they should open their hearts and understand that we didn't go out of venezuela because we wanted to. ♪ after suggesting the fda chief was part of the deep state, president trump now praising him over a controversial call to combat the coronavirus. preparing for a party of one in charlotte, trump's booking himself to dominate all four nights of the republican national convention. plus, evacuations in california and louisiana as fires ravage the west and the gulf coast prepares for a one-two punch from an angry sea. hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. i'm michael holmes and this is "cnn newsroom."

in just a few hours the republican national convention kicks off in the u.s. state of north carolina. and president donald trump making waves by touting a possible treatment in the fight against covid-19. but already there is debate over whether enough data is out there to prove it will work. the new treatment comes from convalescent plasma, from the blood of recovered covid-19 patients. the u.s. food and drug administration has given emergency use authorization for it. despite saying there wasn't enough evidence to support it just earlier this week. president trump blaming the fda on sunday for delaying the use of the treatment. >> well, i think that there might have been a holdup, but we

broke the logjam over the last week, to be honest. i think that there are people in the fda and actually in your larger department that can see things being held up and wouldn't mind so much. that's my opinion. a very strong opinion. and that's for political reasons. this has nothing to do with politics. this has to do with life and death. >> now, the hold came after three top u.s. health officials argued that data was weak and there wasn't enough evidence to support the plasma treatment. cnn has spoken to many other experts who share that view. >> the data does not support the approval of this drug. that's clear. i've seen the data. and secondly, this is not a breakthrough. this is a very modest improvement for people who take it very early, if it's an improvement at all. >> because there's no random -- no randomized arm to placebo, we don't know for sure the

magnitude of the benefit. that's the problem with this. but this has been used in a lot of people and the eua i'm not sure is going to change access all that much. it's mostly symbolic. >> by passing this eua, it makes it less likely, potential, that patients will el roll in trials so we may not get that gold. standard evidence we're looking for. >> the question is, are there more data? and if there were more data, you think they would have presented those data because it only makes their case better. by not presenting those new data, you really wonder if there are any new data. if there aren't, what just happened is that the administration bullied the fda into approving something that they were uncomfortable about approving. >> now, the fda is responding to claims saying the agency was pressured by the white house into making that decision. commissioner stephen hahn said, quote, i took an oath as a doctor 35 years ago to do no harm. i abide by that every day. i've never been asked to make a decision at the fda based on politics. the decisions the scientists at

the fda are making are done on data only. i'm joined by dr. jorge rodriguez, an internal medicine and viral specialist in los angeles. good to see you again, doctor. let's talk about this announcement. it is a known potential therapy. it's been given to i think 80,000 or 90,000 patients already. not historic nor a breakthrough as the president says, but talk about the fact that in a medical sense shouldn't it be trial to actually confirm its efficacy? >> absolutely. i think what is alarming most people in the medical field is the fact that it does appear that politics is pushing science. so let's start off with this is not a china virus. this is the sars covid ii virus. we'll start from there. and people that have had it, most of them have antibodies that with other infections, other viruses have been able to give that plasma to people and those antibodies can help lessen if not cure the disease.

well, right now since we're in such a state of alert with this pandemic, it's been tried sort of as a compassionate use for tens of thousands of people. the mayo clinic just did a retrospective analysis. they looked at over 30,000 cases, and what they found was if you gave it within three days, 8.9% of the people died that were very sick and if you gave it within four days after the people got sick, it was almost 12%, but it doesn't prove that this really does save lives. you need to have a placebo arm. so the big danger that we're seeing is that in an act of desperation we may be providing people plasma in the long run, "a," has not been proven to help, and, "b," we don't know the long-term side effects. this is not the way things are done. >> the other thing, too, that is really critical is that the fda pumped the brakes on this only a few days ago. said let's wait on this. then you've got the president on saturday accusing the fda, run

by somebody he appointed, of holding back on vaccine trial approvals, therapeutics, and then within a day of the tweet, approval. do you think given what you've seen there is at least the impression the fda might have been pressured to do this? and if so, wow. >> absolutely. and that's the big danger. listen, the politics could be that anthony fauci, dr. collins and cliff lane, who is also at the nih, that i've known for years and worked and had research with as far as hiv. these are respected scientists. and they did not think that the mayo clinic's study proved anything. as a matter of fact, the mayo clinic conclusion was that more studies needed to be done. so it does appear that on day one the fda did not approve this and lo and behold, two days later, after the president applies pressure, it's approved. the danger is what will be next? what unproven regimen or medicine will be approved next?

>> and i think the closer we get to november 3, the chances of something popping up grow. i mean, i wanted to ask you too. you know, with india saying last night it could have a vaccine by the end of the year. you've got russia's vaccine. whatever else donald trump promises before the election. i'm wondering, do you think there are too many countries going it alone here? i mean, is there a risk of vaccine nationalism? shouldn't everybody be working together, a global effort here? >> yeah, absolutely. and that is what's happening. and the more you think about that, you know, it's almost like -- it's almost a race when you're thinking about human lives. it shouldn't be a race. and everybody wants to be first to try to see how many people it can save. russia is trying a vaccine that hasn't even been tested. and this was my biggest concern when trump said that he was going to leave the world heath organization. that either we were not going to have access to a vaccine created

in another country or that we were not going to share our science. this is a pandemic. this needs to have worldwide cooperation from all countries. otherwise it's not going to be pretty. >> dr. jorge rodriguez in los angeles, always a pleasure. thanks so much for coming on. >> thank you, sir. now ahead of the republican convention, president trump is getting ready to lose a key member of his administration. white house counselor kellyanne conway announcing that she's leaving her post at the end of this month. her husband, george conway, also announced that he is withdrawing from the lincoln project, an antitrust political action committee. both said they wanted to focus on family. meantime, a republican source said president trump will make an appearance at the convention every night and the gathering will deliver an optimistic and upbeat message. that's going to be a challenge with more than 176,000 coronavirus deaths in the u.s.

and the economy in a deep downturn. now, at the convention, mr. trump needs to convince americans, of course, that they can trust him with a second term. between the pandemic and the economic downturn, he's got his work cut out for him. here's cnn's chief white house correspondent jim acosta. >> we're going to win four more years. >> reporter: behind in the polls and weighed down by a deadly pandemic, president trump is trying to pull off the ultimate sales pitch and convince voters his first term is a success story. >> i'm the only one, probably, that ever ran for office in this country that's achieved more than i said i would. >> reporter: the way the president described his accomplishments in the battleground state of pennsylvania, it sounds like mr. trump should be coasting to victory. >> we've secured our borders, brought back our manufacturing jobs, rebuilt our military, wiped out the isis caliphate 100%. killed our terrorists enemies.

achieved american energy independent. and guess what? we're just getting started. >> reporter: but hold on, on the president's signature issue, the wall, there hasn't been that much winning. the administration has built less than 00 miles of new fencing on the border with mexico. most of that construction has replaced older borders already in place and, no, mexico did not pay for it, as the president promised four years ago. >> i will build a great, great wall on our southern border and i will have mexico pay for that wall no instead, mr. trump is diverting billions from the military to bank roll his pet project and he's floating the idea of setting up toll booths at the border to somehow force mexico to foot the bill. >> we may do a toll for money being sent back and forth. >> reporter: the president's claims on isis and energy independence are closer to reality, but on the economy it's a mixed bag. >> they said manufacturing jobs will never come back. where's the magic wand? we have the magic wand.

>> reporter: after inheriting a healthy economy economy from barack obama, mr. trump did preside over growth in the manufacturing sector, but most of the gains have been in the south and out west while key swing states pennsylvania, michigan, ohio and wisconsin were losing factory jobs in the months before the coronavirus. then covid-19 decimated the u.s. economy under mr. trump's watch, sending the unemployment rate skyrocketing. jobs have come back but the current recovery isser for from certain. polls show most americans have simply rejected the president's handles of the virus. mr. trump's predictions that the virus will go away have fallen flat, much like his unproven treatments of hoirks, an obsession he tweeted about over the weekend. questionable medical advice for a president who unforgettably suggesting americans inject themselves with disinfectant. >> then i see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in one minute. is there a way we can do something like that by injection

inside or almost a cleaning? because you see it gets on the lungs -- >> reporter: the numbers are chilling. the u.s. leads the world in covid-19 deaths despite making up only 4% of the global population. more 2457b million cases, more than 170,000 americans dead and climbing. when asked on fox what he would do with a second term, the president failed to provide an answer. >> well, one of the things that will be really great, you know, the word experience is still good. the word experience is a very important word, it has a very important meaning. >> reporter: with another four years office, aides to the president say he'll continue his focus on immigration where his crackdown at the border has already resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their families. one area where the president would almost certainly leave his mark, the supreme court. mr. trump would have the ability to fill new vacancies on the high court, a tantalizing prospect for conservatives that comes with enormous consequences. on critical issues facing the nation from gun control to abortion rights.

jim acosta, cnn, the white house. doug heye is a cnn political commentator, also the former director of communications for the rnc. a pleasure to see you again, doug. i wanted to start off, actually, with one of your tweets and we can put it up for people to look at. it says, gop enthusiasm is unlikely to match the intensity of the last election given trump's first-term success in filling court vacancy. so often you see a team win a championship and then they lose the urgency for the repeat. what do you expect from this rnc convention? and what will be different to how the democrats handle theirs? >> i don't think we know precisely how it will be different yet. the democrats were preparing for this inevitable virtual convention while the republicans, i think honestly, were kidding themselves for a while that they might be able to move locations and so forth. they may be less prepared than what democrats were. what we've seen i think surprises a lot of people is you're not seeing a lot of senators or members of congress

who otherwise would clamor to be on a stage for a convention, and certainly were four years ago. ted cruz being a very prominent example. i looked at the list today, and to some extent it resembled either the addams family. or a really bad glastonberry. democrats really trying to expand their base, expand their appeal to people. that's why you had very popular folks in the country like barack obama and michelle obama, to name the two most prominent examples. republicans really seem to be doubling down on this base. we'll see if that's a successful strategy. >> yeah, i think half the keynote speakers are either married to or related to the president. which sort of says something in itself. i mean, it's going to be hard for the president to do what the bidens did pretty much in centering their narrative about the family. around their message. especially given the book by trump's niece and his sister's withering comments about the president's character.

the thing is -- and tell me if i'm wrong. it's not like his base doesn't already know the character of the man. and this seems like a president, though, who doesn't really want to grow the tent. >> yeah, look, voters made up their minds one way or another by and large on donald trump not just a long time ago but well over four years ago. you are either very much for trump or you decided you were not going to vote for donald trump. there is a very small sliver of voters who are trying to be in an area where they can be persuaded one way or another and that's where i think the trump campaign is really behind on things right now, not just with the gender gap. if you were talking to democrats in january and february, obviously everywhere in the world is a very different conversation between now and then, but democrats were really scared about donald trump being able to campaign on a positive economy. and that that would risk him for another four years in the white house because incumbents don't lose in positive economies. but we know right now we have a death toll that's above 170,000 people. 170,000 americans and an economy

with more than 10% unemployment and so much insecurity and pain in the country. it's really hard to see how they're going to be able to persuade people. this may be an election more on motivation than persuasion. >> yeah, good point. the campaign adviser jason miller, he was saying that republicans are going to present -- he called it an optimistic and upbeat convention this week. in contrast with what he described as a massive grievance fest by the democrats. but, you know, we've seen the president constantly harp on negatives if democrats win. and you've got speeches like nick sandman. you've got the gun-toting missouri couple. i mean, that doesn't exactly suggest the convention is going to be all positive and uplifting. do you think there's danger in leaning into culture war stuff like that? >> not just leaning in, but leading with it. you know, jason miller's been a friend of mine for more than 20 years, and a sincere friend, not just a washington, d.c. friend when you say that and don't mean it, but it's really hard to see the optimism coming from him and other folks with the trump

campaign, except that they're paid to be, because of the bad news that you have throughout the country. you know, one of the things that the trump campaign is talking about right now is violence in the streets and how that may be joe biden's america. but we're really in donald trump's america right now. so how you sell that vision of what may happen under somebody else's leadership when it's happening under your leadership is a really tough sell, i think, even if you are purported to be the great salesman. >> it is a good point. he said think of the smouldering ruins of minneapolis, the anarchy of portland, the blood-stained sidewalks of chicago, which is all happening on his watch. so it's an interesting thing to try to push out as a negative. i wanted to ask you this, too, with all his talk of what he calls the dangers of mail-in voting, and literally saying -- he said, quote, the only way they're going to win, the democrats, is by a rigged election. is he setting the scene for a loss? and also, aren't comments like that just dangers for the public's faith in democracy? the only way i can lose is if

it's rigged. >> you know, it hurts me as somebody you mentioned that used to run communications for the republican national committee to say that the president from my party is saying dangerous things. they're also hypocritical things. i wish i had it sitting right next to me instead of ten feet behind me. i received a mail piece from the north carolina republican party just yesterday urging me to send in an absentee ballot for donald trump. now, i haven't lived in north carolina since 2004. it might have been a piece directed towards my father who died in 2016. in which case, that's either bad list management or they're trying to get somebody to vote fraudulently. i would point out the last time i had dinner with my father before he passed away, he said to me he's reluctantly voting for trump, this is in 2016, but, man, if joe biden's run, he'd vote for joe in a second. probably not the target audience one way or another. >> wow, interesting. doug heye, good to see you. thanks so much. >> thank you. and tune in to cnn for

controversial coverage of the republican national convention starting monday, 7:00 p.m. eastern time here in the u.s. for our international viewers, that's 12:00 a.m. tuesday in london. 7:00 a.m. tuesday in hong kong. and heading into the convention, you've got a new cbs news poll putting joe biden ahead of president trump by a ten-point margin among likely voters, but that is exactly what the polling looked like before the democrats launched their convention a week ago. no post-convention bump. on sunday, biden responded in a tv interview to one of mr. trump's many personal attacks. >> i want to turn to the blistering attacks we've seen from president trump just this week alone on your mental fitness, whether you're up for the job. his campaign has called you diminished, and i'm surus how you'd respond to that. >> watch me. mr. president, watch me.

look at us both. what we say, what we do, what we control, what we know, what kind of shape we're in. come on. look, i think it's a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they're fit and whether they're ready. but i just -- the only thing i can say to the american people, it's a legitimate question to ask anybody. watch me. >> well, a history-making event as two dangerous storms make their way towards the gulf coast of the united states. cnn tracking the destructive paths of marco and laura. we will bring you the latest from the cnn weather center when we come back. three derm ingredients in one cream. don't settle for less. revitalift triple power with pro-retinol plus hyaluronic acid and vitamin c. it visibly reduces wrinkles. firms. and brightens. now that's triple power. revitalift triple power moisturizer from l'oreal. now that's triple power. we do things differently and aother money managers, don't understand why. because our way works great for us! but not for your clients. that's why we're a fiduciary,

obligated to put clients first. so, what do you provide? cookie cutter portfolios? nope. we tailor portfolios to our client's needs. but you do sell investments that earn you high commissions, right? we don't have those. so, what's in it for you? our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. at fisher investments we're clearly different. we kand however we connect,ng. whether it's over the phone, online, or in your office, we're here to listen and provide solutions that help you run your business better.

because the decisions you make have far reaching implications. and a relationship with a corporate bank like pnc can provide just what you need. as one of the nation's largest banks, pnc brings customized insights and a local approach. to make informed choices now and in the future.

welcome back. the gulf coast bracings for not one but go tropical storms. marco just shy of hurricane strength as it prepares to make landfall and laura expected to reach hurricane strength later in the week. laura ripped through the dominican republic leaving nearly 500,000 people without power and killing at least 9 people. tropical storm watches stretch from florida and texas and the state of louisiana has begun mandatory evacuations as marco inches closer to shore.

now, martin savidge with the latest from new orleans. >> reporter: by themselves each storm would be considered manageable. by emergency officials. but combine their impacts and no one's really sure what to expect. locally, officials have said residents had until nightfall sunday to finish their preparations. saying wherever you are when it gets dark is where you should plan to be for the next 72 hours. there is no evacuation order for the city of new orleans. the real fear is flooding. the storm surge and rains from marco will likely cause some flooding. the problem will be can the waters recede either naturally or be pumped out mechanically before the next storm laura brings more flooding potential. the governor is warning there

may not be enough time or opportunity between the two storms to carry out significant rescue operations. if people become dropped by high water. officials are warning for the first 72 hours many in the paths of these two storms could be on their own. back to you. >> martin savidge, thanks. and meteorologist pedram javaheri joining us now with more. i mean, a pretty rare event, two storms so close together. >> yeah, you've got to go back to 1959, michael, for the last time we had two storms at the same time into the gulf of mexico. we're watching laura carefully as it's forecast to move directly into the gulf of mexico within the next 24 or so hours. as you noted, marco has weakened and a storm system pushing it very close to portions of the state of louisiana. could potentially make landfall monday into tuesday evening or linger across the region and skirt the coastal region and maybe rain itself out, not make

landfall at all, but the impacts not going to change. the storm surge could be as high as 6 feet. we do have hurricane warnings across this region. you'll notice even back west of this area, a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet above what is normal high tide, so an impressive number across this region. what's what's happening with tropical storm laura because it is impacting parts of the island here. and, of course, facilititalitie across the region. the forecast track avoids much of cuba. that will allow the storm system to maintain its intensity. cuba has a very mountainous terrain there. as it enters the gulf of mexico, water temperatures well conducive to producing a stronger system and the national hurricane center notes this storm has everything to takes to strengthen rather quickly unlike what we've seen from marco. this storm has what it takes potentially to get up to category 2, maybe even category 3 on wednesday evening when it makes lanful. notice the track of these

essentially crossing one another within a 48-hour period. what we've done here, michael, is highlight some 600 oil platforms offshore and also millions of people on the east coast of texas or western louisiana and the rainfall again notice the eastern side of this around new orleans. that's the rainfall forecast. 4 to 6 inches there from marco and an additional 6 to 10 inches just west of this region coming in with laura. and, of course, this is just the forecast guidance. you can certainly see these cross much, much closer and produce that amount of rainfall on top of one community or region. we're going to follow this into the middle of the week. >> thank you. and we're going to take a quick break. when we come back here on "cnn newsroom," california firefighters battling blazes in the worst weather conditions. up next, firsthand insight on this emergency from the state's forestry and fire protection agency.

you're watching cnn. we'll be right back. to make. t have the largest 5g network... award-winning customer satisfaction... or insanely great value. now, with t-mobile for business, there's no compromise. network. support. value. choose. any. three. t-mobile for business ready when you are. ♪water? why?! ahhhh! incoming! ahhhahh! i'm saved! water tastes like, water. so we fixed it. mio don't settle for less. revitalift triple power with pro-retinol plus hyaluronic acid and vitamin c. it visibly reduces wrinkles. firms. and brightens. now that's triple power. revitalift triple power moisturizer from l'oreal.

means i'm responsible to every single one of my team members and all my patients. we went above and beyond regulations because i wanted to make sure that the community is taken care of. we owe it to them to be careful stewards of their health. so trust your people and take care of your teams and you will weather the storm. ♪

and you will weather it's more than just fast. it keeps all your devices running smoothly. with built-in security that protects your kids. protects your info and gives you 24/7 peace of mind that if it's connected, it's protected. even that that pet-camera thingy. can your internet do that? xfinity xfi can because it's simple, easy, awesome. get advanced security free with the xfi gateway. download the xfi app today.

welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm michael holmes. thousands of firefighters working day and night battling hundreds of wildfires across the state of california. and with the hot, dry weather there is no end in sight to this disaster. the bush fires have burned more than 1 million acres of land. the state has had to call for reinforcements just to keep up. cnn's paul vercammen is in calistoga in california. >> reporter: michael, there is smoke in the air and tension in the air. that's because they know there's a strong possibility of these lightning strikes. a red-flag warning all over

northern california, central california. here is the command post where they're helping to dispatch the 14,000 firefighters now on the lines in california. speaking of those lines, this gives you what they're up against. this is the lnu complex. the black line means they've got containment either by digging it with bulldozers or shovels or backfiring. the red, that's where there's no containment whatsoever. on these monster fires. firefighters have been pouring in from other states, including oregon, and we spoke with one of those firefighters who is out on the line. >> this is historic, i mean, something that we've seen in the past, but not to this magnitude. our resources are stretched thin. and what we're worried about is the system coming in causing the same havoc throughout the state. and trying to get resources to protect the citizens of california. >> reporter: this is calistoga, california. they've had their share of trouble with fire over the past half decade. you can look over here. and one of the firefighters

advising a resident as to what's going on here with evacuations. the potential for more blazes. and people here showing appreciation. a woman drove up and heard that firefighters needed pillows or at least were trying to buy some pillows. so she handed them 12 to 14 pillows. >> we love them. god bless them. we're nothing without them. and thank god they're here. and they just put out so much -- look how hot it is. the air is horrible. they're out there fighting these things for us. the least thing i could do is bring some pillows. wish i could do more. >> reporter: so here back on the ground, this sense of anticipation, what will this weather bring them? will it be more of these lightning strikes that caused so much trouble before? they're just crossing their fingers and hoping they get through the next 24 to 48 hours.

back to you now, michael. >> well, the california department of forestry and fire protection also known as cal fire protects over 31 million acres of the state's wildlands. joining me now from cal fire is lynette round. thank you so much for doing so. what is the situation right now in the area in which you're operating? >> well, as you heard up here in northern california, our firefighters have been under some extreme conditions. with the heatwave we had last week and the lightning storms that came through which sparked these blazes, they've been put under some tests in getting these fires contained. >> i can't imagine what the needs are and the challenges that your people are facing. i mean, to even think about fighting so many fires at once. what are the needs that you have? >> so, in the initial attack when these fires start out, we make sure we get our air and ground resources out to theory fires as quickly as possible.

our main priority is, of course, saving lives and then saving property and our natural resources. so when we can do that effectively, that's great, but we also need outside resources. so we request them and hopefully we can get them and get them out on the line as quickly as possible. we've been very lucky to have these resources gets here. we have 60 fire engines already assigned out of state with 26 more en route. we have 95 state assigned aircraft assisting us. we do have cal guard soldiers that have just come in as well. >> yeah, i've heard some pleas for international help, ian. i mean, is that something that could be useful? >> not at this time, we're doing actually quite well with the resources that have been coming in so far. >> what do you see in the days and, gosh, even weeks ahead? >> as we're looking at the weather, it's going to be another warm week ahead of us

and right now we're in a red-flag warning, which means we're expecting dry lightning and little rain and some gusty winds. so that can hamper our fire fighting efforts as we're trying to contain these fires and may even spark some new fires. >> looking down the road a bit, i guess the santa ana winds can come in and be a problem. >> they can be. our fire seasons have expanded on average by 75 days and we continue to experience larger and more damaging wildfires. in fact, 8 of the 10 largest wildfires here in california history has occurred in the past decade. we have number 2 and 3 on that list with the lnu lightning complex and the scu lightning complex. >> extraordinary times. extraordinary work by the people there fighting these fires and trying to save property. lynette round with cal fire, really appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. joining me now is noah

differe -- a senior fellow at stanford woods institute for of the environment. professor, great to have you on. sorry about the circumstances. give us a sense of historically how big these fires are. how much worse they've become in recent years. >> well, right now we have the second and third largest fires in california's recorded history. burning right now. and they're still expanding. it remains to be seen. now, they've only been burning for about a week, so we've had more than 1 million acres burned since the lightning strikes started last weekend. that's what's happening right now. over the long-term, the area burned in the winner united states has increased ten-fold in the last four decades, and we have very strong evidence that global warming has contributed about half that increase. >> in fact, i was reading you

were a senior author of a stanford university study i was reading earlier, and that referred to that human-caused global -- human causes that have led to global warms, have made these fires much more likely. what sort of role is climate playing in what's happening now in california? not just now, but in recent years. what have been the causes and effects? >> well, so fires always result from the confluence of multiple ingredients. there is the vegetation that is burning. there is the winds and the other climate variables. how much humidity is in the atmosphere. how hot it is. and then there is, of course, also the ignition. whatever is the cause of the fire. where global warming is having the clearest effect is through temperature. that -- that heat in the atmosphere is drying out vegetation. it's creating more flammable fuel on the landscape.

it also means that when we have low precipitation periods, though droughts have been becoming more intense. so we're seeing an extension of the wildfire season in california. the cal fire now essentially reports a year-round fire season, and that's primarily the result of the long-term warming that's happened in recent decades. >> so what's the answer? how to mitigate what's been happening in california and elsewhere, for that matter, that is climate related, what can be done? >> well, you know, climate change is really about risks. and what we are seeing in california and more broadly in the western u.s. and in other parts of the world, is that the risk of extreme wildfire conditions is going up. global warming is putting a thumb on the scales. the good news is that there are lots of opportunities to manage those risks. so how much global warming we get in the future, it depends on

our greenhouse gas emissions. so there's opportunities to curb that trajectory, but there is also a lot of opportunities to manage the risks right now. home hardening, forest management, hardening of the electrical grid. these are all measures that localities and states and countries can take right now to help build resilience. and then the other key factor that we're really reminded of this week in california is how thinly stretched our wildfire fighting system, both the people and the equipment are. >> yep. >> during these large events. we saw it in australia last year. we've seen it in california in recent years. it's happening right now. so investments in that -- in that -- in the people and equipment that respond to these fires are critical. >> yeah, and when it comes to climate change, it's not like we haven't been warned. leave it there for the moment. professor of earth sciences at stanford university. thank you, professor. >> thank you. we'll take a quick break here.

when we get back, getting justice for the victims of new zealand's worst mass shooting. the man who killed 51 people in terror attacks on two mosques is going to be sentenced in the days ahead. we'll have a live report on the first day of the hearing. three derm ingredients in one cream. don't settle for less. revitalift triple power with pro-retinol plus hyaluronic acid and vitamin c. it visibly reduces wrinkles. firms. and brightens. now that's triple power. revitalift triple power moisturizer from l'oreal. now that's triple power. now that the rent's due but they've cut your pay. now that the virus has cost lives but your healthcare costs too much. now that our president has had months but he still doesn't have a plan. what happens now? joe biden knows how to lead through a crisis because he's done it before. when our economy was on the verge of collapse, joe biden led the largest economic stimulus in a generation and saved millions of jobs.

now joe biden is ready to lead us through this crisis. he knows rebuilding our economy starts with fighting the virus, increasing testing, getting more protective gear for healthcare workers and calling for mask mandates nationwide. as president, he'll get working families back on their feet by lowering healthcare costs and helping small businesses recover. so what happens now? we elect a president who will build back better. i'm joe biden and i approve this message.

the man responsible for new zealand's worst ever mass shooting will learn his fate in the coming days. the first day in the sentencing hearing of brenton tarrant wrapped up just a couple of hours ago. over the next four days, the courtroom will be filled with family members of the victims as well as survivors of the attack. now, tarrant pleaded guilty to murdering 51 people and the attempted murder of 40 others. after he opened fire at two mosques in christchurch in march of last year. for more on this, let's turn to cnn's senior international correspondent ivan watson

joining me from hong kong. bring us up to date on what happened today, ivan. >> well, a big part of today's hearing involved the crown prosecutor laying out evidence and an official narrative of what took place on this terrible day in march of 2019. begun preparations for this rampage as early as september 2017 when he bought a firearms license in new zealand. and described how he traveled repeatedly to christchurch to do reconnaissance around the mosques that he subsequently attacked, including even flying a drone over the al-nur mosque where the most casualties were incurred.

and that he had done research about the islamic calender and the times of days when there would be the most worshippers in the mosque. and it turned out that the attack was carried out during friday prayers. that is one of the busiest times in the week for a mosque. then going on to describe in quite gruesome detail how the confessed terrorist here went back and killed already wounded people at pointblank range. including a 3-year-old child. another part of these hearings is giving a chance for dozens of survivors and relatives of victims to speak, to give their own testimonies to the court and to the convicted killer himself. take a listen to what one grieving mother had to say.

>> may you get the severest punishment for your evil act in this life. and in the hereafter. we know that allah is the most just. you transgressed and you thought you can break us. you failed miserably. we became more determined to hold tight to islam. and our beloved ones -- >> the suspect here, the convicted killer, faces life imprisonment. there's no death penalty in new zealand. one of the victim testimonies today called for the death penalty to be imposed in this case. michael? >> ivan watson in hong kong. thanks very much. and we will be right back.

three weeks and still no sign of our elusive subject, but today... we brought a little enticement. devour buffalo chicken mac and cheese.

there he is... what a magnificent beast. once he locks onto his prey, it's all but over. oh wow. it's a female! ryan! looks like she's the alpha. typical! eat like an animal. devour. don't settle for less. revitalift triple power with pro-retinol plus hyaluronic acid and vitamin c. it visibly reduces wrinkles. firms. and brightens. now that's triple power. revitalift triple power moisturizer from l'oreal.

when the coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a streaming halt, it was uncertain whether this year's most prestigious football tournament, the uefa champions league, would be able to crown a champion. well, crown one it did.

germany's bayern munich adding another title to their growing legacy. patrick snell with the details. >> lisbon the setting for the 2020 champions league final. a matched played behind closed doors. brazilian superstar neymar would discover just what it's like to come up against a truly inspired keeper. the polish striker denied by the woodwork. much to the anxious concern of the 5,000 fans watching back in paris. both teams did have plausible claims for a penalty. killian mbappe likely agreed this decision didn't go his way. and then just shy of the hour mark, the winner, rising superbly to shatter the hopes and dreams of his former club. nurtured in their own academy, the now 24-year-old breaking hearts of all connected with the

lavishly backed team from the french capital. the defeat just too much for neymar. a picture of devastation at the final whistle. his dejection in stark contrast to those jubilant bayern players. then party time, hosting the most coveted prize in european football. the first to win the champions league by winning every single match. and what a moment, too, for 19-year-old alfonso davies. now the first canadian to win the champions league and the youngest defender, too. bayern's sixth triumph in this competition moving them level with liverpool and behind only milan and real madrid. and the bavarian giants are also celebrating another historic treble, winning the champions

league, the bundesliga and the german cup for the second time in just seven years. back to you. >> thank you, patrick snell. now, the indianapolis 500 took place on sunday. fair warning, you're about to see a pretty big crash. u.s. driver spencer pigot hitting a pit wall with just four laps to go in the race. he was sent to a nearby hospital. good news, he later tweeted, as one does, that he was, quote, headed home after a long day. his teammate, japan's takuma sato went on to win the race under a caution flag. sato also won the indy 500 in 2017, the first asian driver to do so. and having a little milk drink. thanks for watching. i'm michael holmes. my very good friend will join you after a short break with another hour of "cnn newsroom." pnc bank believes that if you can check on henry when you're miles from home...

...your bank should help you check on your account to see what's free to spend. henry... virtual wallet® is so much more than a checking account. easily see what's free to spend. and put money aside for your next big purchase... like a trainer for henry. stop it. carl, do you have those figures? yeah. henry sit! ...it's carl. virtual wallet® for digital banking from pnc. it's time to get more from your bank. don't settle for less. revitalift triple power with pro-retinol plus hyaluronic acid and vitamin c. it visibly reduces wrinkles. firms. and brightens. now that's triple power. revitalift triple power moisturizer from l'oreal.

♪ i got it all from you ♪ i'm always pushing through ♪ i know we'll make it to the finish line ♪ ♪ i know you're waiting on the other side ♪ ♪ i'm like you on-demand glucose monitoring. because they're always on. another life-changing technology from abbott.

so you don't wait for life. you live it. calling it an historic breakthrough, president trump praises the fda's emergency authorization of a coronavirus treatment but medical experts warn the controversial decision has its flaws. plus, breakout stars and the trumps. republican national convention will feature some new and familiar faces, including appearances from donald trump all four nights. and this -- bayern munich closes out the champions league with another european title. we'll break down the emotional match.