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CNN Exclusive: Clips From Tapper's Interview Of Biden And Harris; The United States As A World Leader, Let's Take A Step Back; Is Don Jr. The New Face Of The Base And Does Ivanka Has Political Designs?; Every 30 Seconds, Another American Loses Their Life To COVID; Fauci Welcomed As Biden's Medical Chief; COVID Pushes U.S. Family-Owned Businesses to Go Under; Biden: I have Asked DR. Fauci to Part of My COVID Team; Thousands of Farmers Protesting at New Delhi Borders; Tensions Heating Up Between China and Australia; Uncensored Sites Find New Followers. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 04, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
IVAN WATSON, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Mandatory masks for 100 days. That's what President Elect Joe Biden is proposing to do in the U.S., once he is sworn in. Our CNN exclusive interview.
Plus vaccines are on the way. We'll have the latest on the global response and a look at how the virus is impacting small businesses.
Then tensions mount. Australia is out of its COVID recession, now it needs to avoid a trade war with China. Our CNN report is straight ahead.
This is CNN NEWSROOM. Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Ivan Watson live from Hong Kong.
While a potential coronavirus vaccine may be within reach, the optimism is not stopping the virus from spreading around the world.
So far, more than 65 million people have been infected worldwide. And several countries across Europe are curbing the spread but many others are still struggling, namely the United States.
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 (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think my inclination, Jake, is 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: Now this comes as one American is now dying from COVID every 30 seconds. Just one month ago, that rate was one person every 90 seconds.
The nation has now surpassed 14 million confirmed infections. It shattered its previous record reporting nearly 218,000 new infections and almost 2,900 deaths on Thursday alone. Plus hospitalizations remain at an all-time high.
These numbers do not appear to faze Donald Trump who's still focusing on baseless claims of voter fraud. Rather than addressing the explosion of new cases, he's making sure President Elect Biden does not get credit for the vaccine.
Here's what he said last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines. If Joe Biden -- you know, Joe Biden failed with the swine flu, H1N1, totally failed with the swine flu.
Don't let him take credit for the vaccines, because the vaccines were me.
WATSON: That's President Trump last week at the little desk.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (On Camera): For the last several months the president was not that focused on the pandemic if you talk to people who were talking to the president about what was important to him in the days leading up to election.
But in the last month, since that election happened and since the president lost that election, sources say he has been so disengaged, more disengaged than ever throughout this entire pandemic.
Because it is just not something that the president wants to focus on, wants to talk about, has private meetings about and instead he's been completely consumed by this election loss and focusing those efforts that you've seen the president taking.
Like recording a 46-minute video which I'm told was recorded here at the White House last week, edited and then, of course, yesterday was the day that the president decided to release it.
And was not talking about the number of COVID-19 deaths or what else we're seeing play out throughout the country and instead is focusing on that.
And the closest really that he's gotten to talk about the pandemic in the last few weeks was exactly what you said there. Trying to say don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines. Something that Joe Biden from what I've seen has not attempted to do so far but it is the president's fear. That people will still getting vaccinated once Joe Biden is inaugurated and is in office and is going to get credit for it.
But if you have to look at what the president is saying, what he is focused on in between his very rare public appearances these days and his trips to the golf course and his tweets and you see such a different message coming from his task force to state officials.
Because if you look at the reports that we got yesterday, what the task force said to governors and state officials who are figuring out how to get this under control, they say that the risk to Americans is at an all-time high. And that we are in a incredibly dangerous place in this country.
But those are words that are in private reports that CNN is having to go through loops and hoops to obtain but you're not hearing it from the president himself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: That's CNN's Kaitlan Collins reporting there.
Now across the U.S., airports, pharmacies and storage facilities, they're preparing for the arrival of a COVID vaccine. And for many states, that can't come soon enough.
Erica Hill has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:00]
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (Voice Over): A new emergency brake in California.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CALIF.): The bottom line is if we don't act now our hospital system will be overwhelmed.
HILL: Once ICU capacity falls below 15 percent in any region of the state, a mandatory three-week stay-at-home order will be triggered. Bars, salons and playgrounds will close but schools will stay open.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE And VIRAL SPECIALIST: We are at high tide and the hurricane is hitting.
HILL: More than 100,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, a record.
GOV. LAURA KELLY (D-KAN): Currently, there are zero staffed ICU beds in our state's southwest region.
HILL: Massachusetts prepping a new overflow field hospital today in Worcester. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH & POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: More hospitals in this country are right on that edge of not being able to provide that care. That's when the number of deaths will really go up.
HILL: The CDC's ensemble forecast now projecting 329,000 Americans could die by December 26th.
DR. LEANA WEN, FORMER BALTIMORE HEALTH COMMISSIONER: I'm so terrified and very anxious about what's going to happen in the weeks ahead.
HILL: 14 million confirmed cases in the U.S., and rising.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We shouldn't expect something different, we're doing the same thing over and over again.
HILL: Nine months in, Americans are tired and frustrated.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: You are destroying Staten Island business.
HILL: Hundreds turning out to support the owners of this New York bar after it was shut down for a violating new COVID restrictions.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I'm just trying to support my family.
HILL: Hope is on the horizon.
GOV NED LAMONT (D-CONN.): Prioritizing health care workers and nursing homes. We ought to be able to have all of them vaccinated with their second dose by mid, late January.
HILL: States already preparing to distribute the vaccine, which, if approved, could ship in less than two weeks.
CVS and Walgreens will handle vaccinations for long term care facilities.
DR. TROY BRENNAN, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, CVS: Our plan is to be ready to go as early as December 15th.
HILL: Now the plan is to make sure Americans trust it.
BARACK OBAMA, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed just so that people know. I trust this science.
HILL: Former presidents Clinton and Bush also confirming they'll get the vaccine publicly to boost confidence.
As the current president continues to ignore the raging pandemic.
HILL (Voice Over): One more note on the vaccine. Earlier this week a CDC advisory panel recommended that frontline health care workers and those living in long-term care facilities like nursing homes, should get the first doses of an approved vaccine. On Thursday, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said he agreed with that recommendation and also suggested that that future recommendations should prioritize older people living in multigenerational households.
In New York, I'm Erica Hill, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: Anne 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 is now proposing a 100-day mandatory mask order. And President Trump has had -- an interesting relationship with these masks.
Do you think this 100-day order, if it goes into effect, that it could make a difference?
RIMOIN: Ivan, I think that this mask -- this 100 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 100 days of wearing masks. I think that that's a wonderful way of communicating great public health 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 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 adviser.
What's your reaction to that decision?
RIMOIN: This is fantastic news, this is fantastic news for so many reasons.
Reason number one, Dr. Fauci is a national treasure. He's somebody who is a fantastic scientist, he really leads with science and just really great intelligence. He's also very empathetic and he's very thoughtful.
[01:10:00]
He's also a very experienced person in public health, not only in research but also 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: Yes. 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 had the president of the country, the head of the immunization program and many public figures get that immunization on television. In fact, CNN broadcast it when they got it.
And that was really important because it provided a visual to people and 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 that they can 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 will have great data and we are looking forward to seeing that data.
So here's what I would say, 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 -- and everywhere around the world to get this vaccine.
WATSON: All right. Thanks so much for your thoughts there. That's Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at UCLA. Thank you again so much. Now --
RIMOIN: It's my pleasure.
WATSON: Now to the U.K. British media are now reporting the first doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine that have arrived in the U.K.
The British health department says up to 800,000 doses will be made available next week.
And starting Saturday, some business travelers returning to England will no longer have to self quarantine. They include performing arts professionals and TV production staff and journalists.
Johns 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 and New Year's Eve gatherings. Its prime minister says restrictions should start easing December 15th.
Wales, on the other hand, is rolling out new restrictions on pubs, bars and restaurants. Starting Friday, they won't be able to serve alcohol and will only provide takeout after 6:00 pm.
Now coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. is in the final weeks of the Trump presidency. We'll talk about what's in the future for the Trump family.
Plus the past four years have been chaotic in the U.S. Some are asking if it's time to let another nation lead the world stage. We'll discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:15:00]
WATSON: Welcome back. The U.S. president elect and vice president elect promised 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 about their strategy and the issue of presidential pardons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, HOST, CNN: President Trump is reportedly considering a wave of preemptive pardons for his adult children and for Rudy Giuliani.
He's also floated the idea in private conversations according to our reporting of possibly pardoning himself, which he insists he has the power to do though that has never been litigated.
Does this concern you, all these preemptive pardons?.
BIDEN: Well, it concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of laws and justice. But look, our justice department is going to operate independently on those issues, how to respond to any of that.
I'm not going to be telling them what they have to do and don't have to do. I'm not going to be say go prosecute A, B or C, I'm not going to be telling them -- that's not the role, it's not my justice department, it's the people's justice department.
So the person or persons I pick to run that department are going to be people who are going to have the independent capacity to decide who gets prosecuted, who doesn't.
Now in terms of the pardons, you're not going to see in our administration that kind of approach to pardons. Nor are you going to see in our administration the approach to making policy by tweets.
It's just going to be a totally different way in which we approach the justice system.
TAPPER: During the primary last year, Madam Vice President Elect, you told NPR that the justice department quote, "would have no choice but to prosecute President Trump," and that, quote, "there has to be accountability."
How does that square with what the president elect just said about not telling the justice department to go after individuals.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will not tell the justice department how to do its job. And we are going to assume -- and I say this as 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, it should be based on facts, it should be based on a law, it should not be influenced by politics. Period.
BIDEN: I guarantee you that's how it will be run. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: For more analysis on this CNN exclusive, I'm going to turn now to Peter Beinart.
[01:20:00]
He is a CNN political commentator and author of the "Beinart Notebook" on Substack.com and he joins me now from New York City. Good to see you, Peter.
This was a wide-ranging interview, it covered an awful lot of topics from the president own son to vaccine distribution. What was your biggest take away?
PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think in the clip that you just played, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did something very important. Which is that they will try to create a government that follows the law.
Donald Trump was never able to really distinguish his personal, private interest from the public interest. And he treated all of the employees of the federal government, including the justice department which is supposed to have independence, including the U.S. military in many ways, as essentially his personal servants.
What Joe Biden is saying which is really, really important is that he will expect these people to follow public trust and will not enlist them in his partisan efforts.
WATSON: Yes. He's pledging a more traditional presidential role, than the norm-breaking of the Trump Administration.
He made it very clear that the biggest crisis facing the U.S. right now is the COVID pandemic. Let's take a listen to one of his policy proposals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I think my inclination, Jake, is in 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.
WATSON: So Peter, President Elect Biden is talking about introducing -- really trying to push Americans to wear masks, social distancing, distribution of a future vaccine or vaccines how optimistic are you that he'll be able to convince Americans to take these steps?
BEINART: I think Biden is going to find it unfortunately quite challenging. Because one of the effects of Trump's Administration has been to create a tremendous amount of distrust for the regular workings of government among his supporters.
You can see this in the fact that they don't trust the election mechanisms that have certified Joe Biden as the president elect, they don't believe the scientists who claim that there is climate change.
And so not only among Trump supporters but particularly among Trump supporters, years, I think we are going to see a lot of resistance to even the very obvious public health measures like mask wearing that Joe Biden's going to try to convince people to take.
WATSON: You know after COVID, Biden announced three other crises facing the U.S.; the economic recession, racial inequity and climate. Did you hear in this interview proposing concrete solutions for addressing these enormous challenges?
BEINART: Well, he didn't have that much time in this interview. To be fair, he has laid out particularly during the general election some reasonably detailed proposals on these questions.
I think the challenge really is going to be getting it through the senate. We are in -- we remain in a very hyper-partisan moment. And although Donald Trump has lost the election, Trumpism is not lost inside the Republican Party, it is very much alive and well.
Which leads me to believe that a lot of Republican senators will oppose Joe Biden, virtually no matter what. And that Mitch McConnell will be reluctant to allow much of Biden's agenda to have a real chance in the senate.
So I fear that although some of his plans may be ambitious, it's going to be really hard to get them through as legislation.
WATSON: Peter, I want to turn to international affairs. You wrote this week in the "New York Times" that, quote --
"The Biden team should make solidarity not leadership its watchword for approaching the world. In so doing it would acknowledge that while the United States can do much to help other nations, its first obligation, especially after the horrors of the Trump era, is to stop doing harm."
I kind of want to ask. In this op-ed, you argue that the redefine its role internationally, not kind of dominating the discussion but being kind of an equal partner, a member at the table among other nation states.
Is that an approach that you hear the upcoming Biden Administration taking?
BEINART: No, I don't. The op-ed was actually a critique of the Biden team which continues to talk about restoring American leadership.
[01:25:00]
And my point is that term is, I think, outdated and even dangerous.
First of all, the United States is now about one seventh of the world's GDP as opposed to 50 percent in 1945 and 25 percent at the beginning -- in 1991. We do not have the overwhelming economic power that we once did. We're a powerful country but we're not hegemonic economically in the way we were.
Secondly, I think it is -- many people around the world will rightly say, where does America -- why do Americans believe they have the moral right to claim leadership given the policies that they have been pursuing?
The United States has been taking a wrecking ball to many of the key institutions and norms that the world needs for common global welfare. We're the only country that left the Paris Climate Accord, we left the Iran nuclear deal, we left the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic.
We've basically stopped the World Trade Organization from functioning by not allowing them to appoint any new judges. Our post 9/11 wars have, according to Brown University, created 37 million refugees.
So it seems to me, a certain degree of humility would stand us in good stead. We can be a cooperative partner with other countries but we need to focus less on setting the rules and more on abiding by the rules.
WATSON: We had eight years of Obama leading from behind, we had Trump "America First." We'll be watching to see would president elect Biden will bring to the international sphere.
Peter Beinart, thank you very much for speaking with me.
BEINART: My pleasure.
WATSON: Now Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, is offering to publicly take the coronavirus vaccine to help endorse its safety.
It's just the latest sign that she may not be away from Washington for very long after her father's administration ends.
So what could the future hold for the presidents adult children after the White House?
CNN's Kate Bennett reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATE BENNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When January 20th ushers out President Donald Trump it does the same for his three eldest children; Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump.
The Trump kids along with Tiffany Trump spent Thanksgiving at Camp David, the rustic Maryland presidential retreat not often used during this administration. A far cry from opulent family Thanksgivings at Mar-a-Lago or the White House where President Trump dined with Melania Trump.
The use of taxpayer dollars for a Thanksgiving just for the kids with secret service protection and Camp David staff called in to work the visit smacks of the privileges they have enjoyed and will shortly lose.
Each Trump child now faces a different future path than the one they were on pre-White House.
Donald Trump Jr. before in the shadows of Trump's public appearances --
TRUMP: Don, tell him what you're looking for.
DONALD TRUMP, JR: We'll be judged on three criteria.
BENNETT: -- now a Republican firebrand.
TRUMP JR: I'm outraged about them exporting your and my American Dream to countries that hate our guts for the sake of P.C. nonsense.
BENNETT: One source telling CNN Junior is, quote -- "the future of the base."
Sources tell CNN Trump Junior will also return to his day job, at the Trump Organization to try to expand global properties.
The challenges could be many. His father has disparaged world leaders and Junior himself has used his social media to push conspiracy theories to the point that Twitter even suspended him.
Trump Org faces its own struggle --
ERIC TRUMP, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: It's hard to believe after four years, it's hard to believe we're back here, guys.
BENNETT: -- which will be Eric Trump's assignment, according to those familiar with his role. Trying to pivot a luxury and real estate hospitality company and currently the 70-plus million voters who supported his father into now supporting his father's business.
As Trump says, we'll see what happens.
And while neither Eric nor Don Jr. are thinking about entering politics now, their sister, Ivanka Trump, seems poised to take her lean-in approach to the Trump platform.
IVANKA TRUMP, ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT: Washington has not changed Donald Trump, Donald Trump has changed Washington.
BENNETT: While Don Jr. has been whipping up the base back home, Ivanka spent much of the last four years on obscure diplomacy missions with plenty of photo opportunities to discuss things like economic support for women-owned businesses.
INTERVIEWER, WOMEN'S CONFERENCE, BERLIN: Are you sure that what works for you as a First Daughter will also work for every other women in the world?
IVANKA TRUMP: No, I think we represent 50 percent of the population so there is no one size fits all when you think about women. BENNETT: Or portrayed herself on the same footing as world leaders at
global summits.
According to sources, Ivanka has a desire for a bigger political career recently stating her pro- life stance and becoming more vocal in defense of Trump's policies.
[01:29:47]
Attracting his base, as now many moderates and Democrats will be a more challenging group to draw.
Kate Bennett, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, a social media alternative for those who find themselves in Twitter jail.
What makes Parler so different?
Plus, many small businesses have been struggling to stay afloat and because it's a pandemic, family businesses also have to worry about staying healthy enough to fight for their survival.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wipe everything down. We complied with everything. And we still ended up getting it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATSON: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ivan Watson, live from Hong Kong.
The U.S. set another devastating pandemic record on Thursday with its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations yet. More than 100,000 patients, that is according to the COVID Tracking Project.
New cases are looking steady in the U.S. but it is a much different story in other parts of the world. Turkey and Brazil are just some of the countries where new infections are surging right now.
Small businesses are often the backbone of any economy but many of them are reeling because of the pandemic. Some family businesses in the U.S. that have been successful for decades, they're now on the brink and restrictions are not helping.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov is in Denver and has the following stories to share with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is a Chavez family holiday tradition. For nearly three decades, the owners of the Sunset Inn in Pueblo, Colorado have raised funds to buy gifts for homeless children.
GERDA CHAVEZ, OWNER, SUNSET INN: Most of these kids, if I don't do Christmas for them, they're not going to have nothing.
KAFANOV: But now, their Christmas plans are up in the air. Three generations work at the Sunset Inn.
CASSY GIBBONS, GERDA CHAVEZ'S DAUGHTER: It's kind of like the pillar of our whole family.
KAFANOV: But this bar and grill is one of countless businesses now crippled by COVID-19. Skyrocketing cases forced Pueblo County to ban indoor dining last month. The restaurant now empty, more than half their employees laid off. Take out orders, barely making ends meet.
(on camera): What is your biggest fear when it comes to the Sunset Inn?
CHAVEZ: Losing what we built all of these years. Having to fear somebody else has it, after we walk away, not being here anymore. That's -- sorry. That's my most fear.
[01:35:03]
KAFANOV (voice over): For over 15 years, the Sunset Inn was a favorite pub in Pueblo, but then in 1996, Chuck Chavez added (INAUDIBLE) to the menu.
Their menu rising to national fame after being featured in an episode of the Travel Channel's "Food Wars".
GIBBONS: The sunset to me is my whole family, our whole life.
KAFANOV: Their troubles began when the pandemic hit in March and Colorado effectively went into lockdown.
JARED POLIS, COLORADO GOVERNOR: We are resorting to this measure, this extreme measure at this time to ensure that people know that they need to stay in their homes.
KAFANOV: The Sunset stayed shut for three months. Then in October, disaster struck.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The outbreak, and possible community exposure to COVID-19 at the Sunset Inn.
KAFANOV: 11 family members infected with COVID.
CHAVEZ: We wiped everything down. We complied with everything, and we still ended up getting it.
KAFANOF: All recovered, but the business is still struggling. Before the pandemic, the family says, the inn could pull $5,000 on a good day. Now, they are lucky to make $400. Emergency relief funding helped them stay afloat, but barely. And if things don't change, they say the inn may have to shut its doors in 3 months.
New COVID restrictions imposed last week on Colorado's hardest hit counties including Pueblo, could make a return to normal a long way off.
(on camera): How has the hardship affected you?
CHAVEZ: Not sleeping that night. My hair is turning gray. Constantly worrying about if we can pay the bills.
KAFANOV (voice over): A fear echoed by the family and thousands of small business owners across the nation.
GIBBONS: My mom and dad are the hardest working people I know. And it's just emotional to know that we don't know what could happen, you know, if it was to continue like this.
KAFANOV: Lucy Kafanov, CNN -- Denver, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper he has asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to stay on in his role and to be a chief medical adviser in his administration.
Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta's take on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Dr. Fauci has obviously been around for a long time, has served six presidents, will serve in sort of a chief medical advisor role, for a role that he has done for quite some time.
So you know, it's very reassuring. He is obviously been talking about this pandemic since the beginning. Has worked with Ron Klain before on the ebola outbreak here in the United States.
You know, I think he's the infectious disease guy we all turn to. It's great to know he's still going to be able to do that sort of work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now, there is an awful lot to sort through, and we will answer your questions. Join Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta for a new "CORONAVIRUS TOWN HALL: THE VACCINES". That is 9:00 p.m. Friday on the U.S. East coast, 6:00 am Saturday in Abu Dhabi, and 10:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, right here on CNN.
Growing anger among the people who grow food in India. We are going to find out what is driving farmers out of their fields and into the streets to protest. Also, China is Australia's biggest trading partner. So why is Beijing raising tariffs on Australian goods? Find out what is fueling the rising tensions between the two countries.
Stay with CNN.
[01:38:27]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WATSON: Welcome back to the program.
Delta Airlines says it will partner with the CDC to start contact tracing for international passengers, coming to the U.S. They will be the first U.S. carrier to do so.
The company will collect passenger's information on a voluntary basis. No widespread outbreak has been attributed to U.S. commercial airlines. And the White House coronavirus task force wants airlines, not the government, to contact trace travelers.
To India now, that is where the country's main transport union is calling for a strike next week if the government doesn't 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 haven't 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 and that is where CNN's Vedika Sud joins us. Good to see you.
India has had its own challenges with the coronavirus pandemic, Vedika. What would prompt farmers to risk exposing each other to coronavirus to go out into the streets on the outskirts of the capital this way?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: That's a very important question you ask, Ivan.
We are talking about tens of thousands of these farmers who are at the borders joining other states with Delhi. They're camping out there, they've been camping there for over a week now. And the biggest worry along, of course, with the agitation, being of primary concern for the Modi government, is COVID-19.
Because you have these people, as you can see, the visual that we have for our viewers, most of them are not wearing masks. They are not maintaining social distancing.
Two big worries for the current government in power. One is to persuade and plead these farmers to go back to their farms, not leave their homes, and get on to the streets which has proven to be extremely difficult for them, despite two meetings that they have held this week with farmer representatives who want all the three controversial farm laws to be repealed completely.
And the others, of course, as you were mentioning, is the scare of, you know, this perhaps, turning into a super spreader, hopefully not. Because we already have in India, 9.57 million COVID-19 cases. Delhi itself, has seen its third wave recently take place where we've had a spark in cases.
What we ask the farmer representatives were why you are out on the streets without following COVID-19 protocols.
One of the representatives of the farmers' body said, well, the government is the one that put us at risk. This is life and death for us. The question of life and death for us coming out on the streets, asking for them to repeal the laws, otherwise we will be destroyed.
We are trying to be as careful and cautious as possible but we are not going to return anytime soon to the government. Here is where we have to say.
So this is, of course, a huge concern here in India because we know, from the farmers' union body, that more and more farmers are leaving their farms, and coming on to the streets in the next few days to support this agitation, Ivan.
WATSON: All right. Vedika Sud in New Delhi, please keep us updated on how this unfolds. Thank you very much.
SUD: Of course. Thank you.
WATSON: To China and Australia, two trading partners that are seeing tensions heating up. Things went downhill after the Australian prime minister called for an international probe of the origins of the coronavirus outbreak.
And now the two countries are trading barbs on human rights and China is raising tariffs on key Australian goods.
David Culver reports from Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This illustration igniting a diplomatic fire between China and Australia. It appears to show an Australian soldier, with a knife held to an Afghan child's throat. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman tweeted it out on Monday.
Australia's prime minister, Scott Morrison, demanded China apologize.
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: It is a false image and a terrible slur on our great defense forces.
CULVER: The tweet comes after Australian officials released a report alleging that elite Australian forces killed 39 civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan
[01:44:54] CULVER: Australian Defense Forces dismissed 13 soldiers, following the report and recommended that federal police investigate 36 alleged war crimes.
Chinese officials doubling down this week, refusing to apologize.
"The Australian side has been reacting so strongly to my colleague's tweet. Why is that? Did they think that their merciless killing of afghan civilians is justified, but the condemnation of such ruthless brutality is not," she said.
International relations experts say Australia, a critical U.S. ally, is being punished by Beijing for following the Trump administration's lead in standing up to China.
TOM SWITZER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES IN SYDNEY: It is this bullying nationalism that explains why China has not been very good at winning friends and influencing outcomes.
CULVER: Australia, left trying to balance security versus prosperity.
SWITZER: We are now in a, if you like, a zero sum game and the stakes are enormously high for all concerned, particularly the United States, Australia's most important security ally, and China, Australia's most important trade partner.
CULVER (on camera): The tweeted image, just the latest among incident amidst a year's long worsening China Australia relationship. In April, Morrison was among the first world leaders to call for an international inquiry into Beijing's handling of the pandemic.
JOHN GONG, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS: That sounds very outrageous to China because it puts China sort of in the same footing as Iraq, being investigated for weapons of mass destruction.
CULVER (voice over): Beginning in May, Beijing began targeting lucrative Australian exports to China including wine, barley, and beef. They face high tariffs, anti-subsidy investigations, and lengthy delays clearing customs.
In September, the last two reporters working for Australia news organizations in China were evacuated after being questioned by Chinese authorities over a national security case.
SWITZER: There are a lot of countries in the region, most notably Australia, is very anxious about China's rise. And they want the United States to be heavily engaged both militarily, and diplomatically, in the Asia Pacific region.
GONG: I don't quite see it that way. I think, you know, there is also room for more international cooperation.
CULVER: The plight of Australia is not lost on the incoming Biden administration. While not mentioning China specifically, the president-elect's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, tweeted in part Wednesday, "As we have for a century, America will stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity, and values. A pledge that Australia certainly hopes to see President Biden uphold from the White House.
David Culver, CNN -- Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: Thank you David.
Coming up next, Trump supporters flee Facebook and Twitter, to join an uncensored social media platform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is something you could say on Parler, that you wouldn't be able to say on Facebook?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That the coronavirus is not as deadly as everybody says it is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok, you could literally post that on Twitter and get in Twitter jail for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you could post it on Parler?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean the CDC says we should be wearing masks. You don't accept that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:49:49]
WATSON: Welcome back.
What was once the world's largest radio telescope has plummeted to its end in a spectacular collapse that was caught on camera.
Oh my. Well, engineers at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, say the 900 ton instrument platform fell after all three support towers broke off.
The telescope played a key role in several radio astronomy discoveries during its 57 years like finding the first planet outside of our solar system. The dramatic collapse came just before a planned demolition and just weeks after engineers decided it was simply too dangerous to repair.
More evidence the coronavirus pandemic is forcing the entertainment business to remake itself. HBO Max will stream Warner Bros. 2021 movies, the same day they drop in theaters.
The studio already announced it would run "Wonder Woman 1984" in theaters and on the streaming service on December 25th.
The news about next year is a major blow to theater operators, and shares of AMC, and Cinemark fell more than 15 percent. HBO and CNN are both owned by AT&T.
You remember, "hey you cool cats and kittens"? Well, a tiger attacked a volunteer at Carole Baskin's "Big Cat Rescue" on Thursday morning. That is the Florida animal sanctuary, profiled in "Tiger King", on Netflix.
The sanctuary says the volunteer broke by sticking her arm through the cage, and the cat called Kimba violently grabbed it.
"Big Cat Rescue" is home to more than 50 exotic felines, including Kimba, who was rescued from a circus in Guatemala. The injured volunteer apparently said she didn't want the tiger punished for biting her.
Facebook says it will remove any debunked claims about coronavirus vaccines. CNN business reporter, Donie O'Sullivan reports on how these measures to cut down on misinformation are chasing many online users to sites where they can post anything.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I've been suspended by Twitter a few times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got sick of Twitter.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You got censored too much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Censored.
JAKE: She was in jail every other day -- Twitter jail.
We didn't even exist. We just want to be able to be a part of the conversation. We want to be able to speak on the platform without being labeled, without being besmirched. I mean it is toxic out there.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Convinced that tech companies are biased against conservative use, some Trump supporters have turned to Parler. It touts itself as a free speech social network, one with far fewer rules than Facebook or Twitter.
JOHN MATZE, CEO, PARLER: Every time Twitter or Facebook takes authoritarian steps to curate content, and act as a publication, it drives more people to our platform which is a town square.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So how is Parler different?
KARI TINGLEY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: You can have free speech. You can say whatever you want. You can voice your opinions.
ED TINGLEY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: As long as you are not getting people riled up to go out and actually make threats on people --
K. TINGLEY: -- and incite violence, which we don't, never have, never will then we just go and have our free speech there.
O'SULLIVAN: What is something you could say on Parler that you wouldn't be able to say on Facebook?
E. TINGLEY: That the coronavirus is not as deadly as everybody says it is.
K. TINGLEY: Ok. And you could literally post that on Twitter and get in Twitter jail for that.
O'SULLIVAN: But you could post it on Parler?
K. TINGLEY: Yes.
E. TINGLEY: Yes, no problem.
O'SULLIVAN: I mean the CDC says we should be wearing masks. You don't accept that?
E. TINGLEY: No.
K. TINGLEY: No.
O'SULLIVAN: You said you were in Facebook jail. Could you explain to our audience what Facebook jail is? And how did you end up in there?
K. TINGLEY: See, I posted something about the Proud Boys. It was taken down as racist. I wasn't allowed to post for about, I don't know, I think it was 48 hours, you know. It is every time you write something that they disagree with.
O'SULLIVAN: Why have you been suspended from Twitter?
JAKE: Pass.
O'SULLIVAN: I mean have you said racist stuff -- I mean there is there are ways to get suspended from Twitter by being racist, sharing hate, do you share stuff like that?
JAKE: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. No, it's just -- it's just -- stating a disputed opinion --
O'SULLIVAN: Give me an example of a disputed opinion in the case of you getting suspended.
JAKE: No.
O'SULLIVAN: Ben, what is Parler?
BEN DECKER, ONLINE RADICALIZATION EXPERT: Parler is the latest alternative social media platform.
O'SULLIVAN: Ben Decker, an online radicalization expert compares Parler to a dive bar.
DECKER: Before the pandemic, we used to go out to baseball stadiums and watch game as a community. If you started cursing or infringing upon the experience of another fan, you are removed from the game.
[01:54:58]
DECKER: And where did you go to watch the rest of it? At the dive bar next door where the behavioral standards are lax, and it is ok to share opinions that aren't ok to be shared around others.
O'SULLIVAN: So if somebody is pushing very hateful, maybe dangerous rhetoric, do you worry that that could lead to offline violence and that having a platform that allows for people to post and promote, certain hateful viewpoints, that that could be dangerous?
MATZE: I mean obviously, anything can be dangerous. I live with my mind free enough to know that any situation can spiral out of control.
But the whole idea of people sharing their ideas with each other and I don't see how that leads to violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A spokesperson for the El Paso Mayor's office.
O'SULLIVAN: But violent speech online can lead to real world violence. 8chan, a platform that preached free speech, but let hate run amok was linked to mass killings in El Paso Texas, and Christchurch, New Zealand.
DECKER: In other echo chambers like Parler, there are no dissenting opinions. So constantly, beliefs, ideas, new narratives, are just further reinforced by others.
And these are the kinds of places that facilitate an unintentional radicalization process.
O'SULLIVAN: Facebook and Twitter, deny their bias against conservative ideas, and instead, are cracking down on misinformation, and hate. But Parler has seen a spike in download since election day, and most of its users, appear to be on the right.
You start using it?
JAKE: No. But I've messed around a little bit, but it's never any fun when it's just us. you know, it just turns into an echo chamber, and it's never any fun, because we can't mess with guys like you.
You know what I mean? It's no fun when it's just us, you know, saying what we know to be true to each other.
O'SULLIVAN: Owning the leads, when there's no lives on the platform?
JAKE: I don't want to own lives, I want to have a discussion, I want to talk to people. You know what I mean. I want to engage, I want to have, you know, a discussion. But it totally, it can't happen the way things are going.
O'SULLIVAN: Can you not have that discussion on Twitter or Facebook right now?
JAKE: Not if you want to keep your account.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: AND Thanks to CNN's Donie O'Sullivan for that fascinating report.
Stay with CNN because the entire CNN exclusive interview with U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris is coming up next.
I'm Ivan Watson, live from Hong Kong. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[01:57:45]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
