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FDA Panel Recommends Authorization of Pfizer Vaccine; U.S. Prepares for Vaccine Distribution Ahead of Authorization; Mexico Details Vaccination Program, Health Care Workers to Get First Priority; Latin America Races to Finalize Vaccine Distribution Plans; President Trump Pins Hopes on Dubious Texas Lawsuit; Israel, Morocco Normalize Relations with Help of U.S.; British PM: UK Should Prepare For No-Deal Exit; Stimulus Bill Deadlocked As Unemployment Claims Soar; Trump Ignores Virus, Focuses On Bogus Election Lawsuit; More Than 100 House Republicans Support Trump-Backed Texas Lawsuit Seeking To Invalidate Millions Of Vote; CDC Director: For The Next 60 To 90 Days - U.S. To Have More Deaths Per Day Than We Had In 9/11. Aired 2- 3a ET
Aired December 11, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, everyone. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm John Vause.
Coming up this hour, split decision, an independent panel recommends emergency use of Pfizer's vaccine in the U.S., buy why did more than 22 experts say no?
Desperate times, desperate measures, as hospitals worldwide filled to capacity. Parking lots are being set aside to treat an overflow of COVID patients.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I promised them that they would be normal children, and then the pandemic hit. And I can't keep those promises anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): Around the world, so many wondering how much longer they can hang on during this pandemic.
Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is little more than a formality away from being distributed in the U.S. An independent panel of experts reviewed the drug makers' research on Thursday, and recommended the Food and Drug Administration grant emergency use authorization.
The FDA is expected to make it all official on Friday. Then, on Sunday, a panel convened by the CDC will decide who gets the vaccine and when. Despite the scientific achievement, health experts warn this crisis is still far from over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We are not through with this just because we're starting a vaccine program. Even though you, as an individual, might have gotten vaccinated, it is not over by any means. We still have a long way to go, and we've got to get as many people as possible vaccinated, of all groups.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): The infections continue to surge across the nation. Nearly 225,000 new confirmed cases reported on Thursday alone. Hospitals are reaching capacity with a record number of COVID patients being treated. The need, so dire, one hospital in the state of Nevada has transformed a parking garage into a COVID unit.
Earlier, I spoke with an ICU nurse about what she is seeing on the frontlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY TURNER, ICU NURSE: In the world of the ICU, you occasionally have a death. It's just the nature of the beast kind of thing. But the difference is, is that now we are having two to three deaths a day, you know, like, one per shift. And as soon as a bed is cleared and cleaned, there is another person who is rolling in. So there is no break. This is indicative of our whole country that ICU beds are like 90 percent filled.
VAUSE: Yeah.
TURNER: There are some towns that have none. And so this means, what this means is that you've got frontline workers that are working nonstop.
VAUSE: Yeah.
TURNER: There is no empty rooms, no empty beds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): Now, there is a vaccine. Next comes the really hard part, distribution.
Nationwide, in the U.S., shipping and transport companies, airlines and health care facilities, all working together to finalize how this vaccine will become a vaccination.
CNN's Sara Murray has details.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNKNOWN: Act quickly.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Within 24 hours of an FDA authorization, the first coronavirus vaccines are set to ship out across the country. FedEx and UPS on standby to carry the first batch of nearly three million doses from a Pfizer facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan to more than 600 sites nationwide.
RICHARD SMITH, REGIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAS AND EXECUTIVE VP, FEDEX EXPRESS: There will be no high priority shipments in our network than these vaccine shipments.
MURRAY (voice-over): Another Operation Warp Speed partner, McKesson, is already shipping out supply kits: millions of syringes, needles, face masks, and vaccination cards. The monumental task of beginning to vaccinate Americans is coming as states are still grappling with uncertainty over exactly how many doses they will receive and when.
In Nebraska, the governor is warning delays could lie ahead.
GOV. PETE RICKETTS (R-NE): We have been notified that Pfizer shipments will be delayed for week two and week three. We have not been told what that actually means for us.
MURRAY (voice-over): One thing is clear nationwide, for a while, supplies will be extremely limited.
NIRAV SHAH, DIRECTOR, MAINE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Whenever the first shipment arrives, of course, it won't be enough for every single person in Maine who may want or need the vaccine. Unfortunately, that has prompted us to have to make some difficult, unsavory choices.
MURRAY (voice-over): The first doses will be steered toward frontline health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
[02:04:57]
MURRAY (voice-over): Some hospitals are already setting up a delicate dance, staggering their staff vaccinations so entire departments aren't suffering the vaccine side effects such as fevers and body aches at the same time. And even those at the front of the vaccination line could still have to wait.
NGOZI EZIKE, DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Definitely, we have to send the message that yes, there are a lot of people in that priority group, and yes, we want to make we get it to you, but no, it won't happen on day one or week one or maybe even week two. So patience will be the name of the game.
MURRAY (on camera): It is still going to be months before we see this vaccine available to the general public. After we get to these health care workers, we are expecting essential workers could be next on the list. Of course, it is going to be hard to decide who those essential workers actually are.
We are already starting to see early signs of lobbying campaigns today. An airline industry wrote to the CDC, saying that these frontline aviation workers should be considered in this tranche of essential workers. You can bet there are going to be a lot more pleas like that in the coming weeks and months.
Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE (on camera): Dr. Celine Gounder is a member of the COVID-19 committee, which is advising the U.S. president-elect Joe Biden. She is with us this hour. It is good to see you. Thank you for taking the time.
CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Sure, of course.
VAUSE (on camera): This vote to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use, it wasn't unanimous. There are 17 votes in favor, four opposed, one abstained. Here is how one board member explained why he voted yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL OFFIT, VACCINES AND RELATED BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, FDA: The question is never when you know everything, it's when you know enough, and I think we know enough now to say that this appears to be our way out of this awful, awful mess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): So will the reasons for the no votes to be made public anytime soon?
GOUNDER: You know, that I'm not sure of, John. I think that really is going to depend on how the FDA wants to handle that. But I think, big picture, we don't often have completely unanimous agreement on this. You know, I think part of what is a little bit more complicated here is you're dealing with an emergency use authorization, not a full approval, so the standards are a little bit different.
And some of those who voted against me have been going with a stricter, more approval level of evidence. So, you know, some of what we're not entirely sure of, for example, based on the data that we have seen is how truly effective is this is in 16 to 18 year olds. There were fewer in that age group in the phase three clinical trial.
But frankly, we do think that the data, the vast majority of us believe, that the data that was included in the trial, that included that age group, is probably sufficient to move forward with an emergency use authorization, even for some of those younger participants.
VAUSE: One issue which hasn't received a lot of attention is safety and oversight where the vaccines are made. The FDA's Team Biologics facility, a report by Vanity Fair, though, found some serious problems within that group, reporting this. Four people familiar with its operations told Vanity Fair that Team Biologics, staffed with only 14 investigators, is riven by conflict, dissent, personnel complaints, and low morale, and overseen by inexperienced supervisors.
This is a very long report. It goes on and on and on. But would you expect that this may be an issue or something which could be addressed by the incoming administration?
GOUNDER: Well, I think, big picture, the incoming administration is really going to beef up public health, as well as different arms of the FDA. These are areas that have really languished with underfunding, understaffing for some time now. They have done, frankly, an excellent job despite that.
But I think it's really important, especially in this moment in time, as we understand the importance of these federal structures to the health and safety of the nation that we really do invest in them.
VAUSE (on camera): Even though we have these vaccines, the CDC (INAUDIBLE) now has U.S. death toll January 2nd of just over 360,000. That is a maximum there. The current director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, put it this way. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: We are in the timeframe now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we are going to have more deaths per day than we had in 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor. I mean, this is really, as I said, this is real, going to be real unfortunate loss of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): This country went to war in Afghanistan for 13 years after 9/11. And yet for some reason, there are people in the United States who refused to wear a face mask or they hold two dozen separate holiday parties at the White House. How can you explain the disconnection in these death tolls? It's abhorrent, what is happening.
GOUNDER: Well, I do think that there are different values at play here. I think people feel differently when they feel like their country is being threatened by a foreign power or by a terrorist attacks than they do when it is a natural threat, a biological threat in the form of the coronavirus.
[02:10:03]
GOUNDER: I think that is definitely part of it. I think there are those who would still argue this is a question of personal responsibility and personal action. But, where there is a fault in that argument is this is an infectious, transmissible disease, and so all of our behavior affects everyone else. Unfortunately, we are seeing the results of that.
VAUSE (on camera): Just very quickly, during the democratic primaries, you may recall the candidates were asked what will they do on day one, and here is Kirsten Gillibrand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): The first that I'm going to do when I'm president is I'm going to Clorox the Oval Office.
(LAUGHTER)
GILLIBRAND: The second thing I'm going to do is I will re-engage on global climate change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): Turns out that was quite prescient. There are plans, right, to sterilize the White House before the new administration takes over. So what will that actually involve?
GOUNDER: Well, you know, I think one thing that we have learned over the course of the pandemic is that contacts, so surfaces, hand to hand contact actually play a pretty insignificant role in transmission of the coronavirus. It is really a respiratory transmission, so through droplets, through aerosols, through the air.
And so by opening windows, well ventilating spaces, just having people outside of the offices and other rooms in the building and giving that a chance to aerate, I don't think that you really need to go crazy with Clorox at the White House to make it safe.
VAUSE: Dr. Gounder, thank you so. Appreciate you being with us.
The United States is not the first country to green light the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. Last week, authorities in the U.K. authorized emergency use, the first country to do so. Bahrain followed a few days later. This week, Canada issued authorization after two-month long review. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia gave the vaccine to go ahead.
Mexico is finalizing plans for the vaccine distribution. Two hundred and fifty thousand doses are expected to arrive in the next few weeks. Officials say, when it does, health care workers will get priority.
Here is CNN's Matt Rivers reporting in from Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To defeat the pandemic, countries need a vaccine, which means either producing vaccines domestically and/or buying vaccines from others. Rich countries can do both. Middle income countries usually can afford to buy vaccines abroad. But poor countries can do neither.
Countries like Bolivia, one of the world's highest COVID-19 mortality rates and a suffering economy. But on a video call, the country's health minister tells CNN help is on the way.
EDGAR POZO, BOLIVIAN HEALTH MINISTER: (UNTRANSLATED).
RIVERS (voice-over): He says, luckily, there are other caring countries that can take care of those of us with needs, and that's the main principle of the COVAX program. COVAX is the U.N.-backed initiative that is aiming to get vaccines into the hands of the world's poorest countries like Bolivia, and fast. In Latin America alone, more than two dozen countries will receive vaccines under the program, including 10 that will receive them free of cost.
POZO: (UNTRANSLATED).
RIVERS (voice-over): We don't have the resources to get the vaccine on our own. Buying millions of vaccines would be about impossible, so this is crucial.
But joining the program is one thing. Physically getting people vaccinated across Latin America is an incredible challenge, even in a region with plenty of experience with vaccine campaigns.
FELICIA KNAUL, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY OF THE AMERICAS, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: We have seen how to do this in Latin America. But it's not easy. I think we seldom had to do it at this scale.
RIVERS (voice-over): Initial vaccines need to be kept cold. Doing that in remote villages, some in the tropics, it will be very hard. Countries throughout the region have indigenous communities that don't speak Spanish, so language barriers exist. And in many places, inherent mistrust of national and local government can make vaccination messages fall on deaf ears.
KNAUL: Distances an issue. Getting people to move to where the vaccine is going to be an issue either way. And then making people believe that the vaccine is actually important and necessary.
RIVERS (voice-over): And this is assuming that all goes right with the vaccine production and the COVAX program.
The assistant director for the Pan American Health Organization says we know in public health emergencies in the past like H1N1, the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean receive the vaccine six to eight months after we started the distribution, and in many cases, well, after richer countries got the vaccine.
There is every hope that COVAX will work, that vaccines will arrive on time, and that people will actually take them. But for those in charge of making all that happen, there will be some sleepless nights until it does.
POZO: (UNTRANSLATED).
RIVERS (voice-over): He says the worst-case scenario would be not having access to the vaccine or that it arrives a lot later than predicted. That would mean more sick people, more deaths, and even more dangerous and worrying situation.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE: Well, Europe prepares to distribute the coronavirus vaccines. In the meantime, pandemic restrictions are being ramped up.
[02:15:01]
VAUSE: Berlin is about to implement significant restrictions in the run up to Christmas to try and curb the spread of the virus. Schools will shut down, some stores as well, until January 10th.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been calling for a full lockdown after Christmas, ranging anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
And Sweden, the country which famously chose not to have a lockdown during Europe's first coronavirus wave, is now seeing a big jump in cases. In the capital, Stockholm, 99 percent of intensive care beds are full.
Officials in Japan are reporting a record high of new daily COVID-19, almost 3,000, the second day in a row the country has seen a new record.
Well, as Donald Trump pushes ahead with another doomed lawsuit over the election, it seems many Republicans have now abandoned democracy with him by joining a baseless legal challenge.
Plus, an agreement reached to normalize relations between Israel and Morocco. A live report from Jerusalem when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE (on camera): In Trump world, the 2020 election is still undecided. Any day now, the Supreme Court is about to hear an argument presented by Senator Ted Cruz which will mean the election results will be overturned. And in this fantasy, 106 congressional Republicans and 18 republican states are now joining in.
Here's CNN's White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: In another attempt to discredit Joe Biden's win, President Trump is now asking how the country can be run by an illegitimate president while he clings to another farfetched lawsuit as his efforts to override the election grow more desperate by the minute.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All I ask for is people with wisdom and with courage, that's all. Because if people, very important people, if they have wisdom and if they have courage, we are going to win this election.
COLLINS (voice-over): That was Trump's message for a Hanukkah party as he is now eagerly backing a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attempting to stop the certification of votes in four swing states that Trump lost.
Legal experts said they doubt the high court will take it up. But Trump tweeted the Supreme Court has a chance to save our country from the greatest election abuse in the history of the United States.
Trump held a conveniently timed, but according to the White House, previously scheduled lunch with Republican attorneys general, including Ken Paxton, who is currently being investigated by the FBI over allegations he abused his office to benefit a political donor.
GOP Senator Ben Sasse implied Paxton's efforts to do Trump's bidding had more to do with his legal troubles, telling The Washington Examiner -- quote -- "It looks like a fella begging for a pardon filed a PR stunt rather than a lawsuit."
CNN has learned Trump personally called Senator Ted Cruz and asked him to argue the case if it goes before the Supreme Court.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): And I told him I'd be happy to.
[02:20:00]
CRUZ: And I believe the Supreme Court should choose to take the case. I think they should hear the appeal.
COLLINS (voice-over): But not all Texas Republicans are on board. Senator John Cornyn said, I frankly struggle to understand the legal theory of it. Veteran Congresswoman Kay Granger called it a distraction. And Congressman Chip Roy said, I cannot support an effort that will almost certainly fail.
Other Republicans appear ready to move on, as well. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said he will consider Biden's win official after electors meet and certify the results on Monday.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Yeah, I think he's the presumptive president-elect. But we just can't -- I won't at the same time dismiss that there are filings that deserve to go through the justice system like anybody else in America.
COLLINS (on camera): And recently, we told you about an effort that was directed by President Trump to get House Republicans to join him in this effort to support this Texas lawsuit, even though legal experts have said has very little standing to go before the Supreme Court.
But now, we have learned that over 100 House Republicans have signed their names on the record, seeking to try to overturn the results of the election, joining this Texas lawsuit, the peoples have said doesn't have a lot of muster, but it can be viewed as a loyalty test for President Trump.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE (on camera): Doug Heye is a CNN political commentator and a Republican strategist. He joins us this hour from Washington, D.C. Doug, welcome back.
DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be with you. Thank you.
VAUSE (on camera): You're welcome. Now, Donald Trump and a very Trumpian style, he is letting it be known that he's up for another run for the White House in four years. Here he is on Tuesday. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's been an amazing four years. We're trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I'll see you in four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): OK, is this serious? Is it a trial balloon? Is it the last great scam to raise more money from his supporters, about 200 million so far and counting, or just an attempt to stay relevant once he is dragged out of the Oval Office?
HEYE: All of those options that you listed are not mutually exclusive. I think the ultimate answer for Trump right now is definitely maybe. And part of that is because, as you mentioned, he's raising so much money.
And the money that he's raising right now basically is being split 75 percent going to Trump specific organizations, 25 percent going to Republican National Committee. These are small dollar donations. So you can keep raising and raising those.
On January 21st, when he's not president, he's under no obligation to raise money or split that money with the Republican National Committee or any other Republicans. So it benefits him politically. It benefits him media and message wise to keep this going, whether it's a charade or not.
VAUSE: The one thing that seems to keep this alive and give it a little bit of credibility in some ways is that while Biden had a clear and the decisive win, at the same time, there wasn't this total repudiation of Trumpism. So that sort of gives them some legs at least, the 74 million people who voted for Trump.
HEYE: Donald Trump was a great motivator for voters, whether that was the turnout for him this time or last time, or vote against him. I liken him quite often to a professional wrestler. A lot of people show up and cheer, a lot of people show up and boo, but the people show up.
What kind of makes this situation really unique right now is that Republicans picked up 12 or 13 seats now in the House of Representatives, and I think there's one more still outstanding.
If Republicans had lost the eight to 14 seats that were kind of predicted in the House, we'd be having a very different conversation right now. And certainly if we had those Senate seats won already or lost already for that matter, Republicans on Capitol Hill would be ready to turn the corner and able to turn the corner. They're just not able to do so right now. VAUSE: Meantime, president-elect Joe Biden continues to have many
former Obama officials to senior roles in his administration. McDonough has been chosen to lead Veterans Affairs and Susan Rice to lead White House Domestic Policy. McDonough served as Obama's chief of staff while Susan Rice was Obama's national security adviser.
Biden also nominated Tom Vilsack for agriculture secretary, a position he held in the Obama administration. There among at least a dozen former Obama officials set to make a return.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has credited Donald Trump for an agreement to normalize relations with Morocco. He praised the U.S. president for bringing peace to the region. Israel and Morocco have secretly cooperated for more than 60 years and never fought a war.
Live now to Oren Liebermann, who is in Jerusalem this hour. It is not really a peace deal. It seems it is a lot more transactional than anything else.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course. The big transaction here is between the United States and Morocco. It is Morocco, make no mistake, that is the major winner here, getting U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty unoccupied Western Sahara. That was a major goal of Morocco and that was the gift, this major gift that the Trump administration gave Morocco in exchange for the process of full normalization with Israel.
[02:24:58]
LIEBERMANN: Notably, Israel made no mention of Western Sahara, and when we tried to find out what Israel recognized Moroccan sovereignty unoccupied Western Sahara, we essentially got a no comment on that one.
It's another instance of where the Trump administration's foreign policy is once again out on a limb, out on its own. There are no other major countries, certainly not western countries that recognize Western Sahara as part of Morocco.
So, once again, this is the Trump administration seeking somewhere to do something to benefit one specific country to get something it wanted that benefits Israel. This is part of this ongoing normalization efforts we've seen between Israel and the Arab countries. That list now includes the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, John.
VAUSE: Oren, thank you. We appreciate the update. Oren Liebermann is live for us in Jerusalem.
A short break. When we come back, millions are out of work in the United States and Congress still has not passed the financial aid package to help them. And relief could still be a long way off. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE (on camera): Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for staying with us. I am John Vause. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."
The U.S. Congress is still deadlocked over a second coronavirus financial aid package as the number of unemployed Americans continues to rise.
The U.S. Labor Department reports another 853,000 Americans filed for first time unemployment benefits last week, the most since mid- September. They are ordinary Americans who are waiting for relief and in many cases barely hanging on.
Vanessa Yurkevich caught up with one woman struggling to make ends meet in what is normally a joyful and happy time of year.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNKNOWN: I would describe this as the last night's memory that I had.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Angela Kearney stands in front of her tree at home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, reminiscing with her aunt and longing for last Christmas.
ANGELA KEARNEY, FURLOUGHED FROM JOB DUE TO PANDEMIC: This was when I received the new job. I was going to be able to buy a home for my family.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): The new job was as a paralegal, after she put herself through school in her 40s while recovering from surgery to fix a disability, racking up $63,000 in student loans. With the new salary of $55,000, she was finally able to provide for her children.
KEARNEY: That is more money that I've ever seen in my life. I promised them we would get a house. I promised them that they would be normal children and then the pandemic hit. And I can't keep those promises anymore.
It looks like everyone is dancing.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Just four months after landing that job, Kearney was furloughed in March, and her weekly unemployment of $300 does little to cover the bills for her and her three children living at home.
[02:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA KEARNEY, FURLOUGHED FROM JOB DUE TO PANDEMIC: I have to take the bills and throw them up and pick the ones and hope that they total the amount that I have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Her unemployment has leaded to run out in January, along with 12 million other Americans and dozens of programs designed to protect them will too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY CASTRO BAKER, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: First student loan, you know, payments have been halted. So once that expires, that's a new bill that's going to hit people quickly. You have local eviction bans that will expires and then of course, the expansion of unemployment insurance. As that's going away, we're seeing more people not put back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: For years, Kearney and her family were on several government assistance programs, including disability and food stamps. Last year, she finally got off them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEARNEY: A lot of it was determination on my part, to climb this mountain. And we got showed off the mountain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Which sent them right back on food stamps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: How much money do you get on that card?
KEARNEY: We get 400 a month.
YURKEVICH: Does that cover it?
KEARNEY: It has to right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Congress is negotiating a stimulus bill that could drastically shape the next few months for families like the Kearney's, but significant long term relief may not arrive until President-Elect Biden is inaugurated in late January.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAKER: For a lot of families waiting until after the inauguration is just going to be too late.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Christmas will look different for many American families, including the Kearney's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEARNEY: What do you think of our lights this year?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: This year, she's prioritizing paying the electric bill just to keep the lights and Christmas spirit alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEARNEY: The bills won't be paid for December because Santa is coming to town. Santa will be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich CNN, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Hopes are fading for the U.S. congress to reach an agreement before the next spending deadline. That's when many current pandemic benefits expire. Eleni Giokos joins us now live with more on this. So there's a lot going on here.
We've got these unemployment numbers. We've got concerned about the strength the U.S. economy; we've got this financial aid package which is going nowhere. And the longer that drags on, the worse it gets.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean, John, you know, listening to these stories of vulnerable households and knowing that these numbers are going to be accelerated over the next couple of months.
Economists are saying this is directly correlated to the rise in Coronavirus cases and of course, localized lockdowns that we're seeing in the U.S. We've been in the situation before we know what it means to ask people to stay home.
And of course, that means they're not going to be spending. And that has a direct implication on the labor markets, the initial jobless claims number that we've got art showing to deterioration in the labor force.
And of course, it's the highest number we've seen in three months. It's the biggest rise we've seen since March. Is this a harbinger of things to come is this trend going to continue in the next few weeks that is going to be vital to look at?
Now to alleviate some of that pain the stimulus plan which of course has been under negotiation for many months after self imposed deadlines by both Republicans and Democrats. We're sitting here with a huge deadline that federal spending days are coming to an end.
And of course, it needs to be decided upon by the end of next week. We understand from sources in terms of the negotiations that there are two major sticking points so firstly, liability protections for businesses, and then aid for states and cities.
Now, the overall size on the table right now is just over $900 billion. And of course, we also know that extra $300 of weekly funding for vulnerable households came to an end in July, so many of these other programs are now being exhausted and embedded in the initial jobless claims numbers.
Yesterday, we're seeing economists talking about the fact that Europe having people exhausting these avenues of filing for benefits, time is running out. We are on the cusp of a rollout of vaccines in the United States.
But that's going to take a while economists also saying that the scars of the pandemic are going to be deep, and they're going to be painful. And exacerbating the problem is, of course, the delay of the stimulus program John, which hopefully we'll have - we'll have some kind of information on this in the next few days.
VAUSE: What happens now, though, if this delay just keeps going on and on and on? What are the economic effects because it's not just in the United States? What happens in this economy? What happens in this country affects the rest of the world?
GIOKOS: Absolutely. I mean, it's a domino effect. It absolutely is a spillover effect when you're pumping money to this extent in the United States that ends up in the hands of the U.S. consumer. If the U.S. consumer spending, you've got a stronger corporate America, you've got stronger markets, and that spills over into the rest of the world as well.
But first and foremost, people are saying that if you don't get the virus under control, that you're going to have immense economic pain. So vaccine rollout is really vital here. But in the interim, you have to support U.S. businesses and you have to support the vulnerable consumer.
We're hearing these stories coming through. We've been covering them on CNN for months now. And the problem is getting worse. And of course the issue of accessing benefits is of course coming under pressure as well.
[02:35:00]
GIOKOS: States by the way, also running out of money the pandemic has been a huge economic pressure point for state funding as well. So I think when President-Elect Joe Biden comes into play early next year, he's going to have a really big task of trying to deal with the economic ramifications of the delay, firstly, of the stimulus plan, but also of the long term effects of the pandemic.
VAUSE: Eleni, thank you. We appreciate the update. Eleni Giokos there for us live in Johannesburg? Well, unlike the U.S. congress, EU leaders have agreed on a $2 trillion stimulus package to help member states hit hard by the pandemic.
The delay was caused by haggling over certain conditions for the financial aid who will get it and who will not? Now the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is warning of a strong possibility of not reaching a post Brexit trade deal with the EU.
Both sides have set a Sunday deadline to try and reach an agreement. But many EU officials seem to share Boris Johnson's pessimism. Although it should be noted the European Central Bank President is at least holding out some hope.
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CHRISTINE LAGARDE, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK PRESIDENT: My gut feeling is that as long as the fat lady has not sung, it's not over. And I think they will try that to reach some sort of plateau where they can agree on a deal it might be a mini deal, but I hope they can do that because there is a lot at stake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well sort of come here call it first world pandemic problems, European ski resorts no longer operating but one country is saying hey, business as usual, despite neighbors saying otherwise, we'll take you there.
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VAUSE: Well, the Coronavirus pandemic has forced many European ski resorts to close and that's causing some major angst among thousands of businesses in villages all across the region. CNN's Melissa Bell though takes us to one ski resort in Switzerland, which is still open.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some come for the spectacular views and the fresh air, but many come for the sports. Each year the European ski industry brings in $34 billion in revenue half the world's total according to an industry expert, but not this year.
Ski lifts will be at a standstill this Christmas in many of Europe's top skiing destinations because of COVID-19 restrictions. And that means trouble beyond the ski industry. Entire villages like Megeve and the French Alps are up in arms.
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CATHERINE JULLIEN-BRECHES, MEGEVE MAYOR: The ski list here in Megeve will lose $8 million in turnover. And we know that $1 spent on lifts mean $7 spent in the village so that gives an idea of the extent of the economic damage for villages.
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BELL: But by early December after much debate and mutual pressure, France, Germany, Austria and Italy decided not to open their ski lifts.
[02:40:00]
BELL: A decision met with incomprehension by those whose livelihoods depend on them.
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MICHEL CUGIER, DIRECTOR, MEGEVE SKI LIFTS: It's an outdoor activity and I think in terms of big crowds, we are not confronted with the same crowds you see in the metro in a big city. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: But just 60 miles away across the border here in Switzerland, the ski lifts are open. With resorts like Verbier putting places special restrictions like masks that need to be worn on the lifts and social distancing put in place as well, in order to make sure that people can ski as safely as possible.
Laurent Vaucher, who runs Verbier's piece ski lifts says that much has been learned since the Austrian ski resort - was identified by health officials as a major cluster during the first European COVID wave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURENT VAUCHER, DIRECTOR, VERBIER SKI LIFTS: Last spring, we didn't have any measure in place we didn't have any mask, didn't have any social distance. So now that the game is different, we are pretty much sure that we can do a good work in order to keep the ski resort to safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Measures are being taken on the slopes and in the village. Switzerland's infection rates are rising and local leaders say they want to leave nothing to chance.
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SIMON WIGET, DIRECTOR, VERBIER TOURISM: It's not only to save the Christmas holiday, but it's to save the winter. And it's to save as well the reputation because we know that everybody is watching at us. And if we make a mistake, and afterwards due to the mistake, we have a Corona cluster, we will be appointed as the bad organizations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: The conditions here in the Alps this season are incredible loads of snow, plenty of sunshine, and the fear was that people might be tempted to flock to Switzerland to try and make the most of these slopes. That's why several European countries have put in place restrictions to prevent our nationals from doing just that. Melissa Bell, CNN, Verbier.
VAUSE: When history is written 2020 will most likely be remembered as the year from hell but the happy moments of inspiration, generosity, kindness and even greatness. The 14th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star tribute will salute those who stepped up when needed most.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a year of challenges and change, but it's also been a year of hope. This year's CNN Heroes is a celebration of everyday people doing extraordinary acts during two of the biggest stories of 2020. Join Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa and celebrity guests.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight is about hope. It's about decency, and it's about compassion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a salute to the people who keep our spirits lifted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to see the world differently.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone can have an impact no matter their age.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plus the viewer's choice for this year's most inspiring moment at a special musical performance by Tony Grammy and Emmy winners Cynthia Erivo, CNN Heroes an All-Star Tribune, Sunday at eight on CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In case you missed it Sunday 8pm eastern in the United States, just like a guy said just then 5am Monday in Abu Dhabi 9am in Hong Kong. Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause. World Sport is up next. You're watching CNN.
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DON LEMON, CNN HOST: --you need to support them. We'll be right back.
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[02:45:00]
LEMON: President Trump is doing anything he can to hold on to power and the GOP seems ready and willing to help. Tonight more than half of House Republicans 106 to be exact are backing the bogus legal push to invalidate millions of votes. Our democracy is in danger. Let's discuss now Presidential Historian Jon Meacham is here who occasionally advises President-Elect Biden.
Jon, boy, good evening. This is this is a crazy I mean, America is in crisis right now. They say the darkest hours just before the dawn does that where we are is it going to get darker?
JON MEACHAM, AUTHOR, "HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON": And I've always wondered if that's true, actually. Is that meeting her logically? In fact, I think crisis is a great word for it. You know, we use crisis in our politics and that vernacular because it was a medical term in the ancient world.
Hippocrates first used it and a crisis for him was a moment in a disease where the patient survives or doesn't.
[02:50:00]
MEACHAM: And so it's an inflection point, a vital inflection point. And I think when you have 106 members of congress who are enabling this madness, you are at that kind of inflection point, I was reading today about the secession winter of 1860-61.
And how you had these two conflicting visions of reality that just would not - could not reconcile. And there had to be this extraordinary clash of arms to do it. I don't think we're there. But there is a - there's a sense here that we're just - it's not that we're not talking to each other.
It's not even that we're talking at each other. We're just speaking two different languages.
LEMON: Right. Has there ever been you said, you talked about the secession winter, right? Is that what you call it? Is there - has there ever been in an effort even then, to invalidate millions of votes the way that we're seeing now, John?
MEACHAM: No, I mean, that that was they left because Lincoln won, they were waiting results of, ultimately, the 11 states of the confederacy, we're waiting to see what happened in 1860. But, you know, even in our most ferociously fought elections, you often had, interestingly, twice in modern memory.
Richard Nixon in 1960 and Al-Gore in 2000, who, as Vice President of the United States, and as President of the Senate had to preside over what's going to happen on Monday, the Electoral College vote?
And they both had every reason to believe that they should be the one being elected. And they perform their duties with grace and understood that in a republic, in a popular government in a democratic republic, you ultimately follow the will of people, you climb back into the arena if you want, and you take the case to the people again.
But to have an American political party that is so dissociated from reality is a remarkably unique moment.
LEMON: Yes, John, I wish I had more time with you. I kind of went on a little bit long at the top of the show. I'm a little long winded, but you have some friends in television who are that way so you should be used to.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Ryan's with - Marlboro. Alright, thank you very much. I appreciate it Jon, I'll see you soon. Damning allegations, leading to concerns the Trump Administration tried to conceal and destroy evidence at the CDC stay with us.
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[02:55:00]
LEMON: Take this, the Director of the CDC says the U.S. should expect upwards of 3000 deaths a day for the next two to three months.
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ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC DIRECTOR: We are in the timeframe now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we're going to have more deaths per day than we had in 9/11 or we had in Pearl Harbor. I mean, this is really, as I said, this is a real going to be a real unfortunate loss of life. As all that we've had so far, and the reality is the vaccine approval this week's not going to really impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That last part was important not really going to impact that. This is beyond disturbing if you do the math 3000 deaths a day for just 60 days means at least another 180,000 deaths. And the vaccine will not stop it.
That as a congressional committee wants to talk with CDC Director Robert Redfield. The committee is concerned that the Trump Administration tried to conceal and destroy evidence of interference at the CDC, from Trump appointees.
They want to hear from Redfield because an official at the CDC says she was ordered to delete an email and instruction she understood came from him. In that deleted email an HHS appointee allegedly demanded that the CDC alter or resend truthful scientific reports he believed were damaging to President Trump.
We're going to stay on this story for you. 3000 deaths a day for the next two to three months. Yet the current president is focused on overturning the will of the people and most of his party says following along.
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