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Cases, Hospitalizations Surging Ahead Of The Holidays; Harris: We "Didn't See" Delta Or Omicron Variant Coming; Sources: 1/6 Committee Members Believe Rick Perry Sent Text To Meadows Pushing States To Overturn Legal Votes; Interview With Outgoing Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D-Atlanta); Economists Warn Inflation May Get Worse Before It Gets Better, Putting Biden Agenda On Thin Ice; Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes' Fraud Trial In Hands of Jury. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired December 18, 2021 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Amara Walker in for Fredricka Whitfield.
We start with a new surge in COVID cases with the Holiday season underway and with it, new safety measures being imposed around the globe.
The Rockettes, calling off the remaining shows of their famous Christmas Spectacular.
And in Ireland, a new curfew begins at 8 p.m. tomorrow for bars and restaurants.
Rio and Paris deciding to cancel planned New Year's firework shows.
Now, the World Health Organization warning today that cases of the Omicron variant doubled in under three days for countries already seeing infections.
In the U.S., COVID hospitalizations are at levels not seen since September, at the end of the summer surge, blamed mainly on the still spreading Delta variant.
And now, an admission from Vice President Kamala Harris, she tells the LA Times we didn't see Delta coming. I think most scientists did not upon whose advice and direction we relied didn't see Delta coming.
She goes on to say we didn't see Omicron coming. And that's the nature of what this awful virus has been, which as it turns out -- turns out has mutations and variants.
Now a Harris advisor tells CNN the Vice President was referring to the exact kind of mutation and not the prevalence of the variants themselves.
CNN's Polo Sandoval has more now on growing signs that a winter surge is on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are rising once again in the U.S. prompting disruptions and cancellations as the country enters another pandemic Holiday season.
When beloved Holiday tradition now canceled the New York City, Radio City Music Hall announced Friday its Christmas Spectacular shows are canceled for the rest of the season "due to the increasing challenges from the pandemic."
New York State reporting that on Thursday, it had the highest single- day count of new COVID-19 cases with just over 21,000, according to data released on Friday.
New York State also revealed that positive COVID-19 cases in the state jumped 154 percent in less than a week.
The previous high was on January 14, when there were 19,900 new cases reported.
The Omicron variant has been identified in at least 40 states in addition to Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico according to public statements from hospital systems and state officials in their respective states.
It's too soon to assume if the Omicron variant will cause milder disease experts say.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: It's clear that Omicron is an extremely contagious variant that it doubles every two to four days. And you just have to look at the projections of what that means and yes, we are in for a lot of cases of people getting infected with this virus.
SANDOVAL: Across the country and states like Oregon, officials are warning of severe illness and a surge in hospitalizations now that Omicron has been detected in the state.
And in Hawaii, the governor said in a news conference Friday that the state is seeing "an alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 cases," vaccines are still the best way to fight COVID-19 officials say.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We'd still have 50 million or more people in this country who have not yet even gotten their first vaccination.
That is really unacceptable if we want to get through the challenge of a Delta which is bad enough.
We're looking at straight in the face and then over your shoulder, is coming, Omicron. That's a very tenuous and difficult situation.
So we've got to do the things that are available to us vaccination, boosting, masking when you're in an indoor setting.
SANDOVAL: The Biden administration scored a significant victory Friday in its court battles to enforce various federal vaccine mandates, with an Appeals Court ruling that the government can enforce a vaccine or testing rule for companies with more than a hundred employees.
FAUCI: We will win this war with this virus, but we will win it only because and because we apply the things that we have the interventions. We are so fortunate that we have a highly effective and safe vaccine.
We know what public get would -- public health mitigations work. We've just got to hang in there, we can't give up.
[13:05:00]
JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We have the tools to do it but we need the American people to do their part, to protect themselves, their children, and their communities.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL (on camera): Back here in New York State, the city's Health Commissioner announcing this week that they noticed a tripling of new cases just in the last month.
And that really prompted not only the commissioner but also, Mayor Bill De Blasio, to basically go back and reemphasize that previous guidance for people to get vaccinated, people to get boosted, and also to get tested, especially as people prepare to gather for Christmas in only about a week, Amara.
We saw that today, just outside of this urgent clinic -- Urgent Care clinic here in New York City where there was a massive line of people hoping to secure a spot in line to come back later to get tested.
WALKER: Well, it's uplifting to see that so many people are trying to be responsible and get tested before they get on their way. So at least that's a little bit of positivity there.
Polo Sandoval, great to see you. Thanks so much.
And for more on this, let's bring in Dr. Shereef Elnahal. He is the President and CEO of University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.
He also once served as the New Jersey State Health Commissioner.
Doctor, welcome. You know, I have to say I feel like a broken record when I, you know, spew out these facts.
COVID cases and hospitalizations are now what, up 40 percent in the last month. Omicron variant in at least 40 states, we're starting to see a new surge of people in the hospitals and certain parts of the country.
Is this the new normal? Is this going to be cyclical with COVID spikes every year around this time?
DR. SHEREEF ELNAHAL, PRESIDENT & CEO, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Well, I sure hope not Amara because the trends we're seeing over the last couple of weeks are very concerning.
First of all, we're seeing long lines outside of our testing clinic more demand than we've seen in many months for testing because folks are getting sick.
We're also seeing a doubling of hospitalizations just over the last two weeks.
And earlier this week, 46 percent of folks hospitalized for COVID-19 in our hospital had been primarily vaccinated, but not yet boosted.
And so we're really concerned about waning immunity as we face the Delta variant.
And I do think Omicron is beginning to spread in our community as well given how much reinfection and how much folks are getting infected after primary vaccination that we're seeing.
And so we really want to get to the endemic phase of this. We need folks not only to get vaccinated but to get boosted.
And hopefully, the oral therapeutics on the horizon will come soon as well because what we're seeing is just not sustainable.
WALKER: What would the endemic phase look like? And how many people in terms of percentage need to be vaccinated to get to the endemic stage?
ELNAHAL: Well, your question applies that it all depends on how many of us not only get vaccinated but get boosted.
And so nobody really knows the exact percentage where we reach so- called herd immunity.
It's been a moving target, especially as we have new variants like Omicron, which are infecting folks who are previously vaccinated.
But what I can tell you is what the booster penetration is. Right now, certainly in New Jersey, only about 37 percent, even lower across the country, is nowhere near enough.
We need to see above 70 percent, 75 percent, at least, if we're going to see a reduction in transmission and the risk of hospitalization going down.
One really concerning thing is that the Imperial College of London just released a study that is questioning whether Omicron is inherently less severe.
We've seen folks reinfected and folks who have gotten vaccination infected, and it's less severe for them, but certainly not necessarily so for the unvaccinated.
WALKER: What do you think about this debate that is ongoing about the definition of being fully vaccinated?
I know Dr. Fauci said that you know that term could just be semantics.
But I mean, do you think that you know, for companies, you know, or governments that are implementing vaccine mandates that they should now include a mandated booster every six months?
ELNAHAL: I know the federal government is looking at that question closely. I do think it needs to be addressed.
To say someone is fully vaccinated implies that they are maximally protected, and that's simply no longer the case.
You need that booster six months after Pfizer and Moderna, and especially after a single dose of Johnson and Johnson.
The CDC Advisory Committee this -- just this week, saying one single dose is not enough and Pfizer and Moderna are much preferred.
So especially if you got J&J, you need that booster as soon as two months after.
But I can tell you that you're not maximally protected anymore just by being "fully vaccinated" according to their current definition.
WALKER: Right. I do want to ask you about Vice President Kamala Harris's comments to the LA Times that the administration didn't see the Delta and Omicron variants coming.
And look, this is an administration that has tried to you know separate itself -- differentiate itself from the Trump administration to show that it has been on top of the pandemic.
And, look, Harris's team is saying that she was referring to the exact kind of mutation, not really the prevalence of these variants themselves.
Just curious to know what you think about -- and you know, you don't have to dive too much into politics but how has the administration's response been in your opinion, and what more needs to be done?
[13:10:00]
ELNAHAL: They and the COVID Response Team has been doing a tremendous job with vaccine distribution, and really trying to extend access to testing and make sure that especially where places are surging, we get federal assistance, we've benefited from their assistance, and as much as our state has assisted as well.
I do think what she may have meant was the fact that these variants were definitely curveballs, the entire public health community certainly was not expecting it either.
And we were hoping that we'd be in a much different place now had it not been for the Delta variants and the Omicron variants, certainly.
And so I think what we have to do is respond as much as possible, and go from there.
WALKER: Dr. Shereef Elnahal, thank you so much for your expertise. Really appreciate it.
ELNAHAL: My pleasure.
WALKER: All right, coming up, a CNN exclusive.
January 6 investigators believe a text pushing a strategy to undermine the 2020 election came from Rick Perry.
We'll have more on that next.
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[13:15:00]
WALKER: CNN exclusive reporting reveals new information about a text message sent to Mark Meadows, pushing a strategy to undermine the 2020 Presidential Election.
Now according to sources, members of the January 6 Committee believe, former Texas governor and Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry sent the text.
A spokesman, however, for Perry telling CNN he denies being the author of that text.
CNN's Whitney Wild joining us now with the details. Hi there, Whitney. So tell us more about what's in this text.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, this text message again outlines what they say. And what is in the text message described as an aggressive strategy?
So here's what the text message actually says.
Here's an aggressive strategy. Why can't the states of GA NC PENN and other R-controlled state houses declare this is BS, where conflicts and election not called that night and just send their own electors to vote and have it go to SCOTUS, the Supreme Court.
What this shows, Amara is that there were people both within Washington and will beyond Washington.
I mean, throughout the Republican Party, people who are as far removed from Trump's orbit as Rick Perry, as we know, he was the former Energy Secretary but had not been in the cabinet for around two years at that point.
So again, what this shows is just this extension throughout the Republican Party of people who were trying to influence Mark Meadows, suggesting perhaps, that there were -- there were ways to overturn the election.
This text message appears in a tranche of documents that Mark Meadows handed over to the House Select Committee, it's around 6000 communications, our understanding, or at least 6000 records.
And what we know, Amara is that despite Mark Meadows handing these documents over himself, he now won't answer questions about things like this -- these types of text messages that the House Select Committee thinks that he knows more (INAUDIBLE) like to question him about.
WALKER: And speaking of documents that the House Select Committee continues to pour over, Whitney, I understand you have new reporting on documents from the "Stop the Steal" leader, what are on those documents?
WILD: So these documents were provided by a man named Ali Alexander. He's a central figure here as the House Select Committee investigators seek to understand how this all unfolded.
He was a subject of a subpoena. As part of that, he handed over around 1500 text messages and other communications to the House Select Committee.
And within those communications, he is handed over and testified about communications he had with members of Congress prior to January 6.
And that includes a couple of phone conversations he had with Representative Paul Gosar, as well as a text message exchange with what -- who he believes was representative Mo Brooks.
He also testified according to this court filing about conversations that he had with Representative Mo Brooks' staff.
What this highlight is this -- it's just a wealth of information that the House Select Committee has from the very people who've been subpoenaed, as they try to sift through all of this information and come to conclusions about how this all happened, Amara.
WALKER: Yes. Whitney Wild, a lot there. Thank you so much for breaking it down for us.
Now, as the January 6 Committee continues to investigate the Capitol riot, the scope of the probe continues to expand.
And my next guest monitors extreme elements of the Republican Party, a party that he once was a part of. And warns some fringe groups, who took part in the Capitol siege, continue to plot and organize ways of overtaking the GOP.
Ron Filipkowski is a former state and federal prosecutor. He's also a longtime Republican who recently wrote a piece for The Washington Post. And the headline really says it all.
I monitor Trump's diehard base. They're still plotting out in the open.
Ron, good to see you. That definitely is a stark warning.
Please elaborate on what you mean by that. What are these extreme groups plotting next?
RON FILIPKOWSKI, FORMER STATE AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, what we saw really was in March and April of this year, a lot of the organizers including Mr. Alexander and planners of January 6, sort of fanned out into their own in and around the country created their own organizations, created their own websites, started touring around the country speaking.
Really using election fraud conspiracies, COVID conspiracies, and vaccine conspiracies, and anti CRT rhetoric to sort of get people whipped up, get them active for a variety of different reasons.
And mostly, have been targeting local governments, as we've seen school boards, county commissions, city commissions those kinds of things.
WALKER: So In your piece, you say that you started monitoring extremist groups on social media that you felt were trying to basically take control of the Republican Party. And you're right.
[13:20:00]
WALKER: What we're seeing is that many of the activists and the influencers who promoted and attended the rally that became the violent attempt to stop the certification of President Biden's election have now turned their attention to three primary targets, school boards, city and county commissions, and secretaries of state and supervisors of elections.
Ron, why the strategy of going local?
FILIPKOWSKI: Well, they're softer targets. For one thing, they know that they can't go back to DC and try something like that again so they're focusing on easier targets, people -- organizations that are more vulnerable, easier to beat in elections, where it takes less money to oust them, easier to intimidate.
They post like school board officials and City County commissioners, home addresses and phone numbers, they go to those places and harass them, they follow their cars around, they're trying to get them to quit so they can take over local governments.
And really, the interesting thing is, all of these people are in one place right now, in Phoenix, Arizona.
All of the same people that I'm talking about are all in one place this weekend, where they're all going to share their knowledge and -- with each other.
WALKER: Are you -- have you -- I have so many questions. I mean, how powerful are they? How big are they? How concerned are you?
FILIPKOWSKI: There gaining influence and power. And you're going to see that.
What you see when we watch these conferences like the one in Phoenix this weekend, which is being sponsored by Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, if you watch them as we do, and watch the breakout rooms and what's going on, there're speakers that come in, that talk about all kinds of different COVID conspiracies, vaccine conspiracies, CRT, and they're training activists in the audience to go back out into their communities around the country, create subchapters, local chapters.
So basically, they're getting indoctrinated pretty heavily this weekend. Who are the headliners? Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, Kayleigh McEnany, Donald Trump, Jr., Madison Cawthorn.
They're all there in Phoenix this weekend to indoctrinate these people along with QAnon people and all of that all mixed together in one place.
WALKER: This is frightening. But it's also eye-opening.
You know, here we are in the news talking about a virus, a real virus that's infecting, you know, tens of thousands of people.
And you know, yet this is another virus and indoctrination political virus that we're seeing kind of spreading throughout certain pockets of the country.
Let me ask you this, because you -- from what I understand used to be a Republican. You're not anymore from what I understand.
If the Republicans take back the House in 2022, which seems that that's where all the signs are pointing, what are your biggest concerns?
FILIPKOWSKI: Well, for one thing, and I -- and I posted this last night on Twitter, more and more members of Congress, as part of the Freedom Caucus are calling, for example, for Dr. Fauci to be prosecuted and put in prison for -- that just gives you one example.
These are members of Congress. So the stuff that we saw last year in QAnon chat rooms, is now being said on the floor of Congress. About locking people up and stripping all of the Democrats off there.
Matt Gaetz just said this. That all the Democrats should be stripped of their committee assignments if they retake power, and should have to go through Kevin McCarthy for committee assignments.
So, yes, it's pretty frightening that a lot of the fringe conspiracy stuff that's been out there over the last couple of years, has now been legitimized, and you hear it out of members of Congress.
And the other scary thing is, there's so many candidates endorsed by Trump that are in this ilk.
We could have a doubling or tripling of the number of these members of Congress in the next Congress, which would be even more frightening.
WALKER: Yes. Our democracy actively under threat right now, even with this conference, you said, underway in Arizona.
It's eye-opening. And I know you're a criminal defense attorney but your research obviously, is very important.
And we would love to just keep checking back in with you because what you're finding as you monitor these extreme elements is something that we need to keep our eye on.
Thank you so much, Ron Filipkowski.
FILIPKOWSKI: Sure, anytime.
WALKER: We'll be right back.
[13:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: The death of Rayshard Brooks by police in 2020 caused a nationwide uproar. And in the city where it happened, Atlanta, that uproar turned into unrest.
Fiery violent protests erupted in the days after the shooting. The officer who fired the fatal shots, Garrett Rolfe, faces multiple charges including felony murder.
Large numbers of Atlanta officers called out sick from work in response to those charges.
Atlanta's police chief even resigned following the shooting and subsequent protests.
It was a critical moment for Atlanta.
One Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, is reflecting on as she nears the end of her term.
[13:30:00]
WALKER: CNN's Fredricka Whitfield spoke with the mayor about what the shooting meant for the city and what she plans to do after she leaves office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Is there anything in that moment that you felt you should have done differently, you could have done differently? How do you describe what you and the city endured?
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D-ATLANTA): It was heartbreaking for so many reasons. Because I know our officers were out, by and large, doing the very best they could do. And then you have this young father who was killed.
Just a couple of hours ago, I was with a group of CEOs in the city and university leaders, who I meet with quarterly. We had a presentation from a group who has been helping us with police reform in the city.
I asked the question, had our training been different -- had our training been different, would that have turned out differently? The response was we don't know.
But what we are working toward with our training is to make sure that it's not just de-escalation but that we don't get to the point where you need de-escalation.
With the killing of Rashard Brooks, it was a horrible time in our city because it was shortly after the killing of George Floyd.
And in so many ways, for so many, it represented all of the things that people had been angry about.
But on the other side, it was the outcry, where is the support for our police officers?
In that moment, I made the best decision based on the information I had and the options I had before me. I felt it was the best decision.
You don't get do-overs in life. I can't say I would do anything differently. But I know I made the best decision I thought could be made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOTTOMS: Chief Shields has offered to step aside as police chief so the city may move forward with urgency in rebuilding the trust so desperately needed throughout our communities.
I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOTTOMS: And it's my hope, on the heels of that tragedy, we're able to avoid another tragedy like that in our city.
WHITFIELD: Of course, all of this is happening in middle of the pandemic.
BOTTOMS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And COVID hits you and your family very personally. Your husband, Derek, gets COVID. You do as well, your entire family. You're worried about everyone's safety.
How did your personal experience and that of your family help redefine your leadership role or your perspective on how to move forward?
BOTTOMS: I believe it really brought my disagreement with the governor to a head. Because it was a very personal experience. And my husband had a very tough time with COVID.
But my oldest son was the week before my husband and I were infected. We were waiting for some COVID tests because, at that time, I was getting us tested, routinely tested.
And I had just been to funeral of Rashard Brooks. So I had been tested because I had been at a large public gathering.
Had we gotten the results back sooner, we could have isolated my oldest son and it would have saved my husband and I from being infected.
That really was when you began to see the divide with the governor and I.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Mayor Bottoms' mask mandate cannot be enforced. But her decision to shudder businesses and undermine economic growth is devastating.
I refuse to sit back and watch as disastrous policies threaten the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. We will fight to stop reckless actions and put people over pandemic politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOTTOMS: I have very frustrated with the policies that he had in place, the lack of policies, of what I felt to be a lack of planning and execution as it related to COVID.
It was no longer an abstract that people are dying and families are being impacted. It was my family, too.
[13:35:01]
And very likely, in some way, that was the driving force behind the passion that you saw with my fight with the governor. Because I knew that our family represented a lot of families. And by the grace of god, we are all healthy now.
But going back to the summer of July of '20, we didn't know what outcomes would be when people were infected with COVID.
WHITFIELD: Georgia has been the epicenter of a lot, COVID, as we saw, the state of unrest here. Georgia continues to be the center piece in the political arena.
You just mentioned, you often went toe to toe with Governor Brian Kemp. And now Kemp will be challenged by another Republican, who former President Trump is endorsing, David Perdue.
How do you see the landscape ahead for that gubernatorial race with these two Republicans now going eye to eye?
BOTTOMS: To say it'll be interesting it's an understatement.
WHITFIELD: There's still the former President Trump dynamic.
BOTTOMS: There's still the Trump dynamic. Now you have Stacey Abrams who has announced she's running for governor.
I believe it's a nightmare scena for Republicans to have a messy primary battle. Because they will spend a lot of money. There's going to be a lot of fighting, a lot of exposure of weaknesses during that fight.
But what I truly hope is that voters across Georgia will still turn out to vote.
WHITFIELD: What will be your role? Will you be working with Stacey Abrams to help in her campaign?
There was a time when many thought you would be part of the Biden administration. You were among the first elected officials to endorse him when he was running for president.
What are your aspirations? What's next for you?
BOTTOMS: I will do everything in my power to make sure Stacey Abrams is elected governor.
And then beyond that, just making sure that we're doing we need to do across the country to make sure that people are educated and informed and that they are registering to vote, that they are showing up to vote.
Because these issues that impact our daily lives.
WHITFIELD: All that you have learned, all that you have endured, all that you hope to be passing on, whether it be to your children, to the city of Atlanta, or to the mayor-elect, Andre Dickens, what will be your advice for him, Mayor-Elect Andre Dickens?
BOTTOMS: I've given him a lot of advice. I don't know if he will take it or not. Just a few things. And we were actually together this morning. And I just really cautioned him to protect his peace.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: What do you mean by that?
BOTTOMS: There were moments during my term that I honestly thought I had lost the ability to empathize. Because there's so many bad things that you confront on a daily basis as a leader.
And I think part of it is creating something internally that protects you. But if you don't ever separate, if you don't ever turn off, you can sometimes become desensitized.
WHITFIELD: So that's hard to understand because, especially when you were thinking about your son, your son was standing next to you during those moments of unrest in Atlanta, that was empathy.
But was it before or after you felt it was like an absence of empathy in you as a leader?
BOTTOMS: I don't think it was continuous but there were moments. I'm sure, over next few months, I'll go back and I'll think about what else was going on when I felt that. That's what happens when you are fatigued, when you're drained, when
you don't take a day off, when you --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So he's got to find that space?
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Where he can find that space where you can decompress, reconnect with yourself so as to keep your priorities in check?
BOTTOMS: Absolutely.
And I've heard people say -- they're calling 2021, 2020 the Great Resignation. I think it's the great revaluation on how we maintain our physical and our mental and our emotional wellbeing.
And I wish I had been more thoughtful of that for the entirety of my term. And not at moments when I felt that I might be physically, was at my breaking point or just completely exhausted.
WHITFIELD: Then that brings us to a great way to wrap it all up, which is, then, how or when will we see a Keisha Lance Bottoms, a reevaluated Keisha Lance Bottoms?
[13:40:09]
BOTTOMS: I'm in a state of revaluation.
(LAUGHTER)
BOTTOMS: I'm, hopefully, going to be able to take some time over the holidays. Right now, I feel like I'm running through tapes.
Even with my tripping over words and stumbling, it's because I'm really tired right now.
But once things settle down, I'm going to make sure that we finish strong and I leave the city in the best possible way that our new mayor can pick up the baton and continue the race.
Once I feel comfortable in that I've done all that I can do, then I'll stop and think and I'll reevaluate.
WHITFIELD: Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you so much.
BOTTOMS: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: All right, great interview there by Fredricka Whitfield.
Coming up, consumer prices rising at the fastest pace in nearly 40 years. Now experts are warning inflation may get worse before it gets better. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:45:44]
WALKER: President Biden's Build Back Better bill is already sidelined for this year. And persistent inflation is a big reason why.
Economists say even higher prices could be coming in next few months. And that puts the president's agenda on even thinner ice.
Matt Egan has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Amara, President Biden's signature legislation is stalled in the Senate. The fate of the Build Back Better bill could be determined, at least in part, by what happens to inflation.
That's because West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin is concerned that Build Back Better is going to pile even more pressure on inflation.
No one can say for sure what this $1.75 trillion piece of legislation is going to do to inflation. But many policy experts agree the impact is likely to be modest.
And some parts of this bill are aimed at lowering costs, including on childcare and drugs.
Still, upcoming inflation reports could help shape the debate on Build Back Better.
In November, consumer prices were up by 6.8 percent from the year before. That was the biggest spike in 39 years. There were record price gains on new cars and trucks, full-service meals and tools and hardware.
Now, this bout of inflation is mostly different by the health crisis. A perfect storm of supply chain problems caused by COVID have combined with soaring demand as the economy recovers from COVID to send prices sharply higher.
High inflation is squeezing everyday Americans and it's souring their views on the economy. Despite a very strong jobs market and a booming stock market, nearly two-third of Americans in a CNN poll rated the economy as poor.
President Biden says this is likely the peak of the inflation crisis and he might be right. Many economists do think that inflation is likely to cool off next year.
But it could also get worse before it gets better. Goldman Sachs expects, in the coming month, consumer price gains will accelerate a bit to 7 percent.
That forecast for inflation, to get even hotter, is why Goldman Sachs says delaying the Build Back Better bill could soften support for the bill.
The Wall Street banks thinks passage of some version of the legislation is still more likely than not, though the odds have dropped.
Amara, all of this shows how inflation plays a key role in shaping the Biden agenda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: It's the economy, stupid.
Thanks so much, Matt.
After three months of testimony and more than 30 witness, a jury will now decide the fate of Theranos founder, Elizabeth Holmes. We will have the latest from the courtroom when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:52:58]
WALKER: Three months of testimony, 32 witnesses, and now it is down to eight men and four women to decide the fate of Theranos founder, Elizabeth Holmes.
Holmes is accused of deceiving investors, doctors and patients, claiming that her blood-testing technology would change the medical world.
Only the technology didn't do what she claimed and test results were unreliable despite $945 million in funding.
CNN's Natasha Chen is on a verdict watch from San Jose, California.
And I know you've been talking about this on social media, Natasha. The interest in this trial has been very high.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's intense, Amara. We even had to come here at 3:00 in the morning yesterday just to get a spot in the overflow room in this courthouse. And already, more than 30 people were with us there at that hour.
There's an upcoming movie and limited series about Elizabeth Holmes.
I think Silicon Valley is used to seeing start-ups fail. But in this case, Elizabeth Holmes was billed as the next Steve Jobs.
She had claimed that her technology could test more than 200 health conditions with just a few drops of blood from a finger prick.
So it's attracted a lot of investors, high-profile people, including former secretaries of state, George Schultz, Henry Kissinger. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis also invested. In fact, he testified as well. Now the defense has painted a picture of Holmes as someone who truly
believed in her product and company and went down with the sinking ship. And in some cases, protected information due to trade secrets.
But the prosecution, in its rebuttal in front of the jury yesterday, said, you know, trade secrets are not where you hide when your product isn't working. A trade secret is like the recipe for Coca-Cola.
And they made the comparison, if Theranos were a soda company, it would have made only a few flavors and perhaps used other soda companies later to flavor and repackage them as its own.
So now the jury has to decide whether Holmes willfully misled doctors, patients, investors. And they are trying to decide whether she is guilty on nine counts of federal wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
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If she's found guilty, she could face up to 20 years in prison, $250,000, plus restitution on each of those counts -- Amara?
WALKER: It's incredible. And also, what the jury has to do in terms of digesting all of that information, three months of testimony.
Appreciate you joining us, Natasha. Thank you so much for that.
And a quick programming note for you. Join Dr. Sanjay Gupta for a look at how families with autistic kids are finding hope in cannabis. And how, some, hope comes at a great risk. This new CNN special report, "WEED 6, MARIJUANA AND AUTISM," begins tomorrow at 8:00 p.m.
Coming up, health experts warn a COVID blizzard is likely going to hit the U.S. in the coming weeks. What you need to know as we head into the busy holiday season. That's ahead.
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