charles manafort, charles kushner. joining me is harry litman. great to have you on. a lot to talk about. >> thanks, bianna. >> i know you were surprised by this. you called this a frontal assault on the criminal justice system. why is this such an affront? >> yeah, those are broad words, but bianna, this goes so much farther than simply cleaning up the business or following through on the blackwater probe. blackwater guards, these are the hallmark cases that the department of justice stakes its reputation on and years and years of work, and they're wiped out in a fell swoop. there's a fooling of a drunken buffoonery on trump's part, but it's much more grave and serious on its impact overall in what the department of justice's work is supposed to be. >> yet we have grown numb to so many of this president's actions. we shouldn't be surprised in notes from a former conversation with rick gates, agents recounted the following. manafort told gates it was stupid to plead, and he would get a better deal down the road. manafort said he had been in touch with daoud, the attorney, and repeated they should sit tight and will be taken care of. does that statement potential impact the legality of this part, harry? >> yeah, it certainly does. by the way, can you imagine? we saw both manafort and flynn do these bizarre turns where they were acting like jokers in front of the court, but they were making what turns out to have been smart, cynical bets that trump would come through. if it was a quid pro quo, it's absolutely a crime, a bribe, but you have to ask yourself, how will we find out? there's now a kind of hermetically sealed conspiracy of silence, and the department of justice has to think long and hoards before it trying to open up that circle and prosecutor people. it will lead to turmoil, it will get in the way of other things that biden wants to do, and it could be a constitutional issue about pardons. it stinks, but it may in fact be something that the department and the country are not able to actually remediate. >> we may have 26 more days of unsavory pardoning. >> happy holidays. >> same to you. >>> the cdc says just 1 million of the 9 million vaccine doses shipped have been administered. what is behind the lag? >>> president-elect joe biden has yet to name who he will nominate two of the top positions. >>> after president trump throws the relief bill in doubt, cash-strapped industries wonder what's next for them? is decisi. find a stock based on your interests or what's trending. get real-time insights in your customized view of the market. it's smarter trading technology for smarter trading decisions. fidelity. do you struggle with dull, dry skin, and find yourself reapplying moisturizer throughout the day? try olay ultra rich. olay's luxurious moisturizer melts into the skin. it's formulated with vitamin b3 plus peptides and shea butter, providing lasting hydration, for up to 24 hours. there's no need to reapply, and no greasy residue. and, for enhanced hydration, try olay serum. just 1 drop has the power to renew a million surface skincells. for deep, lasting hydration try olay. >>> california is now the first state in the nation to surpass 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases. hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed. more than 1.2 million doses have been delivered to the state. with me now to discussing is dr. simi yasmin, author of the fo h forthcoming book. doctor, thank you for joining us. i just want to start with your home state. did you ever think it could get this bad? and will vaccines be able to drastically reduce things? >> i think the heartbreaking things is we saw this coming. all the signs were there. even in one area, even if it's in one state, one community, if things look like they're going in the right direction, but hot spots around you, it's almost inevitable. we hope that vaccines will be our way out of this as soon as possible, but of course there are the logistical challenges. the point so far we have only vaccinated about 1 million people which is way shy of the 20 million target that we've been told we would achieve by the end of september. i worry about covid fatigue. i think january could be an even more different month. >> it seems like a deadly game of whack-a-mole trying to put out fires. they've said it will no longer send out the state report with tailored recommendation. do you see this being detrimental? what kind of impact will this have? >> i'm trying to keep an open mind about this, right, but at the same time i'm thinking we're at the worst point we've been in this pandemic, and any impediment to the free flow of information, the free transfer of data in my mind is a bad thing. you knee transparency. you need to make sure every agency, every local and state authority is on the same page. to my mind, at least from the facts i'm looking at now, asking states to do extra work, to reach out for the state-specific data, is not a great idea. i feel like it just playing into this trend we have seen between this administration and states over the last year where states have really been left in the lurch without the right amount of support they need to handle this crisis. >> we know how it could be done properly, right? you have korea, taiwan that showed us the proper way, yet we continue to be in this situation, and the numbers continue to go up. a new model suggests that the u.s. will report 557,000 deaths in the next few months. that's after taking vaccines into consideration. is that projects too high? >> there is different kinds of projections, and in the worst-case modding they're saying on january 20th we could be looking at 1 million americans infected every single day. that's a gut punch, it's hard to get your head around, but at the same time we have already seen some worst-case scenarios pan out over the last few months. we have to take these models seriously. they are saying that's the worst-case scenario that could occur if states do not implement mandates around social distancing. they say if states were to take it seriously and mandate that, that number of americans infected a day could be dropped to about half a million. still really high. on the point, yes, they are factors in 3 million americans being vaccinated each day, but the thing to bear in mind, at least with the vaccines we have available, you need two doses, two shots spaced out about by three or four weeks. even then it's only one to two weeks after the second dose you get the full protection. yes, the vaccines are here, but not for everyone yet. it will take a few months to build up herd immunity, way into 2021 to do that. >> we have the tools, right? in terms of masks and social distancing, and yet we continue to see these numbers climb, because so many people are not adhering to them. happy holidays to you, doctor. we appreciate your insight. >> thank you so much. take care. >>> president-elect biden has almost filled out his cabinet. the two high-profile positions remain unfilled. the top contenders are coming up next. >>> plus the airline industry now facing new uncertainty after president trump signals he could veto the coronavirus relief bill. some hot cocoa? mom, look! are you okay? head home this holiday with the one you love. visit your local mercedes-benz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedes-benz winter event. subway is open and serving footlongs contact-free. order in the app for quick and easy pickup. or, get contact-free curbside pickup! staying home? get delivery! so many ways to get footlongs contact-free! subway. eat fresh. [yawn] you. look. stunning. want the truth to why i wake up feeling... [growls softly] ...so darn awesome? [makes playful sound] i take care of my skin. not this skin. that skin. and when you've got incontinence, you sure need to. tena intimates pads lock liquid in, and are now 100% breathable to care for your intimate skin. are you still here? kind to skin. protects like tena. we made usaa insurance for veterans like martin. when a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa usaa. what you're made of, experience the wonders of at nizuc resort & spa, where paradise is personal. nizuc is a world to discover unto itself, day or night, indoors or out. something wonderful awaits. experience the wonders of at nizuc resort & spa, where paradise is personal. nizuc is a world to discover unto itself, day or night, indoors or out. something wonderful awaits. >>> well, with less than a month until he's officially on the job, president-elect joe biden has almost filled out who he wants to make up his cabinet. two of the most high-profile positioning have yet to be settled on, attorney general and director of the cia. jessica dean, there are still a lot of names being floated. who are we watching right now? >> right. good afternoon to you, bianna. president-elect joe biden saying earlier this week that there could be more announcements coming in the next several weeks. we're told to expect them to be complete by the first part of january. let's start first with attorney general. biden saying that there's no obvious choice to him, that politics will not be involved. this would be its own independent justice department, and there are four top contenders, judge merrick garland, and alabama senator doug jones, but it's not out of the question to take a look at sallie yates, and deval patrick, the former massachusetts governor. again, this will be a key role in biden's cabinet. we also know that he is keen to roll out along with the naming of the attorneys, other major names to the justice department. that's slowing him down a bit, in that there are other moving parts combined. when you look at the director of the cia, we know there are three top contender that our reporting could its that president-elect joe biden is looking at. lisa monaco, and also an adviser to joe biden as well, and david cohen and darrell blocker. so beana, as you mentioned, still quite a number of names. it is clear, based on when he said earlier this week, the decisions have not yet been made. >> we know that former cia director took his name out of consideration as well. so he's no longer on that list. it's not just ag and cia. there are other department heads being deliberated. who are they? >> reporter: it's commerce, labor and sba, all agencies that will be so critical when it comes to getting the economy back on track and what president-elect biden wants to do once he gets into office. at commerce we're told there's a handle of top contender that biden continues to look at, including stop satirtom steyer. at sba, diana taylor is a name being floated, and stacy olivieris, as they look to fire of this economy against and get people off unemployment, we note the top contenders are jewelry sioux, boston mayor marty wallish, senator bernie sanders, and sara nelson, also named as one of the contenders there. i think you'll be speaking with her soon. >> perfect timing as far as booking goes. jessica dean, thank you. five slots still remain to be filled. happy holidays to you. >>> just into cnn, united alliance has announced it will now require anyone flying from london into chicago, newark, d.c. or san francisco to show proof of a negative covid test taken within three days of departure. the move comes as a new highly contagious variant of the virus has run through the uk's, sara nelson, thanks so much for joining us. your ears may be burning from us talking about you a few moments ago, but first year rue action to this move by united? >> well, listen, we've got to have a full plan, and we've been asking for that since l.a. january. while everyone is trying to do everything they can to contain the spread, and we have a unique job in transportation, with the work we do around that, we've got to have a coordinated effort. otherwise, it's like put ago drop of penicillin into the ocean. this is something that we would support, of course, but this is something that has to be coordinated with the rest of the government. >> and of course many people now assume that the variant may already be here in the states as well. let me turn to the covid relief bill that now hangs in the balance. the bill that congress did put forward initially includes $15 billion directly allocated for airlines, that $15 billion centers around the extension of the industry's payroll support program, which would bring back more than 32,000 employees who have you been furloughed. your reaction to this chaos and how it's potential threat i don't think your industry. >> we have working on this. a lot of people are not aware of what we did. we put in place a workers first program here that requires that all the money has to go to payroll and benefits of the workers. the airlines in return have to keep everyone on the job, so not on the unemployment lines, but continuing to get their paychecks connected to hair health care and continuing to serve all of our communities. the other thing we did is capped executive compensation and stock buybacks. that's well after the releasents. that will be extended as well. this is a template that the biden administration would like to use for other industries. it's the best template historically to put forward actually the best use of the public's money. this is $15 billion to get people back on the payroll. you mentioned the people currently furloughed, they would be recalled. it would also restore paychecks to people who have gone on no-pay status as well. over 100,000 people who are not getting paid, afraid of losing their health care insurance completely, because the contracts have continued to cover that cobra coverage up to now, but at the end of the month they would lose that without putting this in place. and that includes the children who are going headlinery, people who are at risk for losing their home, and on saturday, the 12 million who will fall off unemployment completely. this is about getting emergency aid to people as a bridge. it's putting all of that in jeopardy right now. if you think about the 17 million children around christmas, you think about their parents, too, who are having to deal with this, this is heartbreaking, and it's got to change and the president has to sign the bill. >> frankly it's unacceptable in the richest country in the world. no doubt your industry has been one of the hardest hit. i do want to ask you about the vacancies that the president-elect is working to fill. as you heard, and i'm sure you're aware, your name has been floated for possible labor secretary consideration. what can you tell us about that? has the biden team reached out to you? and would you take the job if offered? >> i've been talking with the biden team all the time. i was on the standards economy tachk force, and i focused on getting this program extended. these a great template for the rest of the country and every other industry. that's where my focus is. i will continue to talk with the transition team about getting this relief in place and getting more in place in the new year. that's my focus. if i were to get a call from the president-elect, that would be an incredible honor, but we have to take care of the people who have tremendous needs right now and keep our focus on that. >> sara nelson, thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> after four years of uncertainty, brexit is finally a done deal. what today's announcement means for the uk economy, as it struggles until this crippling pandemic. my husband and my water broke. at only 23 weeks. andrew: we had to stay in the hospital for 10 weeks, 1000s of miles from family. our driver kristin came along in our most desperate hour. suzanne: bringing us home-cooked meals and gifts. andrew: day after day. we wanted to show you something. kristin: oh my god! andrew: kristin is the most uncommonly kind person that we've met. suzanne: thank you so much. she always wanted her smile to shine. now, she uses a capful of therabreath healthy smile oral rinse to give her the healthy, sparkly smile she always wanted. (crowd cheering) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. at walmart, target and other fine stores. unfortunately, we are still limiting in-person appointments due to the pandemic and we'll need to move your father's visit to a later date. we're sorry. hola, papa. american cancer society helpline. how can i help you? that selling carsarvana, 100% online wouldn't work. but we went to work. building an experience that lets you shop over 17,000 cars from home. creating a coast to coast network to deliver your car as soon as tomorrow. recruiting an army of customer advocates to make your experience incredible. and putting you in control of the whole thing with powerful technology. that's why we've become the nation's fastest growing retailer. because our customers love it. see for yourself, at carvana.com. narrow to those with a sudden need...for a new gift. meaning, you. you're the one we made mywalgreens for. with pickup in as little as 30 minutes. introducing mywalgreens. stores open christmas day. >>> happening this morning, british prime minister boris johnson announced that a long-awaited trade deal has been reached with the european union, declaring the deal is done. here's what the p.m. had to say about this this morning. >> we've taken back control of our laws and our destiny. we have taken back control of every jolt and tittle of regulation that's complete and unfettered. from january 1st, we are outside the customs union and outside the single market. >> the deal coming together just days before the brexit transition period is set to end on december 31st. i want to bring in richard quest for more on this. welcome news finally for britain, but it feels lick it was more of a battle over autonomy. what is the potential impact to the last-minute changes? >> so now britain will now leave the eu, but leave the umbrella. until now it's been under the same rules and regulations. now it really does have to go its own way. though today they announced a free trade agreement, which is limited in scope, there's no deal on services, the uk still is very much on the outside. it is no longer part of that club. that's what they wanted. they wanted sovereignty , it means that the uk really will be on its own inch and this new brexit deal, how might it affect the daily lives of people living in the uk? >> everybody says -- until now, the uk has been out of the european union but it's had an umbrella. starting from they'll no longer -- they'll have to go through other nations, third countries. they'll be lumped with everybody else. you won't be able to take your pets across to the continent with a pet passport. little things, and business will have to fill out cuss toms forms even though there won't be any tariffs. >> we know that president trump has sort of been dangling a bigger and better trade deal with the uk and the united states, something that boris johnson had been hoping for as well. what does it mean now, given that we have a new biden administration coming in? >> right. the first and most important thing, they have solved the northern ireland question. they don't have to worry. the president-elect had said if there is any risk to the good friday agreement in northern ireland, there will be no u.s./uk trade deal. that's been solved. now there really has to be a question of, because i think there's such a strong deal with the eu, the u.s. is now in a much better position to do a deal to move forward. both prime ministers -- both former prime ministers, david cameron and theresa may, have both tweeted their support today. bearing in mind david cameron is the reason we're in this mess. he decided to have the referendum in the first place. he says congratulations, good luck. theresa may failed to get the deal, she failed to get the withdrawal agreement, but boris johnson, again, she wishes him well. the big deal now is the u.s. trade deal. how quickly can johnson and the president-elect put together a trade do el in 2021. it won't be easy with congress. >> but a bit easier now that northern ireland has been worked out. >> yes. >>> richard quest, thank you for breaking that down for us. a bit of good news. happy holidays. >> same to you. >>> a christmas eve day error from the u.s. military. a tweet and press release send out this morning from the africa command turned a major mishap, a botched air strike into a christmas joke. cnn's barbara starr joined me. i read this tweet and this to re-read it. have you ever seen strategic command make light of this? >> reporter: this started when african command put out a press release earlier today. the press release dated december 10th. december 10th, about a mission they conducted on december 24th, today. what it spells out is a strike they conducted in somalia against a target of the al shabaab terrorist network in that country. that's a terror network that has caused devastation and tragedy for years to the people of somalia. they go on and talk about it. we all make typos, right? but they go on and compound the problem. they says the initial assessment said that the strike damaged the compound and several fighters fled. damaged the compound? you can read that to mean they actually missed destroying the target, which is the only reason u.s. aircraft launch strikes. they go for destruction. and thwarting nefarious activity. to the best of my knowledge in covering the pentagon, i've never heard that's a stated u.s. military mission. let me go a step further. besides the press release with the wrong date, and i can't tell you if it happened on the 10th or the 24th. we haven't sorted out that typo, but they go on and say one of the reasons they did this strike is because al shabaab had been, quote, take a look at it, on the naughty list, a reference to today being the christmas holiday around the world, but somalia, of course, is a muslim country. perhaps not exactly the most sensitive of remarks by the u.s. military to the muslim world. why is all of this so important? we're not just here to talk about african command's poorly worded tweets. somalia is a country that's suffered so much, and right now it's exceptionally vulnerable, because the u.s. military is in the middle of withdrawing troops from the country. there are u.s. war ships off the coast trying to assure security as troops withdraw. this is the end of the trump admiration trying to get troops out of the these frontline positions. even as the trump administration trying to do it it's still the case these terrorists are in somalia. the bottom line, it's the people of somalia, men, women and children, of course, who have suffered so much. >> there are literally lives on the line, and quite an embarrassment for this tweet to have gone out. thank goodness for your eagle eyes in flagging it. we appreciate it. thank you so much. >> sure. >>> well, the impeachment of a president, a historic election, and a reckoning on race. the nation's capital was ground zero for some of the year's biggest stories. we'll recap them, coming up next. of the mess but scrubbing still takes time. now there's powerwash dish spray it's the faster way to clean as you go just spray, wipe and rinse it cleans grease five times faster dawn powerwash. spray, wipe, rinse. and through the woods this holiday season. remember, safe drivers save 40% with allstate. saving is easy when you're in good hands. call a local agent, or 1-800-allstate for a quote today. >>> the nation's capital this year was consumed by epic political battles. front and center, a historic presidential race for the white house, reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. abby phillips looks at the stories that rocked washington in 2020. >>> 2020 was a presidential election year for the history books. an unpredictable democratic primary, a pandemic, and a president refusing to concede. here are washington's most unforgettable stories of 2020. . a brazen assassination within days of the new year. >> they are promising revenge. >> the operation carried out after a president under siege. president trump had already become one of the just three u.s. presidents ever to be impeached. during his reelection fight under a cloud. >> if 67 senators, two thirds of the u.s. senate vote to convict, he will be removed from office. >> meantime, a quiet killer had already arrived on america's shores. >> the first case of the fast-spreading coronavirus confirmed in the united states. >> by late january, trump moved to establishment a white house covid-19 task force and suspend most travel to and from china. >> foreign nationals who have travels in china will be denied entry into the united states. >> meanwhile, for the democrats, a crowded primary contest was winnowing down. the caucus night would end with a cliff-hanger. >> right now 0% of the precincts have reported the results. >> back in washington, after senate republicans largely resist new witnesses, trump was quickly acquitted. the 2020 presidential race already under way in earnest, but assumed front runner, former vice president joe biden languished at the back of the pack. >> it looks like he's headed toward not even placing in the top four. >> until a key endorsement from jim clyburn helped turn the tide. >> we've seen in a 72-hour period from joe biden going from a joke to a juggernaut. >> i guess we can say hi. >> the reality of covid-19 hit. >> abby, senator sanders is cancelling a rally tonight. >> anderson, it's the first time we've heard of a campaign event being canceled. >> we were just hearing they're also cancelling the rally here in cleveland tonight. >> next day, a rare oval office address. >> my fellow americans. >> as the threat of the virus became impossible to ig noir. >> the nba overnight suspending its entire season. >> president trump continued to doubt the severity of the virus in public, second guessing the science. >> by april, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. i hope that's true. >> and pushing under founded cures in this unfounded moment. >> i see the disinfectant which knocks it out in a minute, one minute. is there a way we can do something like that? by injection inside or almost a cleaning, as you see gets in the lungs. >> as most of the nation grappled with shutdowns, the country erupted in protests over racial injustice, and into flames. president trump seizing an opportunity to make the unrest an election issue. >> i will deploy the united states military and quickly solve the problem. >> a president with a penchant for drama, staging his own dramatic march. >> now he's standing there looking around at st. john's episcopal church. >> after months of isolation in the white house, the president eager to escape, hatches a plan to return to the campaign trail. >> event in oklahoma is unbelievable. the crowds are unbelievable. they haven't seen anything like it. >> but those expectations didn't become reality. >> this event has fallen well short of the trump campaign's own expectations. >> i've been watching this space all afternoon. it is virtually empty. >> back in delaware, the democratic primary came to a quiet, virtual end. >> cnn is projecting joe biden now has the number of delegates needed to officially secure the democratic presidential nomination. >> and democrats and the nation lose a civil rights hero. >> i, like so many americans, owe a great debt to john lewis. >> after a drun-out primary fight and in a year of racial strife, biden chose to make history with his vice presidential trip. >> your next vice president of the united states, kamala harris. >> as both political parties barrel toward election day with their virtual conventions, a sudden loss of another icon, ruth bader ginsburg, set off a political earthquake within weeks of election day. >> thank you very much. >> in days, trump selected judge amy coney barrett as ginsburg's replacement, an idealogical opposite. announcing his pick in a rose garden ceremony designed to evoke a scene from another era. that scene would soon take on a different significance. >> the president of the united states now confirming to the world that he and the first lady of the united states have both tested positive. >> the announcement of the formal nomination of judge amy coney barrett seems to have been a super spreader event. >> despite multiple republican senators testing positive for covid-19, the senate moved quickly to confirm barrett, solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority. by election night, a record number of americans cast their ballot by mail or in person. but it would be days before a result would be clear. >>> cnn projects joseph r. biden, jr., is elected the 46th president of the united states. >> the election was over. for everyone but president trump and many of his supporters. >> the trump administration is still refusing to say that joe biden is president-elect. >> as biden moved forward, building a diverse cabinet, president trump launched a failed bid to overturn the results oh of the election, and moved to purge disloyal officials. >> the president fired aco official at the department of homeland security. >> the supreme court speaking and rejecting president trump's effort to win the election. >> jig is up. the president of the united states has no recourse. >> the electoral college met to make the victory nationwide. in the last days of the year, a chaotic president issuing and threatening vetoes, and announcing controversial pardons. >> the president uses his final days in office to throw washington into turmoil. >> 24 hours after pardoning corrupt congressman and more criminals, the president is at it again. this time, the big three are paul manafort, his campaign operative roger stone, and real estate tycoon charles kushner. >> american democracy ended the year in tact but damaged. in the yew nenew year, there wia new president leading a divided nation. in 2021, can anything restore america's shaken faith in our democratic institutions? abby phillip, cnn, washington. >> a year like no other indeed. >>> say so long, 2020 and hello 2021 with anderson cooper and andy cohen, new year's eve starting at 8:00 on cnn. >>> and still ahead, as millions of americans anxiously watch for some kind of resolution on a relief deal, there's no indication the president has changed his mind on signing the bill. instead, new reports show just how fixated he is on overturning the election. (senior) helping seniors. (boy) helping kids. (dad) helping families. (women) helping pets. (vo) these are the lives subaru retailers have impacted in our communities, through our support of over fourteen hundred hometown charities. in fact, subaru and our retailers will have proudly donated over two hundred million dollars to nati
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American Libraries
TV News
Understanding 9/11
