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New Omicron Variant of Coronavirus Found in South Africa; U.S. to Ban Travel from Seven Countries in Africa in Effort to Stop Spread of Omicron Variant of Coronavirus; U.S. Stock Market Plunges upon News of New Omicron Variant of Coronavirus; Stores across U.S. Suffering Incidents of Organized Shoplifting; President Trump Attempting to Claim Executive Privilege to Prevent Records from Getting to January 6th House Commission; Portugal Passes Law Preventing Employers from Contacting Employees Outside Work Hours; American Family Has Afghan Refugee Family Over for Thanksgiving Dinner. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired November 27, 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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[10:00:23]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. We're so grateful to see you. It is Saturday, November 27th. I'm Christi Paul.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Alex Marquardt in this morning for Boris Sanchez. Thank you so much joining us. You are in the CNN Newsroom.

And we're beginning with breaking news. Dr. Anthony Fauci warning this morning that the Omicron variant as it has become known that began circulating in South Africa could already be here in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: You would predict from looking at the mutations that have been identified that it likely will be more transmissible. We don't know that yet, but you have to be careful and assume that that's the case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe Omicron is already here in the U.S. likely?

FAUCI: I would not be surprised if it is. We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you're already having travel related cases that they've noted in Israel and Belgium and in other places, when you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: The Biden administration has announced starting Monday flights from eight African nations are banned from entering the U.S., joining countries around the world that have already imposed travel bans, by the way, on flights coming in from several African countries.

And just moments ago, the U.K. health secretary confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant have been detected there. CNN's Nada Bashir is with us from London. So, Nada, they've identified two. What are they doing in terms of trying to identify more? I understand those two are self-isolating.

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Christi. Those two cases are now self-isolating. They will be required to remain in isolation while the contact tracing process is ongoing. So, what that means is they will be looking at those who have been in contact with these two individuals who are believed to have traveled from the southern African region and will also be speaking and tracing their loved ones and those that they live to ensure sure that they are not testing positive for that coronavirus variant.

So there are serious concerns now, of course. The government was expecting this. We heard from the health secretary yesterday speaking in the House of Commons with lawmakers addressing the crisis, particularly in light of identification of a case in Belgium. So there are concerns already that this could be in Europe. We heard from Germany earlier today saying that there could very well be cases of this variant in Germany already as mentioned in the U.S.

So of course, the government will be taking urgent action to trace these cases, to ensure that these cases are isolating. But we are still waiting for further details. We are expecting to hear from the prime minister, speaking alongside his scientific advisers this evening in just about two hours from Downing Street. So we will hear more information then.

But we do know already that the U.K. has added further countries to its red list. We had heard the announcement that the U.K. would be restricting travel from several countries in the southern African region, requiring those coming into the U.K. from those countries to self-isolate, to quarantine for 10 days in a government approved hotel at their own expense. But we do know now that there will be four additional countries being brought, the health secretary announcing that just a few moments ago Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Angola will now be added to the red list. We will expect to hear more details on that from the prime minister in just about two hours. Christi and Alex?

MARQUARDT: All right, the number of these new cases from this new variant growing. Nada Bashir in London, thank you very much.

Now, the United States has been added to the growing list of countries that is imposing travel bans as the Omicron variant emerges. President Biden is announcing that the U.S. will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries there in the southern African region. That starts on Monday. He signed the official proclamation last night which says that it will remain in effect until it is terminated by him. That date, of course, is not known.

PAUL: CNN's Jasmine Wright is live at the White House. So Jasmine, what are you hearing from the White House this morning in light of news that we've had overnight about the way this newest virus is moving?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, Alex, they are acting quickly, taking precautions in hopes of keeping Americans safe. That is the bottom line for this White House. And now President Biden yesterday in Nantucket on Friday, he told reporters that after the news of appearing to be rapidly transmissible new variant on Friday, he met with his chief medical team, including Dr. Fauci, really talking about the ban.

[10:05:13]

And that is when he put it into place, made the decision. Take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've decided that we're going to be cautious. We don't know a lot about the variant except that it is of great concern. It seems to spread rapidly. And I spent about a half-hour this morning with my COVID team led by Dr. Fauci, and that was the decision we made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So we just heard President Biden talk about the process. But one big question is why Monday. Why not start this ban immediately? White House officials tell CNN that it takes time to put this ban in place. This morning, it is South Africa and seven other countries in the region. And so that Monday start date reflects the time needed really to avoid chaos, to get buy-in from the airlines, and making sure that everything is in place.

One thing I want to note is this will not apply to American citizens. So they will be able to travel back. But one thing that it does do, Alex and Christi, is that it provides the U.S. government officials say with more time to fact find, more time to investigate this variant before it potentially causes problems here in the U.S. We heard Dr. Fauci just earlier saying that the CDC has not detected any cases so far, he would not be surprised if there were cases present.

So for the president's part yesterday, he used that announcement, that proclamation to really call on countries around the globe to make sure that there are more vaccines available for countries, making sure that they are pushing those global vaccination efforts. But he also calls on Americans to do their part, pushing those Americans who have not yet gotten those first shots to get those shots into their arms and for those, if it is time to get boosters, calling it a patriotic responsibility. Alex, Christi?

MARQUARDT: Jasmine Wright there on north lawn of the White House. Thank you very much.

To dive into all of this, we've got Dr. Jonathan Reiner. He joins us now to share his perspective, and he's a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University. Dr. Reiner, thank you so much for being back with us. DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Doctor, do you agree with Dr. Fauci that this variant may already be here? And if so, how widespread do you believe it could be?

REINER: Well, I'm sure it's already here. Our world is so interconnected, and our genomic surveillance has really always been inadequate. So I am sure that that variant is already in the United States. As we've heard this morning, it's already in the United Kingdom, which is why, again, I think the travel ban is probably mostly performative and won't really have much impact on whether or not the variant takes hold in the United States.

MARQUARDT: You don't believe that travel bans have any real effect, even if there are cases that are here, at least there could be fewer that would be coming into the United States and those other countries that have imposed this ban?

REINER: No, I really don't. It is sort of like locking a screen door. It gives you this illusion of security but without any real protection. These viruses mutate all the time, and this variant has almost certainly been circulating for an extended period of time and only now being detected.

What it does do, though, it discourages countries like South Africa from doing the kinds of genomic surveillance and alerting the world when they find a variant that might be of concern, and we don't want to do that. We want to encourage countries around the world to do that.

I'll not that the United States has had a requirement since end of October when the president signed this rule requiring all non-U.S. citizens traveling to the United States to be both fully vaccinated and tested. That rule actually does not apply to U.S. citizens, and one wonders why it doesn't.

So we already have a rule that requires all passengers coming to the United States to be both vaccinated and tested. I think the travel ban is mostly for political purposes, but I think, again, I think it can have much more broader negative consequences internationally going forward.

MARQUARDT: Walk us through what the NIH and other countries' equivalents are doing right now as well as drug companies in terms of getting a sense of how the variant interacts with the vaccines that we already have and what changes may need to be made.

REINER: All right, so what we know about the variant is that it contains an unusually large number of mutations in the spike protein.

[10:10:00]

Remember, the spike protein is what are either naturally produced antibodies after infection or vaccine induced antibodies identify. So people who study structural viruses worry when the target of a vaccine or antibody changes dramatically. And that's what the concern is here, whether this would mean immune evasion.

The other concern is whether or not there are sufficient changes in this virus to make it more transmissible. In order for this virus to be a threat worldwide, it is going to have to outcompete the Delta variant. So it's going to have to be more transmissible than the Delta variant in order for this to take hold around the world, and that's not known. So we don't know whether it is more transmissible. We don't know how much immune evasion there is. And we also don't know if it makes anyone sicker than Delta or the other variants we have seen.

So there's much more that we don't know than we do know at this point, which is why I recommend that everyone, pun completely intended, take a nice deep breath now and let the scientists do their work. We'll have a lot more data to help us understand the meaning of this new variant over the next few weeks.

But what I will say, what everyone can do, is if you need an incentive to get boosted, this is your incentive to get boosted. If you're not vaccinated, wow. Again, if this variant is coming to the United States, now is the time for you to get vaccinated. And also, what works for all these respiratory viruses are masks. So now if you go into a crowd, not such a bad idea to wear a good mask.

MARQUARDT: Right. Of course, these variants are allowed to mutate and spread primarily through the unvaccinated. That's where they're going to find the most target rich environment. We know that South Africa has only fully vaccinated around 35 percent of its adult population. Here in the United States, it's just shy of 60 percent. Do we know what the benchmark needs to be of global vaccination in order to stop new strains from mutating and popping up?

REINER: We want to vaccinate the entire planet. And I think it is time that we understand that no one is safe until we all are safe. And the notion that we can sort of vaccinate the United States while what happens in Sub Saharan Africa happens in Sub Saharan Africa, and then we can somehow manage to keep whatever variant develops there out of the United States by stopping direct flights from seven countries is really fanciful.

What the United States -- look the United States has provided hundreds of millions of doses for the world, but it's not enough. Very few people in Sub Saharan Africa are vaccinated. And we need to make it our business to vaccinate the poor parts of the world, because it is clearly our business to do that. And if we need any further incentive, now we have it.

MARQUARDT: We just showed that map of the world, and Africa is one of the least vaccinated regions in the world. Dr. Jonathan Reiner, thank you so much for your expertise on this Saturday morning.

REINER: My pleasure, thank you.

PAUL: So concern over the new coronavirus variant sent stocks tumbling. CNN Business reporter Matt Egan has more on the market reaction and what has Wall Street worried now. MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Christi and Alex, this new variant

is already setting off shock waves on Wall Street. The Dow losing 905 points, that equates to 2.5 percent, worst day for the DOW since October of 2020. Investors are worried that the variant is going to slow down the economic recovery just as it was gaining momentum.

Travel stocks also falling very sharply. Airlines including Delta, hotels like Marriott and Hyatt, also Carnival Cruise, Royal Caribbean, all of them falling sharply on the day. Oil prices also losing 13 percent. That's the worst day for oil since April of 2020. That is a big deal because oil is very sensitive to swings in the economy.

This shows that investors are betting that people are going to be flying, driving, and commuting less often. Investigators are also betting that people are going to be stuck at home more often. And so stay at home stocks like Netflix, Zoom, Peloton, all of them rising. Another ominous sign, the best stock in the S&P 500 is vaccine maker Moderna, rising 20 percent on the day.

We do need to put all these market moves into context, though. Despite this selloff, the S&P 500 is still up 22 percent on the year. That is a monster move, and the market can't go straight up forever. Also, the S&P 500 has more than doubled from the March 2020 lows. Big picture, there are so many questions that we don't have answers to yet.

[10:15:00]

We don't know how contagious this new variant is going to be, we don't know how effective vaccines are against the variant, and we don't know how governments are going to react. Christi and Alex, I think the answers to questions are going to go a long way to determining how big of a deal this ultimately is for the market, for the economy, and for society at large.

MARQUARDT: Our thanks to Matt Egan.

It's the season for holiday shopping, and despite an uncertain economy, Americans are expected to spend big on gifts. Up next, why many are heading back to the store instead of shopping online.

PAUL: I'm telling you, some of this video that you're going to see is just stunning. We're looking at several smash-and-grab crimes across the country, and two more from last night. Stay close.

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MARQUARDT: Even though many prices are higher, Americans are still showing that they are ready to spend for this holiday season.

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PAUL: More shoppers showed up in stores for black Friday yesterday than last year. And online sales are also up. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us from New York. So Polo, we knew that they would probably be out more this year based on where were at this time last year, but to see that even the sales online have inched up, what are you seeing there? Because we saw you about, what, an hour-and-a-half ago? It was not that busy yet.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And Christi, you see it everywhere. You see it at malls across the country. You'll definitely see it here on Fifth Avenue especially as we go on through today as you see more shoppers. And if you're docking out some of those holiday lists that you have, or some of those holiday items that you have on your list here, those gifts, you're going to be among roughly 150 million Americans that are going to be making purchases this weekend leading up to cyber Monday here.

Authorities are saying that about 60 percent of those purchases are going to be done in person. That's obviously quite a change compared to, as you point out, last year when a lot of people were staying home even for their buys.

But also one of the reasons why a lot of Americans are actually going to be heading to those stores to make their purchases, according to experts, is because of that lingering worry about supply chain shortages. There are worries that some of the gifts, they may not even find them online, or they may not actually make it to the destination online in time. So that's one of the main reasons why we're certainly going to see that rush, that early rush to make purchases.

The National Retail Federation president speaking to CNN yesterday, hoping to assure some of those shoppers that some of those supplies will actually be there, so those gifts. Here's why he says that that's going to be the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW SHAY, CEO AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: Retailers have been working on this since beginning of the pandemic. They understood the real stress the supply chain was under. They've invested billions of dollars in their teams and their systems, working with their partners to get goods here. That's why really we've survived the last 20 months and been able to get most of the things we needed when we needed them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Some of those businesses that do face some challenges are going to be those smaller mom and pops, hence small business Saturday. And really, just to put a final button on this, you can get an idea of how much is going to be spent this holiday season, roughly $843 billion according to the National Retail Federation. That is a significant increase when you to compare it to previous years. Alex, Christi, back to you.

PAUL: Polo Sandoval, thank you so much. And thanks for pointing out small business Saturday today. Let's support those local businesses for sure.

We were talking about shopping. Now we're talking about thievery. There were mobs of robbers that struck on black Friday. Overnight, at least 30 people ran into a Best Buy in Minnesota. They made off with some pricey electronics there. And then in Los Angeles, police say a group of eight to 10 men barged into a Home Depot. She stole sledgehammers, crowbars, and other tools.

We are seeing this surge in brazen robberies, particularly smash-and- grabs, as they're called. And officers are scrambling to try to prevent the next big one. And this, of course, is leaving holiday shoppers and even employees on edge. A California police chief in San Francisco told CNN retail workers are, quote, terrified of smash-and- grab robberies.

And I want you to take a look at this one right here, because this is one that is -- I think it stunned me when I watched it. How about you. When we say smash-and-grab, we think of a couple people, right. This is a high-end retailer here. It was the scene at Louis Vuitton in Oakbrook, Illinois. Fourteen people, investigators say, at least 14 people stormed that store. And you can see what happened. Customers, employees were scrambling, some running away. Others were trying to hide behind displays. We're going to highlight that for you in a moment. But police say the suspects ended up getting away with $100,000 worth of product.

CNN law enforcement analyst Anthony Barksdale is with us now. So Anthony, thank you so much for being with us. I watched this video yesterday in awe. What does law enforcement know at this point about these groups of people and how they operate and how they organize?

ANTHONY BARKSDALE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Law enforcement by now should see that they're after luxury goods, or goods that can easily be sold to anyone on the street anywhere in the world. So you're seeing apple, Louis Vuitton, other brands, big stores like Nordstrom, all of these locations being hit by these thieves.

So now they know what stores, what locations that they should deploy resources. And this is, unfortunately, a good thing because now with that intelligence, police departments, police chiefs, executives can say we're going to send out men and women into these locations, or into these malls, and we're going to wait. We're going to be patient and make arrests.

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PAUL: How expansive is this? We're talking about, again, we just got word of the Best Buy in Minnesota where 30 people robbed it. That takes some organization, does it not?

BARKSDALE: Absolutely. This isn't a bunch of kids just playing around. This is organized crime and it must be treated that way. This is very serious. And law enforcement and prosecutors have to step up. We have to break this pattern. It has to stop.

PAUL: So I want to share some video here of the Oakbrook situation in the Louis Vuitton store. Take a look at the woman highlighted. She's highlighted and she's hiding. She's trying to hide behind a display case, and then she's just trying to get out of the store as these 14 potentially plus people run in. Obviously, there is real concern for people who are already in the store, whether they be employees or whether they be shoppers. Is there any indication that any of these groups are coming in armed? BARKSDALE: I believe that I have seen some reports that there have

been weapons involved. We know that one person was sprayed with air mace in one of these incidents. So we have to care about those store employees, we have to care about the customers. This is very serious, and their fear is valid.

PAUL: Would it be expected if they hit one store that they would go back to that store at some point? Logic tells you, of course you wouldn't because they'd be ready for it. But maybe they think they wouldn't be because they think we already got hit. What is the thought process there?

BARKSDALE: Christi, this is when cops have to think like criminals. You have to start looking at the patterns that they're establishing. And yes, so you may think that they might not come back, but if the store restocks, if they put more inventory up in the window, up on display, those thieves might come back. If you're walking out with 100 grand worth of goods, why not take the chance again? They have to be captured. They have to be fully prosecuted to the extent of the law, and we have to break this pattern.

PAUL: And the expectation, too, is that social media is probably playing a role in this organization. And then we mentioned the high- end stores, Best Buy was the electronics. But at Home Depot, the sledgehammers, the hammers, the crowbars, they're all things they can use to commit more crimes like this.

Anthony Barksdale, we appreciate your insight so much. Thank you for being here.

BARKSDALE: Thank you, Christi.

MARQUARDT: Very worrying trend there.

A legal battle between President Trump and the January 6th commission on Capitol Hill takes center stage this week. What's at stake when it comes to the release of White House documents from during and around the day of the insurrection. We'll be asking a former federal prosecutor. That's next.

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MARQUARDT: Former President Donald Trump says that efforts by the January 6th committee to get access to his White House records could permanently damage the presidency. Trump is appealing a lower court decision that the records should be turned over to the committee which is investigating the January 6th insurrection. Oral arguments begin on Tuesday.

Let's get some perspective on all this from CNN legal analyst Shan Wu. He's a defense attorney and a former federal prosecutor. Shan, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Good to see you. MARQUARDT: So as you know, the Biden administration has refused to

assert executive privilege over those Trump documents. And we've got the Trump lawyers now saying that this would damage the presidency. How strong is that argument from the Trump side?

WU: I think that is a pretty weak argument. The problem for the Trump side is that their whole argument rests on the idea that a former president is able to have equal footing if not greater footing than the current president in deciding executive privilege issues. That privilege is meant to protect inner workings, confidences, giving good advice to a president. And unfortunately for Trump, the Supreme Court has already ruled in Nixon cases that it's the current president that gets that deference.

It is rather ironic that the Trump folks are trying to argue that waiving the privilege in this instance, as the Biden administration is willing to do, is going to somehow upset the balance of power, it's going to lead to maybe abuse of overly partisan politics, when really the very thing being investigated, the January 6th insurrection, is an example of using and abusing the power of the presidency to encourage an insurrection.

So I think this is probably a losing argument. He hasn't articulated any personal harm. He is putting all the eggs in one basket of saying that he as former president has a right to control executive privilege, and that's just not going to be right legally.

MARQUARDT: And because this will end up being a reexamination of executive privilege, what do you think the potential long-lasting effects could be on the privilege that we give to presidents in this country?

WU: I actually don't think there will be much long-lasting effect, and that's because this was an extraordinarily horrible event.

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It was really the first time in history we had literally an armed insurrection trying to stop the democratic process of our vote. I think the D.C. Circuit as well as the Supreme Court is going to see it that way, and that's all over the legal pleadings, that this was an extraordinary event, and it's something that has to be examined.

I don't think it's going to be viewed as something which will become commonplace in the future, that every new administration is going to want to waive executive privilege so that partisan politics can go on. It was an extraordinarily terrible event, historically extraordinary, and I think the court is going to see it that way. So I don't think it will have a long term effect on doctrine of executive privilege.

MARQUARDT: Let's talk about the documents that are actually in question. It is more than 700 pages that include White House logs and notes from his top adviser. Again this is on and around January 6th. So what do you think the committee is targeting in those documents, what do they hope to learn? WU: I think they're looking to learn what it is that the president and

his advisers knew, if they were involved in any actual planning or encouragement of the rioters and the insurrection. And there's nothing better to show that than the contemporaneous call logs, who is being spoken to. That can identify who else should be called before the committee.

And really, if this was anything but such an unusual situation of the president of the United States and their advisers being involved in this, it would be a very straightforward criminal investigation, a referral after Congress looks at it to take a look who was involved in planning the violence, who was involved in trying to stop the election results from being implemented.

But because it's just an unusual situation with the president and his advisers being involved, everyone is being cautious. Justice Department ultimately may be looking at this, but they're going to be very cautious. Congress is being careful in how it treats witnesses and what it is asking for. And most importantly, the courts are going to be cautious. They're not going to just give someone a blank check to look at this. They're considering the executive privilege questions very carefully.

MARQUARDT: And of course, a reminder to our viewers that a handful of top Trump officials have actually been subpoenaed by the committee, and it remains to be seen whether they will comply.

Shan, we have less than a minute left, but the Trump side again, has asked that these documents be reviewed page by page, which could take a very long time. Are they trying to run out the clock?

WU: Absolutely they're trying to run out the clock. And they'll continue to do that. If they lose before this panel, they might ask for a full panel D.C. Circuit En Banc, and then they'll probably ask for the Supreme Court to issue a stay so they can consider it. So they're absolutely trying to run out the clock.

MARQUARDT: And of course, if Republicans take power in the House next year, then this committee is essentially done for. Shan, we have got to leave it right there. Thank you so much for coming this morning and offering your expertise.

WU: You're welcome.

PAUL: So in the search to find that magic work-life balance we all look for, there's a country taking a major step when it comes to protecting employees' peace of mind when they're at home. A look at the new law on the books in Portugal next.

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[10:42:51]

PAUL: With so many of us are working from home now, the line between work and home life can get blurred. Actually, it can even be erased, it seems. MARQUARDT: That's absolutely right. But a new law in Portugal tries to keep jobs and personal lives separate. This is a law, and it makes it illegal to contact employees after office hours. This story from CNN's Isa Soares.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Portuguese parliament here behind has approved one of the most employee friendly labor laws in an attempt to preserve the work-life balance as people continue to work from home. Under this new law, bosses are not allowed to contact employees outside of working hours, and that basically means no phone calls, no text messages, and no emails or else they'll be fined.

The new law says employers must also pay working from home expenses, such as increased electricity, gas, and Internet bills. On the streets of Lisbon, many told me this law was essential.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): With working from home, there was extension of working hours. And unfortunately, some bosses could have had tendency to abuse that. I know what my colleagues and I went through and the lack of regard for working hours because they're not respected. People nowadays have to be available 24 hours a day because they have a company cellphone or a work computer. People have to have their own lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there should be some sort of regulation in regard to questions of working from home. I'm not sure that just because it is written in law that it will be effective enough for it to be respected.

SOARES: Portugal's ruling socialist party is hoping the new labor law will digital nomads to their shores.

ANA MENDES GODINHO, PORTUGUESE MINISTER FOR WORK AND SOCIAL SECURITY: This gives power workers that can choose the best place to live and to work to any part of the world. Of course, it also gives a huge opportunity to companies that can have the best talent in the world no matter where the workers live.

[10:45:00]

SOARES: It is perhaps a bit too soon to tell how exactly this law will be implemented, but it was one of the last measures taken by parliament before it was dissolved ahead of a snap election next year where jobs and the economy are likely to be main issues.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PAUL: Isa Soares, thank you so much.

During the 1920s, the Osage people of Oklahoma were some of the richest people in the world. But as Lisa Ling uncovers, that wealth made them a target. Discover the horrific plot carried out to steal Osage land and money. You can watch an all new "This is Life with Lisa Ling" tomorrow night at 10:00 right here on CNN. MARQUARDT: And still ahead, it's more than just a meal, how an

American family and an Afghan refugee family are coming together to share Thanksgiving, and a few life lessons. That's coming up.

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[10:50:13]

MARQUARDT: You probably remember the photo, a haunting image of a green eyed Afghan girl made famous after it was featured on the cover of "National Geographic" magazine back in 1985. She has been granted refugee status by Italy's prime minister. Her name is Sharbat Gula. She's now in her 40s and she arrived in Italy as part of the exodus of Afghans following the international withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban taking over.

PAUL: The original portrait, you saw it, it's so striking, was taken when she was just 12 years old. She was in a refugee camp on the Afghan-Pakistan border. And for years no one knew her name. But Gula was finally tracked down decades later, and there she is today.

MARQUARDT: Good luck to her and her new life in Italy.

And one Afghan family who has come here to the U.S., they've only been here for about 14 months, and they've had a traditional Thanksgiving meal for the first time.

PAUL: Miry's List is this organization helping refugees settle in southern California. And this year, several of their volunteers decided to host families in their homes. CNN's Natasha Chen is with us from Los Angeles. You got the privilege, Natasha, of actually going to one of these gathering. Tell us what that was like.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christi, it was so amazing to witness, just to be a fly on the wall, so to speak. Keep in mind that this host and refugee family had never met before Thanksgiving. So I watched especially as the children of the refugee family got along with kids of the other guests at the party. And even though they didn't fluently speak the same language, the kids certainly found common ground at the coloring table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, how are you?

CHEN: Kiki Nagy was already cooking a Thanksgiving meal for a large group of friends.

KIKI NAGY, VOLUNTEER, MIRY'S LIST: Why is everything was so much harder after the pandemic. I've forgotten how to do this.

CHEN: But she also wanted to open her Los Angeles home to some of the country's newest residents. She volunteers for an organization called Miry's List that helps refugees settle in the United States. NAGY: I just threw it out to Miry, do you know any Afghani families

who need to have a first Thanksgiving with an American family. And so she said yes, why don't you invite Wahid.

CHEN: Wahidullah Asghary tells us he was a translator and interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. He arrived in late 2020 with his four children under a special immigrant visa. His wife joined them five months later. This was the family's first invitation to a tradition Thanksgiving meal.

WAHIDULLAH ASGHARY, AFGHAN REFUGEE: Sometimes when they ask what turkey is, I say turkey is like a big chicken.

CHEN: Nagy made sure there would be at least something familiar on the table.

(MUSIC)

CHEN: This experience wasn't just about new foods. It was also about learning the tradition of sharing gratitude.

ASGHARY: We have more opportunities in our lives, in our hands, so, of course, the foremost example is this, that we are together with the family.

CHEN: With his wife's visa delayed, he says they're lucky she arrived before the chaotic exit of U.S. troops in August. The scene of people trying to escape particularly resonated with fellow Thanksgiving guest Tam Van Tran.

TAM VAN TRAN, CAME TO THE U.S. AS A REFUGEE FROM VIETNAM IN 1975: When I saw the photo of the Afghans in the cargo plane, it reminded me of very much of -- I was in the same. But it was a gigantic cargo ship.

CHEN: Tran came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975 when he was around the same age as Asghary's oldest children. He says he can offer a warm welcome.

TRAN: Brotherhood, a camaraderie.

CHEN: And can imagine what they might be experiencing.

Like at many holiday gathering, not everyone here practices the same religion or holds the same political beliefs. Despite that --

NAGY: There is something essential to the American experience that is rooted in gratitude, that is rooted in the volunteerism that you leave your country, you leave a situation, and you come here, sometimes with very little, sometimes with nothing, and you start over.

CHEN: Asghary tells his kids to work hard to seize this opportunity.

ASGHARY: We are here for you. And the United States is here for you. And everything you have got in your hand, what are you going to do is you have to study. That's it.

CHEN: Starting with what Nagy hopes is a lesson from their first Thanksgiving.

NAGY: I would want them to see that that kind of tolerance is really possible in the United States, that Americans are, at heart, really a generous people.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHEN: During the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, Miry's List told me that they helped about five times the number of families compared to the previous month.

[10:55:03]

So they've been doing a lot of critical work, especially in the last few months. And they'll be inviting all the refugee families they've helped for a friends-giving about a week from now. Christi and Alex?

PAUL: I love those friends-givings, too. Natasha Chen, what a great story. Thank you so much.

MARQUARDT: Yes, a wonderful story.

PAUL: And happy Thanksgiving to all of you who may be still eating leftovers this morning for breakfast, because I know that happens. We hope you make good memories.

MARQUARDT: Christi, great to be with you. Be back with you tomorrow morning. There is much more ahead in this next hour of CNN Newsroom. That will be with Kaitlan Collins. She's up next.

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