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VP Harris: WH "Didn't See" Delta Or Omicron Variant Coming; Cases, Hospitalizations Surging Ahead Of The Holidays; Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Approaches Final Day In Office; Insurrection Investigation; Build Back Better Talks Hit A Wall; NFL Postpones Games Due To COVID Surge. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired December 18, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:25]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. And happy Saturday to you. Thanks for joining me.

I'm Amara Walker, in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with health officials sounding a warning over the threat of a new deadly surge of COVID-19 this winter fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant. And delta, the variant that's currently causing a rapid new rise in cases and hospitalizations across the United States. Both are now at levels not seen since September at the end of the summer spike.

And now a stunning new admission from Vice President Kamala Harris claiming the White House didn't see either of the variants coming, telling the "L.A. Times", "We didn't see delta coming. I think most scientists did not, upon whose advice and direction we have relied, didn't see delta coming. We didn't see omicron coming."

And that's the nature of what this awful virus has been which as it turns out has mutations and variants.

CNN's Jasmine Wright and Polo Sandoval are joining us now with more. And Jasmine, let's start with you because this was a very candid admission. And the vice president seems to be contradicting an administration for which she works that has tried to portray itself as being on top of the virus. Why?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Amara. Well look, these comments are definitely puzzling. Now just a few moments ago, I spoke to a Harris adviser who argued that Harris was referring to the exact kind of mutation, not the prevalence of variants themselves.

The official argued that both Harris and President Biden have for months been encouraging and really forcefully pushing Americans to get their vaccines and get their boosters all because of the potential of mutations and variants circulating.

But let's take one step back because these comments from the vice president really come after a summer of what kind of seemed like the administration being caught flat-footed and playing catchup as the delta variant circulated around the country causing cases to uptick, causing hospitalizations to rise.

And of course, now we have the omicron variant really circling around the country as well. So these comments from the vice president don't necessarily help the administration's larger goal of proving to the American people that they are capable of taking control and keeping the American people safe.

And one other thing that the vice president said in this "L.A. Times" interview is she talked about kind of what her singular regret was in terms of the pandemic. And one of the things that she identified was vaccine misinformation, underestimating the prevalence of vaccine misinformation.

I want to read to you a quote. She says that "The biggest threats still to the American people is the threat to the unvaccinated. And most people who believe in the efficacy of the vaccine and the seriousness of the virus have been vaccinated. That troubles me deeply."

So this is something that the vice president has talked about pretty frequently. Misinformation and trying to get folks vaccinated. So here is the vice president saying that the prevalence of the unvaccinated troubles her deeply, Amara.

WALKER: Yes. Again, a very candid interview right. And as we know, Jasmine, the Biden administration has tried to impose three vaccine mandates, all of had have been challenged legally.

But look, there's some good news this morning because the administration now has scored a win on enforcing vaccine mandates for larger employers.

Tell us more about this new ruling, Jasmine, and when it would go into effect.

WRIGHT: Yes. You're right, Amara. It is a big win for the administration. So the Labor Department yesterday in responding to the ruling, the decision, they said that it would -- they would not issue citations for noncompliance to employers before January 10th, giving a bit of leeway for employers to make sure that their employees are vaccinated or in that testing mode before January 10th as these kind of cases mount.

But again, this is going to be really going to the Supreme Court. And they're going to decide the fate of these vaccine mandates. So for today, for the Biden administration it is a win. Amara.

WALKER: It sure is. All right. Jasmine Wright, appreciate your reporting.

Let's turn it over now to Polo who is in New York. And look, we're already seeing surges in several parts of the country, including where you are in New York. We are seeing it here in the south. All the way out in Hawaii.

[11:04:50]

WALKER: Tell us what you are seeing there because Broadway is already starting to cancel shows. We know some universities are going back to online learning. What's the reaction been to this surge, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Amara, just Thursday alone certainly gave New Yorkers at least an additional reason to worry when New York state saw its largest -- let's say its highest COVID count to date, about 21,000 -- a little over 21,000 cases.

And because of that, obviously a lot of New Yorkers are certainly getting that message. And we saw that today on the sidewalk just outside of an urgent care facility here in Manhattan. There was a massive line behind me just in the last hour who finally was able to get taken care of here.

A lot of those individuals who I had the opportunity to speak to came here hoping to get that COVID test done. You know, obviously we have a lot of people who have been vaccinated. You have a lot of people -- a significant number who have been boosted. But then there is still that uncertainty especially as we get closer to holiday gatherings.

You are about to hear from some of the folks who are waiting in line to get that test done. Yes, there are some who actually have been scaling back on their plans. And there are others who really don't feel a massive sense of gravity compared to what we were experiencing last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAISSA DORFF, NYC RESIDENT GETTING TESTED: Because I've been potentially exposed, I've had friends -- or I had a niece that was going to come up here to visit. We canceled that.

I had friends that were like, oh, let's have a little gathering. And I already got texts saying maybe next year.

BRIAN MOSLEY, NYC RESIDENT: I'm not too worried because I got the booster shot. I'm just about to travel, so it's a requirement to get the test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So that's just New York. Let's just bring it out a little wider real quick. Two other indicators -- key indicators here, according to officials that, are up about 40 percent. That's a seven- day average, topped about 120,000 this week.

And the total number of hospitalizations also increasing slightly, Amara. And that really speaks to the strain that some of our health care facilities are experiencing right now throughout the country yet again.

WALKER: Yet again. Deja vu all over again unfortunately. Polo Sandoval, I appreciate your reporting. And thank you know as well, Jasmine Wright.

So with cases rising, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the time for the vaccinated to get a booster shot is now before the omicron variant becomes the dominant strain here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: And that's the reason why we are really encouraging very strongly that when you are eligible for a booster to get boosted. Because the data I showed indicated that particularly with omicron that the level of protection goes really rather low in a range that may not be as protective as we like. But yet, when you get that boost, it goes right up there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right. Joining us now is primary care physician and public health specialist Dr. Saju Matthew. Good morning to you, Doctor.

So first off, as we have been saying, the CDC says only one in six Americans have received a booster shot. Dr. Fauci is saying, look, it's -- time is now. Get that booster, especially if you're eligible.

But at this point would you say it's too late to avoid another winter surge, or is it already in process?

DR. SAJU MATTHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: You know, I'll tell you what, Amara, this is the last thing we wanted to hear. We're already dealing with the delta surge, which by the way, is the predominant surge.

And now we have this terrible cousin called omicron, which by the way, the doubling time is every two to three days. You can imagine, Amara, that a city like Chattanooga, a city like New York City, can be infected within a matter of weeks if this doubles every two to three days.

I don't think it's too late to answer your question, Amara. But I definitely think that the cases are going to surge in the next few weeks.

We are already at over 100,000 daily cases. We could get to over 500,000 -- 600,000 daily cases if delta and omicron co-exist.

So the bottom line again is you absolutely must not only get fully vaccinated but get boosted as well to have protection against omicron.

WALKER: What would you say to the skeptics who say, look, you know, yes, omicron is here. But it looks like -- we don't know for sure, but it looks like the disease is mild at this point. Although as you're saying it is doubling every few days. So how concerned should we be about omicron? DR. MATTHEW: I think we should be quite concerned. And I'll tell you

why. We don't really know if this is any less dangerous, any less deadly. We know that it's more transmissible, more contagious. But we don't really know quite get if this is actually going to cause more or less deaths.

But this is what I tell people. I'm about to release a video on my Twitter page @DrSajuMatthew titled "The best gift as a young kid you can give your grandparents is to get vaccinated this holiday."

And I'll tell you why. A lot of my friends in New York, I was talking to them last night, they feel like pretty much everybody in New York City is infected with omicron, is the fact that even if it ends up being mild, we don't know if this can cause long COVID.

Remember, long COVID happens after you have symptomatic COVID or asymptomatic COVID, you recover, and then a few weeks later patients come in to see me saying I have brain fog, difficulty articulating.

[11:09:58]

DR. MATTHEW: So for all the young people who think this is mild, remember we still don't know the possible effects of long COVID.

WALKER: Yes. That's actually a very good point. And we don't hear enough about the effects of long COVID. And a lot of people months later saying they still have issues with tasting and smelling their own food.

Look, I have to say I was a little bummed when I heard Pfizer saying that its trials on vaccines for ages 2 to 5 years old didn't show the immunity that they had hoped for or had expected. And it looks like they are adding now a third dose of the regimen.

So it probably won't be until second quarter next year is what we're hearing, that there is going to be possibly an EUA for this age group for the COVID vaccine. But what is your advice to parents who, let's say they're both boosted? What should they do to protect their children? Can they go about their normal lives and eat indoors or should they be more cautious because of omicron?

DR. MATTHEW: Yes. And you know, listen, Amara, I know you've got a young kid at home so this is even more, you know, important to you. But just to answer your question about the dosing. Remember that is actually good news. That means that Pfizer is trying to find out the perfect dose, the lowest dose that will not cause any potential side effects in the young kids. So that actually means that science is working. They will definitely make sure they find the right dose. And before we know it, our young kids could be vaccinated as well.

But until then, it's the same advice that I'm going to give people this holiday. If you have young kids that cannot get vaccinated and definitely elderly people that we have to protect, you still need to be cautious.

A couple of things you can do for the holidays is to get tested the day of. We have these home testing kits. I know they're difficult to get. I try to get some for my vacation with my family. But I think you can test the day of when you're getting together with people and obviously also continue to wear masks.

I think it's really important, Amara that people realize that the KN95 and the N95 mask is also added layers of protection. And we have to up our mask game.

So people can still have a good holiday if you're vaccinated and boosted. If you're not, protect the young kids by masking. And I probably would avoid indoor gatherings or indoor restaurant dinings. Not indoor gatherings if people are vaccinated.

WALKER: All right. Some good advice there. We appreciate your time as always. Dr. Saju Matthew, thank you.

DR. MATTHEW: Thanks, Amara.

WALKER: All right. Still ahead, the surge in COVID cases wreaking havoc on professional sports. How the leagues are responding. That's ahead.

Plus, sources telling CNN which former Trump official they believe was behind one of the texts sent to Mark Meadows about overturning the January 6th election. Details next. The 2020 election.

[11:12:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: In just a couple of weeks, the New Year will bring a new leader for the city of Atlanta. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms did not run for re-election in November after four years in office.

She became a national figure as her city faced many challenges from racial injustice protests to a global pandemic.

And as her final days in office approached, Mayor Bottoms sat down with CNN's Fredricka Whitfield for a candid, wide-ranging interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So great to see you.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), OUTGOING ATLANTA MAYOR: It is great to see you. I feel like this is now our full circle.

It really is full circle. One of the first interviews I did with CNN. I sat down and spoke with you so thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Well, thank you for joining us so many times over so many a variety of occasions in the last four years.

I mean your term as mayor of the nation's 38th largest city ends as the New Year begins. So as you reflect on your term, what are the high points? What are the low points? What are the areas that you felt like really shaped you as a leader?

BOTTOMS: Oh, there are so many moments over the last four years. Of course, there was the pandemic that we have all endured together. Still in the middle of a pandemic. And then the protests of last summer.

But even before that at the beginning of my term, we experienced three months into my swearing-in, the largest cyber attack in the history of any city in America. It completely crippled our systems for nearly a year. And there was a very large federal investigation into the last administration.

WHITFIELD: So let's zero in on some of those because it also means that your leadership was tested. What do you suppose your leadership role teaches you about -- or has taught you about yourself?

BOTTOMS: That I'm resilient, just like our city is resilient, just like our country is resilient. And there are moments that you don't script. But within you and within all of us I think it's really the strength and the courage to face those moments.

And I heard Maya Angelou say I did then what I knew to do and when you know better, you do better. And that's what the last four years have been about. I can't say it's always been perfect leadership. But with whatever has come our way, come my way, I have done the best that I could in the moment. And I've learned that I am deliberate and afraid of nothing, as Audrey Lord said.

WHITFIELD: And what do you suppose the nation and the city learned about you? Because, as you just mentioned, it didn't take long before you were recognized not just as a leader of a municipality, but you became a nation's leader, too.

[11:19:59]

WHITFIELD: And let's talk about, you know, particularly during the Trump administration. I mean he singled you out on several occasions. He singled out the city on several occasions, whether it was about immigration. You took a stand saying you refused to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.

BOTTOMS: As a country, we are better than this. We are better than separating families.

WHITFIELD: And you also stood up to the president when he called Atlanta crime-infested as though termites or rodents had infested the city. How did you do that?

BOTTOMS: Well, I hope that what America saw is that I'm a lot tougher than I look. A lot of times we judge people based on what we see and what we think we know about them. But for leaders across this country, we had to lead in the absence of leadership with Donald Trump.

And for someone to come for Atlanta and to disparage Atlanta and the leadership and the people of Atlanta and the way that he did a lot of cities and a lot of countries, a lot of leaders across the country -- it wasn't difficult for me to confront that.

And that's what you do when you are faced with a bully. You confront the bully. And oftentimes the bully will stand down.

WHITFIELD: What guided you through that?

BOTTOMS: I think it is a deep-seated courage that's probably been a part of who I am for my entire life. Growing up -- having the benefit of growing up in Atlanta as a child, an African American child. You see leaders who look like you. And you see people who are doing extraordinary things. So it never occurred to me that I couldn't be courageous or that I couldn't do something extraordinary. Because there are always examples around me, from my teachers to my grandparents, and my parents, to the mayor and the people you saw on television. They were a part of our community.

Ad that's the beauty of growing up in a city like Atlanta. And I'm so glad that in the same way as a child that I was able to emulate that representation that Atlanta still represents that magic to people across the country.

WHITFIELD: You are the daughter of R&B icon Major Lance and your mom, who is a hair stylist and hair salon owner, Sylvia Robinson. It was really in your DNA, right, to be outspoken, to be prepared.

How much do you feel like you were drawing upon the spirit of your parents? As you were enduring so much. I love to, you know, pay homage to our parents because we are all the byproduct of their greatness, right.

BOTTOMS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So in the case of your parents, how do you feel like you drew some inspiration from them to handle these things?

BOTTOMS: What I saw with my mother and what I saw with the women who were coming to her hair salon were just women who faced everyday challenges but they still made sure that on the outside they looked good. And that they went out and they did the very best that they could do for their families and their communities.

And with my dad, in moments that were extremely tough, I would think about what he would say to me. On your worst day, you look in the mirror and you pull it together and you never let them see you sweat.

And that often has been what I have had to take with me in leadership. In moments of crisis, when the city and people are looking for leadership, being able to stand in front of them with confidence and say we don't know what we don't know, but this is our plan and this is how we're going to get through it together.

So my parents -- my mother is still with me thankfully. And my dad's spirit is always with me. And their representation and just their belief in the possibilities of our city is -- I truly believe it is the reason I'm able to serve as mayor. WHITFIELD: Among those tough moments, there was the federal

investigation of corruption involving your predecessor, Mayor Kasim Reed. There was the unrest and vandalism following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

And when property in Atlanta -- and at this building where we are right now was damaged, you were stern. You expressed disappointment. These are among the words that you used.

BOTTOMS: You are disgracing our city. You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country.

[11:24:53]

BOTTOMS: We are better than this. We're better than this as a city. We are better than this as a country.

Go home. Go home. And in the same way I couldn't protect my son yesterday, I cannot protect you out in those streets.

WHITFIELD: Describe that moment and what was happening to you and your perspective of the city and as you were making plans on how do I respond, how do I help pull people together?

BOTTOMS: I remember that day very vividly. I just finished some testimony -- virtual testimony, Chairman Clyburn had a sub committee on COVID. And I joined leaders across the country in talking about where we were with COVID.

And after I was done and thought I was going to have a relaxing evening, I turned on the news and I saw that people were gathering around the CNN Center. It became abundantly clear that this was not a normal gathering.

And so I made my way down to our joint operation and command center down at our police headquarters.

And it looked like nothing we've ever seen before in our city. We are the cradle of the civil rights movement so we're used to protests and organizing. But even our organizers, local organizers started coming downtown to police headquarters saying this is not us. We don't know what's happening.

And in that moment, just looking around the room at our command staff. We had a visit from the vice president that day. There was a shift change. It was just this perfect storm that day.

And as I watched the police car burn, and I was looking at the cameras, we had a feed from the inside of the CNN Center and one from the outside and it became clear that the CNN Center was about to be breached.

And that's when I went before the cameras. And my then 18-year-old was with me. I was speaking as much to him as I was to the public. And my hope in that moment was if I couldn't reach the young people who were in the streets at that time that maybe I could reach their parents.

And I remembered when I was done speaking, not remembering what I said. It was not until I went home and saw it on CNN later that I remembered what I said. And I think that really speaks to just the passion and emotion that I felt. But I think it was really reflective of what the country as a whole was feeling at that time.

And, you know, thankfully the feelings that I felt I was able to convey in words in that moment. But again, not a moment that any of us would have scripted but I do think one that really changed Atlanta in that moment as a city. Because we went from this very -- this very violent moment to the next morning people coming together, people gathering outside the CNN Center to help clean up.

WHITFIELD: It changed Atlanta. Did it change you?

BOTTOMS: It certainly changed me.

WHITFIELD: Yes. In what way or ways?

BOTTOMS: Recognizing that the cries that we were hearing from our communities really had come to a boiling point. Many of these systemic issues we had been working on.

But there was this urgency of now that we had lost the benefit of time to address many of these issues and to tackle many of these issues that the patience was gone and in so many ways our innocence was lost as a city.

I said this that night we didn't burn our city down when Dr. King was assassinated. Many cities across the country burned down, not Atlanta. And that moment had been taken away from us. And it really was this reminder that Atlanta, for as magical and wonderful as it is for so many people, that in many ways it's not a protected space.

There is no protected space in America. And it is all incumbent upon us to do the real work. Not just speak it, but to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Very interesting.

Coming up, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms discusses the resignation of Atlanta's police chief and her advice for incoming Mayor Andre Dickens. That is still ahead.

[11:29:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Committee members investigating the January 6th insurrection now believe former Texas governor and Trump energy secretary Rick Perry was the author of a text pushing Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff under President Trump, to undermine the 2020 election just after the polls had closed.

[11:34:44]

A spokesman for Perry told CNN that he denies being the author of the text. Here is what that text says. "Here's an aggressive strategy. Why can't the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and other R -- Republican -- controlled state houses declare this is BS, where conflicts and election not called that night, and just accepted their own electors to vote and have it go to the SCOTUS -- the Supreme Court."

Michael Zeldin is a former federal prosecutor and host of the podcast "That Said with Michael Zeldin".

Appreciate you joining us. First off, look, I don't want to get numb to the things that have been plotted and proposed leading up to this insurrection by many MAGA supporters.

Michael, the very suggestion of the text to ignore the will of the people when all the votes weren't even fully and legally counted, what is your reaction at least from a legal point of view to that?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, HOST, "THAT SAID" PODCAST: Well, it's clear that they had a real fear that Trump was not going to win. Tony Fabrizio, the pollster for Trump, essentially told him that he was hemorrhaging white voters in the suburbs. They think before this election as all the votes were counted, they were going to lose. I think they sincerely knew they were going to lose.

And so they embarked on this very desperate strategy to undermine the election. The email, the text from Governor Perry says why don't we just stop the vote count now while you're ahead. Because remember, he was -- Trump was ahead early while they were waiting for the paper ballots that were sent in by mail to be counted. He said just call it over and you'll declare yourself a winner -- sort of a martial law scenario.

I don't know if that is a criminal act. It's certainly an unconstitutional activity. And that's what the committee needs to hear from Meadows. What was it that this text was intending to accomplish.

WALKER: Could Rick Perry face any legal consequences as a result?

ZELDIN: Well, Governor Perry is denying still, as the sound piece said, that he was the author of this text. But assuming he was, the author of this text and he's just saying, hey, how about this for a strategy, just declare martial law effectively and declare yourself a winner.

You know, maybe that is an obstruction of some sort but I think it's really more an immoral act, an unconstitutional act than it is necessarily a criminal law violation.

WALKER: You mentioned Mark Meadows. Mark Meadows' name just continues to be mentioned because a lot of these text messages seem to have, you know, went straight through Mark. Can you talk more about how this then White House chief of staff, how central he is to this investigation and finding out what transpired through the White House before, during, and after January 6th.

ZELDIN: If you think of a wheel that has a hub in the middle and spokes that come out of it, Meadows was the hub. And he was receiving from these various folks, whether it's Perry or Jim Jordan or others, information that they wanted funneled into the decision-making process and over to Trump for ultimate decision-making.

So he's at the core of what the committee needs to hear. Who was sending him information, what was the information, how was the information actioned. What was the intent of the people in actioning it.

All of that derives from the information that Meadows has. Almost all of it is nonprivileged information which is why he was held in contempt because there's no legal basis for him to refuse to offer this information. So he is at the heart of the matter. There's no denying that.

WALKER: What are the chances then of compelling his testimony? As you know, the full house voted to refer Mark Meadows to the Department of Justice for contempt. But from everything that I've read, it seems like it's going to be challenging for the Department of Justice to, I guess, you know, go after Meadows, compared to a Steve Bannon, as you know, who has been indicted because he was not a White House official during the insurrection.

ZELDIN: That's right. There's a difference between Bannon and Meadows. However, if the committee says to Meadows, as they have, we want to talk to you about nonprivileged information, then Meadows stands in no better position legally than Bannon, which is to say he has no basis to not answer questions.

He can assert the Fifth. But failing that, he has no basis to not answer questions that relate to nonprivileged information.

As to privilege information we will hear sooner or later whether the Supreme Court is going to take up this appeal by Trump's lawyers to have them decide this.

He has lost -- Trump has lost in the district court and the Court of appeals on his allegation that he has the right to retain privilege at the expense of Biden.

[11:39:59]

WALKER: But just to parse the details, what would be privilege then? Sorry, Michael, because we're running out of time. What would be privilege -- give us examples like conversations between him and Trump versus text messages that he was receiving?

ZELDIN: Right. The notion of executive privilege is communications between the adviser, Meadows, and the president and as it relates to policy matters. So there is an argument here that none of this is privileged, even though it's direct communications because it's related to political matters, not policy matters, of the president. But that would be -- that would be where the distinction would be

drawn. Communications directly to the president versus communications that Meadows received from outsiders.

WALKER: Michael Zeldin, really appreciate your analysis. Thank you so much for your time, sir.

ZELDIN: Thank you.

WALKER: All right. Still ahead, a corner stone of the Biden agenda hits a major road block. The fate of the Build Back Better bill hanging in the balance. And the administration may not be able to deliver on its promises.

[11:40:55]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Better luck next time. That is the best case scenario for President Biden's Build Back Better bill after months of talks and a late push to finish up before Christmas stalled this week.

Senate Democrats will pick it up in January in the hopes that they can finally bring that one key senator on board. Do I even need to mention his name?

CNN's Daniella Diaz has been following this bill all year. She's joining us now from Washington. Hi, Daniella. What does it mean for the chances of this bill passing altogether?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, the chances are still high but it really all hangs -- all these chances hang on one person.

You're right. We don't have to mention him. We all know who it is, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, moderate Democrat. He seems to be the person who all Democrats need to win over whenever they try to pass any sort of bill through the Senate.

Look, Democrats need his vote because they plan to pass this using a process called budget reconciliation which means they only need 50 votes in the Senate for this to pass, which means they really need him to sign on for this legislation.

But he is concerned about one provision in particular and the price tag with this provision -- the child tax credit, very popular provision that helps 35 million families in this country.

He says that even though the legislation only has a one-year extension. It's misleading because Democrats plan to extend this year after year. And he wants a 10-year extension to reflect the price tag of the Build Back Better act.

Take a listen to what he told our Manu Raju this week about his negotiations and where he stands with Democratic leaders on the Build Back Better act. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're pressuring you to change your position on child tax credit.

SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): No one pressures me. I'm from West Virginia.

RAJU: Are you going to change your position on that?

MANCHIN: (AUDIO GAP)the way it is in the bill, the one-year extension. I've always been for the child tax credit, always will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: Amara, it's just as you said, Democratic leaders were hoping that this bill would be passed by Christmas in the Senate. It already passed the house. This is a major priority for the Biden administration. But it looks like now it has been punted until the New Year.

But Democratic leaders are still hopeful that they will be able to get to some sort of deal with Manchin by then.

W6: You have to hold on to hope, right. Daniella Diaz, thanks so much.

We're going to take a short break here. Back after this.

[11:47:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: The NFL is postponing three games this weekend because of a surge in COVID cases. More than 100 players tested positive for the coronavirus in just the last week.

CNN's Coy Wire is here. Hi, Coy. Which games are postponed and what does this mean for the league?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi Amara, these pro sports leagues being hammered by COVID in spite of vaccinations and safety protocols.

The NBA is going to soon implement daily testing.

The NHL shutting down three teams until after Christmas.

And for the first time this season, Amara, the NFL is postponing games, three of them this weekend due to COVID-19 issues. This afternoon's game scheduled between the Browns and Raiders is being pushed to Monday. The Philadelphia versus Washington and Rams-Seahawks games go from tomorrow to Tuesday.

The decision comes after 23 Cleveland Browns players were added to the NFL's reserve COVID-19 list in recent days including the team's starting quarterback Baker Mayfield and his backup. As of last night the Rams have 29 players on the list. Washington, 23. The NFL updated its COVID protocols on Thursday making it easier for vaccinated asymptomatic players to be activated following a positive.

The NHL is shutting down the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames until after Christmas because of COVID concerns. The Avalanche will see four games postponed during that time. The Panthers three. The Flames will have missed six games since its shut down began on Monday.

All three teams are tentatively scheduled to resume play December 27th.

Now, Nets star Kyrie Irving hasn't played in the game all season because of his unvaccinated status. But that could soon change. The team's general manager says they will let the seven-time all-star rejoin the team as a part-time player. Irving still won't be able to play in home games because of New York's vaccine mandates at arena but he can play away games.

No timetable on Kyrie's possible return but the shorthanded Nets want him back in the court because they have -- you know, they have to roster out due to health and safety protocols.

What we're seeing here, Amara, are these teams and these leagues that had plans and protocol in place based on what they learned during last season but are now having to adapt, adjust and improvise because of this new omicron variant.

WALKER: We all are learning to adapt. You're right. Coy Wire, thank you so much for that.

And much more ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But first this week's "Impact Your World".

[11:54:50]

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STEPHANIE GIDDENS, VICKERY TRADING COMPANY: When we take the time to invest in refugee women, we're really investing in the future thriving of our community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When refugees arrive, they've been through the trauma in their home place. So they need extra resources and you have to go about that help in a different way.

Vickery Trading Company is a non-profit social enterprise. We hire refugee women and train them to sew at a professional level using industrial machines to equip them with skills that prepare them for the workplace.

And during that training, they are making a line of women and children's cloths. And we sell that clothing in the marketplace to help generate revenue to support the organization. We're also providing them with wrap around services, the other skills that they will need to really be self sufficient here in America. So English classes, computer literacy classes, mental health services and financial literacy classes.

FRISHDA HUSSAINI, AFGHAN REFUGEE: After coming here, I learned that I can be treated without discrimination. Stephanie and Vickery Trading Company have given me motivation and courage to enjoy the society, to show my talent and helped me find friends. It's a good feeling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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