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The British Government Close To A Brexit Deal; Two Million Cases And Counting The Coronavirus Surging In The U.S.; Two People Arrested When A Scuffle Broke Out Between Police And Truckers In Dover; A Million Vaccines Are Expected Up Until The Middle Of January; Donald Trump Continues His Revenge Against The Russia Investigation; Many Doctors Say COVID Deaths Are Being Fueled By Thanksgiving Celebrations. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2020 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to your viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, all eyes are on the U.K. The British Government appears close to ironing out a Brexit deal, while thousands of European Union truck drivers remain in limbo at the border. It's a glimpse of what a no-deal Brexit could look like.

Plus, two million cases and counting, the coronavirus pandemic surges across the U.S. state of California as medical experts there warn hospitals are running out of space. And later, Bethlehem begins Christmas celebration shortly, but this year's festivities come with a COVID twist.

Good to have you with us. Well the messy divorce between the U.K. and the European Union could be finalized within the coming hours. Sources tell CNN the two sides are close on a -- or closing in at least on a post-Brexit trade agreement after months of contentious talks. Negotiators have already mixed six deadlines in the transition period since the U.K. left the E.U. The next is December 31.

The European Commission spokesman tweeted, Brexit will continue throughout the night, grabbing some sleep is recommended to all Brexit watchers at this point. It will hopefully be an early start tomorrow morning.

Well let's head to Paris now and CNN's Cyril Vanier, he joins us now live. Good to see you Cyril. So, you know, there -- there's been some difficulties along the way. It looks like they may be closing in on a deal now. So, talk to us about what the sticking points have been.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well difficulties along the way, that's -- that's a massive understatement Rosemary, you're being polite. And I'm impressed that you counted the number of missed deadlines and I'm actually surprised that it's only six missed deadlines because it feels like a lot more than that.

What we're learning Rosemary is that the tone has dramatically shifted in the negotiations that are ongoing in Brussels to try and reach a trade deal before December 31. The tone has shifted so much that our sources tell us both on the European side and on the U.K. side, number 10 Downing Street, they expect a deal to be announced on December 24, that's today. We don't know when, but they are expecting now a deal to be announced, which is a dramatic shift, because only two days ago it seemed like this was never going to happen.

As for the sticking points, we knew from earlier this week that I was still what it's been for weeks. It was fisheries, it was the level playing field, which means insuring that there is fair competition between the U.K. and the E.U. who after all are going to be economic rivals after December 31, so government subsidies how is that handled and how is the deal enforced. Those were the sticking points.

If a deal is announced today it means that those sticking points will have somehow been resolved. We don't know. We really frankly don't have much idea in what way they've been resolved and we won't know until we actually see the deal published, which by all accounts runs anywhere between 800 to possibly even 2,000 pages. So, there's going to be a lot of reading to do, Rosemary, when that deal comes up.

CHURCH: Yes, and we won't believe it until we see it of course. Cyril Vanier joining us live from Paris. Many thanks.

Well meantime, the U.K. is getting a glimpse of what a no-deal Brexit could look like with thousands of truckers stranded in the port city of Dover, but the issue here is not over trade, but rather getting all of these drivers tested for COVID before they're actually allowed into France. And those tests are ongoing. But Britain's transport minister says it will take a while to clear the backlog, causing chaos and confusion at the border.

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At least two people were arrested when scuffles broke out between police and truckers, with officers using force and batons to push them back. And CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now live from Dover. Salma, you have been there throughout all of this. How much progress has been made in trying to get some of these truck drivers tested and at least one step closer to going home?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I think the phrase I would use this morning Rosemary is slow and steady. That is the progress we're that we're seeing here this morning.

We were here last night when those scuffles that you mentioned broke out just after the police that were right here put up a sign saying get back to your vehicles, testing about to commence. And then essentially an argument ensued over who should be in the queue first. Frustrations really that are pent up, boiling over that led to an altercation. Two people were arrested.

[02:05:10] But this morning really it has been calm. And you can see that steady stream of trucks coming behind me. So, what they're doing essentially is on this side of me you have the highway where all of these truck drivers have been stranded now for days. The very, very long queue there.

These policemen are letting about 30 trucks across at a time. They stand at a cordon near -- near the entry of the Port of Dover, 30 trucks with their drivers, they test them, it takes about 30 minutes because they're doing those rapid tests. If you test negative you can move on along, get on the ferry and move on to mainland Europe, move onto France.

However, I want to just do the math for you again, because slow and steady. So, 30 truck drivers, 30 minutes, we did our math, in 24 hours you could do maybe about 1,400 to 1,500 if you're working 24/7.

There are up to 10,000 drivers stranded in this area up to some estimates. Those are just the stranded drivers. We're not talking about the backlog of people who haven't even come to these areas over the last few days because they've been closed.

So, the U.K. authorities say it will take a matter of days to clear this up. Of course, in the middle of all this there are so many people who are not going to be able to go home for Christmas? Families that will not have their fathers at home for Christmas because they're still stuck, they're still stranded here.

Things are getting better Rosemary, but I have to tell you the conditions are still bleak and the concern is that over the course of these next few days while these men still continue to live in their vehicles and live on those streets, what type of help assistance, sanitation, food, water will they be given. What will their Christmas dinner look like? Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, it is such a nightmare. Salma Abdelaziz has been there throughout all of us joining us live from Dover in England. Many thanks.

Well France is planning to have its first coronavirus vaccinations on Sunday. The health minister says the vaccines are set to arrive on Saturday and care homes will be among those getting first priority.

But meantime, people are lining up to get tested in order to spend Christmas with their families and that might limit the risk of spreading the virus, but even with a negative test result the risk is far from zero. Very important to keep that in mind.

And CNN International Correspondent Jim Bittermann joins me now live from Paris. Good to see you Jim. So, talk to us about the latest on these COVID tests and of course the new vaccination rollout for Sunday.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, the COVID tests are something that has treated a real backlog in some of the laboratories in people wanting to travel and they now know and that they've seen quite dramatically up in Dover that they're going to need and they'll want to go back and forth to the U.K., but even to other countries they're going to have to have a COVID test within 72 hours of departure.

So, in fact, there's now a lot -- a lot of people lining up for the -- for the test. As far as the vaccines go, they're ready to roll out on Sunday. It's going to be fairly marginal at the beginning according to government people. They're going to initiate with basically the senior citizens care, elderly care homes and frontline medical workers and then gradually expand that.

They expect to do about a million vaccine doses up until the middle of January or maybe late January and then after that comes the next group of people, which will be elderly people who are living at home as well as medical workers, other frontline workers and that sort of thing. That will be a group of about 14 million and those inoculations will take place up until perhaps mid-March, and then after mid-March the rest of the population.

It's all going to be a little bit sort of ambiguous in terms of timing because of the fact that we're not quite sure exactly how many people are going to be wanting to line up for vaccines. It's -- there's a very strong anti-vaccine movement in this country. So, we'll see how it all works out. But, that's the plan anyway at this point Rosemary.

CHURCH: Right, we'll keep a close eye on that. Jim Bittermann joining us live from Paris. Many thanks.

Well, President Donald Trump is in Florida for the holidays but he's left the nation's capital in chaos. He issued 26 more pardons Wednesday featuring two key figures who were loyal to him in the Russia investigation.

He vetoed a massive defense funding bill that has overwhelmingly bipartisan support, whether Republicans will defy the president and override his veto remains a question of course. And he's thrown COVID relief for Americans into doubt by suddenly opposing the measure even though his own treasury secretary signed off on it.

Pamela Brown has more on President Trump's efforts to unravel the Mueller Investigation.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well the president continues his revenge against the Russia Investigation, rewarding two former advisors indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, issuing these full pardons to his former Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort who was convicted for a slue of financial crimes and Roger Stone after commuting his sentence earlier this year.

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Also on this list is Jared Kushner's father, Charles Kushner. Now let's tick through these, you have Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, they were indicted by Special Counsel Mueller, went to trial and convicted by juries of multiple crimes. Investigators say Manafort broke the cooperation agreement by lying to

them. Roger Stone never cooperated after lying to Congress to protect the president and had never shown remorse.

So now both men are being rewarded by the president for their loyalty. The president has been long agreed by the Russia probe and has said he thinks his advisors were treated unfairly.

But it's worth nothing here, the Mueller Report detailed in the obstruction of justice part how Trump's team dangled pardons as a way to protect the president, how Trump himself did that and now we're seeing the president's plan play out with these pardons.

Also, Charles Kushner, the father of the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering and served a 24 month sentence.

Now White House officials say Jared did not advocate for his father to get the pardon because it was the unspoken word between him and Trump that this would happen. This is what sources have told me and my colleague Gloria Borger.

But overall, the story emerging from these pardons is that the president is using his pardon power to reward those close to him, some of whom would likely not meet the DOJ criteria for pardoning.

Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Iraqi officials say President Trump did not take into account the seriousness of the crime when he pardoned four private security guards serving prison time for killing civilians.

Here's what happened, back in 2007, 17 unarmed Iraqis, including children, were killed in Baghdad by security guards with the U.S. Security contractor Blackwater. The FBI found 14 of the killings were unjustified. Four of the former guards were found guilty in 2014 and sent to prison. President Trump pardoned all four on Tuesday.

Blackwater claimed its personnel were under attack, but may eye witnesses said that wasn't true. The man who led the FBI response team told CNN the pardons made him angry.

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TOM O'CONNOR, LED FBI EVIDENCE RESPONSE TEAM AFTER BAGHDAD MASSACRE: I can tell you that I'm -- I'm disturbed and disappointed in what just happened yesterday.

The FBI methodically investigated this incident, this shooting that took place in Nisour Square. The story that I'm so -- I think is so important is the story of the victims. The people who died at Nisour Square were maybe not U.S. citizens, but they were human beings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will press the U.S. to reconsider the pardons.

And still to come, another troubling milestone for the U.S., which has now seen the first state to top 2 million COVID cases. We will speak to a doctor in Los Angeles. That's ahead.

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CHURCH: You are looking at two America's busiest airports packed with travelers, that's even the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and medical experts have been urging people not to travel for Christmas because they could infect their loved ones.

Doctors say many COVID-19 deaths happening right now in the U.S. were likely fueled by Thanksgiving celebrations, since deaths typically happen weeks after infection.

The CDC now projects the U.S. death toll could reach close to 420,000 by mid-January, meaning almost 100,000 more lives would be lost in less than a month. But, there's at least some reason for optimism. A top advisor for America's vaccine distribution says the country's mortality rate should start coming down within two weeks of vaccinating people in long-term care facilities.

So far the U.S. has administered more than a million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and one official predicts the country will finish delivering 20 million doses by the first week of January.

Well California is the now the first U.S. state to top 2 million cases of COVID-19 and it could pass another milestone in the days ahead. California is quickly approaching 20,000 hospital admissions from the virus and it currently has close to 4,000 patients in intensive care. With hospitals reaching capacity, this medical center in Orange County is setting up a mobile field hospital to ease the pressure on health workers.

DR. RICHARD LEE, ICU MEDICAL DIRECTOR UCI MEDICAL CENTER: We have over 120 patients with COVID-19 in our hospital right now and we need to make sure that we have enough capacity in our ICUs to be able to take care of patients that require mechanical ventilation. We need to have enough capacity on hospital floors to take care of our patients. These extra beds will be able to create more capacity for our hospital.

CHURCH: And Dr. Anish Mahajan, he joins me now. He's the Chief Medical Officer at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Good to have you with from Los Angeles.

DR. ANISH MAHAJAN, CMO HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: Thank you.

CHURCH: And also thank you too for all that you do. And Doctor, California has just become the U.S. state to surpass 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and ICUs are nearly at full capacity across the state. What are you seeing there and what happens when it reaches breaking point?

MAHAJAN: Well, we are seeing a massive acceleration of COVID here in California. It took us 9, 10 months for the pandemic to get to 1 million cases in California. But in the last six weeks we've reached 2 million and that gives you a sense of how rapidly the virus has spread in the community, which results in, as you know, a few weeks later massive numbers of hospitalized patients with COVID. And here in southern California we've reached a point where we have almost no ICU capacity left.

CHURCH: That is just horrifying. So, what happens when you just don't have space? When you have more patients than you have doctors and nurses able to look after those patients?

MAHAJAN: Well, we all -- all of our hospitals do the best that we can. We are creating ICU beds in places of the hospital that we don't normally put critically ill patients. So, in our hospital we have ICU COVID patient seriously ill with COVID in our emergency room, we're not going to put them in our post-surgical areas and hospitals across the region are doing the same thing. We don't turn patient away, we do the best we can. But as you can imagine, we are stretched very thin.

CHURCH: I totally understand. And of course across the United States COVID hospitalizations are at record levels as a new forecast predicts and alarming number of deaths in the coming weeks, and yet Americans are not listening. They're traveling in their millions over this holiday period. How concerned are you about the impact this travel might have on your state, and of course elsewhere across the country?

MAHAJAN: Extremely concerned. You know, we have to ask ourselves, how -- how did we get here that we're seeing such a dramatic surge of COVID transmission and then hospitalization and death. And really it comes to a number of factors, one is pandemic fatigue, people are tired of socially distancing and taking the precautions that the need to take.

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But this is precisely the kind of thing that lends to transmission of the virus and unnecessary death. And so, here we now have this glimmer of hope, we have vaccinations that have started. These vaccines we know work. It's a miracle of science that we could vaccinations done so fast and now we just need to hold on.

The community and everybody needs to keep on protecting themselves and each other to get to the vaccine so that we can finally get past this. But, right now we're not doing that.

CHURCH: Yes, we keep trying to get that message out. It doesn't seem to land a lot of the time. So Doctor, as you mentioned, you know, we're looking at these vaccines, more than a million doses of the Pfizer vaccine already administered in the U.S.

Now, of course, Moderna is in the mix there, but there is much concern about the U.K. and South Africa and variants. How confident are you that these vaccines can fight off these and of course other variants, because there will be many more?

MAHAJAN: It's an important question. We know that viruses mutate, that's a very common occurrence. The mutation that's been seen in the strains in Britian and South Africa are very concerning, but we need more data. So far the epidemiological data suggests that the virus is more easily transmitted than the typical variants, but we need lab data to prove it and they're working on that.

But the other concern is the one you raise, will the vaccine be affective against these new mutated variants that seem to be spreading rapidly? And so far scientists believe that it will be effective. These mutations though may increase transmissibility between people, the feeling is while these vaccines that are already working are going to work against this new mutation.

CHURCH: We'll leave it on that bright note. Dr. Anish Mahajan, thank you so much. Joining us live from Los Angeles.

MAHAJAN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Were no tourists, small crowds and few celebrations, it is a very COVID Christmas this year in Bethlehem. How the biblical town is keeping the holiday spirit alive. That's next.

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CHURCH: Well, even a global pandemic isn't enough to stop Christmas celebrations at the biblical birthplace of Jesus. A scaled-back parade will still take place. And while it may look a little different with more masks and fewer crowds, it's just one of the many changes Bethlehem is embracing this COVID Christmas.

Elliott Gotkine has details

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: It may not quite have been canceled. The annual holiday season market popped up for one day, but Bethlehem this coronavirus Christmas just isn't the same.

At this time of year Bethlehem is usually crammed with visitors. The hotels are all full and you'd be hard pushed to get a table at a restaurant. This year thought it's only locals that are allowed to be here and the hotels and restaurants that have managed to stay open are all empty.

Shops at what should be their busiest time of the year are mostly shuttered. Even the visitor center's closed.

Luis Michel helps his wife run a souvenir store. He's also a tour guide.

LUIS MICHEL, SOUVENIR STORE OWNER: We ask all people to go and pray with the faith, faith that will God give us American and finish this virus and everything then back as it is before.

GOTKINE: Vaccinations should help, but so far they're only happening in Israel. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza will have to wait.

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Not that COVID or anything else is getting Nuha Musley down.

NUHA MUSLEH, STORE OWNER: It also has positive aspects, because it made you go back to your inner souls and appreciate all the little things that you have missed on all those years.

(SINGING)

GOTKINE: Religious leaders too said that now more than ever was a time for introspection.

RAMI ASAKRIYE, PRIEST: Sometimes we forget to concentrate on our spiritual, spirituality, on our -- on the event itself. So, it's -- I think it's a good moment, this is a positive side to pray really, to contemplate this love of God of our -- us.

GOTKINE: And if prayer doesn't work there's also song.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the first in history Bethlehem lacks its -- its people, it's visitors, it's guests, its pilgrims, but in spite of all we though that sharing this song more and more would at least give a hope that Bethlehem still is the place that delivers Christmas to the whole world. And it's the place where hope was -- was born, where it all started.

(SINGING)

GOTKINE: Elliott Gotkine, CNN, Bethlehem.

CHURCH: Beautiful. And as we've mentioned, thousands of truck drivers are stranded at the U.K. border waiting to get into the France with little hope of getting back to their families by Christmas, but British seek volunteers are doing what they can to help out, delivering hundreds of hot meals like chickpea curry and pizzas while the truckers wait it out in the cold.

The head of the aid group handling the deliveries sys it's the least hey can do to show some seasonal goodwill.

And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back at the top of the hour. Inside Africa is next.

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