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The Situation Room

Pandemic Growing; Interview with Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT); Another Legal Loss For Trump in Pennsylvania; Biden Transition Moving Ahead; U.S. Tops 13 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases; Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps Calls Killing of Top Nuclear Scientist a Terrorist Operation, Vows Revenge; Los Angeles County Stay-at-Home Order Amid COVID Surge. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired November 27, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:01]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: After initially saying he would leave the White House following the Electoral College, the president now says he is moving the goalposts once again, demanding president-elect Joe Biden prove that he won 80 million votes.

President-elect Joe Biden doesn't have to do that, but the Biden administration is moving ahead, regardless of the president's baseless claims. He's expected to name his economic team next week and receive his first presidential daily briefing on Monday.

We begin our coverage tonight at this hour with CNN's Arlette Saenz following the Biden transition.

Arlette, the president-elect is expected to make some major announcements, some important announcements, about his incoming administration.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: He is, Jim.

And it's been a quiet weekend for president-elect Joe Biden here, where he is spending the Thanksgiving weekend, in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

But with his official transition under way, Biden is preparing to receive the president's daily brief, that highly classified intelligence briefing, and he's also about to roll out more picks for his Cabinet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hi, Esther. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Thanksgiving!

SAENZ (voice-over): President-elect Joe Biden sending holiday greetings to the front-line workers fighting COVID-19.

BIDEN: And you're risking your lives. You guys are -- you're amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

SAENZ: From his vacation home in Delaware, Biden is preparing for the week ahead, as he's expected to receive his first president's daily brief on Monday.

The classified intelligence briefing will offer the future commander in chief an early look at the top national security issues he will face in office.

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

SAENZ: Biden is also on the brink of naming some key members of his economic team next week, as he looks to strengthen the economy amid the pandemic.

JEN PSAKI, BIDEN TRANSITION ADVISER: There will be a team that will be ready to support his agenda to build back our economy better than before.

SAENZ: The president-elect is expected to nominate former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary, setting her up to be the first woman in the role.

BIDEN: You will find it is someone who I think is -- will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party, from the progressive to the moderate coalitions.

SAENZ: Biden already has rolled out part of his national security and foreign policy team, but some key figures missing from that group, his picks for defense secretary and CIA director.

The president-elect is still weighing his options to lead the Pentagon, including veteran DOD official Michele Flournoy, former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and Senator Tammy Duckworth.

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

SAENZ: For the CIA, Biden is considering former Obama era officials, including the agency's former acting Director Mike Morell and former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon.

As Biden readies those decisions, his transition team is zeroing in on the pandemic, as they start to gather information from the Trump administration on the crisis, including plans for a vaccine.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's essential that people feel that this is a safe and effective vaccine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ: And heading into next week, Biden's transition team will continue their meetings with Trump administration officials on everything from national security to the coronavirus pandemic. And members of Biden's Coronavirus Task Force are now on those agency landing teams, so they can get a look at what the Trump administration is planning when it comes to tackling the pandemic -- Jim.

ACOSTA: OK, Arlette Saenz, thank you very much. Stand by also. We want to talk to you more about this.

Now to CNN's Jeremy Diamond over at the White House.

Jeremy, the president's losing streak in federal court keeps growing.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, Jim.

We're now at more than 30 cases that the president or his allies have now lost or had to withdraw in state and federal courts across the country, and the latest one coming at the hands of a Trump-appointed judge. And this judge is saying that the Trump campaign's legal claims have -- quote -- "no merit."

And yet, Jim, even as the president yesterday said that he would indeed leave the White House if the Electoral College confirms Joe Biden as the next president of the United States next month, he is now suggesting that Joe Biden needs to first prove what state and local officials have already attested to, that this election was not fraudulent, in order to get into the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: 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.

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 you -- 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.

[18:05:02]

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 fraudulently or illegally obtained."

But it's Trump who's 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 of held by every outgoing president since 1869.

TRUMP: I don't want to say that yet. I mean, I know the answer. I will 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 that we win those races.

DIAMOND: Where two run-off 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's 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're 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've ever been pushed before. And we got that approved and through. And nobody's ever seen anything like it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND: As for that lawsuit in the federal court in Pennsylvania, we're now also getting reaction from president-elect Joe Biden's team.

This coming from spokesman Mike Gwin, who says -- quote -- "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 2020, 21."

As for the president's legal team, Jim, they say they're going all the way to the Supreme Court.

ACOSTA: I'm sure they are saying that.

All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you very much.

Let's continue the discussion with former Ohio Governor John Kasich and CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza. And CNN's Arlette Saenz is back with us as well.

Ryan, let me start with you first.

It seemed like President Trump was committing to leaving the White House. We all saw that yesterday, but then, today, he pulls it back. How do you make sense of this?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, he doesn't really have any choice. His powers as president expire at noon January 20. So this idea that somehow it's up to him about whether he leaves or not is kind of silly.

I know why we're asking him that question. But it doesn't really matter what he says about that. I doubt that he would want to be in the embarrassing situation of being a sort of trespasser on White House grounds when his powers expire in January.

So, I think this is -- this is just hyperbole on his part. I think, gradually, the five stages of grief are working their way through and he realizes he has no choice but to exit.

ACOSTA: Governor Kasich, I think we saw one of the stages passed by the president when he finally took questions from reporters.

But you know he lost by six million votes. He's acting at this point as if he's going to guard the doors of the White House or perhaps lock the doors, thinking nobody has a key. What, realistically, can be done if he refuses to leave? Do you think that is a possibility?

JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I think there's no chance.

And, by the way, the Secret Service will be gone. And it's sort of like I had protection when I was governor. And when the time came for me to pass the baton to the next person, I couldn't imagine barricading myself in my office, saying, I won't come out.

It would just be ridiculous. But I think you're seeing a change here, Jim, I think by him first thing, oh, yes, I would abide by the Electoral College. I know he took it back. But he said that. Now he is saying he's going to go to Georgia and campaign.

I'm just sort of wondering if he has this fantasy that he's going to run in 2024. I mean, look, he's hypnotized the party. So, possibly, he will take up all the space, so nobody else can get any attention.

[18:10:10]

And, look, he loves being on the front page. That's him. That's Donald Trump. And so, no, he will be out of there. But we will have to see if he can continue to generate the publicity that he gets now. I hope not, because he's done. And now it's Joe Biden's turn.

And we have got to keep our eyes on Joe and the team he's putting together. And the interesting thing about Biden, here, you have got Trump out here playing golf and complaining. You have got Joe Biden trying to honor the first responders, trying to pull people together.

This is what I thought Joe Biden would do. And I think he's doing a good job at this point. I think he's uniting the country.

ACOSTA: Yes, I could see the president trying to hold, the outgoing president trying to hold a press conference at the Trump Hotel after leaving the White House on January 20 to announce he's running in 2024. Perhaps we may see something like that happen.

But, Arlette, as you reported, president-elect Biden is moving ahead. And we should hear more of his Cabinet nominations soon. Do they see President Trump's comments as empty rhetoric? Is there some concern on their part that, as Ryan Lizza was indicating, that perhaps the president won't leave willingly?

SAENZ: Well, president-elect Joe Biden's team certainly is aware that President Trump can be unpredictable. And they are preparing for any possibility.

But, bottom line, they do not believe that any lawsuit or threat from the president will change the outcome of the election and that Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20 and enter that White House.

And I think that one thing that's notable from the Biden team is that you don't see them responding to every tweet or comment from President Trump. They are really keeping their heads down, keeping their focus on the task at hand. And that is trying to map out their plans for the coronavirus pandemic, trying to build out Biden's Cabinet and his top officials in the White House.

And so you are seeing them, rather than trying -- rather than playing into the president's game and trying to get distracted by what the president is saying, you're seeing them just moving forward with their own plans, as Biden is the president-elect, and putting together that administration that will lead his White House. And, ultimately, they see these tweets and threats from the president as simply just distractions that aren't going to change the outcome of what happened in this election.

ACOSTA: Yes.

And, Ryan, Vice President Joe Biden, president-elect Joe Biden could make some history with some of these contenders for defense secretary. The names on the list there among these short list contenders certainly would make history.

LIZZA: Absolutely.

From a diversity perspective, I think all three of them would. Jeh Johnson he, of course, served in the Pentagon, I believe, as the general counsel, so very experienced, Tammy Duckworth, a veteran and someone who was looked at very closely as a potential running mate for Biden. She has a good relationship with the with the Biden folks.

And Michele Flournoy is -- she's kind of -- when Hillary Clinton was running, she was talked about very much as a potential defense secretary if Hillary had won. She's always been in the mix as a -- as someone to run the Pentagon for Democrats.

So, I think we will learn a lot about Biden with that pick, three very different types of people, with different life experiences. And I feel like he's struggling with this one a little bit.

ACOSTA: And Governor Kasich...

KASICH: Jim, I have to say this about these -- this pick for defense secretary.

ACOSTA: Yes.

KASICH: It is a time for significant transformation inside the Pentagon.

We still are sort of half in and half out in terms of the old threats, as opposed to the new threats, the threats that are around things like cyber, the ability to protect your systems. And so that building is going to have to be transformed.

And I was there for 18 years. And I know how hard it is being in the Congress and trying to keep an eye on it, trying to figure out what's needed, what's not, to cut waste. There needs to be a big transformation of that of that building, in light of the fact that we have these enormous debts. And it's got to be somebody that knows how to get that done, and knows how to cooperate with the right people, but yet to conduct a transformation.

It's also interesting to me that some of the Republicans are criticizing some of these Cabinet picks right now, saying they're all internationalists. I don't -- what, are they not -- are they not in favor of the administration and America leading again, being out in front and rallying allies? It's a little curious. We will have to see where that goes too. It's interesting.

ACOSTA: All right, very interesting, indeed.

All right, Governor Kasich, Ryan Lizza, Arlette Saenz, thanks so much for all of that. We appreciate it.

And just ahead: The United States just passed 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases, as experts warn, the pandemic is surging to new heights. There could be hope on the horizon, however. An advisory committee at the CDC will meet next week to vote on which Americans will be first in line to get the vaccine.

[18:15:08]

This is a SITUATION special report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: President Trump's hopeless bid to hold on to power grew even more desperate today, as he demanded president-elect Joe Biden prove he was really elected with more than 80 million votes.

Let's discuss with Democratic Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut. He sits on the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, thanks for joining us.

It seemed like President Trump was committing to leaving the White House. We saw that yesterday. But now he's saying president-elect Joe Biden must prove that he got the votes in order to enter the White House. It sounds like some sort of reality TV show game requirement for a contestant.

[18:20:02]

But what are the implications of this rhetoric?

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Well, Jim, there's absolutely no implications to this rhetoric.

Our founders were smart enough 240 years ago to not give the currently sitting president anything to do with validating or ratifying or agreeing to the naming of his or her successor.

So, as usual, Donald Trump can and will make all kinds of noise, but it will amount to nothing, because, on January 20 -- and if we didn't know this the day after Election Day, we sure do know it now, now that we have seen the numbers and now that we have seen every court in the land basically laugh his cases out of court -- on January 20, Joe Biden will become president of the United States, regardless of what President Trump says or tweets.

ACOSTA: And where are your Republican colleagues on this, your colleagues in the House on the GOP side?

They are not in any mood, it seems, to push the president along, to accept reality and move on.

HIMES: No, they're not. And that's -- this is actually sort of the sad thing.

Nobody's surprised by Donald Trump's behavior. We have seen this from the moment he became president, when he claimed to have won the popular vote back in 2016 or claimed to have the biggest inaugural in human history.

It is sad, though, that more Republicans can't find the courage that Mitt Romney found to just say, look, this is really pretty clear.

And I understand why. I'm in politics, right? These Republicans understand that, if they make a statement of the obvious -- and, by the way, it's an obvious statement that would also go a long way to sort of re-cementing the foundations of our democracy.

They know that, if they do that, and they pop up on President Trump's radar screen, he can end their career. And, sadly, too many of my Republican colleagues would rather perpetuate their career than maybe strike a blow in favor of our country's democracy.

ACOSTA: And a federal appeals court said the Trump campaign's push to challenge the results in Pennsylvania has no merit.

As these court losses pile up, are you concerned -- the Trump campaign, some of their folks were saying today -- the fact that they still have folks is something to behold, but they were saying today that they may take this all the way to the Supreme Court.

Does that worry you at all that this may go to the Supreme Court?

HIMES: It doesn't worry me a bit, not one bit.

Again, the court cases that the president's campaign have brought haven't been bad cases. They have been laughable. They have been clown-like. They have literally been laughed out of court. Read the decisions.

The Pennsylvania case that you were just talking about was decided by Trump-appointed federal judge. And that judge basically did the judicial equivalent of laughing the campaign out of court.

So, no, I have no worries whatsoever that this Supreme Court will tolerate any of the games or shenanigans that no other court has tolerated.

What does worry me, Jim...

ACOSTA: Even with Amy Coney Barrett there? Because there are people who will say and there are supporters of Joe Biden who will say that they're concerned that, now that Amy Coney Barrett is on the court, the court has a different character to it now and makeup to it now.

HIMES: Well, of course it does. And we saw that, of course, in the ruling that was handed down on the

question of whether Governor Cuomo could put restrictions on houses of worship. So, of course it is.

But it's radically different saying that the court is more conservative, which it undeniably is, and saying something very different, which is that the Supreme Court is going to ignore every other court in the land and act in favor of an autocratic and deluded president.

I'm not -- if I'd been a senator, I wouldn't have voted for Amy Coney Brian (sic), but I'm not about to say that I think she's going to be a -- conspire to help an autocrat remain in office. Those are pretty different propositions.

ACOSTA: OK, Congressman Jim Himes, thanks so much for coming on during this holiday weekend. We appreciate it. Happy holidays to you. We will see you soon. Thanks so much.

HIMES: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, and just ahead: a Black Friday unlike any other, as the coronavirus pandemic hammers the U.S. economy.

Plus, more on the breaking news: the U.S. crossing 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:47]

ACOSTA: We're following breaking news.

A short time ago, the U.S. topped 13 million confirmed coronavirus cases. And, tonight, the death toll exceeds 264,000 people.

CNN's Alexandra Field is in New York with the latest.

Alexandra, health officials are sounding the alarm. We hope they're listening out there.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, if it feels like that number is growing quickly, it's because it really is.

We're getting used to seeing a million new cases a week. Here's what we expect for the next few days. We should see a spike in cases as a result of the lag in reporting that happened in some states on Thanksgiving Day.

But we are still a week, maybe two away from seeing that much-warned- about post-Thanksgiving surge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): The season usually filled with cheer is here, but the pain across the country only deepening. DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I expect that the daily death rate will double in the next 10 days. So, we will be seeing close to 4,000 deaths a day.

FIELD: More than 90,000 Americans spent Thanksgiving in a hospital bed, another record-setting day for the 17th day.

GOUNDER: Hospitals are full already. ICUs are full. In places like El Paso, we have been talking about accessing military hospitals. In other parts of the country, we're standing up field hospitals.

[18:30:04]

FIELD: Deaths this week over at their highest level since May or forecasted to climbed by 60,000 in the next three weeks, and health officials continue to warn about the holiday surge upon a surge.

DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: If you were with your family yesterday, stay home for the next couple of weeks while you make sure that you observe quarantine.

FIELD: The CDC recommended people stay home for the holiday last week. Since then, around 6.5 million have passed through security at America's airports. More than a million of them flew on the day before Thanksgiving. That's record travel during the pandemic. But the busiest travel day is still to come, expected on Sunday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I can say for travel is that there really is no zero risk at the moment.

FIELD: The pandemic hasn't put an end to Black Friday either. Deal hunters still lining up at some stores.

But this Thanksgiving weekend won't be all about football. 11 college football games canceled or postponed this week because of COVID. Positive test also reported in the pros, including within the Browns, the Falcons, the Broncos and Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

The race toward a vaccine lately fueling more optimism but now some confusion. A dosing mishap in AstraZeneca's trial gave a small group of study subjects less dosage but it was more effective than the planned dose, leading to broader questions about their trial.

But without any vaccines available yet, more places keep adding new restrictions. In Texas, Houston's Mayor is eyeing a curfew.

MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D-HOUSTON, TX): Basically, we're going to look at people's behavior. We're going to look at the degree of community spread. Now, the positivity rate continues to go up, I don't take anything off the table.

FIELD: But in Florida, where they are reporting 6,000 new cases a day, a decision from Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to extend an order that rolls back virtually every COVID-related mandate.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FIELD (on camera): And tonight, there is more planning underway for the massive undertaking, which is getting vaccines into people's arms once a vaccine is approved. We're learning that a CDC advisory panel will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday during which they will vote on who's getting the vaccine first. The likely contender, of course, health care workers alongside with possibly people who are deemed most likely to get COVID, spread COVID, and suffer severe consequences from it, including people like those who are living in nursing homes tonight. Jim.

ACOSTA: That will be a huge development. We cannot wait to see that. All right, CNN'S Alexandra Field, thank so much for that. We appreciate it.

Let's get more on all of this with Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

And, Dr. Hotez, the country has now passed 13 million cases. How dangerous is this accelerated transmission? And it is accelerating.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE (voice over): Yes, we're in the most dangerous public health crisis this nation has faced at least for the last hundred years. We're going easily to 200,000 new cases per day. It will be accelerated because of the Thanksgiving holiday. It will be accelerated again over Christmas. And I'm so upset about the deaths. So we are going to be regularly hitting 2,000 deaths per day, but then going up to 3,000 deaths and 4,000 deaths per day.

And it's happening for a very simple reason, unfortunately, which is without any national program in place, we're seeing such a surge in new cases that hospital emergency rooms, hospital beds and ICUS are becoming overwhelmed. We just don't have enough trained staff in many parts of the country, especially in the northern Midwest, and in the southwest, New Mexico, West Texas, where it's the worst in the world right now in terms of number of new cases.

And we know when hospital staff starts to get overwhelmed, that's when the death rates really go high. And this is what happened in New York in March and April. This is what happened in Southern Europe in March and April. It's what's happening now as we speak in the U.S.

So, every weekend, I send out a little note to colleagues just thinking about our health care workers who are doing the best they can. They're absolute heroes but they are just being overwhelmed and swamped, and this is why the death rate is going up.

ACOST: Yes. And, Dr. Hotez, I just heard you that you think that this pandemic could get to a point where we're seeing 3,000 or 4,000 deaths per day. Did I hear that correctly?

HOTEZ: That's correct. So that if you look at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projections, potentially 500,000 Americans can lose their life by a week or two after the inauguration, more lives than the U.S. lost in terms of G.I.s in World War II. These are the kind of numbers we're talking about, numbers that are approaching what we experienced in the 1918 flu pandemic, except it's happening over a much shorter period of time.

So this is going to be very destabilizing for the country not only in terms of health but also our economy, as well as our homeland security is under threat because of this, at this point.

[18:35:08]

ACOSTA: And there's a lag time between infection, and reported cases. So how long will it take to assess the damage, do you think, from these Thanksgiving gatherings?

HOTEZ: Well, the deaths will follow a few weeks afterwards. And, of course, the terrible tragedy is that -- there is good news on the way. The vaccines are coming in the early part of next year, and even by December, they may begin rolling out, and nobody has to die.

And so that if we could just stay disciplined and protect our mothers and fathers and brothers or sisters from getting sick by having that aggressive social distancing in place, and masks, we can get them through to the other side, get them vaccinated, they can live a normal life.

But we just don't have the leadership, especially in the middle part of the country of the 12 most effective states. Ten are red states, everyone except Minnesota and New Mexico. And this is where we have in many of these states, individuals who are defiant of masks and social distancing recommendations, leave the Scott Atlas disinformation campaign that was so damaging beginning this summer. And so that's why I say so many of these lives are lost, that will be lost, we can prevent that from happening if we just had the leadership.

That's why I'm just reaching out to everyone I can in the middle part of the country, particularly conservative news outlets to try to get that word out. But it's really tough.

ACOSTA: And it feels like we're fighting a losing battle getting sometimes getting the word out. We have to keep doing it, Dr. Peter Hotez. And thank so much for that straightforward information and analysis. We appreciate it.

And just ahead, Iran is vowing revenge after a top nuclear scientist is assassinated in a brazen attack. Should the United States be concerned about retaliation? I'll ask CNN's Fareed Zakaria. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

ACOSTA: We're following breaking news, officials of Iran are vowing revenge tonight after the country's top nuclear scientist was assassinated in an attack. Let's get more on all of this and insight from CNN's Fareed Zakaria. He's the Author of Ten Lessons for a Post- Pandemic World. There's a book right there. Please pick it up. It is terrific. Fareed, thanks for joining us.

Let's get right to it. This was a brazen attack. How likely is it that Israel was behind this assassination, do you think?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: It's almost certain that Israel was behind it. And, in fact, in a very bizarre move, almost unprecedented, President Trump re-tweeted an Israeli journalist's reporting of this news in which he essentially implied that Mosad, Israel's Intelligence Agency had done it. Unprecedented because, previously, American presidents would never reveal knowledge or tip their hand as to, you know, who was behind one of these kinds of operations but everything about President Trump is unprecedented.

ACOSTA: Right. And he was re-tweeting it almost as if he was condoning it in some way. And the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is vowing revenge. Should Israel or the United States, do you think, be on alert for retaliation at this point?

ZAKARIA: Well, certainly, Israel should be on alert, which it always is, but I doubt that they will do it. Here is what's going on, Jim. This was an effort, I think, by Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to work with the Trump administration to complicate life for Joe Biden.

This man, very important nuclear scientist, has been around for a long time. Why do this now? By doing it now, they force Iran's hand, make it raise tensions in the Middle East, and either Iran will retaliate or whether it doesn't, it raises the tensions enough that Joe Biden faces a problem.

Does he condemn this attack? Does he, you know, do something about it? And most importantly, does he in, this atmosphere, rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, something he has promised to do? So this it seems to me was Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump's effort to stop Joe Biden or to complicate Joe Biden's plan to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

ACOSTA: All right, almost pushing Joe Biden in a more hawkish direction or at least attempting to.

And the former CIA director, John Brennan, he tweeted this. We'll put this on the screen. This was a criminal act, this according to John Brennan, and highly reckless. It risks lethal retaliation and a new round of regional conflict. Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage and to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits.

Do you think the Iranians will listen to that?

ZAKARIA: I suspect they will, as with General Soleimani. They huffed and puffed initially, but then I think they were rational about realizing that it was not to their advantage to raise tensions and temperatures.

But Brennan makes an important point, Jim, which is in the longer run, does the United States want to be the kind of super power that is condoning and encouraging targeted assassinations of non-military, non-terrorist officials around the world. First of all, would we want to live in a world where other countries did that to us or did you note that (ph)? And more importantly, what happens when China decides that there are some people, I don't know, in various countries in the world that they don't like, and they, in some way, encourage operations like this? You know, what we're doing is we are weakening the kind of rules of the road of the international system.

[18:45:13]

It may serve the short-term advantage of the United States or Israel in one or two occasions, but in the long run, do we want to live in a world where every great power thinks that they can engage in targeted assassinations of civilian or military leaders of countries who were doing things they don't like? That's a -- that gets to be a bit of the law of the jungle.

ACOSTA: It certainly pushes the world in a more dangerous direction. No question about it.

All right. Fareed Zakaria, thanks so much for joining us on a busy news night, and happy holidays to you, we appreciate it.

ZAKARIA: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Breaking news next, a major U.S. metropolitan area issues a new stay-at-home order as COVID cases surge. We'll tell you about it.

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[18:50:31]

ACOSTA: And we have breaking news, the most populous county in the United States, Los Angeles, just issued a new stay-at-home order amid an alarming rise in coronavirus cases. The order reads, in part, we can show this to you, all public and private gatherings with individuals not in your household are prohibited. That's right, are prohibited, except for church services and protests which are constitutionally protected rights. We'll have more on that story as it develops. Stay tuned to CNN on that.

Also tonight, an innovative partnership between a prisoner and a prep school is bringing prisoners and students together to learn from one another.

CNN's Lisa Ling went inside for a brand new season of her show "THIS IS LIFE". Here's a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I bet you every man in blue here has been taught the same thing -- to be a man, be a man, be a man. We taught this through so much multigenerational dysfunction.

My dad beat me and told me not to cry. Grown man hitting a kid. That was the answer I got that time.

I look at the youth, and I am like you guys shouldn't be learning that kind of lesson. You guys don't need that. It took coming to prison for me to understand a man is loving, a man is understanding, a man treasures his family and friends, a man is selfless.

These are things that you should be taught. We weren't. So now I teach them to you, today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And joining us now is the host of "THIS IS LIFE", Lisa Ling.

Lisa, this looks like a remarkable program, bringing together prep school students and prisoners at a state correctional facility. How does it work? What are the goals?

LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE": It really is, Jim. So, it's s an elective course for the Palma School, which is an elite Catholic high school in Salinas, California, an all-boys school.

And for eight weeks, they go into the CTF prison which houses more inmates serving life sentences than any other prison in the state of California and they read literature. And I have to tell you, the transformation that takes place is really quite remarkable. And you would think it would be the incarcerated men who would be the beneficiaries of getting to read with the educated young men.

But in actuality, because the incarcerated men are candid, remorseful, you heard that clip of Raul right now, and how open he is about thing that he experienced in his life and his suggestions to these young men, it really gave the young men permission to feel and show emotion. And, look, a lot of young men are struggling right now. We are going through a lot. I think with girls, they are more inclined to be able to express their emotions and be able to communicate. But boys are often told, don't cry, don't feel, don't show emotion.

And so, the two episodes that are airing on Sunday night are really trying to communicate to boys to do exactly the opposite, and that it is okay to feel.

ACOSTA: It's remarkable. I imagine that these young students and these prisoners, they are getting something from each other. Can you tell us about that?

LING: They absolutely get something from each other. I mean, they get this opportunity to just really be open.

Jim, the reason I didn't felt compelled to tell this story when I found out about it was some of the incarcerated men felt so moved by the experience after reading a particular novel that they decided to start a scholarship program in prison to fund the education of a young man to attend the private school. There was a young man who graduated this past spring whose education at private boys' school was paid for almost entirely by incarcerated men in the prison.

ACOSTA: Wow, that is remarkable. We are all going to be watching on this Sunday. Lisa Ling, thank you so much for that, previewing that.

And a note to our viewers, tune in for an all-new season of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING". That premieres with back to back episodes, you will get two new episodes Sunday night at 9:00 p.m., only on CNN.

And we'll have more news just ahead.

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[18:58:59]

ACOSTA: We have breaking news. An alarming rise in new coronavirus cases has just prompted Los Angeles County to issue a new stay-at-home order for all residents as part of the new restrictions which are expected to last for three weeks. Nearly all public and private gatherings will be banned.

Stay with CNN for more on that as this story develops.

And, finally tonight, let's take a moment to remember some of the wonderful people who have died during the coronavirus pandemic.

Vernon Matthews of Ohio, was 64 years old. He was a generous man who volunteered at his church and opened his home to people in need. Friends say Vernon was an amazing cook and a master decorator who will be deeply missed by his community.

Bonnie Nella Daily of Tennessee was 82 years old. Her family says Bonnie was larger than life and sharp as a tack. She loved growing flowers and baking cookies for her grandchildren.

May they all rest in peace, and may everybody during this holiday weekend stay safe, follow those guidelines, wear your mask, stay healthy so we can see you next year.

I'm Jim Acosta. Thanks very much for watching us. Happy holidays.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.