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World Waits for Answers on Highly-Mutated Variant Omicron; Study: Patients with Persistent COVID-19 Show Continued Cardiovascular Problems in Response to Exercise; Former Defense Secy. Esper Sues Pentagon Over Book Redactions; Jury Selection Begins in Actor Jussie Smollett Trial; Biden Meets with Top Retail Execs This Cyber Monday. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired November 29, 2021 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: An official with the World Health Organization tells CNN that we could learn more about the transmissibility and the severity of the new Omicron variant over the next few days, but whether it can evade vaccines, that will take a little longer.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: CNN reporters are track the developments worldwide.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. The U.K. government is taking steps to curb any potential spread of the new Omicron variant. This come after the authorities announced at least 10 cases in the U.K. with the health secretary says he expects that case count to rise.
So, what are the new restrictions? Well, mask mandates will now go into place on Tuesday on public transport and in shops. All arrivals into the U.K. must not take a PCR test and travel restrictions have been expanded against South Africa and several other neighboring countries.
But crucially, the U.K. is looking at expanding its booster program. Everyone over the age of 18 now will be recommended a booster shot. There's also potentially a fourth shot to be offered to those who are severely immunocompromised. The health secretary saying that he hopes that these steps will give scientists the time to understand this new variant better and increase the countries defenses.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Newton in Ottawa where there are at least now three confirmed cases of the new COVID variant Omicron here in Canada. And health officials say there could be a few more in the coming days as several more are already under investigation.
Now health officials say that for right now, they will not be updating any of their health restrictions but they do have that same travel ban from southern African countries that is in place in the United States and in other countries. What's interesting here is that the first two confirmed cases are not from travel in southern Africa, but from Nigeria. A country that isn't even included in the travel ban as of now.
Having said that, Canadians here believe that they can catch this new variant. There are strict testing procedures and vaccination rules. In fact, you can't fly in Canada either domestically or internationally unless you are fully vaccinated.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in Seoul. Just a matter of days ago here in South Korea, we were talking about living with COVID. We were talking about the government pulling back restrictions and border controls. That has now all screeched to a halt thanks to this new variant. We hear from the government that they are suspending plans to further ease restrictions.
We heard from President Moon Jae-in calling the situation severe. In fact, even though there hasn't been a positive case of Omicron in South Korea at this point, the situation is still fairly dire. We are seeing a record number of critical cases and also of deaths and ICU beds are few and far between, especially in the greater Seoul area.
And elsewhere in Asia, we're seeing more restrictions coming into place. Japan seems to be the strongest at this point. The Prime Minister today saying that he's suspending new arrivals of foreign nationals from Tuesday, quote, in order to avoid the worst situation. All officials, though, say they're just trying to buy time to figure out what they're dealing with.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Thanks to all of our correspondents.
BLACKWELL: All right, this report just in about people suffering from the after effects of extended COVID. There's a new study that suggests they can have breathing and other cardiovascular problems for as many as 15 months after infection.
CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard is here to explain what this all means. So, we just found out more information about long COVID all the time.
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: That's right, Alisyn, and this study adds to our growing understanding of long COVID. So, what the researchers did -- this is a small study. It included about 41 people that had a history of COVID-19, and the researchers put them through stress tests or exercise tests. And while the patients went through these exercises, the researchers found that 24 of them had abnormal oxygen consumption, 14 of them had dysfunctional breathing.
[15:35:00]
So, the researchers saw these as examples of shortness of breath, and some of these patients, it was 15 months ago that they were diagnosed with COVID-19. So, the researchers see this as a sign of shortness of breath and other symptoms of COVID can linger, can last for as long as a year or even longer. So again, Alisyn, like you said, it's just growing evidence of long COVID symptoms.
CAMEROTA: OK, Jacqueline Howard, thank you for the update.
BLACKWELL: Merriam-Webster -- you know, they publish the dictionary -- they announced that 2021 word of the year, it is --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
BLACKWELL: -- vaccine.
CAMEROTA: OK.
BLACKWELL: Obvious choice. After searches for the term went up 601 percent compared to last year. More than a thousand percent compared to pre-pandemic days, 2019.
CAMEROTA: Interest in the word soared as coronavirus vaccines were developed with remarkable speed and of course, you know they have sparked all sorts of political backlash across the country, on the politics of vaccine. Yes, right wingers aren't going to be happy with this word of the year.
BLACKWELL: Word of the year is vaccine. All right.
Jury selection now underway in the case against actor Jussie Smollett. He's charged with making false reports to police after claiming that he was the victim of a hate crime. We've got an update from the courthouse.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:40:00]
BLACKWELL: Former Defense Secretary under President Trump, Mark Esper is suing the Department of Defense for -- in his words -- censuring his upcoming memoir. His suit claims what DoD is redacting is not classified information.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent Oren Liebermann joins us now. Oren, what parts do they want Esper to remove from the book?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Alisyn, former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is writing his own memoir due this May about his time as defense secretary under former President Donald Trump. He says that DoD has asked him to redact parts of the book that include conversations with Trump, discussions, as well as Trump's view on foreign policies.
His argument is that this isn't classified information and much of it has already come out. In a lawsuit against DoD, Esper has said he's being censured by the Department of Defense as he looks to publish his book and to move forward with that publication about mid next year.
In a statement his attorney yesterday said: It was highly unusual for someone as high as a cabinet official to not have additional opportunities to discuss any express government concerns. Secretary Esper is the highest-ranking official who has sued in order to challenge redactions. Unlike former National Security Advisor John Bolton, secretary Esper is it hearing in advancing the rule of law.
If you remember, Bolton also went to publish a memoir of his own time there and got into a legal fight with the Trump administration as they tried to hold back the publication of the book because it was critical of Trump himself, and that lasted months.
BLACKWELL: Tell us about the thousands of U.S. service members who could face disciplinary action if they aren't fully vaccinated. The deadline is today, right?
LIEBERMANN: That deadline has now passed for the Navy and Marine Corps. The deadline itself was actually yesterday. The Air Force had a deadline earlier this month. But all of this as the service tries to vaccinate the entire force and all of their troops. Now the Air Force has a few thousand at this point, about 11 or 1,200 have refused outright. There are about 4,000 or so who are still pending their application for religious exemptions and those will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. So that will take some time. Meanwhile, the Navy is at 99.7 percent vaccinated so just over a thousand or so -- if I was looking at the numbers correctly -- that have yet to be vaccinated in the Navy. And for the Marines, the number is a bit higher. It's 9,000 who have not yet been vaccinated according to the numbers we put out yesterday. So, we're keeping track of that, the Army's deadline is in about two and a half weeks. So, we will certainly look at that number as well.
BLACKWELL: All right, Oren Liebermann, thank you.
CAMEROTA: OK, so jury selection is underway in the long-delayed trial of former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.
BLACKWELL: So, he's accused of lying about being the victim of an alleged hate crime in 2019. The prosecutor say that he staged the attack to further his career. Smollett has pleaded not guilty. CNN national correspondent Omar Jimenez was in the courtroom. What have you seen?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well so far, Victor and Alisyn, we've got six jurors that have been selected as part of this process. Out of the little more than 30 that have been questioned by the judge so far. They have been asked things like whether they've actually seen the show "Empire," which of course is the show that Jussie Smollett used to be a part of. Even asked whether they've been part of any civil rights organizations. So, these are things that are ongoing right now.
But of course, Jussie Smollett is facing those six counts of disorderly conduct stemming from allegedly making false police reports. And of course, when you look at the incident, this goes back to January 2019 where Jussie Smollett told police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack as a black and gay man. He said two men physically assaulted him, that an unknown substance was poured on him. A chemical substance, I should say, was poured on him and that a noose was put around his neck. He was initially charged earlier last year not long after this
happened. Those charges were dropped. A special prosecutor was appointed. Then these new set -- this new set of charges for disorderly conduct were introduced and that is why we're here at trial today.
Jussie Smollett is in court surrounded by a number of his defense attorneys. He, as you mentioned, has pleaded not guilty in this trial but also, has maintained his innocence throughout.
[15:45:02]
That of course is something that's going to be tested over the course of this trial. The judge here has said he wants to try and get through in just four to five days. And as this jury selection process is ongoing, he's hoping to get through it by the end of today -- Victor, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK, Omar Jimenez, thank you.
So, supply chain issues are impacting cyber-Monday deals. What this means for your online shopping.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:00]
CAMEROTA: Today is cyber-Monday. It's a huge online shopping day, and President Biden has been meeting with top executives from major retailers at the White House this afternoon about how they are dealing with supply chain issues. He noted the strain that they have been under and touted his bipartisan infrastructure deal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I think people underestimate just how out of sync our infrastructure has been for so long. And I think that the people who live near that bridge, that certain trucks can't go over or near that fire station where you have to go ten miles around the creek because you can't go over a particular bridge. Sidewalks, highways, et cetera. So, I'm looking forward to that being a lot better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik is here with us now. So, first day after Thanksgiving, of course, the big Black Friday. What do we see?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK, so the early numbers for Black Friday are in and drum roll please --
They are not spectacular. But hold on, like here's a back story to this. So, there was 28 percent less foot traffic on this Black Friday compared to 2019 that was before the pandemic. Online shopping saw a dip as well, there was less money spent. $8.9 billion versus $9 billion last year.
So why is this happening? Well, believe it or not, we are shopping. We're just shopping earlier. Consumers moved their holiday shopping timetable up when they caught wind of the supply chain issues. You know, these kinks in the supply chain causing these product shortages with this massive demand from people with, you know, from consumers with a lot of money burning a hole in their pockets.
I think also an ah-ha moment may have been in October when people were really out there shopping. We know that because retail sales numbers surged in October. There were 2 billion out of stock messages for online shopping when you went on to online shopping you saw out of stock. So, there were 2 billion messages and that could have been an ah-ha moment for consumers to really step it up and get their shopping done early.
Because the reality is the supply chain shortages are no joke for retailers. It's been really hard for them to stock their inventories ahead of the holiday shopping season.
BLACKWELL: I feel like I wasted a drum roll on that. Because the numbers were down.
CAMEROTA: But it's because they're spread out. They may be up for the year. The year is not over.
BLACKWELL: OK, all right, we got it.
KOSIK: Right. I mean the National Retail Federation by the way tomorrow morning is going to be coming out with their numbers. They not only track online but they track instore numbers as well.
The reality is I think as we get closer and closer to Christmas, it's probably going to be better for consumers to go ahead and go into the stores and touch and feel and find something because if they can't find that one thing that they want, you know, they can browse around. Find something different. It's going to be easier than being at the mercy of the deliveries that you get on -- when you buy something online.
CAMEROTA: So that's your recommendation to shoppers for how to deal with these supply chain issues?
KOSIK: Yes, I think shopping online is certainly a way to do it if you can do it let's say in the next week. But you don't want to be at the mercy of these, you know, delivery services. What if they come back to you and you're waiting for this prize gift and they say, sorry, it's not going to come until January.
So, in store is the best way, you get away with the product in your hand and you're happy as can be.
BLACKWELL: All right, Alison Kosik, thank you.
CAMEROTA: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: It is Christmastime at the White House.
CAMEROTA: First Lady Jill Biden today was showing off her first White House holiday decorations. This year's theme is gifts from the heart. And it's a tribute to first responders and frontline workers, partially inspired they say by the challenges of the pandemic.
The East Wing said they came up with the idea for -- from the first lady's desire to, quote, unite and heal and bring us together. So, one room has two large trees decorated with framed photographs of former first families at the White House during the holidays.
BLACKWELL: That's really nice.
CAMEROTA: It's beautiful. Look, here's what I want to know.
BLACKWELL: OK.
CAMEROTA: Are there going to be Christmas parties there, and are we invited?
BLACKWELL: Yes, I mean the Christmas parties, I don't know. That's an interesting thing now -- at this point in the pandemic.
CAMEROTA: I haven't heard yet. And I hope it's not just you and I who haven't heard.
BLACKWELL: They look really nice. I got to decide what I'm doing for Christmas. I have no decorations.
CAMEROTA: Well, you had a big plan and now you're rethinking.
BLACKWELL: Yes, I don't know if I have any decorations really.
CAMEROTA: This is the saddest thing I've ever heard, Victor. I'm going to come over to your house --
BLACKWELL: This is the saddest thing you've ever heard?
CAMEROTA: -- with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
BLACKWELL: That's worse.
CAMEROTA: And help decorate.
BLACKWELL: That's worse.
Don't bring any of those like leaving three-foot trees over to my place, I'll just go without. I'll get a nice wreath. Hang it on the inside of the door.
CAMEROTA: There you go.
BLACKWELL: That will be enough.
CAMEROTA: Something festive.
BLACKWELL: I'll get some Christmas cheer as I head out into the world.
CAMEROTA: OK, beautiful.
BLACKWELL: All right, well, transition.
[15:55:00]
President Biden says the Omicron variant is a cause for concern, not panic. He says sooner or later this new variant will be in the U.S. though, we'll have much more on the reaction coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMEROTA: Here is a crazy story. A Guatemalan man is lucky to be alive after stowing away in a plane's landing gear. Police say the 26-year- old hid inside the landing gear of an American Airlines plane for 2 1/2 hours from Guatemala City to Miami.
BLACKWELL: Now, based on the flight data, temperatures in the wheel well fell by 100 degrees.
