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Police: Nashville Explosion Believed To Be An "Intentional Act"; White House: Trump Briefed on Nashville Explosion; U.S. to Require Negative COVID Tests from U.K. Travelers. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 25, 2020 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:10]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: More now on today's breaking news. That massive explosion in downtown Nashville upending a quiet Christmas morning.

Let's get to Jeremy Diamond who is in Florida where the president is staying over the Christmas holiday.

Jeremy, good to see you.

The president we know has been briefed about the incident. Has this impacted his schedule for the day at all?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, the president has been spending most of the day today at his golf club. He arrived there shortly before 10:00 a.m., is still there now.

But despite that, the White House does say the president has been briefed on this incident. The deputy White House press secretary, Judd Deere, telling us in a statement, President Trump has been briefed on the explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, and that he will continue to receive regular updates.

Deere also says that the president is, quote, grateful for the incredible first responders and praying for those who were injured.

Of course, we don't have many more details on this incident, the motivations, what exactly happened here. Obviously, if those details do emerge, I think we can expect that the White House will have additional reaction, perhaps even hearing from the president himself, depending on what the motivations are here and who was involved in perpetrating what appears to be an intentional act according to law enforcement.

But as of now, President Trump still at his golf course this Christmas Day, and no additional updates so far.

GOLODRYGA: And no sign that the president will be signing that stimulus bill or omnibus bill that will keep the government open. That would expire come Monday as well. So, a lot on the president's plate for him to deal with. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

Meantime, hundreds of thousands of Americans are spending Christmas in the hospital today as the country continues to see record coronavirus cases.

And new today, the U.S. announcing new measures to try to contain the spread of the variant discovered in the U.K. But is it too little, too late?

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[13:37:44]

GOLODRYGA: The first Christmas Day under the pandemic, and already we know today, at least another 330 lives have been taken by coronavirus.

In Los Angeles County, California, the most populous county in the state, with most cases, the health director says every ten minutes a person is dying from COVID. So far, December has recorded the most infections of any month, more than 4.8 million new cases. And Christmas travel is expected to intensify the spread.

The TSA says travel is drastically down from pre-pandemic levels. But still, it tallied 7 million people passing through airports in the past week.

For those trying to enter the U.S. from the U.K., a new mandate. They must now present a negative COVID test no more than 72 hours before departure. The U.S. now joining 40 other nations that placed some form of restriction due to a more contagious variant of the virus detected in Britain.

Let me turn now to doctor, ER Dr. Leana Wen. She served as Baltimore's health commissioner.

Dr. Wen, merry Christmas to you. Thanks so much for spending your day with us.

Many nations we know restricted the U.K. travelers. What we did, they've done that before. They did it a few days ago.

Is it smart for the U.S. to impose these restrictions starting next week, especially when geneticists now believe that the variant could possibly be here?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: So, I do think, Bianna, that the variant from the U.K. is probably here, because it was first discovered in late September, and there has been a lot of travel back and forth. We just don't have the surveillance testing here in the U.S. as the U.K. does to be able to pick up on the variant, which is a major problem.

But that said, I do think that pre-arrival testing or pre-departure testing in this case is a good idea, because there are going to be some people who will find out that they are asymptomatic and test positive and then can take themselves out of circulation, and not make that trip. I think we should be doing even more, specifically involves quarantining individuals after they arrive and then testing after the quarantine.

In fact, it shouldn't just be from the U.K., because there is a variant also from South Africa that also looks to be more transmissible. And we should, in fact, be doing a lot more testing throughout the country, because that is the way that we're going to eventually rein in the infection.

GOLODRYGA: Look, that's a good point. Any additional testing we can do is helpful, right?

[13:40:01]

And we know that many governors in the U.S., including New Jersey and New York, have been asking airlines to test passengers as well.

But the TSA says that the travel numbers are a third of what they were Christmas eve last year. So, many people did, in fact, listen to CDC guidance not to travel. That's a good thing.

What is your reaction, though, when you continue to see 7.1 million people travel through checkpoints this week alone?

WEN: I'm very worried because we know when people travel, the virus also travels and it's not just about the travel itself, the going on planes or driving in cars, but it's about what people are doing after they get to the destination. Most likely, they're getting together with loved ones, they're having dinner, without masks, getting -- gathering indoors for long periods of time. I hope that people know it is up to us to try to reduce the burden of COVID-19 in our communities.

And that means trying to gather outdoors as much as possible. If you're going to be indoors, having a meal, try to space out as much as you possibly can. Limit your time indoors, make sure that your windows and doors are open. And also, keep in mind, cumulative risk. Just because you had one high risk event doesn't meanwhile you're together you need to keep having high risk events.

GOLODRYGA: Look, it's a Christmas like no other, everyone must make a sacrifice, because we want a normal Christmas next year, right, and minimize the spread and minimize the deaths.

Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

WEN: Thank you. Merry Christmas.

GOLODRYGA: You too.

And back now to our breaking news. A significant and what police call intentional explosion rocks downtown Nashville.

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[13:46:18]

GOLODRYGA: Welcome back. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

And we are continuing to follow breaking news out of Nashville, Tennessee, where the FBI is investigating an intentional explosion in that city's downtown. Police say they initially responded to a call for shots fired. And when they arrived, they found an RV broadcasting a message of sorts, warning a bomb would go off in 15 minutes.

Soon after, that vehicle detonated. Three people were injured and taken to the hospital. We are told they're not in critical condition. This is still a developing and fluid story. And we'll bring you updates as we get them throughout the afternoon.

Right now, we turn to the key to unlocking some relief for millions of Americans, that's sitting on President Trump's desk at his Florida estate. The massive $900 billion bill centers around jobless benefits and direct checks to millions of Americans who are suffering this Christmas. Whether or not he'll sign it is anything but clear.

Joining me now, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, Alice Stewart.

Alice, merry Christmas to you. A very busy day indeed. You say the president is holding Americans hostage. So if that is the case, how good are the negotiators here? There's a lot on the line.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the negotiators were good. Steve Mnuchin, Nancy Pelosi, members of the House and Senate.

The problem is they never got the memo from the president early on what exactly he wanted and that's on him. Look, this was his bill, these were his negotiators, these were his terms, until he's decided to change the terms at the last minute, and that's unfortunate.

I know a lot of conservative, fiscal Republican House members who are frustrated. Look, they would not have voted for some aspects of this big package, the wasteful spending and some of the appropriation if they had known this is what the president was going to do. They feel as though the president and Steve Mnuchin, our treasury secretary, drove this train and they ended up walking the plank on this. And many of them are frustrated.

But I am hopeful that we will come to terms on this, and the president will do the right thing, because while he is discouraged that he did not win the presidency, he cannot be taking this out on the American people. And this is not about the fact that he lost the presidency, this is about this is costing Americans. It is time to do the right thing and get money as you mentioned.

This is valuable money that the American people need for jobless benefits in order to put food on the table and roof over their head and it needs to get done as quickly as possible. I know that the House and Senate members who negotiated in good faith on this would like to see the same. GOLODRYGA: Yeah, you've got millions of Americans suffering now, and

a lot of these asks came from the president directly, especially what's in the omnibus bill that he is blowing up. But even the $600 checks, the stimulus checks that Steve Mnuchin said would go out next week, that is clearly not going to happen now, but that wouldn't have been a number he settled on had the president not signed off on that as well.

So, it is head-scratching. But you touched on this. Could part of the president's thinking here on holding up the relief bill have anything to do with his attempts to undo the election and what can possibly be done -- be done if that's the case?

STEWART: Nothing can be done to undo the election. And the sooner that he realizes that and others realize that, the better.

Look, he wrote the book on "The Art of the Deal." I'm not the expert on that. But it seems to me the art on "The Art of the Deal" is when talks are under way, not when the ink is dry. And members of Congress negotiated for months understanding this was what would be agreeable to people on all terms.

And, look, the president might have wanted to win re-election, but it just didn't happen.

[13:50:03]

Look, I voted for him. I wanted him to win. I would love to see his policies in place the next four years. But I also respect the will of the voters and respect the outcome of these elections and the integrity of the process, and the sooner he can realize that and come to terms with that, and stop holding up not just certainly this bill, but the defense authorization bill, these are key provisions that the House and Senate voted on that the beneficial not just to what's immediately at hand, which is COVID relief, but the defense spending bill certainly needs to move forward as well.

GOLODRYGA: The irony being that he seems to want to play president so badly. And yet, he's just playing golf and all of his duties are just waiting at his desk and he's not signing them and millions of Americans are suffering.

Alice Stewart, thank you so much. Happy holidays to you.

STEWART: Same to you, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you.

And still ahead, the U.S. says it will now require a negative coronavirus tests for passengers coming in from the U.K. following news from a new COVID variant there. But is it too little too late?

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[13:55:48] GOLODRYGA: The U.S. now says it will now require a negative COVID test for air passengers flying to the U.S. from the United Kingdom over concerns about a variant of the coronavirus that may be more contagious. That means anyone entering the U.S. must have a negative PCR or antigen test within 72 hours of boarding their flight.

CNN's Richard Quest joins me now from London.

Richard, how is this going to work now?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: The -- this will be familiar for passengers in other parts of the world but not coming to the United States. You're required to have either a PCR or antigen test up to 72 hours before departure.

That has to be shown to the airline before you're allowed on the plane, and, of course, it will be inspected upon arrival at one of the airports or the designated airports in the United States. Remember, only a certain number of airports are allowed to receive international passengers during this COVID time.

One has to say, though, when questions just how many people this will affect, bearing in mind the travel plan that is already in case. So, only U.S. citizens and green cardholders and families can actually make the journey across the Atlantic and even then, of course, now it will be even greater restricted. Some days, there are just a handful of people on some of these planes.

GOLODRYGA: Yean, and some people questioning whether it's a little too late now given that many suspect that that variant is already here in the U.S. But, of course, many states have been asking for justice.

We also know the U.K. government is sending 800 more personnel to help out near the port of Dover to carry out coronavirus tests for haulers waiting to cross the channel into France. How bad is the backup at the border at this point?

QUEST: Terrible. I mean, there were 3,000, 4,000 truckers that were trying to get across. They can process 30 in about half an hour, 45 minutes. It gives you an idea of just how long it's going to take to get them all on ferries and get them across.

That's why they brought in the military to help, and more help is going to be needed. But it's going to take many more days and the opening of the tunnel and the various more ferries to get this backlog done.

And that's before, of course, the new free trade agreement comes into force on January the 1st. We don't really know how that's going to play out, how much customs facilitation will have to actually be done on trucks and goods and going across the English Channel.

GOLODRYGA: The headaches there continue in the U.K.

Richard Quest, thank you so much. Happy holidays.

QUEST: And to you.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

GOLODRYGA: Hello and welcome to this special edition of CNN NEWSROOM on this Christmas afternoon. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

New and dramatic details this hour and the urgent investigation into a Christmas morning explosion. Police say officers responded to reports of gunfire in downtown Nashville early this morning when they stumbled on an RV playing a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate within 15 minutes. Officers then sprinted to clear the area and then the RV delivered on that promise.

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GOLODRYGA: That is the sound of sheer terror and the magnitude of that explosion.

At a news conference last hour, police say quick action by first responders saved lives.

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DON AARON, SPOKESMAN, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE: They went to the residential areas on Second Avenue and did their best to get people to safety. Obviously, they heard the announcements coming from this vehicle. They took them seriously and were working to seal the streets, to protect folks and we think it worked. We think lives were saved by those officers doing just that.

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GOLODRYGA: Some heroic actions no doubt. The explosions happened near the AT&T building in the downtown corridor. The building is the tallest in the state.

The scene showed the explosion's destructive power. Second Avenue now lined with charred trees and shattered glass. The city's mayor says the explosion damaged 20 buildings in the area. The Tennessee governor says he'll commit whatever resources are required to find out who was responsible. Miraculously, only three were injured and doctors say those injuries are not life-threatening.

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