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Worldwide Concern over New COVID-19 Variant Omicron; Several Countries Restricting Travel from Southern Africa; English Channel Tragedy; Inflation, Supply Fears Hang over Black Friday; Stephen Sondheim Dead at 91. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired November 27, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
A variant of concern: health officials around the world are working to learn more about the COVID Omicron variant.
Meanwhile, more countries are restricting flights from southern Africa.
Plus, what's being done to fight a rash of smash and grab robberies across the United States?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: As a new coronavirus variant captures the world's attention, 61 travelers from South Africa have tested positive for COVID in an airport in the Netherlands. Dutch Health officials authorities say those positive test results will be examined as soon as possible to see if they're potentially infected with the new Omicron variant.
The WHO is calling it a variant of concern, as they put it. It was first identified in South Africa and has now been detected around the world, including Israel, Hong Kong and Belgium.
We don't yet know whether it's more deadly or whether it can blunt vaccine efficacy or natural immunity. And that has governments scrambling to contain a present threat. President Joe Biden said his administration is keeping a close eye on developments.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I decided that we're going to be cautious. We don't know a lot about the variant except that it is a great concern, and it seems that it spreads rapidly. And I've spent about a half hour this morning with my COVID team, led by Dr. Fauci. So that was the decision that we made.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. will also be restricting travel from a number of southern African countries, beginning Monday. Australia, Canada, Brazil, much of Europe and several countries in Asia are doing much the same. CNN has the story covered around the world.
Will Ripley is joining us from Hong Kong, where at least two cases of the new variant have been confirmed. CNN producer Nada Bashir is in London.
But first, David McKenzie is in Johannesburg, South Africa, with how the global reaction is playing there.
David, southern Africa is dealing with the crisis on two fronts, the new variant itself and the resulting travel ban.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And I think a lot of scientists in South Africa are waking up today and government officials and feeling that they've been punished because they're being transparent about this new variant that was discovered in South Africa but unclear where it originated from.
And you have that disturbing news of some 600 passengers flying into Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, 61 of testing positive for COVID-19, though unclear which variant they had.
This is really overnight, several countries, more countries banning South Africa and other regional countries from travel. It is a swift response to a worrying situation.
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MCKENZIE (voice-over): In a world fatigued by waves of COVID-19, now renewed fear. In South Africa, scientists identifying a troubling new variant of the virus that is dominating infections here.
DR. JOE PHAAHLA, SOUTH AFRICAN HEALTH MINISTER: A variant of serious concern which is now driving this spike in numbers.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): More than 30 mutations, say scientists, in the spike protein alone. It's a worrying sign. Scientists are working in labs like this one in South Africa, scrambling to confirm if the variant evades immunity from previous infections or, crucially, if it weakens vaccine efficacy. Definitive answers could take weeks.
SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: We think it may be a more transmissible virus and it may have some immune escape. Now we don't know that for sure but that's what it looks like.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The European Commission has today proposed to member states to activate the emergency brake on travel from countries in southern Africa.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): But even without clear answers, the world is shutting its doors. Countries all across the globe, rapidly banning travelers from parts of Africa, they say to curb the spread of the variant. Now thousands are likely stranded.
In Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, hundreds of passengers from South Africa forced to sit on the tarmac for hours after landing.
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MCKENZIE (voice-over): Then crowding in a COVID testing site after the Netherlands bands traveled from South Africa.
The International Air Transport Association saying, "Restrictions are not a long-term solution."
They've already lost billions to the pandemic.
And anger in South Africa, where officials called the bans "draconian knee-jerk measures."
RICHARD LESSELLS, INFECTIOUS DISEASES SPECIALIST, UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL: What I found so disgusting and really, really distressing, actually from here was not just the travel ban being implemented by the U.K. and Europe.
But that was the only reaction or the strongest reaction. And there was no word of the support that they're going to offer to African countries to help us control the pandemic
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Countries in Africa, now Israel, Hong Kong and Belgium have so far confirmed cases of the variant.
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MCKENZIE: And, of course, now the Netherlands would have confirmed cases on their shores.
While the travel bans make a lot of sense to a lot of people and certainly politicians, here at least is what scientists have been telling me.
They say, to use the cliche the horse has already bolted, there has been several weeks possibly if not longer of this variant circulating before it has been picked up, even though it was announced as quickly as scientists could do it.
And that means it's likely to be all over the place. And while it might slow slightly, this variant, at least these scientists say that it is too late to stop it. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, David McKenzie, thanks so much.
I want to turn now to CNN producer Nada Bashir in London. In the middle of the existing and growing surge of the Delta variant
in Europe, now something new to contend with. So let's start on the latest on those cases on that flight in the Netherlands.
NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely, Kim. This is a major concern now. Europe in the last week several countries have reported record- breaking figures in daily cases being recorded.
And now this variant has turned into question whether or not the governments of Europe will be able to keep control over this pandemic. And you heard there in David's reporting there has been some criticism coming from the WHO over that decision to impose travel restrictions.
They called it a hasty decision. But really, what we've heard from European leaders is a need to act fast. Speaking yesterday, the U.K. health secretary Sajid Javid explained the U.K.'s decision on restricting those flights on the southern African reason and saying if any lessons have been learned from this pandemic, it is the need to act early, at the earliest stage possible.
And we've seen that reflected in the decision taken by the European Union, the collective decision now to impose travel restrictions. And that's all part of concerns over this potential spread of this variant.
Yesterday, we had the first confirmed case of this variant reported in Europe in Belgium. So there are, of course, concerns that this will now spread across the continent. And we've seen this happen before.
Last winter, the spread of the Alpha variant, which put health care sectors under immense pressure over the winter months and, of course, the Delta variant, which is highly transmissible and now questions remain as to how transmissible this variant will be and its impact on vaccine efficacy.
European leaders are pushing to get this under control. There is a real sense of urgency now as with the rising number of cases. But of course, as we move into winter months, there will be greater emphasis on making sure that hospitals aren't put under the same amount of pressure we saw last winter.
But if this does continue to spread and if the fears that are being expressed by health experts, that this could spiral out of control, do come true, then there is a serious worry there for European leaders. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Nada Bashir, thanks so much.
I want to go now to CNN's Will Ripley, who is in Hong Kong.
You're quarantining in the same hotel where Hong Kong's first two cases were discovered?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that was a surprise, to check in and find out there were a cluster of cases here on the fifth floor. A man from South Africa in his 30s and within a week another traveler in the opposite room tested positive as well, a man in his 60s.
So health authorities are puzzled to try to figure out how the virus jumped to another room in the same hotel.
Is it going through the air ventilation system?
They've notified us that we need to rent air purifiers for the room if we want to exercise. The also wondered about the mask the South African man was wearing.
But of course, the unknown is whether this virus is indeed more contagious. It was detected in the hallway between the two rooms. And we are allowed to open our doors -- of course, we have to put on masks and you're supposed to change that mask every single time.
But when you put out the trash or collect your food, you have to open up the door.
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RIPLEY: So I stuck my arm of the door and took some pictures to show you how densely packed this hotel is. Every plastic covered chair, somebody is in a room there. And therefore, you have a lot of people in a relatively close space.
And if there is a concern about air ventilation or there is not enough air filters, that could potentially be problematic. But this is going to put Hong Kong's very strict quarantine system to the test.
This new variant, if this is it is potentially more contagious, because Hong Kong already has one of the strictest quarantines in the world. I'm coming from an island that's considered to be low-risk. That's Taiwan.
Most people traveling in, especially if they're not fully vaccinated, have a 21-day quarantine and people down on the fifth floor in the adjacent six rooms in either directions from these positive cases, after they complete their quarantine here at the hotel, they then have to go to a government facility for an additional 14-day isolation period.
So the Hong Kong government not taking any chances here, hoping to prevent some sort of an outbreak in this territory, which has a zero COVID strategy, just like Mainland China, which, of course, is very determined to get their own local cases under control and certainly don't want to let in any imported cases with just a matter of less than three months until the Beijing Olympics, when you have travelers coming from all over the world.
So certainly the timing of this potentially new, more contagious variant is causing a lot of dread for a lot of people here, people who are just wanting to live their lives and not go back to the lockdowns that we lived through so many times during the pandemic. But also with this major international sporting event coming up, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. Will Ripley, live in Hong Kong. Thanks so much. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider is a physician at the California Pacific Medical Center and founder of the EndWellProject.org and she joins us now.
Thank you for being here with us.
When the WHO says this is a, quote, "variant of concern," what does that mean?
DR. SHOSHANA UNGERLEIDER, CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER: Well, Kim, from what we know so for, Omicron is a troubling new variant. When we think about emerging variants, we ask three important questions.
One, is it more transmissible than the current dominant Delta variant?
Two, does it cause people to have more severe disease?
And, three, can it evade immune protection?
And based on what we know, which isn't very much at this point, it seems to be spreading quickly in South Africa and other neighboring countries, which is a sign that it may be highly contagious. We really don't know if it causes more severe illness. It's too early to tell.
And it was first identified in South Africa earlier this month and it's been reported in Europe and Asia. It has more than 50 mutations, the largest number of differences from the original virus that we've seen so far.
And it has more mutations than we've ever seen in key regions of the virus, which is a red flag that it could be more difficult for our immune systems to recognize if they we get exposed to it, even if we received a COVID-19 vaccine.
But we just don't know yet. The WHO is proceeding with caution, which is warranted. There is a lot of information still missing. And things will unfold over the next several days.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, so much we still don't know. Some variants, they didn't amount to much, the Lambda variant here. But some experts are saying that if this is as different and as challenging as they think this might be, it might create a whole new pandemic.
We may have to treat this like a whole new virus, I guess, depending on how it responds to the vaccine.
UNGERLEIDER: Well, Kim, you know, this is a rapidly evolving situation with lots of unanswered questions still. Scientists across the world are looking very closely at this new variant of the coronavirus. They're sharing the sequence of this, what they know with each other.
We know about the 50 mutations, which give us a prediction of the virus' behavior. For example, that it could possibly evade immune protection.
But in order to confirm this, scientists really need to test it in a lab, see if that's actually the case and then, across the world, genomic surveillance is underway to see where this new variant is cropping up.
And vaccine companies are now testing the ability of their vaccines to neutralize this variant. So we're going to know more about this in the coming days and weeks.
BRUNHUBER: So in response, we're now seeing countries rushing to establish these travel bans, you know, for southern African countries and so on. Some experts argue that travel bans aren't really the answer here.
Where do you stand on their effectiveness?
UNGERLEIDER: Well, Kim, what I can tell you is that, in the U.S., COVID cases are up around 30 percent. When thinking about travel bans, I'm not so sure if that's the right approach.
Compared to a month ago, we're way worse off here in the U.S. as we head into the holidays. What we do know is that our current vaccines work really well against all the other variants -- Alpha, Beta and Delta.
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UNGERLEIDER: And we know that getting a booster makes the vaccine work even better. So the main takeaway here for everyone is that if you haven't gotten boosted and you're six months out from Pfizer and Moderna or two months out from Johnson & Johnson, it's important to get that booster dose and encourage everybody that you know to do the same right away.
And now is the time to get the first shot. Everybody needs to show up with, I think, as much immune protection as they can for the holidays.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely, and I guess the lesson here, if we needed yet another lesson here, is basically it underlines the importance of having the whole world, not just the developed countries, the whole world being vaccinated here; otherwise, we're going to see more and more of these incubators of these different variants.
UNGERLEIDER: Kim, that's exactly right. We need to get as many vaccines in arms across the globe as fast as we can. And the U.S. has done more than any other country to help other nations actually.
We've already sent out more than 250 million doses of vaccine. We've committed to more than 1 billion more. And we need to do this, not only for humanitarian reasons but also for our own self-interests, right?
Until the world is fully vaccinated, we may have to contend with more problematic variants. BRUNHUBER: All right, as you said, so much we still don't know but
appreciate you sharing the information you do have, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, there, thank you for joining us. Appreciate it.
UNGERLEIDER: Thanks for having me.
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BRUNHUBER: The world springs into action in the face of that new COVID threat. We'll have much more coverage on what's being done about the Omicron variant.
And a disturbing warning from Ukraine's leader about an alleged plot to overthrow his government. We'll tell you who he says is behind the planned coup when we come back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's president is warning that a coup against him is planned to be carried out in a matter of days. Volodymyr Zelensky says he's received intelligence that says a group of Russians and Ukrainians are plotting the coup for the beginning of December.
It comes amid heightened tensions over the recent buildup of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border. CNN's Matthew Chance reports.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are disturbing allegations from the Ukrainian president, a serious and new threat posed by Russia against his government.
"We have information that will soon be a coup in our country," he announced in a roundtable discussion, with journalists. "It's in just a few days," he says, "on the 1st or 2nd of December."
The Kremlin denies any such plot. But it's a dramatic escalation in the war of words as Russia is accused of amassing forces, poised to invade, which the Kremlin also denies.
Now President Zelensky says he has intelligence, including an audio recording of Russians and Ukrainians discussing the plot against him. But no evidence has been yet made public.
He also suggested Ukraine's richest man, this powerful oligarch called Rinat Akhmetov, owner of several critical media outlets, may also be involved, something strenuously denied to CNN by Akhmetov himself.
"Information made public by Volodymyr Zelensky about attempts to draw me into some kind of coup is an absolute lie," Akhmetov said, in this written statement.
"As a Ukrainian citizen, the country's biggest investor, taxpayer and employer, I will defend a free Ukraine and do everything I can to prevent authoritarianism and censorship."
For years Ukraine has been facing enormous pressure from its powerful Russian neighbor, fighting a trench war with Russian-backed rebels in the country's east. It was the threat of holding back U.S. military aid that led to former president Trump's first impeachment.
Now U.S. officials say Russia is engaged in destabilizing activities inside Ukraine as well against the Zelensky government. It's one of the reasons the Ukrainian leader seems on edge, conscious he has enemies outside the country and within.
But there are also fears that he is using real concerns about Russia to crack down on his opponents, too -- Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. and its NATO allies will be discussing ways to deter Russia from further aggression against Ukraine next week. NATO's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg says the military buildup on the border is raising tensions and warns that Moscow must deescalate and show transparency or there will be consequences.
Here is what he told CNN on Friday.
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JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: If they, despite our clear message and the message from the whole international community, decides to violate international norms and rules and it once again use military force against Ukraine, then there will be costs. There will be consequences for Russia.
And there are different options that we can use. We saw, after 2014, when they invaded Crimea, and a part of Ukraine, since then, all NATO allies have imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia, economic financial sanctions, diplomatic reactions.
And also NATO has implemented the biggest reinforcement since the end of the Cold War. For the first time in our history, we have combated battle (ph) groups in the eastern part of the alliance.
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BRUNHUBER: Stoltenberg said NATO is actively monitoring Russia's military activities at the Ukrainian border.
The diplomatic spat between France and the U.K. over how to handle migrant crossings is escalating.
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BRUNHUBER: French President Emmanuel Macron has accused the British prime minister of not taking the situation seriously after Boris Johnson posted a letter he wrote to Macron on Twitter. CNN's Jim Bittermann joins me from Paris.
Despite all the accusations and finger pointing, the two countries need to come back to the table to solve this very real problem.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kim. The asylum seekers, the refugees are being used as kind of pawns in a political battle, back and forth between Great Britain and France.
And Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson have had a number of issues over this past few months here, including the submarine deal and the fishing rights and that sort of thing.
And this is another issue in which they've crossed swords and it's led to pretty bitter reactions on both sides. I'll give you an example of what President Macron had to say. Apparently, he was furious when this letter was published. Here is what he said.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): I am surprised at the methods, when they are not serious. We do not communicate between one leader, to another, on these issues by tweeting and writing letters and making them public. We are not whistleblowers. Come on, come on.
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BITTERMANN: And so that kind of rhetoric you rarely hear in these kinds of diplomatic channels. It's amazing to hear President Macron using those kinds of words in a public forum like he was yesterday.
So we're going to have to, I think, see some kind of positive attitudes here on both sides in order to get things going on the refugee issue. There is not a lot of things that they can do. They're going to have to do a large amount of discussion.
And the French felt -- and this was according to the government spokesperson yesterday -- that Boris Johnson was being two-faced, basically saying one thing in a television conversation two days ago and that he was writing another thing in his letter and the two did not correspond.
One of the suggestions here by Sir Peter Ricketts, one of the former ambassadors to France from the U.K., he said, why don't they just come up with a joint statement at the end of these phone conversations so that the people will be able to say that that's really what was discussed? -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: OK, so the U.K. won't be there at the table this time and, noontime, that meeting with the ministers from other European countries will still be going ahead.
So what kind of options are you expecting them to discuss? BITTERMANN: Well, it's really important that the U.K. be there. But if they're not going to be there, the kind of things they can talk about are the smuggling networks, promoting these kinds of cross-channel -- the kind of cross-channel refugee flights that we have seen.
And that they have got to, I think, come up with some ways to combat the smuggling. One of the things that's come out of this tragedy from the other day was that the boat, the rubber raft that was used, was purchased in Germany.
And so they've got, in this conference that is supposed to take place tomorrow, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the European Commission.
And they're basically going to be talking about ways to break up these smuggling networks and to capture the smugglers, who are tempting the refugees to make these crossings with all sorts of promises about how easy it is and you're just crossing a lake and the rest of it.
The English Channel is not a lake. It's a very dangerous place and the refugees are being taken for a ride by some of these smugglers. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, with deadly consequences, sometimes. Jim Bittermann in Paris. Thanks so much.
The U.S. president closes the door on travelers from southern Africa. It's part of Joe Biden's plan to keep America safe from the new coronavirus variant.
And 'tis the season for holiday shopping in the U.S. But not everyone is interested in buying. Ahead, a string of brazen flash mob robberies has put some high-end retailers and their customers on edge. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
The new coronavirus variant is grabbing the world's attention. The WHO is calling the Omicron variant a variant of concern. It was first identified in South Africa and has now been found in several other countries in the region.
But cases have been confirmed outside the continent, including Israel, Hong Kong and Belgium. We don't yet know whether it's any more deadly or whether it can blunt vaccine efficacy or natural immunity.
And that has governments scrambling to contain a potential threat, limiting travel from southern Africa. And the United States is among the nations restricting travel. Jeff Zeleny has more on the new measures that go in effect on Monday.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Biden joining leaders from across the world in imposing travel restriction on flights coming from South Africa and seven other countries in the region the wake of what experts are saying is a steep concern about this new variant spreading of the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization calls it a deep concern and scientists simply are wondering how lethal this is.
And can it spread and be more contagious than other strains of the coronavirus?
They simply do not know this yet. But the president on Friday, as he vacations on Nantucket Island off the coast of Massachusetts, imposing this travel restriction. He also used it as an opportunity to urge Americans to get vaccinated.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every American who's not been vaccinated should be responsible and be vaccinated from age 5 years and up, number one.
Number two, everyone eligible for the booster should get the booster shot immediately upon being eligible. That is a minimum that everyone should be doing. And we always talk about whether this is about freedom and I think it's a patriotic responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: The president taking a brief time-out out of his Thanksgiving vacation to meet with his COVID-19 team in a virtual call, including Dr. Anthony Fauci. There is simply not information, as the president said.
But out of an abundance of caution, they are imposing travel restrictions to begin on Monday on flights to the U.S. -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Nantucket, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: That travel ban doesn't apply to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. And flights will continue to fly at least for now. Delta Air Lines says it has no plans to adjust its service out of South Africa and neither does United.
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BRUNHUBER: An airline group says it has many unanswered questions about the new measures.
And sweeping travel restrictions are going into effect in Israel. Its prime minister says the nation is now on the verge of a state of emergency after confirming its first Omicron case. Hadas Gold reports.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Israeli officials, acting quickly, after one confirmed case, three suspected cases of the new variant were discovered. The confirmed case, returning to Israel from Malawi the variant, detected, because every person who lands in Tel Aviv must get a PCR test, before leaving the airport.
Health officials saying, so, far people with suspected cases are vaccinated and their symptoms, thus far, are mild. Although, it is a very small sample size.
Now the Israeli government, laying down sweeping new travel restrictions, essentially, banning travel from most of Africa save some northern countries. Israelis returning to Israel will be required to enter full quarantine, regardless of their vaccination status.
Anyone recently returning from Africa is now being contacted for testing and being told to enter quarantine as a precaution. Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, saying they are preparing for the worst.
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NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This new B.1.1.529 variant is concerning and has the potential to be very dangerous. We are raising a red flag. We understand that we are on the verge of a state of emergency. We have been working together with other world leaders and now's the time to act fast, early, hard and strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: The prime minister adding that Israel's government had recently carried out a national drill to prepare for the emergence of a new and dangerous variant. The main lesson learned?
The need to act immediately, to tamp down on any new variants -- Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The Omicron variant is rattling global markets, sending stocks tumbling Friday. Wall Street fell sharply, with the Dow suffering its worst day in over a year. And the price of oil followed the slide. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, and U.S. oil plunging 13 percent. Richard Quest has more on what's behind the drop.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Markets love certainty and they have just been given an enormous dose of the opposite, great worries about what is likely to happen next with the Omicron variant.
The market fall started in Asia and went rapidly through Europe and into the United States. To be fair, it was a shortened trading session, the day after Thanksgiving. And it was thin markets. So volatility was to be expected.
But that shouldn't deny the underlying concern that there is.
Will there need to be more restrictions, more lockdowns, more measures as a result of Omicron, which could stifle the recoveries underway?
So far, travel restrictions from various African countries have been put into place, even though the WHO says that that is counterproductive. But it is easy to see why Western politicians are more concerned with appearing to do the right thing and shut the door rather than whether it will actually be effective -- Richard Quest, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: They're in and out in a flash and they leave with armloads of expensive merchandise. How a series of smash-and-grab robberies have retailers and customers on edge, next here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The day after Thanksgiving brings a different kind of holiday, Black Friday, the day traditionally signifies the kickoff to the holiday shopping season and this was the scene in Minnesota on Friday.
Sales were up dramatically. Clothing led the way with an 86 percent increase over last year. But with supply chain bottlenecks and fears of inflation, shoppers might find higher costs and some empty shelves. Alison Kosik has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Despite the fact that we're paying more for almost everything, consumers are shopping like crazy.
The National Retail Federation is expecting this holiday season to see spending break records. Consumers are expected to spend anywhere between $843 billion to $859 billion by the time this holiday shopping season is over. Black Friday expected to see 108 million people shop, with 60 percent of those shopping in stores.
Why?
Unlike previous years, where online shopping was king, now people want to go into stores and actually buy their products, because they don't think that those products purchased online will actually arrive on time. Retailers have been plagued by supply chain issues, meaning that the
hiccups in the supply chain were making it really difficult for retailers to stock up on inventories.
And it really depended on which retailers. The big box retailers, like Walmart, Target, Costco and Macy's, got creative and were able to stock up on their inventory.
One of the creative ways they did this?
They went ahead and chartered private cargo ships just to move their merchandise across the globe. I spoke with the Macy's CEO.
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JEFFREY GENNETTE, CEO, MACY'S INC.: We moved up ship dates by 30 days to ensure that we would have it here for the holiday. That's really helping us get all of our stock into our warehouses and our stores. So across all of our gift categories, we're well positioned this holiday season.
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KOSIK: One downside to all this high demand and low supply?
Fewer incentives by retailers to discount their products -- Alison Kosik, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: While some stores are celebrating their full shelves and happy shoppers, others are facing a new and dangerous problem. Over the past few weeks, some high-end retailers have seen an uptick in robberies by organized gangs of thieves. Brian Todd reports.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the left, thieves violently hack away at a jewelry counter as glass case in San Francisco. On the right, several perpetrators ransack a Louis Vuitton store outside Chicago. Authorities say they made away with $100,000 worth of handbags and other merchandise.
At this Nordstrom store in Canoga Park near L.A. on Wednesday, at least five people went in and did more than steal valuable merchandise.
DEPUTY CHIEF ALAN HAMILTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE: A number of suspects entered the door here behind me and took several high-end purses.
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HAMILTON: Unfortunately, we do have a security guard here that was working for the store, working for Nordstrom that was attacked by the suspects.
TODD: CNN affiliate KABC reports at least one of those suspects was wearing an orange wig.
The same day at an Apple Store in Santa Rosa, California, north of San Francisco, at least four people stole $20,000 worth of merchandise in what police say was a brazen daytime burglary in front of customers and staff.
Police said those suspects were between 14 and 18 years of age. This is all part of a wave of so-called smash-and-grab robberies at high- end stores in recent days in California and Illinois, hits that were disturbing for their apparent level of coordination, the number of people involved.
BRETT BARRETTE, MANAGER, P.F. CHANG'S, WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA: I probably saw 50 to 80 people in like ski masks, crowbars. They were looting the Nordstrom right here.
TODD: At least three of these robberies occurred at Nordstrom stores near Los Angeles and San Francisco. Customers are terrified.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very disturbing because now, I'm reluctant to come to Nordstrom or even the mall for that matter to come and make my purchases.
TODD: San Francisco's police chief says his department has made some arrests and recovered millions of in stolen property. Asked by CNN who's carrying out these burglaries, he said he believes it ranges from common thieves at the lower end to sophisticated organized groups at the top.
CHIEF WILLIAM SCHOTT, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE: There has to be a degree of organization in that. You know, we don't -- there's no way in my mind that we can have a situation where 20, up to 80 people can invade a store -- a series of stores and there'd not be some communications and some organization.
TODD: Law enforcement analysts tell us some of these could be copycat burglaries. They say these kinds of hits are tough to guard against. Security and police deployments are being ramped up at malls across the country during the busy holiday shopping season.
One analyst says customers can also help.
TERRANCE GAINER, FORMER U.S. CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF: They should always be sensitive to their surroundings. If it goes down while you are in the store or nearby, stay out of the way. If you are in a position to take a photo, that would be helpful to police or just observe what you are doing.
TODD: We reached out to Nordstrom's to ask about enhanced security measures to guard against these robberies, whether there is a possibility of an inside job with some of these hits. They didn't get back to us.
Analysts say one thing law enforcement is likely doing is monitoring social media for signs of possible coordination and signs of anyone bragging about these burglaries -- Brian Todd, CNN, Bethesda, Maryland.
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BRUNHUBER: When Stephen Sondheim wrote for the Broadway stage, it was much more than "A Little Night Music." Just ahead, a giant of the theater has finally taken a final bow. We'll remember Stephen Sondheim.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The biting yet inspiring song, "America," from "West Side Story."
Stephen Sondheim broke through on Broadway with his lyrics for the classic musical. Now we've learned that Sondheim has died at 91 at his home in Connecticut; 64 years after that first success, Sondheim is recognized as one of the greatest composers and lyricists in the history of American theater. Stephanie Elam looks back at his extraordinary career.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stephen Sondheim was one of musical theater's most prolific and successful writers, winning eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize for drama and in 2015, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Sondheim was born on March 22nd, 1930, in New York City. His parents divorced in 1942 and he moved to Pennsylvania with his mother.
In Pennsylvania, he became friends with James Hammerstein, the son of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein. Throughout his teen years, his relationship with his mother deteriorated and eventually the two became estranged.
But Oscar Hammerstein was a constant figure, encouraging Sondheim's musical talents throughout high school and college.
STEPHEN SONDHEIM, BROADWAY COMPOSER: If it hadn't been for the Hammersteins, I really don't know where I would be, if I would even be alive.
ELAM: Sondheim's big break came when he wrote the lyrics for the Broadway show "West Side Story" in 1957.
Then in 1962, he expended his repertoire and for the first time, he wrote the lyrics and composed the music for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." In 1970, Sondheim began a collaboration with theater producer Hal
Prince that lasted more than a decade. Their 1973 play, "A Little Night Music," was composed mostly in waltz time and became one of their biggest commercial successes. It featured the hit "Send in the Clowns," one of Sondheim's best-known songs.
In 1979, Sondheim wrote what was probably Broadway's first musical thriller, "Sweeney Todd," the story of an English barber and serial killer.
SONDHEIM: What is great about the theater is the living organism, whereas movies and television are as if in amber. It is not that they are dead, but they are only alive in one shape, form and tone. Every time you see a movie, they are giving the same performance as they did the last time you saw them. Not true of a show.
ELAM: Inspiration was everywhere for Sondheim. And in 1984, moved by a famous painting by George Seurat, he penned the lyrics for "Sunday in the Park with George."
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ELAM (voice-over): For that inventive stagecraft, he won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
In 1987, he wrote the Broadway hit "Into the Woods," based on the fables of the Brothers Grimm. Late in Sondheim's career, Lin-Manuel Miranda approached him with something he was working on, a musical then called "The Hamilton Mixtape." Sondheim mentored Miranda just as Hammerstein had done for him.
From waltzes to rap, inspired by everything from serial killers to fairy tales, Sondheim's impact on American musical theater spanned decades and created some of the world's most popular musicals.
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BRUNHUBER: That was Stephanie Elam reporting there.
This holiday season is extra special for a Missouri man, who spent the past four decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one, happy holidays.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Kevin Strickland was the Kansas City mayor's special guest at this year's Christmas tree lighting. His conviction was dismissed on Tuesday after he served 43 years in prison.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the 62-year-old start a new life. More than $1 million has been raised so far. Kevin Strickland has always maintained his innocence.
That wraps up CNN for this hour. I'm Kim Brunhuber. CNN "NEW DAY WEEKEND" is next.
