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TSA Screens over 2 Million Travelers Wednesday; Australian Airlines Cancels Dozens of Flights; U.K. Reports Record Daily COVID-19 Cases Thursday; Americans Scramble to Find COVID-19 Tests ahead of Holidays; Ex-Cop Found Guilty in Daunte Wright Killing; Satellite Photos Reveal Buildup of Russian Weapons; U.S. Health Care Workers Pushed to Breaking Point; Japan Will Not Send Government Officials to 2022 Olympic Games; New Chapter for Afghan Girls' Robotics Team. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired December 24, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the Omicron variant giving some travelers anything but a happy holiday. How flight cancellations could cause a Christmas Eve headache.
Plus another tool in the fight against COVID. The FDA giving the go- ahead to Merck's antiviral pill.
And the guilty verdict for the former police officer who drew a gun instead of a Taser, killing a 20 year old traffic stop. Why the jury may not have been swayed by her emotional testimony.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is turning into the Grinch that ruined Christmas for thousands of travelers around the globe. According to the tracking site FlightAware, United Airlines have now canceled more than 160 Christmas Eve flights. The company memo obtained by CNN says a surge in Omicron cases has had a direct impact on its flight crews and operations. Delta has canceled 115 flights. The airlines says it's working hard to get passengers to their destinations.
Alaska Airlines called off 17 flights Thursday, warning more cancellations are possible today. Some employees who reported being exposed to the virus are now quarantining at home.
The TSA is expecting the number of travelers over the next 10 days to rival pre-pandemic figures from 2019. CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean has details from Washington, D.C. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Things are getting busier by the moment here at Reagan National Airport and at airports across the country. The TSA screened more people on Wednesday than we saw back in 2019 before the pandemic, 2.08 million people this past Wednesday, compared to 1.84 million people back then.
That same Wednesday back in 2019, that actually fell on Christmas Day when passenger loads are lower. But even still, we've seen numbers about 2 million lower or higher each day, give or take, for about a week. The TSA says Thursday will turn out to be the one of the busiest days of the holiday travel season.
January 3rd busy as well when everyone begins to come home all at once. The TSA says a total of 20 million people will fly over that 10- day stretch.
We've seen lots and lots of people get tested for coronavirus at airports. There's a long line at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. The folks there tell us that they are either getting tested because of international travel requirements or before holiday gatherings.
Airlines continue to insist that flying is safe, so safe that they're asking the CDC to shorten the isolation period for someone who gets coronavirus, who is fully vaccinated. Right now is 10 days.
But airlines want it down to five days. They say it will allow them to keep more people on the job and avoid operational issues at airlines like we saw this fall -- Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
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BRUNHUBER: Thousands of travelers in Australia are looking at a blue Christmas as flights are being canceled. At least 80 domestic flights in and out of Sydney have been called off today. Jetstar blamed the shortage of front line staff coming into contact with someone who has COVID. CNN's Selina Wang is following developments live this hour in Tokyo.
So Selina, we just heard all the wrench that the COVID has thrown into so many holiday travel plans, here in the U.S. and Australia as well.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly. This is turning out to be a very stressful holiday season for travelers around the world, including in Australia. We heard at least 80 flights, 40 inbound and 40 outbound, have been canceled from Sydney on Friday.
A Jetstar spokesperson told us that these last-minute cancellations were happening because many of their front line members, team members, have been in close contact with people who have tested positive for COVID-19. So they're having to test and isolate.
The airline has apologized and said that the majority of passengers have been rescheduled until later flights. Other airlines that also fly from Sydney, domestically in Australia, include Qantas, Virgin and REX. Both Qantas and REX have told us that their flights have not been canceled.
But we are seeing many travelers complaining on social media that, after going through all the hoops to make sure that they can travel during this pandemic period --
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WANG: -- including standing in chaotic and long lines at testing clinics, their Christmas plans are now being ruined.
Again, this comes as COVID-19 cases are surging across Australia. Queensland reporting the highest daily case counts since the pandemic started, reporting nearly 600 cases. Health authorities there saying they expect the numbers to increase significantly in the coming weeks and it could put strain on the hospital system.
Meanwhile New South Wales for several consecutive days they've been reporting record high daily COVID-19 cases. But despite the surge Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the country is not going back into lockdown. It's not going back into what he calls, quote, "shutting down people's lives."
He said in a recent press conference Australians have worked very hard to have this Christmas together and we want to protect that.
But, Kim, it is proving very difficult to do just that.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. Selina in Tokyo, thank you very much.
Health care workers here in the U.S. say the best present they can get this holidays are for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic will be spending a second Christmas treating patients, many infected with the Omicron variant.
According to the Health and Human Services Department, more than 70,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID as of Thursday. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows an average of over 1,500 people are dying of COVID each day.
The CDC has updated its guidance for infected health care workers. They can now return to work in seven days rather than 10 days if they don't have symptoms and they test negative. Virtually all health experts agree that the effectiveness of vaccines and boosters.
Top infectious disease expert in the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci, says it's premature to be talking about a fourth dose.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF COVID-19 MEDICAL ADVISER: If the protection is much more durable, than the two dose nonboosted group and we may go a significant period of time without requiring a fourth dose. So I do think it's premature -- at least on the part of the United States -- to be talking about a fourth dose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: U.S. regulators have authorized a second antiviral pill to treat mild to moderate COVID-19. The drug, made by Merck, is intended for people to take at home before they get sick enough to be hospitalized.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer's antiviral pill on Wednesday.
The Omicron variant sweeping across Europe is breaking more records and experts warn things will only get worse. A record 1.4 million people in the U.K. are estimated to have contracted COVID in the past week.
In England alone, that just means about one every 45 people. France is reporting an all-time high of 88,000 new infections and the health minister says positive cases are doubling every two days.
Other countries across the continent are imposing new restrictions to try to stop Omicron's spread. Italy is just the latest to bring back outdoor mask mandates. And new data from the U.K. shows people infected with Omicron are about 40 percent less likely to be admitted to a hospital than those with Delta.
But researchers warn that Omicron is more transmissible, meaning more people get infected and more could end up in the hospital.
All right for more on this, let's bring in CNN's Scott McLean, who's joining us live from London.
Scott, the NHS is warning folks to keep holiday plans small or otherwise their health system could become overwhelmed.
What's the latest?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kim, yes. Think about this for a second. If you know 45 people in the U.K., chances are one of them got COVID-19 in just the past week. We're talking about 1.4 million people. Thursday was a record high for new case counts across the U.K. Almost 120,000.
The number of Omicron cases obviously continue to surge but so does the booster shot program, 55 percent of the eligible population has gotten their shot already. They're giving them out at a rate of almost 1 million per day. And the clinics will stay open through Christmas as well.
The NHS, the National Health Service, in the country is really trying to do this herculean task of getting shots in the arms at a really remarkable rate that we have not seen to this point yet.
Christmas in England is not canceled this year. British prime minister Boris Johnson, though, really advised people to be cautious, especially around their elderly relatives. In fact, he appealed to people's Christian values this Christmas, do unto others as you would like to do unto yourself or love thy neighbor as you love yourself. That translates roughly in public health speak to get your booster
shot.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: And I hope I can be forgiven for taking pride in the immense spirit of neighborliness, that the people of this country have shown, getting jabbed, not just for themselves, for ourselves but for friends and family and everyone we meet.
And that, after all, is the teaching of Jesus Christ, whose birth is at the heart of this enormous festival, that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
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MCLEAN: So the prime minister also got an early Christmas present this year from science, with one study this week suggesting that the Omicron variant makes you 40 percent less likely to be hospitalized and then another real world analysis from the U.K. Health Security Agency said that number could be up to two-thirds less likely to be hospitalized with Omicron, compared to the Delta variant.
That has undoubtedly helped to reaffirm the prime minister's decision not to press ahead with further restrictions ahead of Christmas. Remember Christmas last year was effectively canceled because of the restrictions in place.
Now Wales, Scotland, they have gone ahead with tighter measures, not nearly what we saw last year but tighter measures than in England. But the prime minister says, look, England doesn't have to follow suit by any stretch.
Obviously the concern is the sheer volume of cases could still put a lot of pressure on the health care system.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. Scott McLean, thank you so much.
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BRUNHUBER: Joining me now from Oxford, England, is Dr. Peter Drobac. He's an infectious disease expert at the University of Oxford.
Thank you so much for being with us. First off, take us through what's happening there in the U.K. and what do you think we, here, in the early days of seeing the same situation here in the U.S., here in Georgia, for instance, we are seeing exponential growth in cases.
Are we seeing basically what's happening to you, maybe two weeks back?
DR. PETER DROBAC, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: Yes, thanks for having me, Kim, I think that's about right. We've got some good news and some bad news over the last couple of days. As you just summarized really nicely, the tremendous spread of this new variant, with such a high burden of cases here in the U.K.
And it also is rising in the U.S., as you say, probably a couple weeks behind. The good news is that these early data do suggest that individuals less likely to develop severe disease requiring hospitalization.
But of course, we are seeing here numbers that are twice as high as what we saw in previous peaks roughly. So even if you are about half as likely to end up in the hospital, at a population level, we are already seeing pressure put on the NHS, with about 1,000 hospitalizations yesterday.
So it's a very difficult period and what we're worried about in the U.S. is the level of vaccinations there are much lower; particularly, only 20 percent of eligible Americans, at my last count, had gotten a booster. And you need the booster to have protection against Omicron.
So it could be that, as this new surge takes hold in the U.S., they're in a much more difficult place, particularly with the risk to the unvaccinated.
BRUNHUBER: So vaccination, that's something that the administration has been really focusing on, maybe, not so much on testing. Anecdotally, I was waiting in line for a COVID test, yesterday, for over two hours and I was probably one of the lucky ones here.
We had, early Thursday, White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, told reporters that, while there were efforts to increase production of tests months ago, amidst the rise of the Delta variant, the administration, they said, had taken steps as a federal government to build up the market because the market wasn't there.
So my question is, why are we depending on the market to get some action on testing?
Shouldn't we be more proactive and assume that we'd be in this position?
Why are we always caught unaware every time there's a new wave?
DROBAC: Yes, it's a great question. You think we would have learned our lessons by now. We have to remember, is that actually, one of the real risks with Omicron now, in this very rapid rise is putting a strain on every part of our response.
Even here in the U.K., where we have done a nice job of making free rapid tests available to everyone, there have been shortages and stockouts pretty widely. And we are starting to see, as a risk, that, around the world, the supply chain is not keeping up. And so we are starting to see shortages.
I think that will only get worse in the weeks and months to come. President Biden has talked about the possibility of invoking the Defense Production Act, to effectively force the production of more tests. And I think more efforts like that are needed. But, you know, I wonder how many times we have to go through this
before we all learn that we need to be more proactive in planning for what seem like these inevitable waves.
BRUNHUBER: Israel is being proactive, recommending a fourth shot for the elderly and for health care workers. We heard, just moments ago, Dr. Fauci saying he's not convinced we will need one.
Are you?
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DROBAC: We don't know yet. One bit of news that we got yesterday out of the U.K. was some slightly concerning data suggesting that booster doses, in the face of Omicron, that the effectiveness might be waning in as early as 10 to 12 weeks after that booster dose.
And that is a very early study with a small amount of data. So I wouldn't put too much stock into that. I think we hope that booster dose would really provide more durable immunity, as Dr. Fauci has said. And we just don't know that is the case.
That waning of effectiveness, preventing infection, we anticipate that it's going to prevent severe disease and hospitalization more effectively. And I think part of what's shifting now is that we need to think about the role of vaccines, not necessarily as preventing infection but their true sort of power and the goal of them is to keep people out of hospital.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, well said. Dr. Peter Drobac, as always, thanks so much.
DROBAC: Thank you, Kim.
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BRUNHUBER: Cheers erupted outside Minnesota courthouse, after a former police officer was found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright. We look at how long Kim Potter could spend behind bars, next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter is now behind bars and facing up to 15 years in prison, after a jury found her guilty of all charges in the shooting death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus has the story and the reaction from the community.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, on the charge of manslaughter in the first degree, find the defendant guilty.
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter guilty on both counts of manslaughter tonight in Minnesota. Daunte Wright's parents relieved by the verdict.
JEFF POTTER, KIM POTTER'S HUSBAND: I love you, Kim.
KIM POTTER, FORMER BROOKLYN CENTER POLICE OFFICER: Love you.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Well, Potter's husband could be heard yelling, "I love you, Kim," after her bail was revoked as she was escorted from the court in handcuffs. Potter said she intended to deploy her Taser during a traffic stop in April but fired her gun instead, killing 20- year-old Daunte Wright almost instantly.
K. POTTER: I shot him. Oh, my god.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Shortly after the verdict, crowds outside the courthouse chanted Wright's name while the state pushed to reassure of Potter's police family.
KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: When a member of your profession is held accountable, it does not diminish you. In fact, it shows, it shows the whole world that those of you who enforce the law are also willing to live by it.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The jury took nearly 27 hours to deliberate whether Potter's actions were criminal.
K. POTTER: My (INAUDIBLE).
BROADDUS (voice-over): Over eight days in Minneapolis, jurors heard from 33 witnesses, including tearful testimony from Potter herself.
K. POTTER: I didn't want to hurt anybody.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The defense aimed to prove the 26-year police veteran was protecting her fellow officers during a risky traffic stop.
EARL GRAY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She didn't cause this and she had a right to use deadly force.
BROADDUS (voice-over): In closing arguments, they faulted Wright for not cooperating with law enforcement.
GRAY: She says, "Taser. Taser. Taser," and he should have, OK, stopped. I give up. No. No. Daunte Wright caused his own death, unfortunately.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The state pushed back.
ERIN ELDRIDGE, MINNESOTA ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Carrying a badge and a gun is not a license to kill.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The state asked jurors not to focus on Potter's intention but on the consequences of her actions.
ELDRIDGE: This was a colossal screw-up, a blunder of epic proportions. It was irreversible and it was fatal.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Wright's family reacting to the news outside court.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We only got one thing to say.
Are you ready?
One, two, three, we love you, Daunte.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three, we love you, Daunte.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Minneapolis.
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BRUNHUBER: Joining me now from Los Angeles is CNN legal analyst Areva Martin. She is the author of the book, "Make It Rain."
Thanks so much for being here with us.
Are you surprised that a mostly white jury found a white female police officer guilty for this?
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think if you look at historically how juries have treated cases like this, when you have a white police officer on trial for the murder of an African American victim, yes, you'd have to say this is unusual.
But if you look at the case that was thrown on by the prosecution, the strength of that case, it is not surprising to me. I think the prosecution did an outstanding job and Kim Potter taking the witness stand was probably the linchpin in the prosecution's case.
The cross examination of her by the prosecutors was grueling. She made several key admissions that were very helpful to the prosecution's case. So the historical context is, this doesn't happen very often. But when you look at this case in a specific way and when you look at the evidence, it's not surprising to me.
BRUNHUBER: The way you talk about her testifying, I mean, why do you think the jury were not swayed by the obvious remorse she showed?
MARTIN: A lot of people have opined about whether those were authentic tears, authentic emotion. I will give her benefit of the doubt, anyone that kills someone, unless they are a ruthless person, will feel some kind of sadness or remorse about that.
But we also saw very emotional testimony from Daunte Wright's mother. And we know why Daunte Wright's mother was crying. What we know about Kim Potter, right after she shot and killed Daunte, she didn't say let me get him help. Oh, my God, can I save his life.
She said, "I messed up 'expletive.' I am going to jail."
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MARTIN: And I think jurors listening to her on that videotape, making that statement, that self-serving statement about her own situation, not providing aid to Daunte Wright and then watching that emotional testimony, I think jurors were not convinced that that emotion was about killing Daunte, as opposed to about her being afraid of going to jail.
BRUNHUBER: Now you've said this verdict is a game-changer in terms of police accountability.
Why is that?
MARTIN: We haven't seen, historically, we have not seen jurors being willing to convict police officers in cases like this. They give the police officers the benefit of the doubt. Police officers have not, historically, been held accountable in cases like this.
And to see nine white jurors in particular in the jurisdiction that this case happened, in Minnesota, hold Kim Potter accountable, is significant. And I think it is -- marks perhaps and new day in the way that police accountability will take place. And I think signals that police reform is something that citizens, everyday people, really want to see happen in this country.
BRUNHUBER: Interesting. Interesting and true. More broadly, with this verdict and with the Ahmaud Arbery and the Derek Chauvin killings, that's three guilty verdicts for defendants charged with killing unarmed African American men.
Do you feel that we may have crossed a racial Rubicon here, is that sort of making too much of these three quite different cases?
MARTIN: Good question, Kim. I am an optimist and I am a hopeful person. And I like to think that we are embarking upon a new day in this country, a day where police are held accountable, where the notion that, given the power that they have, that they understand with that great power comes great responsibility.
But I don't think we should read too much into these cases because there are lots of other examples, where police officers aren't even charged by prosecutors for misconduct that appears to be clearly criminal.
I think we now have at least a road map. At least we know that there is a pathway for holding police officers accountable in these cases. And maybe it's a wakeup call, to any police officers out there, that may be thinking, like 10 or 15 years ago, that if they are charged, that jurors are going to not find them guilty and not hold them accountable.
So I hope it changes the conversation, the narrative that is taking place in police departments around this country. I hope other prosecutors throughout the country are emboldened and see that they can be successful in these cases. So I do hope it sparks the kind of change in the police reform that we have been clamoring for so long in this country.
BRUNHUBER: Maybe the next step in that change is not killing unarmed Black men in the first place. Areva Martin, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.
MARTIN: Thanks, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: The world, according to Vladimir Putin, laid out in a four-hour news conference. Why he says NATO is to blame for the Ukraine crisis. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: New satellite images released on Thursday appear to show Russian forces gathering strength all along Ukraine's eastern border. The photos show additional Russian tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and long-range rockets are now within striking distance of the Ukraine.
A senior U.S. official says the U.S. and its NATO allies are ready to act if Russia invades. The official also warned an incursion would result in NATO beefing up its presence in Eastern Europe. The comments came just hours after Putin held his news conference, deflecting any blame for the escalating tensions. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Moscow.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a marathon press conference. Nearly 4 hours of it. It did provide more insight into what Vladimir Putin is thinking when it comes to Ukraine and how he sees the tensions there.
But he didn't provide any sense that an agreement might be found between Moscow and United States and NATO when they get together in January for the expected talks over Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin clearly laid the blame for recent tensions at the feet of NATO and reiterating his demand that for those negotiations to work, for any progress to be made, NATO would have to announce, to decide that it is not seeking any further eastward expansion.
Something, of course, NATO has ruled out and the White House press secretary reacted to Vladimir Putin, said there was an obvious nonstarter. Vladimir Putin said that fears of what was happening in Ukraine, his fears, impression that a war was being planned and that those sanctions that have been threatened, might be also part of that preparation for Ukrainian war against those Russian speaking populations in the east of the country.
This gives an idea of the tone that he struck this Thursday.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): What's not clear here, is that we are deploying missiles near the U.S.? We are not. It was the USA that brought missiles to our house. There are already in front of our house.
Is this a redundant requirement?
Not to instill any more missiles at our home?
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BELL: Putin expressing his distrust of NATO and fears of what the expansion might mean for Russia and for weaponry that might find itself on its borders. We also heard press secretary Jen Psaki clearly pushing back on the idea that the tensions around Ukraine are the fault of either NATO or the United States, laying the blame clearly at the feet of Vladimir Putin.
Also pointing out that NATO is a defensive organization rather than an offensive one and explaining while it was welcome news that NATO, the United States and Russia agreed on the principle of talks, there were clearly Russian demands that were unacceptable, either to NATO or to the United States -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Moscow.
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BRUNHUBER: Steven Erlanger is a chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe for "The New York Times" and joins us from Brussels.
Thank you so much for being with us, so the U.S. once again ready to act in the event of an invasion.
What would that act consist of?
STEVEN ERLANGER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, I'm not sure everyone knows. That's the point. And have we all decided with our allies what action we will take at even Putin's options. The U.S. will not act militarily; it made it very clear. It's not going to go to war for Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of NATO.
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ERLANGER: But it does promise, along with its European allies, punishing economic sanctions that are unprecedented that would go, it says, to the heart of Mr. Putin's personal wealth and his government. And this will cause him enormous pain.
That's what they are promising. They are also saying that they might, if there is a big invasion, provide some defensive weapons -- more defensive weapons to Ukraine. And NATO, if Ukraine falls completely under Russian control, which I doubt, NATO will probably move more troops to its member states that border Russia.
So that's the quiet decisions. But we don't know exactly what they are.
BRUNHUBER: You mentioned equipment that the U.S. might provide.
What about intelligence?
Are they preparing to provide any of that and will that not be seen as provocative by Moscow?
ERLANGER: They are providing intelligence.
The big question for America is, what do you provide Ukraine that helps deter Putin and what do provide that might provoke Putin?
That's a very delicate dance. I think the view is, my understanding of the U.S. and NATO intelligence, is that, if Russia goes in in a big way, the Ukrainian army cannot resist, not in a -- it cannot win.
But at the same time, throwing stuff at them now won't change that. What will change it, perhaps, is deterring Putin from doing in the first place. So in a sense there's this dual track strategy. It is to offer him diplomatic talks about his complaints and his insecurities.
A diplomatic off ramp for de-escalation on one hand, while at the same time saying to him publicly and especially privately, if you do this, you will suffer. You will not like the consequences.
So this is all about trying to deter because, once he gets going, if he does get going, it's going to be very hard for him to walk it back.
BRUNHUBER: But then, on those talks, Putin says he wants them. Some of the diplomatic ultimatums seem to signal that Russia isn't seriously consider negotiations.
What can we read from all that?
ERLANGER: There are two views. One view, he's just trying to drag it out until you get a good freeze so heavy equipment can travel into Ukraine without getting stuck in the mud, because it will have frozen. That means January.
But on the other hand, part of Putin's big desire has always been to be taken seriously, to be treated again, as a superpower, to have a strong relationship with the President of the United States himself. He has succeeded in doing that. He's created tension. That means the Biden administration, which has been talking China, China, China, now has to pay attention to Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Putin's anxieties.
It's also true, Putin is 69. So even he must see that he's in the last chapter of his control, of his reign. And the biggest stain on his legacy is the loss of Ukraine. So I think he sees this as a moment, with COVID-19, with economic
difficulties, with the American obsession with China, to try and take advantage and at least alter the understanding of post Soviet security in Europe and get more protection, as he sees it, against Russia's being encircled as he sees it, by NATO.
BRUNHUBER: Well, listen, that's a story we are following anxiously but with interest. We really appreciate your analysis on this, Steven Erlanger in Brussels, thank you so much.
ERLANGER: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Weary hospital staff are dealing a deluge of COVID patients for the second Christmas. We'll hear from health care workers in the U.S. who say they are burning out. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Officials say tens of thousands of Americans are hospitalized with COVID-19 as the easily-spread Omicron variant drives up case counts. And for the second holiday season in a row, health care workers are being pushed to the breaking point. CNN's Sara Sidner spoke with staff in New Mexico, who are suffering from burnout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the annual holiday light display dazzles the eye and lifts the spirit.
But these are the lights grabbing all the attention just down the road. This is a COVID ICU, suddenly as busy as it ever was.
SCOTTY SILVA, RESPIRATORY THERAPIST, CHRISTUS ST. VINCENT'S MEDICAL CENTER, SANTA FE: It is clinically, psychologically impossible to keep doing this, day in and day out, especially for the past year or two -- even the strongest respiratory therapists that I have broken down at times.
SIDNER: The staff is resilient but despondent some days and plain old exhausted most. Suffering and death greet them every day.
SILVA: They come to me and they say, I do need a break, help me.
SIDNER: When we talk about things like pulling them out and people breaking down, it sounds like a war zone. That's the same language that soldiers sometimes use.
SILVA: Yes.
SIDNER: Is that what it feels like?
SILVA: Yes, to the point of it being almost unbearable.
To see that...
These are very good people, good respiratory therapists, good clinicians, who want to do the best possible job, right?
And they just can't. They can't do it.
SIDNER: There was a moment of light and hope.
DOMINICK ARMIJO, CLINICAL NURSE MANAGER, CHRISTUS ST. VINCENT'S MEDICAL CENTER, SANTA FE: We thought the cases were going down.
SIDNER: Clinical nurse manager Dominick Armijo was filled with hope when the vaccines were approved. He was one of the first in New Mexico to get the shot.
ARMIJO: It was just that light at the end of the tunnel and then all of a sudden it was, wham, bam, here we are again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody who's here today.
SIDNER: He couldn't have possibly accounted for the number of people who would refuse the vaccine.
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ANGELA BYRES, COVID ICU PATIENT: In the beginning was an anti-vaxer only because of my immune system but not anymore.
SIDNER: What was it that sort of kept you from going to get vaccinated?
BYRES: I do not have a very good immune system.
SIDNER: A lot of times the doctors will tell you if your immune system is compromised, go get vaccinated. What were your concerns?
BYRES: My heart issues. I know there was a lot of clotting in the first few. And I did have an example of not a good reaction to a friend who did get vaccinated.
SIDNER: Byres never did get the vaccine. Instead, she got a bad case of COVID and was unable to breathe.
Do you regret it now?
BYRES: Do I regret it?
Yes and no. I wish I had gotten vaccinated sooner. I wouldn't be here. That's the regret. SIDNER: I've talked to a lot of doctors and nurses and I've heard a lot of people say I don't want to retire, I don't want to leave but I don't know if I can do it.
Where are you on that?
ARMIJO: I'm probably at that end of that spectrum as well. It's trying. But I just -- this is my family. And this is my community. We're the city of holy faith. It's just been a lot.
SIDNER: The unending pandemic surges have taken a toll.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have lost 110 nurses this year.
SIDNER: That's 25 percent of the hospital's nurses.
LILIAN MONTOYA, PRESIDENT, CEO, CHRISTUS ST. VINCENT'S MEDICAL CENTER, SANTA FE: It's across the board. I mean, most definitely nursing, respiratory, but it's also food and nutrition and custodial support and techs and medical office assistants and registration. It is across the board.
SIDNER: The remaining staff are fighting back death alongside their patients. There is no respite, not even for Christmas.
The unfortunate thing that everyone is realizing, including, of course, exhausted staff inside these hospitals, is that COVID is here to stay -- Sara Sidner, CNN, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A group of inspiring young women are making a fresh start in a new country. After the break we will hear about their harrowing escape from Afghanistan and their dreams for the future. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): So what you are looking at is now an empty spot in Hong Kong following the removal of another monument commemorating the victims of Tiananmen Square massacre.
The Goddess of Democracy statue used to stand there at the Chinese University of Hong Kong but was taken down Friday morning, along with a separate memorial at the city's Lingnan (ph) University. It comes a day after workers dismantled the famous Pillars of Shame sculpture at Hong Kong university.
The monuments were among the last remaining Tiananmen Square left in the city.
Japan won't be sending government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics the country's chief cabinet secretary announced Friday but stopped short of calling it a boycott.
He said Japan believes respect for human rights is important.
They were once a symbol of progress and a reason for hope in Afghanistan. But after the Taliban rose to power earlier this year, members of the Afghan girls' robotics team were forced to flee their homes. Several of them found a safe haven in Mexico. They spoke with Matt Rivers about everything left behind and what they hope the future holds.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just four years ago, the half-dozen girls from Afghanistan strode confidently into competition, waving their country's flag. The Global Robotics Competition held in the U.S. was a chance to show what so many in their country doubted, that girls can accomplish anything.
And accomplish they did, when they won an award for quote, "courageous achievement," given to teens who persevere through trying circumstances.
So much has changed since then. In a matter of months this year, the Taliban swept back across Afghanistan, toppling city after city, a mortal threat to girls like those in the robotics team, educated, progressive, the exact opposite of how the Taliban believe women should be.
And so five of the original team made the decision to flee in a harrowing journey. They went from Herat, Afghanistan, to Kabul. There, they managed to get on one of the last commercial flights before the Taliban took the city.
From there, Islamabad, Pakistan, was next. Eventually, followed by Doha, Qatar. And Frankfurt, Germany. And then, to Mexico City.
Landing in the Mexican capital, where the government here has allowed them to stay, while they figure out what's next. It's here in the city that we got a chance to meet in person. Safe in Mexico, their first thoughts are, of course, about home and the cruelty of the Taliban regime.
FATEMAN QADERYAN, CAPTAIN, AFGHAN GIRLS' ROBOTICS TEAM: The rule of their government is just mockery and insult to Islam while Islam is the religion of kindness. We kindly request, not only the United States but the entire international community, to eradicate the Taliban generation from Afghanistan.
RIVERS (voice-over): They know that the U.S. has limited options in that regard, after its withdrawal. A terrible situation for those who are opposed to the Taliban. They also know how lucky they were to get out. SAGHAR SALEHI, AFGHAN GIRLS' ROBOTICS TEAM: It was really hard to,
you know, leave our beloved ones in Afghanistan. But we are happy that today we are safe, not only because of ourselves but here we can be the voice of thousands of girls who want to be safe in Afghanistan and who want to continue their education and make their dreams become true.
RIVERS (voice-over): A dwindling reality for girls in that country; in the weeks and months after the Taliban took over, their subsequent actions have reaffirmed a return to a society, where women are treated as wholly unequal to men. Still, the team has a message, for those left behind.
KAWSAR ROSHAN, AFGHAN GIRLS' ROBOTICS TEAM: So my message and my message to my generation is that to please don't lose your hope, your spirit.
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ROSHAN: I know it's difficult because I'm an Afghan girl, too, and I fully understand you. But, please, don't lose spirit. There is always light in the heart of darkness. And just make your dream and follow your dream and believe that, one day, your dream will come true, because I experienced that.
RIVERS: And we asked all of the girls, what do you want to do next, both in the near future and in the long-term future?
All four girls that we spoke to tell us they do plan on going to college, somewhere, hopefully, in the United States. They say, as for the long-term future, they all have hopes to return to Afghanistan, someday -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
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BRUNHUBER: Queen Elizabeth won't be spending Christmas at her Sandringham country estate but will be spending the day with her son, Prince Charles, and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall at Windsor Castle, where the queen is now staying for the holiday.
Meanwhile Prince Harry, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are sharing their first photo of their 6-month-old daughter, Lilibet Diana. The little girl is seen on the holiday card they released on Thursday.
I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll have details on the hundreds of flights canceled because of the highly contagious Omicron variant. That's coming up when CNN NEWSROOM continues. Please do stay with us.
