. And that was really important, because it provided a visual to people and a real -- a real sense to everyone, that listen, if the politicians are willing to do it, if people that we trust are willing to do it, I'm going to do it.
But it's going to have to go far beyond three presidents doing this. It's also going to need to be trusted leaders in the community, people that people can relate to. Pastors are going to be really important, public figures, community leaders. Everybody has to -- we need to find people that everybody can relate to. And then say, if this person is getting the vaccine, I'm going to be willing to get the vaccine.
WATSON: Well, quickly, would you line up and be one of the first to take one?
RIMOIN: Absolutely, I really feel that we have -- we will have great data, and we are looking forward to seeing that data.
[00:10:06]
So here's what I would say. I'm going to -- I'm going to take this back just one step. If Dr. Fauci is willing to get this vaccine, if the FDA approves this vaccine with an emergency use authorization, if the scientific community believes in this vaccine, if we all see that the data is as good as I think it's going to be, yes, absolutely I'll get the vaccine.
But we're all waiting to see that data, which appears to be quite good. But we all do need to see the data, understand it and have consensus from the scientific community. That's going to be the way that we can convince the United States to get it and everywhere around the world to get this vaccine.
WATSON: All right. Thanks so much for your thoughts there. That's Ann Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at UCLA. Thank you again so much.
RIMOIN: My pleasure.
WATSON: CNN was the first to host a sit-down interview with President- elect Joe Biden and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris.
The first, most pressing issue on the docket, the coronavirus pandemic. Jake Tapper asked Biden if he plans to be vaccinated on camera, like former presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton have pledged to do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll be happy to do that. When Dr. Fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that's the moment in which I will stand before the public and see that, look, part of what has to happen, Jake, and you know as well as I do, people have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. Already the numbers are really staggeringly low. And it matters what a president or vice president do.
And so I think that my three predecessors have set the model as to what should be done, saying once it's declared to be safe -- and I think Barack said, once Fauci says it's clear, that's my measure. Then obviously, we take it. And it's important to communicate it to the American people, it's safe. It's safe to do this.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking of Fauci, have you spoken to him yet? If so, have you asked them to stay on?
BIDEN: Yes and yes.
TAPPER: Yes and yes? Tell me about the conversation. What more needs to be done from his point of view?
BIDEN: Well, look, my chief of staff has worked with him in the last crisis. He'd been talking to him all the time, Ron Klain.
I talked to him today. We spoke today at 3 p.m. My COVID team met with him. I asked him to stay on in the exact same role that he's had for the last several presidents, And I asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me, as well, and to be part of the COVID team.
And so what has to be done is, we have to make it clear to the American people that the vaccine is safe when it occurred, when that is determined.
And No. 2, you have to make sure, as he points out, you don't have to close down the economy like a lot of folks are talking about now, if in fact, you had clear guidance and you're able to say to businesses, OK. For example, bars and restaurants are going to close. We're going to provide you with -- to not lose your business, like -- like the House had passed. And we're going to be able to reopen. We're going to be able to reopen, in time, and not to close down for long periods of time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: The next president and vice president of the United States had a lot more to say about how they'll run their administration. And we'll have more of their exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper ahead on the program.
Now, coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, reports of trouble between President Trump and his attorney general. Why Mr. Trump is airing his grievances. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:15:51]
WATSON: Welcome back to the program. The U.S. president-elect and vice president-elect are promising to run their administration very differently than the current one, including the way they will handle the Justice Department. The Trump White House has been accused of politicizing it.
CNN's Jake Tapper asked Kamala Harris and Joe Biden about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not tell the Justice Department how to do its job. And we are going to assume -- and I say this is a former attorney general -- elected in California, and I ran the second largest Department of Justice in the United States, that any decision coming out of the Justice Department, in particular the United States Department of Justice, should be based on facts. It should be based on the law. It should not be influenced by politics, period.
BIDEN: And I guarantee you, that's how it will be run.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: Meanwhile, it sounds like things aren't all that rosy between
President Trump and the head of the Justice Department. Sources tell CNN that Mr. Trump had a long, contentious meeting with Attorney General William Barr.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With seven weeks left in office, President Trump may be on the verge of firing his attorney general, Bill Barr, after he undercut his claims the election was rigged.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, he hasn't done anything. So he hasn't looked. When he looks, you'll see the kind of evidence that, right now, you're seeing in the Georgia Senate.
COLLINS: Trump criticized Barr in front of cameras in the Oval Office today, where sources said the two had a contentious meeting this week after Barr told the Associated Press the Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of fraud that would change the election.
TRUMP: This is a -- probably the most fraudulent election that anyone has ever seen.
COLLINS: Asked if he had confidence in Barr, Trump paused.
(on camera): Do you still have confidence in Bill Barr?
TRUMP: Ask me that in a number of weeks from now.
COLLINS (voice-over): Trump is also furious at Barr, because no one has been charged in the investigation into the beginning of the Russia probe. But whether he'll fire the attorney general remains to be seen, and GOP lawmakers are avoiding the subject.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I'm sorry. When did the attorney general say that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did to the A.P., when he said --
MCCARTHY: I haven't seen the article, sorry.
COLLINS: Despite being rebuffed by almost everyone, Trump has refused to drop his claims the election was fraudulent, while his legal team is sowing chaos on his behalf.
TRUMP: My team is doing an unbelievable job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Giuliani, what are you doing here in Georgia?
RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: You'll see.
COLLINS: Even Trump's Republican allies are asking for evidence. SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): To the Trump legal team, you're making all
of these claims. You've got to prove it. Doing a video is not proof. You need to take these claims into a court of law and get relief.
COLLINS: Instead of succeeding in court, pro-Trump attorneys appear to be focused on winning in the court of public opinion.
LIN WOOD, GEORGIA ATTORNEY: I want you to go to the governor's mansion. I want you to circle it. I want you to blow your horns until Brian Kemp comes out and orders a special session of the Georgia legislature.
COLLINS: Republican state officials say comments like that from pro- Trump attorney Lin Wood have no merit and could hurt Republicans' chances of holding the Senate majority.
GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA VOTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER: They're just lying to people. And I really have a problem with somebody like Lin Wood, who hasn't been in a Republican primary since 2004, telling Republicans don't vote for the Republican Senate candidates. It's maddening.
COLLINS (on camera): And on top of that, we are now learning that the White House liaison to the Justice Department has been banned from entering the building after she was suspected of trying to obtain sensitive information that she normally would not have access to about potential voter fraud cases that the Justice Department was investigating.
Of course, the assumption being that she was trying to relay that information back to the White House, where the president has been obsessed with claims of voter fraud. She's no longer allowed in the building, and the White House has actually put her in a new position as of Thursday here at the White House.
But it is remarkable to see that happen, given just a few months ago, Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, emailed all the agency heads and said they were going to be replacing all of their liaisons, which was widely seen as a move to put loyalists in these agencies to be the White House's eyes and ears inside the big federal government.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[00:20:09]
WATSON: For more analysis here, I'm going to speak now with Michael Genovese. He's the head of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. And he joins me now from Los Angeles.
Nice to see you.
Let's start with the outgoing President Trump, and what we just heard in Kaitlan's report there. These reports of tension between him and the attorney general, Bill Barr, who told the Associated Press there's no evidence of fraud that could change Joe Biden's victory in the election.
So Trump has been coy on saying whether he has confidence in Barr. How do you interpret this?
MICHAEL GENOVESE, HEAD, GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE: Donald Trump is so far out of touch with the reality on the ground of the election that he's even questioning the loyalty now of his most loyal servant.
Attorney General Barr has saved his bacon several times. He did it in the Mueller investigation. He did it through the impeachment process. He's been the best thing that Trump has had. And if you don't give Trump 100 percent, he turns on you and viciously starts to go after you.
And so I think this just speaks to the difficulty that anyone has working for Donald Trump. And Barr, the most loyal of loyalists, is now in the crosshairs.
WATSON: It's a remarkable reversal.
Let's look to the future now, to the future Biden administration. We learned a pretty interesting claim in this exclusive interview that the president-elect gave CNN's Jake Tapper. Take a listen to what he had to say about Republican lawmakers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIDEN: There have been more than several sitting Republican senators who privately called me to congratulate me. And I understand the situation they find themselves in. And until the election is clearly decided, in the minds, with the Electoral College votes, they get put in a very tough position. And so that's No. 1.
Number two --
TAPPER: So you think the fever on that will break after the Electoral College meets?
BIDEN: For at least a significant portion of leadership.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: Michael, do you have any optimism that Biden will be able to work with Republican lawmakers afraid to publicly admit he won a month after the election?
GENOVESE: Well, first off, it should be said that Jake Tapper did his usual outstanding job in the interview. I mean, it demonstrates, yet again, why he's one of the top political journalists in the business.
And in terms of your question itself, you know, the Republicans have been afraid of Donald Trump. And Machiavelli had this famous question that he asked: Is it better for the prince, or the leader, to be feared or loved?
Donald Trump knows people will not love him, so he wants to get them to fear him. and he's done that to the Republicans. They cower in his presence. And they're afraid to admit what they know is the truth that Biden will be the next president.
Will they, then, be able to turn on a dime after inauguration day and work with him? George E. Bush tried that with limited success. Barack Obama tried it with very limited success. The odds are not in Biden's favor.
Going for Biden, though, is his experience, and his personality, and his style. He is genuine in the sense that he does want to reach across the aisle, and people on the other side of the aisle like him. Can they work with him? Depends on how much control post-inauguration day Donald Trump has over the hearts and souls of the Republicans.
WATSON: I applaud your Machiavelli quotation there, Michael.
Let's move on to Biden and what he said are the four crises that are now facing the U.S. COVID, the economic recession, racial inequality, and climate change. These are a daunting series of challenges. What will you be watching for in the first days of his upcoming administration?
GENOVESE: Well, his inbox is overflowing. We have to clean the Augean stables left behind by Donald Trump. Any one of those four issues would be daunting. All of them together would bury a normal person. And therefore, what does Biden have to do?
He has to hit the ground running. He has to get everything prepared now, in the transition, when Trump is trying to undermine him. Get it all together now, so that when he starts, on day one, you hit the ground running.
And you also have to delegate. He said tonight in the interview with Jake Tapper, that he's going to use his vice president. And when problems are thrown at him, and he's already juggling several balls, he's going to go to her. She's also pretty capable.
You know, we ask so much of the president. It's a job that no one person can do. We're very quick to judge and very harsh sometimes in our analysis. I think Biden has a chance, but he's got to start off strong.
[00:25:05]
WATSON: And we will be watching very closely. Michael Genovese in Los Angeles, thank you very much for sharing your observations and references to Greek and Roman methodology.
GENOVESE: Thank you Ivan.
WATSON: And stay tuned to CNN for the full Biden/Harris sit-down interview. It's coming up in less than two hours, 7 a.m. in London, 3 p.m. in Hong Kong, right here on CNN.
Iran's parliament has passed a bill that would resume uranium enrichment to 20 percent and block nuclear inspections. The foreign minister says that's reversible if the U.S. and the European countries would return to the 2015 nuclear deal.
He also says his country will not accept the preconditions the Biden administration is putting forward.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Tehran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This parliamentary bill essentially puts a time table ticking on the moderate elements of Iran's government. President Hassan Rouhani and his foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, to get diplomacy rolling.
Now Parliament comparatively hawkish in Tehran. And they've laid down an agenda, essentially, saying that within two months, the set of measures should begin.
They begin with preventing further inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities and essentially end with Iran pulling out of the non- proliferation treaty.
President Hassan Rouhani has said that he's against this parliamentary measure, and he has about three or four days now in which to sign it into law.
But this two-month timetable after which it kicks in is, of course, vital. Because they're essentially saying that the government has tried to get sanctions relief done within that two-month period, and it is also, too, when the president-elect, administration of Joe Biden will come to power.
They've been clear, Biden's team, they want diplomacy. They want to get back in towards the nuclear accord. It is essentially how fast that happens, having pressure put on it here, although, quite clearly, the moderates here in Iran have a very different view of how the months ahead should progress to the hawks who want to see pressure ramped up on that process.
Still, tension high in the region because of the Friday assassination of Iran's nuclear scientist, a key figure, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in an explosion and gunfire on the outskirts of Tehran. Concerns that possibly and because of the January killing by U.S. drone efforts of a key military figure, Qasem Soleimani, outside of Baghdad, we might see retaliation against possibly Israeli or U.S. targets in the region.
Perhaps because of that, the U.S. has withdrawn some of its staff from its Baghdad embassy. But all of this here in Iran, occurs with the background of a coronavirus outbreak, which persists. Call it third wave, frankly.
And officials here are deeply saddened and furious, frankly, at the damage sanctions have done to medical supplies and their ability to combat the virus. That was accentuated today, when the country passed its million-case mark. A million Iranians having had the disease and testing positive for it.
That probably isn't the full picture because of testing capacity here. But still a troubling backdrop, as tensions rise across the possibility of diplomacy with the incoming new U.S. administration.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: All right. In the U.S., high-ranking officials are setting up COVID-19 measures to help keep people safe. But are they practicing what they preach? CNN investigates after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:50]
WATSON: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Ivan Watson and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
John Hopkins University is now reporting more than 65 million COVID-19 cases worldwide since the pandemic began. The U.S., Russia, India and Brazil, are just some of the countries where the virus is spreading fast.
Europe is doing much better and is trying to avoid a third wave around the holidays. France recommends not having more than six adults at Christmas, New Year's Eve and gatherings. Its prime minister, says restrictions should start easing December 15.
Coronavirus cases across the U.S., however, are surging. And there is still little federal guidance, so decisions from local leaders are crucial in stopping the spread.
But as CNN's Brian Todd points out, some are not following their own advice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, and in a video posted on Facebook, Steve Adler, the mayor of Austin, Texas, begged residents to take precautions.
MAYOR STEVE ADLER (D), AUSTIN, TEXAS: We need to, you know, stay home, if you can. Do everything we can to try to keep the numbers down. This is not the time to -- to relax.
TODD: But Adler posted that video while he was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a trip that, according to the "American Statesman" newspaper, Adler took with seven other people, on a private jet, following his daughter's wedding. Now Adler says, while he followed safety guidelines, he regrets that trip.
ADLER: Now, I fear that the travel that I did, which took place during a safer period, followed the color-coded rules, could lead to some taking riskier behavior now. TODD: But Adler is not alone, last month, California Governor Gavin
Newsom, among the local leaders who have recently urged state residents to be extra vigilant, stay at home, make sacrifices, went to an upscale restaurant in Napa Valley called the French Laundry.
Photos obtained by KTTV showed Newsom sitting with several others at an outdoor table, none of them wearing masks. Newsom calls it a mistake.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): The spirit of what I'm preaching all the time, was contradicted, and I've got to own that. And so I want to apologize to you, because I need to preach and practice, not just preach.
TODD: The day after Newsom was there, San Francisco Mayor London Breed went to a birthday party at the same restaurant, with seven others at her table.
CNN affiliate KGO reported the statement from Breed's office said she didn't violate COVID protocols for that location. But at the time, gatherings like that were discouraged by state guidelines.
ERIC DEZENHALL, CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERT: There are two things Americans hate, and that is hypocrisy and the sense of superiority, and so when you have leaders telling you one thing, but doing another, it -- there's a lot of outrage.
The pattern is almost dizzying. After voting to close outdoor dining recently, at L.A. County supervisor Sheila Kuehl was seen eating at a restaurant, just before the order took effect. Kuehl's office says she felt bad for the struggling restaurant industry but won't dine out again until the county allows it.
San Jose Mayor, Sam Liccardo ignored state restrictions during Thanksgiving when he went to a family gathering with his elderly parents that included people from five different households. Before that, Liccardo had tweeted, quote, "Cancel the big gatherings this year. Liccardo has since apologized.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: All we have left are local leaders, and so we really need our local, city, county leaders to step up and really provide an example. And when they don't do that, it just makes things all the more dangerous for most Americans.
TODD (on camera): The common thread among all the leaders that we've mentioned here. They're all Democrats, from the same party that has relentlessly hammered President Trump for his lack of leadership during this crisis.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, jumped on that during your briefing in recent days, calling out those Democratic leaders, for not following their own edicts, and for doing things that their citizens are discouraged from doing.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: There is growing anger among the people who grow food in India. Find out what's driving farmers out of their fields and into the streets to protest.
Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:37:21]
WATSON: Welcome back the program. Let's go to India now. That's where the transport union is calling for a strike next week if the government does not address the concerns of protesting farmers.
Tens of thousands of farmers are demonstrating on the outskirts of the Indian capital, New Delhi, and so far, talks between the government and farmers' unions have not made any progress.
The farmers oppose three laws that pave the way for private companies to enter the market.
So let's go live now to New Delhi, where CNN's Vedika Sud joins us.
Nice to see you, Vedika. Can you help explain what are at the core of the farmers' grievances, and is there any chance of a breakthrough in negotiations here?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Good to be with you, Ivan.
So we're talking about protests taking place in the outskirts of the national capital of India. Now, this is about tens of thousands of farmers like you rightly pointed out protesting and agitating at the borders of Delhi.
The controversy is over three farm laws that have been introduced by the Modi government in September. Farmers find these laws not to be in their favor, and hence they're protesting.
There have already been talks between the farmers' board of representatives and the government's -- and the government two times over, and both have been inconclusive.
The third round of talks is expected on Saturday.
Now, about the controversy itself, Ivan. These three farm laws, according to the farmers' body, could exploit them. Why so? Because the government till now had been offering them a minimum support price, known as the MSP, which is a guarantee for the produce from their farms. Now, that has been done away with. The farmers are worried that this free market that they will now be a part of will help exploit them through the corporates that will enter this market.
So this essentially means that the farmers can directly deal with the corporates. And that's the worry, that they will not get the minimum price that they were offered by the government earlier.
This comes at a time when the government has been reaching out to the farmers, as well, and promising that they will do their best to address their concerns. But the farmers have dug in their heels.
And it's already, like I said, been a week since the protests have taken place. According to representatives from the farmers body, more farmers will be joining the protests.
So you're already seeing them camping out in the borders of Delhi, which is a worry, because obviously, this has led to a lot of supply coming in from different states into Delhi being obstructed for the time being.
Also what we're hearing is that the transport body will be supporting the strike on the 8th of December, if the concerns of the farmers are not addressed. And that is another worry for the government here, Ivan.
WATSON: All right. Well, I'm sure you're going to be watching this very, very closely as it progresses.
SUD: Yes.
[00:40:05]
WATSON: That's Vedika Sud in New Delhi. Thank you very much for that update.
SUD: Thank you, Ivan.
WATSON: E.U. officials believe that post-Brexit trade talks are reaching their final hours, and fishermen are among the people eager to hear what's next. They wonder where their catch will end up as they become entangled in a political net.
CNN's Anna Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh fish straight off the boa. Caught in British waters, they're currently subject to E.U. rules. That could change in the U.K.'s post-Brexit future.
(on camera): Did you vote in the Brexit referendum?
TONY EARP, DECKHAND: Definitely.
STEWART: What did you vote for?
EARP: To leave. To leave, definitely to leave.
STEWART: Why?
EARP: For the fishing industry. Why should we supply about 78 percent of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and then take back 20 percent of the catch?
STEWART (voice-over): Down the dock, Ike Grantham (ph) isn't sure Brexit will make any difference.
IKE GRANTHAM, RELIEF SKIPPER: I voted to remain, but now the government has decided to leave, the country's decided to leave, I'm quite happy now. Let's leave. But let's get the best deal out of it we can. The trouble is, I don't think you're going to get the best deal as a fisherman.
STEWART: This is Brixham, England's most valuable port, and it voted overwhelmingly for Brexit.
The fishermen here want to see fewer European boats in their waters. They also want to catch more fish. Many species are currently restricted under the E.U.'s crater (ph) system.
(on camera): The fishing sector accounts for a tiny fraction of the U.K. economy, contributing just 0.0 to 8 percent to GDP. And yet, the issue of fishing rights has become one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to the U.K. and the E.U. reaching a trade agreement.
(voice-over): It's not just about economics, though. Sovereignty is an emotive issue.
These fishermen are out at sea for days or weeks at a time, and it can be grueling, dangerous work.
(on camera): The problem of course, with speaking to fishermen while they're actually fishing is they're incredibly busy pulling up a big haul of fish. So we're trying to hold him through the wheelhouse with our captain here and see whether he can chat some questions with us.
This is Anna Stewart from CNN. Hello.
GERRY, SKIPPER OF CARHELMAR: Hello there. Yes. Gerry here, skipper of the Carhelmar. I think it's sort of become a symbol of our independence, of taking back our control of our territory and the dreaded Common Fisheries Policy. I've seen the -- the decline of our -- our industry.
STEWART: A symbol, you say. It's symbolic of Brexit. Is it going to become symbolic of Brexit's failure to take back control?
GERRY: I've always had my doubts about any sort of deal in Brexit. And I thought we were better off with no deal and getting out, taking all our chips off the table and negotiating from a position of strength. STEWART: You sound Brexit weary, like many people across the U.K. Tell me. I assume voted for Brexit. Would you do so again?
GERRY: Definitely yes.
STEWART (voice-over): The Brexit ship has sailed.
The trade negotiations are still in play. These fishermen, so far removed from the politics of Westminster and Brussels, hope they're not forgotten.
Anna Stewart, CNN, Brexit, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: Thank you, Anna, for that fishy story.
And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ivan Watson, and I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more news. For now, stay tuned for WORLD SPORT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)