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Worldwide COVID Cases Dropped; Outrage Spark Amid Navalny's Conviction; World Leaders in Unison Calling Out Russian Government; Jeff Bezos Stepped Down as CEO; Biden Administration Reversing Trump's Bad Policies; Republican COVID-19 Relief Plan Way Too Small as Biden Chase a Bipartisan Covid Relief Plan; Trump's Impeachment Trial; Republicans Torn Over Greene's Behavior and Views; Fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Lying in Honor; Russia's New Sputnik Hopes; WHO Investigates Lab in Wuhan, China; Chinese New Year Travel Reduced Due to COVID-19; Captain Sir Tom Moore Dies of COVID-19. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 03, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, as the world races to vaccinate millions of people, a variant mutation may impact that effort. We will take you inside the lab, leading the charge to understand how the COVID virus is changing.
A prison sentence for Alexei Navalny sparks violent protests across Russia, as the Kremlin critic's lawyer pledges to appeal.
The second wealthiest man in the world is leaving his post as head of one of the world's most profitable companies. Why? We will have a live report.
Good to have you with us.
We begin with some good news in the battle against the coronavirus. The World Health Organization says the number of new COVID cases reported worldwide has fallen by 13 percent. It is the third straight week of declining infections. But health experts warn the trend may not last as more transmissible variance of the virus spread quickly. Officials insist vaccinations are the best defense against COVID.
And now, a new study by Oxford suggests its vaccine may limit the transmissions of the virus, rather than simply reducing the severity of the disease. But there is growing concern the different variants of the virus could impact how well the vaccines work.
According to a new report from the U.K., a mutation that could enable the virus to evade vaccine protection, has been found in a rapidly spreading strain. The mutation called E484K, has already been seen in the South Africa and Brazil variance. The U.K. has been a world leader when it comes to studying COVID variants, thanks to its genetic sequencing research.
And CNN's Scott McLean joins us now from London with more on all of this. Scott, good to see you. It is clearly a concern that these mutations could evade the vaccine. So, what is the latest on these genetic sequencing studies?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hi, Rosemary. Well, before officials in the U.K. can come up with a solution for this mutating the virus, they need to be able to spot this mutation in the first place, which means to genetically sequencing these positive tests.
Now as you mentioned, the U.K. is doing this on an industrial scale. That's what allowed scientists to spot U.K. variant. It's also what's allowing them to see this E484K mutation that you mentioned, that is showing up in a small number of cases of both the U.K. variant and the original virus.
That mutation is concerning because early lab research suggests that it may help the virus become more vaccine resistant. That doesn't mean the vaccines would be completely useless. But it does mean the vaccine makers will have to work hard to keep on top of the changing virus.
The problem is that no other country on earth is doing genetic sequencing at near the scale that the U.K. is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN (voice over): If there is a secret weapon in the global fight against the mutating coronavirus, you might find it here. A cluster of buildings just off the highway near Cambridge. Every day vans arrive at the Sanger Institute carrying thousands of COVID swabs from across the country. They are stored in industrial freezers.
We're all just waiting to be sequence.
UNKNOWN: Yes, a mixture of (Inaudible) to propose at some place at the moment.
MCLEAN: A robot picks up the positive samples from the negative ones and puts them on a separate tray which is sealed. In another lab, hundreds of samples get mixed into a single vial.
UNKNOWN: So, in this single sequencing room they'll be over 700 SARS COVID-2 samples.
MCLEAN: You guys are pretty efficient?
UNKNOWN: This is an industrial sequencing, yes.
MCLEAN: Special chemicals or added, the tubes are shaken up, press between two pieces of glass, and then put into giant computers to be genetically sequenced. Fifteen hours later, they spit out so much genetic data, entire server farms have been built to house it.
After that, scientists on site and at a network of universities across the U.K. start searching through the data.
EWAN HARRISON, PROJECT MANAGER, COVID-19 GENOMICS CONSORTIUM: We're looking for mutations that may allow the virus to either be more transmissible or to cause more severe disease. And for mutations that we think might affect the ability of the vaccines to protect people.
[03:05:04]
MCLEAN: Less than two months ago, that data was used to identify a faster spreading variant of the virus, called B117.
That variant was first spotted in an unlikely place. Here in Kent in Southeast England, famous for its white cliffs, rolling countryside, and a lot of people who make the daily commute to London. It wasn't long before the variant was detected in the capital and eventually throughout the four nations of the U.K. and in dozens of other countries. The CDC says it could become the dominant coronavirus strain in the U.S. by March.
RAVINDRA GUPTA, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE: That is the U.K. variant, B117.
MCLEAN: Professor Ravi Gupta had been setting an immunocompromised person who couldn't shake the virus for more than three months, giving new mutations time to multiply inside the body that couldn't fight back. When Gupta checked that sequencing database, he found a COVID-19 variant that shared a key mutation with the one his patient was fighting.
How likely is it that patient zero was immunocompromised person?
GUPTA: I think it's very, very likely. We found very few, virtually no sequences, that are highly related, to the other variant. In other words, it popped out of nowhere.
MCLEAN: Gupta's ongoing research has so far found that vaccines are still largely affective, even on the new variant but maybe not for long.
GUPTA: The viruses are already on their way to becoming more resistant to the immune system and to vaccines.
MCLEAN: Variants have been found in Brazil and South Africa where scientists have the tools to sequence the virus' genome. Many other countries don't. So now the British government is volunteering to do it for them.
How likely is it that there are dangerous variants of the virus in other countries that we don't even know about?
GUPTA: It is very likely there are undetected variance out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN (on camera): And Rosemary, amidst all of these mutations, there is some good news for the U.K. And that's that research on the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine shows that it is still about 75 percent effective, even after 90 days after just one shot and that antibodies remain relatively stable.
This is significant because this research supports the U.K. government's controversial decision to space out vaccine doses by 12 weeks in order to cover more people rather than the usual six. Rosemary?
CHURCH (on camera): Yes, that is very good news. Thanks so much, Scott Mclean reporting there from London. I appreciate it.
Well back here in the United States, more than 100,000 people have died from the coronavirus since the beginning of this year. That is according to Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 450,000 people in the U.S. have died over the course of the entire pandemic.
A bit of the news though. More people have received their first dose of the vaccine than the total number of known cases nationwide. Still, the Biden administration is trying to speed things up.
CNN's Nick Watt reports. They will need to pick up the pace to stay ahead of the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vaccination, Texas style. A 16-lane mega site capable they say, of 1,000 shots an hour.
UNKNOWN: These people have really got it down.
WATT: Early January, the nationwide seven-day average was under 700,000 doses a day in arms. That averages now around 1.3 million per day. The pace needs to pick up even more.
PETER HOTEZ, INFECTIOUS EXPERT, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY: We have to deliver 500 million immunizations between now and late spring, early summer to get ahead of these variants. It's going to be tough.
WATT: The variant first found in U.K. has developed another mutation that might make vaccines less effective. Plus, past infection might not protect you against the variant first found in South Africa.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The experience of our colleagues in South Africa indicates that even if you have been infected with the original virus, that there is a very high rate of re-infection.
WATT: The feds will start sending doses directly to local pharmacies. Eventually up to 40,000 pharmacies.
JEFF ZIENTS, COORDINATOR, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE: The CDC will monitor the data on an ongoing basis to make sure that pharmacies are efficiently and equitably administering vaccinations. This initial phase of activating local pharmacies will get more shots in arms.
WATT: Moderna might now put 15 vaccine doses in each vial up from 10 to speed production. Clear a bottleneck if the FDA signs off. Pfizer confirms it expects to deliver 200 million doses total by end of May. Two months early.
And there is this. If you've had the virus and one vaccine shot, you might not need a second shot. Your antibody levels which protects you, could be higher than people who had two doses but never infected. This according to a study that has not yet been peer reviewed. But --
[03:10:07]
HOTEZ: If you have to pre-test to see who's had the infection before and who hasn't, then it becomes logistically very complex.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (on camera): So, a problem during this entire pandemic in the U.S. has been the layers of bureaucracy. So, the White House now saying that they're going to ship doses direct to pharmacies. Now that is a model that has worked pretty well in the state of west Virginia so far. So, the hope is it will work pretty well across the entire country. Get more vaccines, faster to the people who need them.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
CHURCH (on camera): Supporters of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny promised to take to the streets again following a verdict that has sparked strong reaction in Russia and a swift response from governments around the world. This was the scene in Moscow after a court on Tuesday sentence Navalny to more than two and a half years in prison for violating parole. Protesters express their support for the opposition leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (through translator): I don't want my children to grow up in the same conditions I did. Alexei tries to do something at least. Such an interesting fate he has. And there's nothing good about this fact.
UNKNOWN (through translator): Alexei Navalny has just been wrongfully convicted. The country will never be free if everyone behaves in this manner. The authorities, the courts and all, they will soon start buttoning us again. As I see it. But we came out so that our children are not to be buttoned in the future.
(CROWD): Navalny! Navalny! Navalny!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And Navalny supporters are demanding his release. One monitoring group says more than 1,000 people were detained across Russia in demonstrations both before and after that ruling.
Inside the courtroom, Navalny could be seen drawing a heart for his wife. His lawyer says he plans to appeal. Well there's been condemnation, concern and growing calls for Navalny's release from countries around the world. Here is just part of that reaction. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We have noticed Russia's drift towards the worrying authoritarianism. And that is also the finding that we have made regarding the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Navalny. We demand his immediate release.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We reiterate our call for the Russian government to immediately unconditionally release Mr. Navalny, as well as the hundreds of other Russian citizens wrongfully detained in recent weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And our Nic Robertson is in London where he is tracking all the reaction. Good to see you, Nic. And we just heard condemnation from the U.S. and France. Both nations calling for Navalny's release. What are other world leaders saying?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Immediate release. Unconditional release. It's really the resounding message, you know, from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Britain, you know, Canada -- you know, it's a loud voice coming from the sort of usual western allies, if you will for this, you know, for Russia to back down to its position.
I think what's interesting -- you know, you have Boris Johnson calling the Russian government's position, a position of cowardice, calling Navalny brave. But what we don't hear in the international condemnation publicly at least, yet, is a sense that this is aimed at President Putin. This is about the Russian government doing the right thing and releasing Navalny and all those protesters.
So, Navalny has really personalized his protest against Putin. But I think the western reaction so far has not done that. And while there is a verbal reaction, there's not really clarity on what that, you know, reaction should be. How it should manifest itself? You have the Baltic states in Europe pointing to the E.U. and saying the E.U. should do something about it. Which of course they are part of.
You had a few days ago, Emmanuel Macron in France, saying that Angela Merkel in Germany should stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that comes from Russia to Germany to Europe, that they should stop the development and working with Russia on that.
But what to do next? It seems to me the ball is somewhat in the U.S. court. Because the Biden administration is reviewing the malign practices of Russia over the past few years. They won't tolerate, they say, what's been going on under President Trump's presidency. And they want to work with their allies. But at the moment, there isn't a coalescing of what the next step beyond publicly stating the release of Navalny, what that should be to bring that about.
CHURCH: Right. Nic Robertson, many thanks. I appreciate it.
[03:14:59] Well, a major shakeup at Amazon. Founder Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO. We will discuss what's next for Bezos and the company.
And one of President Biden's top goals is to reunite families separated out America's southern border. But how easy will it be for him to reverse Trump's immigration policy? We'll take a look.
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CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is stepping down from his role as CEO, and handing over the reins to Andy Jassy, a long-time member of the company's leadership team.
Bezos, who is 57, will transition to the role of Amazon's executive chairman later this year. He has spent more than 25 years building what began as an online bookstore into a $1.6 trillion-dollar retail and logistics giant.
And for more, Anna Stewart joins us now from London. Always good to see you, Anna. So, what impact might this move by Bezos from Amazon CEO to executive chairman have on the company and why is he doing this now?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, you know, I think at least initially, we don't expect to see any real change from Amazon as a result of change at the top. And there are two reasons why really. I mean, first of all, Jeff Bezos is not sort of stepping down, Rosemary. It's just that he is taking a little step to the side, he will still be at the company as executive chairman. And this is something we've seen before.
Actually, in Silicon Valley, the Google founders stepped down as CEO and president back in 2016 but they very much stayed on the board. So, I think Jeff Bezos will still be an influence with Amazon going forward. The second is his replacement is Andy Jassy. Now Andy Jassy has been at Amazon for nearly as long as Bezos. He arrived about two years after it was founded.
So, in that sense, there will be quite a lot of continuity. Jassy heads up the company's cloud computing services, AWS. That is the most profitable part of Amazon. So, the one thing I think I would say is, it clearly will be continued to be a big part of Amazon, and perhaps we'll see that expand even further in the coming years.
CHURCH: So, what exactly is next for Bezos? What's he planning to spend his days doing?
BEZOS: You see, this is what I'm more excited about. If you think about the fact that Jeff Bezos started Amazon from a garage in 1995, when he puts his mind to something, big things can happen. And I think the letter he wrote to the employees said it all. He has been CEO of Amazon for a long time, he loves the company, but it's been hard for him to focus on anything else.
And this is a man with quite a few passion projects. He wants to spend more time on the Earth Fund, on the Washington Post, but also the one that really quite touches my attention every time, Blue Origin, his space company. I think we'll see him really working a lot more on that.
[03:19:56]
And of course, he's got some tough competition. It's a battle of the billionaires when it comes to the space race. Elon Musk and SpaceX, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin. So, I think we'll see more on that side of things. And that's so exciting. Rosemary?
CHURCH: I agree with you. Many thanks, Anna Stewart, bringing us up to date on all things Amazon, all things Bezos. I appreciate it.
Well, U.S. President Joe Biden is moving to reverse the Trump administration's immigration policies. He is laying out his plans and executive orders, while acknowledging the heavy lifting will come in getting legislation passed through Congress.
CNN's Phil Mattingly has the details.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden made no secret that immigration is one of the priorities of his administration. He did it during the campaign, he did it on day one in the White House, and did it again, signing three executive orders on Tuesday including one that would create a task force to try and track down and unify children separated from their parents at the border because of his predecessor's zero tolerance policy.
Now that task force has no shortage of work to do, there is still, perhaps more than 600 children that haven't identified where their parents actually are. That would be part of the process. And a process is what many of these executive orders set in place, reviews of the remain in Mexico policy, reviews of delays in terms of individuals getting green cards, getting naturalization, basically trying to roll back much of what President Trump put into place on immigration.
But a long process indeed. Joe Biden is making clear when he spoke that this is part of the process to do exactly that, rollback what his predecessor put in place. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I want to make it clear. There is a lot of talk with good reason about the number of executive orders that I have signed. I'm not making a new law. I'm eliminating bad policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY (on camera): Those executive orders came as Alejandro Mayorkas was sworn in as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the first immigrant to hold the position, and the first permanent head of the Department of Homeland Security since April of 2019. He will play a crucial role for the Biden administration as they push
forward not just on the scope of the executive order as the president has put in place but also immigration reform, which is a key plank of the Biden team's agenda over the course of the next several months.
All of this playing out as the administration continues to push forward on their current cornerstone legislative priority, that is the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. The president making clear to Senate Democrats, I'm told, he is not backing off his proposal, which is significantly larger than Republicans are willing to consider right now, even though they had a good discussion.
Ten Republicans and the president in the Oval Office. Democrats both on Capitol Hill and here in White House from President Biden on down making clear they are planning to go big. If Republicans want to join them, they are more than welcome. If they don't, they'll go it alone.
Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
CHURCH: So, let's talk with CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams. He is also former assistant director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. Thank you so much for talking with us.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Rosemary. How are you?
CHURCH: Good. So, when he signed three executive orders on immigration Tuesday, President Biden made the point he is not making new laws. He is eliminating bad policy. Are these the right moves at this time? And is the use of executive orders the way to do this?
WILLIAMS: Well, you know, he couldn't have said it better with I'm not making new law, I'm eliminating bad policy. But the simple fact is, this is where we are with immigration in the United States, in which successive presidents have to use executive action because Congress, the body that makes the laws in the United States, simply has failed to act for at this point probably, close to two decades now.
Ultimately, big change in America needs to happen with respect to our immigration laws. Congress has tried as recently as 2013 to reform the country's immigration laws and just hasn't gotten it done. And so, what President Trump attempted to do was put in place a number of executive orders. President Biden, they were bad policy, to be very clear. And President Biden is now rescinding a lot of them and putting better policies in place. So, this is the best that Biden can do. But ultimately, this really needs to fall on Congress's lap.
CHURCH: Right. So how difficult will it be for the Biden administration to carry out these major immigration policy changes, particularly reuniting 600 plus children who were separated from their parents under the Trump administration.
WILLIAMS: So, let's first focus on everything that was wrong with that policy. Not only was it morally wrong, because we know that the Trump administration deliberately separated children from their parents. So, there is -- set aside the moral questions, but there were -- it was legally suspect but also logistically unsound. They weren't prepared to deal with the very policy that they put in place.
Ans so, at a minimum, simply applying a baseline level of normalcy and competence to the process was very important for the Biden administration.
[03:24:58]
So, what they've done is put in place a task force to review, number one, find where these 611 children are and then do everything practicable to try to unite them with their family.
So, again, at its heart, its basic competence. If you read the Justice Department had an inspector general report about a month ago, that talk about all the problems that the Trump administration had and putting this policy in place, and they simply were not prepared for what they wanted to do. It was simply a political statement they were attempting to make, and frankly, a very cruel one, and a very inhumane, and immoral one at that.
CHURCH: Yes. Just heartbreaking for those children and parents.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CHURCH: So, what about the other executive orders, providing a safe and orderly process for asylum seekers t the U.S. borders and restoring faith in legal immigration efforts for new Americans. What all will that entail to get it right?
WILLIAMS: Well, you know, so it's interesting. So, you know, looking back to the Trump administration once again, they -- as you know very well, they spend a lot of political capital and energy on building a wall and making the case for a wall at the southern border.
The simple fact and Biden said this today. You know, we can have border security, and securing our borders does not mean being inhumane to the people who are attempting or wishing to cross to the United States. And frankly, one could do -- if what the goal was, was to minimize illegal immigration into the United States, the Trump administration could have done much more by simply providing aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, rather than simply putting a wall up.
What the wall did was create more of a humanitarian problem, but not really fix the immigration issue. So, what's the second order that the Biden administration has put in place is seeking to address some of the economic and political conditions in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Those are the drivers of illegal immigration.
And simply putting a wall up regardless of what you think of the merits of the wall or the merits of Trump's policy or whatever, putting the wall up simply it was a Band-Aid on the solution and not addressing the root causes of why people want to come to the United States in the first place.
CHURCH: Elliott Williams, thank you for your analysis. I appreciate it. WILLIAMS: Great to be here. Thanks.
CHURCH: While U.S. President Joe Biden has been talking bipartisanship, congressional Democrats are making plans to pass their almost $2 trillion-dollar COVID relief bill without Republican support. We'll have the details for you on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:29:57]
CHURCH: U.S. Democrats are pushing ahead with their COVID relief plan with or without Republican support. They plan to use a legislative shortcut called budget reconciliation to get it passed. Senate Majority Chuck Schumer says, President Joe Biden supports the move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Joe Biden is totally on board with using reconciliation. I've been talking to him every day. Our staff has been talking multiple times a day. We are not going to dilute this so it doesn't help the American people get out of this crisis quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): President Biden has tried to chase a bipartisan deal, but he told Republicans their alternative to his $1.9 trillion package is way too small. Here is a look at some of the key differences between both plans. The White House wants direct payments reaching more Americans than what the Republican proposal would include, and also money for state and local aid.
Well, Donald Trump's second Senate impeachment trial is less than a week away, and we are getting our first look at the arguments from both sides. House Democrats claimed Trump is singularly responsible for the Capitol insurrection that left five people dead.
CNN's Jim Acosta takes a look at the former president's defense.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Donald Trump's impeachment lawyers are trying to build a wall of their own, separating the bloody siege at the Capitol on January 6th, and the then-president's words before the riot.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will stop the steal.
ACOSTA: In its response to the impeachment allegations brought by House Democrats, the Trump defense team writes it has denied that the 45th president engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States. Adding, the 45th president exercised his first amendment right under the constitution to express his belief that the election results were suspect.
DAVID SCHOEN, TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ATTORNEY: This is a very, very dangerous road to take, with respect to the first amendment. Putting at risk any passionate political speaker, which is really against everything we believe in this country.
ACOSTA: As for Trump's instructions to the crowd, to quote fight like hell.
TRUMP: And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
ACOSTA: His lawyers stated it has denied that the phrase if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore had anything to do with the action at the Capitol as it was clearly about the need to fight for election security in general. In their filing, which misspells United States on the first page, Trump's attorneys insist he never tried to subvert the certification of the election results, but that's not true, and he pressured state election officials.
TRUMP: Now what are we going to do here? I only need 11,000 votes, fellows, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.
ACOSTA: Even he's Vice President to do his bidding?
TRUMP: And if you're not I'm going to be very disappointed in you.
ACOSTA: House Democrats plan to use clips of Trump's speech.
TRUMP: You'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.
ACOSTA: As well as comments made by his violent supporters --
UNKNOWN: There's f--ing millions of us out there and we are listening to Trump -- your boss.
ACOSTA: -- to prove the former president instigated the riot, writing if-provoking and insurrectionary riot against a joint session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine what would be. As for the claim made by Trump's lawyers that he cannot be tried after leaving office, the Democrats counter, there was no January exception to impeachment or any other provision of the constitution. Still, some Democrats worry, this Trump trial will end like the last one.
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): I'm very worried about going through this trial and having the punchline at the end being Trump acquitted again.
ACOSTA (on camera): Trump clearly won the battle with his own lawyers over whether to include the ex-president's bogus claims that the election was stolen from him. Trump adviser say the former president remains obsessed with that big lie.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): Joining me now is CNN political analyst Sabrina Siddiqui. She is also a White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Good to have you with us.
SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (on camera): Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So, President Biden has made it clear he is not bending on his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package after talks with Republican Senators Monday. So, the Democrats will go it alone. Will that leave Biden open to criticism of failing to unite and be bipartisan?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think that President Biden has been willing to entertain conversations with Republicans about a more targeted coronavirus relief package, but the counter offer from Senate Republicans was drastically less than the $1.9 trillion that the Biden administration has proposed. It was just over $600 billion, so really a fraction of the funding that the White House is advocating for.
And I think that with the Biden administration is not doing is they are redefining bipartisanship. Because there's polling showing that a broad majority of the American public, including Democrats and Republicans, supports the Biden coronavirus relief package.
[03:35:05]
And so they are saying look, a bipartisan majority of the American public supports it, even if not a bipartisan majority in Congress. And they are as you mentioned leaving open this possibility of passing it on a straight party line vote their process know as reconciliation, under which Democrats would be able to pass it with a simple majority vote.
CHURCH: Right. And Sabrina, in Donald Trump's upcoming impeachment trial, we know his newly assembled defense team will argue it's not constitutional to impeach a former president, and also that he had the first amendment right to discuss suspect election results ahead of that Capitol riot. So, how do you expect that argument will go up against the abundance of video evidence against him?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think it says everything that the former president's legal team is focused on process and not on substance. Because the video evidence of former President Trump encouraging his supporters to storm the Capitol, to make themselves heard, not to give up the fight, framing it as really a battle of war, that is all there for everyone to see.
So, what they are doing is they are trying to focus on the idea, he is no longer in office therefor he cannot be convicted. But Democrats are pushing back saying not only was he impeached while he was still in office, but that the hard press to imagine that the framers of the constitution, this the word that Democrats are using, would have left them defenseless against a presidents treachery in his final days of office. And without any system to hold a former president accountable
certainly especially when a lot of this also has to do with seeking to bargain from seeking public office again. Now the other piece of this though is that there is just simply not enough support it seems from Republicans to actually convict former President Trump.
So, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will once again be acquitted. But clearly, as you point out, his legal team is focusing much more on process, not on really what is at the heart of this trial itself.
CHURCH: Right. That certainly how it's looking right now. But everyone will of course be watching to see what Mitch McConnell does at the impeachment trial. He's already flexing his muscle over the disarray within the Republican Party, using a scathing attack in QAnon conspiracy theorist, against QAnon conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene. While fiercely supporting Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump. What might that signal about what he will do at the trial and where he wants the party to go post Trump?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think this is the real challenge that there are some Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, who want to move on from so-called Trumpism and no longer let that define the party, but because Republicans including McConnell were willing to enable former President Trump's behavior, a lot of the conspiracy theories in which he and his supporters trafficked have now come out on the fringes and are now more part of the mainstream.
And that's what's you are seeing with Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is one of several Republican lawmakers who has rally fashioned herself in Trump's image. And so this is a real litmus test for the party. What do they do with Trumpism now that is really still a rallying cry for a lot of Republican primary voters, especially as they are looking at midterms in 2022, at the 2024 presidential election.
There is clearly a still very much a civil war over whether or not you outright try and defeat Trumpism and cast it aside. Or do you still tried to have it both ways where you act like the Marjorie Taylor Greene's of the party are not really reflective of the party as a whole, but you still kind of create room for them to coexist.
CHURCH: Alright. Sabrina Siddiqui, we will watch to see where all of this goes, many thanks for your analysis.
SIDDIQUI: Thank you so much.
CHURCH (on camera): A U.S. Capitol police officer is lying in honor inside the building he was trying to protect less than a month ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (voice over): An officer carried the box containing Brian Sicknick's remains up the steps and into the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday. He died from injuries sustained during the January 6th insurrection. U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects. Lying in state is usually reserved for government leaders, but multiple lawmakers called for Sicknick to receive the posthumous honor. He was one of five people who died during the riot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:40:00]
CHURCH (on camera): And coming up, a pandemic investigators have just finished their visit to a Wuhan biocontainment lab. What did they learn and are they any closer to finding the origin of COVID-19?
And early results are in for Russia's new vaccine after a controversial rollout. We will hear from the head of Russia's direct investment fund. That's coming up next.
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CHURCH (on camera): Well, Russia was criticized last year for an early COVID vaccine rollout. The new data suggests that Sputnik V shots are more than 91 percent effective against symptomatic cases. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she welcomes all approved vaccines, including the Russian one. And Argentina is requesting a larger supply. CNN's Jacqueline Howard, takes a look at the early results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER (on camera): Here's what we know about Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. Some interim trial results were just published in the journal The Lancet. And these early findings suggest that the vaccine has an efficacy of 91.6 percent, it appears safe and effective. And according to Russian Direct Investment Fund, which funded the vaccine production and sells it globally, for storage, the vaccine needs to be refrigerated and cost $10 per dose. It's given as two doses.
Now keep in mind, these early trial results are publishing after Russia was criticized for announcing last year that it had approved the vaccine for pubic use. That announcement was controversial, because crucial phase three trials were not even completed yet. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): Many thanks to Jacqueline Howard with that report. Well, the early data also shows the vaccine to be 100 percent effective at preventing severe illness. The CEO who funded the vaccine spoke with CNN. He says there remains a small possibility that people can still get infected after taking it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRIL DMITRIEV, CEO, RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: Indeed, some of the people can get infected in the less of 10 percent and what we have observed is that basically in two days or three days, the virus disappears. But within those two days, it's possible that they can carry the virus and you've seen some, or the low viral doses. But so far, with the small any long-term or severe case of COVID for
anybody who received Sputnik V, vaccine. And we are talking about millions of people right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And the authors of the vaccine study note more research is needed to understand how Sputnik V works against asymptomatic cases, transmission, and how long protection may last.
[03:45:00]
The World Health Organization experts have visited a Chinese laboratory on their hunt for the origins of COVID-19. The investigators left the Wuhan Institute of Virology early Wednesday, and this lab was at the center of controversy after the Trump administration claim the virus originated there, an accusation the Chinese deny, and global intelligence agencies say it's highly unlikely.
Well, CNN's Steven Jiang is following the story for us from Beijing. He joins us now live. Good to see you Steven. So, the whole world of course wants to know the origins of this coronavirus. So when will we know more, do you think, and I mean, the whole point of this is to avoid it happening again, isn't it?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): That's right, Rosemary. And that kind of question is exactly why these experts made on Wednesday was so important. Because as you mentioned, the Wuhan institute of Virology was made famous by these Trump officials who alleged without much concrete evidence that the COVID virus leaked from the labs in the facility.
Now, as you mentioned, the Chinese authorities have vehemently denied this accusation, and actually turning the table on Washington, increasingly insinuating this virus may have been leaked from a U.S. Military run lab in Maryland, also without much concrete evidence.
So, this has become such a highly politicized issue from both sides. Making this visit by these experts on Wednesday very relevant, but also sensitive. A member of the team said after the visit that they held open and frank discussions with the staff with there with quote, key questions asked and answered, end quote.
Now, one of the people they met there was Dr. Shi Zhengli, nicknamed China's bat woman, because of her years of hunting bats in China's caves. And her teams are considered leading experts, the world's leading experts in the field of bath born coronaviruses in which have been linked to the COVID virus by a study published last year.
So, before their visit the WHO experts said they were trying to find out more about this study, as well as other research conducted in the institute. They are also trying to find out more about its bio safety protocols, because that research institute houses China's only bio safety level four lab. And that's the highest level of biocontainment. Rosemary? CHURCH (on camera): Alright. Many thanks to our Steven Jiang,
bringing us the very latest there from Beijing. I appreciate it.
Well, Chinese New Year 2021 will look very different compared to pre- pandemic spring festivals. The holiday that was a mass travel super spreading event last year is significantly scaled back now.
But David Culver shows us how some in China are still getting into the spirit of the season.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Strolling the aisles of a Shanghai grocery store, Vicky Wang is stocking up ahead of the most important holiday in China, the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. Traditionally, the holiday marks the largest mass migration of humans each year. In China, major cities empty out as hundreds of millions travel back to their home provinces.
But last year's outbreak in Wuhan coincided with the start of the Chinese New Year, and made for a perfect storm, packed train stations like this one in Beijing, combined with a rapidly spreading virus. This year, the government urging and in some cases even ordering people not to travel. Wang is among the millions sacrificing precious time with family this holiday, following the government guidance to stay put.
VICKY WANG, INTERNET COMPANY PROJECT MANAGER: We have to make a lot of sacrifice for everyone to keep us safe.
CULVER: While China has touted its strict and seemingly effective containment efforts, recent cluster outbreaks have resulted in the government's travel restrictions. Already, in the first three days of the annual travel rush, passenger rail trips plummeted more than 70 percent. The normally packed train stations are now eerily empty. It seems many are following the government's suggestion to not travel.
And some state owned companies are even paying their employees a few hundred dollars, encouraging them not to return to their hometown and instead to use the holiday time to explore the cities in which they live and work.
UNKNOWN: The city is lighting up. So the staycation is really popular.
CULVER: Jane Sun is CEO of China's largest online travel agency, trip.com, showing us customer's real-time bookings. She points out that while flight and train tickets within China are down compared with years past, hotels are benefiting from the staycation effect.
JANE SUN, CEO OF TRIP.COM: We are able to ask hotels to come up or create packages for the families, for their children so that our customers who used to travel abroad can spend their time with their family, within the same cities.
CULVER: But some are still determined to travel home. By video chat, we spoke with a 21-year-old Dan Dee. Not his real name, as he doesn't want to get in trouble for criticizing the government.
[03:50:01]
He just wrapped up 21 days of quarantine, which included heavy surveillance right outside his front door, all to travel home for the Chinese New Year, which he says is deeply personal for migrant workers.
UNKNOWN: the spring festival is the only chance and the most important chance for them to go home. To stay with their family. That's why I think they need to go home.
UNKNOWN: OK. This is good. It means travel safe and comes the good luck.
CULVER: As for those who choose to stay, like Wang, they are still finding ways to celebrate. Asking her parents and sister over video chat for their advice on cooking the Chinese New Year dinner, a meal she and millions of others will eat separated from loved ones as China works to halt a decade long tradition of mass migration so as to prevent a repeat of last year's rapid spread of the virus. David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): Captain Tom Moore, the British World War II veteran who raised millions to help combat COVID-19 has died, and we will have more on the life of the 100-year old who walked his way into the hearts of millions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Thank you so much, Captain Tom. This is a massive thing you have done for the country. It means a huge amount for us, everything you've done and an incredible life he lives. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): A U.K. doctor thanking Captain Tom Moore, a 100- year-old British World War II veteran who raised nearly $45 million for the National Health Service. Moore died in hospital on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19. He was also battling pneumonia. Captain Tom rose to fame with a small fund-raiser in his garden, but his simple idea to walk laps inspired a nation. He was knighted by the queen for his actions and promoted to Honorary Colonel.
And our Isa Soares joins me now from London. Good to see you Isa, a man who inspired a nation and the world. What were you learning about the sad passing of Captain Tom Moore and the life he lived?
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rosy. He really inspired us all. And like Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, just yesterday, he was here in the truest sense of the word. So you can imagine the tributes really have been pouring in fast for the World War II veteran who really showed so much selflessness and so much humility in some of our darkest moments when we really needed the light, when we needed hope. He was the one to bring it.
Let me show you some of the papers, the newspapers here today and how they are remembering him and paying tribute to Sir Tom. The Daily Mail, the last salute for Captain Tom, the hero who walked into our hearts. The Daily Mirror there as well as you can see, hero of our time, as you mentioned, Rosy, was knighted by the queen in Windsor last year. And if I can bring the Sun newspaper, they call him Captain Marvel. And he really was Captain Marvel, Rosy. He lifted the nation's spirits of the nation and he brought so much hope in the middle of a pandemic. Have a look.
[03:55:02]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES (voice over): While the U.K. grappled with the early throws of COVID-19, this retired army officer just wanted to help the buckling National Health Service. His aim was to walk 100 length of his 25 meter garden before centenary. He would have been happy to raise 1,000 pounds.
CAPTIAN TOM MOORE, BRITISH VETERAN WHO RAISED MILLION: When it got to be 10,000, I thought look at that. They never ever for a minute that I anticipate this sort of money now that are coming in. I was a trigger of it to begin with, but now it's the National Health Service who were doing such a magnificent job for us all.
SOARES: He became the poster boy for helping save the NHS. And at a time when Brits were closed away, their wallets open for Captain Tom. He raised almost 40 million U.S. dollars.
MOORE: I think I'm just so pleased and delighted with what we are getting. And what more can you ask?
SOARES: His humility would never have expected what happened next. As he began his 100th year, Captain Tom became the darling of the nation. He was knighted by the Queen at her first official engagement during lockdown.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We wish you a very happy 100th birthday.
SOARES: Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent a congratulatory message. His own regiment bestowed an honorary title on him of Colonel.
MOORE: As big of an honor as anyone could get.
SOARES: And received a flyover of two second world war aircraft, a spitfire and a hurricane, coming into time with blitz style mentality was being urge on the country.
But if gongs and phone calls were not enough for Captain Tom, perhaps the cover of British GQ magazine instead. But as priceless as Captain Tom became, the coronavirus raged unabated. On January 31st, his daughter said that Captain Tom had been admitted to hospital with pneumonia and COVID-19. Surrounded by his family, Captain Tom became another victim of this unrelenting pandemic. A lover of cricket, Captain Tom played one of the greatest innings of the pandemic to end on a memorable and (inaudible) the century.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES (on camera): He was a hero, Rosy, for so many. And he has become a national treasure. Flags at 10 Downing Street are flying at half staff in memory of Sir Tom and the queen has tweeted this, have a look. The queen is sending a private message of condolence to the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Her majesty very much enjoyed meeting Captain Sir Tom and his family at Windsor last year. Her thoughts in those of the royal family are with them. And I think that's one thing to take away Rosy, from all his efforts and his humility, the fact that you are never too old to make a difference.
CHURCH: So true. Captain Tom, we salute you. Isa Soares joining us from London, many thanks.
And thank you for joining us. I am Rosemary Church. I will be back with more news in just a moment.
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