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The Situation Room

U.S. Tops 13 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases; Federal Appeals Court Denies Trump Campaign Effort to Revive Pennsylvania Lawsuit, says "Claims have No Merit"; Biden Expected to Name Economic Team Next Week and will get First Presidential Daily Brief Monday; Iran State Media Says Country's Top Nuclear Scientist Assassinated; COVID Hammering U.S. Economy On One Of The Year's Busiest Shopping Days. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 27, 2020 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:00:15]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Jim Acosta. This is a SITUATION ROOM special report. And we're following breaking news.

Just moments ago, on this day after Thanksgiving, the U.S. crossed yet another dire milestone in this pandemic. Topping 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases as the death toll climbs to 264,000 people. We have also just learned CDC advisers will vote next week on who gets the coronavirus vaccine first.

Also breaking, a federal appeals court has just denied the Trump campaign's effort to revive a lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania. The three-judge panel saying bluntly, quote, "The claims have no merit and that voters, not lawyers, choose the president."

Meanwhile, President Trump himself is reversing course now saying President-elect Joe Biden can only enter the White House if he can prove he got 80,000,000 million votes but that is not true. Despite the president's baseless claims Biden is moving forward with the transition. He is expected to name an economic team next week and will get his first presidential daily brief on Monday.

Let's get more on the transition with CNN political reporter MJ Lee. MJ, we are expecting some key announcements about the future Biden administration, aren't we?

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Joe Biden has been spending Thanksgiving weekend here in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It's been mostly quiet today. But we do know that there has been a lot of work underway ahead of what is expected to be a busy week. We expect more personnel announcements to come next week. And the start of classified briefings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have had a long, long tradition of traveling in Nantucket with our big family, a large family every Thanksgiving.

LEE (voice-over): President-elect Joe Biden skipping his annual Thanksgiving gathering with extended family as COVID-19 continues to take lives across the country.

BIDEN: This year, we are going to be staying in Delaware with just a small group around at our dinner table.

LEE: Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Biden working with his transition team from his home in Delaware building out his administration and making preparations ahead of the Inauguration Day.

On Monday, Biden expected to receive the presidential daily briefing for the first time as president-elect.

BIDEN: We are going to do it on a regular basis. Since the certification or what is it called?

They have been very forthcoming offering all access. And so, we're going to be starting those on a regular basis.

LEE: The classified briefing which Biden received for years as Barack Obama's vice president, was delayed for weeks, when the Trump administration declined to formally ascertain Biden' election victory. Biden also planning to announce some members of his economic team next week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next week, you can anticipate that we will be rolling out additional names of people that President-elect Biden will nominate to serve in key positions in his administration.

LEE: Former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen expected to be named Biden's Treasury secretary. Biden already announced several members of his National Security team this week.

BIDEN: It's a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it.

LEE: But with notable omissions including the roles of CIA director and Defense secretary. Among those being considered to lead the Defense Department include veteran Pentagon official Michele Flournoy, former secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and decorated veteran and senator, Tammy Duckworth.

QUESTION: Why don't you announce your Defense Secretary?

BIDEN: I'm going to do that. We're just doing a piece at a time here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE (on camera): So, as you heard him say there, just one piece at a time. As these weeks unfold, we know that the transition team will be making more announcements including as it is noted, the Defense secretary, CIA director. These are just going to be such important announcements. In addition to the economic team which will be so incredibly critical as the country continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right. CNN's MJ Lee, thanks very much for that.

Now to the White House now. CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, another major defeat for President Trump's attempts to overturn the election he clearly lost.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. As the president continues to claim that this election was rigged. He and his attorneys are failing to make that case in courts across this country. The latest case coming from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and a Trump appointed judge who says that the president's - the campaign claims have quote, "no merit whatsoever."

And yet, Jim, a day after saying that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College indeed votes for Joe Biden next month. The president is now saying that Joe Biden should not be able to enter the White House until he can prove what state and local election officials across the country have already asserted that this election was not fraudulent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We caught them cheating. We caught them stealing.

I'm the president of the United States. Don't ever talk to the president that way.

[17:05:02]

DIAMOND (voice-over): Lying and lashing out, President Trump bitterly refusing to accept his loss to President-elect Joe Biden.

TRUMP: It's going to be a very hard thing to concede.

DIAMOND: But also vowing to leave the White House if the Electoral College locks in Biden's victory next month.

QUESTION: If the Electoral College does elect President-elect Joe Biden, are you not going to leave this building?

TRUMP: Just so - Certainly, I will. Certainly, I will. And you know that.

DIAMOND: That admission coming during a Thanksgiving airing of grievances and conspiracy theories marking the first time Trump has taken questions since the election. Less than 24 hours later, Trump undercutting his assurance of a peaceful exit.

Tweeting, "Biden can only enter the White House as president if he can prove that his ridiculous 80 million votes were not fraudulent or illegally obtained."

TRUMP: During the course of 2020 -- DIAMOND: But it's Trump who has failed to prove his claims. Today, a federal appeals court denying the Trump campaign's latest effort to overturn Biden's victory in Pennsylvania. Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, writing, "...calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here. The campaign's claims have no merit."

That ruling brought Trump and his allies courtroom losses and withdrawals to more than 30 with not a single court in any state substantiating Trump's claims the election was rigged. Trump also refusing to commit to attending his successor's inauguration, a tradition upheld by every outgoing president since 1869.

TRUMP: I don't want to say that yet. I mean, I know the answer. I'll be honest, I know the answer but I just don't want to say it yet.

DIAMOND: Trump is committing to campaigning next week in Georgia.

TRUMP: It's very important we win those races.

DIAMOND: Where two runoff elections will decide the fate of the U.S. Senate. Georgia Republicans are worried Trump's baseless claims about voting.

TRUMP: I said, listen, you have a fraudulent system.

DIAMOND: And his attacks on the state's Republican secretary of state.

TRUMP: He is an enemy of the people. The secretary of state.

DIAMOND: Could depress GOP turnout. Today Trump doing damage control tweeting, "The 2020 election was a total scam." "But we must get out and help David and Kelly." "Otherwise we are playing right into the hands of some very sick people."

Meanwhile, the president spending another day on the golf course missing in action as the coronavirus pandemic enters its darkest chapter yet.

TRUMP: We are rounding the curve.

DIAMOND: Downplaying the virus, focused instead on who gets credit for the vaccines.

TRUMP: Don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines because the vaccines were me and I pushed people harder than they have ever been pushed before and we got that approved and through and nobody has ever seen anything like it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And as for that lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania, we are now also getting reaction from the president- elect's team. This is a statement from spokesman Mike Gwin, who says, "This election is over and Donald Trump lost, both in Pennsylvania and nationally. Desperate and embarrassingly meritless lawsuits like this one will continue to fail and will not change the fact that Joe Biden will be sworn in as president on January 20, 2021."

As for the president's legal team, his attorney Jenna Ellis took to Twitter to say they are taking this to the Supreme Court. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right. CNN's Jeremy Diamond, stay with us. We're going to talk more about this. We want to bring in CNN's senior political analyst David Gergen and CNN legal and national security analyst Carrie Cordero.

David, let me start with you. Yesterday, the president said, he would leave the White House on Inauguration Day. But today, he tweeted that - we can show this to you, or I can just read it to you.

"Biden can only enter the White House as president if he can prove that his ridiculous 80,000,000 votes were not fraudulently or illegally obtained."

Obviously, that is not true. It's false. But what message does this send to his base? They, obviously, don't want to give it up.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I must say that sound you heard with me falling out of my chair when you reported that he said that Biden would need to prove he had 80 million votes is such a laughable proposition. What is worrisome about this is the president is continuing insistence that Joe Biden would be fraudulently elected if he takes office, he'll be an illegitimate president.

That might be fine if within you know somebody in crazy land was saying it but the president of the United States, he's creating real problems in Democratic governance. We're going to have at least 50 million Americans the best we know now, on the day that Donald Trump leaves and Joe Biden sits in that chair in the Oval Office, 50 million people will think he is there as a fraudulent president. It makes it extremely hard to negotiate with Republicans who are being told by their base don't work with this guy, he is illegitimate, he's fraudulent. How can you even break bread with him, much less cut deals? It's just really going to be hard to govern.

[17:10:02]

ACOSTA: And Carrie Cordero, the federal appeals court just shut down the president's attempt to challenge the results in Pennsylvania. As David was saying, you know, the president and his supporters can stomp their feet and claim that this election has been stolen but even Trump-appointed judges are handing defeat after defeat to the president and his team.

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. And I think the words of the court, these claims have no merit, is really the key phrase for this case as well as all of the cases that the Trump team has brought all over the country. The fact is that there simply have not been credible allegations of fraud and what this decision and the language that the judges used in it shows is that the courts are not going to entertain this fantasy on the part of the Trump team that there was fraud. At some point, when they're in a court, they have to either have credible allegations and they have to back those allegations up with facts and they haven't been able to do that because the facts don't exist. And so, the election is over, and they are not going to have the election overturned through these claims that are made in court that don't have any legitimate basis.

ACOSTA: And Jeremy, it looks like the president is just running out of options and it sounds like he is struggling to figure out some kind of strategy to keep this going. It's almost as if he is just making this up as he goes along moment-to-moment.

DIAMOND: Yes. And that is what we have seen with the president previously during other crises, right? He does make things up as he goes. He goes with his gut. He follows his intuition. In this case, though, I think it's unique because the president is in a moment that it goes so against everything that he stands for. It goes against his brand of winning and winning and winning. And, right now, he lost. And he is struggling to kind of accept that and to internalize it.

I've talked to advisers and I'm sure you have too, Jim, who say that day-by-day the president's mood seems to change his views on the election seems to change. And ultimately advisers aren't sure where he is going to go with this next.

Now, we have been told that the president understands that he has, indeed, lost this election that there is very little, if any way for him to actually overturn the results of the election but this is a president who is now trying to save face. And he can save face in his mind by at least delegitimatizing Joe Biden's victory as president of the United States because it would also delegitimize the fact that he lost.

But now, the president knows that he has very few legal options remaining and as he pursues these appeals in federal court, and as he has expected to go to the Supreme Court he now faces the very real prospect as most legal experts presume here that his case is going to be shut down by Supreme Court and that would ultimately be a condemnation of these baseless claims of voter fraud and rigged election that he has been trying to make for so long.

ACOSTA: His remaining legal options are small enough to fit on that small table he was sitting at yesterday.

David Gergen, the formal transition has begun. But how important is it? And you know this all too well working with so many administrations. How important is it for President-elect Joe Biden to sort of stay on top of this narrative during this sensitive time before his inauguration to make sure Americans don't think for a moment that the president can just throw this into chaos and unravel everything.

GERGEN: I think so far, Jim, that Joe Biden has been a calming influence. He has been a comforting influence. And I think he has played this well. He set the tone well. But we are going to have twist and turns ahead. You know the president just said in the last few days, he's been signaling that he's going to create a lot of news in the next 50 days and whether it's going to be the pandemic or maybe Iran, or something like that. We don't know.

But Joe Biden is going to be - you know, he's going to have a quiet appointing people, but Donald Trump can still create a lot of chaos as president and leave behind a legacy that ties Biden's hands on a lot of fronts. And that's what's really so distressing about this. It's so anti-Democratic. It is so undermining our system and it's totally unfair to Joe Biden and his people. But we are where we are as the president would say or it is what it is.

ACOSTA: It certainly is. All right. We will leave it there. David Gergen, Carrie Cordero, and Jeremy Diamond. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

And up next, an unprecedented Black Friday as the coronavirus pandemic surges across the U.S.

Plus, breaking news. CDC advisers voting next week on who would get a vaccine first. We will have the latest on that crisis when our SITUATION ROOM Special Report continues. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:19:05]

ACOSTA: Breaking pandemic news this hour. The U.S. just topped 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases and the number of deaths now stands at more than 264,000 people.

CNN's Nick Watt is in Los Angeles with more. Nick, this is a grim picture we are seeing across the U.S.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Jim, you just mentioned 13 million cases in this country. Now, the first million cases back in the spring? That took us 98 days. The latest million? We have added those since Saturday. Six days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice-over): Americans were urged not to travel for the holiday. Millions did any way.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, MEMBER, BIDEN-HARRIS TRANSITION CORONAVIRUS ADVISORY BOARD: We already have this massive surge across the country. And it is sort of like pouring gasoline on that.

WATT: That massive surge in numbers Thanksgiving Day more than 90,000 Americans in the hospital with COVID-19 yet another all-time high.

[17:20:05]

On average, more than 1,500 deaths are now reported every day. And more than 100,000 new cases logged every day for 25 days straight. Here is how it works. When case counts rise, a couple of weeks later, the death toll follows. So, a couple of weeks from now.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: You do the math and that is 3,000 to 4,000 deaths per day. It doesn't have to be that bad.

WATT: But take Florida. The governor just extended his ban on local government enforcing mask mandates with fines.

MAYOR RICK KRISEMAN (D-FL), ST. PETERSBURG: The most important job of an elected official whether you are president, you are governor, or you are mayor, is public safety and health. If we all do these things, we will reduce our numbers, less people will get sick, and less people will go to the hospital and unfortunately die.

WATT: Black Friday 2020? The trampling injury risk may be down. The infection risk, way up.

DAMIEN GNECCO, BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPER: I'm pretty concerned but I figured the earlier you go, the less crowd you're going to have to face and I don't know about you. But I think I'm right.

WATT: National daily case counts, and death tolls will dip the next few days. Don't be fooled. Some states aren't reporting over the holiday the world this country not in a good place as we wait for a vaccine.

TRUMP: The vaccines are being delivered literally and it will start next week and the week after.

WATT: Very unlikely. The FDA hasn't even authorized a vaccine yet. Their advisory committee meets December 10th, a decision could take days, even weeks. So likely late December, best case for first shots in arms.

TRUMP: Don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines.

WATT: The president still playing politics and experts warn politicizing vaccines could have a cost.

SYRA MADAD, SENIOR DIRECTOR, SPECIAL PATHOGENS, NYC HEALTH AND HOSPITALS: The political theater absolutely has to stop. People are much more reluctant and has been. Even health care workers. You know I'm in a health care setting and health care workers are also hesitant even though they're going to be the first priority group because of all of this politicization of everything that's been going on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (on camera): So, the FDA decides whether to authorize a vaccine or not but the CDC decides who gets it first and they have just scheduled a meeting of their advisory committee for Tuesday when they will talk about that and vote on that. Why? Well, states need to get their distribution plan in place and basically everybody wants to get their ducks in a row so as soon as the FDA gives a green light, they are ready to go. Jim?

ACOSTA: OK. CNN's Nick Watt, thank you very much for that. Let's get more on all of this with CNN medical analyst, Dr. Leana Wen. She's an emergency room physician former Baltimore City health commissioner.

Dr. Wen, thanks very much for joining us. The country just surpassed, as you heard, 13 million cases of coronavirus and as Nick just reported it took 98 days to reach our first 1 million cases, but we just added another million cases in the last six days. How dangerous is that? This is progressing very rapidly.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We are facing explosive spread in this country, Jim. And we are on track to potentially reaching 20 million coronavirus cases by end of January. And I am so worried about everything that is happening over Thanksgiving because we have a massive surge on top of another massive surge.

And so, I would just urge everyone whom is still with their loved ones now try to do your best to not gather indoors. Really just know how much our health care system is under strain right now. We are at a point of potential collapse of our health care system. And each of us need to do our part and so stay away from these very high-risk settings like indoor settings where people are gathered together.

ACOSTA: And how long will it be until we know just how many infections came from Thanksgiving travel and gatherings and what is your advice to people who did travel and get together?

WEN: So, there is a lack of time of about two weeks. So, people who are getting infected right now will probably going to be detecting these infections in about two weeks' time and never going to see the hospitalizations and ICU visits from that a week or two weeks after that.

So, my advice to everyone again, do your best not to gather right now. But if you have already traveled and are returning back to your home community, know that you are at high-risk because not just the high- risk of the actual travel, but because you gathered with other people. And so, quarantine for at least seven days and then get tested. If you don't have ready testing, quarantine for 14 days. Our health care system just cannot withstand it. And so, we need to all do our part to flatten that curve.

ACOSTA: And this advisory group to the CDC is going to vote Tuesday on who is first in line to get the vaccine. What factors are they going to be looking at as they do that? That sounds like a very sensitive process.

[17:25:02]

WEN: Absolutely. And I'm glad that they are establishing a national framework and I'm sure that it's going to be one that is based on the principles of equity. We need to make sure that those who are at the highest risk including those who are not just the frontline workers but also residents in nursing homes as an example, or prison in populations and others that are very much affected by coronavirus will be prioritized.

Now, we also know that states are ultimately also going to be making the decision about the allocation within their own states because they will know their populations the best. And right now, we need urgent funding for state and local health departments because they are the ones who are going to be doing the work to get the vaccine out to people and they are really struggling with resources and with personnel.

ACOSTA: And President Trump, he weighed in on the vaccines and he said that these vaccines will be delivered to frontline workers starting next week and the week after that. But that is not true, right? What does the actual timeline look like? If you could lay that out for us.

WEN: Sure. Well, the FDA is their independent advisory committee was meeting in the first week of December, actually. I think the last day of their meeting is December 10th. And so, we are not going to get any information about whether these vaccines are going to be given in emergencies authorization until then. Now, we could see and should see expedited distribution after that. And so, we could well have shots in arms of health care workers, frontline workers by the end of this year but not before then.

ACOSTA: Yes. In the average American, folks like you and me, what can they expect in terms of being eligible for a vaccination because there are people who are ready to do it right now, obviously.

WEN: Well, health care workers and other essential workers will be prioritized and then there might be other individuals, for example, by age. Those who are more vulnerable. I hope that also there will be priority given for communities that are particularly hard hit by coronavirus including African Americans, Latino Americans, specific islanders, native Americans and so forth.

I think that for the everyday American we are looking at spring, maybe late spring, hopefully, by end of early summer we will be able to get vaccinations to the vast majority of Americans and that is another reason for us to put off our holiday plans this year because the end is not far and we just have to make it through this very difficult winter.

ACOSTA: That's right. Until then, we need to hunker down and do our part. Dr. Leana Wen, thanks so much for that important message. We appreciate it.

Coming up, Iran vows revenge after the country's top nuclear scientist is killed in an apparent assassination.

Plus, Florida's governor extends his ban on local leaders issuing mask mandates to fight the COVID pandemic. We will talk about that with the mayor of Miami Beach. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:32:39] ACOSTA: We're now on the breaking pandemic news. The U.S. topping 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases just moments ago. And Florida is among the states where the numbers continue to climb. Joining us to talk about it is Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. Mayor, thanks so much for doing this. In the past two weeks alone, as you know, the number of patients on ventilators in Miami Dade County went up by some 48 percent. How much worse do you expect this situation to get after this week's Thanksgiving gatherings? Because we know people were getting together.

MAYOR DAN GELBER (D-FL), MIAMI BEACH: Well, first of all, Happy Thanksgiving, Jim.

ACOSTA: You too.

GELBER: I think it's going to get a lot worse, because what we're seeing now is there everybody knows is really the infections from two weeks ago because this thing sort of has lagging indicators and what's bad dinner the infections happening now which are higher than a few weeks ago. And we expect them only to get worse with Thanksgiving. So I think we're clearly in an upward surge. And I think it's probably going to get worse. And we're trying very hard to tell people to do the things that they've heard, everybody tell them to do with the masks, the social distancing, being smart, getting tested, all that -- all of that. But unfortunately, this is the time when frankly, people do get together and no matter what we do, there's going to be some of that going on.

ACOSTA: And despite this, the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just extended his ban on local leaders issuing fines for health violations, like not wearing a mask or violating the restaurant capacity limits. How frustrating is that for you? Does that tie your hands?

GELBER: Yes, and it's nuts, frankly. He simultaneously opened up the economy. And instead of then saying, but everybody needs to wear a mask. That's how we can do this safely. He actually did exactly the opposite and said, I'm not going to allow local governments to impose a mask fine.

Now, we had done more than I think anyone in Florida. We had imposed 1,000 citations. And they're not fundraisers for us. They're trying to change, you know, sort of the conduct of people to create a culture of compliance, because that's the safest way to be able to open up our economy. It also made it harder to impose social distance obligations, and we have so many restaurants and bars that are trying to get through this. But at least we could enforce that. We can't do that either.

I think it's pretty clear the governor is not pursuing a path of let's try to reduce the virus. His advisors have been Dr. Atlas and the folks that pursue this herd immunity. It's really a terrible risky disproven theory, but I think he's actually following that in Florida. So the result is that he wants the virus, I think, to sort of search through with this outlier notion that it will provide a safety to people, but of course it hasn't.

[17:35:23]

ACOSTA: Do you think the governor is pursuing herd immunity in Florida? That's what you're saying?

GELBER: I don't think there's any question. I don't think there's any question. When he opened up the economy the day before he opened it up, he had one hour press availability with the two authors of this thing called the Great Barrington Declaration, which was essentially a declaration that herd immunity would work as long as we protect our vulnerable. But if you talk to Dr. Fauci or any reputable infectious disease scientist or doctor, they will tell you that you can't protect the vulnerable in a multigenerational community.

People work, people have parents, people, you know, are not all in on islands or in nursing homes, who are vulnerable or elderly. And the result is that and we really have a problem right now, but I don't think there's any question he's doing that. It's not an accusation, Jim. I think it's what he's doing. He's only consulting with the folks who say, that's what we should do.

ACOSTA: OK. Well, that is very disturbing, because obviously, herd immunity does not work. And it's going to get a lot of people sick. And so hopefully you can get on the phone with him or talk to somebody who could reach out to him and say, please, you need some rational, safe health precautions down there.

GELBER: That's right. We are -- we're very much trying to do that.

ACOSTA: All right. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. And Happy Holidays to you.

GELBER: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Talk to you soon.

Coming up Iran, top nuclear scientist killed and what the country says was an assassination. Now the Revolutionary Guard is vowing revenge. Plus, how the pandemic is impacting what's normally one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:34]

ACOSTA: And we're following breaking news at this hour Iran is vowing revenge for the killing of one of the country's top nuclear scientist and an apparent assassination. CNN's Oren Liebermann is working that story for us from Jerusalem. But first let's go to CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, what are you picking up there?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, within minutes of the news emerging, the Pentagon and the intelligence community began tracking events. Look at some of the photos issued by Iranian state T.V. and you can see this was a precision strike outside of Tehran, the car potentially riddled with bullet holes, as well as some kind of explosive device killing this Iranian scientist. Right now, the Trump administration is staying pretty quiet on all of this not speaking out publicly. They want to tamp this down here at the Pentagon. Nobody is looking for trouble with Iran before the election -- before inauguration. A lot of concern that this all be kept in check that they can convince the Iranians continue to convince them that the U.S. has a deterrence posture, heavy sanctions, diplomacy, economic pressure, but that the U.S., the Trump administration and the U.S. military are not interested in going to war against Iran.

ACOSTA: Right. But Barbara, Iran is vowing to retaliate. So what happens now?

STARR: Well, that's exactly right. You know, Iran gets a vote in all of this. And we have learned this afternoon that the aircraft carrier Nimitz is headed back towards the Persian Gulf. The decision that had been in the works say it is going to cover the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and Afghanistan by January 15th that the President had ordered. But make no mistake, it puts an aircraft carrier, its aircraft, its jets, and other warships into the region through the end of the Trump administration, and become something now that the President-elect Joe Biden may have to deal with very soon as he takes office, what kind of force posture does he want? And can the message be sent from the Biden administration as well? Don't retaliate, you know, the U.S. has the firepower to deal with Iran. But we're not looking for war. That appears to be a message that the Biden administration may also want to communicate, just like the Pentagon. Jim?

ACOSTA: Very sensitive time. All right, CNN's Barbara Starr, thank you very much for that. Let's get more on the story. CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem for us. Oren, the Iranians allege there's a serious indication of an Israeli role. That's what everybody is assuming in the U.S. today. What would make the Iranian say this or the Israeli?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, officially here, it's a no comment from the Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when asked about the killing of Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. And that's no surprise, especially on something of this magnitude, when it comes to Israel reportedly are being accused of striking Iran, whether it's in Iran or Syria, Israel generally declined to comment again, especially on something of this magnitude.

But it's not hard to see why Iran would blame Israel pretty quickly here. Even if it doesn't seem like Iranian officials have put out evidence already so far for everyone to see. Iran has long accused Israel of carrying out assassinations of top nuclear scientists in the past, roughly from the 2010 to 2012 timeframe. And even if that's quite a few years ago, more than or nearly a decade ago, at this point, Israel has shown that it still has the ability to carry out complex operations within Iran, specifically the stealing of Iran's nuclear archive a couple of years ago.

[17:45:04]

Based on that it's easy to see why Iran would blame Israel based on what's happening here as well as simply the animosity between the two countries. It's also certainly not the first time Netanyahu has heard the name Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. He actually name checked him specifically a number of times in April 2018 speech that was seen specifically targeted at President Donald Trump, as Netanyahu tried to convince Trump to leave the Iran nuclear deal.

Netanyahu said it was Fakhrizadeh who was behind Project Amad, which was Iran's attempt to develop, test, and build five nuclear weapons. Netanyahu says with 10 kiloton warheads. And then when that was defunct in about 2003, Netanyahu said it was simply moved to the Ministry of Defense, where it was once again, Fakhrizadeh who was in charge there.

I have spoken to a nonproliferation expert and he said, based on what he sees, the attempt of this assassination was to poison the well for Biden administration moving forward.

ACOSTA: All right, CNN's Oren Liebermann on these building tensions between Iran and Israel during a delicate time here in the United States. All right, Oren, thank you very much for that.

Coming up, a very different Black Friday as the COVID pandemic hammers the U.S. economy. Plus, President Trump reversing course now setting a fictitious requirement, and it is fictitious for Joe Biden to enter the White House.

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[17:51:14]

ACOSTA: This day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year but the coronavirus pandemic has virtually changed everything as it hammers the U.S. economy. CNN's Brian Todd has more on that. Brian, a very different Black Friday this year.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right Jim from nearly empty malls this morning to a surge of online shopping, Black Friday and the holiday shopping season are already looking very, very different this year.

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TODD (voice-over): At the Hilldale shopping center in Madison, Wisconsin, only a few shoppers were seeing heading into Macy's early on Black Friday. As for Santa, kids had to see him virtually. At this cavernous mall in West Nyack, New York, some shoppers turned up because it was such a ghost town.

FRED KNOX, SHOPPER AT MALL IN WEST NYACK, NY: I feel good. I feel safe. I feel comfortable. I like it. There's nobody out here. It's perfect. It's perfect for a shopper like me.

TODD (voice-over): After a Thanksgiving like no other, retail experts say America headed into a Black Friday and a holiday shopping season like no other. MATTHEW SHAY, CEO & PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: You've seen retailers take extraordinary steps to protect their teams, their associates, their partners, and of course the customers and the communities in which they live and work. And we're going to continue to see that. And consumers are altering their behavior as well.

TODD (voice-over): Stores are reinventing the shopping experience to guard against coronavirus spikes. Chains like Best Buy and Home Depot offered online sales earlier. Walmart, America's largest retailer is spreading Black Friday sales over three weekends. The general manager of the California mall discussed new measures to protect those who come in person.

STEVEN SAYERS, GENERAL MANAGER, GLENDALE GALLERIA: We have free masks for anyone that just forgotten one in the car. We've installed hospital upgrade filters in the property. We will have occupancy limits for pursuant to the health department guidelines. We have free hand sanitizer.

TODD (voice-over): But experts say we can count on reduced physical traffic at malls and shopping centers this year, as consumers are scared away from possible contact at brick and mortar stores.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: There is going to be a surge online. And that means that you have to be particularly careful and also not wait to the last minute.

TODD (voice-over): That's because experts say this year, there have been problems in the supply chains of some retailers.

SIMEON SIEGEL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SENIOR RETAIL ANALYST AT BMO CAPITAL MARKETS: We've had a whole stoppage in the inventory system and there's just not that much product out there. So you have this duality of you can't have a lot of people, you don't have a lot of product, and unfortunately for the shoppers, what it means is you're not going to have a lot of discounts.

TODD (voice-over): As for the overall economic ramifications, the signals are mixed. The president of the National Retail Federation says he expects to see strong consumer spending this holiday season. But a Gallup poll last month found that 28 percent of Americans plan on spending less on holiday gifts this year.

SINGLETARY: There are still millions of people who are out of work or don't have the same kind of hours a day had in the past. And also remember, this time of year, lots of people get second jobs at retail stores. But that's not happening either because not as many people are in the stores.

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TODD: And Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post also has a warning for online shoppers this holiday season. The scammers, she says, are coming for you. She says this year hackers and other online scammers are preying on victims of the pandemic who have less income and who are looking for discounts. She says these scammers are sending e-mails and texts offering discounts posing as retailers and online shopping services so they can try to get your credit card information. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, got to watch out for that. CNN's Brian Todd, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

[17:54:42]

Breaking News next, the U.S. tops 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases, as health experts sound the alarm over the rapidly worsening pandemic.

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ACOSTA: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off this evening. I'm Jim Acosta. And this is a CNN Situation Room special report.

We're following breaking news, the U.S. just past an awful milestone on this day after Thanksgiving, 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases more than 264,000 Americans have now died from the virus. But there could be good news on the horizon. A key Advisory Committee at the CDC will meet next week to vote on who gets a potential vaccine first.

[17:59:50]

Also breaking tonight, a federal appeals court just dealt another blow to President Trump's scheme to overturn his election defeat. And all three judges ruling today quote, the claims have no merit. After initially saying he'd leave the White House following the Electoral College, the President now says he is moving the goalposts once again demanding President-elect.