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Schumer Wants Jan. Vote on BBB, Manchin Still Holding Out; McConnell: Dems "Basically Called (Manchin) a Liar"; Update on Coronavirus Responses Around the World as Omicron Cases Rise; ICU Nurse's Emotional Plea as Hospitals Return to Breaking Point; Holiday Travel Numbers Rival Pre-Pandemic Figures Amid Case Surge; 1887 Time Capsule Found in Lee Statue Pedestal Being Opened; "Carol King and James Taylor, Just Call Out My Name" Premieres Jan. 2nd at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 22, 2021 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's no indication it's going to happen. But Manchin is always careful how he is wording in dealing with this, saying he's a Democrat for now.

And he hopes there are Democrats with him that view politics around the country as he does. And if there's not, perhaps something could come down the line. He always leaves the door open to some sort of change.

What he has floated in the past is, if he were to leave the Democratic Party, he would become an Independent and would still caucus with Democrats, much like Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, or Angus King, from Maine, so it wouldn't upset the balance of power in the Senate.

Nevertheless, it hasn't stopped the Republicans from trying after animosity developed between the White House and Joe Manchin.

And McConnell saying essentially the White House has called him a liar, the most important vote in the Senate, and says McConnell, Manchin would be welcome in the Senate Republican conference.

Earlier today, McConnell also tried to sweeten the offer if Manchin decided to move over, suggesting Manchin would still be able to resume chairmanship of the Senate Energy Committee.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

HUGH HEWITT, HOST, "THE HUGH HEWITT SHOW": He also, would he get to keep his chairmanship of Energy? Energy is a big deal for West Virginia.

He's chairman right now. If he switched over, would the gavel stay in his hands?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): That's something we talked to him about. Obviously, I'm sure he enjoys being chair of the committee. It's important to West Virginia and all of those things, the things we discussed.

(END AUDIO FEED)

RAJU: So confirming they discussed these issues. And in fact, Mitch McConnell and Joe Manchin have had multiple meetings in recent weeks in McConnell's office.

They've come out not saying a whole lot of what they talked about, other than they talked about the commonalities of their two states.

At the moment, Manchin is not going anywhere. In fact, he joined Democrats on a conference call last night to talk about the agenda going forward.

He made clear he is still at odds with his party over the larger Build Back Better plan, saying he doesn't believe that -- that it would actually add way more to the debt, he believes, than is projected so far. He wants significant changes to that measure.

But he did indicate to his colleagues, Ana, that he will still plan to talk with them in the weeks ahead on whether there can be any sort of consensus, even though there's a lot of pessimism that a deal ultimately can be reached.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: So the door is shut but maybe not locked at this point.

Manu Raju, they're still talking. Thank you.

Back to the top story right now. The Omicron spread has become the dominant strain in countries across Europe and beyond.

And in Asia, Omicron fears have prompted new restrictions.

Here's CNN's global reporters with these updates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: I'm Elliott Gotkine in Jerusalem.

Today, Israel became the first country in the world to recommend the fourth dose of the COVID vaccine. Initially, it will be made available to people over 60, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems.

The move is just one of the battles outlined by the government as Israel battles the Omicron variant in a fifth wave of the virus.

Others include reducing the number of more outlets available to people without proof of vaccination and recovery.

And a move to distance learning in areas where the prevalence of COVID is high and vaccine uptake among children is below 70 percent.

On Tuesday, Israel's daily case load fell from more than 1,300 to just over 900. The number of tests also dropped possibly due to a major storm blowing through the country.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Will Ripley in Hong Kong.

Even before the opening ceremony of Beijing's Winter Olympics, COVID- 19 is expected to have a major impact on the games.

It is expected that the National Hockey League players will not be participating in the games because of concerns of COVID-19.

China is trying to keep its zero-COVID strategy in place during the Olympics with a hermetically sealed bubble and charter flights for athletes to and from the games.

Here in Hong Kong, they also have a zero-COVID strategy.

Even though there are no locally confirmed cases of the new Omicron variant, city workers are required to be tested every three days if they're not vaccinated, at their own expense, unless they have a medical condition that doesn't allow them to get the vaccine.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London.

The government here is taking steps to keep critical public services running, functioning, as the Omicron variant spreads like wildfire through this country.

Health officials announcing that the isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19 will now be reduced from 10 days to seven days, given a person tests negative on day six and day seven with a lateral flow test. That means their isolation period can end after day seven.

Health officials saying they hope this will reduce the impact that COVID has on lives and livelihoods.

And most critically, keep the country's hospitals staffed as they prepare for a potential surge in hospitalizations caused by this massive wave of positive cases.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Our thanks to all our reporters overseas.

[13:34:50]

And still to come, a reality check from the front lines of this fight against COVID. An ICU nurse from Nebraska joins us with an emotional plea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Today, hospitals across the country are back at breaking points. It's so bad in some areas, President Biden is sending out 1,000 troops to help. We all watched as the Delta variant caused this wave of

hospitalizations this fall. And now, before that wave could fully subside, cases are spiking again.

Front line workers are exhausted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:40:00]

HALEIGH SEIZYS, COVID-19 ICU NURSE: We're sitting here doing things that are very unnatural to keep people alive. And that sucks. It's truly hard. It's hard for the families. It's hard for us.

And it's really exhausting. There have been days where I come home and I literally, like, I can't do anything. I feel like I can't move because it's so hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And that nurse joins us now. Haleigh Seizys is a COVID ICU nurse at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Haleigh, thanks for taking the time.

You're in your early 20s. You said this has been a life-changing experience for you. What are you seeing? What are you feeling?

SEIZYS: Yes, so day to day, things are tough.

I'm actually at work today. And I have a patient who is not doing well. It takes a lot of time and effort from several different people to try and help these patients improve.

I truly am exhausted but, also, at the same time, motivated to just -- I mean, try and help whoever I can.

CABRERA: Wow. You are amazing.

We played part of that YouTube post. And in that same post, you said there are days you feel like you've hit a breaking point. But what gets you through?

SEIZYS: My coworkers. I think, since we're all going through the same thing, we can kind of rally around each other and encourage each other.

But I think also just continuing to acknowledge my own mental health and needs, that's the biggest part of it.

CABRERA: You're mentally exhausted. You're physically exhausted.

What are you hearing from the unvaccinated patients you're treating? Why not get the vaccine?

SEIZYS: You know, I think it's different for every patient. Usually, by the time that they get to us, they can't talk because they

either have a breathing tube or they have a BiPAP mask, which really suppresses voice because there's so much pressure going into their lungs, which, I mean, take that as you will.

But I wish I could hear them. I wish I could talk to them. But they don't have that luck once they make it to me.

CABRERA: I know you've been urging to people to get vaccinated, to take the preventative measures.

About an hour or so away from you in Lincoln, Nebraska, officials said they are planning to let mask mandates expire. What goes through your mind hearing that?

SEIZYS: I think masks help that kind of steady plateau outside of our spikes. But going into the holiday season, we're very worried about what's to come after the holidays.

But as far as spread goes within those small groups, I think that vaccinations are what would help that most, just protect your small circles who in turn are going to take it to that larger population.

CABRERA: What do you tell officials who may not have the political will to -- you know, whether it's, do mask mandates or to reinforce vaccine requirements? What do you tell those officials?

SEIZYS: I think, unfortunately, a lot of this has been turned into a political issue rather than a public health issue.

To those political officials, I just hope that they can understand what we're going through.

And I genuinely wish that they could come and follow me for just an hour so they could see how much their feet hurt and see how many people are trying to hold back tears day to day. And they can see the trauma these patients are going through.

Because, ultimately, numbers are numbers and opinions are opinions, but these people, these patients are people. And these people are dying very traumatic deaths. And it's so hard to watch.

And I think that a lot of opinions would be different if they could see that just as much as we do.

CABRERA: Thank you for your continued fight and your efforts to make such a difference in so many lives.

Thank you so much, Haleigh Seizys, for joining us.

SEIZYS: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: Stay strong as much as you can. Sending strong vibes to you, my friend.

[13:44:58] That plea from the front lines as holiday travel numbers are expected to rival pre-pandemic figures. The astonishing projections, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: If you need more proof that we are still in a dangerous pandemic, you won't find it in the latest TSA travel data.

It says 20 million people are expected to fly between now and New Year's, rivaling pre-pandemic figures.

CNN aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean, is following the numbers.

Pete, these are travel projections we see before the pandemic, and yet we're seeing this as COVID resurges around the world.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ana. These numbers are really, really close to what we saw back in 2019.

[13:50:04]

You know, the TSA screened 1.98 million people at airports across the country just yesterday. That number is 99 percent of what we saw back in 2019 before the pandemic, only shy by about 2,300 people. Can you believe that?

You know, this ends a five-day streak where we saw numbers higher than two million each day, but just barely.

The TSA says the busiest days are ahead. Thursday, tomorrow, December 23rd, will be one of the busiest, it says.

Now, Dr. Anthony Fauci says, sure, you can feel safe traveling right now so long as you're vaccinated and boosted.

And travelers tell us they do feel pretty confident about getting out right now.

Here's what they're telling us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMBRA HAYNES, TRAVELER AT ATLANTA AIRPORT: You can only do what you can do for yourself, you know. What everybody else is doing you have no control over. So that's the scary part.

But I want to go have fun and be safe and mask up and, you know, just try to, you know, raise awareness while we're there, if you see somebody doing something they shouldn't be doing.

But other than that, I feel pretty comfortable!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: We are in the rush now, Ana. The TSA projects 20 million people will fly between tomorrow, December 23rd, and January 3rd. But remember, the vast majority of people will drive. AAA projects 100

million people will hit the road on trips 50 miles or more. That number's only up by about 7 percent from what we saw in 2019 before the pandemic.

Clearly, the Omicron variant not really stopping people here.

CABRERA: I was watching an interview for people's masks to be above their nose and above their mouth. Because I've had to travel recently and I've seen way too many people at the airport with their masks either below their nose or below their chin.

Wearing them only to get by with the mandate, but not actually doing it to be effective. So hopefully, there's a big wakeup call here with all these people traveling and people do the right thing.

Pete, thanks so much.

MUNTEAN: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Now listen to this. A 130-year-old time capsule found inside a statue of Robert E. Lee is being opened as we speak. What might be in there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:56:40]

CABRERA: It's been buried for more than 130 years. And today, a time capsule found inside the pedestal of a Robert E. Lee statue is being opened right now, in fact.

And CNN's Joe Johns is keeping a close eye on this.

Joe, I understand it's been a little bit more difficult than they anticipated, but do we have any idea what's inside?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Anybody's guess. Just heard from the conservators a minute ago that they've gotten one corner open and they think there's at least a book, maybe several books, not sure what else.

The reporting from the day suggests that there was a bunch of artifacts put in there, including a photograph of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin.

There were a lot of questions going into today, starting with whether this was, in fact, the time capsule they were looking for.

That's because the box they found was not the same size or even made of the same metal they were expecting to see.

They were expecting a copper box and what they got was lead, which is a material the conservators don't particularly want to get on their hands. And this opening is being supervised by experts from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, though the governor of the state, Ralph Northam, showed up.

He's a person who ordered the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond taken down because of the symbolism and because of the focus that was created of racial justice protests.

So we're still waiting to see what is inside the box. And hopefully, sometime later today we'll get a bit of a better idea.

CABRERA: I love mysteries like this.

Joe Johns, thank you.

Another flashback for you. Singer/Songwriters James Taylor, Carol King, a 50-year personal friendship and professional partnership that's had a truly remarkable impact on American music.

And now, in this exclusive joint interview, recorded for the new CNN film, "CAROL KING AND JAMES TAYLOR, JUST CALL OUT MY NAME," the musicians discuss the unique experience of performing together.

Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL KING, SINGER/SONGWRITER: The connection with the audience, whether you're playing for one person or five people or 10 or actually it translates to 15,000, you're playing for one collective consciousness.

When we go out there to play for the people in the audience, we get a lot of love. But the reason we get a lot of love is because we are playing the soundtrack of their lives.

And they come to the show and they hear that music and it really becomes a lovefest.

I know a lot of performers think it's about them, too. You can tell which ones they are. And sometimes people don't care. They like (INAUDIBLE) or whatever.

But the thing about our show that works is that we know that and we realize that. And when people come to see our shows, they know they are getting our all and our best every time.

JAMES TAYLOR, SINGER/SONGWRITER: There's a definite energy to it. And it's -- when it -- when it happens, genuinely, I know there's nothing like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Feel-good music right there.

[13:59:58] Be sure to tune in. The new film, "CAROL KING AND JAMES TAYLOR, JUST CALL OUT MY NAME," premieres Sunday, January 2nd, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

And that does it for me today. Thank you all for joining us.