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Omicron Variant Detected In At Least 19 States; De Blasio: NYC Private-Sector Vaccine Mandate A "Preemptive Strike"; McConnell Cuts Deal With Democrats On New Plan To Avoid Default; Saudi Man Linked To Jamal Khashoggi Murder Detained At Paris Airport; GOP Rep. Devin Nunes To Leave Congress, Run Trump's New Social Media Company. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 07, 2021 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising again across this country. The Omicron variant has now been found in at least 19 states. But officials say Delta is still the dominant and more worrisome strain.

In Michigan, specifically, more people are hospitalized with COVID-19 now than at any other point during the pandemic. That's according to government data.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: The White House says 60 percent of Americans are now fully vaccinated and that half of the doses given in the past week were boosters.

Now, in New York City, the mayor is facing pushback for his plans to enforce a new vaccine mandate.

And CNN's Jason Carroll has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL DE BLASIO (D-New York City): This is a preemptive strike.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the reality of new COVID mandates starts to sink in with New York City, business leaders question how they will be enforced and affect their bottom line.

TYLER HOLLINGER, OWNER, FESTIVAL CAFE: To bar children from entering our establishment is ludicrous. It's probably going to cause a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction.

CARROLL: The worry comes after the city's mayor announced private- sector employees must be vaccinated by December 27th, and children ages 5 to 11 will need at least one shot to enter restaurants, gyms, and other entertainment venues by December 14th.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Who enforces it? Who's the person? Do you check with each company to make sure all their employees are vaccinated? Are you going to fine the companies if they don't?

DE BLASIO: We have experience already with private sector, restaurants and others, we had almost no fines. There was a lot of cooperation.

Our Department of health is going to work with the business sector. We're going to come out with specific protocols by December 15th so people have time.

CARROLL: Omicron now detected in at least 19 states. Today, Pfizer's CEO saying if a new vaccine is needed for the variant, the company will have one come spring.

ALBERT BOURLA, CEO, PFIZER: I think if there's a need for the vaccine, we will have a vaccine in March. I don't know if there will be a need for a vaccine.

CARROLL: Nationwide, it's the Delta variant that continues to take its toll with 120,000 new daily cases reported, mostly among the unvaccinated.

The Midwest and northeast particularly hard hit. The highest case rates in states including Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

The U.S. now averaging more than 1,600 deaths each day, one of the highest rates in more than a month.

And a troubling sign among the nation's youngest as COVID cases among children rise again with 133,000 new cases last week alone.

DR. FRANICS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: So, I'm hoping that -- I've been hoping this for a few months, that people looking at this situation with both Delta and maybe the threat of Omicron, would say, if you're not vaccinated, boy, is this the time to roll up your sleeve.

CARROLL: Despite troubling national numbers, members of the White House COVID task force say there are encouraging numbers as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over) (voice-over): Just in the last week, we've gotten 12.5 million total shots in arms. That's the highest weekly total of number of shots since May.

CARROLL: And now new polling shows most Americans not willing to change some of their behavior when it comes to Omicron.

Just 23 percent of Americans say they are likely to cancel holiday travel plans. And when it comes to socializing, just 28 percent saying they are likely to stop gathering with others outside their household.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And that poll also showed 62 percent of Americans plan to mask up when indoors in public. However, the likelihood to wear a mask really differs dramatically along party lines.

And 82 percent of Democrats reporting they are likely to wear a mask, compared to 67 percent of Independents and 38 percent of Republicans. And that's really troubling to those in the medical community who

still see this as a political issue and they want folks to pay attention and realize this is a medical issue.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Yes, I mean, if there's one thing that hasn't changed during this pandemic, it's that. Those numbers are particularly stuck, those political numbers.

CARROLL: Still, even after all this time.

CAMEROTA: Jason, thank you.

CARROLL: You bet.

CAMEROTA: OK, another alarming side effect of the pandemic, a study, just published in "JAMA," says the number of new cases of anorexia among kids and teens skyrocketed in the early phase of the pandemic.

BLACKWELL: Canadian researchers focused on six pediatric hospitals, and they discovered cases between March and November last year jumped from roughly 24 to 40. Hospitalizations nearly tripled. And the majority of the new cases were among girls.

CAMEROTA: Yes, we're going to need more information about that.

BLACKWELL: Certainly.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is working on a compromise with Democrats on the debt ceiling,. But there's some Republicans who are not on board. Senator Mitt Romney called the talks, quote, "cute." We'll tell you why, next.

[14:34:43]

CAMEROTA: And we are watching the White House where, any moment now, national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, will brief reporters following that call that President Biden had with President Putin. We'll learn more about what was said, if anything was agreed to. So stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Only eight days left for lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling, but this time, Senator Mitch McConnell just cut a deal with Democrats on a new plan.

BLACKWELL: This is a complicated proposal worked out by McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Now, McConnell just met with Senate Republicans to try to sell this plan, but so far, some of them are not buying it.

CNN's Manu Raju joins us now from Capitol Hill.

First, what's the plan? What's been worked out here?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is complicated. And it all underscores the lengths to which Republicans in particular will go to raise the debt ceiling, avoid a default, without actually having to cast the vote to raise the debt ceiling.

[14:40:11]

Because, under the rules of the Senate, there needs to be 60 votes to avoid any filibuster. But there are only 50 Republican Senators and 50 Democratic Senators.

So what 10 Republican Senators would move forward to raise the debt ceiling? That doesn't exist at the moment.

So they created this complicated one-time process that would require new legislation, a new law to create a fast-track process that would allow the debt ceiling to be increased on just a simple majority in the Senate.

In other words, just 51 votes in the Senate, 50 votes with Kamala Harris, the vice president, breaking the tie, would be enough to raise the debt ceiling.

But first, they need to actually pass this legislation to create this new process into law.

Now, Nancy Pelosi just announced to her members that this bill to create this new debt limit process will be voted on as soon as tonight.

It's going to be folded into a larger bill to avert cuts that are happening to Medicare to make it a little bit easier for Democrats in particular to swallow voting for this.

But this is all being done because of two reasons. One, there's a major deadline coming up, December 15th. If they don't meet that deadline, there's a possibility that a debt default could happen soon after that.

And that would be the first time in American history. It could be calamitous.

And it comes as Mitch McConnell has made very clear he will do everything he can to avoid a default. But they do not want to be the ones casting this politically toxic vote.

So as part of this deal that was negotiated, Democrats ultimately, when they vote to raise the debt ceiling, will have to specify the specific dollar amount to raise the national borrowing limit to. So that means it would likely be over $30 trillion.

And you could hear the campaign ads that Mitch McConnell and Republicans are talking about right now behind closed doors, about what can be leveled against Democrats for voting to raise the national debt limit to more than $30 trillion. But all this just underscores the legislative gymnastics that have to be performed time and time again to avoid a crisis, something they all know they have to do but no one wants to take ownership of it.

But here there's at least a deal to create a process to avoid it. And it's a one-time process. What will happen the next time? That's a problem for another day -- guys?

BLACKWELL: We should remind people that this is to pay the credit card bill. This is not for future spending. This is to pay for the unfunded elements that were passed in the previous administration.

Manu Raju, thank you so much.

All right, a Saudi man linked to the group that murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has been detained in Paris. Khashoggi was killed and allegedly dismembered.

This happened in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by people close to the Saudi government. He had been critical of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman's policies.

CAMEROTA: Let's go to CNN's Cyril Vanier for more details.

Cyril, what do we know about the man that was arrested?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT & CNN ANCHOR: Well, we know that at 9:30, local time, in Paris, a 33-year-old Saudi man was arrested at Paris International Airport before boarding a plane for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

That man still being detained at the airport and going to be presented before a judge tomorrow.

The man was traveling on a rail passport. So it's not a fake I.D.

And the case has -- according to French radio, RTL, is linked to the murder of Jamal. We have not been able to confirm the name of the man.

RTL Saying this Halid al-Akadi (ph). Why is this significant? Because that name features on several sanctions lists. The U.S., the U.K., France all believe, will have all sanctioned a man by that name for being a member of the 15-person hit squad that dismembered and killed Jamal Khashoggi.

We cannot, at that stage completely rule out that it could still be a case of mistaken identity. The French court of appeals has told us they're not confirming his identity.

If that is the person that we are talking about, it is significant because it could be the first time that somebody who took part in the murder of Khashoggi will face real justice.

I say real justice, because, of course, there has been a trial in Saudi Arabia, a trial which the U.N. Has described as a parody of justice, with people getting jail sentences or confinement in relatively lax conditions, we understand.

It is possible, therefore, al-Akadi (ph) would be extradited to the Turks where the murder of Jamal Khashoggi took place in relatively short order if, that is, all of this is confirmed.

CAMEROTA: OK, Cyril, thank you for that developing story.

[14:45:44]

All right, back here, one of Donald Trump's staunchest allies in Congress is calling it quits to run Trump's new social media company. We have some questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Ten-term Republican Congressman Devin Nunes is leaving Congress at the end of the year to run Donald Trump's new social media company.

He'll become the CEO of the Trump media and technology group in January. Nunes is a staunch supporter of the former president.

CAMEROTA: He was set to become the chair of the influential House Ways and Means Committee if Republicans take back the House next year.

CNN congressional correspondent, Jessica Dean, and senior media reporter, Oliver Darcy, join us now.

Oliver, I want to start with you.

I've been hearing political types expressing bafflement. Why would he leave such a powerful position? It's called money.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: I'm sure that Donald Trump -- right now, Congressman Nunes makes $174,000 a year, reportedly. I'm sure Donald Trump is offering him 10 times that.

I mean, of course, Donald Trump doesn't always pay his workers

(CROSSTALK)

[14:50:07]

BLACKWELL: But will he get it?

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: -- the question.

But isn't that what's behind this?

OLIVER DARCY, CNN REPORTER: I would imagine so. And I would imagine the power behind this as well. I think that's -- Nunes' move signals where power in the conservative

movement really lies. And it's not in the hall of Congress, with legislation and taxes, like Nunes could have been doing should Republicans take control of Congress.

It's out there in conservative media, being close to Trump.

And his move really signals that that is where the influencers, you know, so to speak. in the conservative movement really are.

BLACKWELL: He's given up the likely chairmanship of House Ways and Means.

Jessica, what's the reaction on Capitol Hill?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT right. Victor and Alisyn, there's a lot of surprise. You all just underlined money as what is likely on the other side of this.

It's really important to underscore just how powerful being the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is. Traditionally, that is the most powerful chairmanship here in the House of Representatives.

So it's a very big deal, and something that the members of the House work for their entire career to get to that point.

Oliver makes an excellent point about where the power center is if you are Republican and specifically a Republican in the House.

It's very interesting to see Nunes find the power outside of government and outside of this incredibly powerful committee that he would be likely chairing if Republicans take back the House in 2022.

So that was certainly a lot of what we were hearing as this news kind of made its way through the halls here.

We also heard, of course, from the former president himself. He talked about how Nunes had been an ardent supporter of the former president. He was his primary attack dog during the Russia probe.

And the former president saying that Nunes is a fighter and a leader, and he'll make an excellent CEO.

So there you see it, more of former President Trump's statement right there.

So now we will see kind of how this all plays out.

Again, there are a lot of ifs, ands, maybe it would go this way. Maybe it would go that way.

One more thing to keep in mind, Victor, and Alisyn, with redistricting, redrawing the lines of the congressional districts, which they do every 10 years, and with redistricting, he was going to have to run in what was going to become an increasingly Democratic district.

He may not get back into Congress. And that was also if the Republicans ended up taking over in 2022. So a lot of ifs there, and now he's going for this sure thing -- Victor, and Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Oliver, by the way, what is this new Trump company? And how does it differ from other Trump centric places like FOX and Newsmax.

DARCY: I think it's interesting. You're seeing conservatives try to build their own universe outside of traditional companies. It's, in part, to social media company that we haven't seen a product from them.

They missed their self-imposed deadline or released an app. It's supposed to be a social media company. And they're promising to offer, quote, "non-woke" entertainment to people.

It's a multimedia platform that is -- you know, there's a lot of skepticism about if it will actually rival some of these major companies out there, Facebook or Disney.

It's this idea that they can create this universe outside the traditional framework that we have been living with for decades.

CAMEROTA: I mean, they're shooting higher than FOX?

(CROSSTALK)

DARCY: They're shooting much higher than FOX. And they're saying that they're going to be making billions of dollars in several years. Whether that comes to fruition is unclear.

And we should also note that they disclosed yesterday that they are being investigating by the SEC as well. So there's some questions that SEC has for this company.

And so, you know, there's a lot of peril, you know, moving forward that Devin Nunes is going to have to deal with.

BLACKWELL: OK. Oliver Darcy, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Jessica Dean, as well on Capitol Hill, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

@ Rapper Travis Scott is fighting back against multiple lawsuits filed over the Astroworld festival tragedy. According to court documents, Scott has legal liability for the chaos that devolved a concert.

This was in Houston, November 5th. As he responds to half a dozen lawsuits that Scott also wants dismissed.

CAMEROTA: More than 130 other lawsuits have also been filed, and lawyers are seeking to combine those. Ten people were killed in the crush of concert goers. Hundreds of people were injured.

[14:54:35]

Meanwhile, President Biden delivers a warning to Russian president Vladimir Putin as tensions mount at Russia's border with Ukraine. So what we're learning about their conversation. We have a live report from the White House for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:59:44]

CAMEROTA: The National Weather Service warning that the relentless rain in Hawaii is threatening much of the state with, quote, "significant and life-threatening flooding."

Some areas racking up more than a foot of rain in the past 48 hours. In Oahu, some areas getting up to two inches of rain in an hour on Monday.

BLACKWELL: In Honolulu, a record-setting close to eight inches of rainfall was recorded. Low elevation spots are seeing extreme runoff and landslides are expected.