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At Least 2.1 Million Vaccine Doses Administered in U.S.; U.S. Reports December Has Highest Monthly Death Toll; Investigators Identify Nashville Bomber; U.S. Troops in South Korea Receive Vaccine; Russia Threatens to Jail Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny; Churches Play a Pivotal Role in Georgia Runoff; "New York Post" to Trump, "Stop the Insanity". Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 29, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Paula Newton live from Atlanta, 2 am on the East Coast, 11 pm out west. I want to thank everyone for joining us now.
Two big votes in the U.S. House of Representatives are sending both support and a stinging rebuke to the U.S. president. Lawmakers from both parties voted Monday to override President Trump's veto of a sweeping defense bill.
They also voted by smaller margins to increase the COVID relief checks from $600 to $2,000, supported by the president. Those issues go to the Senate, where President Trump's Republican allies will have some tough decisions to make.
Stimulus checks from the $900 billion coronavirus relief package are expected now to start going out this week. This is all happening as the U.S. faces its highest number of COVID hospital admissions yet. More than 121,000 people at this hour in hospitals with COVID. Over, of course, 1,700 deaths reported on Monday alone.
Meantime, President Trump is staying largely out of sight at his Florida resort where he seems more focused on trying to overturn the election than actually doing his job. Here's Kaitlan Collins.
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TRUMP: It really is a disgrace.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After blasting it for days, President Trump gave in and signed the pandemic relief bill overnight ending a drama that he created while getting nothing in return for his theatrics.
TRUMP: I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000. COLLINS: Trump threatened to derail the $900 billion bill in part over the size of stimulus checks surprising his own staff who had spent weeks negotiating it.
But he finally signed it at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida Sunday night without getting what he demanded despite promising on the campaign trail to be a deal maker.
TRUMP: Great deals. We only make great deals. America first.
COLLINS: Trump's signing delay caused two government unemployment programs to run dry guaranteeing a lapse in benefits for millions of Americans.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Because of Trump's shenanigans there was a one week delay.
COLLINS: In addition to funding the government through September, the package provides billions for vaccine distribution, funding for schools and money for small businesses. Republicans are practically begging Trump to sign it.
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.
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COLLINS: Not all of the president's allies were relieved he gave in. Referencing his efforts to contest the election, a senior White House official asked CNN why should any of his supporters fight for him when he quit on trying to get them more than a measly $600?
Others in the GOP were fearful his efforts could hurt the party ahead of a critical Senate runoff in Georgia where Republican candidates were already touting the bill.
SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): And I'm so proud to be able to bring that relief back to Georgia.
COLLINS: Trump announced he'll hold a rally for David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler next week though some Republicans are bracing it to be more about his election loss than their race.
TRUMP: Because we're all, we're all victims. Everybody here, all these thousands of people here tonight.
COLLINS: As he vacations in Palm Beach, the White House has insisted Trump is holding many meetings and calls though she was spotted by CNN cameras on the golf course again today.
Given all his other efforts to overturn the election have failed, sources say Trump is now laser focused on causing a disruption January 6th when Congress meets to ratify Joe Biden's win.
The process is only procedural but, because it's overseen by the vice president, Mike Pence, Trump will be looking for loyalty from his top deputy.
Hinting at a possible spectacle, the president tweeted, "See you in Washington, D.C., on January 6th. Don't miss it. Information to follow."
But even the president's allies are growing tired of his efforts. "The New York Post" editorial board, which has been friendly to Trump his entire presidency, is now urging him to "stop the insanity," writing, "You had every right to investigate the election but, let's be clear, those efforts have found nothing."
COLLINS: On top of all of that, Republican congressman Louis Gohmert has now filed a lawsuit against the vice president, Mike Pence, in another far-reaching attempt to try to overturn the results of the election that, of course, has basically zero chance of being successful, basically arguing that what Pence's is on January 6th, when Congress does meet, is more than a procedural one.
Of course, we know that is certainly not the case. But a question is, what kind of pressure does this put on the vice president, who is trying to balance his future political ambitions with his loyalty to the president, who we have seen has lashed out at people who have crossed him by acknowledging reality lately? Kaitlan Collins, CNN, traveling with the president in Florida.
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NEWTON: U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden meantime is sharply critical of the Trump administration's handling of the transition in a spar with just over 3 weeks until he is sworn in. Biden says his team is getting stonewalled by key agencies and it's affecting their work on national security and budgeting.
President Trump still has not conceded defeat, remember, and he did not authorize cooperation with Biden until 20 days after the election.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget.
Right now, we just are not getting all the information that we need for the ongoing and from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. it is nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility.
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NEWTON: Caroline Heldman is a Democratic strategist and associate professor of politics at Occidental College. She joins me now from Los Angeles.
We will get to Joe Biden, president-elect, in one moment. It is good to see you, first and foremost. I want to let you know the president, Donald Trump, tweeting at this hour, never a dull moment. He is saying, give the people $2,000 and not $600. They have suffered enough, of course, no kidding.
Such a strange situation in the sense that he's actually now siding with Bernie Sanders, who was threatening to filibuster in the Senate unless those Americans get 2,000 bucks.
CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Paula, did you ever think you would see a day where Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump agreed on anything?
I must say I don't agree with Donald Trump on those things. But the $2,000 seems like a very basic thing that should be done, especially considering how paltry the support has been in the United States compared to other countries.
That said, Donald Trump coming in at the 11th hour and causing this level of chaos has put his party in a terrible position as they head into this crucial election in Georgia that will determine the balance of the Senate.
He has now put Mitch McConnell as either being a Grinch if he does not go for the $2,000 or being inept if he does not go for anything, right?
I would imagine that Mitch McConnell will have to respond, because Donald Trump has really put him in a corner.
NEWTON: Put him into a corner and, at this point, what has already gone on with the stimulus bill as presented, the president delayed signing it by 24 hours.
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NEWTON: At least that would've been the last point he could have signed it. So that Americans, his supporters even, tens of millions of his supporters would have gotten the unemployment checks they needed. This way they are going to actually miss out on perhaps as much as a week of benefits.
The question to you is, what is his Republican base hoping at this time?
This has turned into a huge debate, saying how much influence will this president, then former president, have over this Republican base?
HELDMAN: He is certainly trying to make an impact as he leaves office by saying $600 is not enough. Even though he had eight months to be part of this negotiation and he really wasn't.
It is important to note that Steve Mnuchin was negotiating on his behalf. All of this is a complete surprise. It's very chaotic. As you point out, it means it at least 12 million Americans are going to go, instead of getting 11 weeks of unemployment, they will now get 10.
Anyone who is suffering in this pandemic knows that not getting income for a week is incredibly impactful in everyday life. He is certainly -- the $2,000 will help Donald Trump but the unemployment, the delay, the chaos, threatening to veto it on Wednesday and then signing it on a Sunday, I think his supporters will take that into account.
I also think that he will be held responsible if the Republicans do not win both of these Georgia Senate elections.
NEWTON: That is crucial right now in the state. Before I let you go, we are still -- Joe Biden still in the shadow of Donald Trump with more than three weeks to go before he takes over as president. He was very blunt today, saying that his transition is being hampered.
How much of a hangover effect do you think this will have for the new administration?
HELDMAN: I think we all need to be very concerned about this, because if you look at the 9/11 Commission and their investigation of what enabled those attacks, they said one of the key factors was the Clinton administration did not properly share information with the Bush administration.
When we are in a transition period, we are especially susceptible to foreign interference. We just had the largest hack in the U.S. history. We don't even know the extent of that. To be playing politics right now during this transition really puts America in a weak position.
I wish that the loyalists, the 10 percent of the folks who Trump appointed, were being more cooperative. Joe Biden was very clear in saying that 90 percent of civil servants who were there for life, career civil servants, have been very helpful. It's the political appointees who are the problem.
NEWTON: A little more than three weeks to go and it will be suspenseful on all levels, including in this state, where they have that Senate runoff. Caroline Heldman in Los Angeles, thank you so much.
HELDMAN: Thanks, Paula.
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NEWTON: U.S. officials say more than 2 million COVID vaccine doses have now been administered right across the country. But health experts warn the rollout is still far too slow and they are urging the government to pick up the pace. As Nick Watt reports, this comes as the country faces an even bigger infection surge in the days and weeks ahead.
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sunday was the busiest air travel day of this pandemic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've gone to Utah in the past to ski. So it was a good idea. We're just trying to get out of the house.
WATT: The search for normalcy will be fatal for some. DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: We're very concerned and we always see a little bit of a bump after holidays and sometimes a large bump.
WATT: December is already the deadliest month of the pandemic. More than 65,000 lives lost. And --
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: As we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse.
WATT: More than one in a thousand Americans are already dead, killed by COVID-19. Up in Canada, by the way, that number is around one in 2,500. Six states now with record numbers of COVID patients in the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a limited number of ventilators. We have a limited number of ICU beds.
WATT: And California is now suffering the highest rate of new cases per capita in the country.
Now remember that Seattle area nursing home?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why don't you guys cover his legs up?
WATT: The nation's first hot spot, today residents and staff are getting vaccinated.
ALICE CORTEZ, NURSING MANAGER, LIFE CARE CENTER OF KIRKLAND: That feels good.
WATT: Just over 2 million Americans have now had their first dose.
ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, M.D., HHS ASSISTANT SECRETARY: The 2 million number is probably an underestimate.
WATT: But the goal was to vaccinate 20 million people by year's end.
SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: Well, the pace was slower than what was stated. That's probably unrealistic at this point.
WATT: Novavax says it's starting phase three trials of its vaccine in the U.S. and Mexico.
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Oxford AstraZeneca could receive approval for its vaccine in the U.K. within days. But the current rocky vaccine rollout proves a painful point: these elixirs will take time.
Here in Southern California, we will likely find out Tuesday if our stay-at-home order is going to be extended. It almost definitely will, because, for that order to be lifted, capacity in the ICUs has to rise above 15 percent. And right now, it's at zero -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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NEWTON: Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider is an internal medicine physician at the California Pacific Medical Center. She's joining me now from San Francisco.
Good to see you again. We have to talk first about California. We just heard Nick's report. The situation there is quite dire and it's not an exaggeration at this point.
What is your worst fear for California right now?
What do you think the warning is for the rest of America, going into now a New Year's holiday?
DR. SHOSHANA UNGERLEIDER, CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER: Paula, the state of California, like most of the country, is in a very bad spot. We just heard this. In November, we were at moderately high levels of community spread of COVID-19.
I think because we had and didn't really get hit hard early on, Californians may have had a false sense of confidence and people started to let their guard down because we have been in pretty good shape.
Many people traveled and gathered for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. So now we are in huge trouble. Right now, many hospitals have already run out of beds completely, which means all care is suffering.
And this is not just for people with COVID-19. People can only get high quality medical care if we have enough beds and hands and supplies to go around. People with heart attacks and strokes are being turned away from some of our hospitals in Southern California, for example.
I want people who travel for the holidays to know that you can still do something to stop the spread. You can actually quarantine at home for 10 to 14 days and get tested, knowing you may have been exposed to the virus during your travel and holiday gatherings. This will make a big difference.
NEWTON: It is so important to say that, as we speak about this, each and every person still has a role to play in whatever they do to try and slow the virus. In terms of the pace of vaccinations now, I mean we are also happy that they are here.
And yet if we continue to inoculate people at this pace, if we take far too long to make much of a difference, what do you think is the problem there?
UNGERLEIDER: Given that approximately 75 percent or so of the population needs to receive 2 doses of the vaccine to have herd immunity, that's around 500 million vaccinations. We've had only about 2 million so far. There has already been some reporting and distribution issues. And we only attempted to vaccinate people in centralized places, like
hospitals and long-term care facilities. Paula, if we stay at the rate we are going, 1 million vaccinations a week, it will take us 10 years to return to herd immunity.
We need to be prepared for the fact that it will be a slow process and at every step, there is potential for delayed rollout, whether it's at the state level with dose allocation or supply chain issues or storage problems.
It is going to be critical that we understand what these hang-ups are and the states get the funding and support that they need to carry out these hundreds of millions of vaccinations over the next many months, which will allow us to get our lives back.
NEWTON: Given what we've just discussed in politics, the stalling in Congress, it's a good point you make. It doesn't just take planning but it takes money to get these vaccines rolled out.
Before I let you go, we have to talk about the staggering death toll. In months of covering this pandemic, sometimes I feel it is just glossed over to an absolutely tragic point.
Some medical professionals today have been saying that very cynical Stalin line, reportedly, that one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.
How do we keep that from happening, as many people continue to tell us -- how do we keep this from actually being just statistics?
People seem not able to grasp the numbers.
UNGERLEIDER: I do think we have become numb to one of the largest mass casualty events in American history.
Something happens in the brain, when fatalities reach such high numbers, especially over a long period of time, many months. We forget that each of these numbers were individuals who had families and communities that cared for them.
I think with COVID-19 in particular, these largely preventable deaths have been hidden in hospitals and other facilities, even from their own family and friends.
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I think if more Americans could see the horror of what it's like to have a tube down your windpipe, being attached to a breathing machine, surrounded by faceless strangers in gowns and masks, I think they would be making different decisions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
This is really why so many health care workers have taken to social media to share stories about people dying in the ICUs. We are doing it because we want people to know just how real this is and for people to keep taking it very seriously. NEWTON: Yes, and I think you make such a good point and a fine point
of it. It is those health care professionals on the front lines who have to deal with that trauma every day in terms of what they are seeing in those hospitals.
Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time.
UNGERLEIDER: Thank you for having me.
NEWTON: Investigators are still trying to figure out a motive for the Nashville bombing on Christmas morning. What the suspect told one of his neighbors just a few days before the explosion. You will want to hear this.
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NEWTON: Investigators in Nashville, Tennessee, say they know who was behind the bombing early Christmas morning. They just don't know why. Anthony Quinn Warner was killed in the blast. His neighbor of 10 years said they made small talk just a few days before Christmas.
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RICK LAUDE, NASHVILLE BOMBING SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: I asked him, "Is Santa going to bring you anything good for Christmas?"
And he smiled and he said, "Oh, yes, I'm going to be famous. Nashville and the world will never forget me."
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NEWTON: Some residents and business owners in the blast zone will be allowed to inspect their property in the coming hours. For more on the investigation now, CNN's Shimon Prokupecz.
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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER (voice-over): Tonight, days after the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville , investigators are still trying to determine the motive of 63-year- old Anthony Quinn Warner. This dramatic video showing the RV exploding, shattering windows damaging more than 40 storefronts and injuring at least eight people. None of them seriously.
New CNN video from the scene shows the destruction. FBI agents and ATF agents sifting through mountains of debris in the street. Fire alarms still sounding within buildings.
DAVID RAUSCH, DIRECTOR, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: He was not on our radar. He was not someone that was identified as a person of interest for the bureau. And so, we were not familiar with this individual until this incident.
PROKUPECZ: Warner was killed in the blast. Investigators identified him by matching DNA collected at the scene with gloves and a hat found in a vehicle Warner owned. According to authorities, the RV's vehicle identification number recovered from the scene was a key piece of evidence that led them to identify Warner.
Authorities searched Warner's home over the weekend. Warner was a computer consultant and said he planned to retire this month, one of his clients told CNN.
A neighbor described him as a hermit who sort of kept to himself. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Warner's mother has been cooperating with investigators. Warner's father was once employed by AT&T and the agency is looking into whether that may be relevant to the motive. AT&T is the parent company of CNN.
The RV had been parked outside of an AT&T building in the early hours of Christmas morning, authorities say, when it began to play the song, "Downtown," by Petula Clark and broadcasting an audio message that a bomb would detonate in a matter of minutes.
Police initially responded to the scene because of reports of gunfire but quickly sprang into action and evacuated residents after hearing the RV's message.
OFFICER JAMES WELLS, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE: I just see orange and then I hear a loud boom and as I'm stumbling, because it rocked me that hard, I started stumbling and I just told myself, "Stay on your feet, stay alive."
PROKUPECZ: FBI agents and ATF agents spent the day Monday, sifting through the debris at the blast site, looking for evidence of the bomb. They were literally on their hands and knees, going through dirt and different debris throughout the blast site.
So much devastation we can see at the blast site, buildings collapsed, cars all burnt out. The FBI says they're still working on that motive and they're also trying to figure out how Warner got his hands on the chemicals and some of the bombmaking material used in this explosion -- Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Nashville, Tennessee.
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NEWTON: COVID vaccinations begin for U.S. troops in South Korea but the rest of that country will have to wait a little longer for its own doses. We will have the details in a live report up next.
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NEWTON: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Paula Newton, live from the CNN Center in Atlanta.
U.S. troops stationed in South Korea have received their very first doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine. So far shots have been given to health care workers and first responders and the command team of U.S. forces in Korea.
But the vaccine is not yet available to South Korean citizens themselves. The government says they will probably have to wait until the first quarter of 2021. Right now the country is experiencing the worst wave of the pandemic. On Monday, 40 deaths were reported from the virus, a new daily high.
CNN's Selina Wang is live for us in Tokyo with an update on what is going on in Asia.
And, of course, South Korea are relieved to see the doses for the American troops but they could use some doses themselves of that vaccine.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, that's right. It was the welcome news on Christmas Day when the U.S. troops in South Korea got that first batch shipment of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. And vaccinations have now started today.
The commander says that the vaccine is entirely voluntary but encourages all eligible people to take it. As for vaccinating the broader public, as mentioned, they have to wait a bit longer. And the public has been critical of what they see as the government moving too slowly when it comes to vaccine procurement and inoculation.
Officials have vowed to speed up the program, however, as South Korea deals with its worse surge for the pandemic. Under the current plan for vaccination, people can start getting vaccinated in February but those health care workers in South Korea and vulnerable groups are going to be first in line.
Meantime, in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the pandemic, people are already starting to get vaccinated with key groups prioritized.
China currently has five COVID-19 candidates that have reached phase III clinical trials. But there are still concerns among international health experts when it comes to the efficacy, safety and transparency of China's vaccines.
Government officials have said they want to vaccinate 15 million people before China's Lunar New Year holiday in February. Paula?
NEWTON: Given what is going on there, I am sure many of these countries now dealing with those next waves of the virus, really want to see those vaccines come in good time. Selina Wang in Tokyo. Appreciate it.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. Ahead, Russia orders opposition leader and poisoning victim Alexei Navalny back to Moscow.
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NEWTON: To Russia now, where prison authorities are threatening to jail opposition leader Alexei Navalny unless he returns from Germany. You will remember he fled Russia after he was poisoned in August. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more from Moscow.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russian authorities have told opposition politician Alexei Navalny that he needs to return to Russia by the morning of Tuesday or face being put in jail. Now all this stems from a case from 2014 in which Alexei Navalny says is politically motivated but in which he received a suspended jail sentence.
Essentially, what the Russian authorities are now saying is that if he doesn't show up to that hearing on Tuesday morning, that he will have violated his probation and could then be arrested any time if and when he returns to Russia.
Now interesting aspect in this is that after Alexei Navalny was poisoned using the chemical nerve agent Novichok and was then on the mend after getting treated in Germany, the renowned medical publication the Lancet published details of how the poisoning was found out and of the recovery process as well.
And that article is now being used by the Russian authorities in part of what they say, they say, quote, "Based on 'The Lancet' publication, A.A. Navalny was discharged from the Charite clinic in Berlin, where he was treated on September 20th. And by October 12th, all of the symptoms of his illness have passed."
So, essentially, they're saying that he is well enough to come back to Russia and face this hearing. Now the hearing is on Tuesday morning and it's physically impossible for Alexei Navalny to get to Russia in that time frame. There are no direct flights in that time frame and he would need a coronavirus test to even board a plane.
Alexei Navalny himself is obviously saying he believes all of this is politically motivated. He thinks Russian authorities are embarrassed after a CNN and Bellingcat investigation found out large parts of that alleged plot to kill Alexei Navalny.
And of course, he was also able to contact one of the agents who was allegedly part of that plot and dupe that agent into admitting large parts of it.
Alexei Navalny on his Instagram account said, quote, "Like I said, somewhere there is Vladimir Putin in his bunker stomping and yelling, 'Why didn't he die? And if he didn't die, then he is twice guilty and now we will jail him.'"
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The Russian authorities of course have continued to say that they were not behind the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. Navalny, for his part, have continuously said that he wants to return to Russia -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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NEWTON: Actress Lori Loughlin has been released from prison after serving a 2-month long sentence for her role in a college admissions scandal. Now her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving a 5-month sentence for his role.
The two were among dozens of wealthy parents, wrapped up in a scheme to lie, cheat and bribe in the admissions process. The couple paid $500,000 to the scheme's mastermind to get their daughters into the University of Southern California under false pretenses.
I am Paula Newton. For the international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" starts right after the break. For our viewers in the United States, up next for us, a return to the first coronavirus at the center in the United States. Ten months later, you do not want to miss this report. Vaccines are now giving health workers there is some hope.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot express how I feel right now. I did not even feel the needle. But what I feel right now is a new life, a new beginning but a better life.
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NEWTON: Welcome back. I am Paula Newton.
Here, in Georgia, the pivotal U.S. Senate runoff election is now just one week away. Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are campaigning to hold onto their seats and their party's control of the Senate. It is absolutely crucial.
Democratic challengers, meantime, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, say their victory is key to getting Joe Biden's agenda through Congress.
Now there is plenty of national interest, as you can imagine, and money. But Kyung Lah reports, Georgia's churches could be the deciding factor.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let's put our hands together, Antioch.
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the AME Church in Atlanta suburbs, the Georgia Senate runoff is front and center, progressive and conservative groups determined to move the faithful from the pews to the polls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we want to be a ready church, because the whole world is counting on us to make the Senate blue.
LAH (voice-over): At stake, control of the U.S. Senate.
LAH: How important is the role of the church in these runoffs?
REGINALD T. JACKSON, BISHOP, 6TH DISTRICT AME: Oh, Well, I think it's critically important. I think we saw in November, there was a huge turnout among black and a surprising turnout for some and I think the church played a major role.
LAH (voice-over): It's important to note that we are in the South.
JACKSON: The Black church is extremely strong in the South and historically, the Black church has led the effort for justice.
LAH (voice-over): A passion the bishop believes will bring out voters for the two Democratic challengers.
JON OSSOFF (D-GA), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: Your standard bearer is a young, Jewish son of an immigrant, mentored by John Lewis and a black preacher who holds Dr. King's pulpit, Ebenezer Baptist Church.
LAH (voice-over): But this is the Bible Belt.
VANDY SIMMONS, SENIOR PASTOR, ANTIOCH AME CHURCH: Right now, we are challenging our so-called evangelical brothers and sisters. We challenge them to be better. We challenge them not to hide behind something called pro-life.
LAH (voice-over): And there is another major force of faith in Georgia's run-off.
This is Flat Creek Baptist Church, part of the conservative Baptist network.
JOSH SAEFKOW, SENIOR PASTOR, FLAT CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH: We got a little election coming up. Vote Christian.
LAH (voice-over): Head pastor Reverend Josh Saefkow.
SAEFKOW: We need to vote with a context of scripture in our minds.
LAH (voice-over): There is little doubt with that means to evangelicals.
ALLISON YATES, BAPTIST PARISHIONER: I always vote for the candidate that most aligns with my Christian faith. And in this runoff, especially, you know, I'm voting for the candidates that are pro-life.
LAH (voice-over): Reverend Warnock's pro-choice stance and his words from the pulpit, often taken out of context, have been the target of the fiercest Republican attacks.
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, hello, Georgia!
LAH (voice-over): Vice President Mike Pence has campaigned multiple times for Georgia's Republican senators, underscoring abortion.
PENCE: David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler stand for the right to life.
LAH (voice-over): A potent get out the vote force for evangelicals, says this pastor.
SAEFKOW: I think it's advantageous for all of us followers of Jesus to elect people who represent our world view.
LAH: You would like to see more engagement.
SAEFKOW: No doubt about it. We have become more engaged as a church family, so we can make an educated decision in the voting booth but also being framed through the scripture.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amen.
LAH (voice-over): The president is scheduled to be in the state next week. It is the day before the election and he is heading to Dalton, Georgia. It's in a county that he won by 70 percent. It is a reminder that these runoffs are about turning out the base for the Republicans. That includes evangelicals -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Atlanta.
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NEWTON: So Donald Trump's favorite newspaper seems to have turned against him now.
The "New York Post" published an editorial Monday urging him to give up his fight to overturn the election.
Now the front page reads -- you see it 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.
[02:50:00]
NEWTON: 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, to see Rupert Murdoch's tabloid 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 -- 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 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.
But 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: 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 when the coronavirus was first detected in the United States, the Seattle area was the epicenter of the outbreak. CNN's Sara Sidner returned to the nursing home that first confronted the virus to speak with staffers, who had just received COVID-19 vaccines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CORTEZ: 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.
SIDNER: What is this day like for you?
CORTEZ: What I feel right now is a new life, a new beginning but better life.
SIDNER (voice-over): This was the first epicenter of Americas deadly coronavirus outbreak.
SIDNER: 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, REGISTERED NURSE: That was the night there was like five ambulances in the parking lot.
SIDNER (voice-over): Patients were dying or needed to be hospitalized. Ultimately, 39 patients died; 10 died at the facility.
SIDNER: Whose job was it to call the family members?
EARNEST: 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.
SIDNER: 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.
[02:55:00]
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.
NANCY BUTNER, LIFE CARE NORTHWEST DIVISION: We knew what we had done was the best we could have done.
SIDNER (voice-over): 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.
SIDNER: 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Heartbreaking, isn't it?
And our thanks to Sara Sidner, who, for the better part of the year, has been reporting on the tragedy of COVID in this country, reporting there from Kirkland, Washington.
I want to thank all of you for watching this hour. I'm Paula Newton. I leave you in the capable hands of my colleague, Isa Soares. We'll be right here with more news after the break.
[03:00:00]
