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Powerful Storm Hits Central U.S.; U.K. Study Says Booster Shots Can Restore Protection Against Omicron; South Africa Divided Over Vaccine Mandates; Countries Tighten Restrictions As Omicron Spreads; Threat of Russian Invasion to Dominate G7; Key Measure of U.S. Inflation Rises to 39-Year High; U.S. Supreme Court Lets Texas Abortion Restrictions Stand; Majority Polled Say Boris Johnson Should Resign over Party Scandal; Michael Nesmith of The Monkees Dies at 78. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired December 11, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm Kim Brunhuber. And we're starting with the breaking news.
This hour, a powerful storm system is working its way through the central U.S. Millions are at risk. More than 200,000 homes and businesses are without power. And at least 24 tornadoes have already been reported across five states.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Have a look here. If you look closely, you can see a tornado. The darkness makes it harder to see it and even more dangerous. At least two people have been killed in Arkansas; one at a Dollar General store, another at a nursing home, where 20 others were rescued.
And in Illinois, emergency crews are searching for people feared trapped inside a damaged Amazon warehouse. Some people there are waiting on word from loved ones.
Meanwhile, in the state of Kentucky, the governor is declaring a state of emergency due to heavy damage throughout the state.
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GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): The damage is significant. We expect multiple fatalities. Graves County and the city of Mayfield have been hit really hard. This is going to be some of the worst tornado damage that we've seen in a long time.
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(WEATHER REPORT) BRUNHUBER: My colleague, Michael Holmes, just spoke to storm chaser
Michael Gordon, who is sharing the story. Here it is.
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MICHAEL GORDON, STORM CHASER: Devastation. I mean, that's -- buildings leveled. Homes leveled. Rubble everywhere. There is -- it's -- it's hard to explain, especially in the dark right now. It's very sad.
You look around and you have people walking on the streets, other families looking for their loved ones still. I was out earlier before this call, going through some of the homes, trying to help out as much as I could.
I think the Mayfield city -- the city of Mayfield's been on top of it.
[04:05:00]
GORDON: They got -- the personnel, they got the search-and-rescue teams out. They got dogs out now. I have been seeing a lot more rescue efforts. But the damage is pretty much undescribable (sic).
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And -- and to put that in context, I mean, you -- you chase storms. This is kind of what you do.
How does this compare?
GORDON: This is probably one of the worst storms that I have seen, the closest I've ever been to such a large tornado in my life. And it's -- like I said, it's -- it's really undescribable (sic). There's --
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HOLMES: What did it look like?
What did it feel like as -- as you're looking at this biggest tornado you've seen?
What does that feel like?
What goes through your head?
GORDON: I -- I don't know what I was feeling at that point. I was trying to -- to figure out where it was at. And I could see it. And then it would go away and then I could see it again. But after it got past me is when I noticed really how large this tornado was.
When it was coming head on, it didn't look as large until it got past me. Then I could see the debris flying everywhere, the -- you know, the -- the width of that tornado and the power. You could just -- you could feel the power.
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BRUNHUBER: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is offering new details about those who have contracted the Omicron variant in the U.S. It says most of the 43 infections have been mild. But a majority of those people had been vaccinated and 14 of them had already gotten their boosters.
More than half of U.S. states have now identified a case of the Omicron variant. It comes amid an uptick of COVID-19 infections nationwide, pushing some hospitals to the brink. CNN's Athena Jones has the story.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. COVID-19 cases on the rise, again. Now averaging nearly 120,000 new infections a day. Up more than 50 percent over a month ago.
Case numbers increasing in 26 states. Hospitals strained in hard-hit Michigan, Ohio and Arizona. Indiana now becoming the latest state to call on the National Guard to help overwhelmed hospital workers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hospital beds, the monitors don't feel that -- I mean, our -- we are tired. Our people are incredibly tired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The surge is definitely upon us.
JONES (voice-over): And in New Hampshire, the governor warning --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a rough winter. There is no doubt about it. I don't think these numbers are going to really finish peaking until January.
JONES (voice-over): The nationwide surge driven almost entirely by the highly contagious Delta variant.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We need to be on a wartime footing because we are at war with an enemy that is killing 1,200 Americans a day and I just don't see it.
JONES (voice-over): Doctors say most of those hospitalized are unvaccinated. But as the U.S. prepares to mark one year since the first shots went into arms, the pace of COVID vaccinations is up almost 40 percent over a month ago, with nearly 460,000 people getting their first shot each day and some 2 million total doses administered a day. About half of them, booster shots.
Early studies suggest boosters increase protection against the new Omicron variant. Dr. Anthony Fauci telling CNN, the National Institutes of Health will likely have data early next week from lab tests on vaccine effectiveness.
With the CDC confirming today cases among those infected with Omicron in the U.S. have been mild and among those already vaccinated, that mirrors what is being seen in South Africa, where the variant was initially identified.
SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, SOUTH AFRICAN COVID-19 ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Cases tend, on the whole, to be milder with fewer requiring oxygenation. So it's -- you know, interesting that it's emerging, it's confirming what we know. And certainly no red flags at this stage.
JONES: And here in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a new temporary mask mandate, requiring New Yorkers to wear masks in all indoor public spaces, unless businesses implement a vaccine requirement.
The new mandate will be effective starting Monday through at least January 15th. Violators will face a fine of up to $1,000 and civil and criminal penalties.
Hochul saying the new mandate is necessary to get ahead of a winter surge that is seeing increased cases, reduced hospital capacity and insufficient vaccination rates in certain areas -- Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
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BRUNHUBER: As more European countries see a surge of infections, the U.K. is urging people to get a COVID-19 booster shot. It comes as a new study there that warns two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are insufficient against the Omicron variant. CNN's Eleni Giokos joins me from Athens.
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BRUNHUBER: Eleni, are the tough measures and restrictions in Europe starting to pay off?
ELENI GIOKOS, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, over the summer, you saw a relaxing of measures, particularly in the U.K. and recently, they have reunited the wearing of masks, which they did away with and it was controversial in certain public areas and also in close spaces.
And is this because you're seeing a doubling of the Omicron variant in the U.K. in two to three days. The health secretary came out this week and said that the Omicron cases in the U.K. could reach 1 million by the end of the month.
You've seen a rise in hospitalization rates. I mean, you also saw the data that came through, about a third jab being the secret to fighting Omicron. We also know that unvaccinated are most at risk in terms of catching severe illness. That now even coming out of South Africa, that those that are vaccinated are getting a milder COVID Omicron illness.
Now if I look at the other cases in Europe, Germany hit record daily deaths this week. They're clamping down on the unvaccinated, saying you can't go into public areas apart from essential businesses if you haven't been jabbed.
You've got a big strain on the health cases there, specifically coming through ICU wards. France reporting the highest positive daily rates since the start of pandemic, they're not putting restrictions in place yet.
But you're seeing Germany and France talking about vaccine mandates. And they're taking it seriously, because they know this is going to be the secret in terms of dealing with the new variant, which, of course, we don't know much about. But the data is starting to show us that the vaccines working.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, Eleni Giokos in Athens, thanks so much.
South Africa has been announced plans to roll out Pfizer booster shots in the coming weeks. One expert says evidence suggests this new strain spreads more easily. But while new infections are on the rise, so is vaccine hesitancy. CNN's Larry Madowo has more.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A procession of hearses drives through Soweto. No, it's not a funeral. They're just trying to scare people into getting vaccinated. Even death will not convince some South Africans to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the government is trying to control us by using this vaccine.
MADOWO (voice-over): The South African government says it has enough vaccines. But vaccine hesitancy that has been bubbling under the surface has spilled into the open.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young people, we won't take it, unless we have more information.
MADOWO (voice-over): As South Africa enters its fourth wave of the pandemic, the country is considering making vaccines mandatory. More than 90,000 deaths and the fear of another hard lockdown has won some people over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't be stuck like that. We are like locked in a cage. We can't do anything. Can't be living like this, man.
Why not?
Why not?
We're isolated today because you don't want to vaccinate.
MADOWO (voice-over): South Africa plans to fully vaccinate at least 70 percent of the adult population by the end of the year. But the current rate is only about 38 percent and time is running out.
MADOWO: There's spirited public debate in South Africa about getting vaccine mandates and vaccine passports and those have been some of the loud in the public sphere.
But whether they like them or not, they're popping up across the nation.
MADOWO (voice-over): Some of South Africa's largest companies have announced vaccine mandates for their staff: get vaccinated, face testing or risk getting fired. Influential members of the business, trade union and civil society community support restrictions on the unvaccinated.
LISA SEITEL, NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LABOUR COUNCIL: There is now a much stronger call to strengthen our existing provisions in legislation and regulation for it to be mandatory in workplaces.
Entry into big events, like soccer matches, cultural events and so on, only vaccinated people should have entrance into that.
MADOWO (voice-over): The University of the Witwatersrand or Wits is among the growing list of institutions that will require students and staff to be fully vaccinated so it can restart some in-person classes in the first part of 2022 after nearly two years online.
PROF. ZEBLON VILAKAZI, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND: Universities by themselves are going to get after young people and they're the potential superspreaders. But there is broad support by the community that it was bold and took decisive leadership action in helping the country get to the next side of COVID.
MADOWO (voice-over): But student leaders oppose the school's vaccine mandate.
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CEBOLENKOSI KHUMALO, WITS STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Our responsibilities as leaders of society is to make sure our students, our people, are well informed in terms of rights. In fact, they have the right to choose to say can they be vaccinated or not.
MADOWO (voice-over): A recent study found support for COVID-19 mandates.
PROF. CARIN RUNCIMAN, UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG CENTRE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: What we found is half of the public support for vaccine mandates at workplaces and the introduction of vaccine passports, so vaccine passports to enter public spaces.
MADOWO (voice-over): So far from herd immunity, South Africa's vaccination rate is among the highest in Africa. The government and the private sector think they can do even better -- Larry Madowo, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: Professor Kelley Lee is a Canada Research Chair in Global Health Governance. She's the leader of the Pandemic Borders Project and a professor of Global Health Policy at Simon Fraser University. She joins me from British Columbia.
Thank you for being here with us.
You know, when the new variants come predictably, new travel restrictions, right?
The South African countries, which have been targeted by the latest bans, they've been saying bans are ineffective. They're just bad science. Here's a member of the Coronavirus Task Force speaking to CNN earlier.
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SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, SOUTH AFRICAN COVID-19 ADVISORY COMMITTEE: I think it should never have been imposed in the first place. We know that these bans have very little, if any, benefit. And I would have hoped by now that the U.S. would have reconsidered its position because there's nothing to be gained.
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BRUNHUBER: And then he goes on to say, if you were to target the countries where is Omicron is spreading, you'd basically have to ban travel from some 50 countries, not just the ones from Southern Africa, which the U.S. is banning right now.
From what you've seen in terms of the U.S. as far as the travel bans in response to Omicron, are we doing it wrong?
KELLEY LEE, CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR IN GLOBAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE: Well, unfortunately, we are doing it wrong. So I would say we never should not use targeted measures.
But at this point in the pandemic, when we have globally circulating variants, it doesn't make sense to target a specific country. The problem is, this variant in particular has been circulating for, I think, two months. And by that time, you know, you can't really say that the variant is specifically associated with a specific set of countries.
So putting these targeted bans on, usually it means you're too late. You're moving too slow. And you might be distracted from incoming viruses from other countries. And it's also unfair because it's punishing a country for being honest. And you want countries to come forward and disclose information. So you're disincentivizing countries from doing that.
BRUNHUBER: You're closing the barn door after the horse had bolted. But Dr. Fauci recognized some of what you had to say. He was saying the argument with the latest travel ban is just buying the U.S. time.
Do you buy that argument?
LEE: Well, you can buy time if you're at the beginning of a pandemic and there's very little pathogen circulating. You can buy a little bit of time.
The problem is now, though, unless you maintain the border measures that other countries have done -- and the U.S. has not done that -- what you're doing is reacting and you're reacting late.
And so there's not a lot of time to buy. And as I said, the virus, the variant is circulating quite widely. What you want to do is put those measures onto all travelers, not just targeted ones. Definitely do something; border measures can be a variety of things --
testing, quarantine, contact tracing. By targeting those specific countries is not where you're going to buy yourself time, at least not enough to do any good. And actually you're doing more harm than good.
BRUNHUBER: So, you know, this has been going on for almost two years. You'd think we kind of, you know, know what we were doing when it came to COVID and travel bans.
I mean, why are we so bad at this?
LEE: Well, I guess to some extent, it's very unprecedented. We've never had to shut down travel for such a long period of time. We've come out of years of record travel in the world, because of globalization. Tourism was setting records in 2019. And along comes the pandemic.
And we've never really had to restrict travel in this way. So we're in unknown territory in a way. And really, ideally, this shouldn't have happened; countries were supposed to cooperate together under the international health regulations and coordinate their efforts. And we haven't seen that.
And we've seen, you know, a lot of national policies taking priority over multilateralism in a lot of ways. And this is what's happened. It's chaos.
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LEE: And, unfortunately, yes, we've had two years of this. And you would think we'd learn by now that going our own way isn't going to work. So the lessons of coordinated response is what we need to get out of the pandemic in terms of travel as well as other aspects of the response.
BRUNHUBER: So with that harmonized -- you know, having harmonized international standards, you've studied WHO reform. You know the challenges.
I mean, is that actually realistic, given that we can't even agree on much within the U.S., let alone between countries?
LEE: Yes, we are in a very difficult time in terms of cooperation. But I would say that the hope is that coordinating action on travel actually benefits everyone. So it benefits the travel industry. It benefits travelers. And it benefits public health. And there's a win- win-win here.
So if we can coordinate the use of travel measures, rather than having them used chaotically by individual countries and inconsistently, this would really be a tool, really, to get us through this pandemic.
If we don't have this, what we're going to have is continued chaos and really undermine the ability of countries to manage the risk from travel, from variants that continue to arise and spread around the world through travel. And this is going to harm everyone. So the incentive is there to cooperate.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, if we know anything, as you say, it's that there will be more variants and, hopefully, by the next one, we will have learned some of these lessons. Professor Kelley Lee, thank you for being with us. Really appreciate it.
LEE: Thanks, Kim.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still ahead on CNN, the top diplomats, the world's wealthiest democracies meeting in England on how deal with Russia's provocative military buildup near the Ukrainian border. We'll have a live report from Liverpool just ahead.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken and his G7 counterparts are now gathering in Liverpool. And topping their agenda is the volatile situation along the border between Ukraine and Russia.
Russia's foreign minister on Friday issued an ultimatum to NATO to rescind its membership invitations to Ukraine and Georgia, a demand that NATO quickly rejected.
Meanwhile, a U.S. officials says a shipment of small arms and ammunition has arrived in Ukraine. CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is standing by in Liverpool.
Nic, unity against Russia and China, is that going to be the central theme here?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and Russia really dominating the issue.
Look, in all of the conversations we've been hearing that have been coming from leaders, diplomats in recent weeks, it is about unity. So expect that to be repeated here. And I think a hint of it released in secretary of state Blinken's audio playlist, songs that he listens to himself when he's traveling to and from this type of summit.
Top of the list, perhaps, no surprise, "Penny Lane" from The Beatles, from this famous city. Second on the list, another Liverpool anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Perhaps a subliminal message there, a between-the-lines message for Ukraine, that they are not alone, that the leaders here want to send Russia an unequivocal, clear message that, if there is an incursion into Ukraine by Russian forces, that are right now, we understand, amassing more troops from the border, undergoing live fire exercises with 1,500 troops very close to the border of Ukraine, that if there is an incursion, there will be a price to pay. And that's what the British foreign secretary Liz Truss said.
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LIZ TRUSS, U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY AND MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND EQUALITIES: I share the view that it would be extremely serious if Russia were to take that action. It would be a strategic mistake and there would be severe consequences for Russia. And what we're doing this weekend is working with like-minded allies to spell it out.
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ROBERTSON: (INAUDIBLE) this G7, relatively new in the job of foreign minister, seven -- rather, a couple of months now. But also new foreign ministers here from Japan, from Canada.
And the most newly minted from Germany, secretary of state Antony Blinken meeting with her yesterday. U.S. President Joe Biden also speaking with the new German chancellor Olaf Scholz. And overnight U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen talking to her opposite number in Germany.
Why?
Because if economic sanctions are going to be placed on Russia because of an incursion, Germany will be front and center on that. So seeking early alignment with the new government in Germany.
But in here, talking not just about Russia, about China, about Afghanistan, on Iran the pressing issue right now, the Iran nuclear deal talks underway in Vienna are not producing much progress. Expect Myanmar, the Western Balkans also well, Ethiopia, to be topics of discussion.
BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll be following it throughout the weekend. Nic Robertson in Liverpool, thanks so much.
Interviews published by Axios reveal that Donald Trump had hard feelings about former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulating Joe Biden on winning.
Trump saying, "It was early, OK. Let's put it this way. He greeted him very early, earlier than most world leaders. I've not spoken to him since. Fuck him."
The Israeli journalist who conducted the interview appeared on CNN.
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BARAK RAVID, ISRAELI JOURNALIST: As you were surprised in the U.S., just imagine what people here in Israel thought because, until today, everybody thought they were best friends, no daylight between them. And from now on, it's clear that this was bullshit.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: A statement from the Likud Party said "Former prime minister Netanyahu greatly appreciates president Trump's great contribution to the state of Israel and its security.
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"He also greatly appreciated the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States and, therefore, it was important for him to congratulate the incoming president."
With food and gas, U.S. President Joe Biden doesn't believe rising costs are here to stay. That's ahead. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: All right. More now on our breaking news, the destructive line of tornadoes from a storm threatening millions across the central U.S. At least 26 tornadoes have been reported across five states.
The storms have claimed the lives of at least two people in Arkansas and dozens of deaths are also expected in Kentucky, where a state of emergency is now in effect. The state's governor just said more than 50 fatalities are likely.
Scenes of destruction are beginning to emerge from the western part of the state. A tornado warning has also been posted for Nashville, Tennessee.
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BRUNHUBER: Americans are paying more for everyday goods than they were this time last year. New data shows a key measure of inflation climbed to a level not seen since 1982.
Gas prices are up 58 percent, energy costs up 33 percent and grocery prices up 6.4 percent. And as Phil Mattingly reports, U.S. President Joe Biden believes lower prices are on the way.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every other aspect of the economy is racing ahead. It's doing incredibly well.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden trying to highlight the positive as a complicated picture of the economy emerges.
BIDEN: But inflation is affecting people's lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy New Year! MATTINGLY: Inflation hitting its highest point since 1982. A surge in consumer demand continues to run headlong into pandemic-driven supply constraints, rising 6.8 percent in November from the year prior. Prices were up 0.8 percent from October, ticking down slightly but still marking an alarmingly rapid pace.
White House officials keenly aware of what was coming and moving to counter the numbers before they were released.
BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: That data is, by definition, backward looking and so, it won't capture some recent price movements, particularly in the area of energy.
MATTINGLY: Pointing to an array of positive economic signals from easing shipping bottlenecks to gas prices that have dropped an average of 9 cents from the month prior, to broader metrics like robust job, wage and economic growth.
DEESE: The strength of our labor market and the strength of wage increases and the steps that we've taken to try to provide some relief to American families position our economy and American households uniquely well to address what is a global issue around price increases and the context of supply chains.
MATTINGLY: But the progress undercut by a political reality apparent in poll after poll. One President Biden himself has made a point to acknowledge in recent weeks. BIDEN: It's not enough to know that we're making progress. You need
to see it and feel it in your own lives.
MATTINGLY: And creating a real potential roadblock for the $1.75 trillion cornerstone of Biden's domestic agenda. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a critical holdout has for months pointed to inflation as a primary driver of his reluctance to support the bill.
And as Democrats push toward Senate consideration of that bill, Republicans directing a political maneuver aimed squarely at Manchin's spending concerns, releasing a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the bill if its spending provisions were extended for a full 10 years.
Finally, it would add $3 trillion to the debt.
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MATTINGLY (voice-over): Democrats casting that aside as a political ploy, noting it's an analysis that reflects, in the words of Speaker Pelosi, an imaginary bill.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's not about the existing bill. Anybody is debating or voting on.
MATTINGLY: And for the White House, obviously, the price increases are a major concern for Americans and also a big concern for the president's agenda and really has an audience of one at this point. Senator Joe Manchin, somebody the president said, on Friday, he's
going to be talking to early next week. And this comes at such a crucial moment, with that $1.75 trillion package, the Senate Democrats trying to move it before the Christmas holiday.
But they can't move it without Manchin's vote, Biden trying to secure that vote.
When asked if he thought he could by CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Biden said, "I don't know yet" -- Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Texas to keep its abortion law in place for now. It bars abortion after six weeks, before many people know they're pregnant. But it allows for providers to challenge the law in court. Jessica Schneider has more.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The threat to abortion in Texas remains. Supreme Court justices leaving in place a controversial Texas law that bans most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected around six weeks. Anti-abortion advocates are celebrating.
JOHN SEAGO, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, TEXAS RIGHT TO LIFE: The court has allowed the Texas law to stay in effect for 101 days now and we're very confident that is going to stay in effect.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): While the Supreme Court did not step in to block the allow, it did rule in favor of abortion providers, saying that they can sue some state officials, sending the case back to the lower courts.
Chief Justice John Roberts writing with the court's liberals, saying, given the ongoing chilling effect of the state law, the district court should resolve this litigation and enter appropriate relief without delay.
But the ruling still dealing abortion clinics a blow, while a lower court looks into the issue, private individuals won't be stopped from suing any person involved in performing an abortion after six weeks, with payouts under the law amounting to $10,000 per case if the plaintiff wins.
Clinics across Texas have shut down because of that threat of litigation.
LINDSAY LANGHOLZ, DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROGRAM, AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY: It is going to be hugely problematic, as we go forward, that these cases continue to be brought and they continue to have a chilling effect on people's access to abortion care.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The law has now been in effect 100 days since September 1st. In that time, abortion clinics in surrounding states have reported being overwhelmed at the number of Texas women coming in for procedures and low-income women without the means to travel have been left with few options.
Liberal-leaning Justice Sonia Sotomayor slammed the Supreme Court's decision, saying the court should have put an end to this madness months ago. My disagreement with the court runs far deeper than a quibble over how many defendants these petitioners may sue. The dispute is over whether states may nullify federal constitutional rights by employing schemes, like the one at hand.
SCHNEIDER: Abortion rights advocates are vowing to keep fighting even though they say they've only been left with a shred of a case.
The Supreme Court also dismissed the case that was brought by the Justice Department to challenge S.B. 8.
A spokesperson for the attorney general saying that they will continue to challenge the law in the lower courts since the law itself deprives Americans of their constitutional rights established under Roe v. Wade -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. officials and dignitaries filled Washington National Cathedral Friday for the funeral of former senator Bob Dole. President Biden's eulogy recalled their 25 years in the U.S. Senate. Despite being on opposite sides of the aisle, Biden called Dole a genuine hero and a man of his word.
Dole spent 35 years in Congress, most of them in the Senate. He ran for president three times and was the Republican nominee in 1996, losing to Bill Clinton. His casket has been flown to his home state of Kansas for memorial services there and will be returned to Washington for interment.
Coming up, more fallout from the U.K. Christmas party scandal. It's now hitting Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party in the polls. We're live from London straight ahead. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: A huge explosion Friday at a Palestinian refugee camp in the Lebanese port city of Tyre. Local media and sources on the ground report nobody was killed and there were no serious injuries. The details surrounding the blast are still unclear.
But Sanad (ph) News agency reports the explosion happened when oxygen cylinders, stored to treat COVID-19 patients, ignited. Lebanese state media had reported it took place at a Hamas warehouse, filled with ammunition.
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BRUNHUBER: U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson is taking a hit in the polls after reports his staff had multiple parties last year, when London was under lockdown; 54 percent of Britons say Johnson should resign.
One official already did after a video emerged, showing her joking about a Christmas party. Downing Street continues to insist there was no party and coronavirus rules were followed. CNN's Nada Bashir joins me from London.
Nada, this story isn't going anywhere.
What's the latest?
NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Kim. There's been a real knock on confidence in the prime minister Boris Johnson and his party after that video showing his former spokesperson, suggesting there may well have been a gathering of some sort at Downing Street ahead of Christmas last year.
And seemingly making light of those COVID restrictions. Now reporting from CNN affiliate ITV News, Jack Doyle, Johnson's press chief, might have been present at a Downing Street gathering ahead of Christmas, making a speech for up to 50 people in attendance and handing out mock awards and certificates.
That has been deeply frustrating for many to hear of this taking place, allegedly, during the time during which the country was under strict COVID regulations. And now polling has shown that 71 percent of Britons believe that this party did take place, despite the fact that the prime minister has vehemently denied this, has denied that any COVID regulations were broken.
And the majority of those people polled who did say they believe the parties did take place were voters of prime minister Boris Johnson in the last election.
So there's a deep sense of anger and frustration over the suggestion that a party had taken place. As you mentioned, there have been calls for resignations of the prime minister and others. The former spokesperson has already given her resignation. But there's calls for tougher action as well.
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BASHIR: London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for a police inquiry into the potential breaching of COVID regulations although police say there's no evidence at this stage. And the prime minister has called on his cabinet secretary to launch an inquiry into the suggested gathering.
But there is a real sense of frustration. Many will remember last year during the COVID lockdowns and during the regulations put in place, the police had pretty stringent measures to shut down social gatherings, handing out penalties and fines on the spot.
We heard from social justice groups and human rights organizations last year, saying during the lockdowns many of these penalties were disproportionately targeting the Black and minorities communities.
So there's questions as to whether the government will be held to account there.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. We'll follow that. Nada Bashir in London, thanks so much.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is one step closer to being extradited to the U.S.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): His supporters rallied outside of an appeal court in London as it overturned the ruling that blocked his handover. The new decision was reached after the U.S. gave assurances as to how he's to be treated if extradited.
Assange is wanted on espionage charges in publishing a massive trove of U.S. classified information 11 years ago. But his supporters, including his fiancee, say he was doing legitimate work as a journalist.
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STELLA MORIS, JULIAN ASSANGE'S FIANCEE: I urge everyone to come together and fight for Julian. He represents all our liberties and all our rights. His lawyers are intending to seek -- to appeal to the Supreme Court on this decision.
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BRUNHUBER: Julian Assange could face up 175 years if convicted on all of these charges.
And CNN NEWSROOM will be right back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Grammy award winning musician Michael Nesmith of The Monkees has passed away of heart failure at his home in California on Friday.
He was a successful songwriter before he shot to stardom in the 1960s hit TV show, "The Monkees," a campy sitcom about a quartet struggling to get noticed. When the show's producers rejected his song, "Different Drum," it
became Linda Ronstadt's breakthrough single. Nesmith and The Monkees soon evolved into a real band, with hits that turned them into pop idols for a time.
Nesmith and surviving band mate, Mickey Dolenz, performed together as The Monkees as recently as last month. Michael Nesmith was 78.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. We'll be back in just a moment.
