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Experts Encouraged by Some Early Indicators on New COVID Variant; Chief Justice at Epicenter of Supreme Court Case; 11-Year-Old Victim on Ventilator Fighting for her Life after Waukesha, Wisconsin Tragedy. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 28, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:28]

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

Now, as the number of countries confirming cases of the new omicron variant climb, scientists are scrambling to learn what that could mean in the weeks and months to come. Some fear another devastating blow in the course of this pandemic, but others believe that the early indications aren't as concerning as they might appear, and it is not time to panic just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER F.D.A. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FOR MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS: Yes, not right now. The three critical questions right now is first, is this more virulent? So to your question, is this making people more ill? There is no indication that it is, and in fact, there are some anecdotal information off of physicians in South Africa that this could be causing mild illness.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think there's good reasons to think it will probably be okay, but we need to know the real answers to that and that's going to take two or three weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: With me now, Nada Bashir in London, David McKenzie in Johannesburg, Joe Jones at the White House, and Nick Valencia at the Atlanta Airport.

All right, Nada, I want to start with you. We know countries in Europe are already confirming they have cases of this new variant. But the real consensus is that we just won't know what we're dealing with until a few weeks from now. So, what is the response in Europe right now?

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely. Paula, we are seeing that sort of sense that there is some time needed before we really know the full details about this new variant, but as we see more cases being confirmed in Europe, and here in the U.K., we've had the third case confirmed here today, and of course a third case in Germany, amongst other countries across Europe, there is a sense of urgency there.

The European Union countries and the U.K. really fell under pressure with previous variants, the alpha variant, with the delta variant. And as we move into winter, there is a concern that the healthcare sector and hospitals will be put under immense pressure. But as we just heard, there are still questions as to how virulent this new variant will be, whether or not it is more transmissible, and of course, its impact on vaccine efficacy.

But we heard today from the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, saying that, although there is a sense of urgency right now, we do need that time to really look into this new variant. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: We are now in a race against time. Why that? Because we know not all about this variant, but it is a variant of concern, and the scientists and manufacturer need two to three weeks to have a full picture about the quality of the mutations of this omicron variant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, while there is still time needed to really get that full picture as von der Leyen mentioned, there is still a sense of urgency in the European Union and in the U.K., and we have seen measures come into force to really stem the spread of this variant. The most prominent, of course, are those travel restrictions, the U.K. and European Union, both implementing travel restrictions on Southern African nations expanding those today.

And there are some tougher measures coming on the borders here in the U.K. The U.K. has called for PCR tests to be taken by Day 2 of arrival and of course, a quarantine there until those test results are received, as well as mandatory face coverings in shops and on public transport.

Really, those travel restrictions are the key right now. There is a sense that they want to stop the spread from the beginning, and we heard from the Health Secretary in the U.K. just a few days ago saying that there really needs to be an emphasis on taking action at the earliest stage possible, although that has drawn backlash from countries in the Southern African region, and indeed the W.H.O., which has warned against hasty travel restrictions -- Paula.

REID: And David, the South African President gave a public address earlier as you reported, some people have suggested in the country that they're not exactly feeling the gratitude for identifying this, instead feeling a little bit like they've been punished. So, what's his message today?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, you know, Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa is generally quite a diplomatic leader. He doesn't call people out by name. That was very different. Just a short time ago, in addressing the

nation here in South Africa, calling out the countries one by one, by name, including the United States saying that these travel restrictions and bans are unfair and have very little scientific basis. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: Now, these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our Southern African sister countries. The prohibition of travel is not informed by science nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:10]

MCKENZIE: He said that, in fact, from his point of view that these bans only will hurt the economies, in fact, to devastate the economies in this region, and help -- won't help stop the spread of this variant in any meaningful way. That reflects, as Nada was saying, the W.H.O., which just a few hours ago put out a statement from the head of the W.H.O. in Africa, saying there would be only a limited impact because in layman's terms, the horse has already bolted.

Just because we know that the virus is present, the variant is present here in South Africa, because of strong surveillance, where it has been confirmed doesn't reflect where it is, of course, and it could be all over the continent, and likely in Europe much more extensively than it is being confirmed right now.

But despite the calls from South Africa, countries included keep being added to the list, including Morocco, Angola, and just a few minutes ago, Rwanda in East Africa announcing they are not necessarily going to feel African solidarity, immediately banning citizens from this region going there -- Paula.

REID: Well, Joe, President Biden arrived back at the White House a short time ago. He is getting briefed on the new variant sometime today. We did hear from him very briefly a short time ago, but we see other world leaders giving addresses. Do we expect to hear from the President today?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think only the President knows right now, Paula. What I can tell you is the President on his way back here, from his long weekend in Nantucket stopped at Joint Base Andrews as is the custom, and he was asked by a reporter whether he'd be putting any more travel restrictions in place in addition to those restrictions already in place and going into effect on Monday on several Southern African countries, including South Africa and Botswana, the President said he'd be meeting with his medical team, and then he'd have more to say.

The question, of course, whether the President will have more to say today, you can sort of add that to the long list of questions that have developed over the Thanksgiving weekend, including whether the omicron variant is in the United States right now, and there are slightly different answers to that with a little bit of nuance. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Do you think it's already here in the United States?

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: I -- we have no evidence that it is, so I'm on the fence about that. We will find out because C.D.C. is looking at tens of thousands of viral isolates every week, and so we're going to find out if it's here.

FAUCI: We have a pretty good surveillance system, but as we all know, when you have a virus that has already gone to multiple countries, inevitably it will be here, the question is, will we be prepared for it and the pre preparation that we have ongoing for what we're doing now with the delta variant just needs to be revved up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: And as you can see, the White House is taking a very cautious approach to this. Certainly, they were caught a little bit flatfooted with the delta variant and clear, the administration doesn't want that to happen again. Paula, back to you.

REID: And Nick, much has been made of the travel bans in response to this variant. The U.S. travel ban, of course, has not gone into effect, but what have you been seeing down there at the Atlanta Airport today? Obviously, one of the busiest travel days, and you're in one of the busiest hubs in the world.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And also, this is a hub for Delta, which is continuing their flights to South Africa despite the travel restrictions that go into effect on Monday, and we've been asking passengers here like the Walkers -- come on in here, guys. You guys are on your way back to St. Louis.

Big holiday for you guys, because last year, you weren't able to travel. But you're traveling now, this year. What do you think so far of the airport?

DR. JOYCE PUGH-WALKER, TRAVELER: It has been great, actually. We've had a pretty good opportunity to get through very quickly. There wasn't a big prediction as it relates to getting through. Like, we haven't gotten through T.S.A. at this point, but on the way in, it was a very smooth transition.

VALENCIA: But you lucked out, because earlier this morning, there was about 40 minutes down here. There was long lines. It took only about 11 minutes so far. We've been talking a lot here today about omicron, the new strain of COVID-19. You guys said you were aware of this. How did it factor in at all knowing that Delta is based here, continuing flights? And do you think that there's any potential that omicron is already here in the United States? PATRICK WALKER, TRAVELER: I wouldn't doubt if it isn't, but just

having the confidence of being vaccinated and following the C.D.C. guidelines. I'm pretty confident.

VALENCIA: Yes. So, no pause for you guys this morning as you're getting ready to go back to St. Louis, knowing that you're going to be flying out and around a lot of crowds here.

PUGH-WALKER: I am not saying that we weren't a little skeptical, right? I mean, but we're double masked and we've been vaccinated. We've also had the booster. So, we're doing the best that we can. As he said, based on the C.D.C. guidance to again do the best that we can and also see family.

VALENCIA: Well, you're smart because you're a doctor, that's right. So, thank you so much to the Walker's. We really appreciate you taking the time with CNN.

[15:10:10]

VALENCIA: So, some varying perspectives here. You know, we heard earlier from some travelers that weren't even aware of the strain and say, even if they were, it wouldn't have factored in at all to their decision to travel today. People saying, they just really have to get back home.

We're seeing a lot of college students going back, starting school -- starting back school on Monday, and of course, these lines here are getting a little smoother as the night carries on. I'm sure travelers are grateful to see that as they show up here the world's busiest airport -- Paula.

REID: Absolutely. Nada, David, Joe, and Nick, thanks so much for your reporting.

And with me now, Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. All right, Dr. Schaffner, I want to get your assessment based on what we know so far. The early indications are that this variant is more highly transmissible, but the early indications are that in terms of symptoms, it is not as severe. So, what is your assessment at this point?

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE IN THE DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: So, Paula, you've got it right on the nose. It is early days, so let's not draw conclusions. But the things that we're concerned about is that this variant has had a large number, about 50 mutations, and one of the things we're concerned about is, is it more contagious? And it does appear to spread fairly rapidly. But we need more information.

Does it make it you more severely ill? No. We're not so quite so concerned about that. But the third thing that has us more concerned, namely, will it be able to, at least in part, evade the protection of our current vaccines. And for all of that information, we'll need more laboratory work. It will take a couple of weeks, maybe even three weeks before we get full answers.

In the meantime, what we have right here right now is the delta variant, and we have a lot of people who still are not vaccinated against that delta variant, which is spreading as we speak, right in here in the United States.

REID: Well, it is true. Moderna's Chief Medical Officer, though, told me that he sees cause for concern in the sheer number of mutations this variant has. Do you share those concerns?

SCHAFFNER: Oh, of course, I share the concern, that's why the World Health Organization has indicated that omicron is not just a variant of interest, but a variant of concern. Could it spread more widely? Would we have to reconfigure our vaccine in order to keep up with it? All of those things around the table, not conclusively yet, but we're waiting for more information. This is a wily virus.

REID: So many experts are saying that getting your booster shot is one thing you can do now to try to protect yourself from this quote, "wily virus." Do you think that that argument will help push people who haven't been rushing to get their booster?

SCHAFFNER: Oh, well, I think there are lots of people who should get their booster, right? They're eligible. We have a lot of children to vaccinate, aged five and older, and then there are about still, can you imagine this, 60 million adults in the United States who haven't even gotten their first dose yet.

We need to persuade our friends and neighbors to pitch in, to get vaccinated not only to protect themselves, but to protect our entire community, not only against delta, but my anticipation is that these vaccines will provide at least partial protection against omicron, and partial protection is a heck of a lot better than none at all.

REID: True. On the issue of travel bans, I want to play some sound from Dr. Scott Gottlieb this morning. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOTTLIEB: Well, look, I think it's unfortunately very punitive and we could have accomplished a lot of what we're seeking to accomplish with these restrictions, perhaps by increasing requirements on travelers, requiring that they be vaccinated and also have a negative PCR test in the last 24 hours.

You know, these kinds of restrictions are going to reduce introductions that could buy us perhaps a couple of weeks, but we didn't need to close off travel. And unfortunately, we're punishing South Africa for doing the right thing and telling other nations that, you know, who want to sequence strains that they find and we're giving them real disincentive to do that, because if they turn over new variants, this is what's going to happen to them. So, this is a bad step, I think from a policy standpoint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Do you agree that these restrictions are counterproductive in that way, sort of appear to punish people who identify these variants?

SCHAFFNER: Well, we have to just face the facts. With these respiratory viruses that are so contagious, these travel restrictions are not very restrictive. In fact, they're very, very porous.

They may buy us just a little bit of time, but the emphasis is on just very little. They're not really very effective and they do have substantial downsides economically for the countries to which there is a restriction. And as Dr. Gottlieb said, those are the very countries that did the wonderful laboratory work, finding omicron and providing that information to the world's scientific community. So, it's a little like no good deed goes unpunished.

[15:15:27]

REID: Dr. William Schaffner, thank you so much for being with us.

SCHAFFNER: My pleasure.

REID: Still to come, a pivotal week for the Supreme Court as they take up Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, what Chief Justice John Roberts track record tells us about where this legal fight could go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: This week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Mississippi's restrictive abortion ban. The case is considered to be a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, as the Mississippi law would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

[15:20:02]

REID: Joan Biskupic is a CNN legal analyst and Supreme Court biographer. She is also the author of "The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts," and she joins us now. Joan, thank you so much for being with us.

Now, you wrote in your great piece today for cnn.com that Roberts represents more than one vote among nine. As Chief, he steers the discussion. If he's in the majority, he also assigns the opinion that will speak for the court. So fair to say, I mean, he is pivotal here.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: He is Paula, and it is great to be with you this afternoon. He is more than just one vote because he starts the conversation in their private meetings. He'll start the oral arguments on Wednesday, when, for the first time since 1992, Roe v. Wade is under a very serious challenge here.

And John Roberts has a real history with Roe v. Wade. As you know, Paula, he was part of the Reagan and first Bush administrations that argued strongly to then the Supreme Court saying please overturn Roe. But that was then, and this is now. He is no longer an advocate. He is trying to steer this court, perhaps toward reversal of Roe, but in his mind is also the institutional integrity of this Supreme Court, and the notion of adhering to precedents. 1973 is when Roe vs. Wade was first decided, and in 1992 is when the

Court affirmed the essential holding of Roe. And what's at stake here is a question that -- the question for the Justices in this Mississippi cases can estate ban abortion before viability and that is before the fetus is able to live outside of the mother, and that viability cut offline firewall, if you will, is exactly what the court said was in place in 1973 in 1992.

So, if the Justices decide that Mississippi can ban abortions after 15 weeks, that will be a reversal of a central part of Roe. Viability right now, Paula, it is estimated at 22 to 24 weeks of development of pregnancy. So that that would be critical. That is the core of Roe and the question that they're going to face.

One thing that I'm sure many of our viewers are thinking about is, you know, we're talking about Mississippi, which will be argued on Wednesday, but it was just about a month ago that the Justices heard arguments in the Big Texas abortion case, and that involved a six-week ban on abortions that is still in place in in Texas right now.

And that's because the Justices have not blocked that even though what's at issue in that lawsuit, and what the Justices heard oral arguments on was a discrete procedural question.

REID: And speaking of that case, I mean, some people believe that Roberts may have tipped his hand on this issue. The first time the Texas abortion law went up to the Supreme Court again, procedural when he dissented, when the court allowed that law to stand. So, are people reading too much into that initial pass at the Texas abortion law?

BISKUPIC: That's a great question, because that goes to what was at stake when the Texas law took effect. The question then, it was so shrewd of what the Texas Legislature did here. They wanted to ban abortion, but it also did not want to have an immediate challenge up at the Supreme Court. So, they wrote a law in a way that essentially tried to shield Texas officials from lawsuit by saying that private citizens could enforce that law. Any private citizen who knew of someone who assisted in an abortion, from the physician to someone who actually even drove a woman to an abortion clinic could be sued.

And any private citizen who won that case could win at least $10,000.00 in damages. So, Texas tried to turn over enforcement of that law and responsibility for that law to private citizens, and it argued before the Supreme Court that Texas officials could not be sued at all, and that's what really got John Roberts and he said, look, this law is so unprecedented. It's -- irrespective of what constitutional right is at issue here, the right to abortion, irrespective of that, state lawmakers should not be able to shield themselves in this way.

So, he wanted the full majority to at least postpone the effect of that Texas law while its validity was assessed. So, that's where he -- why he dissented then, Paula. But now, we have a much more straightforward question on should Roe v Wade survive? And we know that he has voted against abortion rights in the past. Most recently though in 2020, he voted for abortion rights precedent just because it was precedent.

[15:25:07]

BISKUPIC: So, he comes to this case with some mixed signals and probably a lot of ambivalence here, Paula, because he has opposed abortion rights, but he also knows how politically charged everything is right now, and how much of the Court's institution is at stake, and it will be a very fine line he starts to walk.

And, you know, we both have just now have been talking about Texas and I do think there is some sign here from this court that a majority has allowed that Texas ban to be in place for nearly three months now, which means that women in Texas essentially do not have a right to abortion, which the Supreme Court previously said they should have at this point. So that's a signal that maybe the ground under Roe truly is crumbling right now.

REID: Joan, thank you so much. I encourage everyone to go out and check out your excellent analysis on the website. Thank you.

BISKUPIC: Thank you, Paula.

REID: Still ahead, a week after the parade tragedy in Wisconsin, a moment of silence today in Waukesha. How the city is honoring the victims.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: It's been one week since a driver killed six people, including an eight-year-old child at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. And today, a planned moment of silence in that city, and a warning that outsiders may exploit the tragedy for political purposes.

For more, let's bring in CNN's Natasha Chen.

All right, Natasha, it seems pretty, pretty sad that they would have to issue a warning like this, people trying to take advantage of this tragedy.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Paula, it's not exactly clear what the two Wisconsin senators were describing when they released the statement, but it is quite a statement to have both a Democrat and a Republican talk about this together. We're talking about Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican Ron Johnson, and here's a part of the statement that they wrote.

"It has come to our attention that outside individuals or groups may attempt to exploit the tragedy that occurred last Sunday in Waukesha for their own political purposes. As the U.S. Senators representing Wisconsin, one from each political party, we are asking anyone considering such action to cease and desist."

Now, we don't have a whole lot of other clues about what they're talking about, except that they did say that they have full confidence in the local official, and that that person should be afforded the respect and support they deserve in undertaking the responsibilities of this case. So, we are waiting to hear more details from their offices on that.

We are about a couple of hours away from that moment of silence that you talked about. The Mayor of Waukesha, also is asking for people to light blue lights to remember the six people killed and really to show support in the community for still so many recovering.

As you may recall, exactly a week ago, this SUV crashed into the crowded Christmas Parade, killing six and injuring about 60 or more people. Some of those injured are still in the Children's Hospital -- Children's Wisconsin, there are eight of them. In fact, the hospital says four remain in serious condition, two in fair condition, and two in good condition.

One young lady, 11-year-old girl, Jessalyn Torres is still in the ICU and her mother has been posting really incredibly emotional updates about her daughter on social media talking about the fact that she is suffering from a broken pelvis, skull fracture, as well as lacerations on her lungs. She described how her daughter was quite literally hit by the car with the grill marks on her chest, and that she is undergoing so much treatment right now, under great care from the medical providers, but really just asking the community for support as her daughter needs this time to just sit back and heal.

So this city truly still reeling from the shock of having such a joyous event disrupted by someone that we are told by police was actually fleeing another incident. So, still looking into exactly what that person, that driver was doing right before and why he drove through this festive event -- Paula.

REID: Natasha, thank you so much for that report. An important reminder of so many people still recovering from that tragedy, including those eight children still in the hospital.

It's a Jewish tradition of hanging a biblical parchment scroll on the doorway. For the first time, it is attached to the home of the Second Family. We'll explain the significance of the small scroll and we'll look ahead to the national lighting of the Menorah tonight for the beginning of Hanukkah.

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[15:38:49]

REID: At the top of the hour, Second Gentlemen, Doug Emhoff will celebrate the Jewish faith on the first night of Hanukkah, when he is expected to light the first candle of the National Menorah. He is the first Jewish spouse of a President or Vice President and has publicly highlighted tenants of his faith since his wife took office.

CNN's Julian Zelizer, a Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University and also the author of "Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement." He joins me now.

All right, Julian, this month, Emhoff announced that he inherits a fixed a traditional Jewish scroll to the vice-presidential residence. Tell us what is the significance of this? JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It is symbolically very

important. Most Jewish homes have that on the door. It is to signify that the person and people inside will remember God's commandments and that it's a holy place, your home. But more important, it demarcates that it is a Jewish home. It's a public demarcation of that.

So, to have the Vice President's family put that on the door is an important milestone in American-Jewish history.

REID: The message of this Season is the potential for this smallest bit of light to push back the darkness. What does that look like as we look back on 2021 and look forward to 2022?

[15:40:10]

ZELIZER: Well, this is a country, it's a world that's looking for light. We have lived through a pandemic, we're still in the middle of a pandemic, and we're trying to find positive signs so that we collectively can move forward. So, I think the Holiday as much as it has any other year symbolizes what we are aspiring for not just politically, but socially and culturally.

REID: Now, shifting now to the pandemic, you wrote in a CNN opinion piece that the administration will need to work quickly to get ahead of the new variant. What exactly will Biden need to do differently with omicron after having just dealt with delta and continuing to deal with delta?

ZELIZER: Well, some is the same. I mean, the major mission is to continue pushing forward with vaccination and making sure more and more Americans accept and receive the vaccine. Also, the same protocols have to be enforced, but more importantly, or just as important, the President needs to continue to move forward with his legislative agenda, and to make sure that the key pillars of the economy are sound, so that as we get through this phase, the recovery can continue.

REID: And how exactly does he do that, given how polarized the country is? I mean, how does he try to get his message across on how the infrastructure and reconciliation packages will have a positive impact on people's lives? Can he actually achieve that ahead of the midterms?

ZELIZER: There are some limits, and what I write is in a polarized era, the best he can do is to create more enthusiasm with Democrats and to try to affect the handful of swing voters. The most important is to be the explainer-in-chief, to be a President who not just says I'm passing this huge bill or trying to pass this huge bill but explain what's in it and explain why it will help with everything from the inflationary pressures we feel to the social safety net that so many Americans depend on.

REID: You also say that despite the economic recovery, we may be a long way off from actually feeling good about the state of our nation. When do you see the country ever feeling good about where we are collectively? ZELIZER: I think it's going to be a while. It's not just that the

pandemic is ongoing. It was traumatic. We lived through the bottom falling out. So, I think it's going to take some time to feel confidence and that when people receive good news about the economy or about the effect of vaccination, to feel confidence, that that's going to last six, seven months into the future. So, I think it's just going to take some time for the nation.

REID: Julian, thank you so much.

We're back in a moment.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:13]

REID: It'll be a Holiday Season to remember for one Navy veteran who got the surprise of a lifetime. Oscar Rodriguez was attending a special screening of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's new movie "Red Notice" when The Rock himself called him down front and he learned he'd be getting a one of a kind gift, The Rock's own custom Ford truck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON, ACTOR: I want to show you something real quick.

OSCAR RODRIGUEZ, RETIRED VETERAN: Yes.

JOHNSON: I got this. I wrote this card for you. It's a little thing.

RODRIGUEZ: What the heck? Thank you for your service, brother. Enjoy your new truck. What the heck is happening? Get out of here, bro. Oh my God.

JOHNSON: You do a lot of good for people, man. You do a lot of good for people.

RODRIGUEZ: I thought this was your truck, bro?

JOHNSON: It is my truck, now, it's your truck. This is my personal truck. It is yours now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: The actor says he was moved by Oscar's life story and how he takes care of his family and vulnerable people in his community, and that Navy veteran joins my colleague Jim Acosta next hour.

Tonight, Lisa Ling is back with two all-new episodes of "This is Life." In the first, Lisa investigates the murders of wealthy Native Americans during the 1920's oil boom and witnesses how the descendants fight to revive what was nearly lost forever. Here's a preview. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People were being killed, left and right. It was terrible. They never knew who was going to be next.

LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE" (voice over): Meg and Shawn, tell me their grandparents feared for their lives. They even hired bodyguards.

LING (on camera): Your family really felt that threat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my grandmother used to have flashbacks in her late 80s.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would have nightmares.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That kind of income some say was a blessing, some say is a curse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Joining us now is the host of "This is Life," Lisa Ling. Lisa, thank you so much for joining us. Incredible reporting here. Tell us what you learned about how this has impacted the Osage nation's ability to carry on its traditions and keep the legacy of their ancestors alive.

LING: Well Paula, thank you for having me on. Tonight marks the end of Season 8 of "This is Life" and this episode is about the Osage. They are a native tribe here in America that once controlled the land on which many states in the Midwest now sit -- Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and other states as well and they ruled this land for more than a millennia.

[15:50:09]

LING: And by the 1800s, they were essentially driven off of their land. They ended up settling in a small corner of Oklahoma. They negotiated a treaty with the United States for the surface and the subsurface of the land. They were really smart.

That land by the early 1900s would become the most oil rich land in the world, worth more than all of the gold rushes combined. But that also made the Osage people a target for exploitation, and eventually, murder. And hardly any of the murders that happened, reputedly hundreds of them were ever sold and brought to justice. But the few that did resulted in the coming together, essentially of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

REID: And we learned that the descendants of these victims, they're still feeling the impacts of the murders -- struggling to learn what happened to their family members. What are they finding out? What are they discovering?

LING: Well, Paula, it's so true. I mean, these murders happened about a century ago, but many of the people in Osage country, they are looking more closely into some of the deaths of their relatives, and in some cases, they are learning that those deaths may not have been coincidental after all. They might not have been as a result of heart disease or heart failure or various ailments that they may have, in fact, been the product of murder.

REID: Wow, definitely one to watch. I'll be tuning in. But you have a second episode. Also airing tonight, where you're looking into sex crimes in the military.

LING: That's right. So this season of "This is Life," we have devoted it to looking into elements and moments in American history that didn't really make the books, but continue to impact us today. And in our second episode, which is airing a little late tonight, but hopefully you all still stay up to watch. We look at the Tailhook scandal that happened in 1991. It was a huge scandal involving the United States Navy.

And we learned that over the years, despite numerous promises of zero tolerance, that sadly, not much has changed in the United States military as it relates to sexual assault.

REID: All right, Lisa Ling, we will definitely be tuning in. Thank you so much for your incredible reporting.

LING: Thank you.

REID: Be sure to tune in the double episode Season Finale of "This is Life" with Lisa Ling, airs tonight starting at 10:00 PM only on CNN.

Thanks for joining me today. I'm Paul Reid, in Washington. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta in just a moment.

But first, Atomo Coffee, a startup based in Seattle is looking to make a greener coffee by taking the coffee bean out of the equation.

But is it good enough to still stand up to a taste test? CNN's Rachel Crane has this week's "Mission Ahead."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY KLEITSCH, CEO, ATOMO COFFEE: About two years ago, I was looking for something to do that was better for the planet, and that's when I stumbled across my co-founder, Jarret Stopforth, who said that he wanted to make coffee without the bean.

RACHEL CRANE, CNN BUSINESS INNOVATIONS AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Andy Kleitsch is the co-founder and CEO of Atomo Coffee, a startup based in Seattle, Washington that is looking to make coffee without the coffee bean.

The company starts off with upcycle date pits sourced from California date farms.

KLEITSCH: So what we've done here is created a process where we take these pits, we react them and we actually kind of load them with new compounds and take them through a roasting process. And when they come out of that process, they actually look and smell like coffee.

CRANE (voice over): Atomo says this process requires 94 percent less water and emits 93 percent less carbon emissions than a conventional cold brew coffee. And since the date pits would otherwise be discarded, there's no deforestation involved.

Alternative coffees like acorn and mushroom coffee are not a new concept. But Atomo wants consumers to view its molecular brew as real coffee, not an alternative. It's a bold claim to make, so we called up a professional barista to put this beanless coffee to the test.

TOM BOMFORD, COFFEE DIRECTOR, BLACK BOX COFFEE: Let's start with classic.

CRANE (voice over): Tom is the Coffee Director for Black Box Coffee and is also a certified Q Grader, which is an industry certification to say, well, Tom is really good at grading and scoring coffee.

BOMFORD: Actually not as I thought it would be. It tastes like cold brew coffee, but just a bad cold brew coffee perhaps.

KLEITSCH: When we first launched, we thought that the real coffee connoisseurs would hate us, honestly. And it's actually been the opposite. It turns out that people that love coffee are also -- they also love the environment and they want to make better choices.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[15:59:47]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are alive in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Any minute, we hope to have new information about this new highly mutated COVID variant known as omicron.

President Biden is now back at the White House and is being briefed by members of his COVID-19 response team along with his Chief Medical Adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

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