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New York Reports Single Day Record 44,000 New Cases; Airlines Cancel Hundreds Of Flights Due To Staffing Shortages; CDC Shortens Isolation Time For Health Care Workers With COVID; Frontline Health Workers Under Attack From Patients, Families; Trump Ally Sues Jan. 6 Committee To Block Financial Record Access; Conservative Mom Group Fights Vax Mandates, Critical Race Theory; Pope Delivers Somber But Hopeful Message. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired December 25, 2021 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST (on camera): A TSA officer saving a baby's life.
SANCHEZ: (voice-over): Watch this security video from Newark Airport showing officer Cecilia Morales jumping over the conveyor belt to help a two month old boy who was choking. She performed the Heimlich maneuver. Thankfully, the boy is all right because of her quick thinking. It turns out Morales served as an EMT for 10 years before joining the TSA.
You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Welcome, I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Fredricka Whitfield. Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad. Thank you so much for joining us. We begin this hour with coronavirus.
Once again, disrupting holiday plans, largely thanks to a surge in the Omicron variant. The U.S. now averaging nearly 180,000 cases a day. Hospitalizations have not seen that kind of rapid rise.
They're up only three percent in the last week. Testing though remains a huge concern as the United States tries to keep those numbers down. Long lines await those attempting to take a COVID test as we look at this footage from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Scenes like that playing out across the country. Some of the largest cities and states breaking records in case numbers. New York setting a new high with 44,000 new cases reported on Friday alone.
In Los Angeles, meantime, new cases tripled in the last week. The surge, of course, having a big impact on holiday travel. Several major airlines cancelling hundreds of flights this morning because of staffing shortages.
CNN's Alison Kosik and Nadia Romero have been monitoring the developments. Alison, New York is seeing so many cases now. What's being done to slow that down?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Boris, is great to see you. You know, New York's governor, New York's mayor, they continue to urge people to go ahead and get vaccinated if they haven't been and they are telling people to get a booster if you have been vaccinated.
Plus, the mask mandate here in New York that has been in effect for a bit. New York City also plans to distribute 500,000 at home tests and a million free KN95 masks as well.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a scaled back celebration in Times Square on New Year's Eve, as well. In addition to requiring proof of full vaccination for those who do go out there in Time Square, they'll also be required to wear masks.
Viewing areas will be filled with fewer people this year to allow for more social distancing. The outdoor event usually has 58,000 people in viewing areas. This year, it will be 15,000.
De Blasio has also said that in New York City and the surrounding boroughs, more testing capacity is being added to handle the massive demand for getting tested for COVID-19.
But as you said, the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading. And it's not just here in New York, where it's a real struggle just to get that test. You showed those pictures from Raleigh, North Carolina, you know, everybody lining up to get these COVID tests before their Christmas celebrations, before they go ahead and travelled.
In Raleigh, for instance, some had to wait two hours in traffic just to get to the testing site in Oahu, Hawaii, at one testing site, the line wrapped around several blocks with some waiting 2-1/2 hours.
All of this happening as the case number spike here in New York, the state reporting just yesterday that there was a spike of 44,000 new cases. That's a jump of 14 percent, breaking the previous day's record of 38,000 cases. Now, hospitalizations in New York are rising, but they're rising at a lower rate.
Still, people in New York hospitals because of COVID-19 rose 4.6 percent between Thursday and Friday.
Now, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York is going to shorten the quarantine time from 10 days to five days for those who are in a critical workforce.
Meaning, nurses, doctors, police officers, cooks, servers, and bartenders. The move means that after a positive test, fully vaccinated people here in New York, considered in the critical workforce can return to work in just five days after that positive COVID result if they are, for one, asymptomatic, and two, wear a mask.
The governor, Boris, had argued that the 10-day rule caused unnecessary staff shortages in frontline jobs. Boris.
SANCHEZ: Yes, Alison. And that just reveals the strain on the healthcare system that they're having to adjust these rules to have more people on hand. Let's go to Nadia now. Nadia, you're at one of the busiest airports in the world in Atlanta. Describe the situation there.
NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. Well, Boris, it was almost like a ghost town when we first arrived early this morning because so many flights had been cancelled.
Now, things are definitely starting to pick up here at the airport, as there are more flights through the afternoon and the later evening hours. We look to the board, there were some 50 flights cancelled between two of the terminals here in Atlanta.
[12:05:04]
ROMERO: So, that just speaks to the volume all around though, we're looking at more than 1,000 flights that have been canceled today and tomorrow throughout this holiday weekend.
And some of the updated numbers, Delta, canceling almost 300 flights for Christmas Day. And so, you can imagine the heartbreak. What we're learning is a lot of those flights are some of the longer international destinations. There was a flight cancelled to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. So, you can imagine the heartbreak for those people who thought they were going to be on the beach this Christmas, can't get on that flight now.
And we're learning from these airlines that a lot of this is connected some to weather, but overwhelmingly because of COVID-19. You heard Alison talking about those rising cases, especially with the Omicron variant. That's what's keeping a lot of the fight -- flight crews from being able to show up for work, and that means cancellations across the board.
And we spoke to some passengers who are excited to get on their flights, knowing that so many of those flights had been canceled or delayed. But they're trying to do so cautiously with the pandemic still going on. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTA MACFARLANE, TRAVELING TO NEW YORK: And I got gloves and everything, sanitizer. You see, I got this special mask. Yes, but you just got to see your family, you got to work with God. That's the only thing you could do. Only God can pull you through.
MATTHEW MONTEMARO, TRAVELING TO NEW YORK: Seeing family. So, going back to New York to see family from Atlanta, and COVID impacted travel quite a bit, but just traveling safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMERO: And we've talked to some people who had some really amazing stories of why they wanted to travel despite the pandemic. They say they've been vaccinated. They're wearing their mask, bringing hand sanitizers. One man told me he hasn't seen his family. They all live in Paris. Since December 2019, the borders were shut down. And so, now he is going, nothing will stop him.
Another woman says she's making a surprise trip to Baltimore to see her grandson for the first time. And she said it's going to be the most emotional moment wrapping her arms around her grandson, because the pandemic has kept her away from her family for all this time.
This is why people are flying Boris. But of course, we're seeing those cancelations, the delays, there are plenty of people who are on the other side of security who are going to have to sleep here at the airport or go to a local hotel because they just can't leave. Boris.
SANCHEZ: Yes, really frustrating situation.
Nadia Ramiro, Alison Kosik, thank you both and happy holidays. Thanks.
Here to discuss all things. COVID is Dr. Jeremy Faust, he's an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He's also the author of the Inside Medicine Newsletter.
Dr. Faust, thanks so much for sharing part of your holiday with us, we do appreciate your expertise. People may be enjoying their Christmas today. But tomorrow, that travel crunch is going to begin again. Run through what people can do to keep safe if they wind up having to fly.
JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Thanks for having me, Boris. And I think that the message should be that we may not be able to eliminate risk, but we can reduce risk in many situations.
So it's -- if someone's been exposed in your orbit or in your circle, or has been infected, you don't have to assume that everybody has it. So, do continue to do the things like wearing masks around those people or testing. So, I think as you travel, you want to think about where are the weak links in the chain.
It's not necessarily the actual airplane itself, it might be the airport line of the bathroom where you need to be extra careful with masks and other mitigation measures.
So, it there's a lot of places where we can let the virus in. And that means we can also there's a lot of things we can do to keep it from coming in. So, it's -- there's always risk there out there. And I think depending on your thresholds, you have to adjust accordingly.
SANCHEZ: Doctor, I also want to ask you about some of the new guidelines for health care workers limiting their quarantine time requirements. The CDC shifting it from 10 days to seven if they test positive for COVID. The CDC is made clear that this new guideline only applies to healthcare workers.
Do you think that might soon change to be applied more broadly? Would that be a good idea? FAUST: It might be necessary. When I saw this change, I actually thought it made some degree of sense. I actually written about this possibility that we probably needed to do this, because we have to keep the hospitals open. If you look at New York, for example, a lot of young people are getting infected right now. That's a double-edged sword, Boris, because on one hand, young people who are infected, especially if they're vaccinated are highly unlikely to get sick and need to go to the hospital.
On the other hand, the hospital workforce is being sidelined. So, there aren't that many people to staff those beds. So, capacity becomes the big issue. As far as I'm concerned, look, if I were to be infected with Omicron, which could happen at some point, and I was feeling well, after five days, I would feel comfortable going back to work if I had a negative rapid antigen test myself.
I can't speak for every person in the healthcare workforce, but that's how I would feel, and I assume that many feel the same way. We want to do our jobs and we want to do them safely. If this protocol can be instituted safely and doesn't sideline more people than it actually brings onto the -- onto the playing field, then I think it makes sense.
[12:10:06]
FAUST: Does it need to expand to other areas? It could. Look, at some point, you need your grocery stores to be open.
So, yes, we have to be nimble and make tough choices, but always keeping safety as the number one priority.
SANCHEZ: Yes, there's also the issue of testing, there's simply not enough of them. Do you think the federal government should have been more prepared for omicron? It seems like specifically on tests, the U.S. has been short-handed.
FAUST: Yes, in March of 2020, I wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post, saying that we needed tests for every American. I think that -- and when the new administration came in, I think we felt that things were getting better because of vaccinations.
But I remember having conversations with this administration, saying, if there's some new variant, that where you're kind of back to square one, the thing you could do to keep life open would be massive, rapid testing. I didn't quite foresee Omicron, it's not quite the doomsday scenario. It's bad. It's very, very bad. But it's not like the vaccines aren't working.
But this is exactly what we had in mind, people who've been advocating for more rapid testing, so that if you have a huge new wave, you don't have to do the kinds of things you did in early 2020 to the same extent. Because we can track this and we can know where things are, we can be nimble.
So, let's use the data and tools we have. And testing is a really big one, we really need to do more of it. Glad to see there have been changes. I applaud the recent move by the administration. But we need more.
SANCHEZ: And Dr., you have written in your newsletter about how local governments should install circuit breakers to put in COVID restrictions in a targeted and specific way to keep hospitals from getting overwhelmed. Help us understand what you mean by circuit breakers.
FAUST: Yes, circuit breakers are important because they really apply to a specific area. And it has a very specific goal. I don't think any of us think that we can stop coronavirus from spreading across this country. But one thing we can all agree on is if there aren't enough hospital beds, and you have a heart attack or get in an accident, and you can't get the life-saving treatment that you'd come to expect, that's something we should avoid and we can avoid it.
And what a circuit breaker is designed to do is say, look, for the next five, seven days, let's just slow it down a bit. So, maybe it's a local ordinance like dining capacity would go down for indoor dining or large gatherings.
Or maybe in places that aren't even willing to do that, it's just information to the hospitals to say, look, we foresee that based on today's case counts, and the current hospital capacity, real time data, we leverage, we can say, look, in a few days, you are going to be overflowing. Why don't you cancel the elective procedures? Why don't you make sure that you scramble your workforce, make sure that you've got people?
So, it's -- it can be to local governments to make some changes. It's not a lockdown or a shutdown, but it could be a change in our behavior, or go to hospitals to say, look, make some choices about how we use our capacity now, so that we can take a wave that we expect and actually can foresee coming.
So, it leverages real time data, and it's not a one size fits all. So, I think it makes a lot of sense to do this.
SANCHEZ: Yes, it seems like a sensible approach, especially given that every resource available, every bit of help goes a long way right now.
Dr. Jeremy Faust, thank you so much for the time. Appreciate it.
FAUST: Thank you, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
Once celebrated as the heroes of the pandemic, some of that goodwill appears to be gone for health care workers fighting on the front lines. They're now dealing with threats from patients and their families demanding unproven treatments.
CNN's Ed Lavandera spoke with doctors in St. Cloud Minnesota who come face to face with a wave of misinformation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. JACK LYONS, CRITICAL CARE PHYSICIAN: My name is Jack, an ICU doctor here.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Jack Lyons spends his days treating COVID-19 patients, fighting for their lives inside St. Cloud Hospital in Minnesota.
Like so many other doctors, he feels the strain.
What's it been like to work in this atmosphere?
LYONS: It's exhausting. It is frequently heartbreaking. It is demoralizing at times.
LAVANDERA: Dr. Lyons says it's also getting hostile as patients are demanding bogus medical treatments
LAVANDERA (on camera): Are people treating these treatments like they're picking items off of a menu at a restaurant?
LYONS: Absolutely. Folks act as if they can come into the hospital and request any certain therapy they want or conversely, decline any therapy that they want with the idea beyond that. Somehow they can pick and choose and direct their therapy. And that doesn't work.
LAVANDERA (on camera): That's putting healthcare workers at risk. Hospitals are facing a slew of lawsuits demanding risky treatments. Across the country, there are reports of growing hostility between medical workers and patients and their families. It's a daily dose of threats and vitriol.
[12:15:02]
LYONS: Insult your intelligence, they insult your ability, and most hurtful, they say that by not using these therapies, you are intentionally trying to harm the people that we've given everything to save.
LAVANDERA: What is been the worst experience you've had?
LYONS: The most difficult experience we've had is a patient family who, under a pseudonym, had made threats against the hospital, there was a reference to making sure the hospital is locked, and we've got people that are coming for you.
LAVANDERA: Was it a death threat?
LYONS: I'm not sure how a person would take. We're going to come to that -- we're going to march on the hospital, we're coming for you, as anything other than a death threat.
BARBARA CHAPMAN, FAMILY AND PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER: The tensions are high.
LAVANDERA: Barbara Chapman is a nurse practitioner and works at the University of Texas at Tyler. Last summer, she started a hotline, offering teachers and health care workers mental health support. CHAPMAN: I used to think of it as being overwhelmed. The healthcare workers are overwhelmed. That's -- it doesn't even address it. The way I dress it now with folks when I talk to them is I refer to it as moral injury.
LAVANDERA: What do you mean by that?
CHAPMAN: We want to help folks. And now that folks aren't, aren't getting vaccinated, they -- they're not believing us, they're questioning our education and our background, it's hurtful, we're exhausted, we're tired. And so, we have been morally injured.
Chapman says some nurses have endured so much abuse that even getting them to walk from their cars into work is a challenge.
CHAPMAN: It's like when a veteran comes back from the war. He may be out of the war, but he hasn't left that war.
LAVANDERA: I mean, it's crazy to me that you're talking about a healthcare job as if it was walking into a battlefield.
CHAPMAN: It's a battlefield. It is a battlefield.
LAVANDERA: Dr. Jack Lyons often thinks of the pandemics early days, when grateful communities banged pots and pans to honor frontline health care workers.
LYONS: The vast majority of patients we take care of now come to our interactions with distressed.
LAVANDERA (on camera): So, yes, that feeling of goodwill is gone.
LYONS: Long since dissipated.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Ed Lavandera, CNN, St. Cloud, Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Thanks to Ed for that sobering report.
Thorough, complete and transparent. That is the promise from police after a teen in California winds up dead. The unintended target of an officer's bullet happening just days before Christmas. The latest on this investigation just a few minutes away.
And new and disturbing details in the case against the suspected Michigan school shooter and his parents. These stories and more after a quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:36]
SANCHEZ: Prosecutors have released some disturbing new evidence collected in the Michigan school shooting investigation. 15-year old Ethan Crumbley has been charged as an adult for the shooting at Oxford High School that killed four students.
His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley are charged with involuntary manslaughter. CNN's Brynn Gingras walks us through the details.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, disturbing images, disturbing details coming in these court documents, which essentially is the state's response to the defendants request to lower their bond which currently is at $500,000.
GINGRAS (voice-over): And we do. We see those drawings that we did know about. Again, those drawings are ones that the teacher spotted the morning of the shooting on Ethan Crumbley's desk. This is the first time that we're actually getting a look at them, though.
And if you see what the prosecutor show in this court document is the first drawing which shows very disturbing images, like a gun and a bullet, and the words blood everywhere, my life is useless.
And then, they say that drawing was altered to not appear to look so bad. You can see it there. It says, I love my life so much. We're all friends here, and those disturbing images are all scribbled out.
GINGRAS (on camera): Now, again, this is just part of some of the evidence that prosecutors are sort of laying out in this case.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Other parts of it include details about how the parents, they allege, knew about the troubles their son was going through, and yet ignored all those signs.
GINGRAS (on camera): Prosecutor saying up to like six months before that shooting happened in late November -- let me read you an excerpt of this court document.
GINGRAS (voice-over): It said, "Defendants had information long before November 30th, within the six months prior to the shooting that their son's only friend moved at the end of October 2021 that the family dog died. That their son was sadder than usual. And that he was sending his mother disturbing texts about his state of mind.
Meanwhile, during that same period, defendants spent their time at the bar and caring for their horses three to four nights a week for up to three hours at a time, and seeking other relationships, including defendant mother's extramarital affairs. Instead of paying attention to their son and getting him help, they bought him a gun."
GINGRAS (on camera): Prosecutor saying these parents were the ones who knew and could have recognized those signs and possibly even prevented this shooting that happened in that Michigan High School, killing four and injuring many others.
Now, the prosecutors also making an argument in this document as to why that bond should not be lowered.
GINGRAS (voice-over): stating that the parents were $11,000 or more behind in their house payments, that they actually tried to work and list their home the day of the attack, and that they are flight risk. Of course, we remember those parents were not to be seen for several days until authorities found them in a warehouse in Detroit. And prosecutors say in this document that they had several phones on them. Two of them burner phones after they even withdrew a lot of cash.
GINGRAS (on camera): So, again, all of these details are becoming new as we're learning more evidence about prosecutors' case against not even just the parents of Ethan Crumbley, but Ethan Crumbley himself.
And of course, it will be up to a judge to decide if their bond should be lowered.
I'm Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
SANCHEZ: Brynn, thanks so much. Still ahead, a new court challenge is revealing how the January 6th committee plans to understand exactly how the violence was possibly funded.
And we're getting a new look at a three-hour confrontation between rioters and Capitol Police inside a tunnel. That footage and more next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:27:38]
SANCHEZ: Police in Los Angeles say they are going to release body camera video in the death of a 14-year-old girl before Monday. Investigators say the teen died in a department store on Thursday when a shot fired by police went through a dressing room wall. The officer was pursuing a suspect at the time.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov joins us now. Lucy, what are police saying about the shooting?
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Boris, tragic and devastating is how the LAPD police chief described this officer involved shooting which took place on Thursday afternoon. Police say that they were responding to multiple calls of a possible active shooter at this North Hollywood Burlington store.
On Thursday, they were told a number of people were sheltering a place when officers arrived on the scene. They encountered the suspect who was assaulting a woman. That woman was taken to the hospital with her injuries. They then confronted the suspect near the stores dressing room, opening fire, killing him. But when they did a search of the premises they discovered a gruesome sight. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIC CHOI, ASSISTANT CHIEF, LOS ANGELES POLICE: A subsequent search of the upper floor, we found a hole in the wall. And behind a -- the drywall, solid wall that you can't see behind, we went behind it. It turned out to be the dressing room out there. And what we did is we were able to locate a 14-year-old female who was found deceased in that dressing room. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV: Now, this teenager, this 14-year-old girl was shopping with her mother. The L.A. Times reports that she was reportedly shopping for her quinceanera dress.
KAFANOV (voice-over): We understand that this violence, just two days before Christmas has sparked a lot of questions about why police used force, why they opened fire in the first place. There wasn't a weapon found on the suspect or on the scene.
We also know that the authorities that are preliminary assessment determined that the bullet actually did come from an officer's gun -- the stray bullet. And we also know that the state attorney general has opened an investigation into this matter.
Now, the LAPD police chief is promising full transparency. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEL MOORE, CHIEF, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We're doing all that we can to gather as much, to be as transparent as possible. But in the midst of all that, we also recognize -- yes, there is nothing It can be done for this poor family except for us to express our -- my sorrow, my apologies that this tragic outcome occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:30:06]
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And LAPD policy is to usually release body cam footage within 45 days of the incidents. In this case the police chief is promising to release all of the relevant materials by Monday. Boris?
SANCHEZ: She was shopping for her Kingston Yetta dress that detail is just heart wrenching. Lucy Kafanov from Southern California, thank you.
We have a quick programming note to share with you. They were friends, collaborators, and legends Carole King and James Taylor, and an unforgettable concert film "Just Call Out My Name" airs next Sunday January 2nd at 9:00 p.m. on CNN. We're back after a few minutes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Another ally of former President Trump is suing to challenge the January 6th Committee. Trump's spokesman Taylor Budowich, his suit aims to prevent the panel from obtaining his financial documents from JPMorgan which is also named in the lawsuit. CNN's Marshall Cohen joins us now. Marshall, grateful to have you on this Christmas, what more do we know about this lawsuit?
[12:35:09] MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Boris and Happy Holidays to you and everyone else, this lawsuit just breaking overnight on Christmas Eve. It's got some very important information in here, some new developments, the first time that we've ever learned that the January 6th Committee has issued a subpoena for financial records. Now remember, they've been saying all year that they want to follow the money, they want to see who was paying for that stop the steel movement and those rallies in D.C. that led to so much destruction on January 6th.
And we are now seeing that they are making good on those promises with at least one subpoena to a bank. It's safe to assume that there's probably other subpoenas floating out there. But we learned about this one, because this Trump official said that he was going to go to court to try to stop it.
He's been cooperating. He sat for a deposition. But in his view, this subpoena goes too far. It may end up being decided by a judge but also honestly, that lawsuit came in perhaps a little bit too late. We'll have to wait and see what will happen with those records. Boris?
SANCHEZ: And Marshall, this comes as the Justice Department has released more powerful video of the Capitol ride attack. What can you tell us about the new footage?
COHEN: Yes, this footage, it's three hours long. We finally got it almost a year later after the attack because CNN and other news outlets went to court and sued for access to these tapes, because they're being used in the trials against many of the defendants. So let's roll the tape. I will warn you it's a little bit graphic. But what you're going to see here is the beginning, the beginning of the assault. This is on the west side of the Capitol. You can see Trump's supporters they are starting to enter the tunnel.
Let me sort of give you some perspective here. They're only in that tunnel after already breaching police lines climbing up scaffolding and the inauguration stage that was built for Joe Biden. So they're pretty deep into the Capitol grounds. And as you'll see, the police quickly get overwhelmed hundreds, perhaps even thousands of writers made their way to this tunnel. And it was incredibly violent.
People used anything they could get their hands on, things that they even brought like pepper spray, batons, metal flag poles. This man you can see at the top of the screen is actually hanging off of the roof there and kicking officers, or trying to kick them in the head. Other rioters use strobe lights and strobe flashlights to try to distract the officers. It was a prolonged battle. It lasted about three hours.
But this was one of the actual spots where they were able to keep the rioters out. After three hours of fighting, police were able to stand their ground and prevent this group of rioters from getting deeper into the building. But it came at a pretty heavy cost, Boris. There were injuries to many police officers here. This is where Officer Fanone was infamously pulled into the crowd and tased. Some of the police officers there had to go to the hospital after suffering injuries in this area. So it was a victory. But it came at a tremendous cost.
And for the rioters, many of the people on your screen were charged with federal crimes. The Justice Department cracked down on this pretty hard. Some of them have already pleaded guilty. And Boris, we've seen years of prison for the people, some of them who attacked police in this tunnel.
SANCHEZ: And Marshall just watching this footage underscores the heroic effort by officers like Fanone and others and it's really infuriating when you consider that so many have tried to whitewash and alter the story of what happened that day.
COHEN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Marshall Cohen --
COHEN: The tape doesn't lie.
SANCHEZ: It does not. Thanks again, my friend.
COHEN: Ahead, Moms on a mission, a grassroots group of conservative mothers is growing rapidly as they fight against COVID-19 vaccines and mask mandates. They're also working to keep critical race theory out of schools. The group calls themselves Moms for Liberty. CNN's Leyla Santiago sat with them recently.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paper and cloth masks do not work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Parents beware of terms like social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they ignore, there are input, we will vote them out.
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At rallies and school board meetings across the country, heated debates on everything from masks to critical race theory to book banning are being hashed out.
TIFFANY JUSTICE, CO-FOUNDER, MOMS FOR LIBERTY: I think COVID has allowed all of America to see behind the education curtain.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): It turns out one of the driving forces behind many of those debates stems from a group founded by these two Florida moms Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich. They launched moms for liberty in January, a group they say is designed to fight for parental rights in schools and in government.
JUSTICE: We just thought we could take the skills that we have learned in the inside information that we learned about the public education system to help parents advocate more effectively.
[12:40:07]
SANTIAGO (voice-over): The founders say the group is conservative, but nonpartisan. Yet many of the issues they're fighting for aligned with beliefs of Republican lawmakers like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, including eliminating mask mandates in schools.
JUSTICE: I don't think they work.
SANTIAGO (on camera): Across the country, 520 counties, and they looked at schools that had mask mandates and didn't, and it showed that the masks did work. There are multiple studies that show this. Happy to let you look at them if you would like. They're right here. But when Moms for Liberty are going into the school board meetings, to voice their frustration and citing things like masks don't work.
JUSTICE: Because they don't.
SANTIAGO: That's not what the science shows.
JUSTICE: OK. I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. Masks are not source control. They do not stop transmission.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): But later, Descovich, did acknowledge that certain masks do work to a degree.
TINA DESCOVICH, CO-FOUNDER, MOMS FOR LIBERTY: I mean, we all know that N95 masks do have a level of protection.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Another CDC study in Arizona shows schools without mask mandates were about three and a half times more likely to have a COVID-19 outbreak over schools with a masked mandate. Another big concern for Moms for Liberty, critical race theory, a concept typically taught in law school that seeks to understand and address inequality and racism in the U.S. The Moms for Liberty New Hampshire Chapter offering a $500 bounty for anyone who turns in a teacher using CRT in the classroom, the governor of New Hampshire signed a law in June banning CRT in the K through 12 curriculum.
(on camera): You support or do not support the $500 reward.
JUSTICE: Do I think it was the best way to handle this situation? Personally, probably not.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): But ultimately, they say they stand by the moms fighting against CRT.
(on camera): Where is this actually being taught?
DESCOVICH: Mecklenburg, North Carolina.
JUSTICE: Yes.
DESCOVICH: There's one. I mean, I hear in the news all the time, it's not being taught, it's not in K through 12 schools.
SANTIAGO: I had a hard time finding, did you --
JUSTICE: I'll help you after this interview. SANTIAGO (voice-over): After the interview, they provided us with reports from conservative media outlets. They also pointed to this mom appearing at a Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board meeting discussing a lesson plan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That requires my son to examine his white privilege and male privilege.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): But in a statement to CNN, the superintendent of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools told us quote, our schools do not teach and do not promote a doctrine of critical race theory. So what is Moms for Liberty's goal, a chapter in every school district showing up at every school board meeting across the country? And in 11, short months, they're on their way. They say they're now in more than 30 states with more than 160 chapters mobilizing 70,000 plus members.
(on camera): do you consider you got your organization a force to be reckoned with for the next election?
JUSTICE: Yes.
DESCOVICH: Yes.
SANTIAGO: Would you consider yourself a political machine?
JUSTICE: No.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): As for funding, they'll tell you t-shirt sales.
DESCOVICH: At this point, it's about half of our funding.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): And small donations, because their organization is so new, tax records still are not available.
DESCOVICH: It's truly just organic word of mouth and some gentle marketing with the t-shirts.
SANTIAGO (on camera): But word of mouth will only get you so far, right? I mean this does take money. Where does the money come from?
JUSTICE: What do you think we're spending money on?
SANTIAGO: You tell me.
JUSTICE: I mean, you're saying this takes money. We're telling you that this is word of mouth.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): To meet the financial needs, the organization has been open about its need to raise money. They've established three political action committees and one of their major fundraising events. Sponsors included Florida Republicans running for office still, they insist they are not pushing the Republican agenda rather a parent agenda, one that's against mask and vaccine mandates, as well as CRT
CAPRI CAFARO, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: I liken it back to the growth of the Tea Party movement. SANTIAGO (voice-over): Political commentator Capri Cafaro.
CAFARO: It is possible that an organization like Moms for Liberty could have an impact on the midterm elections and maybe even going into 2024 particularly because it is encapsulating in a very important demographic in the electorate, which you know, are women and mothers.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Support Our Schools, a new group of parents in Florida called Moms for Liberty, a danger to democracy,
JULES SCHOLLES, CO-FOUNDER, SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS: The disinformation that they have been putting out and the vitriol towards marginalized groups is a true danger to society because we need to, we need to work together.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): The Moms for Liberty arguing, they're not alone. It's an entire movement of parents organizing with eyes on Election Day.
[12:45:04]
JUSTICE: 2022 is going to be the year at the parent at the ballot box. So if legislators are watching this, hopefuls are watching this, start paying attention to parents.
Leyla Santiago, CNN, Brevard County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Leyla. Hope in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. Up next we have more of Pope Francis's Christmas message and why he's calling this a complex crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Health officials around the world are watching a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. South Korea seeing a record number of COVID-19 patients more than 1100 in ICUs, that's 77 percent of all ICU beds in that country. Over in Europe, several countries including Italy announcing record breaking numbers of daily new COVID-19 cases. As CNN John Allen explains Pope Francis in his Christmas message this morning, reflected on the impact of the pandemic.
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: It was a clearly somber and yet still hopeful Pope Francis who celebrated Christmas today in the Vatican under a rainy grey Roman sky. The pontiff delivered his annual Urbi et Orbi message that's to the city and the world, usually a 180 degree review of the global situation and of course today, the Pope concentrated in a particular way on the coronavirus pandemic, not only repeating his frequent calls for global justice and access to vaccines but also expressing concern for the social impact of the pandemic that is women who were being abused because they're trapped at home, children being bullied, elderly people who were isolated alone and afraid.
[12:50:16]
In response to that, the Pope called for a culture of dialogue and encounter that is reaching out to people and listening to what's on their hearts and minds trying to be present to them. And the Pope insisted that if you do that, even in the era of Omicron, there is still hope.
For CNN, this is John Allen in Rome.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, John. The White House is lifting travel restrictions on eight South African countries that were put in place last month after the Omicron variant was first identified there. It comes as the number of new cases in South Africa are falling rapidly and a top expert says the country has passed the peak of its Omicron outbreak. CNN's David McKenzie has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dispatched south of Johannesburg, paramedic Muhammad Rasul says Omicron is nothing like Delta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During then, it was only COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID COVID, and nothing else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you be able to walk sir?
MCKENZIE (voice-over): We were with them during the chaos when the Delta wave of COVID-19 ripped through South Africa. Severe patients crashed quickly. Rasul's team spent hours looking for hospital beds, charities like Gift of the Givers rush to set up field clinics scrambled to distribute oxygen concentrators to save lives. With Omicron, they say they haven't sent out a single one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a patient that complains of tightness in chest.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Rasul says they call out now for less severe patients, like this 46 year old who tested negative but is still suspected of having COVID.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that says after five minutes check the chest.
MCKENZIE (on camera): There's been a surge of cases of COVID-19 with Omicron. But there hasn't been a surge in severity or hospitalization this kind of call out is pretty typical.
What advice do you have for other countries that are facing a Omicron wave?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't panic. This is, you will ride the wave for this use of oxygen, far fewer people being admitted, despite the high numbers of cases, very high transmission of people getting mild illness not even getting diagnosed at home.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): t's still unclear why it's seemingly milder, or whether that will translate globally. Scientists here believe up to 80 percent of the population in South Africa may have had COVID-19 before likely providing a shield of immunity against severe infection. Vaccine coverage also plays a major part.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This would have been an absolute nightmare if it was Delta. So I think we can just be very grateful that it has not been as devastating as it could have been.
MCKENZIE (on camera): But there's still reason to be cautious it seems.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Well we've learned with COVID generally, you never let your guard down.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): For a brief moment, though, Rasul dares to hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Severity of the illness is not that as it was, so I'm actually quite optimistic about it.
David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Thanks, David.
[12:53:19]
After years of delays and setbacks, NASA's most powerful telescope is officially in space. Up next, to look at the game changing technology aimed at trying to figure out some of the universe's biggest mysteries.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: NASA show today that it really knows how to celebrate Christmas by launching its most powerful space telescope ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engine start. And lift off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Decollage liftoff from a tropical rainforest to the edge of time itself. James Webb begins a voyage back to the birth of the universe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The launch of the James Webb telescope was more than 20 years in the making involving thousands of scientists, multiple countries and with some luck, it may change the way we see the universe. It's going to take about a month to reach its destination about a million miles away. And then several more months for the telescope to get fully set up. Astrophysicist Adam Frank says it's still going to be a wait and see game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM FRANK, ASTROPHYSICIST, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER: You got to have it assemble itself in space. So there are many, many ways these things could fail. And but, you know, that's why it took so long. It was a really a bold and audacious plan. And I'm going to be on edge until we do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This new telescope is about 100 times more powerful than the Hubble telescope and it let scientists see galaxies that formed billions of years ago. Meantime, back here on earth, President Joe Biden is wishing Americans a merry Christmas today saying in a statement, quote, during the season of joy, we are inspired by the countless Americans who are reminder that the things we hold sacred unite us and transcend distance, time, and even the constraints of a pandemic, faith, family, and friendship, a love of the arts, learning and nature, gratitude, service and community, unity and peace. These are the gifts from the heart.
He added that he and First Lady Jill Biden are praying for all those who've lost loved ones in the pandemic. This afternoon, the pair is going to meet virtually with service members serving around the world, greeting members representing all six branches of the U.S. military and those stationed around the country and overseas and a call from the White House.
Now to a community that was able to come together despite a tragedy close to the holidays. In Mayfield, Kentucky two congregations became one last night for a joint Christmas Eve service. You can see here dozens of people gathering in an empty lot between their destroyed churches with light from their cell phones members of the First Presbyterian and first Christian churches singing Silent Night. Right now, thousands are still recovering after their homes and businesses were ruined by a tornado outbreak earlier this month.
The holiday spirit is very much alive at one Children's Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. At Atrium Health, the babies in the NICU and the neonatal progressive care unit are all dressed up in jolly outfits as they celebrate their first Christmas despite the newborns being away from the comfort of home, their families have been able to make the most of it with a little help from premise of the Carolinas.
[13:00:16]
We're so grateful to have you with us this Christmas. Thank you so much for joining us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend Amara Walker right now.
