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Authorities Identify The Nashville Bomber; President Trump Refuses To Sign Relief Bill; Health Authorities Warn Of Surge Upon Surge Of New Infections Of COVID-19 After December; A Year In Sports Reported By Andy Scholes. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired December 27, 2020 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They were talking to family members and also, remember, they were at their -- at his home yesterday to try and get the DNA. And I understand the press conference is about to start so I'm going to get out of the way.
JASON PACK, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, FBI: Good afternoon. I'm Jason Pack. I'm the special agent and public affairs officer with the FBI in Knoxville field office assigned to the national incident. Behind me we have the heads of agencies responsible for the work you've seen going on these past 48 hours.
Speaking today will be Donald Cochran, United States Attorney for the middle district of Tennessee. David Roush, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Doug Korneski, special agent in charge of the FBI's Memphis field office, Mickey French, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Nashville division. And John Drake, chief of police, Metro Nashville Police. At this time, I'll turn it over to United States Attorney Cochran.
DONALD COCHRAN, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY: Thanks, Jason, and thanks for being here. On behalf of the investigative team, I wanted to give you a major update in a development that we've come to in this case. And that is based on the evidence that we've gathered to this point, we've come to the conclusion that an individual named Anthony Warner is the bomber.
He was present when the bomb went off and that he perished in the bombing. We based this conclusion on forensic evidence including DNA evidence that you'll hear about as well as evidence that was gathered at the scene of the bombing. Because this was a collaborative effort, what I want to do is turn the microphone over to each of the agency folks here.
They're going to talk about their agency's role in the investigation and how the evidence that they gathered and how the tests that they conducted led us to this conclusion. So let me start out by introducing Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch.
DAVID RAUSCH, DIRECTOR, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Thank you. I first want to say that we appreciate the collaborative effort that has taken place in this investigation. Local, state, and federal authorities have worked hand in hand in tandem around the clock since the incident, and it's paid off.
TBI agents, analysts, and scientists have been assisting in this investigation from the start, gathering data, checking leads, coordinating interviews, and processing critical evidence in coordination with the FBI and the ATF.
Overnight, TBI forensic scientists processed evidence from the crime scene for DNA testing. The evidence was compared to evidence collected from a vehicle used by the person of interest in this case. At approximately midnight central time, forensic scientists with TBI confirmed a match of the DNA at both locations belonging to the person of interest in this case. TBI continues to support this ongoing investigation. Thank you.
DOUG KORNESKI, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good afternoon. Again, my name is Doug Korneksi, special agent in charge of the Memphis field office responsible, which also covers Nashville. I want to take a moment to update on the intensive efforts of our investigative team. Today, as Director Rausch mentioned, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as well as the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, completed their DNA testing of a sample of human remains recovered at the scene.
Those results were consistent with the suspect identified by U.S. Attorney Cochran. We're still following leads, but right now there is no indication that any other persons were involved. We've reviewed hours of security video surrounding the recreational vehicle as well as -- we saw no other people involved around that vehicle.
Again, this information is what we know after just a few days of investigative efforts. Crucial tips from the public corroborated by other investigative activity by our team initially identified a likely suspect. Some expert work by the Tennessee Highway Patrol subsequently uncovered a vehicle identification number from the remains of the suspect's RV that were positively matched to a vehicle registered to that individual.
We continue to ask that those who may have known the suspect or encountered him contact our team at the 1-800-call-FBI phone number. These pieces of information will help us understand the suspect's motives. These answers won't come quickly and will still require a lot of our team's effort.
[17:04:56]
Though we may be able to answer some of these questions as our investigation continues, none of those answers will ever be enough for those who have been affected by this event. We still have work to do. Our evidence response teams will continue to process the scene downtown, and our agents will continue to follow on every -- in each and every tip that we receive.
As is often said by the FBI, the greatest crime-fighting weapon we have is the cooperation of all law enforcement with the help and understanding of the citizens we serve. Thank you, and I'd like to now turn it over to ATF Special Agent in Charge French. MICKEY FRENCH, ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Thank you. My name is
Mickey French. I'm the special agent in charge for the ATF national field division. I'd like to commend all my fellow state and local partners. We've had a tremendous working relationship in this investigation.
ATF brought unique resources to this investigation to include the National Center for Explosives Training and Research, which we call NCETR, ATF's accredited national response team and all of its specialists as well as the United States Bomb Data Center.
These were crucial and instrumental to provide links and resources in this investigation. Additionally, the ability to leverage technology with traditional law enforcement techniques has been crucial in bringing this case to a relatively close. Although we still have a lot of investigation to do, we've gotten off to a great partnership and great start, and it's been tremendous. Thank you.
JOHN DRAKE, CHIEF OF POLICE, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE: I cannot truly describe all the hard work that has gone into this investigation since Friday's explosion. We've had hundreds of ATF, FBI, THP, and TBI partner with us in this investigation, and we can tell you that Anthony Warner is the man believed to be responsible for this horrible crime.
There is no indication presently that anyone else was involved in this crime. As I've said earlier and several times before, Nashville is considered safe. There are no known threats against this city. A renewed curfew is going into effect beginning at 4:30 this afternoon in the area impacted by the blast.
It will be James Robinson Parkway to Fourth Avenue to Broadway and the Cumberland River. At noon tomorrow, the curfew will be in place, narrowed into the impacted area around Union, Fourth Avenue north, Broadway, and the Cumberland River. The footprint will get smaller as processing of the blast scene continues by the FBI and the ATF. Thank you.
PACK: Okay. At this time we'll try to take a few questions. I know it's kind of hard to hear out here, and we'll address it to the appropriate agency.
(CROSSTALK)
PACK: Just a second.
RAUSCH: I didn't hear the question.
UNKNOWN: Have you anything on the motive or why he wanted to set of this bomb?
RAUSCH: That's still all early in the investigation right now.
(CROSSTALK)
RAUSCH: I'm sorry? UNKNOWN: Was warner on any authorities' radar prior to the explosion?
RAUSCH: No he was not.
UNKNOWN: Can you talk about the VIN -- was it a VIN number that was found and how that --
RAUSCH: The VIN number? You want to talk about that?
UNKNOWN: The VIN number, how you were -- because this blast, it was just a massive blast. How were How were you able to find that VIN number?
UNKNOWN: Well, our special agents with Tennessee Highway Patrol are trained in that. We have responsibilities there and they were able to come out starting Christmas night and come in again once daylight, you know, came up the next day yesterday and just help identify on particular vehicle parts.
UNKNOWN: So it was a vehicle part that you found in the debris that ultimately led to the identification?
UNKNOWN: I can't answer that exactly. Vehicle parts helped connect the vehicle to the suspect. I believe tips and other information came in to help identify him.
UNKNOWN: Question for the FBI. I'm just curious, regarding the actual questioning of the -- I know that there have been associates of Warner that have been questioned about a 5G paranoia that he may have had. What can you tell us about that?
KORNESKI: So, right now we're looking at any and all possible motives. We're not at a position where we can speculate on that now. We are interviewing individuals that we've identified that are known to the suspect. We are also asking the public if they know him, they know -- have spoken to him or know his ideology or anything that might have motivated him, we're interested in speaking to you. So, again, we're looking for just tips.
UNKNOWN: Sir, what about the type of explosives used? Is there anything (inaudible) there is nothing?
[17:10:00]
KORNESKI: That is still under investigation. We're collecting evidence from the crime scene and it's being processed at our laboratory.
UNKNOWN: And have you been able to build a timeline in the days surrounding his life, the days leading up to this.
KORNESKI: We're still working on all those.
UNKNOWN: Anything you can say about what was inside his home, any sort of evidence you collected there (inaudible) or letters --
KORNSEKI: We can't comment on that at this point. (CROOSTALK)
UNKNOWN: -- that is one of the many leads that you are investigating, were the many motives you are investigating (inaudible).
KORNESKI: We're aware of certain things online and we're looking at every possible --
UNKNOWN: Do you consider this domestic terrorism at this point?
UNKNOWN: Can you talk about if he had family in the area or if he lived alone? If he lived alone or if he had family in the area?
KORNESKI: We can't comment on any of that right now.
UNKNOWN: Can you talk about -- the fact that this DNA match was made so quickly, we always hear it takes such a long time to get a DNA match. Can you talk a little bit about -- that's a pretty (inaudible)
KORNESKI: I can comment on that briefly. So the question was regarding how we were able to quickly match the DNA. Because we had a known suspect at the time, we were able to have a known sample and then collect some items from the suspect, from some relatives as well, and be able to match that DNA positively was his. When we're just matching two samples, it could be done rather quickly.
UNKNOWN: Was his mother that relative?
KORNESKI: I can't comment on where we got it from.
UNKNOWN: Do you consider this domestic terrorism?
KORNESKI: I can't comment on that at this point.
UNKNOWN: Can you confirm that you found dog DNA at the scene and whether or not (inaudible question)?
KORNESKI: We have no information at this point of that.
UNKNOWN: What would make it --
PACK: Okay. Last question.
(CROSSTALK)
PACK: Sir?
UNKNOWN: What could make this an actual event of terrorism? What would it take to make this event an act of domestic terrorism?
KORNESKI: When we assess an event for domestic terrorism nexus, it has to be tied to an ideology. It's the use of force or violence in the furtherance of a political, social ideology or event. We haven't tied it to that yet.
PACK: Thank you all very much. Appreciate it. If there are any further updates, we'll let you know via our social media channels and our news releases. Appreciate it. Thank you all for your patience.
AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: All right. You were just listening live to a news conference out of Nashville there. Federal, state, and local officials making a major announcement announcing that Anthony Warner is the bomber. He is the one who drove that RV, detonated that bomb leading to this massive destruction here you see on the screen, and who also died in that bombing.
Our Shimon Prokupecz has been on the scene from the start. You were also there for the news conference. We heard your questions there. And it is remarkable just how quickly officials moved to also pinpoint the bomber. I mean, this is two days after this happened.
PROKUPECZ: Yes, it's really incredible when you think about this. In just two days, right? This happens Christmas morning. We're now Sunday. Last night just after midnight here, they say they were able to make that identification. It is remarkable how fast they moved.
They found the human tissue. They found human remains and they were quickly able to identify and match it to this man, Anthony Quinn Warner, 63 years old. It really is remarkable. And we're just getting some tidbits of what went into this.
The fact that they were able to find a VIN number, that's his vehicle identification number on some part perhaps of this vehicle, then match it to a registered owner, that certainly helped them identify Mr. Warner quickly.
Also, the fact that tips, tips that came in to them. Remember, the police here put out a photo of that RV and almost immediately they were flooded with tips about that RV. It led them to a home of this individual. And also as we've been reporting, they went to family members to get DNA samples. They also were at his home collecting DNA samples.
But just think about it, how quickly they were able to move in this investigation to get DNA samples, to then analyze those DNA samples and match them and confirm the identity of the bomber. And also they would have to have taken these samples. There are two ways that they did this.
They had the Tennessee officials here, at their forensics lab identify it. But then the FBI also at their Quantico lab also identified the DNA, and it matched. So, really a very quick resolution here to this investigation.
And this is why, as we've been reporting, almost from that night, the night that several hours after the bombing on Christmas evening, the police here were pretty certain that they knew who did this. For whatever reason, they weren't revealing to us why it is that they were not searching for anyone, why there was no manhunt, and now we know.
They got a lot of clues early on into this investigation, and they were able to identify the person behind the bombing.
[17:15:01] Really significant resources put into this, the number of FBI agents, the ATF, the local authorities, all working very quickly here to identify this individual.
WALKER: You're right. Just yesterday we were reporting with Natasha Chen outside that home of Warner's in Antioch, Tennessee, just 11 miles southeast of where you are, where police were searching that home, which we know belongs to Warner.
And we did also hear from that news conference that they were able to find some DNA evidence in a vehicle that was used by him, and they were able to use that to match it with the DNA that they found on that scene near where you are, Shimon.
Stay right there. Let's bring in Juliette Kayyem, the assistant secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama, and Phil Mudd, former CIA counterterrorism official and FBI senior intelligence adviser. Welcome to you both.
Phil, let's start with you and just your reaction to the fact that we're talking about a named bomber just two days after this explosion took place. Obviously, we still don't know a motive. But the fact that you had federal, local, and state agencies working really well together and quickly getting to a resolution.
PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Yes, but let me give you a different perspective on that. Look, I was on the inside. I applaud what the federal officials along what their state and local partners have done. But remember, you have a suicide bomber who wasn't trained and wasn't trying to hide his identity.
That is, he wasn't trying to hide the identity of the vehicle. The vehicle evidently was at his residence before. There's DNA evidence that he left behind obviously because his body is still on the site.
So, I'm looking at this saying, yes, they did a great job, but it's not like you're dealing with a professional terror organization that people I've dealt with in my past were trying to hide what they did. This is somebody who went and I presume who had some mental disabilities, who wasn't attempting to obscure what he was about to do.
WALKER: So, of course, the question now is, why would Anthony Warner do such a thing? And Juliette Kayyem, to you. Shimon and I were talking about this over the past few days, that there are so many peculiar things about this incident.
Number one, happening on Christmas morning when no one is around. And of course, you had the audio, that automated broadcasting of warning people to evacuate because there will be an explosion. And then one of the officers we just heard from today saying that they heard music coming from that RV before it exploded. So, piece this together if you are able to and how do we get to a motive now?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. So, and they were clear, the authorities were clear just now that they are not making any determination on motive. I'll get back to that in a second. But you are exactly right, and Shimon is as well, that the oddities of this attack or explosion became abundantly clear throughout the last 48 hours.
The notice for people to disperse, the suicide that we now know was a suicide, which in the morning on Christmas, in other words, suicide terrorism tends to want viewers, people who are watching, and that did not happen.
And then you have, you know, of course the question of his motive. So I want to get to that quickly because they shut down any speculation about motive. We know that there is a lot of discussion online about potential motive. And so what was interesting to me just from having been through this before is not only did they say we don't know the motive yet. They also said there's no other known threat.
They felt very confident making us feel assured that this is not a question of, you know, there's a network that we should be worried about. Those two things together lead to, you know, the conclusion that they're solely focused on him. He may have been animated by something political, some oddity, something that you and I wouldn't think of as, you know, generating emotion or something quite personal, a divorce, COVID, or what else, or a combination of them.
WALKER: So then I have to ask you about that white box truck then, Phil, because this afternoon we had live pictures of this white box truck about 30 miles east of the scene. And the reason why it got police's attention is that there was similar audio as it was being reported that was playing from that box truck as well.
No explosives were found. Somebody has been detained. What do you make of that? Any connection or you think this is just possibly a copycat incident?
MUDD: There's a couple things you need to think about. First, I'd like to hear how identical, as you mentioned, how identical the audio was to what we heard in the past couple days from the incident in Nashville. But when you're on the inside, looking at an incident like what we saw in Nashville, you mentioned copycat.
[17:20:01
I saw copycats a lot when I was in the federal government. Somebody who sees something on TV and is triggered to act on something they've been thinking about for months. You're on high alert on the inside for people who might not have been ready to execute until they saw a trigger on TV like Nashville.
So, it might not have been serious, this box truck, but you've got to investigate because there are people out here who say, you know, I kind of thought I wanted to do something like that. They're emotionally disturbed, and all of a sudden, they do something. You've got to watch out for that.
WALKER: And Shimon, to you because this RV was detonated outside this historic AT&T transmission building. Let's first off play some sound from the Nashville mayor and what he said about it possibly being targeted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN COOPER, MATOR OF NASHVILLE: Those of us in Nashville realize that on Second Avenue there's a big AT&T facility, and the truck was parked adjacent to this large historic AT&T facility, which happens to be in downtown Nashville, somewhat surprisingly. And to all of us locally, it feels like there has to be some connection with the AT&T facility and the site of the bombing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: So, Shimon, are you learning anything more about the AT&T building possibly being a target and why?
PROKUPECZ: We don't know exactly why yet. Authorities have not told us, but certainly it is something that they're looking at because of the way -- as the mayor described there, where this truck was parked, the RV, where the RV was parked, it would seem at least right now to authorities that that was the intended target.
But they don't know yet, and that's why they're trying to build out this man's time, his last few days leading up to this and the last few weeks and perhaps even months leading up to this bombing because they want to figure out what was going on in his mind. And so they're using psychologists and analysts all to look through this.
So, the FBI is not ready to say. I don't think that they have any information that says aha, this is it. This is the reason why. So they're working through everything. It could be a number of things, you know. Sadly, we've seen a lot of situations like this where the FBI comes in, they're investigating, and they never learn a clear motive.
It could be a multitude of things that brings someone to this point. We've seen this in the Las Vegas shooting where really no one was ever able to determine a clear motive. And we could be heading to that in this incident. It's not like there's any clear-cut information, perhaps a note or something that was left behind that can say, okay, this is the reason why.
They're certainly dealing with a very peculiar individual. He's 63 years old, almost no criminal history. He has one arrest back from the '70s, and he doesn't seem to have been on anyone's radar for something like this. So those things factor in.
Also, you know, his life. They don't know much yet about his life, but they're digging in. They're trying to learn. It's still a puzzle for them, and I think it's puzzling at this point. But the fact that where this vehicle was parked and the time of day and when this all occurred is all playing into perhaps some kind of motivation. We just don't know yet.
WALKER: Well, the good news in all of this, which has been remarkable, is that no one was seriously injured. Three people were initially injured. We are told they're in stable condition and that one police officer who had temporary hearing loss.
Also, we did have a team on the ground in Antioch talking to neighbors of Anthony Warner, who basically described him as being a hermit, that he didn't speak much and didn't come out of his home much. Appreciate you, Shimon Prokupecz on the scene. Juliette Kayyem and Phil Mudd, many thanks. Stay where you are, please. We'll have much more on our breaking news.
Plus, some Republicans now speaking out, publicly urging the president to sign the bipartisan COVID relief bill or else cement his legacy as one of chaos. That's next.
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[17:25:00]
WALKER: Unemployment benefits have now lapsed for millions of Americans, leaving them on the brink of financial crisis and a potential government shutdown looms as well. But it didn't have to be this way. The $900 billion coronavirus relief bill that was agreed upon by both parties is now sitting on the president's desk in Mar-a- Lago, Florida, collecting dust.
CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond is in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the president is spending the holidays. Hi there, Jeremy. Besides tweeting that he wants bigger stimulus checks for Americans, is the president actually doing anything to make it happen?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't look that way, Amara. You know, we have no indication that President Trump has been on the phone with congressional leadership like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both of whom he is upset with right now.
And he's certainly not meeting with his advisers to try and find a way to salvage this $900 billion of desperately needed coronavirus financial relief for millions of Americans. Instead, what we've seen from the president, he has golfed three out of the last four days that he has been here in south Florida, and this happening as we know that there are more than 20 million Americans who are currently unemployed during this holiday season.
In fact, more than 12 million of those Americans are estimated to have lost some of those federal unemployment benefits this very weekend because the president did not sign this coronavirus legislation this weekend.
Instead, he's merely letting it languish, offering no sign as to whether he intends to sign it or perhaps even veto it. But what we do know is there are growing concerns, including among congressional Republicans about the president's refusal to sign this legislation so far. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): I understand he wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the danger is he'll be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire. So I think the best thing to do, as I say, sign this and then make the case for subsequent legislation.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): And then for him to come out and say, now I'm going to veto it for the $2,000 checks, fine. If you want to make it $2,000 checks, negotiate that from the beginning. Let's have the discussion after this bill is signed because right now we're at a point where people are left out in the dark.
But to play this old switcheroo game, which is just kind of like I don't get the point, I don't understand what's being done. Why -- unless it's just to create chaos and show power and be upset because you lost the election. Otherwise, I don't understand it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND: And you hear the frustration there from Congressman Kinzinger about the fact that President Trump is getting involved in this after the fact even though he remained on the sidelines during the months of negotiations that led up to this bill.
[17:30:00]
And one more thing, Amara, the government shutdown could be happening on Tuesday if President Trump does not sign this legislation by then or some kind of other stopgap funding measure, we will see the government shut down amid a coronavirus pandemic and amid financial insecurity for tens of millions of Americans. Amara?
WALKER: Yes. Suffice it to say, so much at stake right now. Jeremy Diamond, appreciate you. Thank you very much for that. To talk more about this is CNN political commentator and host of "Firing Line" on PBS, Margaret Hoover, and CNN senior political analyst John Avlon. Greetings to you. Thanks so much for joining me.
Margaret, as you heard there, I mean, clearly some of the members of the president's own party are clearly frustrated with this last-minute switcheroo game as we just heard Congressman Kinzinger calling it. If President Trump vetoes the bill since we have no idea what he's going to do, do you think Republicans could break with him to override that veto?
MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think so. In fact, I think that they will. In fact, the best thing he could do right now, I think from the Republican perspective is go ahead and veto it so that they can override it. If he does nothing, the government shuts down.
So the best case scenario is that they move forward, that's the way you break this logjam. Because remember not only are Americans suffering and people need these checks, I mean, we've seen the lines at the food banks. We've seen how desperate people are in the context of this economic crisis that COVID has brought on.
WALKER: Yes, I know how desperate people are. I have family members who have been getting these checks, and so this is definitely a financial lifeline for so many people. And to you, John, I mean, it was the president's own White House that negotiated the $600 direct payments. Steven Mnuchin doing the negotiations on his behalf. So, what is this sudden about-face about at the 11th hour demanding $2,000?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's a tantrum. This is what fanatics and megalomaniacs do. They would rather ruin if they cannot rule. And the White House was almost as blindsided as some of the senators were.
I mean, and you know, Secretary Mnuchin was negotiating on behalf of the White House. This was a bill that had the White House's approval. He's been totally humiliated. Revealed as nothing more than an errand boy without any actual influence with the president who is just acting like a petulant child and having a tantrum, golfing while the vice president is skiing, while people are suffering.
This shutdown is going to impact vaccinations. It's going to impact, you know, it's already impacting millions of American on unemployment benefits, you know, eviction protections are going to be removed. This is real survival stuff for a president who is totally acting with contempt for the everyday lives of Americans by playing this kind of (inaudible) to the cliff.
WALKER: Margaret, you're nodding your head.
HOOVER: I'm not even -- I also think, you know, the other dynamic is that if this is so bad, it will be Trump's shutdown.
WALKER: Sure.
HOOVER: Republicans in Congress will want to separate themselves from him because remember, Mitch McConnell -- the Senate hangs in the balance, and Mitch McConnell is looking like with laser focus on Georgia. What does this switcheroo do to those two senator who voted for this stimulus (inaudible) negotiation --
WALKER: Exactly.
AVLON: Nothing good.
HOOVER: -- and are running on it. Now, the president is saying, this isn't my bill, and so where are his supporters supposed to go? It really puts them in a tough spot. He's not helping the Republican Party.
WALKER: You're right. I mean, there's an ad that's running here in Georgia where David Perdue is saying, look, I am the one who was helping, you know, with this COVID relief bill that's here. Well, it's not exactly here yet. Also, Margaret --
AVLON: Definitely.
WALKER: -- yes. So here's what Senator Bernie Sanders says the president should do. Take a listen, guys. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): You can't diddle around with the bill. Sign the bill, Mr. President, and then immediately Monday, Tuesday, we can pass a $2,000 direct payment for the working families of this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: So, do the Democrats have leverage right now? I mean, what do you think of the way the party is seizing on this? To you, Margaret, first.
HOOVER: Look, I mean if Democrats want more money, which by the way, that's what's so bizarre about this, right. You have the Republican president coming out and siding essentially with the philosophical point the Democrats were making at the negotiating table.
AVLON: Right.
HOOVER: But, look, if that's what he believes, then of course he should do it. But he doesn't believe anything, right? This president believes in people talking about him. He believes that his, you know, no news is bad news as long as his name is in the press and in the media, then he's winning.
And that's what my suspicion is this is about. This isn't about people's lives. This isn't about people's livelihood. This isn't about suffering or trying to help get through this cataclysmic moment.
AVLON: And what my wife may be sort of dancing around is Bernie Sanders may have a point there. I mean, you know, if the president wants to raise everybody's -- get more money, then pass this bill. Avoid the shutdown and then really push with Democrats, as surreal as it sounds, to increase the amount of direct payments.
But the Republicans in the House already knocked that down. Democrats are going to pass their own version. But what the president's doing is just lighting everything on fire so Captain Chaos gets to come in and save the day.
[17:35:04]
It's the arsonist as a firefighter, but it's not going to work this time.
HOOVER: I mean, I think we both know Bernie Sanders is trying to call President Trump's bluff here, right.
AVLON: Of course.
HOOVER: It's as if, you know, yes.
WALKER: Well, you know, we're definitely up against the clock, right? And so, you know, I was hearing from people who are facing, you know, this financial cliff saying, look, just pass this bill. Sign this bill. I know $600 to me isn't enough, but you know what? We'll rely on Congress to pass another bill, you know, in the coming days or weeks.
But if no relief comes to fruition, what are we talking about when it comes to what Joe Biden will inherit on January 20th considering that we're looking at another COVID surge come January, John?
AVLON: American carnage. More American carnage. That is Donald Trump's legacy. It already is. But it will be obvious in a way because everything that's going badly now will be exponentially worse. A government that literally is not working. People who are actively suffering. An absolute undercutting of an attempt by people in government to help people.
Everything on fire. That kind of American carnage is what he will inherit. But the good news is, is that a president who comes in at a point like that, there's only room to go up because people will remember why it's important that government works, why it's important that people work together across bipartisan lines.
Perfect (inaudible) good, but that (inaudible) Donald Trump is setting up as his definitive legacy and the Republicans will own that in Georgia.
WALKER: These are millions of American lives and livelihoods we're talking about. John Avlon, Margaret Hoover, great to see you both. Thank you so much for joining me.
Well, the U.S. has just surpassed 19 million new cases of COVID-19, adding the latest 1 million in less than one week. And Dr. Fauci is warning the worst may still be to come. That's next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[17:40:00]
WALKER: The TSA is screening more than a million people at U.S. airports on Saturday on top of the more than 7 million people who passed through the airports last week. Here's what the nation's top infectious disease expert, D0r. Anthony Fauci, had to say to CNN today.
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ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: The reason I'm concerned and my colleagues in public health are concerned also is that we very well might see a post-seasonal, in the sense of Christmas/New Year's surge.
And as I've described it, as a surge upon a surge because if you look at the slope, the incline of cases that we've experienced as we've gone into the late fall and soon-to-be early winter, it is really quite troubling.
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WALKER: Definitely a dire forecast there. Joining me now is Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Doctor, December is now the deadliest month of the pandemic here in the U.S. Do you think January is going to be even worse?
PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN, TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes, Amara, it looks very much like that, that things are not going to get any better. We're now at around 200,000, 250,000 new cases a day, and that really means about a million cases a week or a million cases every five or six days, and that's just really heartbreaking.
So the numbers continue to accelerate and we're headed quickly towards 400,000 Americans who will lose their lives a week after the inauguration. So, it's hard to even know at this point whether holiday travel is creating a surge as Dr. Fauci points out. We're already at the screaming level of transmission. It's hard to sort out, but the numbers are truly astonishing.
WALKER: And the scenes that we're seeing and hearing about at hospitals, the stress that our nation's hospitals are under right now, I mean Saturday saw the fifth highest number of reported U.S. COVID hospitalizations with more than 117,000 people hospitalized.
And the top five days with the most hospitalizations all happened just this last week. Are we going to start seeing hospitals having to make that awful choice of who lives and who dies again just as we saw at the beginning of the pandemic?
HOTEZ: Well, there's actually two parts to that. One is you're right, there is a concern that we might have to start rationing care and that is really troubling because, remember, this is superimposed on all the hard work that our nurses and our docs, our respiratory therapists are doing every day to take care of sick people.
And so, that's a concern if we have to ration. But also we've known this for a full year now that the mortality rates really skyrocket and the number of people who lose their lives really go up when hospital systems get overwhelmed. And it's not so much the ICU beds. You can convert any bed into an ICU bed.
It's the fact that we don't have enough trained nurses and respiratory therapists and techs and doctors to take care of the sick. And then the mortality rates really skyrocket. So you're going to start seeing now this steep acceleration in the number of deaths going upwards of 3,000 deaths per day.
And that has two implications. One, it means that now, COVID-19 is the single leading cause of death in the United States on a daily basis, a place I never thought we would get to. And it means this will continue, causing this catastrophic loss of life.
So the point is, now, every American will know someone who is sick with COVID and potentially every American will start knowing someone who has lost their life from COVID, and that is just -- then this becomes a homeland security problem. It's not only a public health issue. WALKER: For those of us who are trying to hold on to some semblance of
hope, first off, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine may get U.K. regulatory approval within days. That's according to British media reports. Does that mean the U.S. could soon have a possible third COVID vaccine, and if so, how soon?
HOTEZ: I hope so. And not only the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, but the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. And then we have the Novavax vaccine. We have a recombinant protein vaccine a little later on. We're going to need those vaccines in order to vaccinate the U.S. population. I do not think the mRNA technology alone will be sufficient to vaccinate the U.S. population. So that is good news.
[17:44:59]
We haven't seen the data coming out of the AstraZeneca/Oxford trials of late, so hopefully it's robust enough. The FDA will green-light it too so we can start releasing that one through emergency use authorization as well, and then the J&J. We need these vaccines in order to vaccinate the U.S. population.
So, it is potentially good news, and that's really the important message, isn't it, that people should not have to lose their lives at this point. This is the time to hang on because vaccines are on the other side now, and no one has to lose their lives and could live a normal, healthy life once they're vaccinated.
WALKER: Yes. We need those vaccines and we need people to get vaccinated. Dr. Peter Hotez, appreciate your time. Thank you.
HOTEZ: Thank you so much.
WALKER: And a quick programming note, from peanut farmer to rocking the White House, see how America's 39th president used his passion for music to win the 1976 election. Catch the CNN film "Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President" next Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on CNN.
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WALKER: In 2020, we witnessed world-changing, paradigm-shifting events -- the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis, the social justice movement, and an unprecedented presidential election. CNN's Andy Scholes looks back at an unforgettable and challenging year in sports.
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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: A big part of sports is the emotional ups and downs, and in 2020, the highs were high, but the lows were as low as we've seen in a long time. From Kobe's death to big-time event cancellations to the coronavirus leaving stadiums empty, sports had a tough go of it this year.
The 2020 started off like any other year in sports.
[17:49:55]
UNKNOWN: And the Tigers of LSU, a team of destiny and a team for ages capturing the national title.
SCHOLES (voice-over): LSU won their first college football national championship since 2007, but then the sports world was dealt a devastating blow.
UNKNOWN: This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We're following very tragic, very sad breaking news. The NBA legend Kobe Bryant has died in a helicopter crash. He was only 41 years old.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The sports world mourning the loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others for weeks.
VANESS BRYANT, KOBE BRYANT'S WIFE: God knew they couldn't be on this earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together.
MICHAEL JORDAN, SIX-TIME NBA CHAMPION: When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died. Now he's got me and I have to look at another crying meme for the next --
SCHOLES (voice-over): When the Lakers eventually took the court, they held an emotional tribute.
In February, Patrick Mahomes would lead the Kansas City Chiefs on a comeback to win Super Bowl LIV over the 49ers. Andy Reid finally had his Super Bowl title and the Chiefs their first in 50 years.
PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: I followed my dreams and now I'm here winning the Super Bowl with all my teammates.
ANY REID, HEAD COACH, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: I could coach another 20 years with this group.
SCHOLES (voice-over): Soon after that, on March 11th, the entire sports world came to a stop.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: The NBA has just announced the season is going to be suspended.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The NCAA is indeed now canceling its men's and women's basketball tournaments over coronavirus fears.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The NBA, the first league to shut down, the NCAA tournament was canceled for the first time ever. Major League Baseball sent their players home from spring training. Sports everywhere was put on hold due to COVID-19 with no return in sight.
ADAM SILVE, NBA COMMISSIONER: Even if we're out for a month, even if we're out for six weeks, we could still restart the season.
SCHOLES (voice-over): For more than three months we had no sports to watch. Over the summer, events did start to slowly come back with NASCAR being the first to allow fans. The sports only black driver successfully campaigned NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag from its races, then Bubba Wallace became the suspected victim of a hate crime at Talladega Super Speedway.
UNKNOWN: NASCAR is investigating a noose found in the garage of driver Bubba Wallace.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The entire sports world and Wallace's peers rallying around him.
BUBBA WALLACE, NASCAR PROFESSIONAL DRIVER: Drivers wanted to show support of me.
SCHOLES (voice-over): In the end, the FBI determined the noose was a garage door pull that had been in the garage before Wallace was assigned to it.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: It looks increasingly like I'm going to be watching an unprecedented amount of sports on TV pretty soon.
SCHOLES (voice-over): In July, the NBA returned moving all operations to a bubble in Disney World. It was a great success with the league having zero positive COVID-19 tests for the nearly three months the teams were in the bubble.
The NHL and WNBA following the NBA's model also completing their seasons without positive tests, but at one point the NBA players nearly walked away from the successful restart in order to stand up for social justice.
BLITZER: NBA playoff games all three of them tonight have been postponed in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake.
SCHOLES (voice-over): In a show of solidarity with the NBA, teams across the WNBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball also halting play. Athletes in 2020 more than ever using their voice to encourage change.
UNKNOWNS: We, the National Football League, --
UNKNOWN: Believe black lives matter.
NNEKA OGWUMIKE, WNBPA PRESIDENT: We've always been about this fight. We're a league of 70 percent black women and we want to represent our communities as best we can.
GEORGE HILL, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER GUARD: It really woke the world up and let them know that, you know, we're serious. We need change. We need more love in the world.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The NBA playoffs did resume with Lebron James capturing his fourth NBA title and first for the Lakers since 2010.
LEBRON JAMES, NBA SUPERSTAR: To be able to get to the finish line, again, be able to cross it, it's just an unbelievable feeling.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The city of Los Angeles wasn't done celebrating in October after a rocky regular season dealing with outbreaks, the Dodgers winning their first World Series in 32 years beating the Rays at a neutral site in Arlington, Texas. About 11,000 fans were in attendance for the games. And while fans did return to sporting events in 2020, it looked much different.
UNKNOWN: It feels sad but we're going to make the best of it.
SCHOLES (on camera): College football saw conferences tackle the coronavirus in different ways. The Big 12, SEC, and ACC were determined to play and never wavered, while the Big 10 and PAC-12 postponed their seasons.
KEVIN WARREN, BIG 10 COMMISSIONER: We just believe collectively there is too much uncertainty at this point in time in our country to encourage our student athletes to participate in fall sports.
SCHOLES (voice-over): And nearly all conferences eventually decided to play in the fall but faced significant postponements and cancellations.
UNKNOWN: This week's slate of college football games is the hardest hit by the pandemic.
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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Eighteen games in all have been called off this week because of COVID.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The NFL also struggling to the finish line of their season dealing with cases on teams from week to week.
JOHN KING, CNN HOST: The fifth Tennessee Titans football player just testing positive for COVID-19 prompting the NFL to tweet the Steelers/Titans game will be moved to later in this season.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: The NFL is postponing tonight's game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Ravens confirm multiple cases of COVID.
SCHOLES (voice-over): No March madness. A masters in November. And big games played in empty stadiums, 2020 was a very different, challenging year. But with vaccines on the way there's hope the sports world will return to normal in 2021.
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