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FDA Panel Recommends Authorization of Moderna Vaccine; Pfizer Denies Reported Delays in Vaccine Shipments; King of Sweden Criticizes 'Herd Immunity' Strategy; Macron COVID-19 Positive, European Leaders Getting Tests; Hong Kong Tightens Restrictions as Fourth Wave Hits City; Nigeria: Military Has Rescued all Kidnapped Students; 2 People Dead after Powerful Cyclone Hits Fiji; Biden Team Weighs Contenders for Attorney General; U.S. President Silent on Pandemic, Massive Cyberattack; Gov. Mike DeWine (D-OH) is Interviewed about Post- Election Disinformation; Florida Governor Accused of Downplaying COVID-19 Cases Before Election. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired December 18, 2020 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause, and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.
[00:00:41]
Ahead this hour, with the second COVID vaccine set for authorization, Pfizer claims millions of doses of its vaccine are sitting in a warehouse, going nowhere as some U.S. states complained they received far fewer doses than expected.
Free after six days. More than 300 boys kidnapped from their Nigerian boarding school apparently rescued by the military without a single shot being fired.
And where's Donald Trump? The U.S. under sustained cyberattack and with the pandemic death toll surging to record highs, the one-term president is almost nowhere to be seen.
U.S. regulators are set to authorize a second highly-effective COVID vaccine after an independent panel of experts overwhelmingly voted in favor of green-lighting the candidate from drug maker Moderna.
The head of the FDA says final authorization will happen quickly, which means this new vaccine could be out for distribution on a priority basis as soon as next week.
But right now, this health crisis continues to worsen across the U.S., with healthcare workers overwhelmed by a record 114,000 patients now being treated in hospital for COVID, and many ICUs are at or very close to capacity.
CNN's Alexandra Field begins our coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moderna's vaccine could now be just days away from reaching Americans. An FDA advisory panel is recommending authorization of what would be the nation's second COVID vaccine. The panel heard accounts from scientists, doctors, and people who survived COVID.
DR. DOUGLAS DIETERICK, INSTITUTE OF LIVER MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI: There's a lot of long-term effects of COVID. After I was at home for a few months, I developed some severe atrial arrhythmias. When they subsided, I developed severe hypertension, which I'm still battling.
FIELD: It comes just a day after one of the darkest in our history, the pandemic at its all-time worst.
DANIEL TREVINO, SIBLINGS DIED FROM COVID-19: One minute, they're OK. You're talking to them, you know, face time, then all of a sudden, you have to face time again, and they talk to you, and they're hooked up to, like, six different machines, you know, with tubes going down their bodies, and you know -- and then that's the last image you're going to have of your loved one.
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: : We're just not seeing people doing the implementation necessary to stem the tide of this -- of this virus right now.
FIELD: A new CDC forecast adds tens of thousands more deaths to predictions for the next few weeks, as many as 391,000 by January 9.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So these patients who are near dying, they are alone.
FIELD: Nevada and five other states hitting a record high for deaths reported in a single day.
The White House COVID task force says the fall surge is merging with the post-Thanksgiving surge to create a winter surge with the most rapid increase in cases yet. Tennessee now among the states with the fastest spread of the virus.
BILL LEE (R-TN): One thing that this vaccine will not solve, one thing that it will not cure, is selfishness, or indifference to what's happening to our neighbors around us.
FIELD: The rollout of Pfizer's vaccine, the first to hit the market, continues across the country with 900 more deliveries scheduled today. A shipping error forced New Mexico to throw out 75 doses that shipped at the wrong temperature, but pharmacists also say they're finding some vials of the Pfizer vaccines have extra doses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time to get ready for the vaccine.
FIELD: A bit of a boost as certain states learn they're getting less for now than what they expected. Iowa says it's working with federal partners to figure out why they're receiving as much as 30 percent less than what they planned for. (on camera): The states will be learning on a weekly basis about how
large the next week's shipments will be, which means that they will have to plan and perhaps adjust their plans in some cases.
We're also now learning that, if the Moderna vaccine gets its emergency use authorization, it could start sending out its shipments of the vaccine almost right away. That means the federal government would plan to send out about 7.9 million doses of vaccine next week: 5.9 million from Moderna, and another 2 million from Pfizer.
In New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN medical analyst and epidemiologist Dr. Larry Brilliant is with us this hour from California.
[00:05:00]
Dr. Brilliant, welcome back. It's good to see you.
DR. LARRY BRILLIANT, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, John. Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: You're welcome.
Now, at least six states are claiming their shipments have come up short with the vaccine, but according to a statement from Pfizer, there are no production issues. No shipments are on hold or have been delayed, and millions of doses of the vaccine are sitting in a warehouse. But as of now, the company says it has not received any shipping instructions.
Now to all this, here's the White House response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN MORGENSTERN, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: It's been a misunderstanding or miscommunication there. Things are going as planned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK, if everything's going according to plan, why would the federal government allow millions of doses of the vaccine to sit in a warehouse doing nothing?
BRILLIANT: John, sometimes even a miracle of modern medicine has some hiccups and glitches. The most important thing that the government could do right now is to be radically transparent. All the positives, all the negatives. All the good things, all the problems. In order to instill confidence in everyone, we need to know everything.
VAUSE: And that seems to be the case right now, the complete opposite. But we do know that Pfizer is cutting its projected production numbers. I want you to listen to the outgoing health and human services secretary. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I do wish we would stop just talking about this Pfizer -- Pfizer thing. We're working with Pfizer, and I think we're very optimistic that we'll secure additional quantities in the second quarter. But they're going to need help from us on their manufacturing. As you know, they originally committed that they could produce publicly 100 million doses by the end of this year. They had to cut that in half to 50 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Pfizer made that announcement last month because of a shortage of raw ingredients. Looking back, could this have been avoided if the government used the Defense Production Act? And looking forward, will the Moderna vaccine, once authorized, make up for the shortfall?
BRILLIANT: Probably, but the -- the biggest story is that there are two mRNA vaccines that are very similar, that are out, that we were getting increasing quantities of it.
Yes, there are glitches. There's always a little arrogance on one side or the other, but -- but those -- those are not the -- those are not the issues that history will record as being the most important.
VAUSE: Well, we do have both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine. They're strikingly similar in terms of efficacy. Both require two shots. The Moderna one is three weeks apart -- sorry, four weeks apart. The Pfizer one is three weeks. And notably, Moderna does not require the same extreme cold storage that Pfizer does.
So out of these two, which one has the advantage? Which one would you actually decide to get?
BRILLIANT: Whichever one they offer me first. They're both --
VAUSE: Both?
BRILLIANT: They're both great vaccines. Yes. I mean -- they say the best camera is the one you have with you. The best vaccine is the one you're offered first.
VAUSE: OK. Well, there's also been this -- a fairly unusual statement coming from the king of Sweden. He's publicly criticized his government's early strategy of trying to reach herd immunity, and that was before a vaccine was available. And that meant avoiding a full lockdown, as well as other mandated restrictions.
This is part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING CARL XVI GUSTAF, SWEDEN (through translator): Simply, I think that we have failed. Many people have died. That is horrible. That is something we can all sympathize with, that we haven't been able to help them, and it is very sad. Terribly sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, there were those within the Trump administration who thought herd immunity was a great idea, as well.
BRILLIANT: Yes. I wish we had those in the Trump administration who would make an apology like this noble statement from the king.
You know, I think all of us, or many of us looked up to Sweden as one of the leaders of modernity and modern democracy. And it has been so sad to see them hijacked with an idea that you could let the virus run through the society and reach her immunity and ignore the death count that you'd have to have to get there.
Somehow, that idea gripped the imagination of a lot of people all over the world. I'd like to thank the king for making that statement. It -- it brings Sweden right back up to the pinnacle again as far as I'm concerned.
VAUSE: And as far as herd immunity goes within Sweden, it just hasn't really worked. I mean, I think the last numbers I saw for Stockholm were they were expecting by now to be around 30 or 40 percent of people with antibodies that had some kind of immunity. It was actually in the single digits.
BRILLIANT: Yes, I mean, if you think about the United States by comparison, 330 million, we would have to have two-thirds, at least, 250 million people to have had COVID by now. And we're not even 18, 19 percent of that way.
It just -- it's very difficult to get to herd immunity, because you -- so many people die along the way that your natural reaction is, then, to close down. And you start that vicious cycle again. I'm glad that we're putting that idea behind us.
[00:10:11]
VAUSE: Yes, I have to say, it was a noble statement indeed by the king of Sweden.
Doctor Brilliant, as always, it's good to have you with us.
BRILLIANT: Thank you for having me, John.
VAUSE: Contact tracing efforts are underway across Europe after the French president tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday. Emmanuel Macron has shown symptoms of a cough, fever and fatigue. He's now working in isolation. But in recent days, he has met with other European leaders.
CNN's Melissa Bell reports now from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was after displaying symptoms that the French president was tested and found to be COVID-19 positive. Emmanuel Macron now isolating for the next seven days, as per French regulations. His wife also, Brigitte, will be isolating, we're told, although she doesn't have any symptoms.
Many questions, of course, about the many people that Emmanuel Macron saw at Elysee Palace this week. And at least the Spanish and Portuguese prime ministers who have both announced that they're isolating as a result.
It is a reminder, of course, not only of the fact that no one is immune and that this virus reaches the very top, but also of how badly Europe really needs a vaccine now. Infection rates in many countries continue to rise. Restrictions over the last couple of weeks have tightened where authorities had often hoped that they would be loosened by now.
What we also heard today from the president of the European Commission is that the European vaccination campaign is to begin from the 27th of December. Some hope, therefore, that Europe might finally be able to round the corner.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Northern Ireland will impose a six-week lockdown the day after Christmas for non-essential businesses. Health officials say COVID cases have been rising because of the colder weather and a refusal to follow stay-at-home orders.
The country has recorded more than 60,000 cases and 1,100 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Hong Kong also seeing a spike in COVID cases and will now offer free testing to domestic helpers. According to Johns Hopkins University, Hong Kong has seen a total of 8,000 cases, many recorded just this month.
The government is now imposing tougher restrictions and has just announced a new financial aid package.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now live from Hong Kong with details on all of this. And this is the fourth wave they're now dealing with.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and they are dealing with that with a fourth round of relief. The Hong Kong government has just announced yet another round, a fourth round, of desperately-needed aid, some $826 million, to be given to gyms, bars, restaurants, beauty salons, and other businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic, and also by the punishing restrictions that have been in place.
So this is welcome news, but even with the handouts, many people here, many businesses here, are struggling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT (voice-over): Another silent tonight in Hong Kong as COVID cases spike in a fourth wave of infection. The city is clamping down with a ban on in-person dining after 6 p.m. The bars remain closed, and local businesses are bracing for a dark holiday season.
ALLAN ZEMAN, CHAIRMAN, LAN KWAI FONG GROUP: Is there a holiday season this year? It feels like it's not here. You know, Christmas is a week away, and there's not that Christmas spirit. It's gone. Restaurants are closed after 6 .pm. Bars have been closed for almost a third of the year. They can't survive. All these businesses, basically, they live week to week.
STOUT: There is a long list of restrictions. When restaurants are open, only two people are allowed per table. Gyms and beauty salons are closed, and entertainment venues like Disneyland are shuttered.
The government has already given a $40 billion lifeline to companies in three previous rounds, and now, while facing a record deficit, is providing another round of relief worth $826 million. But for small business owners like hairdresser Calvin Chau, that may not be enough to survive the winter.
CALVIN CHAU, OWNER, AMOUR SALON (through translator): We are just hoping for the pandemic to end, or the vaccines to be deployed soon. We are just surviving, barely surviving.
STOUT (on camera): Compared to other financial capitals, Hong Kong has been relatively unscathed by the virus, but the restrictions have been relentless. With each wave of infection, the schools are closed, the playgrounds are taped off. Even the beaches are off limits.
(voice-over): Public health experts say the measures are tough, but necessary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government measures intended to reduce the chance of superspreading events are really good ideas. Hopefully, we'll have case numbers coming down to zero in the new year.
STOUT (on camera): Lindsey, Allen, so good to see you. How are you feeling?
LINDSEY FORD, HONG KONG RESIDENT: Very pregnant and very annoyed.
STOUT (voice-over): Eight months pregnant, Hong Kong resident Lindsay Ford doesn't understand another strict measure -- why her partner can't be by her side when she gives birth at a public hospital -- and is leading a campaign for other expected mothers in the city.
Hong Kong hasn't been the only place with this rule. The city's hospital authority says it's part of their strategy to tighten infection control.
FORD: When we look back at how we've handled this crisis, I really don't think anyone's going to be saying, Well, thank goodness we forced all those women to give birth alone. That was the one thing that really helped stop the spread of the virus.
I think that the hospital authority should look at the evidence from global health organizations, from their own staff, and from the mothers of Hong Kong and really show some compassion in this case.
STOUT: During Hong Kong's COVID Christmas, businesses brace for survival, and a family prepares to be divided when a child is born.
(on camera): All around the world, a number of us are struggling. As for Lindsay Ford, she is still awaiting word on whether Hong Kong will lift that ban on partners being present in delivery rooms in public hospitals here in the territory. She cites a statement from the World Health Organization, recommending that partners be present during childbirth and during labor, even during a pandemic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: And as for small business owners in Hong Kong like Calvin Chau, the hairdresser profiled in that report just now, reacting to this latest round of government aid that's been released, 826 million U.S. dollars, they call it a, quote, "small consolation prize."
And just a reminder, you know, just for context here, Hong Kong has been relatively unscathed by the pandemic. This is a major metropolis of some seven and a half million people. So far, the city has had 7,900 cases of the coronavirus and only so far 125 deaths.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Yes. They've learned some bitter lessons over the years when it comes to controlling a pandemic.
Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout, live for us there in Hong Kong.
Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, there is relief in Nigeria, with the government claiming hundreds of kidnapped students have been rescued. And now there are promises of tighter security at schools.
Plus, Cyclone Yasa turns deadly, slamming Fiji with heavy rain and wind. The very latest after the break.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.
In a marathon news conference, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, denied any involvement in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He did acknowledge for the first time a CNN investigation into the poisoning, but Putin brushed off the accusations, the former KGB officer saying if Russian agents wanted Navalny dead, he would be dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In this case, of course, the special services should keep an eye on it. But it doesn't mean at all he needs to be poisoned. Who needs him anyway? If they wanted to, they probably would have followed it through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Navalny almost did die after being poisoned back in August. A CNN/Bellingcat investigation uncovered evidence that Russia's federal security service, the FSB, had been trailing Navalny for years.
[00:20:10]
The Kremlin did not dispute those findings and claimed, without evidence, Navalny is being supported by U.S. intelligence.
The Nigerian government says more than 330 students have been rescued in a military operation. They were kidnapped from their school in the country's northwest six days ago.
Hours before their rescue, a video was released, apparently from the terror group Boko Haram, showing some of the boys. And one asked the Nigerian government to shut down schools teaching western education.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnapping earlier this week in an audio message, but that has been disputed.
My former colleague, Isha Sesay, is with us now from Los Angeles. She's the author of "Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram." She was recently appointed a U.N. goodwill ambassador and extensively reported from Nigeria on the kidnapping of the girls back in 2014.
Good to see you again.
ISHA SESAY, AUTHOR, "BENEATH THE TAMARIND TREE": Good to see you, friend.
VAUSE: OK. There are some images out there from news outlets. They're also on social media, apparently, showing these boys after they were released. If you look at the images, they're yet to be confirmed by CNN. We're not entirely sure if they're genuine or whatever, but they show dozens of boys on the backs of trucks, many smiling. Some look dazed. We're still working on the details.
But here's the official tweet from the Nigerian government: "I welcome the release of the kidnapped students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara. This is a huge relief to the entire country and international community. The entire country are grateful to the Governor Masari, the Intelligence Agencies, military, police force." That's from the president.
Clearly, if this is all as advertised, it's almost like a storybook ending. Why does that seem premature?
SESAY: Well, premature only in the context that we still don't even know whether they brought all the boys back. So let's start there.
We know that, from some who have managed to escape before this official release, as described by the government, one boy said a count in the forest said there were about 500 boys taken. What we're now getting word of his 344 being released.
So again, we're not entirely clear on the numbers released. Also, this issue of who's behind it. Again, local state officials saying that, indeed, as local bandits, which are known, or who are known to operate in the northwest, and not Boko Haram.
But then there's also some words saying that the boys in that video, reportedly released by Boko Haram, are boys from that school in Katsina. So the details very, very murky.
But listen, I do want to stress the top line out of all this, John, which is the boys who have been released, we are all overjoyed to see those scenes. Because as you know, when it came to the Chibok girls, this was a very long, drawn-out process. And to this day, 112 are still accounted for.
VAUSE: And that's the fear here, right now, that you know, 330 become, you know, 20 or so. And we'll find out, I guess, in the coming hours and days.
According to a spokesman from the president -- you mentioned this -- there were claims of responsibility of the kidnapping by Boko Haram. The government says that's just not true. It was done by criminal bandits.
But the boys actually appeared in a video which carried the logo of Boko Haram. You can see it there, the black flag up in the corner there of the screen. The government insisting it was a criminal act, not an act of terrorism.
And there's this tweet, too, from the spokesperson, saying the national intelligence agencies, the military, and police -- the police force, rather, "provided the environment for the safe release of the hostages." And the state governor of Katsina telling the national broadcaster "Security forces had cordoned off the area where the boys were being held and been given instructions not to fire a single shot."
He goes on to claim not a single shot was actually fired. How much of this rings true?
SESAY: Listen, as someone who covered the Chibok girls for many, many years and continues to maintain connections with the community and those who are still advocating for their release, like you said, this seems all very neat and tidy. And, you know, we wait to hear more from the boys themselves, and I think that is the hope, that they will give us more details as to how this all played out.
But, indeed, it's all very, very -- let's say it's all very, very neat and tidy. It's all very just hard to square with what we know from the past dealings when it came to Chibok.
Again, I want to reference Dapchi in 2018, where 110 girls were taken from a school there, and all but one has been released, sadly, to this day. Again, you know, these things we never get the full story immediately.
There's always, you know, the statements that are made that, you know, again, give huge props to the security forces. Which listen, if they got all these boys back, as they say they did, they should be praised.
But at the end of the day, let's also get back to the initial point, which is that armed men stormed a school and made off with hundreds of schoolboys. This after Nigeria join the Safe School Initiative back in 2014. And we continue to see schools being attacked. So you know, this is --
VAUSE: Let me stop you there, because there are now these promises we're hearing of better security at schools. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[00:25:08]
AMINU BELLO MASARI, KATSINA STATE GOVERNOR: We must make sure we're working with the police and other security agencies are sufficient, and the security in regards to schools. In addition to all of that, we are going to increase the private security that would be brought in each school to make sure that we don't experience what we've already experienced in the last six years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, there's a horse barn out there somewhere, a barn door slamming shut. A thousands kids have been kidnapped by Boko Haram over the years, and they're talking about better security still?
SESAY: Well, again 276 girls were taken an April 2014. And then, 110 were taken in 2018. And now, we're talking about a school being raided, and hundreds and hundreds of boys being taken, again.
Again, you know, I don't think anyone would blame a single individual out there, hearing that statement and saying, Let's wait and see how this plays out.
Because, today, the attacks continue to happen, and families continue to be traumatized by criminal elements seizing their children.
I continue to make this point, which I've done on Twitter, and I say again: It is very hard to tell parents in northern Nigeria, which has the largest out of school population in the world, Nigeria as a whole, the majority of those children being in the north -- it is hard to tell parents to send their children to school when you cannot guarantee their safety.
VAUSE: When you can't guarantee they're going to come home at the end of the day, it's a bit of a hard sell.
Isha, it's always good to see you. Thank you.
SESAY: You, too. Be safe. VAUSE: Well, in the United States, the northeast is recovering from a
powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow across the region. Binghamton, New York, recorded more than 20 inches of snow.
New York's Central Park saw nearly 11 inches, more than what fell during last year's entire winter season.
In Fiji, at least two people are dead after Tropical Cyclone Yasa made landfall. Winds reached up to 285 kilometers an hour. Heavy rain brought major flooding.
Fiji declared a state of natural disaster and ordered its entire population to seek shelter, also imposing curfews around the country.
Meteorologist Karen Maginnis joins us now with the details on all of this. Tell us about the cyclone. There's, what, two people dead at this point?
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and there are anticipating that that number is going to go up, because this was such a fierce tropical cyclone.
Now, they are in the midst of the worst of the season, the worst times, when we could see development of other tropical systems.
There you can see someone walking through some of the flood waters. They have receded a bit, but we've seen mudslides. We've seen landslides. Crops have been damaged.
Tens of thousands of people, reportedly, have been evacuated. And they are still in shelters. So power power outages, just under 100,000 people, on Fiji, all of them impacted.
There, you can see the raging waters as this cyclone just slammed into Fiji with wind gusts, steady winds, at 240 kilometers per hour but higher gusts. They're seeing it could be one of the strongest tropical cyclones that we've seen in the southern Pacific in -- in recent times.
All right. Take a look at the wind blowing there, right now. The wind, supporting this had died down rather substantially. It looks like it's going to brush by the western edge of Tonga.
But look at some of the rainfall totals that we have here: just under 200 millimeters. But it has been devastating. We anticipate that some of those fatalities, numbers are going to be going up.
But we are going into the peak time of the season, and we'll keep you updated for further development.
Back to you, John.
VAUSE: Karen, thank you for that. We appreciate it.
Well, he's still president for another month. But apart from complaining about losing the election, there's been almost nothing but silence from the White House. We'll try and find out what President Trump is actually doing, if anything.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:31:02]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Well, we're just 33 days away from the inauguration of the next U.S. president. For the record, that will be Joe Biden.
He's nominating cabinet members that he says will make the U.S. federal government look and operate very differently than it has in the past four years. But some choices are more complicated than others.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: It's a cabinet that's battle-tested, qualified, experienced, creative, innovative and forward-looking.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It's also a cabinet with key vacancies that President-elect Joe Biden is still scrambling to fill, none bigger than attorney general. And deliberations over who Biden will nominate have emerged as some of the most complicated of the transition.
CNN has learned the top contenders are Judge Merrick Garland and Alabama Senator Doug Jones.
Garland, whose nomination to the Supreme Court by President Obama was blocked by Senate Republicans. He's seen by allies as politically independent and unassailable at a time when rebuilding trust in the Justice Department will be critical.
Jones has a strong civil rights record from his prosecution of the Klan in Alabama, and he's a longtime loyal friend to Biden.
Those are the competing questions, a top Biden ally tells CNN. Someone perceived as above reproach or someone closer to Biden.
The attorney general's role is complicated by any fallout from the post-Trump era and by the federal investigation of Hunter Biden's business dealings. The president-elect defended his son again this week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you confident your son Hunter did nothing wrong?
BIDEN: I'm confident.
ZELENY: But even saying those two words could create a problem for a new president who has pledged to stay out of Justice Department's decisions. All this as Biden appearing in his first campaign ad as president-elect.
BIDEN: Georgia, I know things are tough right now. But I want you to know help is on the way.
ZELENY: Trying to help Democrats win two runoff races that will determine control of the Senate.
Meanwhile, CNN has learned Biden will nominate New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland as interior secretary. If confirmed, she would be the first Native American cabinet secretary.
He's also selected Michael Regan, who runs the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, to lead the EPA.
(on camera): But with the selection of the New Mexico congresswoman, that does take the Democratic majority in the House down to three seats until they can have a special election at some point next year.
We are told that Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave her blessing for the congresswoman to join the Biden ministration. And if confirmed, she would be the first Native American ever to serve in a president's cabinet.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, there's only one U.S. president at a time, and the one who's still there seems to be taking a hands-off approach to almost every crucial issue, from the pandemic to national security.
So what has Trump actually been doing? We get this report now from CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where's President Trump?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Trump has been hard at work on COVID behind the scenes.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a question many in Washington are asking. Where is President Trump?
With only five weeks left in office, he stayed behind closed doors again today and hasn't made a public appearance since Saturday, when he took no questions from the White House press corps.
In the middle of a devastating public health crisis, where 3,000 Americans are dying per day, with a presidential transition underway, and national security officials still scrambling to understand the magnitude of a Russian cyberattack, Trump is nowhere to be found. And the few events he does hold are often closed to the press.
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, hello, Georgia. COLLINS: While Vice President Mike Pence, who campaigned in Georgia
today, is scheduled to get the coronavirus vaccine on camera tomorrow, the White House hasn't said when Trump will, and neither his he.
Trump's also said little about the coronavirus relief negotiations happening on Capitol Hill as hundreds of thousands of Americans filed for unemployment again this week.
[00:35:02]
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We have a responsibility to get this right. People's lives depend upon it.
COLLINS: And as the scope of a hack by a Russian-linked group on the U.S. government and corporations becomes clearer, the president hasn't said a word or posted a single tweet.
The White House declined to say whether Trump's been briefed by his top intelligence officials, who were all absent from his cabinet meeting yesterday.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): This is virtually a declaration of war by Russia on the United States, and we should take it that seriously.
COLLINS: Trump's own former officials are calling for his attention. In an op-ed published in "The New York Times," his first homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, wrote that Trump is, quote, "on the verge of leaving behind a federal government compromised by the Russian government. President Trump must get past his grievances about the election and govern for the remainder of his term."
The president doesn't appear to be listening. Instead, his Twitter feed today was filled with disinformation about the election, threats to veto the defense spending bill, and denials of his involvement in the investigation into Hunter Biden.
(on camera): And of course, one of the biggest parts of the president's disinformation campaign about the election has been about Dominion voting systems, where the president has made this claim that people voted for him, and they change the votes in the machines to Joe Biden. That's something that has also been pushed by the pro-Trump attorney Sydney Powell.
And this week, Dominion sent Sydney Powell a letter asking, actually, demanding -- really, that's a step before taking a legal step here -- a public apology of her statements and a retraction of the claims she's made about their company, including that one that said that the software was developed in Venezuela to benefit Hugo Chavez, who of course, died several years ago.
And in their letter, they say they have no connection to Venezuela, certainly not one to Mr. Chavez, as well. And they joke even they have about as much of a connection to them as they do to Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN NEWSROOM, growing your own food to stay healthy. We'll head to Farm City on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): On the island of Mauritius, Farm City, a small social enterprise, is changing the way Mauritians look at farming.
Wesley Oxenham is Mauritian-born but moved to the U.S. in 2012. He was living in the San Francisco Bay Area, working in the tech industry, when he says he began to feel unwell.
WESLEY OXENHAM, CO-FOUNDER, FARM CITY: At some point I felt sick, and we decided to go back home. While we were in Mauritius, we tried to figure out what the cause of the sickness. And everything led to a food-related issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oxenham says he never got a clear diagnosis, but he believes his illness had to do with the foods he was eating, and he believes eating organic food helped him feel better.
OXENHAM: While we were looking for good food, we found out that nowhere it was being grown, and so we had to start growing it ourselves. And just like that, we started as farmers.
[00:45:13]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, Farm City claims to grow around 30 types of vegetables, from leafy greens and root crops, as well as an array of fruit.
OXENHAM: The best way to serve the community was to make sure that organic food was available at a price that no supermarket was selling it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In order to offset the costs of subsidizing their produce, Oxenham and his team asked farmers to pay what they can afford and raise money through various community events. Much of the produce is sold directly to the public, which helps fund programs that get children excited about farming.
OXENHAM: What also are very good to have in a -- in a garden?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Butterflies.
OXENHAM: Butterflies.
Today, we have the children from 5 to 6 years old. And we teach them mainly through activities. So it's a place for learning. And the program has been an introduction to what they're going to learn in school throughout the whole year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just as Farm City was gearing up for their year, the global pandemic dealt a devastating blow. Oxenham says an emergency required him and his wife to travel to Singapore, where they remain today.
OXENHAM: While we were in Singapore, we got caught in between two lockdowns, from Mauritius to Singapore. We are very glad to have stepped up. And we have this money in the Mauritius farm.
In Singapore, when we saw the demand from the community, wanting to grow, wanting to learn how to grow, we decided to set up a second farm in Singapore. The silver lining, I would say, with COVID is that people do want to learn how to grow. And this is, I would say, a good sign after -- after this pandemic.
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VAUSE: And find out more about the innovators who are taking on some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges. Watch "GOING GREEN" this Saturday, 6 a.m. in New York, 11 a.m. in London. You'll see it right here on CNN.
Well, Sesame Workshop is unveiling its first ever Rohingya Muppets to shows support of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children now living in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Aziz and Noor are both 6-year-old twins. They're living in Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee camp. They'll be featured in Rohingya language educational media for refugees children and their families, all part of an effort by the education organization behind the popular kids' TV series, "Sesame Street." They're collaborating with the International Rescue Committee and other nonprofit organizations.
Cox's Bazar has become home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees since 2017. Members of the mostly Muslim minority group fled horrific violence and their homes during a military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar.
Well, this Saturday, "Sesame Street" characters will help answer some kids' and parents' questions about COVID-19, as well as the vaccine. CNN and "Sesame Street: are coming together for a new town hall, joining Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Erica Hill, and "Sesame Street's" Big Bird -- Can't wait to see him -- for "THE ABC'S OF COVID-19." That's this Saturday, 3 p.m. in London, 11 p.m. in Hong Kong. And again, you'll see that only here -- Big Bird, that is -- on CNN.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after the break, and then I'll be back at the top of the hour.
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