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New Heavily-Mutated COVID Variant Worries Scientists; Inflation, Supply Chain Issues Affecting Holiday Shoppers; GOP's Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) Makes Bigoted Anti-Muslim Comments About Colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired November 26, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN NEWSROOM: Good morning to you. I'm Jessica Dean. And welcome to a CNN holiday edition of CNN Newsroom. And we're beginning with breaking news. A new and alarming coronavirus variant with an unusually high number of mutations causing it to spread rapidly has now sparked concern among experts all around the world, this variant also showing the ability to evade immunity.

It was first detected in South Africa, and so far several other places such as Belgium, Hong Kong, and Israel have confirmed cases. In Europe, travel restrictions are being weighed against seven African countries, six of those already being added to the U.K.'s red list. All flights from those locations suspended. Today, the World Health Organization meets to determine how they should classify the new variant.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci says despite there being no indication the variant is in the U.S., we need to be prepared to take proactive measures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: First of all, you want to find out if, in fact, it does evade the vaccines that we are doing. I mean, there's always the possibility of doing what the U.K. has done, namely block travel from South Africa and related countries. We don't know that. That's certainly something you think about and get prepared to do. You're prepared to do everything you need to do to protect the American public, but you want to make sure there's a basis for doing that and that's what we're doing right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now, all of this comes as global markets are rattled by fear of the new variant. Taking a look now, you see that they're all down right now, all of the markets down by a considerable amount, two percentage points on the Dow Jones there. We are covering this from all angles. Let's bring in CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us, CNN International Correspondent David McKenzie is in Johannesburg, and CNN Business Reporter Matt Egan is in New York.

Elizabeth, let's start with you. What more do we know about this new variant?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Jessica, to put it in some perspective, variants have come and gone throughout this entire pandemic. Most of them don't really mean anything. They're not that different from what we've seen before. But every so often, there's one that rears its ugly head and takes over the planet. The delta variant would, of course, be the one that would be top of mind in that category.

We don't know which category this new one is going to fall into. Will it sort of peter out? It affects countries in and around South Africa? Or will it take to the world stage?

Let's take a look at what we know so far about this variant. So, it doesn't even have a name yet, one of those Greek letters, because it's not officially a variant of concern or interest, so it's just called B.1.1.529. Here is The problem is it more than 30 mutations in the spike protein. That's what South Africa researchers say. The spike protein is such an important part of the virus. It's how it does its work to get into our cells. The vaccine is designed to work on the spike protein. If there are too many mutations in that protein in too many places, that could be bad news for the vaccine. Now, the U.K., Japan, Germany and other countries have already restricted travel from South Africa.

Now, one thing that I will note is that when variants have come along, like let's say, delta, the vaccine didn't work quite as well against delta as it did against previous versions of the virus, but it did still work. And that's why it's so important to get vaccinated and to get boosters.

Let's take a listen to what Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: First of all, you want to find out if, in fact, it does evade the vaccines that we're doing. I mean, there's always the possibility of doing what the U.K. has done, namely, block travel from South Africa and related countries. We don't know that. That's certainly something you think about and get prepared to do. You're prepared to do everything you need to do to protect the American public. But you want to make sure there's a basis for doing that, and that's what we're doing right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Dr. Fauci also has emphasized the importance of getting boosters, which are now available to everyone over the age of 18, 18 and older. Now, it's interesting to note there was another variant, the beta variant, that was first spotted in South Africa towards the end of last year. There was a lot of worry about that one too, but it never sort of went on the world stage. It was in a smattering of countries. It never became like delta. Let's hope that's the case for this one, but we just don't know at this point. Jessica?

DEAN: Yes. We certainly hope so. But great perspective, Elizabeth. Thanks so much.

David, let's turn to you. There have already been restrictions implemented from some flights traveling to and from some countries in South Africa. What more can you tell us about that?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, more countries and territories are banning or threatening to ban travelers from the Southern African region and other parts of the continent innocent because of the potential threat of this new variant that was discovered by South African scientists.

Now, the cases of this variant are being confirmed at a very rapid rate. The latest country is Belgium, the first country in Europe to have a confirmed case. Now, interestingly, that is from an unvaccinated traveler, say the government, from Egypt, nowhere near the Southern African region. France says they will now bolster their border controls with Belgium. Spain is saying that they will assess whether they will stop travelers coming from the African continent.

It all started with the United Kingdom who, very soon after the news of this variant was announced, reinstated its red list for most of Southern Africa out of an abundance of caution, calling it temporary, but it could take several weeks for scientists to figure out just how dangerous this variant is.

Now, the move has been criticized by the South African government, calling it hasty, saying that more information is needed. The Africa CDC also saying that bans are not helpful and that tracing and testing is more effective in stopping any variant of concern as they emerge.

One WHO official told me just a short time ago that these kind of draconian measures, in their eyes, might, in fact, stop future scientists from coming quickly with news of new variants. Jessica?

DEAN: David, thank you.

Let's go now to CNN Business Reporter Matt Egan to talk about the markets. Matt, how are they responding this morning?

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Jessica, it's a pretty ugly start to the day. Clearly, the news of this variant has shaken confidence on Wall Street. There's still so much we don't know, how effective are vaccines? How quickly does this variant spread? And how will governments and society react? Investors, though, they are selling first and asking questionings later. We see the Dow down more than 900 points, around 2.5 percent, that's on track for the worst day of the year. The S&P 500 down a little less but still down sharply. Now, this sell-off started overseas where we saw Asian markets finish sharply lower overnight. European stocks, they are down big as well.

Now, the big fear is that this variant somehow derails or slows down the rapid recovery of the U.S. economy. And so that's why investors are bailing out of travel stocks. We're seeing airlines, hotels, all down sharply, AirBNB, cruise lines also losing a lot of ground.

They're also putting money back into stay-at-home stocks. We've seen everything from Zoom and Netflix to Teladoc actually gained ground here. Now, I do want to caution this is a holiday on Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange closes at 1:00 P.M. in New York. So, there's probably very thin trading volume and that can sort of amplify moves one way or another.

Also, we've got remember, the market is still up big, more than 20 percent so far this year despite today's losses. The S&P 500 has more than doubled the lows of March in 2020. So, we do need to keep this into context.

Jessica, I think, big picture, we need a lot more information. If this doesn't turn out to be as scary as the initial headlines, we could see markets rebound here. On the other hand, if this variant is a real big concern, more losses could be ahead. I think either way, we're going to see some turbulence in the coming days.

DEAN: Yes, some up and down. All right, our thanks to you, Matt, to David, to Elizabeth, we appreciate all of you.

It is Black Friday, but will supply chain issues and higher prices affect the holiday shopping season?

CNN Business Correspondent Alison Kosik is outside Macy's in New York City. Alison, what are you seeing this morning?

ALISON KOSKI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jessica. It's feeling pretty festive this morning in Herald Square where Macy's is. The holiday lights are out, the windows are adorned with those holiday displays and people are piling into shop at this historic department store.

This is going to be a historic holiday shopping period as well because we are paying the most in 30 years for so many items. But still, people are out here shopping. The Retail Federation says the holiday spending is expected to break records this year with consumers shelling out anywhere between $843 to $859 billion by the time the holiday shopping season is over.

Now, today is Black Friday. It's the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. 108 million people are expected to shop today, and 60 percent of them are expected to shop in store, which is unusual because in years' past, even before the pandemic, you know, shoppers flocked to online shopping and gone were the days of actually shopping in store.

[10:10:07] Not anymore with supply chain disruptions that retailers are facing. They don't have the inventory stocks as in the past. And there's concern that products that people buy online may not be delivered in time.

Macy's says it is well prepared for the holiday shopping season. It says it's also well prepared for a rash of what lately we have seen as smash and grab robberies, the organized retail crime that we've seen in various states across the nation.

Here is what the Macy's CEO told me earlier today about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY GENNETTE, CEO, MACY'S: This is something that we're practiced on. So, obviously, you see a lot of it in the social media. And when you have those gatherings coming, you have some advanced warnings on this. So, we work with our city municipalities, we work with mayors. In San Francisco, just now, we basically work with the city to basically have a sub-precinct of the SFPD that is now stationed in our store.

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KOSIK: And, Jessica, Jeff Gennette telling me that the smash and grab is just really a rash happening now, that these are things that Macy's has actually dealt with over decades. And, once again, the CEO telling me that Macy's is prepared. Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Alison Kosik for us in New York City this morning, thanks so much.

Still to come, outrage after Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert implies Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar might be a suicide bomber, just the latest test of where the Republican Party will draw the line.

Plus, new worries about Russia, the Ukrainian president saying there is a coup plot against him. What this means as the U.S. considers sending military support.

And a record number of Americans saying, I quit, leaving their jobs at a time when wages are higher and jobs are plentiful. Why the mass exodus?

Stay with us.

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DEAN: House Republican leaders will have more controversy on their plate when they return to Washington. GOP Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado sparking outrage after implying a Muslim Democratic colleague might be a suicide bomber.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-CO): I was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers and he and I were leaving the Capitol, we're going back to my office, and we get in the elevator and I see a Capitol police officer running hurriedly to the elevator. I see fret all over his face.

I look to my left, and there she is, Ilhan Omar. I say, well, she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine.

So, we only had one floor to go, (INAUDIBLE) and looked over. And I said, oh, look, the jihad squad decided to show up for work today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says the whole story is fabricated, tweeting, quote, anti-Muslim bigotry isn't funny and shouldn't be normalized. Congress can't be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslim tropes get no condemnation.

And joining me now to discuss are CNN Political Analyst Jackie Kucinich, Washington Bureau Chief of The Daily Beast, and Toluse Olrunnipa, Political Investations and Enterprise Reporter for The Washington Post. Great to see both of you. Thanks for making time for us today.

Jackie, let's start with you. this type of comment would be punished in pretty much any workplace across America. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has shown zero appetite for holding anybody accountable for these types of actions. At what cost is McCarthy looking the other way? And is there any chance this backfires? Does this just bolster him to be the House speaker if Republicans take back the House in 2022?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, let's start with this isn't the first time Congresswoman Boebert has said something like this. She actually said on the House floor, on the House floor, she referred to the jihad squad, as she calls it. This is something -- it's not that McCarthy missed the tweet or can look past this video. This is something that happens from day to day on Capitol Hill at this point.

And the thing to remember about Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, they're avatars for former President Trump, who McCarthy feels beholden to and knows that if he punishes one of these members, he'll hear about it from the guy he needs to back him to be speaker, so the former president's supporters in Congress back him.

So, McCarthy is in a bind here. If he does become speaker, he certainly is going to be a weak one because he will always be beholden to this person who is not inside the Congress.

DEAN: Right, and trying to keep e keep his power and keep them together.

Toluse, I spoke to Congresswoman Omar before the censure vote on Congressman Paul Gosar a few weeks ago. He had, of course, posted a threatening video on Twitter. And she told me that she feels like the presence of some House Republicans makes the House feel, quote, less safe. There is widespread distrust, even fear among these members of Congress. How does that impact the business of the House and governing?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we have definitely heard from Congresswoman Omar about the number of death threats that she get just for doing her job, just for being a member of Congress.

[10:20:01]

And the fact that, as Jackie said, the former president really targeted Congresswoman Omar and a number of her colleagues while he was president for some of this vitriol that we see from the public.

And I think it's important to note even though Boebert made these comments and is being condemned by especially among Democrats, in the room where she spoke, there was not condemnation. There was laughter. There was an embrace (ph). And while she stands, as Jackie says, an avatar for President Trump, she also stands as an avatar for the base of the Republican Party that embraces this kind of language and that is going to allow her to fundraise and move forward in her political career.

That is one reason that Kevin McCarthy's hands are tied because the base supports this kind of language, supports this kind of rhetoric. That was what empowered former President Trump to the presidency in the Republican Party and is what continues to animate the base of the party. And for that reason, I don't see this kind of rhetoric changing even though it does make it a very difficult and very dangerous work environment for a number of these members of Congress.

DEAN: Yes. And, Jackie, to Toluse point, Boebert is going to likely fundraise off of this and it's likely going to do quite well for her, right? Like this is all kind of a rinse and repeat strategy from a lot of these freedom caucus members that do these outrageous things and then get a bunch of support from their base, really fire up their base.

If Republicans take back the House in 2022, do you think we're going to see more of this behavior, that this is just going to continue to be more outsized? And do you also see -- we heard from McCarthy kind of insinuating there could be retribution toward Democrats, stripping them of their committees or censuring them. Do you anticipate that's what we'll see more of?

KUCINICH: She's obviously not the first person to do this, to say something outrageous and then fundraise off of it. That has been -- that predates this Congress and several before it. However, yes, we're going to see more of this.

The thing that's going to be -- well, one of the things that are going to be the toughest for Kevin McCarthy is holding a House majority or a Senate majority, but a House majority in particular, is a numbers game. So, the number of Republicans that end up coming in, should they take the House, where they lie in the political spectrum is really going to dictate how much control Kevin McCarthy has on his conference because you hear some of these more right-wing members saying that Republicans who voted for transportation and infrastructure bill should be punished. Well, you can't have those members who are from these moderate districts jettisoned and still hold a majority.

So, that kind of push and pull within his own conference, not even talking about the Democrats who probably will have this tit-for-tat situation with their committees is going to be problematic for him should they take the House next year.

DEAN: And, Toluse, we got have time for one quick question, one last question here. The idea being that Marjorie Taylor Greene has now kind of come out and said these are my demands if I'm going to vote for Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, and to Jackie's point, one of these was kick out Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who, of course, are on the January 6th committee, have voted with Democrats on a lot of this stuff. Things like this, how beholden is McCarthy to somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene and how much is this going to impact kind of his thinking as he moves forward?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes. It's very difficult for him because some of these disagreements within the Republican caucus are not about policy. On the Democratic side, you see a lot of disagreement over policy, how liberal, how progressive to be. But when it comes to the Republican side, it's really about personalities, it's about retribution, it's about kicking people out of the party, it's about having revenge and trying to take back the country in a way. That's very difficult sentiment to thread the needle on when you're a politician when you have such a diverse caucus, not necessarily when it comes to race or gender, but when it comes to ideology, when it comes to sentiment.

You have a lot of Republicans from suburban district, a lot of them who are front-line members, who are moderates, who took back some of the seats that the Democrats have won in 2018. They're not in favor of some of this kind of negative rhetoric. And it's going to be hard for McCarthy to figure out how to balance those two parts of his party.

DEAN: Yes. It's going to be something to see that all unfold. All right, Jackie and Toluse, our thanks to both of you, thanks so much for making time for us today.

Coming up, the president of Ukraine says Russia is plotting a coup against him. And this comes just days after the U.S. warned that Russia could be preparing to invade the country.

But, first, here's a look at what else to watch for today.

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DEAN: This morning, a warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he says a group of Ukrainians and Russians have been plotting a coup against him set to happen in less than a week.

[10:30:00]

And he says those planning the coup have been trying to enlist the aid of the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.