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Two Cases Of New Omicron COVID-19 Variant Detected In UK; U.S. Banning Travel From Southern Africa Starting Monday; Five U.S. Lawmakers Defy China By Meeting With Officials In Taiwan; Police: Thieves Target Home Depot, Stealing Hammers & Crowbars; Black Friday Sales Up Despite Economic Uncertainty; 2020 Election: Is The GOP Engineering A Majority With New Congressional Maps? Aired 1-2p ET

Aired November 27, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

PAULA REID, CNN HOST: Hello, thanks for joining me. I'm Paula Reid in Washington in this weekend for Fredricka Whitfield.

We are following breaking news this hour as the UK confirms two positive cases of a highly mutated new COVID variant called Omicron.

During a news briefing last hour, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there's a great deal about this new variant that scientists simply can't know yet. But what they do know is cause for concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It does appear that Omicron spreads very rapidly, and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated.

There is also a very extensive mutation, which means it diverges quite significantly from previous configurations of the virus.

And as a result, it might at least in part, reduce the protection of our vaccines over time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: CNN is covering these global developments all over the world. With me now, Nada Bashir in London, Arlette Saenz with the President in Nantucket, and David McKenzie in Johannesburg.

All right, Nada, let's start with you. We heard there, Prime Minister said that there's a lot that they don't know. But what did we learn from this press conference in the UK?

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, as you heard from Boris Johnson there, that there is a concern now that this new variant may be more transmissible and may have a negative impact on the vaccine.

And much of the European adult population is now double vaccinated, but there are concerns that actually this new variant will have a negative impact that these vaccines won't be enough and then maybe -- they may not actually have the effect that they have had on previous variants that we've seen.

So there are some serious concerns there, and there are, of course, investigations and studies ongoing into that. We've already heard from the drug company AstraZeneca, and Moderna saying that they are carrying out their studies on that.

So there are concerns around the vaccine efficacy, Boris Johnson has called for -- encourage people to go out and get that booster jab, the third dose.

And what the British government is now looking at doing is boosting the booster campaign. That is shortening the gap between the second and third dose and widening the age group of people who can actually be eligible to get that third dose.

But what we do know now is that there are concerns but the British government is taking what Boris Johnson has described as a proportionate and measured approach.

Now, there were already those travel restrictions. Those travel restrictions on the Southern African region have now been extended and that will come into force tomorrow for four additional countries in the region.

But there will also be more stringent measures on the border. Now, people coming into the UK already have to take a PCR test, but they will now be required to do so within the first two days of arriving in the country and will be required to self-isolate until they receive a negative test.

And those that do receive a positive test will not have the -- all their contacts reached, there'll be the contact tracing process that we've seen in previous months, but they will also be required to isolate for 10 days. So there are some tougher measures coming into force.

We also heard from the Chief Scientific Adviser, and the Chief Medical Officer calling on people to be more vigilant in terms of adhering to COVID restrictions, encouraging people to wear face masks in shops and on public transport, and also to not gathering crowded indoor places.

But this will be a serious concern as we move into the winter months around the Christmas and holiday period where we will expect people to be gathering in those groups.

But there is a concern as to the pressure that this will put on the healthcare sector. Paula?

REID: Absolutely. And David, South Africa got the word out pretty quickly that they had found this concerning new variant that they're being met with travel bans. Some officials have suggested that the country is being punished for doing the right thing. What are they saying there?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, that exactly what they're saying, Paula. They're saying in at least a recent statement that they're being punished for "excellent science."

And South Africa does have a very advanced genomic surveillance system in place and was able to trace and figure out this variant very early on it seems in its spread, though, that is still unclear 100 percent.

There will be some -- there will be some I don't want to say eye- rolling but some size, perhaps at the "deep gratitude" that Boris Johnson said he showed for the scientists here because soon after this announcement came up, it was this -- the UK was the first country to slap these bans on Southern Africa and then that has been really extended across the globe.

And you know, the people watching the show might think well travel bans that make sense. This is something we don't know much about. It's a variant that could be more transmissible.

Yes, on the surface, it does kind of make sense. But public health officials I've been speaking to over the last many months have said travel bans when they come into place they aren't strict enough perhaps.

And the nature of this virus means that variants will get through and it's only just a matter of time so they question whether it's worth the punitive effect it has on economies and trade as well as inter- country relationships.

[13:05:00]

MCKENZIE: They do say that things that the UK is going to do now increase contact tracing and testing, is a smart way to deal with potentially dangerous variants.

And so much at this point is unknown, at least in the last few days speaking to doctors working on hospitals around this province where I'm sitting, which is the worst-hit province, there isn't any indication yet of a rush on the hospitals with severe patients. But again, this is early days so we frankly don't know.

REID: Well, a good sign, no rush with severe patients at this time, but as you said, at this point, we simply don't know.

Now, Arlette, you are with the President who's been monitoring this threat, but U.S. officials have said it could be weeks before they know more about this variant. So what are they doing in the meantime?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, President Biden yesterday acknowledged that there is still so much that needs to be learned about this new Omicron variant and officials are saying it can be several days, several weeks before they really understand the full impact of this strain of the Coronavirus.

The officials have been working with health officials in other countries to try to gather more information as people are trying to learn what exactly this variant holds whether it will call -- cause severe illness or potentially evade vaccines. But the President described his approach in implementing those new travel restrictions as a cautious one. They, of course, want to be measured with how they are responding to this but trying to be careful about what is known and unknown here as well.

And Dr. Anthony Fauci this morning talked about a bit of what they do know about this variant and also said it's a possibility it could already be here in the United States. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: So 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.

PETER ALEXANDER, CO-ANCHOR, NBC NEWS: Do you believe that Omicron is already here in the U.S. likely?

FAUCI: You know, I would not be surprised if it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, while they're waiting for more information about this variant, President Biden and his team are urging and stressing the need for vaccinations and also those booster shots for Americans to try to protect themselves against the Coronavirus and any other variants that may be coming the United States way.

But bottom line here, this is an incredibly tricky subject for the administration, there will be questions about whether they may enact any further measures, similar to what you've seen with Boris Johnson announcing a bit earlier today, as they are trying to focus on learning more about this variant, but also curbing the spread of it if it does make its way to the United States.

REID: Well, Arlette, Nada, David, thank you so much for your excellent reporting and staying on top of this fast-moving story.

So let's talk a little bit more about this now. Joining me now is CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem, along with Syra Madad, Senior Director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program for New York City Health and Hospitals.

All right, Juliette, I want to start with you. We've seen what happens when we try to implement travel bans at the drop of a hat the chaos that ensues.

But this is a variant of a virus we don't know much about but health officials say it's concerning. So why wait until Monday? What's the thought process there?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, because implementation does matter. In terms of how you're going to do this, you have to notify airlines and airports, you have to notify -- the people who are traveling have to be able to sort of pivot. So there's going to be this lag time.

But you know what, where we are right now is in a world of certain lots of indefinite right now.

And I think the tension that you're seeing between the public health people and say a political decision by Boris Johnson or other countries, including this one is you know, a debate between finding facts, which is always good and buying time.

And I think I'm a little bit more forgiving at the stage now that there's just been wave after wave that whatever we can do to buy time until we determine the extent of the transmissibility, but as importantly to the -- to the layperson, to the mom and the dad and others who are just wondering, is this the variant that is going to bypass the vaccination, right?

And that seems to me to be from the non-public health perspective, the sort of question that needs to be answered.

So we're just seeing the tensions between weighing different priorities at the stage. I don't think anyone's right or wrong, but buying time is basically one of the best tools that we have to stop a pandemic at this stage.

REID: And, Syra, I want you to listen to something we heard earlier today from Dr. Ashish Jha on the usefulness of travel bans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: You know, the evidence on travel bans is pretty straightforward, which is they help a little not a lot.

So I think this travel ban will slow spread into America probably by a week or 10 days. I'm worried about the signal it sends.

We have no idea if this variant even started in South Africa. We know that they identified it because they have a fabulous testing infrastructure that finds it.

So we don't want to create incentives against people reporting information. At most, I think it'll help on the margins. Matt, give us a few more days to prepare for what is coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:00]

REID: And Sarah, we know that CDC researchers have found evidence that COVID-19 was in the U.S. in September 2019, weeks earlier than previously thought and even before Wuhan, China had publicly identified any cases. So what are your thoughts on the effectiveness of travel bans? SYRA MADAD, SENIOR DIRECTOR, SYSTEM-WIDE SPECIAL PATHOGENS PROGRAM, NEW YORK CITY HEALTH AND HOSPITALS: Well, I think just speaking, it's not an evidence-based strategies, more of a political movement, as Dr. Jha mentioned, is really to see if we can slow the spread.

But I think, you know, knowing that there's probably already community transmission happening with this particular variant is something that we should assume and obviously prepare for and then make sure we have a good response along with it.

And I do agree with them, it's one of those double-edged swords, you're punishing those that are, you know, kind of doing transparency and data sharing, at the same time, you want to see what you can do to limit the spread.

But I do think there's some good news in this. The good news is first, as we talk about this variant, we can still detect it in our diagnostic and also, through PCR testing, we were able to find out about this variant earlier on compared to Delta where it was already spreading, you know, throughout the world.

And then as we look at vaccine effectiveness, I do think that you know, our vaccines will, you know, hold up, but obviously too early to tell.

But we've seen us with Delta and a couple of other variants where they may bring it down a couple of notches and vaccine effectiveness, but I don't think this is going to be the sky is falling down and we need to you know, have newer vaccines.

REID: Well, I certainly hope you're right.

KAYYEM: Can in pick up on that?

REID: Yes, please do.

KAYYEM: Can I pick up on that? I think it's such an important part to hear -- something important to hear from the medical community because I think for those of us who are just sort of, you know, we interpret health intelligence, right, and then we tell people what to do in terms of how to respond in a crisis.

What's really important is that while transmissibility can be you know, bad and fast, the -- what matters the most is can this virus or this variant escape the vaccine.

And I think that's really important to repeat, the transmissibility and escape are different things. And I think that's -- in terms of how we live our lives, how we go through recovery, how we pivot over not just this variant, but the variants to come we have this idea in our head, that sort of this pandemic is going to end.

And I think what we have to just get more comfortable with is there's going to be ratchet ups and ratchet downs and you know, travel bans and masking requirements in certain areas.

And the only thing we know that works from the non-medical perspective, you know, is vaccine, vaccine, vaccine.

So more mandates, more put the pressure on, more vaccines to other countries, and then we begin to solve the long term problem.

REID: And Juliette, to that point, we know Delta and United Airlines are the only U.S. carriers with direct flights to Southern Africa, and neither is cutting flights in light of the new restrictions. So from a national security standpoint, what is -- what is your take on that?

KAYYEM: So I think what's going to end up happening is those passengers will then be put in quarantine, the exact content -- context of this travel ban is not -- is not known now.

So people -- but we -- there's this belief that what happened over the last 18 months is people weren't traveling -- lots of people were not traveling.

But a lot of people who are traveling to countries like Australia, or in Asia, were just willing to do a quarantine for a week or two weeks for the benefit of being with family or actually going back home. That's likely what we're going to see.

I view this travel ban as short-term until we figure out until the science, which is probably two or three weeks behind at this stage, figures out its transmissibility and whether it's vaccine-resistant.

If it's vaccine resistant, you know, then I do think yes, we are going to be back in a -- in a place we don't want to be and so we just buy time at this stage.

From the -- from the crisis management perspective, not being -- not being a doctor, I understand the arguments, but from the crisis management, you just got to extend the runway. That's all we have at this stage.

REID: Well, thank you so much Juliette, and Syra Madad, thank you. We really truly appreciate your expertise.

KAYYEM: Thanks.

REID: And still to come, the Omicron variant, adds to the already full plate of problems for President Biden, how the White House is handling this juggling act?

Plus, U.S. lawmakers define China by holding a meeting with officials in Taiwan. Reaction from Beijing, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:00]

REID: The Thanksgiving holiday is bringing a new wave of concerns for President Biden.

On Friday, the Dow tumbled more than 900 points, the worst single day of the year, driven by fears of a new COVID variant. And this comes as the Biden administration is struggling with rising inflation, supply chain issues, and tumbling poll numbers.

With me now to talk about all of this is David Swerdlick. He is the CNN Political Commentator and a Senior Staff Editor for The New York Times opinion. David, so good to see you, thanks so much for being with me today.

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, Paula, Happy Thanksgiving.

REID: Likewise. Now, of course, the President is restricting travel from South Africa and seven African countries due to concerns about this new COVID variant.

SWERDLICK: Right.

REID: In the last hour, we heard from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who addressed the UK about his concerns and the steps he's taking to stem the spread of this variant.

So we heard from President Biden yesterday, but does he need to take a similar approach, come out, and lay out his plan to respond?

SWERDLICK: Yes, Paula, I think the President does but I think it's OK if he waits until Monday. That sort of informal question and answer session with reporters on the street in Nantucket yesterday was good for the moment.

[13:20:00]

SWERDLICK: He will need to give a more thorough and more specific address as the week starts next week. But the important thing I think for the administration is that they made a decisive decision here.

They were a little woefully in the spring about mask guidance, that in the fall, there was some confusion about guidance around boosters, this time, at least on the politics, the administration got it right by making a decision early on, and deciding to act out of an abundance of caution.

I am, of course, not a doctor, I go with our CNN colleague, Dr. Leana Wen, who tweeted just a little while ago that she was saying, basically, look, this is an unfortunate step but it's an important step out of an abundance of caution.

REID: America just opened its doors. We just opened our doors after more than a year of travel lockdowns, and now potentially those lockdowns could be back in place.

So politically, how do you see the confidence and how the Biden administration is handling this pandemic, even over the past 48 hours?

I mean, how do you see this playing out politically? Some of our experts have even said a lot of these travel bans look, it's more about politics than it is about public health policy. SWERDLICK: Yes, I heard Dr. Jha in your last segment say that this only helps reduce spread, perhaps on the margins. But again, I think that on the politics, and in terms of leadership, this is the move that they have to make to act out of a bunch of -- an abundance of caution even if it only helps on the margins.

They have got to get the public's confidence that going into the winter season that they've got a handle on the Omicron variant and any uptick in cases that they see.

We have a situation where we're now getting close to 70 percent of age 12 enough vaccinated, they'd like it to get closer to 80 percent, maybe we'll get there.

Now the children five to 12 are getting vaccinated. But it took longer than the administration expected. They've done just about all they can do.

So now I think it's about making these decisions in a timely way and communicating clearly to the public, even if every move is not exactly what people want to do in terms of getting life back to sort of some form of normal.

REID: And well, they still don't know that much about this variant, the one thing we keep hearing from public health officials, from our elected leaders is that folks need to get vaccinated.

But as we've seen, despite vaccine mandates, a steady plea for Americans to get vaccinated --

SWERDLICK: Right.

REID: -- There's still a large swath of the American public who remain reluctant to get vaccinated. So at this point, it is there really anything left for the Biden administration to do to convince Americans to get the shot?

SWERDLICK: I think again, it's about inspiring that confidence in their decision-making going forward.

Yes, Paula, you do have that sort of, you're not the boss of me, contention out there that has kept the overall rates of vaccination down.

But the administration probably can't implement too many more mandates. They've mandated for federal employees, for the military. At this point, it's about showing that they've got a firm hand on what comes next.

And hopefully, again, both with children five to 12 getting vaccinated now, that sort of new, and also about just sort of showing people 12 and up that vaccines are working, that probably will get their numbers up to 80, and hopefully to 90 percent in terms of overall vaccinations in this country.

REID: Now, another big issue touching most U.S. households, the price of gas. This week, Biden also announced that he's releasing 50 million barrels of oil from the nation's Strategic Stockpile.

The move is supposed to address the lack of oil supply around the world and lower the price of gas, which is of course at a seven-year high.

What do you make of this move?

SWERDLICK: Sure.

REID: Because we hear mixed things from experts about whether this is the right step.

SWERDLICK: Yes. So I think it's fine that the President did this to show that he is being proactive about gas prices. But as many economists have said, this is sort of a drop in the bucket -- literal drop in the bucket or drop in the barrel.

The U.S. consumes millions of barrels of oil a day, this is 50 million barrels, I believe, it's not going to fundamentally change the oil supply and it's not probably going to put pressure on the oil- exporting countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to increase production if they don't want to or they don't see it in their interest to do so, so I think that it's fine to do it, but it's not going to solve the problem in the short term.

President Biden probably needs to find ways to put pressure on those oil-exporting countries that have nothing to do with releasing our own supply.

REID: And another kitchen table issue, holiday shopping season is underway.

SWERDLICK: Yes.

REID: We've got supply chain issues, rising prices, shoppers can certainly expect to pay more. So how concerned to the White House be about this troubling economic science?

SWERDLICK: So it's a real thing. I was actually in Long Beach visiting family the week before last and I could see those ships out there on the horizon waiting to be unloaded. It's -- it was quite a sight to see.

On the other hand, you know, they've got to deal with this supply chain issue and it's got to be an all hands to the pump sort of solution within the administration. But they, right now, at least in the short term, can rely on some good economic indicators.

[13:25:00]

SWERDLICK: Unemployment is below 5 percent, the stock market took kind of a beating on Wednesday, but overall it's been pretty steady during President Biden's first year.

So I think, again, this is an issue where the administration has to get their arms around one coherent policy, figure out what is going to happen both with inflation and how that's going to affect interest rates, and then also communicate to the American public what it wants to do over the next year, not just sort of, take this patchwork steps one at a time. Have a plan and communicate it.

REID: David, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SWERDLICK: Thanks, Paula.

REID: Another likely add to the President's long list of challenges, rising tensions with China, after five U.S. lawmakers meet with officials in Taiwan. That story, ahead

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:15]

REID: A group of U.S. lawmakers is defying warnings from China and meeting with government officials in Taiwan. It comes as tensions between Taiwan and China are rising to levels not seen in decades.

Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin said the side trip came after the group met with troops after Thanksgiving in South Korea.

CNN's Daniella Diaz is following developments for us.

Daniella, what has been China's reaction to this, quote, "side trip?"

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Paula, once the Chinese embassy found out they were taking this trip to Taiwan, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, tweeted she got a message from the Chinese embassy.

She said, "When news of our trip broke yesterday, my office received a blunt message from the Chinese embassy telling me to call off the trip. The auto industry's largest supplier of microchips is in Taiwan.

Supply chain issues are on the Biden agenda."

This is such a big deal, Paula, because Taiwan holds a position in the deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington.

Beijing views it's self-ruled as an inseparable part of its territory, even though the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

The news of this trip came a day after the Biden administration extended an invitation to Taiwan for its Summit for Democracy, which will take place next month, which the Chinese government dubbed a, quote, "mistake" that he did that.

This group of four Democrats and one lone Republican, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, of South Carolina. This group was led by the Mark Takano, the House Veteran Affairs chairman.

They felt it was important to visit Taiwan because of Taiwan's critical role as a global semiconductor supply chain. The bottom line is that Taiwan is in the middle of this fraught

relationship between Washington and Beijing. Beijing did not see this visit from these House lawmakers, the second visit in the last couple of weeks, as a welcome visit considering their relationship -- Paula?

REID: Daniella, thank you very much.

Joining me now is Balbina Hwang. She's a former senior adviser for the U.S. State Department on Asian and Pacific affairs and is a professor at Georgetown University.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Right now, is it important for U.S. lawmakers to be making these trip to Taiwan?

BALBINA HWANG, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT ON ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS & PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Whether or not it's important right now, I think it's important for U.S. lawmakers, those who represent their districts in the United States, certainly to meet with Taiwanese counter parts.

As was mentioned, Taiwan is frankly the global producer of semiconductor chips. This is a crucial issue in the global economy and is affecting every single American life.

This is in the interest of the United States and U.S. lawmakers have the right to visit Taiwan if they so choose.

REID: We know China has been doing military fly overs of Taiwan in recent weeks. Is there a danger here of an unintended conflict breaking out?

HWANG: This has always been the danger. We're reminded of the Taiwan missile crisis in the 1990s.

Look, if there's miscalculation, it would be one of China's own making.

Let's also be clear, number one, these are standard Chinese maneuvers. Secondly, I don't think the U.S. government representatives or

Americans for that matter necessarily have to bow down to what Chinese demands are.

It's very clear that China -- well, China is making demands not just on the United States, but on any other country in the world, does not recognize Taiwan. I don't think that's acceptable to most countries.

In fact, two weeks ago, the Europeans are clearly also proceeding with engaging with Taiwan in a manner that is actually historic. Even the Europeans are no longer willing to stay on the sidelines.

REID: The U.S. keeps trying to walk this fine line. They recognize the One China policy, but also maintain relationships with Taiwan. How long can the U.S. keep doing it this way?

[13:34:59]

HWANG: Well, I think it's really up to China to decide how long it wants to continue to have everything. In other words, demand what it wants from the world.

But also to participate in the global economy and to demand that it has a proper place among the global players and really be a global leader if it continues to behave in a manner that, frankly, most other countries in a global society simply won't accept.

I don't think it's really a matter that the United States and other countries have to play China's game. I think perhaps we ought to re- shift the entire debate.

REID: Speaking of China's game, earlier China downgraded its diplomatic relationships with Lithuania after Taiwan opened an email embassy there. What type of resistance are they meeting?

HWANG: This is the kind of pressure China has been putting on, essentially as its power has grown over the decades.

We know this blew up just last week with this tennis star on the global stage. Suddenly, this became one of the biggest international sports issues.

This is an issue that has been simmering for decades. We can now look at international crises around the world.

Right now, there's one going on in the Solomon Islands. It has to do with China's control and its attempt to try and control what other countries in the world and their relationships with Taiwan.

This battle among the citizens of the Solomon Islands is about their displeasure about the central government's decision a number of years ago to switch its diplomatic recognition to China.

This is very much China's attempt to pressure every country around the world to recognize it instead of Taiwan.

REID: Thank you so much. Truly appreciate it.

HWANG: Thank you.

REID: Be sure to join Fareed Zakaria for an in-depth look at China's leaders, Xi Jinping. "CHINA'S IRON FIST, XI JINPING AND THE STAKES FOR AMERICA" beings tomorrow at 9:00.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:59]

REID: Black Friday takes a violent turn at two shopping centers. Authorities say a shooter at a mall in Durham, North Carolina, injured three people and three others were hurt during the evacuation. One person was detained. In Tacoma, Washington, officials say one person was hospitalized with

serious injuries after a shooting. Police are still searching for a suspect and the motive is unclear at this time.

A Home Depot in California was also hit Friday. Police say the suspects made off with hammers, crow bars and other tools.

This is the latest in a brazen string of thefts targeting retail stores across the country.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now.

Polo, you hear this and I can't help but think about the people who work in these stores. You go to the stores and you're worried about shootings, COVID and mall violence.

What type of effects are these robberies having on workers and shoppers and the folks who work in these stores?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a great point, Paula. Many of these are these broad daylight smash-and-grabs that end up in scary moments for everyone.

It's not lost on investigators that what was stolen in Home Depot were many of the tools that these individuals are using for the smash-and- grabs.

Across the country, authorities are on a higher alert, increasing their numbers, especially in California and the San Francisco bay area where police are increasing their presence there.

To answer your question on whether it's having an impact on shoppers, really look at Fifth Avenue right now. There's no shortage of foot traffic. Stores are packed. It's the case across the country.

Then you also look at the numbers that are coming from some of the industry experts showing they're going to be roughly 158 million shoppers making some of those holiday buys by the time Cyber Monday comes around.

A majority of those are turning to in-person shopping experiences to get their goods. Why, you may ask? There's that lingering fear of supply chain shortages.

According to industry experts, there are a lot of shoppers out there, especially those who have saved during the pandemic.

They would like to spend, but they're also worried their gifts won't make it to their destinations in time. Instead, they're making their way out to some of the stores.

As we heard from the head of the National Retail Federation, he's confident that the big-box retailers have loaded up on inventory ahead of the holiday shopping season. That organization is confident they'll be able to have those goods that consumers are looking for. It's more of those small mom-and-pops that may get hit hard this

holiday season, those that are lower on the list of priorities when it comes to manufacturers that are providing the goods.

[13:44:59]

So it's certainly -- that's obviously why today is certainly in place here, where they're encouraging consumers to turn to small businesses.

Whether you head to your neighborhood store or Fifth Avenue, it's clear Americans will certainly be spending roughly $843 billion this holiday season. That's according to industry experts -- Paula?

REID: Polo, that's a fascinating report.

Thank you for that. Supply chain issues driving people out to shop this year despite the other issues they may face.

Thank you so much.

It may be a year away, but Republicans are already confident they will take back the House in the midterms. But how much of a role could redistricting, the redrawing of congressional maps, actually play? CNN breaks it down next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:14]

REID: Gerrymandering, when politicians manipulate congressional district boundaries to favor one party over another happens every 10 years in United States.

CNN's Chris Cillizza takes a closer look at how some stays are redrawing their maps this time around and what it means for the 2022 midterms.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER & CNN EDITOR-AT-LARGE: We are roughly halfway through the redistricting process. When we look at it nationally, it appears Republicans will make what we should expect to be some gains before voting even occurs.

The reason I say we should expect it is because Republicans control more state legislatures and more governors officers.

While not every state uses those people to draw the lines in each congressional district, the vast majority still do.

Let's look at a few states where each party has moved their partisan advantage.

In Illinois, one of the very few states where Democrats control the whole process. New York is the other big one. In Illinois, Democrats have pushed the envelope. The state is slated

to lose a seat population grew slower than the national average. They will lose a seat. Their delegation will shrink down.

As a result, Democrats have really tried to put Republicans in difficult places. Particularly, in down state Illinois. That's the place are lots of Republicans are going to be forced into tough choices of whether they run or they don't run or they run in other districts.

The map that Republicans drew is very aggressive and really trying to drive down democratic gains in the state. Barack Obama won the state yes but state is generally speaking but Republican state, including two wins for Donald Trump.

Already we have seen some impact from this map drawing. G.K. Butterfield who will is a democratic member of Congress said he's not running again because hi district went from safely democratic to a tossup. We'll see what other decisions get made there.

Two states to look at. Two big ones. One is Florida. This is state that Republicans control all the mechanisms of redistricting. We expect them to sure up the gains they made in south Florida in the 2020 election.

Make those districts a little more solid. Maybe go after seat like Charlie Crist. He's running for governor in the 13th district. Val Demmings is running for the Senate.

Then there's California. California is the largest delegation in the country. The largest state by population in the country and has not been all that competitive.

They have an independent redistricting commission. No politicians at all. They are not supposed to look at incumbency as a factor in drawing lines.

Why is that important? You draw the lines and put incumbents wherever you want. It doesn't mean we protect incumbents. We can get a bunch in a bunch of different places.

And that state, because it's in California, and there's so many congressional districts, is one other to watch.

This is a process most people don't pay much attention to. It's down the radar but it's a process that matters as we go forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Chris, thank you very much.

[13:53:40]

We're following breaking news out of the U.K. where there's now two confirmed case offense the new variant, Omicron. Live to London just ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:58:39]

REID: Two married bakers are serving up diversity and acceptance while honoring their own heritage. Today's "START SMALL, THINK BIG" sees what's in the mix at Third Culture Bakery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM BUTARBUTAR, CO-OWNER, THIRD CULTURE BAKERY: My name is Sam Butarbutar.

WENTER SHYU, CO-OWNER, THIRD CULTURE BAKERY: I'm Wenter Shyu. Our business is Third Culture Bakery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my favorite.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?

SHYU: Sam wanted to make pastries from his childhood and I wanted to use ingredients from my childhood in Taiwan. It's Sam's creation and that comes from a pastry that he made growing up with mom in Indonesia.

From two people, just us, and now to 26. And we started one oven and now we have a 3,000 square foot kitchen. We have one location in Berkeley and a cafe in denver. We just opened a store.

BUTARBUTAR: I came out do my parents. They just did not accept me for who I am.

When I first publicly shared that part of me, so many people came up to me and said I'm in the same boat. I'm glad you have created this bakery and this space so people know we're enough.

[13:59:56]

So many Asian gay kids and just gay kids in general that still are in a position that they're not accepted by their families.

SHYU: Third Culture Bakery was started by two men who fall in love.