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U.S. Awaits Green Light On Vaccine; Israel And Canada Among First Countries To Get Vaccine; Wealthy Nations Lock Up Vaccine Purchases; Breaking Up Facebook; Lawsuits Claim It's Just Too Big; Wednesday COVID Record: 3,000 Deaths, 106,000 In Hospital; U.K. Regulators And Companies Investigate Allergic Reaction To Vaccine; Trump Remains Focused on False Fraud Claims; Biden Pushes for Waiver for Defense Secretary Pick; Saudi Arabia is Changing Beyond Recognition. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 10, 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]
JOHN VAUSE, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello. Welcome to our viewers joining U.S. from all around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up this hour on CNN NEWSROOM. By day's end, Pfizer could have authorization for emergency use of its vaccine in the U.S. But right now just who gets how much who remains a mystery.
As Israel's first shipment of COVID vaccine arrives, a spending spree by the world's wealthiest nations has locked up billions of doses.
And taking on Facebook. Forty-eight states in the U.S. are taking legal action suing the social media giant for being too big.
The day after the U.S. recorded its highest daily death toll from COVID-19, Pfizer could be given the green light for emergency use of its vaccine.
More than 3,000 people died on Wednesday in the U.S. while the number of COVID hospitals set another record, 106,000.
In the coming hours an independent panel of experts will review the research for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the FDA could give an authorization by day's end.
Details now from CNN's Erica Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Across the country, the countdown to the first COVID-19 vaccine is on.
GEN. GUSTAVE PERNA, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: We will begin upon approval of EUA packing to the micro plans (ph) and begin distribution within 24 hours out to the jurisdictions accordingly. HILL: The FDA could authorize Pfizer's vaccine as soon as tomorrow. Trucks and planes ready to go, ultra-low temperature freezers on standby.
NANCY PALAMARA, HOLY NAME MEDICAL CENTER: You're looking at potentially getting close to at least quarter of the staff in that first go round.
HILL: Holy Name Medical Center in Northern New Jersey is anticipating about 1,000 doses in that first shipment. Though, like nearly everyone else, they won't know for sure until the call comes.
DR. JONEIGH KHALDUN, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: We still to this date don't know how many Michigan will be receiving.
HILL: As states prepare, there are new questions about Pfizer's vaccine which was just given the OK in Canada after two health care workers in the U.K. had an allergic reaction.
DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: The expectation would be that subjects with known severe reaction, allergic reactions, should not take the vaccine until we understand exactly what happened here.
HILL: The reality for most Americans? The vaccine won't be widely available until spring.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It's going to be a rough couple of months.
HILL: The U.S. now averaging 206,000 new cases a day. That's up nearly 70 percent in just four weeks. Daily reported deaths, even more alarming. Skyrocketing, 123 percent that same period.
MORGAN FITZSIMMONS, TRAVELING COVID-19 NURSE: You've got to think that everyone is a loved one.
HILLS: Hospitals, struggling.
DR. MARK GHALY, SECRETARY, CALIFORNIA HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY: Statewide, I don't believe we've ever seen as many hospital admissions increased like we did just in the past 24 hours.
HILL: Massachusetts further limiting outdoor gatherings and indoor capacity.
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (R-MASS): The days of most people doing most of the right things, are probably not enough.
HILL: Doing the right thing meeting more resistance.
CROWD: (Chanting)
HILL: An Idaho health board meeting to discuss new COVID restrictions abruptly shut down after just 12 minutes.
DIANA LACHIONDO, COMMISSIONER, ADA COUNTY, IDAHO: My 12-year-old son is home by himself right now and there are protesters banging outside the door, OK. I'm going to go home.
HILL: Despite the pushback, many officials are moving forward with new COVID safety measures as hospitals brace for what could be their toughest battle yet.
DR. NIRAV SHAH, DIRECTOR, MAINE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION: What we do today impacts and predicts the success that we will have going forward, starting tomorrow.
HILL (On Camera): Here at Holy Name Medical Center I'm told there is a buzz, there is excitement about the vaccine but also some questions. So to address any concerns they're holding a virtual town hall for the staff on Thursday.
They do anticipate about 1,000 doses of the vaccine in the initial shipment when they receive it. And first in line, will be the staff that interacts directly with COVID patients.
In Teaneck, New Jersey, I'm Erica Hill, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Medical authorities in the U.K. have issued new advice that anyone with a history of major allergic reactions be it to food, vaccines, anything, should avoid the Pfizer biotech vaccine at least for now.
The warning comes after two health care workers had an adverse reaction after being vaccinated.
[01:05:00]
Here's CNN's Phil Black reporting in from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From among the thousands of people to be vaccinated in the U.K. so far, all of them people over 80 or frontline medical staff, two have experienced what are described as adverse reactions.
They're both health workers, both have a history of significant allergic reactions, so much so they carry personal doses of adrenaline just in case.
In this case, we don't know the specific symptoms but we are told that they have been treated and they are doing OK.
As a precaution, however, the U.K. regulator has decided to issue new advice to anyone who fits the same profile. Anyone who also has a history of allergic reactions, significant ones, from food, medicine or vaccines should not get this acting.
The regulator is investigating, the companies behind the vaccine helping with that investigation. Pfizer points out there have been no reports of serious health
concerns during its phase three clinical trial from among the 44,000 people to take part.
We know from the Food & Drug Administration that people with a history of significant allergic reactions were not allowed to be part of that trial group. So the U.K. regulator must get to the bottom of this.
But while it does, Britain's mass vaccination program rolls on. Apart from this new specific advice targeted at a relatively small number of people who may possibly be at risk of experiencing a similar reaction, the program rolls on.
And it remains very much a source of hope and considerable joy to many people in this country.
BLACK (On Camera): Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Earlier I spoke with Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider from the California Pacific Medical Center. I asked her about that U.K. warning for those with allergic reactions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SHOSHANA UNGERLEIDER, INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN, CROSSOVER HEALTH, SAN FRANCISCO: I'm not that concerned. It shows me that they're paying attention to safety as we will do here in the U.S.
The fact is that we have two safe and extremely effective vaccines that will likely be available very soon as you mentioned. There are noticeable side effects like soreness in the arm, muscle aches or fever which last a day or two for some people.
We know that most Americans are very hesitant, or many at least, to get vaccinated. And it would be a real disaster if we do, in fact, have a safe and effective set of vaccines that people won't take or they don't return for their second required dose because they got symptoms they weren't prepared for.
So to turn vaccines into vaccinations we need the public trust in this process and at least 70 percent of people here to complete the two- dose regimen as soon as it's available to them.
I think what many people don't realize but what's really important is that these vaccines were not made by the U.S. government, they were created independently and had a completely independent safety monitoring board that scrutinized data along every way. And not a part of the current administration.
VAUSE: That's a very important point.
UNGERLEIDER: Yes.
VAUSE: Especially the part about the independent panel of experts as well.
And having said all of that, here's Dr. Fauci on the safety of these vaccines. Here he is.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If the United States Food & Drug Administration says that a vaccine is safe and effective, I can promise you that I will take that vaccine myself and I will recommend that my family does that.
So I think the authority should be the United States Food & Drug Administration.
VAUSE: It's important though, safe is not absolute though, there are risks associated with most medical treatments.
There seems to be an incredibly high bar set for the vaccines though.
UNGERLEIDER: Well, yes. Especially here in the U.S., more than other countries in fact. We absolutely take this incredibly seriously.
The FDA has for many years had a process in place in order to evaluate vaccines and then other medical devices and drugs. And so at it every step of the way, they are scrutinizing the data -- of course, meeting today on December 10th to talk through the evidence. And then will make an emergency use authorization if appropriate.
VAUSE: Yes. So assuming that authorization goes ahead later on Thursday then Friday comes, there's another committee, right, convened by the CDC who will decide who gets the first doses. And then comes the distribution challenges.
Like one of the biggest issues right now seems to be that no one knows for certain how much of the vaccine that they will actually get.
UNGERLEIDER: That's true. The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend giving the limited number of initial vaccines to health care workers and residents of long term care facilities here in the U.S. because they're at highest risk.
States will have some flexibility as to who receives them first. They've already started receiving actually the limited share of COVID vaccines at hospitals and pharmacies and clinics across the U.S.
[01:10:00]
And it's possible that these vaccinations could start as early as next week for our 21 million health care workers and then 3 million who live in long-term care facilities.
But beyond that, it's yet to be seen exactly how many doses we will have at the beginning of 2021.
VAUSE: The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has arrived in Israel and with the country ramping up for mass inoculation, first in line is Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine arrive in Israel Wednesday morning aboard a DHL cargo flight that landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.
There to greet that flight was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said Wednesday was like a holiday because the arrival of the first doses of vaccine was so important. A light at the end of the pandemic, he called it.
And he said that he would be the first to take the vaccine, first to show how important it was and second to show that it was safe.
He urged millions of Israelis to get the vaccine when more doses arrive from Pfizer.
Israel has signed contracts not only with Pfizer but also with Russia to bring in the Sputnik vaccine and others as well. Netanyahu saying it is an accomplishment to have brought in the vaccine so quickly when other Western countries, other major countries, are just getting it as well.
But it's not all great news here and that's because the number of coronavirus cases is slowly and steadily rising.
Just a few days ago, Netanyahu said the rise in infections was the sign of a beginning of a third wave infections hitting the country with speculation that Israel may have to go to a third national lockdown or perhaps some sort of nightly curfew or steps like that to bring in the infection rate.
None of that happening yet as the country moves forward with reopening. But Netanyahu urging Israeli citizens to focus and remember on social distancing as well as the wearing of mask and the washing of hands.
LIEBERMANN (On Camera): Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Earlier this year, the world's wealthiest nations were panic buying supplies of potential vaccines and developing countries just could not compete.
And now the Peoples Vaccine Alliance, a watchdog group, said just one in 10 people in some of the world's poorer nations can expect a vaccine by the end of next year.
And that's because the overwhelming majority of potential doses from Pfizer and Moderna have already been bought by those wealthy nations.
Canada reportedly bought enough doses to immunize its country five times over before the leading vaccines receive approval. And this is the United States, 800 million doses combined.
The vaccine watchdog identified 67 countries most at risk of being left behind -- five of them; Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ukraine have reported more than 1.5 million combined cases.
Charitable organizations are sounding the alarm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA MARRIOTT, HEALTH POLICY MANAGER, OXFAM: We don't have enough supply of the vaccine, not enough is being made. And a second problem is that rich countries have already advanced purchased the vast majority of those ones that are promised for next year.
Now this doesn't have to be a competition between poor countries and rich countries in terms of who gets the vaccine if we fix that supply problem.
And to do that we need pharmaceutical corporations to share their vaccine science and knowhow, transfer their technology so that more manufacturers can come on board and get involved in that mass production that we need to see to get the vaccine to everyone who needs it as quickly as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Some of the toughest coronavirus restrictions are now in effect in Hong Kong as officials try to regain control of a fourth wave of the coronavirus.
Restaurants will be capped at 50 percent seating capacity, nighttime done-in services will be suspended, gyms, swimming pools, sports centers will also be closed for at least two weeks.
Well, there's already the problem of distributing the vaccine, the coronavirus vaccine, but then there is the added problem of long distances.
That's making it a lot harder in rural parts of the U.S. and other parts of the world as well. More on that in a moment.
Also ahead, could Facebook be forced to break up its assets? Why the federal government and dozens of U.S. states are suing the social media giant.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:15:00]
VAUSE: The United States has reported its highest daily death toll so far from COVID-19. More than 3,000 people died on Wednesday.
While the number of hospital admissions again set another record; 106,000 people. In the coming hours, an independent panel of experts will review the
research from a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech and the FDA could give its authorization by the end of the day.
Canada, meantime, has already cleared the vaccine for emergency use and says a limited rollout could start as soon as next week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUPRIYA SHARMA, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER, HEALTH CANADA: This is a momentous occasion -- I mean, the geek in me is amazed. No one would have thought, I think, even when we looked back at the first discovery of the virus that less than a year later we would be authorizing and then distributing a vaccine.
So I think it's just a testament to the decades of science and technology and research that's gone into the development of that vaccine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Distribution of a vaccine is already complicated enough but then you're also dealing with doses that require sub-zero storage.
And when -- there's a shortage of that, dry ice is needed for the transportation as well. But for some there are even more challenges like winter weather and long distances.
CNN's Omar Jimenez reports now from a remote corner of the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the backdrop is windmills and open fields, you can see how getting a COVID-19 vaccine to actual people turns into a challenge.
It involves literally loading cold packs into a mini van which eventually will be part of keeping this vital medicine cold as it travels tens, even hundreds of miles to clinics and hospitals that need them.
JESSE BREIDENBACH, SNR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PHARMACY, SANFORD HEALTH: Each state will receive its own allocation of vaccine and so we plan for that accordingly and strategically place freezers like this across our four-region footprint.
At Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, they're ready for whatever amount of vaccine they get.
BREIDENBACH: Lots inside and then there are inner doors as well.
JIMENEZ: Months ago they bought these ultra cold freezers, at least negative 70 degrees Celsius or negative 103 degrees Fahrenheit required for the Pfizer vaccine. Negative 20 degrees Celsius for Moderna's.
BREIDENBACH: Right now the freezers are empty.
JIMENEZ: The Pfizer vaccine can only survive for up to five days in typical refrigeration.
BREIDENBACH: When we get orders from our clinics to distribute that vaccine, we'll pack it coolers on ice and then monitor that temperature to make sure it's at that point maintaining refrigerator temperatures until it is given to the patient.
JIMENEZ: But the actual distribution is complicated. Sanford's coverage area encompasses more than 200,000 square miles over multiple states. That's almost comparable to the size of Texas.
They have to rely on hubs that have the ultra-cold storage facilities in key regions of these states. And that's because each state has its own allocation of the vaccine.
So Sanford can only take supplies across state lines, not the vaccine itself.
And then from the hubs they transport just enough vaccine to even more remote locations to get people what they need but not leave anything wasted in clinics or locations that can't store it properly.
DEAN WEBER, VICE PRESIDENT CORPORATE SUPPLY CHAIN, SANFORD HEALTH: Delivering multiple times over many days to move the vaccine, we will continue to do that rather than moving big portions of vaccine to a small clinic or a critical access hospital. So that we don't run into that temperature dilemma.
[01:20:00]
JIMENEZ: What is the most difficult part about administering and distributing a vaccine in a rural setting versus a city setting?
KELLY HEFTI, VICE PRESIDENT NURSING & CLINICAL SERVICES, SANFORD HEALTH: The geography itself, just the miles that separate us. Making sure the resources can reach all of those areas.
DR. JEREMY CAUWELS, CHIEF PHYSICIAN, SANFORD HEALTH: I think worrying about when you're going to get a vaccine within six days of taking it out of the freezer and within six hours of reconstituting it is really something we hadn't -- I don't think anybody has done before.
JIMENEZ: And something to keep in mind for some of these rural areas as we head deeper into the winter months is that if the roads become too dangerous to drive on because of inclement winter weather, which happens often in this part of the United States, then simply vaccines can't be delivered.
And then another hurdle get past for this part of the country is after the initial vaccine rollout, it's going to come down to convincing people to actually get vaccinated.
It's a conversation that at least one doctor we spoke to here in the area says has come up every single time he has seen a family. JIMENEZ (On Camera): Omar Jimenez, CNN. Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The only agreement from the big Brexit dinner in Brussels on Wednesday was to keep talking.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on a Sunday deadline for a post- Brexit trade pact.
If they do not reach an agreement by then there will be a no-deal divorce at the end of the month. Both sides playing down expectations and emphasizing the gaps that remain on key issues.
Here's what the E.U. chief had to say about dinner -- they had the fish, by the way.
"We had an lively and interesting discussion on the state of play across the list of outstanding issues. We gained a clear understanding of each other's positions. They remain far apart."
Well, Facebook is facing renewed scrutiny in the U.S. with the Federal Trade Commission and 48 U.S. states now suing the company.
They accuse the social media giant of abusing its dominance in the digital marketplace to try and wipe out competition.
They're calling for Facebook to unwind its purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp, essentially breaking up the company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.
By using its vast troves of data and money, Facebook has squashed or hindered what the company perceived as potential threats. They've reduced choices for consumers, they stifled innovation and they degraded privacy protections for millions of Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Sherisse Pham is live in Hong Kong. This is kind of interesting because it's whether or not Facebook is considered an essential service like the phone company or whether it's just a private enterprise.
And trying to sue for being too big seems to be a pretty big challenge.
SHERISSE PHAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. But even if it's a private enterprise, John, it can still be a target of the U.S. government for anti-competitive behavior, right? These twin lawsuits really do represent an unprecedented challenges
from the U.S. government against one of Silicon Valley's biggest companies.
The Federal Trade Commission, in particular, is looking to force Facebook to sell WhatsApp and Instagram and the lawsuit from the dozens of state is saying they would support that, if that if that is the right thing to do.
But let's not forget too that these platforms, Instagram and WhatsApp, they're like crown jewels in Facebook's empire. Instagram brings them a lot of young users, WhatsApp has a huge global reach -- I can tell you here in Hong Kong that everybody that I know uses on a daily basis.
So the FTC says that when Facebook bought these platforms, that they were basically trying to neutralize competition.
So the FTC director of competition saying in a statement that Facebook's actions to -- "maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition."
And their aim is to roll back some of -- "Facebook's anticompetitive conduct... restore competition so that innovation can thrive."
So of course Facebook is pushing back on this.
Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for a billion dollars which seemed like a lot of money at the time. Until they bought WhatsApp two years later for 19 billion dollars. So they want to hang on to these assets for sure.
Facebook, funny enough, took to Twitter to push back. They said that they are -- "reviewing the complaints" and they're saying that there's going to be more to come soon.
But they're saying that, basically, the Federal Trade Commission cleared these acquisitions in 2012 in 2014 and the government just wants to have a do-over with no regard for the impact that would have on the broader business community and people who use Facebook products every day.
[01:25:00]
Their lawyers also added in another statement to CNN Business that people use Facebook not because they have to but because the products are superior, John.
VAUSE: Well,, they broke up the railroads in the 1800s, they broke up the phone companies. Let's see what happens with big tech.
Sherisse, thank you.
PHAM: Thank you.
VAUSE: A SpaceX rocket prototype exploded on Wednesday but technically that's considered a success. It managed to soar almost 13 kilometers above ground and then came back down before ending up in a huge fireball.
CEO Elon Musk says he's pleased because they got a lot of data from that brief trip. He's trying to develop a space vehicle to transport massive satellites into orbit, move people between cities and eventually create a human settlement on Mars.
Well, still to come. Despite losing dozens and dozens and dozens of lawsuits, President Trump now backing another long shot to challenge the election results.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everybody, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM, thanks for staying with us. I'm John Vause.
VAUSE: Well, pandemic, what pandemic? The U.S. president singular focus remains on his increasing desperate attempts to overturn the election result.
His latest legal gambit is to back a Texas lawsuit which would invalidate millions of votes in four battleground states.
We get the very latest now from CNN's Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Stuck in election challenge Groundhog Day losing time and again in court, President Trump is sounding more detached from the reality of the pandemic tweeting cries for help in the election from his social media bunker falsely declaring --"Rigged election."
And -- "If somebody cheated in the election which the democrats did, why wouldn't the election be immediately overturned? How can a country be run like this?"
This tweet makes even less sense --
"At 10:00 p.m. on election evening, we were at 97 percent win with the so-called 'bookies.'"
ACOSTA: The president isn't hiding he's -- hashtag -- sad.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All of the things we've done and we were rewarded with a victory.
Now let's see whether not somebody has the courage -- whether it's a legislator or legislatures or whether it's a justice of the supreme court or a number of justices of the supreme court -- let's see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right.
ACOSTA: The president's latest act of desperation. Pinning his hopes on Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton's long shot request that the supreme court invalidate the results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Even though the high court just rejected a similar GOP attempt in Pennsylvania.
Michigan's Democratic attorney general accused Paxton of shopping for a presidential pardon.
[01:29:47]
DANA NESSEL, MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: I feel bad for the taxpayers in Texas that have to finance this ridiculous and frivolous lawsuit. You know, we should note that AG Paxton, you know, is a member of the Trump campaign, very involved with that. Also that he is currently under federal indictment for securities fraud and also being investigated by the FBI.
ACOSTA: Louisiana House Republican Mike Johnson is backing the Texas lawsuit, writing in an email to his GOP colleagues that they should sign on too, saying Mr. Trump is anxiously awaiting the final list of supporters in Congress.
Back in September when the president was seeking to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, he signaled he might turn to the Supreme Court to bail him out.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think this scam that the Democrats are pulling, it's a scam. This scam will be before the United States Supreme Court. I think it's a very important to have a ninth justice.
ACOSTA: Utah GOP Senator Mitt Romney is blasting the attempts at sabotage as, "Madness. This is madness. We have a process. Recounts are appropriate, going to the court is appropriate and pursuing every legal avenue is appropriate. But trying to get electors not to do what the people voted to do is madness."
Even the first lady may not be sure that Mr. Trump's efforts will succeed with one source telling CNN, "She just wants to go home."
Tell that to Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Mr. Trump's biggest enablers.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): If you're not fighting for Trump now when he needs you the most as a Republican leader in Georgia, people are not going to fight for you when you ask them to get reelected.
There is a civil war brewing in Georgia, for no good reason. It's not unreasonable to ask the legislature to come back in and order an audit of the signatures in the presidential race, to see if the system worked. It's not unreasonable to change the law while you can, so Stacey Abrams can't steal another election.
What is unreasonable, is to sit on your ass and do nothing when you got a chance to save the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA (on camera): The attorney representing Mr. Trump in that Texas lawsuit is John Eastman, who appears to be the same John Eastman who was pushing the racist conspiracy theory earlier this year that Kamala Harris was not eligible to be vice president. Of course, she is eligible to be vice president. It just goes to show you some of the legal minds at work, in this latest gambit.
Jim Acosta, CNN -- the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: For more now Max Boot is with us. He's a CNN global affairs analyst and columnist for "The Washington Post". And it's good to see you.
MAX BOOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be on.
VAUSE: Ok. Well, just to continue with Republican plans, to hold a congressional hearing on the election. It's scheduled for next Wednesday, two days after the electoral college confirms that Biden is the winner of the election.
Regardless of that, the senator driving this is Ron Johnson from Wisconsin. The reason for the hearing he told reporters, "At minimum, we have to explore these issues, these irregularities, even if it doesn't have an impact on this year's election. So that we can correct them, and initiate control so we don't have the same issues, the same irregularities, the same suspicions in the next election."
What irregularities? What issues are there that are not purely made-up fantasy by Donald Trump?
BOOT: Well there are no irregularities. There are no issues other than, as you say, purely made-up fantasies by Donald Trump. And Republicans like Ron Johnson are desperately afraid of doing anything to displease Trump.
And so they are pretending that there are real questions about fraud in this election, which there are not. There is not a single case I'm aware of, of documented fraud. And certainly the Trump campaign has not been able to come up with a single bit of evidence of actual fraud, in all of their court filings.
They may call these grandiose claims before press conferences, but won't actually have to go to court under penalty of perjury, they don't actually make those claims because they can't make those claims. And it's just ridiculous and scandalous that Republicans are joining Trump and undermining faith in our electoral system.
VAUSE: You know, it's a two-way street between Trump and the Republican Party. You know, he would not be able to continue on with this lunacy if it wasn't for the enablers in the party, like these guys here. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Let's not have any lectures, no lectures about how the president should immediately cheerfully accept preliminary election results.
GRAHAM: Do not concede Mr. President, fight hard.
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX): The media is desperately trying to get everyone to coronate Joe Biden as the next president. But that's not how it works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: If this was any other time and Republicans or Democrats refused to accept the outcome of an election and held hearings and frivolous lawsuits to try and sue the president's wounded ego, it would be unacceptable then. But right now, in the midst of this crisis of the pandemic, it seems especially egregious.
[01:34:55]
BOOT: It is especially egregious. I mean this is the kind of thing that we've seen happen in other countries, where a leader who's been voted out of office refuses to accept the results. I mean that's what happens in places like Belarus or Venezuela or Zimbabwe.
It has never before happened in the United States. It is just scandalous and shocking what is going on right now. And it's a real threat to our democracy because so many Republicans are indulging Donald Trump who is the sorest of sore losers refusing to recognize that he lost and is willing to pull down the entire edifice of our constitution if he has to -- to sue -- and Republicans are playing along with that seemingly not caring about the consequences for our democracy and for our future.
I mean this is both scandalous and scary and somewhat also farcical just because the objections in the fraud claim that Trump and the Republicans are making, are so ridiculous that they're laughable.
I mean just today, Trump was claiming that because the bookies on election night supposedly had him at 97 percent chance of winning, that means that he actually won.
Because the bookies were saying that on election night? I mean come on, it's just unbelievable that anybody is taking these kinds of argument seriously.
VAUSE: Well, as you say there are members of the Republican Party who are taking it seriously. And the justification for all of this, is made out of whole cloth. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: When the process is over, we are going to know the result.
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): There is a process in the law that exist after the election, before the results are certified. That process has to be allowed to move forward.
GRAHAM: I'm ok with the way things are going. The president is challenging the election results and within the rule of law. And that's allowed in America.
SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO) The president has every right to pursue this case in every court that he wants to go to and has every right to be heard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, it's all about the rule of law, one more soundbite here. This is Michigan secretary of state to correct the record.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOCELYN BENSON, MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: None of these lawsuits have shown any iota, of actual evidence of wrongdoing, any reason that the election should be anything other than preserved and protected and the results of deemed as secure and accurate.
And so I'm just going to continue to remind everyone of that, as my colleagues have been doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, this is further dividing what is already a divided country. So when people start talking about, you know, a civil war happening, what would that actually look like?
BOOT: Well, hopefully it won't look like the actual civil war that we had in the 1860s. But there is no question that this is a very dangerous situation with a very real risk of violence.
I mean you have people like the Republican secretary of state in Georgia, who needs bodyguards now because he's getting death threats from Trump supporters, because he affirmed the validity of Georgia's vote where just a few days ago, you had armed protesters in front of the house of the Michigan state, secretary of state that's, you know, menacing her and her family, with weapons.
I mean this could very easily get out of hand. And Donald Trump and some of these other Republicans are inciting their followers, by claiming that this election has been stolen. That President Elect Biden is illegitimate.
This is a very, very dangerous game to play. And it would not be at all surprising to see actual violence, break out here which would really be on the head of Trump and all these Republicans, who are sending out these incredibly dangerous and irresponsible messages.
VAUSE: A good note to end on, Max. Thank you. Max Boot with us there, CNN global affairs analyst.
BOOT: Thank you. VAUSE: Thank you, sir.
U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden is making the case for a congressional waiver for his nominee for Defense secretary. General Lloyd Austin retired four years ago but a minimum of seven years is required by law, hence the need for the waiver.
Here's CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: He's the definition of duty, honor, country.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Joe Biden, making one of his first Commander-in-Chief decisions. Introducing Retired Army General Lloyd Austin as his secretary of Defense to help rebuild America's frayed alliances.
BIDEN: He's loved by the men and women of the Armed Forces, feared by our adversaries, known and respected by our allies, and he shares my deeply-held belief in the values of America's alliances.
ZELENY: Austin would become the first African-American to lead the Pentagon, a barrier-breaking pick considering 40 percent of the nations active duty troops but few high-ranking leaders are people of color.
They've known each other for years, and worked together to end Operation Iraqi Freedom.
GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN (RET), DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: You can expect that as secretary of defense, that I will give you the same direct and unvarnished council, that I did back then.
ZELENY: After rising to the highest levels of the Army and serving 41 years, Austin retired in 2016.
[01:39:53]
AUSTIN: I come to this role -- this new role as a civilian leader with military experience to be sure, but also with a deep appreciation and reverence for the prevailing wisdom of civilian control of our military.
ZELENY: To be confirmed, Congress will need to waive federal law, requiring a seven-year gap between military service and civilian leadership which some members of Biden's own party have balked at.
BIDEN: I would not be asking for this exception if I had not -- if I did not believe this moment in our history didn't call for it.
ZELENY: Biden said Austin's long military background, in logistics could also be essential in trying to tame the deadly coronavirus.
BIDEN: We need his experience in large scale logistical operations to help support the swift equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
ZELENY: Former secretary of state Colin Powell, a retired black four- star army general himself, said Congress should confirm Austin saying, "He has demonstrated his war fighting skills and his bureaucratic, diplomatic and political acumen."
Biden has now settled on nearly half of his cabinet, with the latest picks of Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge going to Housing, and former Ag secretary and Iowa Governor, Tim Vilsack heading back to USDA.
The attorney general remains the biggest post still unfilled. CNN has learned Alabama Senator Doug Jones, Judge Merrick Garland and former deputy attorney general Sally Yates are the leading contenders.
Officials tell CNN that several more cabinet picks are coming before the holidays. In six weeks from today, Biden will be sworn in as president.
(on camera): And some of those positions are expected to be announced here later this week in Wilmington. We are learning president-elect Biden has settled on his new U.S. Trade Representative. He intends to nominate Katherine Tai. She would be the first woman of color to serve in that critical role as trade representative, of course, the relationship -- trade relationship with China, so key to next administration.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN -- Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, the biodiversity thriving in one of earth's coldest places and how it's impacting sea levels.
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VAUSE: Call to Earth is a call to action for the environment to share solutions to critical issues like global warming, deforestation or plastic waste. It's a long term priority for CNN to work with you our audience to drive awareness, inspire change so we can engineer a sustainable future.
In today's report, glaciologist and Rolex Awards laureate Joseph Cook studies how microscopic life forms are melting Greenland's ice sheet and contributing to the rise of sea levels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSEPH COOK, GLACIOLOGIST: The ice itself is just kind of a blank canvas where people have previously thought that it's lifeless and barely static.
But when you look under a microscope, the green lichen in particular and other (INAUDIBLE) too reveal themselves to be a frozen rainforest of biodiversity.
[01:44:59] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Glaciologist Joseph Cook studies microscopic life forms that thrive in some of the coldest places on earth.
His pioneering research shows him these tiny organisms are contributing to sea level rise.
COOK: When these microbes grow on the surface of glaciers and ice sheets, they change in color. If you go out on a hot day wearing a black t-shirt, you get warmer than if you go out on a hot day wearing a white t-shirt.
The same thing happens on the ice. These algae is like the black t- shirt for the glaciers causing it to warm up in the sun and melt faster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another threat to the ice, these melt holes are formed by a substance called cryoconite, a combination of microbes and dust particles that speed up the melting process.
COOK: These algae are not a new phenomenon. With climate change there is a larger area for these algae to cover, because snow retreats further and faster each summer so a larger area of the ice can be darkened, and that means more ice has melted and contributing to sea level rise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands of miles away in the south coast of England, Cook's hometown is at risk of sea level rise.
COOK: On a nice sunny day the arctic seems just so distant and so separated. But we are here connected to the poles by the ocean where most giant ice sheets and the glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic melt. They contribute water to sea level rise and we experience that here.
Projecting out into the future for places like this, we foresee higher sea levels which means more rapid erosion of the cliff lines which puts the land about the cliff lines at risk.
It's a global problem, and it doesn't just affect people on the coasts because firstly the base level is higher and that pushes water back up all of our waterways so people on river floodplains are also at risk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cook says new technology like drones and satellites combined with cloud computing have revolutionized his research allowing him to trap the growth of algae on a continental scale and predict how it will shape our oceans for years to come.
COOK: We have now established that these algae are darkening the ice and causing it to melt faster. So we need to be able to develop robust methods of out these algae and their impact. So we can say over the next 10 years or over the next hundred years this is how much the ice sheet is going to melt.
I mean the situation is becoming urgent. Certainly we're seeing an accelerated rate of ice loss in the Arctic and the Antarctic. If we want to make good decisions about how to manage our lands, and our economy into the future, we have to have good projections of sea level rise.
Being on the surface of (INAUDIBLE) ice sheet you are aware of both of its enormity but also its vulnerability to our actions. So you also realize that you're important and that your actions matter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We will continue to showcase inspiring stories like this as part of the initiative here at CNN. Let us know what you are doing to answer the call with the hashtag #CallToEarth.
We'll be right back in a moment.
[01:48:21]
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VAUSE: A jailed activist in Saudi Arabia will face trial Thursday before a court which deals only with cases of terrorism. This news comes from the sister of Loujain Alhathloul. She was arrested almost three years ago for supporting the rights of women to legally drive. The government accuses her of contacting unfriendly states and providing classified information.
Despite those kinds of legal cases, in many ways Saudi Arabia appears to be moving towards the 21st century. Religious police for example no longer roam the streets enforcing a strict code of Islam. There is also increased opportunity and rights for women.
The controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is taking the credit. But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice over): Saudi streets have a different vibe these days. One that might surprise those more familiar with the kingdom's repressive reputation.
Religious police gone. People hanging out -- a long-awaited freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have more fun now. Going outside for movies, going outside to the restaurants, and meeting with friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More freedom. More -- very nice energy, to keep the people going to the better, to the best.
ROBERTSON: Asked who is responsible, the answer -- de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are confident about our Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (INAUDIBLE) after 10 years, we are seeing the results now.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Thank you guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.
ROBERTSON: I've been coming here for about 17 years, the country has always been changing. But it is never been as profound and as fast as it has been over the past few years.
It is no exaggeration to say that it feels different.
(on camera): At 35, MBS is older than more than 70 percent of its citizens and appears to be winning their trust despite serious human rights violations like the ongoing detention of critics and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi that the CIA blames on him and tarnished his international reputation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government already has said what they had. And it was a clear answer to us as a people of Saudi Arabia. So it was a mistake by a few people. So that's it for us.
ROBERTSON: But crossing MBS, as Khashoggi found out, can be fatal. Humans Rights Watch used the recent world leader's G-20 Summit in Riyadh to pressure MBS to reform his rights record.
For those directly impacted, MBS' other reforms ring hollow. Lina Hathloul's sister, female rights activist, Loujain is in jail accused of violating national security.
LINA ALHATHLOUL, SISTER OF LOUJAIN ALHATHLOUL: When we see what's happening inside of the country that is becoming a police thing that is the worst it has ever been regarding the human rights -- I think that no one should believe it.
ROBERTSON: But many here are taking a step of faith in MBS. Talia is a 27-year-old graduate, raised in Saudi, University-educated in London and Beirut came back.
TALIA TANTAWAY, G20 COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST: This was 2017 and then reforms started kind of rolling out. It was like weekly, almost daily. Like there's a new announcement in the news coming and it was so exciting.
And I remember turning to my mom one day and I was like, I don't want to leave, I want to stay here. I want to be part of this change.
ROBERTSON: Since then, she has worked for a female CEO, and despite female rights activists being jailed sees no limits on how far women can go.
TANTAWAY: Before I would've said that there is a limit that I can get to, but now it's like no, I can have a seat at the table. I envision myself having a seat at the table with the Crown Prince.
ROBERTSON: And it's not just the young. Doctor Alharbi is 38, worked coronavirus vaccines at Oxford University, England. Came home four years ago to head up Saudi's coronavirus research sees his homeland as a global contributor not disruptor.
[01:55:02] DR. NAIF ALHARBI, KING ABDULLAH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER: I see a future here for that. Especially with the young institutions coming up and a good amount of funding putting in as well as international collaboration with different esteemed institutions across the world.
ROBERTSON: By far the most dynamic display of MBS' changes, this three-day music festival last year. 150,000 people dancing through the night.
27 year old Haya Shaath, one of its organizers.
HAYA SHAATH, CREATIVE STRATEGIST, MDL BEAST: I genuinely don't think that this -- something of this scale can be rolled back. We just want to celebrate and have a good time. And express our creativity in multiple ways.
ROBERTSON: While faith in reforms is high, it is not unconditional. Rumors of drugs and alcohol at the festival worry some.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously we don't want alcohol and drugs in the country. We do not want crimes.
ROBERTSON: Yet, in Riyadh's oldest market, a bastion of the old ways, where outward change hasn't arrived, the effects of reforms are being received positively.
26-year-old Ahmed Abdelaziz runs the traditional Arabic clothing store his father started half a century ago.
He tells me the reforms are good. International investment is coming, and despite fears of a backlash when women began driving, he says, it moves smoothly and without difficulties.
It is a measure of how much people wanted basic freedoms that MBS is getting so much support. A low bar perhaps, maintaining that domestic popularity in the face of international criticism with a poor human rights records and an ugly war and humanitarian disaster in Yemen, and a propensity to lock up those he fears and disagrees with, will be his coming challenge.
(on camera): It is hard to find anyone here to criticize the leadership openly. There are still red lines. For liberal reformers and conservatives, this is no modern democracy but neither is it a country stuck in its past.
Nic Robertson, CNN -- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us. I'll be back after the break with a lot more news.
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