Anderson Cooper 360

FDA advisers have recommended emergency authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine as a record 107,248 people are hospitalized in the U.S. with the virus. The CDC Director warns for “the next 60 to 90 days, we're going to have more deaths per day than we had in 9/11.” An influential University of Washington model is projecting there will be 502,000 U.S. Covid-19 deaths by April 1. Dr. Chris Murray is the director of the group that’s been working on these models throughout the pandemic. He tells Anderson Cooper that 56,000 lives could be saved if there was 95% universal mask wearing. Plus, the threat of a government shutdown looms as Senate leaders try to resolve last minute holdups to the spending bill vote. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is demanding a vote on a proposal that would give individuals a second round of stimulus checks. He joins AC360 to discuss why he wants the stimulus checks and says it’d be “outrageous” and “simply unacceptable” for members of Congress to go home to their families over the holidays when tens of millions of working class families in this country are facing economic desperation. Guests are Dr. Chris Murray and Sen. Bernie Sanders.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All 50 states and Washington, D.C. have certified their presidential election results despite Pres. Trump asking the Supreme Court to block millions of votes from four battleground states that voted for President-elect Biden. The Texas Attorney General filed the lawsuit looking to invalidate millions of votes cast in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Pres. Trump has asked Ted Cruz to argue Texas election lawsuit if it reaches Supreme Court. John Dean is a former Nixon White House Counsel and is also a CNN Contributor. He tells Anderson Cooper he doesn’t believe the lawsuit has any merit. Plus, the FDA is scheduled to meet Thursday to authorize Pfizer’s vaccine but there are many questions surrounding the plan to get the shots from the manufacturers into hospitals, assisted living facilities and pharmacies. Kathleen Sebelius is the former Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. She joins AC360 to discuss the latest with the vaccine and says “we have to balance some unknowns still with the vaccines with the notion that this will absolutely save lives.”   Airdate: December 9, 2020   Guests: John Dean Kathleen SebeliusTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The former top administration official for cybersecurity, Chris Krebs, whom Pres. Donald Trump fired after saying the election was the most secure in American history, speaks out about his defamation lawsuit against the Trump campaign and a lawyer working with the campaign - Joseph diGenova. Krebs also reacts to today’s Supreme Court decision, which rejected an attempt by Pennsylvania Republicans' to block the election results certification in the commonwealth. Also, Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings reacts to the Supreme Court refusing to stop Pennsylvania from certifying the election for President-elect Joe Biden and her Republican colleagues who refuse to accept that the 2020 election is over. Plus, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times Sharon LaFraniere and Dr. Celine Gounder, who is a member of president-elect Joe Biden's coronavirus task force, weigh in on the latest with the coronavirus vaccine approval process in the United States.   Airdate: December 8, 2020   Guests: Christopher Krebs Rep. Val Demings, (D) Florida Dr. Sanjay Gupta Dr. Celine Gounder Sharon LaFraniereTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pres. Trump still won’t face reality and admit he lost the election. Instead he’s ignoring the Covid-19 pandemic and the record deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. Some House conservatives are urging Trump to not concede after President-elect Joe Biden wins the Electoral College and want the party’s leaders to battle it out on the House floor. Thomas Friedman is a Foreign Affairs Columnist for the New York Times. He tells Anderson Cooper the fact that Trump won’t take charge and won’t help Biden is despicable. Plus, the Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says armed protesters gathered outside her Detroit home to protest the election results. In a statement Benson said protesters made “unambiguous, loud and threatening demands to overturn the results of the election.” She joins AC360 to explain what happened and says her job is to defend the voters and she will do that every day “despite any threats of violence or bullying.”   Airdate: December 7, 2020   Guests: Thomas Friedman Jocelyn BensonTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An influential University of Washington model is projecting there will be more than 538,800 U.S. Covid-19 deaths by April. The model also predicts daily deaths will peak in the range of 3,000 in mid-January. Dr. Chris Murray is the director of the group at the University of Washington that’s been working on these models throughout the pandemic. He tells Anderson Cooper “although the hope of vaccines is there, it is not going to come in time to deal with the January/February surge.” Plus, Pres. Trump is getting ready to head to Georgia to campaign for two GOP senators facing critical runoff races next month. Some Republicans are worried Trump’s recent criticism will hurt them rather than give them a boost at the polls. Sources tell CNN the President called Georgia’s Republican governor a “moron” and a “nut job” and asked why Sen. Kelly Loeffler didn’t secure a majority of the votes on Election Day. Democratic Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms joins AC360 to discuss whether or not the Republicans should be worried about Trump’s upcoming visit.   Airdate: December 4, 2020   Guests: Dr. Chris Murray Mayor Keisha Lance BottomsTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President-elect Joe Biden said he’ll ask all Americans to wear a mask the first 100 days after he takes office and thinks the country will see “a significant reduction.” Biden also revealed he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to be a chief medical adviser and part of his Covid-19 response team. The U.S. recently reported its highest one-day Covid-19 death tally with more than 2,800. There’s also at least 100,600 people hospitalized with the virus, a new high since the pandemic began. Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency room physician and the former Baltimore Health Commissioner. She explains to Anderson Cooper why she’s urging Americans to cancel their Christmas and holiday celebrations now. Plus, two legendary journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting on the Watergate scandal helped lead to former Pres. Richard Nixon resigning, join AC360 to discuss the similarities and differences between Pres. Trump and Nixon.   Airdate: December 3, 2020   Guests: Dr. Leana Wen Carl Bernstein Bob WoodwardTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A source close to the White House says the public should expect a “flurry” of pardons before Pres. Trump leaves office in January. The source also tells CNN that some of Trump’s advisers think it’d be perfectly fine if he preemptively pardoned his family members and associates, even though they haven’t been formally charged with any crimes. Andrew Weissmann served as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s lead prosecutor. He tells Anderson Cooper unless there can be a bribe shown, pardoning himself or family members is legal but he can’t pardon anyone for state crimes or future crimes. Plus, Senator Bernie Sanders joins AC360 to discuss Trump floating the idea about running again in 2024, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing stimulus bill negotiations.   Airdate: December 2, 2020   Guests: Andrew Weissmann Sen. Bernie Sanders        To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vaccine advisers to the Center for Disease Control voted that healthcare workers and residents in long term care facilities should be first in line to get any Covid-19 vaccines. Both Moderna and Pfizer have applied for emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is set to meet with its advisory board committee in the coming weeks to review both applications. Dr. William Schaffner is a professor at the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and serves as an advisor to the CDC. He joins AC360 to explain how the CDC determined who should get the Covid-19 vaccines first. Plus, the New York Times is reporting Pres. Trump has discussed pardons for his three eldest children, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Also, a source tells CNN that Giuliani and other Trump associates are seeking preemptive pardons for “blanket” protection. John Dean is the former Nixon White House Counsel. He tells Anderson Cooper he thinks it might be a trial balloon to gauge reaction but he’d be more surprised if it doesn’t happen.   Airdate: December 1, 2020   Guests: Dr. William Schaffner John DeanTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 cases are at record-breaking levels and with a possible surge in the U.S. before Christmas, White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci says “all things considered, we’re not in a good place.” Moderna and Pfizer have both officially filed for FDA emergency authorization for its coronavirus vaccines and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says “we could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people’s arms before Christmas.” William Haseltine is the Chair and President of ACCESS Health International. He tells AC360 the vaccine news is promising but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Plus, President Trump said he’ll be coming to the Georgia to campaign for Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who face two Senate runoff elections in January. Senator Perdue’s opponent, Jon Ossoff, joins AC360 to react to the President’s visit and says Perdue is griping about Trump in private but in public he’s “indulging the President’s fantasy that he actually won.” Airdate: November 30, 2020 Guests: William Haseltine Jon OssoffTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One health expert is warning Thanksgiving could be “the mother of all super spreader events” and Dr. Anthony Fauci is asking Americans to keep indoor gatherings “as small as you possibly can.” Millions are traveling for Thanksgiving despite the CDC recommending not to. More than 261,000 people have died from Covid-19 and the U.S. is seeing record hospitalizations. Dr. James Phillips is the Chief of Disease Medicine at George Washington University Hospital. He tells AC360 “people are going to die because they’re choosing to go home for Thanksgiving” and “if we had proper messaging from the top, from the beginning, more lives would’ve have been saved.” Plus, President Trump has pardoned former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Carrie Cordero is a CNN National Security Analyst and a Senior Fellow Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. She joins AC360 to react to the President’s decision and says she thinks this is “just the beginning of the pardons that we’re probably going to see between now and January 20th.” Airdate: November 25, 2020 Guests: Dr. James Phillips Carrie CorderoTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices