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Airlines Canceling Some Holiday Flights As Omicron Spreads; Potter Guilty on All Counts in Fatal Shooting; Omicron Variant Breaks Records Across Europe. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired December 24, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:05]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you who are watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber live at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury on the charge of manslaughter in the second degree, culpable negligence on or about April 11, 2021, in Hennepin County, state of Minnesota, find the defendant guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every single emotion you can imagine just running through your body at that moment, I kind of let out a yelp because it was still up in anticipation of what was to come while we were waiting the last few days. Now we've been able to process it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Former Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter is behind bars found guilty in the death of Daunte Wright. We'll share what his mother told CNN about the verdict.
And it's Christmas Eve, and the flight cancellations due to the new variant could be causing more chaos than joy this holiday season.
Plus, we're live across Europe where omicron is breaking records, and experts warn things will only get worse.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Well, less than a day away from Christmas and the omicron variant is throwing a last-minute wrench into some holiday travel plans. Delta and United Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights scheduled for today. Delta scrapped 150 and according to the tracking site Flight Aware, and United more than 160. United said in a statement that the omicron-fueled case surge is hitting flight crews and ground operations, and it's not just happening in the U.S.
Dozens of flights have also been canceled in Australia. But U.S. authorities are preparing for a crush of air travelers, warning numbers over the next ten days will rival pre-pandemic figures from 2019.
Here's Pete Muntean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Things are getting busier by the moment at Reagan National Airport and at airports across the country. The TSA says it screened more people on Wednesday than we saw in 2019 before the pandemic. 2.08 million this past Wednesday compared to 1.84 million people back then. A little bit of context here, though. That same Wednesday back in 2019, that actually fell on Christmas day when passenger loads are lower.
But even still, we have seen numbers about 2 million lower or higher, give or take, each day for about a week. The TSA says Thursday will turnout to be one of the busiest days of the holiday travel season. January 3rd busy as well when everybody begins to come home all at once.
The TSA says a total of 20 million people will fly over that ten-day stretch. We have seen lots and lots of people get tested for coronavirus at airports. A long line at BWI/Thurgood Marshall Airport, folks there tell us they were either getting tested because of international travel requirements or before holiday gatherings.
Airlines continue to insist that flying is safe, so safe that they are asking the CDC to shorten the isolation period for somebody who gets coronavirus who is fully vaccinated. Right now, it's ten days. Airlines want that to go down to five days. They say that it will allow them to keep more workers on the job and avoid operational issues at airlines like we saw this fall.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Thousands of travelers in Australia are looking at a blue Christmas as their flights are being canceled. At least 80 domestic flights in and out of Sydney have been called off today.
CNN's Selina Wang is following developments live this hour in Tokyo.
Selina, so we just heard about all the chaos that COVID has throwing so many travel plans in the U.S., now Australia as well.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, exactly. Unfortunately, this holiday season is turning out to be incredibly stressful and frustrating for travelers around the world, including in Australia. We've learned that at least 80 domestic flights, 40 inbound, 40 outbound, have been canceled from Sydney on Friday. A Jetstar spokesperson told us many of the flights were canceled because they had many of their front line staff members who were identified as close contacts of COVID cases, so they need to test and isolate. The airline apologized, said the majority of passengers have been
rescheduled on later flights. The other domestic airlines that fly from Sydney include Qantas, Virgin and REX. Both Qantas and REX have told us that their domestic flights have not been canceled.
We are seeing, Kim, on social media, a lot of frustrated travelers claiming their Christmas plans have been ruined after they've gone through all the efforts and hoops to make sure they could travel to see family on Christmas, including standing in long lines and dealing with the chaos at testing clinics in Australia.
[04:05:09]
But this is as COVID-19 cases are surging across the country. Queensland reporting the highest number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, reporting nearly 600 daily COVID-19 cases, and health authorities there warning that the numbers will get significantly higher in the coming weeks, and that it could put strain on the hospital system.
And in New South Wales, we've been reporting for several consecutive days there, they've been dealing with record high COVID-19 cases. But despite the surge, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that the country is not going to go back to lockdowns. Up until now, Australia has managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic through strict border closures as well as these long lockdowns. But the prime minister saying they're not going back to that.
He recently said in a press conference, Australians have worked very hard to have this Christmas together and we want to protect that. But, Kim, it's proving very hard to do just that.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, the timing for all this couldn't be worse. Selina Wang in Tokyo, thanks so much.
Americans are getting their COVID vaccines, but not at the rate health experts would like. CDC reports more than 500 million doses administered in the U.S., more than a million and a half a day, but the pace of vaccinations is down 19 percent compared to last month. Meanwhile, 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. U.S. regulators have authorized a second antiviral pill made by Merck to treat mild to moderate COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer's antiviral pill on Wednesday.
And more Americans are traveling during the holidays this year, just as omicron become the dominant variant in cases across the U.S., even though there are more weapons now to fight the disease, they fear the extent of the omicron spread over the holiday won't be seen for weeks to come.
CNN's Athena Jones has details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With holiday air travel surpassing pre-pandemic levels, according to the TSA, long lines at airports and at testing sites.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This whole thing is frustrating obviously.
JONES: As people scramble to do what they can to keep themselves and their families safe through the holidays.
Doctors are applauding the FDA's decision granting emergency use authorization to a second antiviral pill. This one from Merck, that people can take at home, adding another COVID fighting weapon to the nation's armory. But they stress even these game changing medications must be given within five days of symptom on set, making timely access to tests more important.
DR. JAY VARMAN, DIRECTOR, WEILL CORNELL MEDICINE'S CTR. FOR PANDEMIC PREVENTION & RESPONSE: We can't give medications to everybody. We want to give them to people who test positive. As you know, there is a real testing bottleneck. So we need to solve that problem first.
JONES: Omicron is now confirmed in all 50 states, but there is good news. Three early studies now adding to the evidence it may be less likely to cause severe disease. Still, experts warn it's too early to say for sure.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It's dangerous business to be able to rely on what you perceive as a lower degree of severity.
JONES: Doctors fear even if omicron is milder than delta, the huge spike in case numbers particularly among the unvaccinated could still strain hospitals in some places, like Cleveland, Ohio.
DR. HASSAN KHOULI, CHAIR, DEPT. OF CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, CLEVELAND CLINIC: We are overwhelmed. Our ICUs, our hospitals are overwhelmed.
JONES: But the hospital picture nationwide appears more promising. So far, while new daily cases average nearly 165,000, 36 percent higher than a week ago, and nearly as high as the mid-September peak of the delta surge, hospitalizations and deaths remain well below their peaks during delta. Washington, D.C. and New York state each setting single- day records for new COVID cases this week. But New York's governor says the hospitalization rate is only two-thirds what it was this time last year.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: We're not panicking. We have the resources we need.
JONES: The state's high vaccination rate may be helping to keep those numbers down as experts continue to stress getting vaccinated and boosted is the best way to fight the latest COVID threat.
(END VIDEOTAPE) JONES (on camera): And here in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrating a scaled down celebration, 15,000 instead of 60,000 to allow for social distancing. And revelers will be required to show proof of vaccination, a photo ID and they must wear masks.
Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
BRUNHUBER: The last hour I spoke with infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Drobac. I asked about the difficulty Americans were having finding a COVID test and what could be done about it. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PETER DROBAC, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: We have to remember actually one of the real risks with omicron now in this very rapid rise is putting a strain on every part of our response.
[04:10:05]
Even here in the UK where we've done a nice job of making free rapid tests available to everyone. There have been shortages and stock outs pretty widely. We're starting to see as a risk around the world the supply chain is not keeping up and so we are starting to see shortages. And 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 force production of more tests. I think more efforts like that are needed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Stay with CNN for complete coverage of the omicron variant by reporters and correspondents all over the world.
Coming up, CNN's Scott McLean has more of a new report out of the UK that may indicate omicron is less severe. Barbie Nadeau is live in Rome with the latest on how omicron is quickly becoming dominant across Europe. And Larry Madowo is in Nairobi, Kenya. They may have passed the peak in South Africa. That's later this hour.
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. She was immediately taken into custody. The jury rejected Potter's defense that she mistakenly fired her hand gun believing it was her Taser during a routine traffic stop in April.
CNN's Adrienne Broaddus has more.
(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.
REPORTER: How do you feel?
BROADDUS: While 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.
KIM POTTER, FORMER OFFICER: I shot him! Oh, my god!
BROADDUS: Shortly after the verdict, crowds outside the courthouse chanted Wright's name. While the state pushed to reassure 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: The jury took nearly 27 hours to deliberate whether Potter's actions were criminal. Over eight days in Minneapolis, jurors heard from 33 witnesses, including tearful testimony from Potter herself.
POTTER: I didn't want to shoot anybody.
BROADDUS: The defense aimed to prove she 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: In closing arguments, they faulted Wright for not cooperating with law enforcement.
GRAY: She says, Taser, Taser, Taser, and he said, okay. Stop, I give up. No, no, Daunte Wright caused his own death unfortunately.
BROADDUS: The state pushed back.
ERIN ELDRIDGE, MINNESOTA ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Carrying a badge and a gun is not a license to kill.
BROADDUS: The state asked jurors not to focus on potter's intention, but on the consequence of her actions.
ELDRIDGE: This was a colossal screw up, a blunder of epic proportions. It was irreversible and it was fatal. BROADDUS: Wright's family reacting to the news outside court.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I only have one thing to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: We love you, Daunte!
BROADDUS: Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Minneapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Daunte Wright's parents expressed their relief and gratitude following the verdict. But earlier his mother told CNN there's still much more to be done to bring about justice. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE BRYANT, DAUNTE WRIGHT'S MOTHER: We'll never have Daunte back. Accountability is what we've been asking for since day one, so we're grateful as we were able to have accountability. But like everybody has been saying, you know, we still don't have Daunte home. And this is just a step forward in the bigger issue with policing and hopefully there has to be no more Daunte's, so many names we chant in our streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: One legal analyst believes this could be a game changer for future cases like this one.
[04:15:03]
And she spoke with me earlier and explained why. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Historically, we've not seen jurors being willing to convict police officers in cases like this. They've given police officers the benefit of the doubt. Police officers have not historically been held accountable in cases like this. And so see non-white jurors in particular in the jurisdiction that this case happened in, in Minnesota, hold Kim Potter accountable is significant. And I think is -- marks, perhaps, a new day in the way that police accountability will take place in this country. And I think signals that police reform is something that citizens, everyday people really want to see happen in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And she also said prosecutors made a strong case to the jury in that Potter's own testimony probably ended up hurting her.
All right. Up next on CNN NEWSROOM, the omicron variant is exploding across Europe. A new day showing fewer people have to go to the hospital. Scientists say hopeful news from South Africa on the omicron variant may not hold true for other countries. We'll explain. Stay with us.
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[04:20:08]
BRUNHUBER: The omicron variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate across Europe with daily infections hitting record highs all this week. But new data from the UK show people infected with omicron are about 40 percent less likely to be admitted to hospital as those with delta.
Germany's public health agencies are reporting the first death of a patient with omicron. At least 48 people infected with the variant are being treated in hospitals and rally against COVID restrictions turned violent in Munich. They say about 5,000 people took part. One officer was injured and 11 people were detained.
And Greece is cancelling Christmas celebrations. Masks are mandatory in indoor and outdoor spaces.
Barbie Nadeau is standing by this hour in Rome, first to CNN's Scott McLean live in London.
And, Scott, the NHS in the UK is warning folks to keep holiday plans small otherwise they could overcome. What's the latest?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You might say that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson got an early Christmas present from science this year in a brand-new UK study this week that showed that the risk of hospitalization with omicron is 40 percent less than it was with delta, and now a real world analysis of actual cases in the UK health security agency found that that risk was cut by up to two-thirds with omicron compared to delta.
This has undoubtedly helped to reaffirm the prime minister's decision not to go ahead with further restrictions ahead of the Christmas holidays as was the case last year, despite the fact that Scotland and Wales have gone ahead and tightened measures.
You could perhaps understand the difficult verging viewpoints on what to do. On the one case you have the evidence omicron is less severe. On the other hand, the number of cases is really staggering. One in 45 people the latest estimate got COVID in just the past week. We're talking record high number of official case counts, almost 120,000.
Christmas is not canceled this year, but the prime minister is urging people to be cautious, especially with their older loved ones. He is also appealing to people's Christian values to love your neighbor as you'd love yourself. In public health speak, Kim, that translates to get your booster shot. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I hope I could be forgiven for taking pride in the immense spirit of neighborliness 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Now, omicron, of course, is surging throughout the country, but so is the booster shot program. 55 percent of eligible people in this country have gotten their booster shot already. They are giving them out at a rate of almost a million per day.
And the clinics are going to stay open throughout the holidays as well. The concern now, though, is the sheer volume of cases of omicron could still put serious pressure on the health system. Kim, lately, the number of health care workers calling in sick, especially here in London which is the omicron epicenter of the UK, that certainly will not help things either.
BRUNHUBER: Very troubling there.
All right. So, let's go to you, Barbie, and start with Germany. While huge protests were going on against restrictions, the country saw its first omicron-related death.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. Germany has been the epicenter of this latest wave. They were delta cases, not omicron cases. You mentioned 5,000 people took to the streets against a restriction --
BRUNHUBRE: All right. We seem to have lost -- I think we may have lost our correspondent there. Our thanks to Scott McLean and Barbie Nadeau in Rome.
Well, despite the explosion of omicron around the world, there is encouraging news out of south Africa where new COVID cases appear to be declining. A top researcher says the worst of omicron may be over. Other global health experts are saying, not so fast.
CNN's Larry Madowo explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Despite the drip-drip of good news showing the omicron variant has been less severe in South Africa, a caveat, a warning from the head of the Africa CDC, Dr. John Nkengasong, cautioning the world not to extrapolate the South African experience to the rest of the world.
For instance, he pointed out the UK appears to see more severe cases of the omicron variant compared to South Africa.
[04:25:03]
That said, a new study from respected scientists in South Africa add to the dose of good news out of South Africa. It found that only 2.5 percent of patients with the omicron variant ended up hospitalized compared to 12.8 percent of patients with the previous delta variant. That is promising and tracks with all the data we've seen from people treating omicron patients. Epidemiologists and virologists in South Africa who have been saying for weeks the omicron variant seems to be less severe. Now we have a bit more data to work with in that respect.
That is why more scientists and authorities are in south Africa feel confident enough to say they think South Africa has not gone past the peak of the omicron wave. This is largely driven by new cases detected in the province of Gauteng which is the epicenter of the outbreak. It includes a popular city of Johannesburg and the very busy airports of O.R. Tambo, one of the busiest in Africa.
There are several other provinces reporting lower cases and nationally there is a drop in cases according to the latest data from South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases. You whether the omicron variant is less severe, there is a bit more work. Authorities around the world not quite confident enough to say, yes, the omicron variant will be less severe. It will take a bit more time.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right. I think I am going to show some live pictures here. I think we have them. Some events going on in Bethlehem this Christmas eve. That's right.
These are live pictures you're looking at there. Groups have been taking part in a parade. I'm not sure you can see them there, but they're passing through the famous Manger Square and by the Church of the Nativity. Many of them are playing a mix of marches and chorals on their instruments.
Now, Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus, is a huge event, hoping to attract a post-pandemic wave of pilgrims and travelers. Those hopes were dashed after omicron shutdown international travel.
And speaking of travel, the TSA estimates around 20 million people in the U.S. plan to travel this holiday season. After the break, we'll have tips on how to stay safe as the omicron variant surges.
Plus, U.S. lawmakers make an urgent plea to the Supreme Court over hundreds of disputed documents from the Trump White House documents related to the January 6 riot.
Stay with us.
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