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U.S. Sees Over 100,000 New Cases A Day For 13 Days; Moderna Reports 95 Percent Efficacy With COVID-19 Vaccine; Belarus Step Up Crackdown On Protesters; Israel Advances Housing Plans In East Jerusalem; Peru's Interim Presidents Quits After Few Days In Office; Japan Prepares For Postponed Olympic Games. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired November 16, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.S. just surpassed 11 million Coronavirus cases. The nation's health care system is overrun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last time the president was physically at a task force meeting was several months ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Imagine if we are at war with a foreign adversary, and the president has not met with his generals for five months. That's just
unimaginable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Moderna has just released the first analysis of it Coronavirus vaccine, and it is very promising.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And we begin this hour with a breakthrough on the story that has defined 2020. America's top infectious
doctor hailing the preliminary results of Moderna's Coronavirus vaccine which shows an almost 95 percent efficacy rate another huge game-changing
result coming just a week after Pfizer announced similar results for its vaccine. Here is Dr. Anthony Fauci earlier on NBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The data are striking, savannah. They are really quite
impressive. Now we have two vaccines that are really quite effective, so I think this is a really strong step forward to where we want to be about
getting control of this outbreak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Moderna used data from two groups of 15,000 people. The first group got a placebo. 90 people developed COVID-19, 11 of them
severely. A second group got the actual vaccine. Only five of them got the disease and none seriously.
Now, of course, how long the vaccine is effective can't yet be determined, but given that the U.S. has added a million COVID cases in less than a week
alone, this is hugely promising news, especially for state and local leaders there who have been left to manage the spread of the virus.
Believe Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government's vaccine program says, and I quote, I hope it inspires the next generation of scientists and
researchers. This is why we're all here. This is why we have devoted our lives to this. And why do we need a vaccine more than ever?
Well, because in the U.S. alone there have been more than 130,000 new cases in the last 24 hours making almost a fortnight of back-to-back 100,000 plus
days. We are talking about 1.5 cases a second in the time it takes to watch our opening clip we're talking about 45 people.
There are now more than 11 million recorded cases in the U.S. just six days after it hit 10 million. 77,000 Americans are in hospital today itself, a
new record. States like North Dakota, Washington, Illinois, Oregon and Michigan being forced to impose new measures to control the surge, defying
the science Scott Atlas President Trump's Top Adviser urging people to rise up against these new measures.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov joins me now from the U.S. State of South Dakota. CNN can now confirm it's been five months since Donald Trump attended a
Coronavirus Task Force meeting. Meanwhile, of course, the Biden Task Force will meet with drug companies such as Pfizer as Joe Biden's team warns that
this slow-mo transition is risking how vaccine distribution will go which is something we should all care about, wherever we are living in the world.
How are things looking where you are?
[11:05:00]
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Not good, Becky. This is effectively ground zero for Coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations.
Across the United States right now, 13 straight days of more than 100,000 cases. We've seen the most deaths on Sunday since May.
That is a stark figure, and the piecemeal shutdowns that we've seen in some states across the U.S., certainly not South Dakota being implemented to
help curb the spread. South Dakota itself has had had the highest seven-day moving average in the U.S., a staggering 58 percent positivity rate over
the past week.
That's nearly more than 12 times the rate the World Health Organization says should be cause for concern. Take a look. Record case numbers and
hospitalizations and more deaths sweeping the nation as the Coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing.
Sunday marking the 13th consecutive day the country reported more than 100,000 new cases. Nearly 70,000 patients hospitalized nationwide with the
virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, MEMBER, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN'S COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: We've got to the have help right now, and so I - I just urge that
the last thing we do is support our Governors. They are the front lines right now. There is no national leadership on this issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV (voice over): The Biden transition team does not have access to the Trump Administration's COVID-19 data and vaccine distribution plans,
something Dr. Anthony Fauci is concerned about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. FAUCI: It's almost like passing a baton in a race are. You don't want to stop and then give it to somebody. You want to just essentially keep
going. That's what transition is, so it certainly would make things more smoothly if we could do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV (voice over): Governors from both parties now forced to implement their own mitigation efforts, including shutting down businesses to stop
the spread. In Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer announcing new restrictions, closing indoor dining and bars and restaurants, urging people
to work from home and moving high school and college students to virtual learning White House Coronavirus Task Force Adviser Dr. Scott Atlas
criticizing these measures and suggesting residents to rise up in a tweet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRETCHEN WHITMER, MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: I'm not going to be bullied into not following reputable scientists and medical professionals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV (voice over): New Mexico ordering a statewide order closing all non-essential services for the next two weeks, and in Oregon in-person
dining and gyms closed for at least two weeks to try to curb the number of cases the state is seeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ESTHER CHOO, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: It is so hard to ask all of you this again. Many of you cheered and rang
bells and put up signs calling us heroes, and we're so grateful for that. Right now we're asking you to be our heroes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV (voice over): In Illinois a stay-at-home advisory goes into effect today in Chicago. In North Dakota, the Governor announcing new mitigation
efforts including finally implementing a mask mandate at least two sheriffs already saying they won't enforce it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a nutshell we will not be enforcing mandates, mask mandates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV (voice over): Despite the state reporting more than 2,200 new cases Saturday, its highest day since the pandemic began.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG BURGUM, NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR: Right now the data demands a higher level of mitigation efforts to reverse the dangerous trends, to slow the
spread of the virus and to avoid the need for any economic shut downs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV (on camera): And in neighboring South Dakota the state has the highest seven-day moving average of any state in the country at nearly 60
percent. And South Dakota's Republican Governor Kristi Noem has taken a hands-off approach to curbing the spread of the virus. No virus - pardon
me, no mask mandate. No stay-at-home restrictions these as her residents are paying the price with their lives. Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you for that. Well, CNN just spoke with Co-Founder and Chairman of Moderna who has developed this new vaccine. Have a listen to
this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOUBAR AFEYAN, CO-FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN, MODERNA: We're encouraged by the data. In fact, I think it's important to understand that we have out of the
95 cases, 11 were severe cases of COVID-19 and, of course, we wanted to find out of those 11, there cases that were on the vaccine, and it turns
out that all 11 cases were on the placebo.
Now, you know, in scientific or clinical research, optimism is something that you actively keep in check because you have to do the rigorous
experiments, but certainly I can say that we're encouraged by this interim readout, and we do expect based on the - on the numerous studies we did in
animals and prior human analyses looking very specifically at the antibodies and their levels that we may well be able to keep in check the
very severe cases.
[11:10:00]
I'll also say that we had a number of different - other subgroups that we're looking actively at and in general it looks like the vaccine performs
broadly across all the population groups that we considered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the news coming in thick and fast on vaccines. The EU has just said it will authorize a deal with CureVac to secure more than 400
million dozes of its candidate Coronavirus vaccine. That deal needs regulatory approval.
The Commission in Europe, the President there Ursula Von Der Leyen says if approved every member state will receive the vaccine statement on a
prorated basis and under the same conditions. So, exciting news when it comes to vaccines, and we should all care about that wherever we are living
in the world.
Our CNN Health Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been on this story from day one regular if not daily guest on this show out of Atlanta, Georgia,
where the CDC of course is base. Moderna says its vaccine is 95 percent effective. That's versus Pfizer being 90 percent effective.
Of course, these are interim results at this point, but it looks very promising and truly remarkable, but these vaccines have such a high
efficacy rate at this stage of the trial. Does Moderna's seem better given this higher number? What do we understand by that?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, the number isn't quite higher. So Moderna's efficacy is 94.5, according to what
they announced. This is all early interim data and Pfizer said last week that theirs was more than 90 percent effective so every expert I've talked
to said, look, it seems to be really pretty much the same.
Even if it's off by the same the efficacy is really pretty much the same. The safety, Becky, also seems to be the same. Very few side effects, little
things like headaches or body aches which is no fun but they go away quickly, no serious side effects and Moderna has the advantage that it can
be stored and delivered in just regular old freezers.
You don't have to use these special ultra-cold freezers like Pfizer needs to use which could be problem make the for the Pfizer vaccine. So for all
three of these reasons this is indeed exciting news. So Before I get into what the results specifically for Moderna were, let's talk a little bit
about how they did their trial.
They, you know, had people roll up their sleeves, put needles into arms and then said, OK, go live your life. Let's see what happens. They did not
intentionally infect people with COVID. Unfortunately, as you've explained on your show, there's a lot of COVID in the United States, so people just
by virtue of living their lives, some of them ran into COVID, and let's see what happened when they did that.
So Moderna gave 15,000 study participants a placebo, that's a shot of saline that does nothing what they found is that when they over the course
of the next several months went and lived their lives 90 of them became ill with COVID. They gave the same number of people 15,000 participants the
vaccine, the real thing over a period of months.
Only five of them became ill with COVID, and as we just head, discussed earlier in your show, none of those people became severely ill, but among
those who got the placebo, 11 of those did become severely ill.
Now, I talked earlier with Dr. Tal Zaks, he is the Chief Medical Officer at Moderna and he talked about what a great moment this was especially because
the technology used in both Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines, it's called Messenger RNA or MNRA. It is entirely new to the market there is no
marketed vaccine that uses this technology. So let's take a listen to what Dr. Zaks had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TAL ZAKS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, MODERNA: It's I believe a major win for both our MRNA technology and its ability to prevent disease and for us
as a society in our ability to work collaboratively and very quickly from the start of this pandemic be able to leverage science and collaboration to
have a vaccine that has the potential and the proof to prevent COVID-19.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now the question is how long will it prevent COVID-19 for the rest of your life? Most experts think no, they think this may be a vaccination
that we will need to get say once a year kind of like the flu shot.
Moving forward in the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will still need to review all of these data. One independent panel has
already reviewed it but now the full Food and Drug Administration needs to review it. Dr. Tony Fauci, I talked to him last night. He said he expects
the first shots to go into arms in the United States in the second half of December. Becky.
ANDERSON: That is fascinating. Even with all these vaccines coming down the line, as it were, I just want our viewers to have a listen to the HHS
Secretary in the U.S. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't you need to be talking to the president-elect's team now?
ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Well, George, we'll make sure that happens when and if it's appropriate to do that.
[11:15:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why isn't it appropriate now?
AZAR: George, GSA has to make a determination that a transition in effect that. Determination hasn't been made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: It does seem absolutely remarkable that there is no communication between these two teams at present when these vaccines are coming down the
line. The numbers on COVID are so high in the states. What is the holdup at this point?
COHEN: This is a just of the matter of the Trump Administration being able to say, all right, we lost, time to help the people who are coming into the
White House do their job, but that's not what's happening. As you pointed out, Becky, it's a terrible time not to be cooperative.
We have just stunning, you know, rising up to the stars case numbers, and the good news, we have these two vaccines that look promising but there's a
lot of work that needs to go into how they are going to be distributed and how they will be stored and sort of all these different things that need to
happen, and it's hard to do that when you're not cooperating.
ANDERSON: Absolutely, Elizabeth, always a pleasure thank you. U.S. President Donald Trump has no plans on conceding this election. The
election, of course, that he lost to Joe Biden, and it seems his wild and unproven conspiracy theories aren't going away either.
Nearly two weeks after Election Day the Trump team continues to push baseless claims of widespread voter fraud even when lawsuit after lawsuit
is shut down in the courts. This alternate reality has very real consequences like the thousands of people protesting in Washington, D.C.
fueled by right wing media and Mr. Trump.
They believe the election was stolen from the president. Former President Barack Obama calls it truth decay. He believes it's the biggest threat to
American democracy and says President Trump is right in the middle of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: Maybe most importantly and most disconcertingly what we've seen is what some people call truth decay,
something that's been accelerated by outgoing President Trump in the sense that not only do we not have to tell the truth but the truth doesn't even
matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, connecting all of this for you tonight, CNN's Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter who is live for you in New York. We've spoken
about this before but it seems to be getting quite clear now. How is the media playing into President Trump's alternate reality here?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are two American media systems operating in parallel. One is fact-based another is fiction.
You say alternative reality; it is a fictional universe of information claiming that Trump is actually the winner of the election, claiming that
President-Elect Biden will not become president.
It is cuckoo for cocoa puffs, this is stuff that is not at all centered in reality but it is finding an audience among right wing voters who want to
believe Trump won. Take a look at what's being broadcast in some parts of the United States in the past couple of days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fate of the republic hangs in the balance here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump won the election. He'll win the recount. He'll win in court. He won.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is going to be done with being president in four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: I think this is the tragic end point to Trump's war on truth. He is insisting he won. His media acolytes are insisting that he won, and you
can see these crowds over the weekend in Washington, not the millions that Kayleigh McEnany claimed but clearly tens of thousands of people turned out
for these marches.
They were described as stop the steal rallies. They were generally pro- Trump marches with some people there saying Trump actually won the election. This is actually getting worse I think as it goes on. Think about
two weeks ago, we were on the cusp of Election Day, took a while to have the results.
Now we're about two weeks in, and these conspiracy theories are actually festering and getting worse over time. On Fox News but also on some of
Fox's smaller wannabe rivals, there are these channels called News Max and One America News that barely ever had an audience in the United States
until the last two weeks.
What's happened is because Fox is perceived as not being pro-Trump enough right now because they are calling Biden the President-Elect; viewers are
flocking to News Max and One America News instead. I've never seen anything like this.
It's the break-up of right-wing media where Fox was dominant and now there are these rivals that are even further to the right that are coming in and
filling the void.
ANDERSON: Oh, an, One American News and Donald Trump has tweeted about it today saying you should watch it. It's great. The election was the two
weeks ago, as you rightly point out, Brian.
[11:20:00]
The president and his supporters continue to supply disinformation about the results, and I say disinformation, and I mean that. How much longer
does this go on?
STELTER: Right, disinformation means intentionally false. It's one thing if it's misinformation, if you're misinformed. If I give you the wrong
directions and you go down the wrong street, that's a mistake, it was misinformation but what's happening on News Max and One America News and in
some corners of Fox News and all across Facebook and Twitter, this is disinformation.
People know this stuff is bogus and they don't actually believe that voting machines were rigged all across the country. They are alleging the
conspiracy that would have required thousands of people in multiple states. Nobody buys it and by the way the Republican Senators who are staying
silent they don't buy it because they just won re-election in this exact same vote count.
There's so much breathtaking hypocrisy on the part of these - of these Republican politicians and in some cases just lack of courage to tell the
truth about what is going on? How does this end? Well, some of them need to actually show some leadership but so far we're not seeing that.
I think actually over time we're seeing more and more silence, more and more fear of turning against Trump or not telling the line that he's
pushing on Twitter. By the way, that's another piece of this. Twitter and Facebook, are they going to take stiffer action against these lies on their
platforms?
Trump is posting every day multiple times claiming that he won and Twitter is putting up very weak flags that say well, other sources say this was a
different outcome. They are acting very gently at a moment where something more is called for.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Brian.
STELTER: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Look. Let's get the facts straight here. The president lost. He is now the past. Biden is the future. His tweets can't change that, Donald
Trump's. He'll be leaving the White House in weeks from now. It is good to keep that in mind as Mr. Trump doesn't accept the reality. There's a fact
check for you.
Well, still ahead, tear gas clubs and brute force. Police in Belarus step up their clampdown on protesters so much so that people are reportedly
being put behind bars more than ever before plus, it's well known that Joe Biden is no fan of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
So what will his incoming administration mean for America's closest ally in the Middle East? I'm going to ask "The Jerusalem Post's" Editor-in-Chief.
Also ahead this hour--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want everyone in congress out honestly I don't believe in anyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the reality is sinking in amongst some Peruvians whose interim leader is out only - sorry, after only five days in office.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: Cameras recording as the police try to stop an anti-government protest in Belarus. Officers use tear gas and beat people up with batons in
the Capital Minsk on Sunday. Protesters accuse their president of stealing the August election.
Well, we have another video to show you. I've got to warn you, you may find this next one disturbing. These images show officers going after protesters
in a supermarket. Police beat them up as shoppers watched, and you can hear them screaming in horror.
A local human rights watchdog say the number of arrests reached a new high on Sunday. Fred Pleitgen is collecting all of these developments for you he
joins us live from Berlin. The largest number of detentions as I understand it reported in a single day since these protests started in August. You
were there at the time. And what do you make of what we're seeing here?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, it certainly seems as though there's two things at play here, Becky right now.
First of all, you're absolutely right. Watchdogs are saying that about 1,000 people were arrested in one single day, that of course is by far a
record even by the standards of the Lukashenko regime, but it certainly seems to show two things.
On the one hand it seems as though Alexander Lukashenko shows obviously no signs of backing down sending in his security forces first and really
seeming to be try to arrest his way out of the big problem that he has that a majority of the people in that country do not view him as the legitimate
president of that country because they believe that the vote was stolen in August.
Now also those shows Becky, something that we saw early on when we were on the ground in Minsk as well that the people who are coming out to protest
are also not backing down. So far by those same counts, not only were 1,000 people arrested on Sunday but so far about 25,000 people have been
arrested.
Those same institutes are saying, and still people are coming out by the tens of thousands into the streets every weekend. This is the 14th week in
a row that the protesters have been coming out, so it certainly seemed as though while you see that increase in force coming from the Lukashenko
regime, while you're seeing more and more the security forces on ground.
And keep in mind that only a couple of weeks ago you would not have seen the same amount of water cannon trucks out there. The use of tear gas and
stun grenades and clubs as well. That is something where you really see Lukashenko upping the ante but the people still not backing down.
And they are finding new rallying cries virtually every week. This past week it was killing of an anti-government protester, Roman Bondarenko, 31
who was killed on Thursday. And his family saying that they believe very strongly believes they are sure, that he was killed in police detention.
Alexander Lukashenko has came out and said that matter will be investigated.
But, of course, there are not many people in Belarus, not many Belarusians' who believe that that is actually going to be the case. So it really is
very difficult to see where all of this is going to lead right now with the backing of the Kremlin it seems as though Alexander Lukashenko still very
remains in power.
But seeing those pictures and seeing the people coming out every weekend, it certainly does not seem as though he's really on top of that - that
problem that he has and certainly doesn't seem as though the opposition is anywhere near backing down. Becky?
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. Just watching these pictures its pretty shocking stuff isn't it? Fred, thank you. Well, let me update you on some
news that we've been following for you over the last hour or so.
The U.S. Secretary of State now landing in Turkey Mike Pompeo is in Istanbul this hour after flying in from Paris. This is part of his seven-
nation tour of what is the Middle East and wider Middle East and Europe, but it could get a bit awkward after all nearly neither the Turkish
President nor the Foreign Minister making time for him there in Istanbul.
We'll be tracking that trip for you over the coming days a top U.S. ally - Middle East tensions and a new administration heading for the White House.
Up next, what will the Biden Administration mean for Israel? The Editor-in- Chief of "The Jerusalem Post" weighs in on that up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: The European Union has a message for Israel. It is angry over the country's plans to build settler housing in East Jerusalem. The U.N. isn't
happy about it either. In fact, most of the international community views the land as occupied territory, so any new homes on it would be seen as an
illegal settlement.
Bidding on contracts ends on January 18th, just two days, coincidentally, before Joe Biden moves into the White House, and it is widely known that
the president-elect is critical of Israeli settlements.
Connecting all of this right now is Yaakov Katz the Editor-in-Chief of "The Jerusalem Post" he joins me live. And you can see of this discussion I hope
would be what a Biden Administration means for Israel, but Mike Pompeo's move to visit on Wednesday this week, a West Bank settlement on the
anniversary of his decision to no longer recognize settlements as inconsistent with international law is controversial at best as is, of
course, the plans for new settlements in East Jerusalem. What do you make of what is going on?
Let's be quite frank. Pompeo may be visiting Israel more as a sort of prelude to his pushing for the position of president in 2024 than anything
else, but he is still representing the Trump Administration here.
YAAKOV KATZ, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE JERUSALEM POST: I think 100 percent, Becky. 2024 is a while away so what will happen four years from now God
only knows but no doubt they are coming in here and visiting a West Bank settlement is breaking down another taboo of what we used to expect to be
the U.S. policy.
But I think that's what the Trump Administration and you know this, Becky, has done for four years, they have broken down every barrier and every wall
and every obstacle when it comes to what we thought to be the conceptions of what the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the borders of what that
conflict and how it was looked at by the U.S. Administration?
I think Israel has a problem here with the Biden Administration. We see with the announcement of the new tender for the homes in East Jerusalem.
They're trying to get that in before January 20th, before Biden takes office.
They're trying to get that one thing done so there won't be problems once he is the president but this is something that's going to change. It's
going to go back to the way it used to be with the Obama Administration, with the Bush Administration, with the Clinton Administration. U.S.
history, U.S. traditional policy is against construction in West Bank settlements. Donald Trump was the anomaly, not the normal here.
ANDERSON: Let's talk about what we believe the Biden/Harris Administration might do going forward? I've been talking to people locally in the region.
My sources certainly suggesting it's very unlikely that they would reverse Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, very unlikely
that they will reverse any decision on Golan, for example.
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: So what do we expect them to do?
KATZ: Well, that's the big question. I think you're right about Jerusalem. I think you're right about the Golan. Why mess with something if it's not
broken at the moment? The Jerusalem Embassy move took place already two and a half years ago?
Nobody is making a big deal about it right now so why even get involved there? I think the big issues for Israel are going to be two basically. The
first is settlement construction. Israel builds in the settlements. It's a regular thing, its routine, and we can find ourselves with an
administration that is routinely now going to be condemning Israel for that construction.
The bigger issue looming on the horizon is Iran. What will Biden do with the Iranian nuclear challenge and that threat? Will he race back to the
JCPOA, the 2015 nuclear deal, will he try to upgrade it and improve it? Will he abandon it completely?
I don't think that we know exactly what his policy is going to be? He has been very vague of what he plans to do as have his people been? And Israel
is concerned there. It's concerned about what the Biden Administration will do with the Iranians and whether it will embolden them or not?
And I think, by the way, Becky, that's how we should look at what's happening right now in the region. Part of Pompeo's visit here this week is
to really kind of align what's happening in the last few weeks, get maximum pressure on the Iranians and hopefully put them in a place and put those
sanctions in a place that Biden won't be able to so easily roll them back.
ANDERSON: Certainly experts that I've spoken to say Joe Biden, if he picks one issue to press the Israelis on, it would be likely Iran over the
Palestinian issue. Is there, do you think, still the possibility of what we were calling an October surprise, let's say now November or December
surprise when it comes to the possibility of an Israeli strike, for example, on Iranian nuclear facilities?
You know, this region is full of conspiracy theories, but there are 60 days left in this period of time between an outgoing Trump Administration and an
incoming Biden one, and, you know, it's clear as you say, you know. We still don't know what Biden will do when it comes to relations with Tehran?
KATZ: Right. As a veteran of this region, Becky, you know also not only it's a full of conspiracy theories and it's also full of surprise and I
wouldn't be surprised. I can't rule out that option that something might happen in these last few weeks either by Trump himself or by Israel, but
would I say that I'd be very surprised and I think it's unlikely.
As much of a threat as Iran is today and, yes, it continues to enrich uranium, although at low levels and to get quantities that are above what's
it's supposed to have under the JCPOA it's certainly not enriching uranium as far as we know based on U.N. reports to military-grade levels, it's not
yet building a bomb.
And, therefore, if we think about Israeli policy until now which has been an attack being defined and described as a last-resort option, we're not
yet at that stage right now. We might get there, and that might happen under Biden's watch and if that were to happen then I think Israel will
have no choice but to act.
But as long as we're not yet there why would Israel want to go to war and this would be a painful war why would it want to do that right now?
Political instability also in Israel, we might be on the verge of our own fourth election in the span of the last two years. So things are quite
volatile. I don't know that now would be the time to do something of that sort.
ANDERSON: You have argued that Netanyahu faces an uphill battle with regard the Democrats who have not forgotten his animosity towards the Obama
Administration, briefly. You've got 60 seconds. Explain.
KATZ: Well, you talk to any Democrat today, they remember that 2015 speech that Netanyahu did a congress while Obama was trying to push forward the
nuclear deal, there was a lot of tension between those two and Obama said Netanyahu was hostile to Israel and Obama would said that Netanyahu was
under mining his authorities and was doing things that work against peace.
I think that has scared and traumatized these relations Israel has to remain a bipartisan issue for its own safety and security. The relations
with the United States are of crucial importance for Israel, and we've always had those bipartisan ties, no matter who was in office, both sides
of the aisle supported Israel.
Israel needs to tread carefully with this new administration to ensure that it doesn't undermine those relations already now in the few weeks before
Biden takes office let alone once he takes office come January 20th.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: You and I will continue to talk for the benefit of our viewers as we move through this outgoing period for the Trump Administration and the
incoming Biden/Harris Administration. The Middle East, if not world, is watching and waiting with bated breath, not least to find out who is
Foreign Secretary or Secretary of State, of course, Defense Secretary.
There are so many answered questions and what policy will be from this administration going forward. Fascinating times always a pleasure sir.
Thank you.
We were just following protests in Belarus for you with protesters angry at the government there. Well, anger knows no geography. Let me connect you to
Peru this hour where it is fair to say there will be few tears shed for the outgoing interim president Manuel Merino.
Here's exhibit A. The celebrations erupted Sunday after Manuel Merino announced his resignation and threw in the towel after, only, get this,
five days on the job. His departure comes after days of protests following the controversial impeachment of his predecessor. Well, now, Peru will have
to look for its fourth leader in less than five years.
Well, connecting us to the story there tonight is our Stefano Pozzebon joining us live from Bogota in Columbia. Marino was there President less
than five years Vizcarra the Former President had to resign amid an impeachment scandal; he took over from a president who also resigned amid
corruption allegations. This is getting careless, isn't it?
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, absolutely, Becky, not only Merino's predecessor, but the predecessor of the predecessor were both ousted from
parliament in a conflict between the presidency and the legislature that doesn't seem to resolve no matter who is actually in power.
Merino only lasted on the job 118 hours before congress moved against him and demanded his resignation. Here's what happened in a frantic week in
Peru, Becky. Take a listen.
After a week of chaos and uncertainty, Peru's Interim President Manuel Marino announced his resignation after only five days in office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAANUEL MERINO, FORMER PERUVIAN PRESIDENT: I want to make it known to the whole country that I irrevocably present my resignation for the office of
the presidency and I call for peace and unity for all Peruvians. My commitment is with Peru.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: Two people have died amid violent protest that erupted across the country after an embattled President Martin Vizcarra was impeached by
Peru's congress last week. Vizcarra was accused of corruption and of allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from two
construction companies when he was a Regional Governor between 2011 and 2014.
He denies receiving any payments and the allegations of corruption. Protesters, opposition parties and civil society calls Vizcarra's
impeachment and congress's decision to place Merino as Interim President a legislative coup, however, Merino's resignation might not be enough for
some.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want everyone in Congress out. Honestly, I don't believe in anyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: Merino was Peru's third president in less than five years. Vizcarra took office in 2018 after the Former President Pedro Pablo
Kuczynski resigned amid corruption allegations. Kuczynski denied allegations and said he was the victim of the witch hunt Vizcarra was
Kuchzynski's Vice President.
In his televised resignation speech Merino said the entire cabinet offered their resignations but that he intends to keep ministers in their positions
until the replacements are announced. He pledged to cooperate with congress to prevent a power vacuum in the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERINO: I will do everything I can to guarantee the constitutional succession that congress decides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: Now Peruvians are on edge about the leadership of their nation until elections that held in April next year while a discredited political
class must also deal with the ever present health emergency of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Yes, Becky, Coronavirus is perhaps not at the forefront of this political crisis but is the background of every person that took to the street with
anger in Lima over the past six days Becky. Peru is currently steering through the most dramatic health emergency of its history without anybody
at the helm.
More than 1,000 deaths per million were reported in Peru since the pandemic began. That's a higher toll than the U.S., that's a higher toll, most
European countries.
[11:45:00]
POZZEBON: Peru is one of the most affected countries in the region by the virus and not having anybody in charge to make the measure, to take those -
those decisions is fueling the anger and to make things worse the Former President Manuel Merino, this morning Monday that Peruvians - it has opened
an investigation on to the repression against those protesters, Becky so this is a situation that's far from being resolved in Lima back to you.
ANDERSON: Yes very, very unstable. All right, thank you for that important that we get you around the world and important that we connect you to the
right places. People around the world are anxious for a way to safely resume travel amid COVID-19. I'm sure most of you watching will agree with
this. What one airline says is the key to getting passengers back on board. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Itching to get back in the air well, the U.S. based United Airlines thinks testing is key to getting passengers back flying. The
company is launching a daily flight to London where everyone must take a free COVID-19 rapid test before boarding, connecting all of this for you
from takeoff to landing CNN's Richard Quest live from New York - New Jersey. Well, this plan sounds too good to be true. Any caveats here?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN EDITOR-AT-LARGE: No, except they have got to convince various government this is the way forward, especially the British
government, which is sticking stubbornly to quarantines upon arrival rather than testing, pre-departure testing it, so tonight, Becky, all the
passengers on United 14 from New York to London and indeed for the next month or so, you can only fly on that flight if you're prepared to take a
test, a COVID test, a rapid test here at airport before you fly.
Only those who are negative, of course, will be allowed on the aircraft. What they hope to prove by all of this is that this is the way forward.
Essentially everybody who is on that plane tonight is guaranteed to have taken a negative COVID test.
ANDERSON: So the UK still requires passengers arriving from the U.S. to self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival. Now, I know that they have changed
that for a number of other countries. For example, from the UAE, you now don't have to self-isolate, and that is certainly encouraged people to
travel to it the UK from here. I'm assuming that the opposite is true of where you are.
[11:50:00]
QUEST: Well, first of all, you've got the travel bans from Europe which are still in place over COVID the 14 days. And then secondly, yes, Becky, the
idea is really simple. Create confidence in travelers that, A, the plane ride is safe and, B, that the country on arrival will accept it as the
first part of a quarantine process.
For instance, recently I went to - to - I was traveling to the UAE where in some cases can are you still required to take a second COVID test. But this
is a much truncated quarantine than a 14-day sledgehammer to crack the proverbial nut.
So, Becky, what's experimented and tested tonight is firstly will passengers do it? Secondly, eventually will governments accept the test
and, therefore, you have to do another test in two or three day's time when you arrive. Otherwise, Becky, an industry that's already on its knees is
not going to stand up again anytime soon.
ANDERSON: Yes. It's fascinating. I've been told here as well that rapid testing, quite frankly, is the only way forward to get people back in it
the air and traveling again. You know, of course, as a rightly point out the planes will feel safe for people, people need their confidence back but
if we can get people in the air the airlines say they can think about bouncing business back, again, safe flight to you and your team, Captain
Quest.
QUEST: Thank you, thank you.
ANDERSON: And these astronauts just had a safe flight themselves, too, all the way to the ISS. The latest on the SpaceX launch is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Lockdowns and quarantines may be the order of the day in many parts of the world right now, but we've seen places like Cuba say they are
ready to welcome tourists back again. What about the 2021 Olympics? Well, the Head of the IOC isn't worried. Thomas Sparks says he's very confident
that spectators can attend next year's games.
He is in Japan to discuss safety measures as well as other issues with the postponed games now less than nine months away. Japan recently held a test
run for what should be the big event. CNN's Selina Wang is in Tokyo with the story for you.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Japan wants to show the world that it can host the Olympics in the middle of a pandemic. 32 gymnasts from Japan, the
U.S., Russia and China plus 2,000 socially distanced fans gathered at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium earlier this month in Tokyo for one of the first
international sporting competitions since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
It's a glimpse of what Tokyo may do for the Olympic Games schedule for next summer. For athletes this was a competition like no other. Masks,
temperature checks, daily COVID tests leading up to the competition.
Two weeks quarantined in their home countries before arriving on charter planes to Tokyo. The Chinese Delegation event arrived in full Hazmat Suits.
One of the six American gymnasts who competed said it was a strange but unique experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was stressful but it was very special. We hadn't competed in like nine months or more so just to be able to be back in the
venue, back in front of a crowd and back with other world class athletes, you know, it was just amazing to feel like an athlete again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:55:00]
WANG: For Gymnast eMjae Frazier this was her first time out of the U.S. but for her only views of Japan were through the hotel or bus windows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMJAE FRAZIER, U.S. GYMNAST: Because of this competition, it not only gives me hope that there can be another season, it makes me feel like we can, and
we all stay very safe and because of the bubble that we were all in it gave us less of a chance of contracting the virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: But this was a small-scale event. It's unclear how Japan can scale these COVID measures for the Olympics which typically have hundreds of
events, more than 10,000 competitors and millions of spectators. The President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach is in Japan
for his first visit since the pandemic began.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS BACH, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: This makes us also very, very confident that we can have spectators then in the Olympic
stadium next year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: Meanwhile, Japan is dealing with a third wave of COVID-19 cases as infections reach record highs of more than 1,000 a day. One health expert
says Japan needs to strengthen its contact tracing and testing measures warning that there could be a resurgence as Japan relaxes its border
restrictions at time when the cases in the U.S. and Europe continue to rise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENJI SHIBUYA, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: Japan needs to show that they can suppress transmission in a way
that other Asian countries have done, and they have to stop it at border as well which Japan is not doing swiftly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: But Japan is pushing ahead with other large-scale events. Recently more than 27,000 fans watched a baseball game at the Yokohama Stadium.
After Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective based on an early analysis, Olympic organizers said they felt positive
sentiment and relief.
But the organizers have said they are willing to hold the games at any cost, regardless of whether an effective vaccine is widely available in
time. Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
ANDERSON: Well, we just have a minute or so left and before we leave you, a new chapter in space travel has taken off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: This just never gets old. SpaceX rocket and spacecraft carrying four astronauts soaring into outer space on Sunday this is the first fully
operational crewed mission to Elon Musk's SpaceX. Astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon are now about a half way through their 27 hours commute to work
that is of course to work at the International Space Station.
Once docked they will conduct experiments for six weeks or six months in fact with one heck of a view from the office window and speaking of one
heck of a view, I'm going to leave you with the view from our office here in Abu Dhabi. Not bad, eh. Stay well. Lock after yourselves. Good night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
