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U.S. Sees Highest Number of COVID Hospitalizations Yet; Trump Holds First News Conference Since Election Defeat; Iran State Media: Top Nuclear Scientist Assassinated Outside Tehran; Black Friday Begins Amid Record- Breaking COVID-19 Cases; Lawmaker: Kim Orders Two Executions Over COVID-19 Pressures. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 27, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(MUSIC)
[10:00:25]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: COVID-19 cases in the United States is surging. The hospitals around the country are getting tested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately now, 2,000 deaths per day is going to be the new normal. We will probably head to 3,000 deaths per day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe that so much is being asked of health care workers with so little resources. We are not some super human
invincible force.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to be a very hard thing to concede because we know there was massive fraud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He repeated his accusations of widespread fraud, something his attorneys have been saying without evidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: It's 7:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. It is 10:00 a.m. in D.C. where the pandemic is casting a dark cloud over America.
I'm Becky Anderson, hello and welcome to the program.
At this hour, this very minute in the United States, there are more than 90,000 people in hospital with coronavirus, not knowing what the next
breath will bring. It's the highest number of hospitalizations yet and that number is rising. Then there's the man tasked with leading the country
through the crisis, President Donald Trump for the first time since losing the election taking questions from reporters on Thursday. The top line the
defeated president says he will leave the White House in January, but may never actually concede.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: 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. But I think that there will be a lot of things happening between now
and the 20th of January. A lot of things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right. Well, it's an episode filled with lies, attacks and statements just completely untethered from reality. At one point, Mr. Trump
unloaded on a reporter who pressed him about conceding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's going to be a very hard thing to concede because we know there was massive fraud.
REPORTER: Just to be clear, if the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden, will you concede?
TRUMP: Well, if they do they've made a mistake because this election --
REPORTER: But will you --
TRUMP: -- was a fraud.
So, no, I can't say that at all. I think it's a possibility. They're trying to -- look, between you people -- don't talk to me that way. You're just a
lightweight.
Don't talk to me -- don't talk to -- I'm the president of the United States. Don't ever talk to the president that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Donald Trump ever the showman, also tried to build suspense for what will be his very last appearance as president to Joe Biden's
inauguration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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 stay it yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Kristen Holmes is at the White House to give us more detail on what was, Kristen, Mr. Trump's let's call it a colorful news conference. He
admitted last night that he would leave, certainly a departure from his previous intimations that he wouldn't, but having conceded that he would
leave office if the Electoral College votes for Biden which they are, of course. He did, though, then return to his familiar theme of the election
being rigged.
Let's just have our viewers listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This is not a candidate that could get an 80, 80 million votes. This is just not a candidate. This is not a candidate that beat Barack
Hussein Obama with the black voter. Okay? This is not a candidate that beat Obama with the black voter. This is not a candidate that beat Hillary
Clinton to a pulp. It just doesn't work that way.
But when you look at the number, when you look at the data and when you look at the things we have, we have affidavits from hundreds and hundreds
of people. This election was a rigged election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: He went on to describe the U.S. is like a third world country.
Kristen, vintage Trump to some extent but the headline here is that he conceded not that he would concede, but that he would leave the White
House, which is at least an improvement on where he's been at before this.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, Becky. I mean, this was the first time that he has indicated at all that he would leave the
White House or that the Electoral College could, in fact, certify the election for Joe Biden.
[10:05:00]
Now, on that latter point, as you've mentioned, they are intending and with all -- for all intents and purposes everything we have seen indicates that
they will vote to certify the election for Joe Biden. That's happening as we have continually reported and that Joe Biden is the president-elect. So
I do want to stress that.
And the other part here is you heard him saying this stuff about how he would leave the White House, but there was going to be so much information
that came out before January 20th and it's clear there he's talking, again, about this widespread fraud, which is a completely baseless claim.
And, Becky, we have to note here there has been case after case that has been thrown out or dismissed or lost by the Trump campaign because they
don't have any evidence of any sort of widespread fraud. He talked at length during this rant last night about a meeting in Pennsylvania and I
was at that meeting, it was in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, it was with the Republican Party there and he talked about all the evidence that came
forward.
Well, just days before a conservative Republican judge in Pennsylvania had thrown out a case of widespread fraud brought by the Trump campaign because
there was absolutely no evidence. And we sat there and we watched through this meeting hour after hour and, again, none of this was presented in a
formal court of law, it was not presented as formal evidence.
So I think it's really important to make that clear that no matter what he says here, those things are untrue. But on that inauguration he was very
skittish, he did not answer that question. He said he knew what he was going to do but he would not say.
He also said that Joe Biden was wrong to be picking a cabinet right now when the election hadn't been called, but, of course, Becky, again, the
electoral process, the election here in the U.S., is one of the safest in the world and it has been called for Joe Biden.
ANDERSON: Thank you for that. That's the view from the White House at just after 10:00 in the morning. It is the day after Thanksgiving, of course.
Thank you for joining us.
All right. We are following breaking news out of Iran on an assassination. Let's get to Nick Paton Walsh who has the details.
What have we got at this point, Nick?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Limited information, Becky, but what state media appears to be focusing upon now with some
limited certainty is a well-known nuclear scientist in Iran, we will get to his career history in a moment, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, seems to have been
killed it appears in an attack on his car on the outskirts of Tehran, an area near the hills nearby.
There have been some images shown on state media that seem to show that particular scene. Why is this man so particularly important? Well, if it
does appear that he has in fact died of injuries as it seems now a number of state media reports are suggesting that in fact he and some of his
bodyguards were taken to hospital and suck coupled to their injuries there, this would potentially be a blow for Iran's prestige again certainly.
And also if you listen to accusations made by the Israelis, as recently as last year by the U.S. State Department, potentially a blow to what they say
are Iran's ongoing efforts to have a nuclear weapon. Remember, a lot of debate about whether or not Iran's adherence to the nuclear deal in 2015
that Donald Trump stormed out of, in fact, stopped their progress towards a weapon. Most signatories to that seem to believe this.
But since Donald Trump for the U.S. out of that deal to the chagrin of European allies, it is quite clear in public statements that Iran has sped
up its enrichment possibly towards areas which would make those signatories to the deal extremely uncomfortable. This man, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, has been
mentioned in a number of documents as I should say.
He featured key in of a speech done in August 2018 by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, where he outlined what he said was a tranche of
files essentially taken from Iran's archives that showed historically what they've been up to, how bent they were on getting a weapon. Many viewed
that speech at the time as being a bit by Israel to push the Trump administration into further action, to further discredit a nuclear deal
that Israel's hawkish side had always disliked.
What we're seeing I've just been reading in the State Department report in late last year they say that Iran had efforts to retain records from its
past nuclear weapons program and credits the Netanyahu speech for bringing that to light. They referred to the continued leadership of former head of
that program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, suggesting that Iran preserved information from historical efforts to aid in a future decision to pursue
nuclear weapons if a decision were made to do so.
So, clearly within the intelligence body of the United States and most likely Israel as well, they viewed this man to be absolutely key in terms
of the knowledge. Now, why if it does turn out that the state media reports are correct -- and there are suggestions that possibly he was injured --
that will play out in the hours ahead, understandable confusion with a figure of this magnitude, if it does seem that he was, in fact, killed in
the safeguard area of Iran around Tehran, a man with bodyguards, assassinated, the finger of suspicion will of course point initially to
Israel who said nothing at this stage about this.
[10:10:21]
But it will again be an embarrassment for Iran given they lost their most prominent military figure, Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
chief, just the same time earlier on this year in a similarly, you would have thought secure bubble as he traveled in Iraq. If this one man has in
fact managed to be targeted by assassins, that would suggest that there is certainly a leak of information within Iran's more secure nuclear circles,
too.
You have to ask yourself, a figure well-known as this appearing in multiple IAEA nuclear watchdog reports and State Department reports, too, how
intimately involved he would remain, was he set to be involved as part of the Revolutionary Guard's science development division to look into what
they might to do in the future. I suppose you have to look at exactly what the end game of a killing like this may, in fact, be.
If you are looking to push Iran's hawks into an uncomfortable position here, this certainly does that. And if you are looking to rock the boat,
muddy the waters ahead, potentially of a U.S. President-elect Biden administration coming in in January, a killing like this will certainly put
people's backs up, although frankly it's to some degree embarrassing for Iran rather than prompting them to have to do something.
A very interesting event indeed certainly that just focuses everyone's minds on precisely how vital in the region Iran's nuclear program and the
bids to curtail it actually are -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Thank you for that. And we will, of course, get our viewers any details as they come in from Iran as this story develops.
For now I want to get back to all the very latest from America and the apex of the political situation there. President Trump did commit for the first
time to leaving the White House come January. He is refusing to let Joe Biden take any credit for what he believes are his and only his
accomplishments, including coronavirus vaccines.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines. If Joe Biden -- you know, Joe Biden failed with the swine flu, H1N1. Totally failed with
the swine flu. Don't let him 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 has ever seen anything like it. And you've got a big resistance in the FDA from years and
years of people working there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: President Trump behind a very small desk at his press conference on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in America, the day after Thanksgiving is usually filled with leftovers and holiday shopping, but this year is a lot different and it is
very solemn for a record number of people suffering with COVID-19, not surrounded by family in the comfort of their own homes but in hospital of
course. The number of patients in the U.S. has increased by 35 percent in just the past two weeks.
And on Thursday, a day of giving thanks across the country, more than 90,000 were reported hospitalized. That's a record number of people
fighting for their lives, fighting just to draw breath.
In Miami-Dade County, Florida, ventilator use nearly doubled in just the past two weeks.
Let's bring in CNN's Rosa Flores who is live in Miami for you.
What is the latest where you are, Rosa?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Becky, what experts tell us is that hospital systems in America right now are getting tested and medical
experts say that because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the situation will get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES (voice-over): As many Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, the coronavirus pandemic is reaching record levels of cases and
hospitalizations across the United States. The danger of spreading the disease causing some to downsize their celebrations or even spend the day
alone this year, but millions of others chose to ignore warnings from health experts not to travel.
With the TSA reporting more than 6.8 million people have thrown through U.S. airports in the week before Thanksgiving, this Black Friday, retailers
are encouraging shoppers to go online.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This year, it's a lot less people.
FLORES: But some customers are still going inside stores, even waiting outside in lines for big ticket items. One health expert saying the holiday
season could fuel a surge.
DR. LARRY BRILLIANT, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's not just post-Thanksgiving, it's Black Friday and then the run up to Christmas and then New Year's.
This is our holiday season and every day from now on can add to the toll.
Our hospitals are almost full to capacity. In some communities, they are full to capacity.
[10:15:01]
There's no more rooms in the ICU.
FLORES: One thousand two hundred and thirty-two people in the U.S. were reported dead Thursday from the coronavirus. More than 90,000 people are
hospitalized with the disease, a record. With many hospitals already running low on beds and resources, one doctor says she's fearful of what's
to come.
DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: Our hospitals are already at the breaking point. Many of us are already talking about opening
field hospitals next week. Many of us have colleagues who are out sick.
FLORES: A virus outbreak among the Baltimore Ravens forcing the NFL to postpone their Thanksgiving matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Jackson who launches to Andrews. Open.
FLORES: ESPN and the NFL Network citing league sources reporting the team's quarterback Lamar Jackson and three other players have tested
positive.
And the Pac-12 canceling a game between University of Southern California and University of Colorado-Boulder due to coronavirus, making it the 11th
college football game canceled or postponed this week.
Coronavirus-related deaths are on the rise in at least 27 states this morning and one health expert reminds Americans that it's crucial to keep
following safety guidelines even during the holidays.
DR. ERIK BLUTINGER, EMERGENCY MEDICINE, ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI: It is a real test of maturity and also of safety to see whether or
not we are able to keep our distance, continue to wear masks because we are so close given the vaccine candidates and where things are headed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES (on camera): Now, Becky, to give you an idea of what's going on here in Miami-Dade County where I am regarding hospitalizations, according
to county data, the use of ventilators is up 48 percent in the past two weeks. ICUs 37 percent, hospitalizations overall 26 percent and, of course,
it's that trajectory that medical experts are so worried about -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Rosa Flores is in Miami. Thank you.
Despite the rapidly worsening situation in the States, today is Black Friday, one of the biggest and often most dramatic shopping days of the
year. It usually looks a lot like this, with huge crowds, long lines, sometimes people even camping out overnight. They can be first in line when
the doors open.
That, of course, was 2019. But retailers this year rethinking their strategies, moving some of their best sales online or stretching Black
Friday into the whole month.
CNN's Alison Kosik joins us from a shopping center just outside of New York.
I know you've spoken to shoppers. What have they told you, Alison?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky. They have come here saying that they feel safe to come shop, but to be honest with you, it
doesn't feel like a real Black Friday.
If a picture tells a story, it's this one. If you look down this way this does not feel like the Black Fridays that I've covered in the past. Even
this escalator has remained practically empty all day, only a few people at a time as they're going up and down each floor.
But still it didn't keep some shoppers away who came very, very early to escape any crowds at all. Here is what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not really in a risk category, usually it's older people, but I would say it's not really worth it for some people, but for
us, it doesn't really make a difference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel good. I feel safe. I feel comfortable. I like t there's nobody out here. It's perfect. Perfect for a shopper like me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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 in
terms of the crowds here, there's very few crowds here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Now, Becky, even before the pandemic, we've seen Black Friday, the traditional Black Friday, the one day spectacular shopping event really
evolve into something else where stores have often extended it for a week's time and people have really flocked online.
We're seeing the coronavirus pandemic accelerate that transition, especially with many retailers now extending those deep discounts for Black
Friday over a period of three months, October, November and December. Not just to bring in revenue, Becky, but to keep those traditional crowds away
from stores, kind of like what we're seeing today -- Becky.
ANDERSON: It's interesting, this year we are seeing Black Fridays all over the world and I was in a shopping center here in the UAE earlier on, social
distancing, your temperature is taken on the way in, everybody wears a mask. But I have to say the parking lot was full and I've never seen that
before here in the UAE.
You've seen many Black Fridays in the past. I wonder just personally how different does this one feel to you?
KOSIK: This feels like a Monday afternoon shopping. This feels nothing like a Black Friday.
[10:20:02]
You know, once again, I have to go back to this picture here. On a normal Black Friday, Becky, you would not be able to see in front of you. I'm not
exaggerating. Here we're seeing everything in front of us.
This mall is the second largest in the New York city area and I'm certainly not seeing the foot traffic that you would normally see on a regular Black
Friday.
I think what people are doing is they're feeling like to be responsible they're going to go ahead and shop online and stay away from the malls,
even when they're not this crowded.
ANDERSON: Yeah, the retailers need -- need the business, but it's had online as opposed to crowded malls and I guess that's a -- that's a better
deal. Thank you, Alison.
Still ahead, it's a glass half full or is it glass half empty? Europe sees concerning coronavirus trends now, but also signs of hope down the line.
And then outcry in France over a violent arrest. President Macron says he is shocked but what is being done about it? We will take you live to Paris
just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We are learning the two North Korean government officials may have been executed in recent months on the orders of Kim Jong-un. That's
according to a South Korean lawmaker who received intelligence briefings on the killings.
It's seen as a reaction to the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout, and there is a China connection to some of this.
CNN's David Culver is live in Shenzhen for us.
Let's start with that story out of North Korea. What's going on here? What do we know?
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, I think more than anything else, this speaks to perhaps an attempt by the Kim regime to deflect how bad
things really have gotten within North Korea. We know lack of transparency is an issue when it comes to trying to figure out what exactly is going on
within North Korea.
However, this seems to be an action that is to an extreme as portrayed by South Korean officials when you have two North Korean officials who have
been executed as South Korea's spy agency puts it. One of them was a customs official and this execution allegedly happened back in August, that
individual was accused of essentially allowing goods to come in from here where we are in China into North Korea and the claim is that those allowed
for the spread of COVID-19.
The other official was a foreign exchange dealer and that individual, again, according to South Korean officials, was executed in October and
that speaks more than anything else to the economic pressures and the concerns that are going on with the economy within North Korea. Overall you
can see that as perhaps the regime looking at this as scapegoats as they're trying to battle what is an increasingly worse pandemic and now within
North Korea, an outbreak that they're trying to clearly get grips on.
[20:25:13]
ANDERSON: Dave, in the last hour or so news also breaking that North Korean hackers are suspected of carrying out a cyber attack against the
vaccine developer AstraZeneca. What else do we know on that at this point?
CULVER: Right, another perhaps layer of desperation added on to what we've just talked about, now with this claim from "Reuters", they are reporting
this, that North Korean hackers were trying to get information from the British drugmaker AstraZeneca and particularly with the COVID-19 vaccine
that they're working to develop.
So what we have been hearing and, again, this comes from "Reuters" , is that North Korean hackers were attempting via LinkedIn and WhatsApp to get
access to the internal system and computers of AstraZeneca staff members. They apparently were sending out what looked like job offers trying to
entice them and then they would send, using Russian email addresses, links that would have malware or malicious coding again to try to access those
internal systems.
Now, "Reuters" is suggesting that they have not been successful and one North Korean official in Geneva claimed this was fake news and even laughed
it off.
AstraZeneca has not responded to CNN's request for comment. And we do know that obviously more and more there is an attempt to try to get people's
hands on these vaccines and vaccine research more than anything else and now it seems that North Korea is doing that using hackers according to
"Reuters". So it's information that obviously is quite desperately needed and now it adds on to what South Korean officials have said and that is,
Becky, that in recent months North Korea has likewise tried to access their pharmaceutical research.
So it seems to be a trend that's continuing as once again within North Korea they're trying to figure this out. They're trying to get their grips
on what's happening and, again, trying to maintain some sense of control because ultimately this could be destabilizing for the Kim regime and for
the country as a whole.
ANDERSON: Yeah, listen, I mean, you know, these are never easy. Very, very difficult to get information out of North Korea and certainly very
difficult to stand it up.
But as you say this information certainly on these executions coming from a South Korean intelligence official and so source to that, I know you will
continue to dig on these stories and you will return with more as of when you get it.
Always a pleasure, Mr. Culver. Thank you.
Folks, I want to show you something now and it's a tough to watch I'm afraid. It's video of a man who happens to be black being beaten up by
police in Paris. A lot of people are asking why this kind of violence is still happening. We are going to look for some answers up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:30]
ANDERSON: Well, outrage in France. We don't mean nor protests over the country's handling of COVID-19. We are talking about an outcry over the
beating of a black man by Paris police. Government officials say the officers involved have been suspended after this video emerged of the
victim being attacked in his music studio.
A source close to Emmanuel Macron tells CNN the French president is shocked by the violent arrest, yet Mr. Macron's reaction comes as his government
pushes a controversial bill restricting the ability to film police, especially at protests like this one. It heads to the French Senate next
month but Article 24 has already made it past the national assembly as part of the global security bill.
Now, critics say it's relay is to protect the police from proper scrutiny and they are already being investigated for the way a migrant camp in
Central Paris was cleared earlier this week. Police violence has been a central theme of 2020.
We are live in Paris right now where CNN's Melissa Bell is connecting us to the facts -- Melissa.
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Becky, I think it is the fact that these two investigations, two separate investigations, and two allegations
of police violence have been opened this week even as you say that bill is before the French parliament. It had already attracted controversy, Becky,
because human rights groups, but also journalist organizations pointed out that there were already laws protecting policemen from the sort of harm
that this law seeks to forbid further.
So, for instance, what the law does is that it makes it an offense to publish images of the policemen with the intent to cause him harm,
journalist organizations say that that is far too vague, Becky. So these two instances come up this week with this latest one particularly shocking
and the images that have been captured and widely shown and passed around on the internet that they should both be open this week, even as we expect
another protest on Saturday, bad for the time being by authorities but nonetheless expected to take place against the progression of this very
bill.
ANDERSON: France has been criticized for its handling of minorities, namely Muslims of late. I just wonder how is the country itself responding
to these latest incidents?
BELL: Well, it's pretty divided, Becky. I think there was a lot of sympathy on one hand for the fact that a lot of the yellow vest protests
had been as violent as they had and the allegations of police brutality, but there had been also shocking images of the police and what they had
been subjected to. But I think it is this latest bill, this latest security bill that really has taken many by surprise at a time when there are
clearly issues that need to be addressed of police brutality, that the focus should be on protecting the police from images that might cause them
harm rather than considering the harm that they might sometimes be alleged to cause, Becky.
ANDERSON: Melissa Bell is on the story. Thank you, Melissa.
Europe, of course, dealing with a harsh second wave of coronavirus infections. Right now, there is a mixed bag of both concern and hope.
On the hope front, Spain rolling out its future vaccination plan. The vaccinations will happen in three phases next year, assuming a vaccine is
available by then. The elderly, the health workers will be the first in line while the general population would start getting the vaccine in June.
And in Italy the government could dial down on some of its coronavirus restrictions. A new surveillance report is expected to be out later today,
Friday, but the prime minister is hinting that some of these hot zone designations as they are known could be dialed down. Good news there.
On the concern side there are some worrying numbers out of Germany, that's where we begin the rest of our coverage of the continent. Here is Fred
Pleitgen in Berlin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Pleitgen in Berlin.
As Germany has surpassed a grim milestone recording more than 1 million coronavirus infections since the beginning of the pandemic. Germany also
recorded another single-day death toll record as well. All this comes as the German government has acknowledged that the measures that have been put
in place so far, fairly light lockdown, have managed to somewhat slow down the spread of the pandemic, but haven't managed to decrease the number of
new daily coronavirus infections.
[10:35:09]
The Germans have put new measures in place extending that light lockdown and also new restrictions in an effort to try to bring cases down to be
able to ease things up for Christmas.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London where the U.K. government has referred an experimental coronavirus vaccine to
Britain's regulators for assessment.
Now, the vaccine was developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and earlier this week, they announce that had during trials the vaccine was
found to have 70 percent efficacy. But since that time, there has been a lot of questions, a lot of doubt raised around these results, so much so
that AstraZeneca's share prices actually fell.
Now, the question is not over the vaccine's safety, it's over its effectiveness. It's a question of dosing. So during the trial some
participants were accidentally given a half-dose followed by a full dose, but researchers say it was a happy mistake because those ended up being the
best results.
Now, in the case of all the other successful vaccines, it's been two full doses that have been most successful. So, a lot of questions from the
medical community, a lot of calls to put in more experiments, more tests with this vaccine before it becomes widely available.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Those are your coronavirus headlines. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.
And, Australian soldiers, 13 of them, are facing possible dismissal following a damning Afghan War inquiry. The report you heard here on this
show alleges dozens of war crimes committed in Afghanistan against noncombatants between 2009 and 2013. The soldiers have at least two weeks
to respond.
Indian police have deployed tear gas to try to top a protest of farmers in New Delhi, at least a thousand marched to the capital on Friday to protest
the deregulation, this he say it would make them vulnerable to large companies. Organizers say tens of thousands of farmers are on their way to
the city.
Blood tests with the potential to detect 50 types of cancer early is being hailed as a potential game changer. A California company and Britain's
National Health Service are joining forces planning to offer the blood test to more than 165,000 people in England from next year.
We are going to take a very short break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Hong Kong Sports Institute, Yuen-Kei Ho is playing boccia with her long time
coach and assistant Jet Li (ph). Boccia is one of the only Paralympic sports with no counterpart in the Olympic program.
YUEN-KEI HO, BOCCIA: Boccia is a kind of sport for disabled people.
[10:40:04]
The objective is to throw your ball near the target ball which means the white ball. So who got the closest will win.
MACFARLANE: The game is mixed gender and divided into various categories depending on the functional ability of the athlete. Ho is classified as BC-
3, meaning she can use a ramp and assistant while propelling the boccia ball herself.
Born with spinal muscular atrophy, a disease which progressively weakens her muscles, Ho is a full time boccia athlete and ranged number two in the
world in her class. She trains five days a week honing her precision and strategy.
HO: Being an athlete is a kind of job that I never thought about in my life before, but when I knew about boccia found that, okay, quite
interesting. I not only play the sport, I can represent Hong Kong.
MACFARLANE: Christina Macfarlane, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Heroes, of course, come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes all it takes is one to help out another, an unlikely story which you may
not believe, we went there involving the Academy Award and Grammy-winning entertainer Cher and an elephant in Pakistan. Bear with me on this.
The elephant is called Kaavan seen in this tweet from an animal welfare organization. He has lived in a zoo for an awfully long time and has sadly
been in pain physically and emotionally since he lost his partner reportedly back in 2012.
Well, Cher who perhaps knows how it can feel when a well-loved duo becomes a solo act will give her blessing to him in Cambodia where Kaavan is
finally being moved to a sanctuary, so she can wish him lots of luck in his new home.
Hang on in there, Kaavan.
Change can feel scary even when it's for the better but you've got her, babe. I know. I know.
And from a living legend to another sadly no longer with us but who helped inspire millions with his unique talents, the game changer himself, Diego
Maradona.
Christina Macfarlane talks about tens across the board.
MACFARLANE: That's right, Becky. And what a sendoff it was in Naples last night. Every single Napoli player walking out in the San Paolo stadium
wearing that iconic number 10 and, of course, as you know, Becky, Maradona did more for this city than just bring them success in football, he pretty
much raised the city from the ground, put them on the map and coming up we will show you how names lit up the streets Thursday to give him a memorable
farewell.
ANDERSON: Super.
That is "WORLD SPORT." I will be back after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WORLD SPORT)
MCFARLANE: But for now I'm going to throw you back to my colleague, Becky Anderson, in Abu Dhabi.
ANDERSON: Thank you very much indeed.
We have breaking news this hour out of Iran. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ANDERSON: And breaking news this hour.
END
