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Manhunt For Five Violent Inmates Who Escaped Georgia Jail; Biden To Sign Infrastructure Bill As Inflation Worries Grow; Biden's Economic Plan Hinges On Democratic Senator Manchin; Insurrection Investigation; California Sets New Gas Price Record At $4.68 Per Gallon; U.S. Prices Surging More Than They Have In 30 Years; U.S. Surgeon General Warns Of COVID Uptick In Winter. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired November 14, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:26]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with this breaking news.

A manhunt is underway right now for five inmates who escaped from jail in south Georgia. Police say all have a history of violent crimes. Two are murder suspects.

CNN'S Nadia Romero is following all of this for us now. How did they escape?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that they all were able to get away in a white Kia van. And so we are still working on the details exactly how they were able to get away which is so important in these cases Fred because you want to prevent other inmates from being able to escape in the same way.

So let's break down what we know. So we know that they escaped from Pulaski County jail which is in southern Georgia. And it's about two hours or so, south of Atlanta, much closer to Macon.

You can see those five inmates there in their mug shots, all lined up. Those are the five that police are out looking for right now.

So again, they escaped from Pulaski County Jail about two hours or so from Atlanta. And that area is a much rural part of the state there, and so they escaped in a white Kia van. They were able to get away.

There's the information if you happen to be in that area and you are looking, trying to see if that's the vehicle. If you happen to come across them though authorities say do not approach them. As you mentioned, Fred, they are known to be very dangerous with violent criminal histories. And let's take a deeper look at the three that are facing the most serious charges. You have a Tyree Williams there facing charges of felony murder and home invasion, Dennis Penix is accused of killing two men in what is being called a drug deal gone bad, and then Brandon Pooler facing charges of child cruelty

So serious charges there that those men are facing again and jail so they were still awaiting trial. So that is what we know at this moment about those five men. If you do see them you are asked to call 911 or the Georgia Bureau Investigations.

Fred, we're still trying to figure out more information. How did they escape, was anyone hurt in that escape. We do know that they are armed with at least two tasers. But they could have other weapons with them which is it's important not to approach them if you do see them.

WHITFIELD: So is there the feeling in this manhunt that they believe all of the escapees are staying together or that they have dispersed?

ROMERO: Yes. And that's something that we are still trying to figure out because sometimes in these situations, if they are from the same area people tend to go back to an area that they know. If they are trying to see a family member or someone that they love. This is something that we are still trying to figure out, where they are from and where they might be going.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nadia Romero. Keep us posted. Thank you so much.

All right. And now to Washington where President Biden is preparing to celebrate his biggest legislative win. Tomorrow he will sign into law his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill during a bipartisan ceremony.

$110 billion for roads, bridges and other projects, $65 billion to expand high speed Internet access, $42 billion for airports and ports, and the biggest funding boost for Amtrak since it was founded in 1971.

But as the president celebrates this accomplishment, rising inflation is threatening the rest of his economic agenda and helping push his poll numbers to new lows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Inflation is high right now and it is affecting consumers in their pocketbook and also in their outlook for the economy.

But those concerns underscore why it's so important that we move forward on the Build Back Better legislation, this legislation that the House is going to consider this week. This more than anything will go at the cost that Americans face.

We feel confident that Speaker Pelosi is going to bring it up. And then it will get passed this week, will move forward in the next process and moving it to the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joe Johns is covering this for us from the White House. So Joe, tell us more about the significance of this bill signing tomorrow and how the White House is now hoping to get the rest of his agenda through Congress?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, it's definitely a big deal. The president just got back here from Camp David for the beginning of what the White House hopes will be a week of momentum building after all the infighting up on Capitol Hill over the president's agenda.

This, of course, a big victory for the president, a signing ceremony tomorrow on Monday to sign that infrastructure bill into law.

[14:04:50]

JOHNS: The White House is not going to start there, however. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they're going to beat the drum by the president flying out both to New Hampshire as well as Michigan to promote this infrastructure bill, which is very popular out in the country.

And then on Friday, the administration hopes the House of Representatives will actually hold a vote on the president's other big priority, that social safety net bill which means the president and this administration is trying to move ahead after all of the turbulence of the last few weeks and months, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then Joe, you know, right ahead of this big signing tomorrow, we are learning about some new polling numbers on Biden's handling of the economy.

JOHNS: Right. And that poll from ABC News as well as "The Washington Post" is not good news at all for this president. It shows 39 percent approving, 47 percent disapproving of the president's handling of the economy, probably a number of factors in there.

But I can tell you that this administration has been holding several meetings a week to talk about inflation and the economy, very deep concerns among aides and the president about what to do.

A lot of focus from some aides over this past weekend on the issue of price gouging and how to do something about that, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joe Johns at the White House, thank you so much.

So while Democrats are confident they can pass the president's spending bill in the house, its future in the Senate is more uncertain mainly because of moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. He continues to express concerns about the cost of the bill and inflation.

Joining me right now to talk more about this is Christopher Regan. He is the former vice chair of the Democratic Party in West Virginia, and he knows Manchin well when Manchin served as the governor in the state. Good to see you, Chris. CHRISTOPHER REGAN, FORMER VICE CHAIR, WEST VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

Hey, great to be here. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So what do you make of Senator Manchin potentially standing in the way of the passing of the president's Build Back Better plan when for a moment it sounded optimistic only to dial it back and say he continues to be concerned about costs?

REGAN: Well, I mean I continue to think that he will eventually get to yes on the bill. But as long as the bill has gone on, more and more deals are being made.

I mean you're talking about $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in the package that's on the move. Several weeks ago we talked about how there was money for waste coal, which is the business that Joe Manchin is actually in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and he got that.

And there was recently a Toyota investment and he was present (ph) in West Virginia at the site of a Toyota plant talking about how he was going to change the credits for electric vehicles, who made electric vehicles. And a deal seems to be made there where he's going to turn against that.

And then of course, there's work he's doing on climate provisions as was reported and all those things, in order for them to come into fruition the bill eventually has to pass.

So I still think that he's a yes on the bill, but the inflation headlines give him more reason to talk about delay and during the delay more deals can be made.

WHITFIELD: So a couple of steps forward only for yet another step back. Earlier this year you wrote a piece for "The Atlantic", headlined "What the media are missing about Joe Manchin".

And in it you wrote, "Manchin has skillfully managed his image to stay viable in a state that went from a Democratic to a Republican majority. He has done that by having a keen sense of what issues and bills are popular at any given moment. And of how he can be seen as being on the right side of those issues for the electorate, no matter which party is in favor of them."

So then how do you see his strategizing on this? because this social spending bill is hugely popular across the country. Yet, like you just laid out, he will take a couple steps forward and seems to chip away or at least get some of what he wants, only to then step back and say his latest, you know, big issue is inflation. And is this a good time for a bill of this magnitude?

REGAN: Yes. I see it in exactly two steps in the ingredients that you are talking about. First he's going to position himself as having trimmed the bill down, as having moderated its content, brought the total figure down and laying down a lot of markers that the progressives are frustrated with him because that burnishes his moderate credentials. He's going to talk about the deficit work requirements, all things we associate with the more conservative approach that Republicans have which he thinks are going to be popular in west Virginia. That's become a very conservative state.

But at the end of the day the president's agenda, you know, probably has to go forward, and he's going to want to be a part of that because there is so much in this bill that is helpful to West Virginia.

[14:09:51]

REGAN: I mean the free pre-school provisions, the child care provisions, family leave provisions, all of those things -- a disproportionally-helped poor and poor children and West Virginia has more per capita of those in all (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Yes.

REGAN: When they're projecting that this bill could cut child poverty in half like 50 percent, I mean that's one of the best policy outcomes West Virginia could possibly get. So I think eventually he gets to yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Let's zero in on that. I mean the White House and policy experts say this bill could have a pretty sizeable impact on West Virginia, let alone other places to but for West Virginia, it extends the child tax credit lifting about 22,000 West Virginia children above the poverty line. It would make childcare free for any West Virginia household making under $37,000 a year, and the paid family and medical leave would benefit all of West Virginia's 690,000 workers.

So how does Manchin convince residents in the state that, you know, this plan as laid out like that doesn't help them?

REGAN: Right. I don't think he will try. I think he simply intends to you -- now remember, the bill is not even in the Senate yet. He has pointed that out a few times. You know, that nothing has come over from the House yet until the vote happens this week. So all of this time while the bill is simply pending allows him to position himself in a moderate way, position himself even closer to Republican voters that West Virginia has many more of than Democratic voters.

But at the end of the day, he'll be able to say now this bill is something that I support and shift to talking about all those benefits that it has for West Virginia. I mean in particular, including -- and also, consummating the deals made along the way.

You know, the things he's able to do on the climate provisions to help his long time backers, to help his own coal business. Those bills -- you know, that all has to be -- bill has to pass for those deals to go into effect and I think he wants that to happen.

WHITFIELD: My colleague Manu Raju reported this week that even after some House progressives had attacked Manchin for his opposition to this bill, you know, other progressives had been reaching out to Manchin behind the scenes to deescalate the tension.

So what advice would you give Democrats, anyone who, including the president who are trying to make a deal with Manchin? Is there a psychology on how to convince him to get onboard by some other way of making it seem as though it's his idea, as opposed to trying to twist his arm?

REGAN: Absolutely. I think the deescalators absolutely have it correct there. I was thinking about this this week and thinking about President Biden's approach, because it had occurred to me that President Biden has been in the senate or the vice president or the president for longer than I have been alive, you know, way back into the 1970s.

And he knows how to get through the senate and I think he knows what he's doing. And he has pulled Manchin closer to him rather than attacked him.

But on the other hand, When a really, really hard left voice attacks Manchin, he's pocketing that, too. I mean if he runs in 2024, his opponent will try to portray him as a tool of the radical left. And he's going to be like, well roll tape on attacks on me from the progressive left that occurred during the buildup to the passage of this bill.

So he'll be able to point to that and say, I'm not a tool of the radical left. Remember me? I am the guy who moderated things. I'm the guy who talked about the deficit. I'm the guy who thought people need to be working for their benefits.

And that's probably what is going to play well in West Virginia in 2024 if what played well in 2020 is any guide.

WHITFIELD: I now hear your phone ringing. You officially have become the Senator Manchin whisperer. People will be calling you on to get more tips on how to manage, how to negotiate, how to work with.

REGAN: I have been living with the news on this man for a long time. He's elected governor 15, 16 years ago in West Virginia and he's been in the news ever since. So you pay attention to what he does and figure out what he might do next.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Regan, good to see you again, thank you so much.

REGAN: Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, reportedly gave Mike Pence's aide step by step instructions on how he could overturn the 2020 election. That stunning new report, next.

[14:14:14]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Tomorrow former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is to turn himself in to a D.C. court to face contempt of Congress charges. And today the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows should take notice.

Congressman Adam Schiff who is also a member of the January 6th Committee says the panel won't waste any time if Meadows continues to refuse testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): We have been moving very quickly to make these decisions and I am confident we will move very quickly with respect to Mr. Meadows. But when ultimately witnesses decide as Meadows has that they're not even going to bother showing up, that they have that much contempt for the law, then it pretty much forces our hand. And we will move quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: New details from "Betrayal", the forthcoming book from ABC's Jonathan Karl show why the committee is so interested in speaking to Meadows. Karl reports Meadows sent a detailed memo to Vice President Mike Pence's top aide just a week before January 6th explaining how to invalidate Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.

Zac Cohen joins us now from Washington. Zac, so good to see you.

Of course, we know Pence did not invalidate and did certify the election, but what more are we learning about the role of these players leading up to January 6th?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: That's right, Fred. What we are really learning here is how Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff at the White House was really is a key player in this broader plan to overturn the 2020 election.

[14:19:51] ] COHEN: Now ABC is reporting on this new memo that was detailed and put together by Trump's former attorney, Jenna Ellis (ph). And it really provided a step for step guide to Pence about how he could single- handedly overturn the election on January 6.

Now obviously Pence did not follow the plan, Joe Biden is president, as we know. And Donald Trump continues to push, you know, the theory -- unfounded theory that the election was stolen.

But what this memo is, is another data point showing how those closest to the former president sought to pressure Pence to overturn the election including in the days and moments leading up to the January 6th riot.

WHITFIELD: ABC also released more audio of Jonathan Karl interviewing Trump for his book back in March. Tell us more about that. COHEN: That's right Fred. And what's important to remember here is Karl is asking Trump about a reported phone call that he had with Pence on the morning of January 6th, before Pence went to the Capitol and certified the election results. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: There was a report, and excuse my language --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Go ahead.

KARL: -- not mine. It was in the report. That you talked to him that morning and you said you could be a patriot or you could be a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Did you really say that or is that aide incorrect?

TRUMP: I wouldn't dispute it.

KARL: Really?

TRUMP: I wouldn't dispute it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: What we have here is the former president seeming to claim responsibility or accept, you know, accept responsibility for this phone call where he appears to be turning the screws on Pence hours before the insurrection on January 6th, trying to convince the former vice president to overturn the election results.

You know, we know that Trump went to the rally at the Ellipse before the riot took place and again called on Pence to do his job. He's also defended Capitol rioters who chanted "Hang Mike Pence" outside the Capitol on January 6th.

This really is an interesting moment because it shows the former president directly attempting to pressure the vice president to overturn the election on the morning of January 6th, and really not seeing any problem with that.

WHITFIELD: So now what do we believe or how might the select committee use this kind of information?

COHEN: Well, really this memo serves as another document that points to the theory and the case they are trying to make that there was a broader plan directed by Trump and his closest allies to overturn the 2020 election.

Now, as we stated earlier, Mark Meadows has refused to cooperate with the committee. He didn't appear for his scheduled deposition, and as Congressman Schiff said they plan to move quickly to hold him in criminal contempt.

But really this is just another data point that backs up their broader case that Trump and his closest allies tried to overturn the 2020 election by pressuring Mike Pence even in the moments leading up to January 6th.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all so extraordinary. Zac Cohen, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about all this with a Tulane Law School professor Ross Garber. He's joining me now with more on this. I mean this is pretty jaw-dropping stuff, is it not? I mean so now, there is new evidence that -- where there is a direct correlation between the president pressuring the vice president to invalidate the election, overturn it.

How do you see these memos or these instructions being used not to just to advance the January 6th Committee investigation, but perhaps is this now the markings, or the makings of a DOJ criminal investigation?

ROSS GARBER, PROFESSOR, TULANE LAW SCHOOL: Well, Fred, we know that Department of Justice has been investigating what happened on January 6th. So far it's involved, you know, lower level players. But it's entirely possible there that it's going to, you know, sort of go up the chain.

But I think the other thing to take from this is kind of aa warning sign about what could happen during the next election cycle. You know, these memos are proof of what, you know, happened. But the reality is we were seeing signs that this was going to play out months before January 6th.

In fact, I think, Fred, you and I talked about it months before January 6th. We saw what the playbook would be.

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh.

GARBER: This is just evidence that the playbook was being executed. Luckily our institutions held and luckily, you know, we had patriotic folks who refused. But, you know, these issues are not solved.

WHITFIELD: Right. And it seems like while the ongoing DOJ investigations, you know, have carried on, you know, and you haven't seen anyone being held responsible for these actions.

Now you have got concrete memos, notations, instructions. And it goes all the way up, you know, to the president putting pressure on his vice president.

It would seem now that the January 6th committee might have one avenue or one goal, you know, as Congress checking the executive branch.

[14:24:49]

WHITFIELD: But now it would seem, Ross, that the DOJ investigations have more teeth because you have something concrete, you have in writing now instructions, you know, on how to, while everybody else was, you know, celebrating, ringing in the New Year, you had attorneys for the Trump campaign who were plotting this course on how to overturn an election?

GARBER: Yes, again, we knew that this was in the works. So much of it was happening in plain sight. And you know, the playbook in a way goes back actually to 1876, and I won't, you know, bore everybody with the details of all that. But in that race, you know, Hayes versus Tilldon, that was a situation where the role of the vice president came into play where the vice -- and actually then it was the president of the senate, which is the role the vice president now plays.

The question was whether the president of the senate, the vice president could actually make substantive determinations about Electoral College votes. It played out then, we saw Trump take that dispute that happened way back then and try to use it now and we now see that his aides at least some of them were involved in the process, were thinking about that process.

I think we're going to learn a lot more about it. And hopefully we are going to do it before the next election cycle, so perhaps congress can act?

WHITFIELD: Is this the closest we've come in your view to the president's -- former president's encouragement, his active participation in trying to overturn this election?

GARBER: Well, you know, again it certainly fleshes out the story. But you know, again, we saw, you know, evidence that during the siege on the Capitol, there were calls being made to senators to try and pressure them to delay.

You know, this plays out the narrative a bit, but again, so much of it was happening in plain sight, and, you know, so much of it, you know, was anticipated.

The good part is that it didn't succeed, but, you know, as we saw it had devastating consequences. I think now, the question for congress is going to be getting more of the facts, for the Department of Justice it's going to be getting more of the facts, and then also for Congress, the question is going to be what to do about the Electoral Count Act, which was the source of the ambiguities in the Electoral Count Act where the source of some of these machinations that we saw from the president and his people.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's incredibly complex but alarming. Ross Garber, thank you so much. Good to see you.

GARBER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, nearly $5 a gallon for gas now. We are seeing record high gas prices in many parts of the country. How much more can Americans expect to pay out?

[14:27:50]

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[14:32:19]

WHITFIELD: All right, in California today gas prices hit an average of $4.68 a gallon, the highest they have ever been in that state. It's also the highest price right now in the entire U.S.

CNN's Natasha Chen is live for us in Los Angeles and she's joining us now from a gas station.

So what are you hearing from folks who are either filling up or just going part of the way because gas prices are so high?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, it hurts. It definitely hurts. Gas prices have not been this high in California since 2012. And I want to show you that the gas station behind me, for example, no matter what type of gas you are getting, it is more than $5 a gallon. And that's not just this station, it's really what we're seeing across the region here.

A couple of things are going on. One is that the Northern California refineries have been somewhat affected by severe weather lately, but something Californians share with everyone else in the U.S. is that the price of crude oil is just simply so much higher these days. If we show this tweet and a graph from Gas Buddy site, an app that tracks gas prices, we've really never seen a year-over-year increase like we have in 2021.

Sixty-six percent in April, currently, according to this data, it's around 63 percent. It hasn't spiked like that since 2010. We talked to AAA about some of the consumer mentality that also may be driving these prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG SHUPE, AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: This has been a very different autumn season. Typically we see the prices at the pump fall after Labor Day because people have completed their summer vacations, kids are back in school, but this year people are still traveling. There's still that demand for fuel to get to where people want to go.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: People have this pent-up demand since they have been at home throughout the pandemic. We should also note that oil production is down 14 percent compared to the end of 2019, and our colleagues at CNN Business report that that's caused in part because shareholders are now demanding oil companies cut back on costs and we've had quite a reckoning of environmental impacts by fossil fuels -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen in Los Angeles, thank you so much for that.

So it's not just California where drivers are feeling the pain of inflation. Let's bring in Fatima Goss Graves to discuss the impact of rising cost on families. She is the president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center and she's joining me right now.

Fatima, so good to see you again.

FATIMA GOSS GRAVES, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CENTER: Great to be with you.

WHITFIELD: So the last time we had you on the show, you sounded the alarm about taking out child and elder care from Biden's sweeping economic plan, and since we last spoke negotiations over family paid leave went from guaranteeing 12 weeks to now four weeks, but we don't know if that will be in the final bill.

[14:35:09]

And in your view, you know, why is this policy so difficult for lawmakers to agree on as so many families make some very difficult choices?

GOSS GRAVES: You know, this week is going to be a big week as the House comes back to consider these issues. And it really doesn't work to have an economic framework that doesn't include what's happening with women, that doesn't take into account our care infrastructure, and paid leave is one of those policies that doesn't only benefit women, it benefits families, it benefits our economy.

So it is central to the conversation that is happening right now, but it would be a big, big mistake to separate either paid leave or our care infrastructure generally from our deep economic needs and concerns with today.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you're essentially saying you can't have one without the other, I mean really should be a package of consideration. So earlier this morning, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CBS that economic recovery depends largely on women in the workforce. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS' "FACE THE NATION": What does the economic recovery look like without paid leave?

JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY: I think we will still have an economic recovery that will be strong and, you know, support ongoing growth. But labor force participation for -- particularly for women has been a problem in the United States now for some time. And when you compare the United States with other developed countries, a big difference that stands out is a lack of support for people working.

BRENNAN: Right.

YELLEN: And particularly for women.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So would four weeks of paid leave, you know, be enough in your view to see women returning to work?

GOSS GRAVES: We see the four weeks of paid leave as really a start. Starting to have this national paid leave program is a huge and important step. Is it enough, is it everything that we have been striving for? No. But together with things like child care, with things like support for home care, it would be a huge boost.

The thing that I do know is doing nothing is also a decision. It's a decision with huge costs that would largely be borne by women as individuals but also our economy more broadly.

WHITFIELD: Tomorrow is a pretty big day at the White House. President Biden will be signing this bipartisan infrastructure bill. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said she was optimistic the House will pass the Build Back Better plan this week. How crucial, you know, are these bills to you when it comes to families?

GOSS GRAVES: So it's a huge deal that they came together and passed the infrastructure plan. And I hope people are reminded in doing it but this means that they can do big and important things for this country, but the work is not done. The care infrastructure that was so deeply broken even before this pandemic needs a solve and that solve is a part of the Build Back Better bill. They can get it done.

WHITFIELD: All right, Fatima Goss Graves. Thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

GOSS GRAVES: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, a new warning of a potential COVID surge this winter as numbers across the country are ticking back up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:43:18]

WHITFIELD: All right, today the U.S. surgeon general is warning the U.S. could face a winter COVID surge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: We should be prepared for the fact that there may be an uptick in cases that we see in various parts of the country with cold weather, but what has held true for the last year is still true, which is that vaccines still give you a high degree of protection especially against the worst outcomes of COVID, like hospitalizations and death.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Coronavirus cases have hit a plateau in recent weeks, holding on to about half of the growth from this summer's latest surge. And that has some health care experts concerned about the potential for a wave of new cases.

Dr. Elizabeth Clayborne is an emergency physician at the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center.

Good to see you, Dr. Clayborne. And I love the new short haircut. It's my first time seeing you. How is the baby?

DR. ELIZABETH CLAYBORNE, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CAPITAL REGION MEDICAL CENTER: The baby is doing great, Fred. Thanks for asking.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. All right, so now down to business. So you heard the surgeon general say we need to prepare for this. What are your concerns? Are doctors and hospitals ready for this?

CLAYBORNE: I think that people have to remember, Fred, that a lot of our hospitals are still over extended. There's been a national nursing shortage which I feel every day when I go into work in the emergency department, and although I have seen a decrease in the number of COVID cases, I do think that as the winter approaches and people go indoors and we're dealing with, you know, cold and dry air, that there is possibly going to be a surge in COVID cases, and people need to remember how dangerous that can be if you are unvaccinated.

So as the surgeon general recommended, I think the name of the game is still to get everyone who's eligible to get a vaccine and if you're eligible for a booster, to get a booster.

WHITFIELD: And even more so, right, because we're on the eve of these holidays, and people, you know, want to get together.

[14:45:04]

But do you feel like people are making the plans to, you know, be as cautious and vigilant as possible, or do you worry that people have become complacent?

CLAYBORNE: I absolutely worry that people are complacent. Listen, I understand everyone has pandemic fatigue, and as the holidays approach, if you missed out on, you know, last Christmas and last Thanksgiving, and didn't get to get together with your family you're definitely looking forward to maybe having more access to get together with those loved ones, but that comes at a price especially if you are unvaccinated.

So I encourage people who are considering travel to make sure that you're doing the basics to protect yourself, wear a mask and be vaccinated and have a plan for your family that everyone can agree on to keep people as safe as possible. You don't want to walk away from a Thanksgiving dinner with a COVID case and a possible death in the family. That is not going to be the way to bring the family together.

WHITFIELD: So true. So the CDC says 140,000 American children have lost either a primary or secondary caregiver to COVID. So how does this impact communities of color in a more significant way?

CLAYBORNE: Absolutely, Fred. This is something that's really been devastating and actually hit home for me. Just last week I had a father come in with a 2-year-old child that had a mild respiratory illness that was not COVID, but I could tell that he was just really worn out and didn't look well, and he told me he was recovering from COVID and his wife had died two weeks prior.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no.

CLAYBORNE: From COVID-19. So he was one of those people who's now a single father trying to care for a daughter and just navigate this. And I think people have to pay attention to the fact that these COVID deaths are not just a number that exists at one point in time. This reverberates in the life of hundreds of thousands of children across the world for their entire life and it does disproportionately affect those communities of color.

This particular study pointed out that in American Indian and Alaska Natives, it's 4.5 times more likely compared to white children for them to be orphaned. In black children, it would be 2.4 times more likely and in Hispanic children, 1.8 times more likely. So this is something that the communities of color are really feeling.

And I think that we need to pay attention going into the holiday season about what the circumstances are and the consequences of our interactions with our family members and travel, not just for ourselves but everyone in our community that will fill those consequences.

WHITFIELD: And people need to know the threat is not behind us. We are still in the middle of the threat as you just, you know, underscored for us. So Mr. T. I'm talking about the actor, a celebrity, now he's a cancer survivor and he just tweeted out this weekend that he got his COVID booster shot.

And I wonder, you know, from your point of view as the battle continues to get more people vaccinated, for people to get their booster shots, to not be complacent, how important is it to really get a buy-in from celebrities, athletes, others particularly on social media to help persuade people who continue to hold out or be reticent?

CLAYBORNE: I think that, you know, athletes and entertainers can have a tremendous positive impact especially on our communities of color, by, you know, basically spreading good information and letting people know how they can get resources.

You know, in January of this year President Biden formed the presidential COVID-19 Equity Task Force and they recently came out with a number of recommendations to address these health disparities, and one of them included actual permanent structure for addressing health equity.

And so it's great that the government I think is stepping up to address these issues, but as an African-American female, I got to really implore our own community to step up to the plate and protect us in the meantime, because we are the ones that can best prepare each other for going into a winter season, and part of that is by sharing good information, and a lot of times people are paying attention to what, you know, our celebrities and high profile individuals in our communities are saying, so please spread that good information, encourage people to vaccinate, encourage people to mask and to be especially careful as we enter the winter.

WHITFIELD: Right. And that good information coming from you as well.

Dr. Elizabeth Clayborne, thank you so much. Always good to see you. Continue to be well, to you and family. CLAYBORNE: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:39]

WHITFIELD: More than 20 years after her death, Princess Diana's story is having a moment. Go inside her lasting legacy on a new episode of the CNN Original Series "DIANA." Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELEANOR PEAKE, JOURNALIST: Diana had this fairy tale that young girls are brought upon of you marry the prince and you live happily ever after. And in a time where there was a lot of change for women in general, she broke away from this fairy tale and said, I would kind of rather do it on my own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But even in fairy tales, being a princess is like living in a gilded cage and anyone who does actually become a princess in real life, you realize that that is just an illusion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But she crafted a new image of a modern princess, of somebody who is independent and accomplished and has a voice and an identity, and I think especially for little girls today, what a role model to have.

DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: Do you like this idea?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Princess Diana's life was a blueprint for the modern women.

AMINATOU SOW, WRITER AND PODCASTER: Diana will be relevant for eternity.

[14:55:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could present herself in such a way that she could outshine anybody, out-glitz anyone, and sort of dominate a gathering, and then it would be all over and she'd come up to me or I'd see her later, and say, how did I do? You know? I'd say, what? You were fantastic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can all just continue to create stories about what could have been, and that's the sadness around the short life of Diana. What could have been from this extraordinary woman that frankly we hardly know.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The brand-new episode of the CNN Original Series "DIANA" airs tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)