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House Votes Yes For COVID Relief, Senate Vote Due; U.S. COVID Cases: December Marks A COVID High; Biden Calls Out Key Agencies Hampering The Transition; Media Refocuses Its "Trump Lens" After Election; Republican Senators' Tough Choice On 2020's Closing Bills; Renewed Hope in First U.S. Epicenter; Spain's Vaccine Program Begins in Senior Care Homes; Emergency Vaccinations in Wuhan; Cuba to Impose Travel Restrictions Due to Rise in Cases; Saudi Rights Activist Gets Nearly Six Years in Person; China Moves to Crush Political Dissent in 2020. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 29, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton, live from CNN center in Atlanta.
Ahead, right here on CNN NEWSROOM. The U.S. House votes to give more money to Americans hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Now the ball is in the Senate's court.
Plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: For some agencies, our teams have received exemplary cooperation from the career staff in those agencies. From others, most notably the department of defense, we encountered obstruction from the political leadership of that department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Roadblocks, as tension between the Biden transition team and the Pentagon increases following stalled briefings.
Then this.
They were some of the first people in the United States to fight the virus nearly a year ago and now they are getting the ultimate weapon, the vaccine. Our CNN report, is next.
It has now been nearly a year since China first alerted the World Health Organization about a mysterious pneumonia detected in Wuhan which, of course, we now know was caused by the coronavirus.
But months until the full-on global calamity that has killed almost 1.8 million people, experts say this still isn't the possible worst possible pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EMERGENCY HEALTH PROGRAMS: This pandemic has been very severe, it's been -- it's spread around the world extremely quickly and has affected every corner of this planet. But this is not necessarily the big one.
This virus is very transmissible and it kills people and it has deprived so many people of loved ones. But its current case fatality is reasonably low in comparison to other emerging diseases. This is a wake up call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now despite the grim figures, almost 1.3 million Americans passed through U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday. That's the most since the start of the pandemic.
But it is only half as many as a year ago, which indicates many people did heed experts' advice and did stay home for Christmas.
Now this comes as the U.S. reports its highest number of COVID hospital admissions yet, more than 121,000 on Monday. And December is now by far America's deadliest month in this pandemic.
Meantime, financial help is on the way for millions of Americans. The new round of stimulus checks included the 900 billion dollar COVID relief package and those checks are expected to hopefully start going out this week.
And, of course, the battle between the president and congressional leaders is still raging. They're at odds over not just the amount of the stimulus but also a defense bill that President Trump vetoed.
The U.S. House voted on Monday to override that veto and to increase the COVID aid to 2,000 dollars. Those issues now go to the senate, where President Trump allies will have to make some tough decisions.
Here's Phil Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was just two votes on the house floor but it was also two specific demonstrations of where Donald Trump sits right now in the Republican Party.
Now you don't, obviously, want to read too much into a vote to override his veto of a major defense policy bill or a vote to sustain his request to increase direct payments in the COVID relief package from 600 dollars to 2,000 dollars. But it's hard not to pay attention to where Republicans in the house came down on those votes.
On the stimulus checks 130 Republicans voted against with the president wanted. On the national defense authorization act -- a bill that has been signed into law 59 consecutive years passed by congress with wide bipartisan majorities for 60 consecutive years -- well, the vast majority of Republicans sticking with their original vote in favor of the bill.
In other words, against president Trump.
So what does it all mean? Well, it's not an easy question to necessarily understand except for when it came to the defense policy bill, take a listen to what the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee said.
REP. MAC THORNBERRY (R-TEX 13TH DISTRICT): I would only ask that as members vote they put the best interests of the country first. There is no other consideration that should matter.
MATTINGLY: Look, there's no question that President Trump still demands loyalty and the House Republicans in particular are willing to give it to him in spades. Just watch what's played out in the wake of the election.
[01:05:00]
However, with some issues whether it's defense policy and in this case economic policy as well, they do appear more willing to split from the president than they have been in the past.
Now, how's that going to play out in the weeks ahead?
Well, we're going to get a test. Both of those measures are going to head over to the United States Senate.
The Senate is expected to vote to override the president's veto as well, Republicans on board with Democrats on that one.
What happens with the 2,000 dollar stimulus checks? Well, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn't weighed in yet, hasn't said specifically what he's going to do.
That will be the next interesting test where Republicans sit and where their president is on a daily basis.
MATTINGLY (On Camera): Phil Mattingly, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: So now Donald Trump's favorite newspaper seems to have now turned against him.
The "New York Post" published an editorial Monday urging him to give up his fight to overturn the election -- you see the headline there. It says, "Mr. President, stop the insanity. You lost the election."
The editorial goes on to say it's time to end this dark charade, you're cheering for an undemocratic coup.
The post is owned by Rupert Murdoch's news corporation, the same company that owns Fox News.
Anchor of "RELIABLE SOURCES" and CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, is with me now to talk about some of this. And Brian, I think it's worth it, right, to put it into context. What does it mean when a newspaper like the "New York Post" literally is saying enough is enough, this is over?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Look (ph), to see Rupert Murdoch's tabloid say this tablet say this, to see Trump's favorite newspaper growing up, saying this on the front page is a big deal.
But I think would be more important if Rupert's "Fox News" channel were saying the same thing.
The Murdoch media empire has been in pieces, "Fox News" is the most powerful piece but on "Fox News" once again Monday night there were lots of stories about the fight for election integrity -- that's the way they talk about it now.
They're not always claiming the election was stolen from Trump but they are focusing on allegations of fraud weeks after all of this has been litigated.
A recent "USA Today" Suffolk University poll found that 78 percent of Republicans believe that Biden is an illegitimate president elect. That is what "Fox" has done, "Fox" and other networks as well.
So the "New York Post" cover is important, it may be a signal from Rupert Murdoch to Trump.
But I think what's even more important is that many of these networks and websites are still promoting a fantasy that Trump might somehow be able to win a second term.
NEWTON: And it is a dangerous fantasy, isn't it, Brian? Because you just pointed out 78 percent of Republicans believe that somehow Biden did steal this election.
You wrote the book on this, literally, Brian. It's called "Hoax," and it's about this relation -- but it's true, it's about this relationship between an entity like "Fox News" and, as you said, now there are others.
What's the hangover from all of this?
STELTER: Well, I think the word that comes to mind is radicalization. What President Trump has done over the last four years has told his fans that nothing is definitely real, everything could be a hoax, the media is out to get you.
And that has radicalized not every voter, of course, but it has radicalized a part of his base.
And I think what the "New York Post" is doing on the front page is saying this is insane, stop the insanity. But it is an insanity that has been brought upon us in part by far right-wing media.
And I think it's important to differentiate and not paint with a broad brush because there are some outlets, some columnists, some hosts, who are really careful and are calling out the B.S. that's being spread in the wake of the election.
Then there are others including fringe networks like Newsmax and One America News that think there's a real profit opportunity here by stoking the idea that Trump was the real winner and that there is hope for him in the future.
And unfortunately, that's a lot of what this comes down to; profit, grift. That's why Trump has sent out hundreds of letters, emails, since election day asking for people to donate money to his -- what he calls his campaign, right?
NEWTON: Yes. And it's been working, of course.
STELTER: Yes.
NEWTON: And yet, the collateral damage is to the U.S. democracy. You can see that, just in that 78 percent of people, Republicans, believe that somehow this election was stolen.
I have to ask you though, Brian, so many of us in the media have taken a lot of shots over the last five years about the fact that the media built Trump into what he was. You can even go back to his years perhaps even in things like "The Apprentice" and say that.
And yet now are we seeing the dismantling of that image as well, by the media? Literally an emperor has no clothes type of moment?
STELTER: He is shrinking every single day, I think that's absolutely true. Lately, the president's been making videos, filming his own videos in the White House before he headed down to Mar-a-Lago and then posting them on social media.
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Why, why is he doing that? Well, he's partly doing that because the networks including Fox, won't just hand over airtime to him.
So he is the incredible shrinking outgoing president trying to find new ways to communicate because what he says is not as inherently newsworthy as it used to be.
That is why he is rarely, if ever giving interviews. He's not speaking with reporters in Q&A session. He's essentially in hiding in between his sessions of golf. And that is a testament to reality [audio distortion] actually (ph) having an effect.
I think what's happened in America is there are two parallel tracks. Most Americans have moved on, they've accepted the results of the election, they're not that interested in Trump anymore but then there is a hard-core base that is devoted to him. And many of those fans believe he actually he won the election. NEWTON: Right. And we'll wait to see how much of an effect he can
have after January 20th.
STELTER: After -- yes.
NEWTON: Brian Stelter, as always, thanks so much.
STELTER: Thank you.
NEWTON: If I don't get a chance, Happy New Year to you and yours. Bye.
STELTER: You too. Thanks.
NEWTON: Now U.S. President Elect Joe Biden is sharply critical of how agencies in the Trump Administration are dealing with his transition team.
Now he says they've encountered roadblocks, in his words, with just over three weeks to go until he takes office. Biden says he's not getting information from key agencies like the office of management and budget and the defense department. And in his view, it's nothing short of irresponsibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: For some agencies, our teams received exemplary cooperation from the career staff in those agencies. From others, most notably the department of defense, we encountered obstruction from the political leadership of that department.
And the truth is many of the agencies that are critical to our security have incurred enormous damage. Many of them have been hollowed out in personnel, capacity and in morale.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Michael Genovese is a political analyst and president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. He joins me now from Los Angeles.
Good to see you, Michael, really good.
And these are interesting times on Capitol Hill. If you could just parse it for us.
You have Republicans in congress and the senate, perhaps, defying Trump with votes, something so many still refuse to do rhetorically. Do you sense this is somewhat of a shift here?
MICHAEL GENOVESE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, PRESIDENT GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: A bit of a shift. But the Republican legislators has kind of a Sophie's choice; do I back to my president or do I risk my political career?
Because a lot of Republicans still fear Donald Trump but they fear him for one reason; his loyal base. And a lot of this has to do with 2024, you've got a least a dozen maybe 15 Republican senators who plan on running for president.
And so what role will Donald Trump be playing? Will he be a rival, will he be a kingmaker, will he be an albatross?
So you've got a lot of Republican senators who are walking on eggshells. And we know how difficult it is to walk on eggshells when you have no backbone. And that's where the Republicans are in the senate.
They will every once in a while rise up and take on Trump but they're usually afraid to. In this case, many of them feel they have no choice.
NEWTON: Well, and if they weren't on the defense bill, what next, right? Especially given the constituencies that many of these Republicans represent.
Let's talk a little bit about, though, I want to talk about that stimulus, the vote on the stimulus bill. The bottom line is there was collateral damage here.
How do you think tens of millions who are going to lose out on maybe even a week's worth of benefits, how are they going to react to this -- and I should say tens of millions of them, right, are Trump supporters.
GENOVESE: The human toll has already been devastating and it will continue to be so for a number of months now.
The economy is still in very bad shape and we need to give it a boost, we need to stimulate it, we need to get money into the hands especially of those who are unemployed, small businesses, restaurants.
Some of this money, yes, it's going to go to people who already have jobs and they may not spend it, they may putting it into savings accounts et cetera. But there are still a lot of people who are suffering.
And a lot of those people are Trump supporters. And so you've got, again, those voters pulled in different ways.
You've got Donald Trump, especially since the November 4th election behaving in a way that is purely and totally Donald Trump. Everything's about him, how will it work out for me -- he has abandoned his constituency, he's abandoned his base. I don't know that they're going to abandon him. They have remained incredibly loyal even throughout this post-election soap opera.
And so you've got Trump as a lame duck, three more weeks to be president. He's a bit of a dead duck because he's missing in action, refuses to be president. He also might be a bit of a Daffy Duck right now which is madness about trying to overturn a democratic election.
Hard to support a president who's doing that. NEWTON: Yes. And given where we are here in Georgia, right, how do you think all of this will play out?
[01:15:00]
GENOVESE: Well, it can't help the Republican candidates. They will have a ton of money they're outspending the Democrats by a great deal and money can get you something but it can't get you everything.
And in many respects, I think Donald Trump is putting a damper on the Republicans in the Georgia race because both of them desperately need a little boost, it's a very tight race. Money's been helping but Donald Trump has been hurting them.
And so, I think Donald Trump has been on the whole, a negative impact for the Republicans in Georgia.
NEWTON: And likely, Republicans in this state now know that and are wondering what to do next when it comes to these kinds of votes.
It is so stunning to me, Michael, look -- you and I just talked about Donald Trump again. We are just a little bit more than three weeks left in his presidency and yet Biden still seems to be in that Trumpian shadow. What do you think it will take to lift that?
We heard from M.J. Lee telling us that look, very bluntly Biden said look, we're being hampered especially defense and national security issues, this transition has not been good. But what does it mean that we are still all talking about Trump, because we have to talk about him, he is still consequential?
GENOVESE: Because he forces himself into the public arena every second. He is a showman putting on a show. And for Joe Biden, he's facing one of the most fraught transitions in modern history.
Think of the overflow in his inbox; pandemic, the economy, divided government, divided people, racial problems. And so Donald Trump's non-cooperation makes it more difficult for him to hit the ground running when he becomes president. That may be intentional.
And so rooting it seems against Joe Biden is in a way rooting against America and Donald Trump has been doing that. He's the arsonist who's trying to set fire to the house before he leaves, thankfully he's had trouble lighting that match.
NEWTON: Yes. And it'll be interesting to see, as you said, going back to that backbone of the Republicans what unfolds in the next three weeks.
You didn't even add Russia to that inbox. And considering we've got both -- we've got so much, literally, you put it well there.
GENOVESE: Yes.
NEWTON: Michael Genovese, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
GENOVESE: Thank you, Paula.
NEWTON: Now U.S. hospitals are running out of space for COVID patients and experts say the pressure on health care workers will continue to intensify even more after the holidays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If you put more pressure on the system by what might be a post-seasonal surge because of the traveling and the likely congregating of people for the good warm purposes of being together for the holidays, it's very tough for people to not do that.
And yet even though we advise not to, it's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Two million in two weeks sounds really impressive but I did some back of the envelope calculations here.
And at that rate, for a two-dose vaccine, for us to reach 80 percent of herd immunity in the U.S. through vaccination, it will take us 10 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Ten years. That alarming prediction there from emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen who echoes what other health experts are saying. That the COVID vaccine rollout in the U.S. is just far too slow and it's time to pick up the pace.
Now so far more than 11 million doses have been delivered around the country though just more than 2 million have been administered.
As CNN's Athena Jones reports the delay comes as the country faces an even bigger infection surge in the days and weeks ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think we're going to see a spike.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As America braces for a post-holiday surge in new coronavirus infections, December marks the deadliest months of a pandemic that has seen a staggering death toll.
One out of every 1,000 Americans losing their lives to COVID-19, with no end in sight.
This as the TSA says nearly 1.3 million people passed through airport security checkpoints on Sunday alone, the number of passengers hitting near or more than a million for six of the past 10 days. Millions more hitting the road over the holiday.
FAUCI: 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. It might actually get worse.
JONES: Concerns mounting as hospitals across the country report more than 100,000 COVID-19 patients for the 26th day in a row.
Six states setting record hospitalizations Sunday, as the country approaches 20 million COVID infections.
An influential model from the University of Washington now projecting more than 567,000 deaths by April.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Well, here we go.
JONES: Meanwhile, vaccinations continue to be rolled out nationwide. So far about 2.1 million doses of vaccine have been administered of the nearly 11.5 million delivered. A far cry from the 20 million people Operation Warp Speed estimated would be inoculated this month.
WEN: It's also less than one percent of what we need in order to get to herd immunity. So I think what we need at this point is not a justification of how well we're doing but rather an understanding of what went wrong.
It's expected that there are hiccups, that there are bumps in the road but what were they? Because without that, we won't have the course correction that's needed.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER U.S. FDA COMMISSIONER: The idea that we're going to get to 20 million vaccines -- vaccinations by the end of the year, that's probably unrealistic at this point.
JONES: More vaccine candidates are making their way through the pipeline. Novavax announcing today the beginning of phase III trials in the U.S. and Mexico.
This as nursing home residents in New Jersey began being inoculated today. Like 103-your old Mildred Clements (phonetic) who New Jersey's governor said survived the 1918 flu pandemic.
GOV. PHIL MURPHY, (D-N.J.): Today, she represents the resiliency and fighting spirit of New Jersey.
JONES: So did residents and staff at the Kirkland Washington nursing home that was a early epicenter of the pandemic.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I think healing will take a long time. But to know that it won't happen again is amazing.
JONES: To put this all in perspective, more than five and-a-half people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the U.S. this month. That's more cases than France and the United Kingdom combined have
reported in the entire pandemic and it's likely an undercount. Because half the states didn't report new cases or new death numbers on Christmas day.
JONES (On Camera): Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Ann Remoin is a professor of the department of epidemiology at UCLA and she joins me now from Los Angeles.
And it's so sad for me to talk to you in the sense that the last time we did, several months ago, we didn't think that we might be in this tragic situation in the United States. And yet at the same time it's kind of mixed with a lot of hope, right, because we didn't think we'd have a vaccine either.
Still, where you are in California, we just heard Nic talking about it, how dire is the situation?
ANNE RIMOIN, PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, the situation is extremely dire. We are at a situation where our ICUs have zero percent 0 percent capacity, we have ambulances not able to offload patients into hospital emergency rooms.
So we are really at the precipice of having to ration care across Southern California. And it's a really serious situation, we have cases that just continue to skyrocket.
It is like a snowball gathering momentum and rolling downhill very, very quickly. And there's no sign of stopping. So it is a very concerning situation here, right here in Los Angeles.
NEWTON: As an epidemiologist, I'm interested to hear from you. Do you think this speaks to something we did or didn't do in the behavior or does this speak to the insidious nature of this virus?
[01:25:00]
RIMOIN: I think it's a little bit of both. So we know that what we needed to do was to really shut down here in California to be able to keep the amount of virus down.
And unfortunately, the measures just were never quite severe enough because we were trying to balance economy with public health. It's a very, very difficult balance.
But as a result, we really did see the virus continue to spiral out of control.
Of course, we know that the surge that we warned about at Thanksgiving time was going to happen and here we are, just a month later, with cases doing exactly what we suggested would happen. But there is the potential of a more contagious variant that may be spreading here in California. The L.A. County Department of Health is looking for it, we have many different labs looking for right now and it may not just be these variants that we've been talking about-- South Africa, U.K. -- we could have variants here that are just as contagious but we're not looking very well for it.
NEWTON: No, and it does have to be identified. And I'm also fascinated to learn that it's because this virus is so pervasive right now throughout the globe which is why these variants have been allowed to really flourish.
I want to get to vaccinations. Of course, they're promising but how important is it that the pace picks up ? I've been stunned by some medical experts coming on CNN saying look, at this pace it'll take five years.
RIMOIN: That's exactly right. Dr. Leana Wen just recently said she had done a little back of the envelope calculation and demonstrated that it would take years to be able to vaccinate as many people as need to be vaccinated at the pace that we're going right now.
It's not -- unfortunately, it's not terribly surprising to see this happen because we've been talking about for months how important the logistics of vaccine distribution is. It's not just about having a vaccine, it's about having it in people's arms.
And public health officials, public health specialists, have been warning and ringing the warning bells for months about how difficult this is going to be. So I'm really hoping that we're going to be able to ramp up quickly.
But unfortunately, the states don't have the money to deal with it, the local governments don't have the money to deal with it. And so, right now it's not very clear how we're going to get hundreds of millions of doses into people's arms.
NEWTON: And yet that is so critical to containing this pandemic at this point, especially in the United States when you have hospitalizations already so high.
Do you think there needs to be some settling of scores here, really, with this virus? What has surprised you about the way it has behaved?
Because in so many jurisdictions now -- and this is going to be the argument from many people where there even been lockdowns, they don't seem to be working. We just discussed in the U.K. where this new variant has really thrown a curved ball our way?
RIMOIN: Well, I think that the things that we know can make a difference we have to double down on. And that is social distancing, masks, hand hygiene. But also really people staying at home unless it's absolutely urgent for people to go.
I just saw on CNN a segment where we talked about how much travel was occurring here. We had what -- 1.3 million people just passing through airports the other day? This is part of the problem. People are continuing to travel, they're continuing to move around.
The cell phone data showed -- that we saw in Los Angeles showed that mobility had not decreased significantly. So people, I think, are so pandemic fatigued that they're not doing what they need to do.
If we have strains of this virus that are circulating that are more contagious, it means that we have to do more of this, not less.
Vaccines are coming, we do have light at the end of the tunnel, they're starting to get into people's arms. But it is going to be a long road and there are a lot of lives that will be able to be saved if people just stay home unless it's absolutely necessary.
NEWTON: Yes. It's such a good point that you make. It's modeling, it's what you do for a living but that's the fact, right? You need to have the restrictions that match the virus really, infection for infection.
And if that doesn't happen -- transmission for transmission -- if that doesn't happen, we're all in big trouble.
Anne Remoin, really appreciate you joining us.
RIMOIN: It's my pleasure.
NEWTON: Now nearly 10 months ago, the Seattle area was the first in the U.S. to face a major outbreak of the coronavirus.
But with the vaccine, health workers at an embattled nursing home now have hope.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I can't express how I feel right now, I didn't even feel the needle. But what I feel right now is a new life, a new beginning, but a better life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:32:17]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR W.H.O. HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAMME: The planet is fragile. We live in an increasingly complex things global society. These threats will continue.
If there's one thing we need to take from this pandemic and all of the tragedy and loss is that we need to get our act together. We need to get ready for something that may even be more severe in the future. And this, we must honor those we've lost by getting better at what we do every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Chilling words there. A strong warning from the World Health Organization on what the world must learn from this COVID pandemic. When the coronavirus was first detected in the United States, the
Seattle area was the epicenter of America's outbreak.
Sara Sidner returns to the nursing home that first confronted the devastating battle that is still being fought today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALICE CORTEZ, NURSING MANAGER, LIFE CARE CENTER OF KIRKLAND: That feels good.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These were some of the very first people in the United States to go to war with a new virus without weapons to fight it.
Ten months into the pandemic they are finally getting the most powerful weapon available -- a vaccine.
(on camera): What is this day like for you?
CORTEZ: What I feel right now is a new life, a new beginning but better life.
SIDNER: This was the first epicenter of Americas deadly coronavirus outbreak.
(on camera): What was your most difficult day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: March 4th.
SIDNER (voice over): Registered nurse Chelsea Earnest cannot get the memory of what happened that day out of her head.
CHELSEA EARNEST: That was the night there was like five ambulances in the parking lot.
SIDNER: Patients were dying or needed to be hospitalized. Ultimately, 39 patients died; 10 died at the facility.
(on camera): Whose job was it to call the family members?
CHELSEY EARNEST, NURSING DIRECTOR: There were many that I had to call either say they were going out to hospital, or that they did not make it.
SIDNER (voice over): The trauma of those days in March and the family members' cries hosts them all. That same months, several members and staff spoke to CNN.
Life Care Center said in the first few days they begged government agencies for help and received little.
(on camera): Did you get what you need when you needed it?
EARNEST: No. No. SIDNER (voice over): Testing took days to get results then. Now they
have a rapid test that takes minutes. Initially, the staff was blamed for not controlling the COVID outbreak by just about everyone.
EARNEST: I got threats.
SIDNER: What kind of threats?
EARNEST: All kinds of death threats. We ended up getting security.
SIDNER (voice over): And soon, threats of a loss in funding and a fine of $611,000 unless the facility resolved problems found by inspectors.
Federal inspectors said Life Care fail to rapidly identify and manage all residents putting them in immediate jeopardy. State inspectors reported similar finding. Life Care Center appealed.
[01:35:04]
NANCY BUTNER, LIFE CARE NORTHWEST DIVISION: We knew what we had done was the best we could have done.
SIDNER: In September, a state administrative judge largely agreed saying the state provided relatively little evidence that the facility actually failed to meet any expected standard of care or failed to follow public health guidelines. The federal case is still pending.
Ten months after the initial chaos of the outbreak, the closest we could get was a look from the outside in. In-person visits are still forbidden.
The chairs outside patients' windows used by families to communicate in March are now a semi permanent fixture here. This facility is COVID-free right now, but several of the nursing homes, Nancy Butner oversees are not.
BUTNER: There is not a day that goes by where I do not get a phone call or message that we have a new positive patient or staff.
(on camera): Coronavirus still killing patients?
BUTNER: Absolutely.
SIDNER: Still sickening staff.
BUTNER: Yes.
SIDNER (voice over): Which is why this day is one of the most hopeful days they've had. But for this physician's assistant, the day was bittersweet.
CHRISTY CARMICHAEL, PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT, LIFE CARE CENTER OF KIRKLAND: I have one resident who last week asked me if she could get the vaccination. I said sure you can. Unfortunately, she passed away.
So I did promise her that she would get it. It's just sad that she did not get to see this today.
SIDNER (on camera): A hard day for her but ultimately a good day because she and other staff and residents all got the vaccine today.
Now, we should mention that the nurses here, when this all first happened, knew once they figured out that it was coronavirus that other facilities across America and the world would be dealing with something similar.
And indeed, if you look at the numbers, that is just what happened. The federal agency that oversees Americas nursing homes now reports that more than 86,000 nursing home residents have died of COVID-19 here.
Guys, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And our thanks to Sara Sidner there who spent the better part of the year documenting the, you know, really the tragedy of COVID-19 across this country.
The hope, right -- we are at that point of hope. Vaccination campaigns are picking up steam around the world.
Pfizer BioNTech says it will distribute 200 million doses of its vaccine across the E.U. by September. Belgium began its rollout at three retirement homes Monday including one in the town where the vaccine is made.
A 96-year-old man there was the first to get the shot. He said it made him feel 30 years younger.
Italy has also launched its campaign. Some Italian politicians are complaining that Germany, which is home to BioNTech is getting more than its fair share of the vaccine.
Meantime, challenges are to be expected in what is now a massive undertaking such as distributing vaccines right across Europe and delivery of a new batch in Spain was held up by a temperature issue that now apparently has been resolved.
Now nursing home residents are among the first to get the shots there. Al Goodman has more from Madrid.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Just A day after Spain started its nationwide coronavirus vaccination program, there's already a delay.
The Spanish health ministry recording on Monday that the pharmaceutical company Pfizer says there was a problem at Pfizer's factory in Belgium in loading and shipping the next set of doses to Spain. So they are delayed until Tuesday. This after the optimism as the program started on Sunday at senior care homes across the nation, including this one in Madrid, where an 87-year-old Spanish woman, a retired nurse told CNN she had never in her long career given a vaccine as important as this coronavirus one.
And a 93-year-old British woman who says she lives here because her son lives in Madrid said she was happy to get the vaccination, but she is not sure what's coming next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From doctors to politicians to the man on the street. Nobody really knows, do they? What is going to happen? But we all hope and pray.
WIRE: Spain has been one of the hardest hit countries by the coronavirus. Both in terms of the number of cases, more than 1.8 million, and in the number of deaths around 50,000. But the Spanish Health Minister reiterated on Monday reiterated his optimism that by the end of August some 60 to 70 percent of Spaniards will have been immunized and the worse of the crisis will be over.
Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, a year after detecting the first ever cases of COVID-19 Wuhan, China is rolling out an emergency vaccination program. Details and a live report up next.
[01:39:45]
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NEWTON: Now with COVID cases rising all over the world, parts of Asia and Australia are making changes to their New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney. The famous fireworks display will still go on as planned, but officials are banning large crowds on the waterfront. The move comes as the city fights to contain a recent cluster of infection.
South Korea meantime is seeing its worst outbreak to date. The country reported 40 deaths on Monday, a new daily high. Officials say a vaccine could be rolled out in the first quarter of next year.
But in Wuhan, China where the virus was first detected, authorities have already begun the emergency use of COVID vaccine.
CNN's Selina Wang is live in Tokyo.
I mean what do we know about these vaccination plans. I have to say it's still hard to believe that they're getting the vaccine, less than a year to when this outbreak really began and of course, then we have that first shipment of the vaccine to South Korea as well?
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, that's right. It is hard to believe that it's been almost exactly one year since China first reported cases of the coronavirus to the World Health Organization.
And now Wuhan, ground zero of the pandemic is starting to vaccinate key groups of people. Now, China currently has five COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are in phase 3 clinical trials. Authorities say that more than 1 million doses of vaccines have been distributed in China although international health experts continue to question the transparency, efficacy and safety of China's vaccines.
Now, life in Wuhan and much of China have largely returned to normal although the country is still dealing with these sporadic outbreaks.
Government officials have said that they plan to vaccinate 50 million people before the lunar new year holiday in February.
And meantime you mentioned South Korea. On Christmas day, South Korea- U.S. military bases received their batch of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. And today, the U.S. Forces Korea started to vaccinate frontline health workers, first responders and the command team.
South Korea is actually as one of the four overseas locations that were part of the Department of Defense's initial phase distribution plan, for the vaccine. Now the vaccine is voluntary, but the commander has encouraged all eligible individuals to take it, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and where you are there in Japan as while they're still dealing with a surge in cases. And what's interesting there is what they've warned about the new variant appearing in that country.
WANG: Absolutely, Paula. There is heightened concern here because as you say, not only are we experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, often reporting daily record highs, and numbering in the thousands.
Japan is also continuing to discover, new variants of coronavirus. They've reported several cases of the U.K. variant that's potentially more contagious.
And now Japan has confirmed its first case of the variant from South Africa, coming from a woman in her thirties who had recently traveled to the country. Japan has already banned until the end of January, entry of nonresident foreign nationals.
[01:45:02]
WANG: And Paula, it comes as no surprise that when it comes to New Year's holiday celebrations here, the prime minister is urging people to have a silent and socially distanced one.
NEWTON: Silent and socially distanced. They will be joining others having a very quiet New Year's Eve, I hope so.
Selina Wang in Tokyo for us, thanks so much.
Now to Cuba, where the government will restrict incoming flights from several countries and tighten border restrictions. That's after a rise in new COVID cases on the island.
Patrick Oppmann reports from the Cuban capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Cuban health officials on Monday said that starting in January, they'll begin to reduce the number of flights coming from countries that have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic like the United States, Mexico, Panama and the Bahamas.
Cuba recently has seen a surge in new cases and officials say that most of those new cases, more than 70 percent, or people coming in to this country from abroad, already infected bringing the coronavirus illness with them.
And so that by reducing the number of flights, and reducing the number of travelers coming in on those flights it should help Cuba begin to get the spread of this pandemic once again under control.
Cuba for most of 2020 was under lockdown, which kept the number of new cases here very, very low, compared to much of the rest of the region. But had a major impact on the economy as there was no tourism.
As Cuba has begin to reopen up out of necessity, to help the economy once again grow, they have seen near the number of cases slowly start to rise. As we've gotten into the holiday season, when many Cuban Americans frankly from Florida have begun to return to the island.
That is when officials they've seen a surge. On Monday they said they had a record number of new cases, 229 new cases. And that has led them to first announce that travelers will be required to show a negative PCR test within 72 hours of their travel.
And then on Monday, officials said that they would actually begin to reduce flights from a list of countries, that have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus.
This is a turnaround for Cuba, which officials here have said that they felt that they had the virus under control, that they felt they could manage it.
But what they have seen as has been the case in so many other countries, is that by opening up too quickly, once again that has led to a reset.
Cuba while not going back to a full lockdown, will begin to reduce the number of travelers that can come to this island. Patrick Oppmann, CNN -- Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now investigators are still trying to figure out a motive for the national bombing on Christmas morning. What the suspect told one of his neighbors, just a few days before the explosion. That's next.
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NEWTON: Police have released new body cam footage from the moment that powerful explosion went off in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Incredible destruction there. More than 40 buildings were damaged when that RV exploded on Christmas morning. Eight people were hurt, thankfully none seriously.
[01:49:55]
NEWTON: Police say 63-year-old Anthony Warner killed himself in the blast, but they don't know why.
A neighbor says Warner told him last week, he would be so famous, Nashville would never forget him.
CNN's Martin Savidge has the latest on the investigation.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the blast that shook an entire city and captured the attention of entire country.
The accounts of the first officers on the scene before the blast, only add to the mystery of the man believe police was inside that RV, playing a recording (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can hear message,
OFFICER TYLER LUEILLEN, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: There is a large bomb within this vehicle, your primary objective is to evacuate.
SAVIDGE: There was also the music, the 1964 hit single "Downtown"
Officer James Wells, Inside heard the human, had a voice inside of him, told him to turnaround.
And as I'm walking back to our topic now, obviously orange and then I hear a loud boom.
SAVIDGE: Six metro national police officers are considered heroes for going door to door and warning residents to get out before the blast.
And some, I'm wondering, if there is there significance about where the explosion occurred . in front of an AT&T telephone facility. The blast knocking other curtailing phone and internet coverage to much of the region. Did the alleged bomber have a paranoia of the new 5G service, something wildly talked about online.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not in a position where we can speculate on that now.
SAVIDGE: This new CNN video shows federal agents combing through the rubble three days after the blast. Authorities identified 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner as the alleged perpetrator of the Christmas day bombing. And are still seeking information about his motivations.
DOUG KORNESKI, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, MEMPHIS FIELD OFFICE: We are still following leads, but right now there is no indication that any other persons were involved.
SAVIDGE: The realty company where he did freelance I.T works said earlier this month the alleged bomber told them he was retiring.
In the community where he lived, residents say the first sign something was wrong was when law enforcement trucks showed up at his home Friday night.
Neighbors say they knew about the RV seen here on Google Street View at his house that appears to match the one captured by security cameras in downtown Nashville at 1:22 a.m. Christmas day, hours before it exploded.
MARCO, NEIGHBOR: He started moving here like about a month ago but before that he never moved at all.
SAVIDGE: Authorities said the alleged bomber was not previously known to them
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was not on our radar
SAVIDGE: Somehow he was able to gather the components and material to make his powerful bomb without ever triggering warning signs to law enforcement
ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Unfortunately, it's not that hard in this country to assemble the chemicals and the equipment that you need to construct an improvised explosive device.
SAVIDGE (on camera): It took an army of investigators about 48 hours to determine that Anthony Warner was the person behind the bombing. But it is very clear it's going to take authorities much longer to determine why?
Martin Savidge, CNN -- Nashville, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: A Saudi activist who fought to give women the right to drive in the kingdom has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison. She was arrested more than two years ago and refused to be intimidated. Arwa Damon, has the latest on her case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Women's rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul was not tried in normal criminal court. She was tried in what's known as a specialized criminal court in Saudi Arabia. This is a court that is normally reserved for terrorism and national security cases.
Loujain was being accused of speaking to foreign embassies, to other activists that were based overseas and to a number of human rights organizations. She was jailed back in 2018, a few weeks before the Saudi government reversed its ban on female drivers, and trying to get that reversed was actually at the forefront of Loujain's women's rights campaign. During her stay in prison, according to her family and her defense (ph), she was tortured, she was sexually harassed and there are also reports that she was sexually abused. The Saudi government has denied all of those allegations. But even behind bars, Loujain Al-Hathloul has remained a voice for Saudi women's rights activists.
And now she has finally received her sentence, she has been sentenced to just under six years in prison. But with time already served, and with a suspension, a 2 year and 10-month-suspension she could be freed as early as February.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
[01:54:51]
NEWTON: Now in the day ahead, Hong Kong quarters expected to sentence a teen activist who was found guilty of desecrating the Chinese flat.
Now, last month Tony Chung was convicted of tossing the flag to the ground during a protest in 2019. He was also found guilty of unlawful assembly and now faces up to three years in jail for both fences. Chung was a member of a now-disbanded student group, that called for Hong Kong's independence from China.
Meantime, a court in Shenzhen, China says it will wait to sentence 10 activists who tried to flee by boat to Taiwan. Their families accuse authorities of staging a secret trial, blocking journalists and diplomats. And it's all part of a broad crackdown on pro democracy activists in Hong Kong this year.
CNN's Ivan Watson has more.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The young faces of Hong Kong's democracy movement, facing the next year behind bars.
Part of a broader crackdown on opposition lawmakers, activist and students accused of everything from terrorism, to unauthorized assembly. Voices that until recently, were tolerated in this former British colony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Hong Kong has fundamentally changed.
WATSON: Lawyer Anthony Daperan (ph) has written books about the city's protest movements.
ANTHONY DAPERAN, LAWER: There were really no off limits topics in Hong Kong, up until this year. But now this year after the national security law, all of a sudden there are slogans that are legal, topics that are slogans that are illegal, that are limits for public discussion, books that can't be published anymore.
WATSON: Hong Kong remains the freest corner of modern-day China, thanks to pledge Beijing made to maintain a one country--two systems arrangement for 50 years. After Britain's departure in 1997.
But last year the city plunged into turmoil when peaceful pro- democracy demonstrations gave way to bitter violence. After the chaos of 2019 -- 2020 has been Beijing's year to restore order. A new national security law drafted by the communist party in secret, gave police new powers to crack down on dissent. Riot police, now swoop in on anyone who dares to protest in the streets.
Police also busted newspaper publisher, Jimmy Lai for allegedly colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security, they raided his offices.
JIMMY LAI, ENTREPRENEUR AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST: I think China one with the intimidation, the effect is very strong, already. this very strong enemy.
Citing the coronavirus pandemic, officials postponed to Hong Kong legislator: elections to.
Hong Kong's legislative council was hollowed out Further. When four lawmakers were stripped of their seats, for being unpatriotic, the rest of the opposition resigned en masse.
Fearing arrest, a growing number are fleeing into self imposed
Including former pro democracy lawmaker Nathan Law, now in the U.K.
JIMMY LAI, ACTIVIST: We've seen our freedom of speech and freedom of assembly being taken away and it really shows that in 2020 Hong Kong people are not just suffering from a public health crisis but a complete crackdown from an autocracy.
WATSON: In her annual address to some empty opposition chairs in the legislature, the appointed chief executive Carrie Lam praised the national security law for restoring order and stability in the streets of Hong Kong.
Since the first days of the controversial law, Lam insisted, Hong Kong's basic freedom would remain intact.
CARRIE LAM, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE: We will only target an extremely small minority of people who have breached the law.
WATSON: Some freedoms do still differentiate this city from tightly controlled mainland China. Residents still have the freedom to worship and the great Chinese firewall which so strictly censors the Internet in the mainland has yet to be extended to envelop this region.
But 2020 maybe remembered as the year when Hong Kong's organized political opposition was all but crushed.
Ivan Watson, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And that does it for us here at CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for watching.
I'm Paula Newton. I will be right back with more news after a short break. [01:59:26]
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