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Up To 17 American Missionaries Reported As Kidnapped In Haiti; Former President Bill Clinton Released From Hospital; Democrats Divided Over Size, Scope Of Biden's Economic Plan; Former President Donald Trump Scheduled To Give A Video Deposition Tomorrow In New York; FDA Unanimously Recommends Johnson & Johnson Booster Shots; New Series About Princess Diana To Air Tonight. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 17, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:25]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with a mass kidnapping in Haiti. Up to 17 American missionaries reported as abducted by gang members in the island nation overnight. The group was taken hostage while traveling to a small village after visiting an orphanage just north of Haiti's capital.

A source in Haiti security forces tells CNN that the group is made up of 14 adults and three minors. The "Washington Post" is reporting that one of the victims posted a call for help on WhatsApp, an international messaging service, as the group was being taken by an armed gang.

CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of this message or the report at this time however.

Kidnappings have surged throughout this year in Haiti and the numbers have spiked nearly 300 percent since July. At least 628 kidnappings have taken place since January according to a human rights group based in Port-au-Prince.

CNN's Kylie Atwood joins me now from the State Department. So U.S. officials say they are aware of the report but, Kylie, what steps will the State Department take.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The State Department isn't saying any more at this time other than the fact that they're aware of the report and, of course, reiterating that the safety and welfare of Americans abroad is one of the things that this department really focuses in on.

So it's clear that behind the scenes this is something that they are really focused on but they haven't confirmed yet what we are reporting. in So according to a source Haiti that there were 17 Americans kidnapped, 14 of them adults, 3 of them minors. And as you were saying, Fredricka, this happened when they were going from an orphanage that they were visiting to a place in the northern part of the country just right outside of Port-au-Prince.

And "The Washington Post" is reporting that these Americans are from a Christian based organization in Ohio. We're still trying to confirm that on our end. But this looks like it is a tremendously difficult and awful situation, of course.

The U.S. State Department will be focused on this. We expect to hear more from them today or in the coming days and, of course, we will wait to see if the White House says anything about this.

WHITFIELD: And then Kylie, I wonder, what kind of position has the State Department been in since there has been so many kidnappings in Haiti over the past year? Have they poised themselves for a certain response? Are they willing to share that?

ATWOOD: Yes. I mean they have been focused on this because of what we have seen happening in Haiti over the last year.

Of course, the president there was murdered just a few months ago. There was an earthquake in Haiti. There are tons of Haitian immigrants who have been coming to the U.S. borders with Mexico trying to get into the United States.

And as there has been that instability on the ground in Haiti, there is a group in Haiti that is reporting, a non-profit group reporting, that there has been a 300 percent increase in kidnappings in Haiti since just July of this year.

And of course, that does not even include the numbers that we are seeing now with these 17 Americans kidnapped. So rest assured that that is a situation that the State Department has been focused on, perhaps make them more posed to be able to respond here. But a tremendously difficult situation on the ground when we're reporting that these kidnappings happened by gang members.

And this is something that the U.S. government will have to work with Haitian authorities to really track down, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Therein lies the challenge with the instability of the government right now in Haiti as well.

All right. Kylie Atwood, thank you so much.

All right. Joining me right now to discuss is Pierre Esperance a human rights advocate and the executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network. He is in Port-au-Prince for us right now.

Pierre, so good to see you. So what do you believe is going to take for these American missionaries to be released from these alleged kidnappers who are being identified as gangs.

PIERRE ESPERANCE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE NETWORK: Good afternoon. The 17 people have been kidnapped yesterday by powerful gangs called (INAUDIBLE). And they are 16 U.S. citizens and 1 Canadian. What will happen? The Haitian government and police will negotiate with the gang and maybe they will be in touch with their family and their family will be able to negotiate with them.

[14:04:58]

ESPERANCE: Early this year in April, there were about ten people, priest and religious (ph), who were kidnapped by the same gang and they held them for about 12 or 15 days. The Haitian has kidnapping surge that was increases by 200 percent this year.

And what we have in Haiti today, we have Haitian people, they are dying. The kidnapping does tell the authorities nothing and then what they do. The authorities, they work with the gang to raise the money. And also they do not care about the security of (INAUDIBLE).

(CROSSTALK)

Well then let me ask you, because you mentioned the negotiation, the government will negotiate. That means there will be an exchange of money. So then there is added incentive, correct, for these gangs to continue this if payment is what they're looking for whether it be from the family members or from the government.

ESPERANCE: well, if the U.S. government push a lot of pressure to the Haitian authority and the police to negotiate with them because the Haitian government has a lot of contact with the gangs because they work with them, and then they usually negotiate with them. And then the gangs, they are more powerful, they more equipped than the police.

And then that is why the police will be able to do so much because cannot go to release those people because the gang, they're more equipped than the police.

WHITFIELD: I see -- I see what you're saying. You're saying that the gangs are more powerful than the police, and so the police essentially are intimidated by the gangs. The gangs have the upper hand?

So I read more than a week ago when it was first being reported widely that there were so many kidnappings. Among those being kidnapped were not just foreign nationals or missionaries, but largely Haitians.

There was a doctor who was recently kidnapped and his family had to produce something like $25,000 for his release. So is that what is being experienced that it is a certain sector of the Haitian people who are also being targeted?

ESPERANCE: Well, the Haitian people, they are traumatized with the kidnapping and (INAUDIBLE). In the capital, in Port-au-Prince, at least four or five people killed by gangs. And well, the police will not be able, they cannot do anything because they are not equipped and then also most of the gangs they work for the authorities, they work for the government.

WHITFIELD: So if you can't call the police for help, I wonder Pierre, then who are family members of kidnapped victims, who are they calling for help?

ESPERANCE: Usually the victims, they don't go to the police. And they usually negotiate with the gangs. Because if they go to the police, and then the gangs may kill the hostage, because the police cannot do too much because they are not -- they are not equipped.

And for example, since August -- since August, we see -- we have been, we have been seeing the gang operate everywhere in the capital, everywhere in Haiti. That's why the kidnapping becomes an increase.

[14:09:59]

WHITFIELD: Pierre, do you see in any way -- do you see any way that the U.S. State Department will have negotiating power since you just laid out what negotiations have been like between gang members and the government there.

ESPERANCE: Well I don't think the U.S. Embassy or the State Department will negotiate directly with the gangs. One thing we do -- what they are doing now, they make a lot of pressure to the government to the police to negotiate with the gang.

But what we're seeing in Haiti in the past ten years, the U.S. government doesn't listen to Haitian people and Biden administration did not listen Haitian people. They seek out government who provides guns and munitions for the gang.

The (INAUDIBLE). That is why the Haitian people in Haiti today -- we are dying. We're dying with kidnapping, with insecurity and then we cannot go anywhere because the gangs they have a lot of power.

They can come to your house anywhere. They can kidnap you. And then you will not, you will not receive any assistance from any authorities because most of the gangs they work for the authority. They are in contact with the authorities.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Pierre Esperance, I am so sorry for this, this is a terrible situation. Far worse than how it reads and you have given us a very clear picture of just how awful things are.

Thank you so much with the human rights -- executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network. And of course, Pierre, I wish you all the best, thank you so much. We'll stay in touch.

ESPERANCE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We can only see his exasperation with a terrible situation.

All right. Former President Bill Clinton is now headed home after being released from a hospital in California today. He has spent five nights there after being treated for a urinary tract infection that spread to his blood stream.

CNN's Natasha Chen, joining me now from Orange California. Natasha, this is good news. What more are you learning? NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right Fred. He spent five

nights here at U.C. Irvine Medical Center. And just after 8:00 local time this morning he exited through those doors behind us. The -- first, he was accompanied by secretary Hillary Clinton who gave us a wave over here. And when one of the reporters shouted across the street, how are you feeling, he gave a thumbs up.

They also posed with medical staff. Really shook their hands and thanked them. And I think there were a few hugs exchanged at the end as well. So a very warm grateful feeling as he departed.

There was a statement released by the chair of the Department of Medicine and executive director here at the hospital explaining that President Clinton was discharged today. It says, "His fever and white blood cell count are normalized and he will return to New York to finish his course of antibiotics. On behalf of everyone at U.C. Irvine Medical Center, we were honored to have treated him and will continue to monitor his progress."

So you can see from the video we got that he was able to walk out of the hospital on his own with his wife, of course, Secretary Clinton at his arm and was able to walk to the vehicle as well to leave in the caravan with Secret Service, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Walking very slowly and gingerly. Understandably after five days hospitalization. Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

All right. So much more straight ahead including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is pushing progressives and moderates in her caucus to come together over President Biden's massive spending bill. But will they listen to her?

And later, a key Republican says the committee investigating the January 6th Capitol attack will spare nothing or no one to get the information it needs. That includes a former U.S. President.

[14:14:18]

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WHITFIELD: All right. With Democrats divided over how to move President Biden's economic agenda forward, a growing supply chain bottleneck and fears of rising inflation are now adding to concerns for the White House. The crisis is now threatening the holiday shopping season and choking an economy trying to bounce back from the pandemic.

Today on CNN, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said supply chain issues will continue likely into 2022. And he made this case that the Biden spending bills will help fix the problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: This is one more example of why we need to pass the infrastructure bill. There is $17 billion in the president's infrastructure plan for ports alone. And we need to deal with the long term issues that have made us vulnerable to these kinds of bottlenecks when there are demand fluctuation shocks and disruptions like the ones that have been caused by the pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Joe Johns is at the White House for us. So Joe, I mean there seems to be a major impasse here although, I remember Barbara Lee saying yesterday it's not impasse, this is what negotiation is all about.

But what is the administration, you know, going to push forward in terms of their efforts and what is at stake?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a lot at stake, that's for sure. It could affect, potentially, the off year governor's races including the governor's race over in Virginia. It could affect the midterms. There are some indications it could even affect foreign policy.

[14:19:52]

JOHNS: One example of that Fred is the clean energy performance program which the administration has put forward to slash fossil fuel use, slash fossil fuel emissions by 80 percent.

And this thing though is likely to go away simply because of Senator Joe Manchin, the Democrat from West Virginia. He's a moderate and he says he doesn't believe that the government should be paying companies to do things that they're already doing.

But it's no secret that being from West Virginia it's a coal producing state. He's also the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee. You add all that up and what it means is the administration has to go back to the drawing board on this very important policy and that the president and the people going with him to the U.N. climate change summit in Scotland later this month are not going to have that in their back pocket to talk about. So that's an issue of a foreign policy.

WHITFIELD: And Joe, you know, respectfully, I was talking about Congresswoman Barbara Lee. We're not like on a first, you know, name basis. So respectfully.

JOHNS: Understood.

WHITFIELD: She is a member of Congress.

So Secretary Buttigieg, I mean he also responded to attack from a Fox News host about his paternity leave. What did he say?

JOHNS: Well look, he was not just defending this as a policy of the United States government. He ended up defending himself because Tucker Carlson over on Fox had attacked him last week for taking family leave since August. Listen to what his response was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUTTIGIEG: I'm not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson or anyone else for taking care of my premature newborn infant twins. It is long past time to make it possible for every American mother and father to take care of their children when a new child arrives in the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: But what he didn't say when questioned on this issue is whether or not this family leave is going to remain in the social safety net legislation. He said let's see what the legislative process brings.

So a lot of balls up in the air and we just have to see which way the Democrats are going to go, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joe Johns, I know you'll keep us posted. Thanks so much.

All right. With moderate and progressive Democrats at an impasse, I keep saying that, even though there are members of congress who say no, this is about negotiation, things are at a halt as it pertains to the Biden agenda.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a caucus meeting for this week in an effort to make progress for their stalled social safety net package.

For more, let's bring in Melanie Zanona on Capitol Hill. Melanie, good to see you.

The clock is ticking for Democrats, you know, to meet Pelosi's deadline by -- a deal by Halloween. It could be a very scary outcome, right? Where do things stand?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well Fred, despite weeks of behind the scenes negotiations, Democrats are showing no real signs of progress or a breakthrough.

I mean Democrats still have not agreed on a top line number or how to shave that package down. You have Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders, two key Democratic players openly sniping at each other. With Sanders even going so far as to write an op-ed in a West Virginia publication which Manchin did not take kindly to.

And then there is still a host of unresolved policy issues and everything from climate change to expansion of Medicare to drug pricing. I mean these are no small issues. These are core parts of the Democratic agenda.

And so where does that leave things? Well, first of all I think it is increasingly likely that Democrats are going to blow by that self imposed deadline October 31st deadline. I mean maybe they get some sort of agreement on top line numbers or they get an agreement on broad, broad contours of an agreement.

But there is just absolutely no way they're going to have anything resembling actual legislative text, let alone pass something in the next few weeks.

And secondly, I think pressure is going to really grow on the White House to put their foot down and to try to force these negotiations to speed up. So far, they've really treated Sinema and Manchin with kid gloves, tried to treat them delicately. But Hill Democrats are going increasingly antsy and frustrated with that approach so certainly a lot to watch on Capitol Hill as law makers return this week, Fred..

WHITFIELD: All right. Very busy. Melanie Zanona, thank you so much.

All right. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to sit in for a videotaped deposition tomorrow as part of a lawsuit by anti-Trump protesters who were alleging that they were assaulted by his bodyguards.

More on that straight ahead.

[14:24:30]

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WHITFIELD: Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to give a video deposition tomorrow in New York. It centers on a case involving an alleged assault during a 2015 demonstration outside Trump Tower. The lawsuit alleges that Trump's then head of security, Keith Schiller, hit one of the protestors who was demonstrating against Trump's immigration rhetoric.

For more on this, let's bring in Kara Scannell. Kara, what more can you tell us about this case and the former president's scheduled deposition.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Well Fred, this is the first time the former president will take -- give sworn testimony under oath since leaving office.

And like you said this is a case that stems from a 2015 lawsuit where some demonstrators outside of Trump Tower said that they were assaulted by the Trump's head of security -- then head of security Keith Schiller when they were protesting against Trump who was then the candidate, anti-immigration rhetoric.

[14:29:56]

SCANNELL: So Trump will sit for this deposition tomorrow. It will be videotaped. And the lawyer who will be questioning him, representing these men, is likely to focus on a couple of key areas.

He's likely to try to figure out what Donald Trump's knowledge and role was about the security response here. And because they are suing for punitive damages, he can also explore Trump's net worth and his financial condition. And because this also involved security it's likely that he can ask questions about Matthew Calamari. That's Trump's top security officer, the person who's the chief operating officer of the entire Trump Organization. And his compensation. And that is a very issue that is at the center of an ongoing criminal

investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Now as part of this litigation the former president has previously denied any knowledge of this incident, and he had deferred all security to Matthew Calamari, he said. But he will be answering these questions under oath. It will be videotaped and that videotape will be shown to a jury when this case goes to trial -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kara Scannell, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about this, Laura Coates is a CNN senior legal analyst and a former federal prosecutor.

Laura, so good to see you. All right, so what can we expect from this videotaped deposition with Trump?

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, as Kara talked about, Fred, the idea of a former president in general being deposed, let alone one who we don't yet know to what extent he got self- control. Can he confine his comments to just what he is being asked about or will he be more elaborative on a lot of different issues? That's going to be the key here. Remember, there are so many things that are fair game now.

Now this case does not involve what he personally observed. It's very important to note. He is not being alleged to being the person who was presently there but it's his rhetoric and his statements that they're saying make him legally responsible.

I would suspect a president who spent all of his time or most of his term there talking about the idea of not wanting to be held accountable for the actions of others based on what he perceived as his First Amendment rights, that he will be very steadfast to say that this was not his doing.

That this was somebody who was independently acting, and that he should bear no legal responsibility, but because there are so many opportunities for Pandora's Box to be opened about his finances, about what kind of the orders he gives and directives, and of course about compensation. This is a very interesting deposition that everyone wants to hear and frankly most lawyers want to be able to depose him on.

WHITFIELD: Right. And you said, it is fair game now and you're talking because he is a former president. He cannot shield himself now. While being a seating president you can do so. So then I wonder, as we heard from Kara, while you have prosecutors in this case who might want him to explain his net worth, of course that's information that the Southern District of New York is going to be really keen to hear.

So how might testimony from this deposition either assist further or in some way be used in other investigations, ongoing investigations?

COATES: Well, you're not. Not only is this about the former president, remember this is conduct coming out of 2015 when he was not even yet the president of the United States. You're going to have an even -- I mean, beg a bigger point of interest because he can't -- have said this was during the term of his office but also the idea of trying to cross reference.

Remember, prosecutors spend a great deal of their time, they're looking at evidence, trying to corroborate what they believe they know. They may have their witness talking about something, there are written testimonies someplace else, other people being deposed. They're going to want to cross reference whatever he says.

And as the old phrase goes, Fred, whatever you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Remember, whatever information he provides, if it is inconsistent in some way with what's already on their record, or what the SDNY knows or the Manhattan DA Office knows, or the AG's office knows in New York. All of these various entities, he'll be in a world of hurt legally speaking.

WHITFIELD: Wow. There's potentially a lot at stake for him. So then we also know that --

COATES: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You know, this may not be the only time Trump is ordered to testify. Listen to what U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger said this morning right here on CNN that the committee investigating the Capitol riot won't rule out subpoenaing him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): If we subpoena all of a sudden the former president, we know that's going to become kind of a circus. So that's not necessarily something we want to do upfront. But if he has pieces of information we need, we certainly will.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So what do you make of that possibility?

COATES: Well, the idea of a former president like Trump speaking is really important here because, remember, we don't know what the January 6th Select Committee is trying to find out. What led to those events and what part did the executive branch head play in it? They have subpoenaed people who were speaking or corresponding with members of the White House that day.

There are four people, we know Bannon has already sort of buck the system and said I'm not going to respond because there might be the assertion of executive privilege which of course is odd here, Fred, because he was not working for the administration and you can't just say by assertion of the privilege that I'm not go to appear. That means you just can't necessarily answer questions that might be responsive where it might apply.

[14:35:01]

But, as you know, that privilege belongs to the executive branch and Trump is no longer a member of it. And so you've got the idea here of, if he is to subpoenaed, there will likely be a protracted litigation. He will likely assert their privilege. But it does not mean that he can't responsive to anything, only that which might be deliberative, and only that which the current president, frankly, is keen on asserting.

Because remember, the executive privilege is about not the president but the presidency. And there might be instances, frankly, where a sitting president wants to preserve communications to himself, say, and a deputy chief of staff or a chief of staff down the line.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so even though Trump does not have executive privilege to assert, he's trying to do that because this week the January 6th insurrection committee is planning to vote on criminal contempt charges against Trump loyalist Steve Bannon who claims he cannot testify because he is being shielded by President Trump and this executive privilege. So what happens if Congress votes to hold Bannon in criminal content?

COATES: Well, it will be a vote to refer for criminal prosecution of contempt. Rmeember, we're not in a court of law where you heard the judge say, I'm now going to hold you in contempt and it's almost an immediate state of events. We're talking about a referral that can then could be given to a grand jury. And it's not often used in any instance. You don't have a long track record of when it's happened.

You have had cases in the past, I think it was in the '80s where the referral took about eight days before the grand jury would actually indict on that point. So you do have that process, but you just to have the conviction and-or the acquittal. So it could be a longer process. But in any event the issue of privilege is quite resolved. You don't just get to say if you have attorney-client privilege, Fred, or say a spousal privilege, you can't just I'm not going to show up.

That privilege has to be asserted in response to a question that actually is about the nature of that privilege. If you're talking about what your name is, where you were, what other conversations you may have had, the responsive documents, et cetera, there are a whole host of things you could actually provide without even offending the privilege.

And so for Bannon or Trump or anyone else who's been subpoenaed to simply say I don't have to come because I might have a prospective claim that I still have to substantiate would be ridiculous. And of course, it goes again, the entire notion of Congress and congressional power and congressional subpoena power, if the everyday just thumbed their nose at a subpoena, what would be the power of the Justice Department, the power of Congress?

It would really be reduced to nothing and more symbolic.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COATES: And if you care about a democracy, those have to be more than just symbolic gestures of an assertion of power.

WHITFIELD: Right. And I always thought, if you were to get subpoenaed by any member of Congress, any committee you would be shaking in your boots. And we're not seeing that right now. It doesn't look like people are too nervous.

COATES: No.

WHITFIELD: Laura Coates, I love having you hear on a Sunday. I love it even more when you're in Atlanta with me.

COATES: I love being with you.

WHITFIELD: So come back.

COATES: I love it. I know. Hope I see you soon. Back in normal times. Always a pleasure, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I hope so, too. I hope so, too. All right, thanks so much, Laura. Appreciate it.

All right, with so many Americans interested in getting a booster shot, the question many are asking, is it a good idea to mix and match COVID vaccines? The answer may depend upon which scientist you ask? We'll explain when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:43:06]

WHITFIELD: Some good news in the fight against COVID-19. The CDC says nearly 50 percent of Americans are now fully vaccinated. And it comes as the FDA has given Emergency Use Authorization for booster shots to both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

With us now, Dr. Anand Swaminathan. He is an emergency medicine physician.

So good to see you for always. So I'm wondering in your view, I've been asking doctors all weekend long if this authorization means that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should have been a two-dose vaccine from the very start. What is your thought?

DR. ANAND SWAMINATHAN, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: It sounds like that's what we're seeing in retrospect. I don't think we had all that data at the time, but we kind of know at this point that the J&J single dose never quite got us to the same level of protection that Moderna and Pfizer did.

And so this second dose, this is really not a booster for J&J. This is really just the second dose of the series. And this is how the data unfolds. We're learning more and we have to adapt as that data comes out.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then something else now. So many are now, you know, trying to make sense of. Is it your view that mixing and matching vaccines is OK?

SWAMINATHAN: I think we need to wait to see a little bit more data here before we make that determination. The little bit of data that we have says that there is going to be some mixing and matching that's going to be more robust for boosting antibodies. But we still need more data to know exactly what the impact of that is going to be clinically. And really our goal shouldn't be just about temporarily boosting antibodies.

It should be about providing long-terms protection against the important outcomes of getting hospitalized and dying. And we still don't quite have the data there, but I think we're going to see that data unfold over the next couple of weeks to months, and then it will really help to advise us as to what is the best booster depending on what you got originally.

WHITFIELD: All right. The holidays right around the corner. What advice are you giving to your patients and perhaps your own family and friends about getting together, and what's the safest way to do it, et cetera?

[14:45:07]

SWAMINATHAN: Well, I think the safest way to do this is that everyone needs to be vaccinated. Everyone who can be vaccinated should be vaccinated. Hopefully kids 5 to 11, that is going to come out soon which means we might be able to get kids at least part way vaccinated by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. But I think the key is, if you're going to do indoors, do it in small groups. Everybody vaccinated.

And if you can't get to that point, one of the other layers that you can add is at-home, antigen testing, that rapid testing to know that everyone is negative before they're gathering indoors. And of course, if you're traveling you have to be vaccinated.

And I would love to see a travel mandate that comes out that would really help to protect people but at this point I think the best thing we can say is if you're vaccinated it's probably OK to travel. If you're not vaccinated you shouldn't be traveling.

WHITFIELD: All right. I'm hearing a lot of hope in your voice today, Dr. Anand Swaminathan. We like that.

SWAMINATHAN: A lot of hope. I am very hopeful for the holidays.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. All right. We need that. Thank you so much. Be well.

SWAMINATHAN: You too. Take care.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead for us, the show apparently must go on as Hollywood producers and the stage crews that support them reach a compromise. And all this to avert a major strike. Details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:42] WHITFIELD: All right. Just hours before a midnight deadline, Hollywood producers and labor leaders reach an agreement and averted a strike that would have shuttered TV and film production. The tentative deal avoided a nationwide walkout of roughly 60,000 film and television workers who were demanding higher pay and better working conditions. Union leaders and producers came to a deal in the 11th hour and now union members have to ratify the deal for it to take effect.

All right. The all-new CNN Original Series "DIANA" takes a fresh look at the life of Diana, the people's princess. We see what went on behind the scenes as Charles and Diana captivated the world with their fairytale royal wedding. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Camilla Parker Bowles left Diana a note saying, such exciting news. Love to see the engagement ring. That's a real like Mafia thug move. That's so "Mean Girls," it's unbelievable. That's a power move right there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Diana's own words she told me that any marriage Prince Charles might have made could never as strong as the relationship he had with Camilla. And that's what she was battling with from the outset.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And gosh, with the undertones of that ominous music, oh, my goodness. So royal commentator Kate Williams is with us now.

Kate, so good to see you. Whoa. So people have learned so much more about, you know, Charles, his dalliance with, you know, Camilla Parker Bowles, of course, you know, his union with Diana, and I feel like, as a whole, people really have bristled about Camilla Parker Bowles, you know, before Diana's death and even afterwards.

But do you feel as people are learning more about what was going on in their lives that people are liking Camilla Parker Bowles more or liking her even less now?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Diana, when she went into the relationship with Charles, he'd started dating Camilla Parker Bowles and Diana was in elementary school, Diana was 9. They had this long history. And of course he said he tried to break off the relationship but Diana, she heard them talking on the phone.

She found a bracelet that Charles had made for Camilla. She said herself that she dreamt constantly of Camilla. She was obsessed with the fact that there were already three of them in that marriage, and she said so clearly. And I think that it's been a long road for Camilla and Charles for acceptance.

It's been a very long road because she was obviously very unpopular around the time of the divorce, around the time of Diana's death, and I think it has been a long road of acceptance. But we know that Charles very much hopes that when he becomes king that Camilla will be queen. The official -- what the palace officially says is she will be princess consort, but Charles has let it slipped. He's made it clear he wants Camilla to be queen. So he expects her to be completely accepted.

WHITFIELD: OK. So you used the word that people have accepted her. Meaning they've resigned to her existence because she is, you know, now with Charles, or they genuinely have accepted her, meaning they've embraced her now?

WILLIAMS: I think it's a bit of both. I think that she is actually -- she's gained a lot of popularity in the royal family because she has kept her head down, got on with her causes, domestic violence, Alzheimer's, and indeed at their wedding in 2005 the Queen gave a speech at the wedding of Charles and Camilla, and she compared them both to horses. We know how much the Queen loves horses.

And she said that they got through terrible obstacles and then she said my son is home and dry with the woman that he loves. And I think that does encompass the view of the royal family, that she is someone that Charles -- she's a great support to him and, although it was obviously -- getting married when they were in love in the early '70s that perhaps there's some in the royal family who thinks maybe they should have looked at that decision differently.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So the Queen has come a long way, too.

All right. Kate, thank you so much. Kate Williams, appreciate it.

WILLIAMS: (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Yes. Great to see you.

[14:55:00]

And be sure to tune in for a brand-new episode of the CNN Original Series "DIANA." It airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. only on CNN.

All right. Still to come, an update on those kidnapped Americans in Haiti. What is being done to get them freed and to safety? A live report next.

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WHITFIELD: Hello again. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're learning more now about that mass kidnapping in Haiti.