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Officials Hold Press Briefing On Van Explosion Near AT&T Building In Nashville, Tennessee; FBI Working With Local Authorities To Find Evidence Related To Van Explosion In Nashville; President Trump Has Not Yet Commented On Van Explosion In Nashville; CDC Reporting U.S. So Far Administered Nearly Two Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses As Cases Continue To Rise In States Such As California; President Trump's Tweet Questioning Effectiveness Of Lockdowns Draws Criticism; Donations To Salvation Army Down As Millions Of Americans Suffer In Economic Downturn. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 26, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And now this press conference taking place, about to take place here in Nashville, Tennessee, involving a number of officials. Let's listen in right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- group her in Nashville, the team working it today. I want to introduce those who will be speaking at the press conference. First off will be United States Attorney Don Cochran. He'll be followed by Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake. He'll then be followed by FBI special agent in charge Doug Korneski, and then Mickey French, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms will also speak. Also joining us is Colonel Matt Perry of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Following the investigators' update, we'll then hear from Mayor Cooper.

At this time, I'll turn it over to United States Attorney Cochran.

DON COCHRAN, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE: U.N. Good Afternoon. 2020 has been a tough year for Nashville. It started back in March with the devastating tornadoes that we had that tore through some of our neighborhoods, continued through the pandemic and the events of the past summer, and now this, the cowardly bombing on Christmas morning right here in the heart of our downtown.

But one thing I've learned about Nashvillians in the time I've lived here is that they're tough, and they stick together as a team, and that's what we're doing now. And I want you to know that's the team that's behind me and the folks that they represent are doing everything we can to find out what happened here to get the answers that you deserve and to make sure that we're all safe.

So one of the toughest groups of the folks we've got here in middle Tennessee is our law enforcement and first responders, and nowhere in my experience in law enforcement, has that ever been plainer to me than what happened early yesterday morning. At 6:15, 6:20, or 6:30 or so on Christmas morning, Metro Nashville police officers just number a blocks north of here didn't run away from danger, literally ran to danger. A vehicle that was announcing it was going to blow up, and Metro Nashville police officers instead of heading in the other direction headed towards that. They evacuated that area, got all the citizens out of there. I'm quite confident that their actions are part of the reason why there was less cost of life in this heinous act.

So yesterday morning, we had a task force that came together. This isn't a one-time thing. This is what we do all the time. The U.S. attorney's office, we work together with our federal partners, our state partners, and our local partners, and that's what immediately started happening yesterday. Teams of agents grouped together across agencies, started handling leads that citizens, our citizens were calling in.

We've had over 500 leads and tips come in, and every single one of those is being followed up by a team of investigators. That's the stage we're at in this investigation. We are still continuing to follow every lead that we have and we'll continue to do so until we find out what's happened.

We also have national resources here. The Department of Justice, the acting attorney general has told me any resources we need, we can have. The FBI and the ATF have sent their most specialized bomb technicians here to Nashville. And as we speak, they are of here a number of blocks at a massive crime scene doing what they do, and doing, frankly, what they do better than anyone else in the world.

And it's quite a challenge. Having been up there and seeing that scene, it's like a giant jigsaw puzzle created by a bomb that throws pieces of evidence across multiple city blocks. And they've got to gather it. They've got to catalog it. They've got to put it back together and try to find out what the picture of that puzzle looks like. But there's no one better to do it than the folks we've got on the ground here in Nashville, Tennessee, right now.

So that's going on as we speak. The investigations of the leads is going on as we speak. I am confident in the team we have that we will get to the bottom of this, that we will find out the story of this individual or individuals. We don't know right now, but this ultimate scrooge who on Christmas morning instead of spreading joy and cheer, decided to spread devastation and destruction.

But we know how that story ends here in Nashville. We're going to stand together. We're going to get back on our feet. We're going to get our businesses back up and running. We're going to get our infrastructure and the cell coverage back up and running between that's what we do in Nashville. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

CHIEF JOHN DRAKE, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you, Attorney Cochran. And to everyone, let me reiterate that Nashville is safe. We feel and know that we have no known threats at this time against our city. We've been in communication and feel pretty good about that. We have really ramped up our efforts with several hundred of our federal partners here from the FBI and the ATF as well as state and local, which is TBI and Tennessee highway patrol and others.

[14:05:08]

We're totally thankful for their efforts. To our business owners downtown, know that the federal government is conducting this investigation, and as they go through the crime scene, they'll try to reduce that as quickly as possible to where we can try to get you back in your businesses as soon as possible.

But we ask that you be patient. There's about 40 buildings that's been impacted, and so those buildings will have to be clear through our codes. If you have any information pertaining to this, please contact 615-74-crime, or FBI.gov/Nashville. Thank you.

DOUGLAS KORNESKI, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, MEMPHIS FIELD OFFICE: Good afternoon. My name is Doug Korneski, and I'm the special agent in charge of the Memphis Field Office which covers Nashville. The FBI, the ATF, Metro Nashville Police Department officers and Tennessee Highway Patrol and other federal and state partners are working around the clock to make sure Nashville continues to be a safe place to live and work.

During the past 24 hours, our joint investigative team fielded nearly 500 tips from those in and around the Nashville Metro area. We deeply appreciate the ongoing support and cooperation from the community and wish for it to continue. The first thing I want to reiterate that Chief Drake indicated is that that we have no indication of additional explosive threats. No other explosive devices were discovered during the area, during our secondary sweep the other day.

We've also increased our footprint to work as quickly but thoroughly as possible. There are approximately 250 FBI agents, analysts, and professional staff from at least eight surrounding field offices and FBI headquarters. They're working shoulder to shoulder with our partners.

Our team is addressing this case on several fronts. First, our investigative team is turning over every stone to make sure we know as many details as possible to answer the question of who is responsible for this, and also to understand why did they do this. This includes assistance currently from our behavioral analysis unit back at Quantico.

Secondly, our evidence response teams are committed to documenting and collecting all of the evidence to support the facts learned by the investigative team. We know this affects local businesses and are committed to processing the scene in a timely but thorough way.

We are starting from the outermost perimeter of the crime scene and working our way inward. We hope that have the outer area complete and turn over to the city of Nashville within the next day or so, so that they can conduct the necessary inspections.

Again, I want to thank the citizens of Nashville for their trust in the FBI and our federal and state and local partners, and also for the cooperation of all of our partners who stand here today with me. Thank you. MICKEY FRENCH, ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF NATIONAL FIELD DIVISION:

Good afternoon. My name is Mickey French. I'm the special agent in charge for the Nashville field division. ATF has numerous personnel here on the ground working seamlessly with all the agencies represented. Specifically we have the national response team.

ATF's national response team is the only accredited forensic investigative team in the country. They're outstanding at what they do. They're made up of certified explosive specialists, bomb technicians, forensic chemists, engineers. And we have integrated and working seamlessly with the Metro Nashville Police Department as well as the FBI and all agencies involved.

Just to reiterate what everybody has said before me, we've had over 500 leads and tips, and our job as a law enforcement agency is to make sure that this community is safe. And we are making sure that we're following through with each and every one of these tips and leads seamlessly integrated with no effort at all, and no impact, hopefully keeping the community safe. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, we can answer a few questions. We're mindful that we can't really get into too many details of the investigation. We know you have question and information, but we'll attempt to take a few at this time.

[14:10:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. Have you identified a person of interest? Is there anything you can tell us about that person?

KORNESKI: So we can't confirm any individuals or anybody we have identified. Again, as we've mentioned, we have over 500 investigative leads and we're following up on every one of those. So there are a number of individuals that we're looking at. So at this point, we're not prepared to identify any single individual.

(INAUDIBLE)

KORNESKI: At this point we don't have any indication that we are looking for another subject. But, again, there's 500 leads we're running through, so there's all kinds of individuals we're looking for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Human tissue was found at that scene. Has there been any identification placed on the tissue so far?

KORNESKI: That is something we've vigorously working on right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe it may be tied to the person responsible?

KORNESKI: We do not know at this point, but we're working under that assumption and processing it as such.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe it was one person acting alone? KORNESKI: We do not know. Again, we're following up every

investigative lead, though we do believe there are currently no active threats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was this thing so absolutely random, out of nowhere, that an RV would have an announcement warning of an explosive, and then it would happen? What kind of a person would do this? And how confident are you that you'll be able to find them and find out why?

KORNESKI: I can't answer what kind of person. Again, we're engaged with our behavioral analyst unit back at Quantico. They're experts in this area, so we hope to get answers through them. I'm sorry, what was the second part?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how confident then are you that you will be able to find the person and then find out why they did this?

KORNESKI: I'm fairly confident we'll be able to identify an individual or ascertain what has occurred. It's just going to take us some time, but this team behind me and our folks in the field, we're very good at what we do.

(INAUDIBLE)

KORNESKI: We are not working on any assumptions. We're addressing it to rule it out or to identify it.

(INAUDIBLE)

KORNESKI: I cannot comment on that. What I can say is it's just confirmed we do have some activity going on in that area.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a better question for the mayor. Let's let him say a few words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any belief that the target was the AT&T building? Is that something you're investigating, whether or not to knock out some of the communication?

KORNESKI: We're looking at every possible motive that could be involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thanks, everybody. I'm going to have Mayor Cooper. He wants to address the public now, and I think he's going to have a few words here. Mayor?

MAYOR JOHN COOPER (D), NASHVILLE: Thank you. I'll be very brief, I think. One, I'm grateful to the team behind us, and Nashville is depending on them to do a great job. And our resolve as a community to both rebuild Second and to find the culprit is very great.

I want to introduce -- I want to thank them. This is several hundred agents, this is our national best stepping forward to help us solve this crime, but also locally, our EMTs, our firemen, our police officers who have been so heroic in these last few days.

I want to ask Chief Swann. I heard the question about communications. I know he's been in close touch with AT&T and our network communications to answer that question about outages and what we can expect going forward. But I want to thank the team behind me, count on them to deliver for us and Nashville, and then our own city to commit to rebuilding, and I'm grateful to Governor Lee's request to the White House today to have a national emergency and to get federal help for rebuilding Second Avenue once that work begins.

One other thing is we still have a curfew in Nashville and will until tomorrow afternoon. This is an active crime scene. I would encourage people not to come to downtown Nashville until that curfew is lifted, and let the FBI and our federal partners do that work. But with that, let me introduce Chief Swann to talk about communications.

CHIEF WILLIAM SWANN, NASHVILLE, FIRE DEPARTMENT: Good afternoon. Again, not to reiterate, but I think it's important to just note that our role right now in the city is to make sure that we are working closely with our partners, law enforcement partners to ensure that anything that they need logistic-wise we're able to provide it for them.

And as far as the telecommunication partners, we're working closely with them, AT&T, to ensure that we can get communication established back safely. They are here to work 24 hours.

[14:15:02]

It is a big operation with the building itself, but we're trying to at least get the generators back in order so that the mobile phones will be back into operation. And then we're hoping within the next day, or if we're fortunate, it may take one or two days to get everything back online. But they're here to work with us, and we're hopeful that we'll get that back established.

One thing to remember, I know Chief Drake had mentioned that even though we had this incident took place, the city still has to go on. We still have to make sure that all emergencies are met. The city is safe as far as doing our regular duties, so that's why we're happy that we do have our federal partners here.

So again, we thank everybody and ask for the partners, or actually, the patients of Nashville. The partnership of downtown as far as business owners and also residents' owners, we are working to make sure that all water is turned off, Second Avenue, and then also we're turning the electricity off as well to ensure that the safety of people going in and out of the buildings for investigation purposes. So thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief Drake, can you tell us about your officers about their critical actions to evacuate the area may have saved lives?

DRAKE: Yes, absolutely. Our officers responded to a shots fired call, and didn't have anything else idea of what's going on, typically police call. And as they arrived, they saw an RV that was giving out a message, saying it would detonate within 15 minutes. A countdown would go, music would play, and instead of taking it as just maybe a threat and calling in and getting resources, they immediately began knocking on doors. They coordinated their resources to get everyone evacuated and out.

And had they not done that -- in fact, I watched a short video of an officer that had just moved out of the video frame when the explosion occurred and knocked him to the ground. So had they not done that, we'd be talking about people as well with the destruction that we have. So their just heroic efforts in saving lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the plan literally just spread out, cover as much ground, knock on as many doors as you can?

DRAKE: As quick as you can, get as many people out as quickly as we could, safely, and get them to somewhere safe, and then provide them with services so they're not displaced.

(INAUDIBLE)

DRAKE: I didn't hear you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you had a chance to talk with your officers personally?

DRAKE: I have. I talked to each one of those at the scene, thanked them for their efforts. And they were really didn't want the thanks. They just felt it was their job because they're honored to be able to serve our city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that moment like for you knowing the fact that they put themselves in harm's way?

DRAKE: It's a proud moment when we have our law enforcement professionals that are selfless like that. They're not concerned about their own safety, but the safety of our city. We love our city. We're invested in it. And it just made me feel good to know that they made the right decision in saving lives, and didn't worry about themselves as much. If felt really good.

(INAUDIBLE)

DRAKE: The announcement, I can't give you verbatim, but just saying there would be a detonation within 15 minutes. Music would play and then it would say there would be a detonation in 14 minutes. So there was a countdown was going. And so they began immediately evacuating, not knowing what we had. We called for hazardous device units to respond, and just at that time, it detonated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, guys, thank you. Sorry, that's all we have time for questions. We'll be back in touch with you. I want to thank you guys for staying with us to help us get critical information out. We'll deal with the rest for one on one side avails, so we'll do our best to get to you guys. We appreciate it. You'll hear from us again, regularly. WHITFIELD: All right, a brief briefing there coming out of Nashville, pulling together local and federal authorities there in the midst of this investigation of, as the U.S. attorney there put it, looking for the ultimate scrooge, the person or persons responsible for this explosion on Christmas Day there in downtown Nashville.

Reportedly three people injured, but what we heard from authorities here is that the investigation is ongoing, and that the radius is widespread. They're working from the outer perimeter and working their way into where the source of the explosion took place.

I've got with me now CNN's Shimon Prokupecz who is Nashville, Jeremy Diamond who was traveling with the president there in West Palm Beach, Florida. Also with me is CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former deputy director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe. Good to see all of you. What's important is not just what is said but what isn't being shared to the public by these authorities.

[14:20:00]

And Andrew, perhaps, let me go to you first on there. While the investigators say they've got something like 500 tips that they're following up on, they're not sharing much. Why is that particularly critical in an ongoing investigation? We want to hear more, but there really is a method behind why the authorities may not be revealing everything thus far.

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER DEPUTY FBI DIRECTOR: Sure. So first, and let me start by saying it's good to have the FBI at least back at the press conference. I think it's important that they're participating in this level of transparency.

That said, I understand why they are being very careful with details. As much as we all want to know if they have someone that they're looking for or if they've developed a lead on a specific individual, the FBI needs -- if they have that sort of information, they need the opportunity to be able to do some investigative steps quietly and covertly.

So for instance, if they have an individual identified, they're going to want to go that person's residence, set up a surveillance, get a look around, develop an understanding for what we call a pattern of life to determine who else might live with them, start to flesh the other people in the world, who they're interacting with.

And it's very hard to do those things when you have the media and news trucks on the same block at the same time. So in order to maintain some ability to conduct some quiet, covert investigation, they need to be very careful with the amount of information they put out, at least early on.

WHITFIELD: And then, Shimon, let me go to you, because you're learning some new reporting?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes. And so we've been hearing this, both CNN's Evan Perez and I, that for pretty much the last 24 hours that there was no manhunt. The police, the FBI here have not been searching for any suspects in connection to this bombing. We would have seen a very different atmosphere here had they been looking for someone. But what we're told is they are not actively looking for anyone who is responsible for this bombing.

What they are doing is they're talking to people who they have information about who may have known the bomber, and that is something that they've been doing. The FBI here also confirmed that they were at another location because of this investigation, that they have confirmed. But they're not confirmed that they've identified the person.

Some of what's going on is they need DNA to help identify this individual because they, what they're saying is they have human tissue. What they're working to see, obviously, is if the human tissue and the human remains that they found is connected to the bomber. They would not speculate on that. They said that is still part of the investigation.

But the most important thing in all of this, it would appear from what you hear, from what you heard today from authorities here is that there is no threat. There is no ongoing threat here for people in Nashville, and what we have learned is that they are not actively searching for anyone. There's no manhunt in connection to this bombing.

WHITFIELD: And then Andrew, we heard from the authorities say not only do we want to know who is responsible, but why. And I thought it was interesting that they were willing to reveal how they're tackling grabbing evidence. They have an outer rim, and they're working from the outer rim in. And we know usually the source of the explosion, that's where your evidence is tiniest, smallest.

I can't help but forget the investigation of the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta and how finding even something the size of a postage stamp helped pinpoint the sourcing of the explosion. Help us understand this outer perimeter working their way in.

MCCABE: Fredricka, you're absolutely right. The most relevant evidence you're going to typically find at the spot where detonation took place. And I've seen this over the course of 20 years. You start where you know this bomb went off.

However, the FBI is also acutely aware of the fact that they don't own this crime scene, this, five, six, seven, eight, maybe 10 block area, and the longer they keep that under wraps, the more damage they do to the local businesses and people's ability to get back and forth to their homes and stuff.

So they're looking at that outer perimeter. They'll search it in the way that they need to find evidence, but they'd like to begin to start at least turning over some of that real estate back to the city of Nashville.

So I think that's really an effort to try to be, in essence, better partners with the city. The area right around the detonation, particularly that block of Second Avenue north, we're not going to see that turned over for quite some time. They are going to really deep dive on the area where that detonation took place, and I don't expect you'll see that turned over for probably a week or two.

[14:25:01]

WHITFIELD: OK. And Jeremy, you're traveling with the president. We know that the Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has asked this be declared a federal disaster area, looking for federal resources. Yet not a peep from the president. What's happening?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No, we have yet to hear from the president directly on this explosion that took place yesterday early morning in Nashville. The White House did say in a statement yesterday that the president was briefed on this, that he sends his thoughts and prayers to the first responders and those impacted by this explosion, but we haven't heard from the president either on camera or on Twitter, where he has been otherwise active today, tweeting attacks against his own Justice Department, against Republican senators, even the Supreme Court, but not a word about this situation unfolding in Nashville, Tennessee.

We also don't know yet whether he has approved that emergency declaration requested by the governor of Tennessee, and we're not expecting to hear anymore from the president today either. The White House gave us a lid, which means that we are not expecting to see or hear from the president directly, though, of course, he is continuing to tweet. But as of now, nothing directly about the situation in Nashville.

WHITFIELD: And Shimon, you have new information?

PROKUPECZ: Well, I just wanted to also add, Andrew McCabe there was talking about the area on Second Avenue. What investigators right now are zeroing in on is whether or not the AT&T building, this building that we've been hearing so much about that sustained some of the most damage and that has also knocked out Internet service, cell service, even in some cases, landline phones.

My hotel, for instance, there was no phone service. What investigators are looking at, based on everything they have seen so far and so far have learned, they are trying to determine whether or not this person was targeting the AT&T building. Because of where the RV was parked and because of some of the damage that it sustained, some of the most severe damage, and what has basically as a result of that damage, what it has caused around here, the communications failure that have been going on here for now more than 24 hours, they're looking at that as a possible motive in this investigation.

They have obviously other information that they're working through that they're not sharing with us, but that is one of the theories that investigator are pursuing.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much to all of you gentlemen. Really appreciate it, Shimon Prokupecz, Jeremy Diamond, Andrew McCabe. And this just in, the CDC says nearly two million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have now been administered in the United States, but how long will it take to reach herd immunity? We have new information from Dr. Anthony Fauci.

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[14:30:53]

WHITFIELD: This just in, the CDC reporting the U.S. has now administered nearly 2 million coronavirus vaccine doses. I want to bring in CNN medical analyst and internal medicine and viral specialist Dr. Jorge Rodriguez. Good to see you. What's your reaction to this milestone?

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I'm thrilled. It shows Americans are willing to do the right thing and to try to curb this epidemic. And I think the one saving grace that we have is that there are hundreds of millions of unsung heroes in this country. And I want to take the opportunity to thank all the families, really, who have followed quarantine recommendations and have sacrificed and worn masks. And they are the unsung heroes, and I thank them, because they're going to make this happen for us.

WHITFIELD: Very good. Dr. Fauci estimates that 70 to 85 percent of the population needs to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. So what's it going to take to get, let's say, California to that point? They're being hit very hard right now. ICUs filled to the brim.

RODRIGUEZ: Right, exactly. And that's where I live in Los Angeles. We can hear the ambulances all the time. What it's going to take is people to have faith in the vaccine, for people to have faith in science, and for people to actually line up. What's interesting, in our hospital, initially 42 percent of the hospital staff said that they would take the vaccine. Once people started taking it and saw that everybody did OK, it went up to 85 percent. So I think that's what is going to happen, when people start seeing that this indeed does work.

WHITFIELD: People, and there's been a lot of reluctance in people looking for reassurance, and perhaps these video images of a variety of health specialists and other front liners getting their vaccine have indeed made a huge difference. So there in L.A. county, what goes through your mind when you hear now one person dies every 10 minutes in Los Angeles county?

RODRIGUEZ: It's chilling, isn't it? It really is. When you stop and think, if you were to imagine, God forbid, that every 10 minutes, you lose a family member, then I think that we would think about this differently. And indeed, people are losing their loved ones. And we hear it. I see it in my practice. And everybody can make a difference. I think that's what needs to be spread, that everybody can make a small difference every day.

WHITFIELD: And then what about this latest message coming from the president of the United States who just tweeted about lockdowns, lockdowns "absolutely ruining the lives of so many people," saying word for word here, "The lockdowns in Democrat-run states are absolutely ruining the lives of so many people, far more than the damage that would be caused by the China virus. Cases in California have risen despite the lockdown, yet Florida and others are open and doing well. Common sense please." What's your reaction to the president's words?

RODRIGUEZ: My reaction is that it's time to stop being so polite. And I believe that the president has done harm to so many people. We can't even trust, come on, the data coming out of Florida. I think if we had not gone through -- as a matter of fact, I know if we had not gone through these lockdowns and through these precautions, we would probably have millions of Americans dead.

So it really bothers me to hear that message because there are tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of frontline workers from doctors and nurses, people in grocery stores who every day are sacrificing their life for someone who is holed up in his or her medically sealed bubble to say something like that. It is absurd, it is disgusting, it is borderline criminal.

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

RODRIGUEZ: No, that's it.

WHITFIELD: And I know you preface that with saying it's time to stop being so polite, but you were very polite by saying it bothers you to hear these words, see these words written by the president.

[14:35:02]

Does it also undermine the very work, the dedication that you speak so eloquently of, of the frontline workers there in the medical community and beyond who have made such a huge commitment to try and help save the lives of people?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, in my opinion, it undoubtedly undermines that because it gives people a false sense of security. It gives people almost a call to arms to not care for their fellow human beings. So like I said, those words, those texted words are almost criminal, if not criminal, because in my heart, and I'm sure we'll never be able to prove this, tens of thousands if not more lives have not been caused by those words and words like that, that have caused people to be reckless and careless.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, we really appreciate your time, appreciate your dedication and that of all those on the frontline in the medical community and beyond trying to save lives and keep us all safe. Really appreciate it.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. Happy holidays.

WHITFIELD: Happy holidays. Thank you.

All right, still ahead, millions in America waiting for relief as President Trump drags his feet on signing the coronavirus relief package. The director of the Salvation Army joining me live to discuss the increased cases all across America.

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[14:40:03]

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Congress passed a $900 billion COVID relief bill before the holidays, but President Trump has not signed it. And now relief for millions of struggling Americans is in doubt. One group that has always been counted on to help struggling Americans is the Salvation Army. But this year, the group says their famous Red Kettle campaigns is pacing $14 million behind their 2019 donations, and those donations will be sorely missed.

The Salvation Army says on an average day, a Red Kettle volunteer raises $300 a day. That money provides food for 234 hungry people, one kettle does. Or that one kettle can provide Christmas presents for six kids, or 11 nights of shelter for people without a home. Joining me right now to discuss is the director of the Salvation Army, Dale Bannon. Mr. Bannon, good to see you.

DALE BANNON, NATIONAL COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY, SALVATION ARMY: Good to be here. Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely, thank you so much. It sounds like with that formula, the bottom line is there are so many people in need that people cannot afford to even put money into your kettle. So how are you going to meet the needs of so many people who are in a very hard way?

BANNON: It's no exaggeration, Fredricka, to say the Salvation Army has seen a tsunami of human need. Since March, over 115 meals have been served, 1.7 million nights of additional shelter have been provided, over 900,000 emotional and spiritual care requests have been met. And this past Christmas, we met the needs of families in need who are struggling with paying the rent or utilities or providing something underneath the Christmas tree. We know that those needs are very great, and it's at a time when our traditional fundraising has been challenged.

WHITFIELD: And so, is it also the case that you have fewer kettles out there because of COVID? What about being able to have a volunteer outside the variety of places you usually do, but perhaps you're not because there's a critical shortage of volunteers?

BANNON: We're running about a 20 percent deficit over last year. There's less brick-and-mortar stores. People are carrying less cash in coin. And you're right, we've had less volunteers to help us. That's why at year end giving it's so critical for us. We set up a website called RescueChristmas.org. That will help us. When you make a financial gift to the Salvation Army, it will keep families in their home through rent, utility assistance.

And we've seen lines of people just coming to the Salvation Army for food support this year. I think of some donors who have said to us, this is a time normally we give to the Red Kettle. Now we need assistance. We had a senior citizen who called us that said I'm shut in. I don't have any way to get food. Can the Salvation Army just bring me a box of food this Christmas? I normally donate. We were able to do that thanks to the help of the American public.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. And so when you hear now that even the COVID relief bill, this $900 billion bill signed by Congress is sitting somewhere at the president's Florida resort, no word on whether he will read it, let alone sign it, what do you want him to know? This is your opportunity to convey to him the kind of need that exists that Salvation Army is trying to address, but it's also going to take this act of Congress, a bill, something else, federal assistance.

BANNON: I would say to any federal elected leader, state, or local, the stimulus, the last time that the American public received the stimulus, it helped slowed the rate of poverty. We have so many that are on the verge of being evicted from their homes. So moratoriums, if you can extend moratoriums and extend unemployment benefits.

But the more we can keep families safe and warm in their homes, particularly for this upcoming winter, that's going to do our entire country good. There are many who feel that they're without hope. And then join organizations like the Salvation Army where we certainly want to help meet the need that is so critical this time due to the pandemic.

WHITFIELD: Dale Bannon, let me also update your title, Mational Community Relations and Development Secretary for the Salvation Army. Thank you so much, appreciate it.

BANNON: Thank you, Fredricka. Our website is RescueChristmas.org.

WHITFIELD: Perfect.

BANNON: Happy new year to you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Happy new year to you as well.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:3]

WHITFIELD: All right, 2020, it's been an unforgettable year, which saw the world ravaged by a deadly global pandemic that has already killed more than 1.7 million people. CNN's Clarissa Ward looks back at COVID- 19's impact across every continent and the race for a vaccine, as well as other major stories from the year, including Australia's wildfires and Beirut's deadly port explosion.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a year we'll never forget. In 2020, we witnessed world changing, paradigm shifting events, all happening under the cloud of the COVID- 19 coronavirus pandemic. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But what's the secret?

WARD: And CNN was there every step of the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was very scared. He's no longer safe.

WARD: A stretch of bad events started off the year. Wildfires engulfed Australia with apocalyptic scenes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We cannot see the fire, but we can certainly smell it and feel it.

WARD: Burning up to 73,000 square miles, about the size of the state of South Dakota, and killing an estimated 1 billion animals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not normal. It's like fire on steroids.

WARD: Lives were lost and thousands of homes destroyed.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A day after claiming that Iran's top commander was planning to attack a U.S. embassy.

WARD: The death of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike on January 3rd led to days of terrifying tension between the U.S. and Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saying that there would be revenge, there would be some sort of response from the Iranians.

WARD: Threats of war and Iran's retaliatory attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was scared at the moment, but it happened. It's something that we were ready for.

WARD: Just hours after Iran launched that ballistic missile attack on two U.S. military bases in Iraq, a Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down in Iran, killing all 176 people on board.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New video obtained by CNN seems to show a missile strike as a fast moving projectile flies across the sky before striking another object.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wolf, CNN obtained new footage, CCTV footage that appears to show the dramatic and extraordinary force of the impact as that Ukrainian airliner slammed into the ground in Tehran.

[14:50:00]

WARD: Meanwhile, in China, a strange new virus began to spread, its presence, a silent clock counting down to the time it would bring the world to its knees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to grasp the scope of this, 20 million people, that's what we're talking about. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've noticed a good number of people rushing to

this train station. This railway station is located just a few blocks away from the seafood market, the epicenter, according to health officials, of this virus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coronavirus is showing no signs of letting up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was back in late December when Li sent a group message saying that a test result from a patient quarantined at the hospital where he worked showed a patient had a coronavirus. But hours after hitting send, Wuhan city health officials tracked Li down, questioning where he got the information.

WARD: Dr. Wenliang would pay with his life for his bravery, like thousands of other medical professionals on the front lines all over the world. Shutdowns followed across the globe. Life as we knew it seemed to grind to a halt overnight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the town of Nembro, the month of March was a month of daily death. You just need to look at the death notices here. This woman died on the 7th of March. This man died on the 8th of March.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Standing here, you not only see the ferocity of this disease, but the silence with which it kills.

WARD: Empty flights, deserted city centers, and cruise ships floating listlessly through the open water, their trapped passengers hoping in vain for a place to port. The virus made its way around the world like the grim reaper, taking victims as it spread its wrath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was called out last night to a dear old gentleman. It was his wife of many years had passed away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This video shows patients lying on the floor at a Madrid hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are bodies. And just watching the video is difficult. Imagine going through those containers in person, looking for your dad's body.

WARD: On March 11, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pandemic is not a word to use lightly.

WARD: By then, life as we knew it already long gone. Millions across the world living for months under strict lockdowns to try to stop the spread of the virus. Facemasks became a familiar sight, and social distancing a way of life.

In early August, Lebanon was struck by a massive deadly explosion, sparked by the detonation of thousands of tons ammonium nitrate, killing more than 170 people and injuring more than 6,000 others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where CNN's office used to be. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something of this magnitude so unnecessary. This

has put the rage felt by the Lebanese population to unprecedented level.

WARD: In 2020, CNN exclusively exposed a troll factory in Ghana, backed by Russia, that was actively aiming to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And let me tell you, Anderson, it's not where you might have expected it to be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the compound where the operation has been based. There's no sign for an NGO. We're about an hour outside of the city.

WARD: And a CNN investigation identified Russian FSB operatives who trailed Putin's nemesis Alexey Navalny before he was poisoned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get out of this bathroom, go over to the flight attendant, and said I was poisoned, I'm going to die.

WARD: After a difficult spring fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, most of Europe opened back up for the summer. But despite the short respite in the summer months, the virus back with a vengeance in the fall and winter in Europe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The things that the Germans are doing now is they're putting the stricter lockdown in place a lot earlier than anybody would have thought.

BLITZER: A troubling headline coming from the U.K.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Worry growing over a new COVID variant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The implications are this new variant could be 77 percent more infectious, but not more deadly in the U.K. are growing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: French border is closed. All day long we've seen these police officers in jackets turning these 18 wheelers that you see behind me around with their goods.

WARD: Worldwide coronavirus cases hit 73 million in December. There were 16.5 million in the United States alone, and more than 1 million deaths globally.

A uniting global goal in 2020, a vaccine, and by December, we saw the first approved vaccines administered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let the mass immunization program begin. Ninety- year-old Margaret Keenan making history as the first person in England, and indeed the world, to receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine outside of trial.

(APPLAUSE)

[14:55:07] WARD: A moment of hope that 2021 will be the beginning of the end of the pandemic that spares no one.

Clarissa Ward, CNN.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Perhaps it will be easy to say so long 2020 and hello 2021 with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen live from Times Square New Year's Eve at 8:00 right here on CNN.

A California woman is rescued after her cat (ph) went over a cliff and on to a beach in San Francisco. Take a look at this video, and you can see the woman's car laying upside down there in the sand below the rocks. Authorities tell us the woman is in serious condition following the Christmas morning crash. It's unclear how far the woman fell or what exactly caused her car to go off the cliff. Officials with the National Park Service are asking people to stay clear of the scene as they work to remove the vehicle over the next few days. A very frightening close call.

Thank you so much for joins me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The Newsroom continue right now with Amara Walker in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Amara Walker in for Ana Cabrera.