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COVID Cases Surging Spiked By Omicron During Holidays; Former President Trump Promotes Vaccine Effectiveness; Truck Driver Sentenced To 110 Years, D.A. Seeks Shorter Sentence; Desmon Tutu Dies At 90; Hoping For Santa Claus Rally In Stock Market; CNN's 2021 Year In Review. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 26, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

RYAN NOBLES, CNN HOST: Fueled by the omicron variant, new cases are eclipsing infections fueled by the delta variant over the summer and are racing toward record highs. Even on this day after Christmas, people are lining up to get tested. The need for tests is only expected to keep rising.

Now, hospitalizations do remain relatively lower than during peaks earlier this year. But, still, there are still nearly 70,000 Americans in hospitals right now with COVID. COVID-related deaths, although, nowhere near peak levels, but they're still up 30 percent from last week. All this causing major disruptions on what is typically one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Major U.S. Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights again today as staff and crew continue to call out sick. And what we're seeing only underscores what health experts have been urging for months, get vaccinated and get boosted.

I want to begin tonight with CNN's Nadia Romero and Alison Kosik who are keeping watch on all of this for us. Nadia, you're in Atlanta at one of the world's busiest airports, and how are flight cancelations impacting travelers today?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ryan, we're talking about more than a thousand flights canceled today alone. That takes us to about 2,000 across this holiday weekend. And people are feeling the impact. I spoke with one man who said that his flight was delayed, but he still missed it because just how long the lines were to get through TSA. He had a great attitude about it though. He says I get one more day with my family.

I spoke with another person who was supposed to go from Atlanta to Wyoming. Her flight was canceled she says because of weather. That's what she was told. So she had to call her boss to tell him, hey, I'm not going to be in tomorrow. I've got to spend another day here in Atlanta and I won't be able to get back to Wyoming until sometime on Monday.

That's what we're hearing from a lot of people, but there are others who are able to get on their flights, couldn't be happier to get back to their normal lives after seeing their family for many of them for the first time since before the pandemic since 2019. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE HEATH, TRAVELER: We spoke really early maybe in, like, September or so just to be sure. And yeah, stayed for about five days so I haven't had any travel issues yet. This was a big trip, yes. This was the first time we've all been together since COVID or, I guess, since 2019. So, it was a big one for us. But, yes, good to be back together. We're all vaccinated and boosted. So, luckily we were testing at home, too. So there is no worries about the new spike or anything, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And it was a big moment for her. She said she was able to see her nephew for the first time in two years. She saw him right after he was born in 2019. Then the pandemic hit. And so much has happened in the first two years of his life. She finally got a chance to spend time with him again.

And he says she's looking better -- looking forward to be a better auntie in the future now being able to go back and forth more frequently that her and her family members are vaccinated. She feels safer to do that. But Ryan, we're still dealing with the effects of that domino effect of all these cancelations and delays. Things will get cleaned up for a little while now. Ryan?

NOBLES: Yes. Incredible that this is still the top story two years later. Alison, not just airlines being disrupted but also cruise ships being impacted. What are you learning?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ye, Ryan. You know, the cruise ship industry, again, is being impacted by COVID-19. Just this past week at least four cruise ships, they weren't allowed to dock at ports of call, and passengers were not allowed to disembark because of COVID-19 cases on board.

Now, the cruise ship industry resumed service over the summer with vaccine requirements and measures in place to try to mitigate outbreaks, and even since then there have been COVID-19 outbreaks on ships. Case in point, there was a Carnival cruise line in August, 27 people tested positive for COVID-19. They were isolated and passengers were still allowed to disembark once they showed negative COVID tests.

But it's different this time because of the highly transmissible omicron variant. One Carnival spokesman telling CNN, this in a statement, that with the spread of the variant, it may shape how some destination authorities view even a small number of cases.

And despite this uptick in this situation where we have cruises altering their itinerary, it does really reflect only a small fraction of cruises, the dozens of cruises that are currently underway, and that have been underway over the past month.

And they are certainly a far cry from what the industry went through in March 2020 when the cruise industry literally shut down and crew and passengers were on board these ships who had COVID cases, and they couldn't find a port of call to dock. And so these people could get off, so that was definitely a different situation from what we're seeing at the moment. Ryan?

NOBLES: Switching topics now, Alison, Dr. Anthony Fauci today applauding former President Trump for his messaging on vaccines. What did Dr. Fauci say?

[17:04:59]

KOSIK: Yes. Dr. Fauci's comments came after former President Trump was having a press event in Dallas. And, by the way, he rarely discusses his vaccination requirement and largely stays away from encouraging others to get vaccinated. But he was met by boos in the audience when the former president acknowledged that he went ahead and got a booster shot. What did Dr. Fauci say? He said some words of support. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISERS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I was a bit dismayed when former President Trump came out and made that statement, and his followers booed him, which I was stunned by that. I mean, given the fact of how popular he is with that group, that they would boo him, which tells me how recalcitrant they are about being told what they should do. And I think that his continuing to say that people should get vaccinated and articulating that to them, in my mind, is a good thing. I hope he keeps it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Even President Biden this week gave his support to President Trump as well, you know, referring to the booster, saying it may be one of the few things he and I agree on. Ryan?

NOBLES: All right, Nadia Romero, Alison Kosik, thanks to both of you for starting us off today. And let's go back to what President Trump said earlier this week about COVID vaccines. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP))

CANDACE OWENS, THE DAILY WIRE: People have died under COVID this year, by the way, under Joe Biden --

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes. That's right.

OWENS: -- than under you and more people took the vaccine this year so people are questioning how --

TRUMP: No, the vaccine work, but some people aren't taking it. The ones -- the ones that get very sick and got to the hospital are the ones who don't take their vaccine, but it's still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you are protected. People aren't dying when they take their vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NOBLES: All right. Let's talk more about this. Dr. Jonathan Reiner joins me. He's a CNN medical analyst and a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University. You know, Dr. Reiner, this endorsement by Trump comes after he declined multiple opportunities to more forcefully urge Americans, especially his supporters, about the importance of getting vaccinated, a vaccine that I should say was initiated under his administration.

Now, you yourself have said before that Trump's messaging around vaccines almost seems like intentional sabotage is what you've said in the past. You said that after Trump said he was unlikely to get a booster, he actually then went out and got a booster. So what do you think of these comments by the former president now?

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, I welcome them. Where have you been for the last year, Mr. President? During his year of silence, over 400,000 Americans have died. And since vaccines were widely available to everyone in this country in April of this past year, a quarter of a million Americans have died. And they are disproportionately his supporters.

If you look at the stats in this country about 62 percent of this country is so called fully vaccinated. There are 17 states that have vaccinated less than 55 percent, and all but one of those states, Georgia voted for the former president, and there were 17 -- also 17 states that have vaccinated more than 65 percent of their population, and all those states voted for Joe Biden.

So, the former president has had an enormous opportunity to improve on vaccination rates amongst the people who voted for him, but he has chosen to remain silent. So for whatever reason, I welcome, for whatever reason he has decided to speak up, I welcome that now. I hope he continues to do that. But he's created quite a bit of anger in his party by doing that.

Candace Owens has spoken out, basically called him a doddering old man. Alex Jones was ranting about him just yesterday, but I welcome it. Continue to do it, Mr. Trump.

NOBLES: Yes. It's very seldom that we see a disconnect between the former president and his supporters. But there appears to be one here. Let's go back now to that Carnival cruise ship story that Alison Kosik laid out for us. This cruise ship forced to return to Miami today as planned after several people on board tested positive for COVID. There's a Royal Caribbean ship with COVID cases. That also came back to Fort Lauderdale today.

We don't know if omicron is specifically to blame, but we do know that Carnival and Royal Caribbean do require their passengers and their crew to be fully vaccinated. So, in layman's terms, Dr. Reiner, how protected are fully vaccinated people like the ones on this cruise ship against the omicron variant?

REINER: So Ryan, it depends what you consider fully vaccinated to be. So I consider fully vaccinated to be a full regimen of either the mRNA or J&J vaccine, plus a booster. So I think now if you are not boosted you are no longer fully vaccinated. So if you've only had two doses of the mRNA vaccine and you are not boosted, and only 19 percent of this country is boosted, your vaccine regimen is probably only 20 percent effective against a symptomatic illness.

[17:10:04]

But here's the problem with going on something like a cruise where you are in close confinement with a few thousand people for an extended period of time. Even if you were to test the moment you went on board the ship with a rapid test, that's just a snapshot for that moment. That doesn't at all predict what you will be tomorrow.

So, it's impossible to take a voyage with so many people and not have people test positive the day after the boat leaves port or the day after that. And then because the virus is so promiscuous and our vaccines are now imperfect, it will infect other people in the boat. It's a tough time -- tough time for the cruise industry.

NOBLES: All right. So let's talk about how omicron is different than some of the other variants of COVID. And that's the big question as whether or not it results in fewer hospitalizations. And I want to point you to the study in South Africa. It said that just over 2 percent of people who got omicron were admitted to the hospital in October and November compared to nearly 13 percent who contracted delta.

Now, South African health officials have warned that this data should not be extrapolated to other countries. But what do you say to people who are saying that this makes this version of COVID more comparable to the average flu?

REINER: It may be more comparable to the average flu to somebody who's vaccinated and boosted. Here's the problem. We don't yet have a handle on what the factors are that have contributed to the apparent decrease in hospitalization. And we've seen it not just in South Africa. We've seen it in London. And now we're also seeing it in places like New York.

And how much of that is due to some intrinsic change in the virus that makes it less likely to infect the lower respiratory tract, the lungs, versus how much of the reduction in hospitalization is related to what we're calling an immunity wall, which is basically the large number of people who have been vaccinated in a place, is a little hard to tease out.

But I think what we're going to see in the United States, unfortunately, is we're going to see a reduction in hospitalizations compared to prior surges in places like New York and D.C. because of the large number of vaccinated and boosted people. But in parts of the United States, particularly places like the South and Midwest, we are not going to see quite the same reduction in hospitalization because the immunity wall there, meaning the number of folks who have been fully vaccinated and boosted is not nearly as robust.

So, I think we should not take solace in the fact that, okay, this is more transmissible, but it's more like getting the flu. It's more like getting the flu if you are well vaccinated and boosted. If you are not, you still have time to do that, so please do that.

NOBLES: So, you know, extrapolate that out, then. You know, you said you believe we'll see more cases, we'll see more hospitalizations in certain pockets of the country. How does this busy travel season mix into all of that in terms of forecasting the numbers? What do you think the next few weeks are going to look like in terms of not only the number of cases but the number of people that end up in hospitals in the U.S.?

REINER: Oh, we're going to see a massive surge. So, at the end of last week the United States was seeing about a quarter of a million cases per day. Now, those are cases that are reported. Mind you, now, with the advent of rapid testing, many of those positive cases are not reported. People are just testing themselves at home.

I think we're going to see, you know, half a million cases per day easy sometime over the next week to 10 days. And even at, as you say, a markedly reduced rate of hospitalization in parts of the country where hospitals are already strained, that can really push them over the edge. You know, places like Michigan, western Michigan, Minnesota right now, Rhode Island, places where there is no hospital capacity.

Even if a small number of people are hospitalized, if the denominator is immense, then hospitals will not be able to deal with -- and not just they won't be able to care for the folks with COVID, they won't be able to deal with the kinds of things that I would take care of like heart attacks or people with strokes will have difficulty finding beds.

So, that's what's at stake now. And I do think over the next three to four weeks we'll see a massive surge. I think places that are well- vaccinated will probably be okay in terms of hospital capacity. I worry about parts of the South and Midwest.

NOBLES: All right, last question for you, Dr. Reiner. The CDC has officially named COVID as the third leading cause of death in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer. And we now know more people have died from COVID in 2021 than in 2020. As a cardiologist, what is it like to see COVID rival heart disease in cause of death, especially given the fact that COVID, at least protection on some level, is available to most Americans?

[17:15:03]

REINER: Yes, you know, it's horrible. A lot of the risk factors for heart disease, we've really made -- taken great strides to reduce. You know, smoking is down in the United States. We treat risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol.

But the deaths from COVID right now are almost entirely preventable. Even with omicron, if you are vaccinated and boosted, I can confidently say you will not die from this virus. It is unnecessary to die from this virus. So -- and we've lost -- we've lost now so many people needlessly.

So, it's very, very frustrating. And I feel not just for the families of the people who have died, but I feel for our healthcare workers, our heroes, our nurses, our respiratory therapists, our environmental service workers who have worked every single day in very dangerous conditions until the last year completely unvaccinated and vulnerable to try and save the lives of so many people. And all that we're asking for in return is for people to take a damn shot. It's really, really frustrating.

NOBLES: Dr. Reiner, you are an even-keeled guy, but I can sense the frustration in your voice because you've been dealing with this on the front lines for more than two years now. And you and your fellow healthcare workers, we all owe you a debt of gratitude during this holiday season. And we also thank you for your clear-eyed answers to these very complicated questions. Dr. Reiner, thank you so much.

REINER: Thank you, Ryan. Appreciate it.

NOBLES: As many Americans are forced to wait in hours-long lines to see if they have COVID, the Biden administration is defending its pandemic response with both President Biden and Vice President Harris saying no one saw the omicron variant coming. Is that true, though? We'll discuss it next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBLES: It was a Christmas miracle. Former President Trump giving his clearest endorsement yet of the COVID-19 vaccine saying, "If you take the vaccine, you are protected. And that it's the unvaccinated who are ending up in the hospital." Now, the woman who interviewed him, conservative pundit Candace Owens, is trying to explain away the former president's comments.

[17:20:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OWENS: You often times forget, like, how old Trump is. He comes from a generation I've seen other people that are older have the exact same perspective, like, they came from a time before TV, before internet, before being able to conduct their independent research, you know, and everything that they read in a newspaper that was pitched to them, they believed that that was a reality.

I believe also that he only reads the mainstream media news, believe it or not. I do not believe that Trump reads or partakes in any other news sources. You know, I don't believe that Trump is on the internet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: It's kind of hard to follow all of that. I'd like to point out that Owens' show, the one Trump appeared on is an internet and podcast show for "The Daily Wire" which is a right-wing media company. And with that I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst and anchor John Avlon and the host of "Firing Line" on PBS, Margaret Hoover.

Margaret, were you able to follow kind of the pretzel that Candace Owens was twisting herself into there after getting this backlash that the former president is getting from conservatives over his support for COVID -- COVID vaccine? And then she tried to, you know, cautiously criticize him a little bit but not too much. What do you make of it?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think two things. First, that pretzel was essentially Candace Owens trying to explain to her viewers why the President misspoke, right? She's become his unofficial spokesperson. But what it really demonstrates, and by the way, to be clear our viewers, the president didn't misspeak. The president told the truth.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The ex-president.

HOOVER: The ex-president, President Trump, who we still refer to as president, former President Trump, spoke to the truth that vaccines work in an attempt to try to take credit for them, which is fine. But she now has to clean up his mess because her viewers and those subscribers and the people that watch "The Daily Wire" and then are stuck in these conservative silo ecosystems believe that she is right and he is wrong.

And what it demonstrates, I think, is that President Trump, when he was president, and when he was a candidate, was excellent. I mean, some people would say unflatteringly that he had a sense, like, a lizard sense. He had the ability to sort of tell where the base was and what they thought. He would reflect back conspiracy theories.

He was simply doing that and rode the wave of sort of this conspiracy theory populism to power, to political power, and kind of missed a beat here, spoke the truth and is actually having now all of the people who defended him are having to make excuses for him.

NOBLES: Yes, John, you know, I don't think we've ever thought of Donald Trump as necessarily an ideologue, right? He kind of, as Margaret points out, when where his supporters were taking him. Is this an example of that that, you know, this is something he actually has a stance on, doesn't necessarily align with them, but yet he finds himself in kind of a difficult predicament here?

AVLON: Well, I mean, first of all, I mean, you know, as Dr. Reiner pointed out, he's a late convert to telling the truth about vaccines.

NOBLES: True.

AVLON: He could have been taking credit for "Operation Warp Speed" and the role it played in accelerating the vaccines. But he's basically been hiding for a year. Hid his own vaccination from the nation in January before he left office. And so now he's belatedly coming around and telling the truth, but he's finding out one of the ancient truths in life, which is Golem always turns on its creator.

He has created a cult that is unwilling to accept the scientific fact. And here Candace Owens try to spin and say it's because of his age or something like that like, you know, believing in anti-science conspiracy theories is a sign of youth, is just complete nonsense. But that's what she traffics in. Now you got this core contradiction. It's perhaps inevitable. Good for Donald Trump for belatedly telling the truth about vaccines, and meanwhile the cult is going to continue to try to reinforce the cult because that's the way they can keep up their own particular ecosystem and their role in it in their own inflated sense of self-importance.

NOBLES: All right, let's talk about how President Biden is handling all of this now. You know, recently the vice president, Kamala Harris, seem to admit that the administration was caught flat-footed by omicron. She said no one including scientists saw the variant coming. But President Biden was asked about those remarks by his vice president. And listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS HOST: The vice president said in recent days that you didn't see delta coming, you didn't see omicron coming. How did you get it wrong?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: How did he get it wrong? Nobody saw it coming. Nobody in the whole world saw it coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Okay, though. Here's the thing. President Biden has repeatedly warned people about this very scenario we're in. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Things may get worse again as new variants spread.

The scientists have made clear that things may get worse again as new variants of the virus spread.

There are going to be a lot of variants that are going to be coming from other countries.

New variants could arise overseas that could put us at greater risk.

[17:24:58]

As long as the virus continues to rage outside the United States, potentially more dangerous variants could arrive at our shores again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: So obviously there's a contradiction here, Margaret. But I want to pin down specifically where the administration might've gotten this wrong because we experienced it in my family. We wanted to go visit our family out of town last week. It is impossible to find tests. It's very, very hard.

Wasn't that the one thing that this administration could've prepared for? Maybe they didn't know this specific variant, the omicron variant was going to occur, but they knew there was going to be something that there was curve ball, right?

HOOVER: Yes, (inaudible) Ryan. And it is a major miss. Look, there's been pretty some -- some pretty good and extensive reporting by "The Washington Post" and others about what exactly happened and why they got this so wrong. It appears as though the White House missed an opportunity accelerate the production of at-home tests through the course of the holiday season, which we all knew was coming, and we also, by the way, all knew that variants would occur, and then take over as the weather got colder and we all came indoors.

It appears as though the White House strategy was focused more on vaccines than the combinations of vaccines and testing, and they dropped the ball. I mean, they missed an opportunity after having been recommended by their own COVID medical experts to go ahead and ramp up production sometime in October. And they ultimately decided not to.

NOBLES: And the other thing I'd point out too is if you want to buy a test, which is not easy to do, they cost $20, $25. That's a big problem, too, isn't it?

AVLON: It's a huge markup. I mean, they cost around 80 cents on the dollar. And there's a real demand right now and it's not there. And this is saying that Margaret's right. The administration should've accelerated knowing as Biden (inaudible) said that other variants were likely and this is going to move to some kind of an epidemic status.

That said, you know, what I think they were referring to is that the fact that omicron has taken over and risen faster than anyone anticipated. I mean, I was just looking at the data from the CDC. One month ago, delta was 99 percent of the COVID cases in the United States. Now, omicron is over 75 percent.

It's an extraordinary growth. And that, I think, blindsided folks how quickly this particular variant would spread and that it would have so many breakthrough cases for people who have been vaccinated and even boosted.

NOBLES: All right. Well, they're making the push now to get as many tests out there as possible, make them affordable and accessible. Well, hopefully, that will work as the cases still move and who knows what the next variant is and when that will come. John Avlon, Margaret Hoover, always great to have you guys on. Hope you had a happy holidays --

AVLON: Thanks, Ryan.

HOOVER: Thanks, Ryan.

NOBLES: Appreciate you being here.

It's not often the prosecution says that a sentence is too harsh. But that's exactly what's happening in Colorado. Why a district attorney's office plans to ask for a reduced sentence. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [17:30:00]

NOBLES: It's not often in a criminal case that the defense, the prosecution, and the judge all land on the same side. But that's happening in Colorado where earlier this month a trucker was sentenced to 110 years in prison for causing a 28-car pileup in 2019 that killed four people. And now they agree that punishment is too harsh. Tomorrow there's a hearing on reducing that sentence. CNN's Lucy Kafanov has more on the case.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the district attorney is now asking the court to reconsider that lengthy 110-year prison sentence for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, potentially reducing it to 20 or 30 years. Just to remind viewers, Mederos was 23-years-old at the time of the incident. He was driving at 85 miles an hour, his brakes failed. He was convicted of vehicular homicide, among other charges.

The D.A. is not looking to overturn the conviction. In fact, the D.A., Alexis King, said that Mederos made multiple choices that resulted in the death of four people as well as serious injury to others, adding that the shorter sentence, "reflects an appropriate for that conduct."

Now, at issue are Colorado mandatory minimum sentencing laws that require sentences to be served out consecutively rather than concurrently, which is how Mederos ended up with more than a century behind bars. Even the judge who sentenced him said at the time, "If I had the discretion it would not be my sentence." Several Colorado lawmakers now calling for legal reforms. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX VALDEZ, COLORADO STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Our system here at this building has created a situation where a judge, at their own discretion who doesn't want to issue a sentence, has had to issue that sentence. What we hope to achieve is reforms. That's really what this is all about. We have to reform a system that is creating a situation where we are creating more victims of our justice system. We have to do that now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: Mederos himself was emotional during the sentencing saying that he never intended to hurt anyone. The case sparking international and national concern. Nearly 5 million people signing a petition asking the Colorado governor to reduce or overturn this sentence. His office telling CNN that he is currently reviewing the clemency request. Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Los Angeles.

NOBLES: Lucy, thank you. Coming up, an update on one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries of our time. The murder of 6-year-old Jonbenet Ramsey, what police are saying about new DNA testing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:00] NOBLES: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the primary anti-apartheid voices, has died. Tutu was affectionately known as "the Arch" and he worked tirelessly for civil and human rights in his native South Africa. President Biden and the first lady reacted to the news in a statement writing in part, "His courage and moral clarity helped to inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive apartheid regime in South Africa. His legacy transcends borders and will echo throughout the ages." Here's CNN's Robyn Curnow on Tutu's life and legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While inmate Nelson Mandela was the face of South Africa's liberation struggle, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was its voice.

DESMOND TUTU, SOUTH AFRICAN BISHOP, ANTI-APARTHEID AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: To say to you, continue in the struggle. Continue -- continue in the struggle to make South Africa free.

CURNOW (voice-over): When he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the anti-apartheid movement was under attack. The minority government had banned the African National Congress and imprisoned its leaders. It was the clergy led by Tutu that stepped in to fill the void.

A decade later the struggle paid off when South Africa held its very first democratic election in 1994.

(On camera): For you in your life, what do you think has been the greatest thing you've ever done?

TUTU: Well, I say to people, the -- my happiest moment was when I was told I'm a father for the first time. When our son was born, I was on cloud nine. A close second to that is 1994 when I was standing on the balcony of the city hall overlooking the grand parade and introducing Nelson Mandela to that crowd to South Africa, to the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends, fellow South Africans, I ask you, welcome our brand new state president out of the box, Nelson Mandela!

I actually said to god, God, I don't mind if I die now.

CURNOW (voice-over): As a new democracy took hold in South Africa, Tutu was again called on to lead. In 1995, President Nelson Mandela appointed him as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in front of a nation desperate to heal. A man never afraid to speak his mind, wasn't afraid to show his emotion either.

[17:40:07]

He is a person whose life was always dedicated to others, and the thing that has enriched to him also in knowing how to connect to different kind of people, different status, but he connected very, very, very well.

TUTU: We owe our freedom to extraordinary people. CURNOW (voice-over): In 2007 he joined a group of prominent world

leaders called "The Elders." Their mission, focusing the world's attention on all forms of injustices.

(On camera): Any regrets, sir?

TUTU: Being maybe too abrasive. And because I was right, so easily becoming self-righteous.

CURNOW: For you to say that --

TUTU: Yes. You know, we knew we were right, but it was so easy for that to turn and you get to feel you're better than your opponent whereas you aren't. You're all God's children.

CURNOW (voice-over): Tutu officially retired from public life in 2010, but remained in the public eye. A man unafraid of criticism and threat from an apartheid government. Before his 80th birthday celebration in 2011, Tutu lashed out at the South African government for denying the Dalai Lama a visa.

TUTU: One day we will stop praying for the defeat of the ANC government. You are disgraceful. I want to warn you, you are behaving in a way that is totally at variance for the things for which we stood.

CURNOW (voice-over): The country's moral compass with a voice to match.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: Desmond Tutu was 90 years old.

And here's Christine Romans with your "Before the Bell."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ryan. With so many questions these days about how omicron will affect the economy, investors are now hoping for a Santa Claus rally. Historically the last five trading days of December and the first two of January are positive. Since 1945, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 1.2 percent during that period, and it's been up in 58 of the last 76 years.

But even if Santa Claus sits this week out, it's been a surprisingly strong year on Wall Street. The S&P 500 is up more than 20 percent. The Dow and the NASDAQ not far behind. The big question is what happens next year. The omicron variant has introduced new uncertainty. Already economists are ratcheting down forecasts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Before omicron was on the scene, I thought Q1, first quarter GDP growth, that's the value of all the things that we've produced will be strong. It would grow something like 5 percent, which is a very strong growth rate. But now, you know, I think it's going to be closer to two. And obviously, you know, we still need to see what else is going on with omicron. It could be lower than that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: And with the Federal Reserve possibly raising interest rates three times next year, 2022 could be challenging for the stock market. In New York I'm Christine Romans.

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[17:45:00]

NOBLES: At least three people have been taken to the hospital after a 20-car pileup in northwestern Nevada. Photos of the scene in Washoe Valley show -- showing near whiteout conditions and very treacherous roads. Authorities say the conditions there are "extreme." The National Weather Service is urging people to stay off the roads and stay home for their own safety. More snow is expected to fall in the area.

Meanwhile, a Navy combat ship is stuck in port at Guantanamo Bay after some crew members tested positive for COVID. The USS Milwaukee, which has just over 100 crew members was making a scheduled stop in Cuba when some sailors started to show mild symptoms. The Navy says the ship's crew is 100 percent immunized and all those who tested positive are being isolated on board.

And an update in one of America's most notorious unsolved cases, the murder of Jonbenet Ramsey, today marks 25 years since the 6-year-old was found dead inside her Colorado home. In a brand-new statement released today, Boulder police say they're hopeful that DNA will solve the case, and that they're using new technology to "enhance their investigation," including updating DNA reference samples with the latest tech. In all, authorities say they processed more than 1,500 pieces of evidence and analyzed nearly 1,000 DNA samples.

And now here's CNN's Stephanie Elam with this year's top 10 moments in entertainment.

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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Adele giant return.

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ELAM (voice-over): To "Jeopardy's" host in jeopardy.

MIKE RICHARDS, JEOPARDY HOST: Players, here's the clue.

ELAM (voice-over): And Alec Baldwin at the center of a Hollywood tragedy. Here's a look at the top entertainment stories of 2021. Number 10, the Kim and Kanye split. After seven years of marriage, Kim Kardashian files for divorce from rapper Kanye West citing irreconcilable differences.

KIM KARDASHIAN, MEDIA PERSONALITY: I think he deserves someone that can go support his every move and go follow him all over the place and move to Wyoming. I can't do that.

ELAM (voice-over): It began with Kanye's elaborate proposal in a rented baseball stadium. Parts of the 2014 wedding airing on E!'s "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." The split also airing on the show.

KARDASHIAN: I feel like a (BLEEP) loser.

ELAM (voice-over): Which like Kanye, ended its run this year after 14 years. Number nine --

UNKNOWN: A shocker when it comes to best actor.

ELAM (voice-over): Anthony Hopkins wins best actor for "The Father," stunning Oscar producers who were so confident the late Chadwick Boseman would win.

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CHADWICK BOZEMAN, ACTOR: And he don't need nobody messing with him about the white man.

ELAM (voice-over): They moved the best actor category to the end of the show.

ANTHONY HOPKINS, ACTOR: Really did not expect this.

ELAM (voice-over): Hopkins wasn't on hand, leaving the critically panned (ph) telecast to end abruptly and Hopkins to honor Boseman later on social media.

HOPKINS: I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman. He was taken from us far too early.

ELAM (voice-over): Number eight --

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ELAM (voice-over): The Astroworld concert stampede.

UNKNOWN: I've never been in such chaos like, so unorganized and just so many people like slamming into me.

ELAM (voice-over): One of the year's top news stories also rocking the entertainment world.

TAVIS SCOTT, RAPPER: I could just never imagine the severity of the situation.

ELAM (voice-over): With Astroworld headliner Travis Scott and concert promoters facing scrutiny for not stopping the show as the crowd surged, killing 10.

UNKNOWN: I could feel, you know, myself losing the ability to breathe.

ELAM (voice-over): Scott said he wasn't aware of major problems during the show -- SCOTT: What the (BLEEP) was that?

ELAM (voice-over): -- and denied legal liability in response to scores of lawsuits against him. But the tragedy has the industry considering change.

SCOTT: I definitely want to step in to figure out, you know, how could we fix this in the future?

ELAM (voice-over): Number seven. A Grammy boycott. The Weekend calls the Grammys corrupt after his smash album "After Hours" is shot out of the nominations.

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Not even his hit single "Blinding Lights" was honored. The Grammy said the omission wasn't intentional and later dumped controversial nominating committees that governed the final nominees, relying on a popular vote among the recording academy.

UNKNOWN: Well, a history making night for Beyonce, Taylor Swift.

ELAM (voice-over): The show went on where women reigned supreme with Beyonce nabbing her 28th Grammy, a record for a female artist. Number six, the return of Adele.

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ELAM (voice-over): Her album "30" becomes the fastest selling album of the year, besting every other title in just three days.

UNKNOWN: I think all day people are going to go, wheee (ph). That's all you're going to hear.

ELAM (voice-over): After a six-year absence, fans can't get enough of Adele.

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ELAM (voice-over): As roughly 10 million people tuned in to her CBS special which included a concert and an Oprah interview.

ADELE, SUNGER: I'm nearing my goal of like finding my happiness.

ELAM (voice-over): And as if that weren't enough, Adele announced the 2022 Vegas residency, becoming the hottest ticket on the strip. Number five, the Jeopardy host controversy. After a high profile search for Alex Trebek's replacement --

UNKNOWN: Welcome to "Jeopardy."

UNKNOWN: A fun final "Jeopardy" --

ELAM (voice-over): Jeopardy hired its own executive producer.

UNKNOWN: Who is Mike Richards? The answer to the question is no longer the host of "Jeopardy."

ELAM (voice-over): But then Mike Richard's past incidents from another show and his comments on a podcast resurfaced. Richards stepped down and apologized, but the backlash continued. And less than two weeks later, he gave up his executive producer role and left the show. Number four, the "Squid Game" phenomenon.

The South Korean series swept the globe, becoming Netflix's biggest series ever at launch.

UNKNOWN: The plot? Hundreds of people heavily in debt enter a game to win a huge pile of cash. The down side, if the contestant lose a game, they're killed on the spot.

ELAM (voice-over): Netflix says "Squid Game" was viewed by 111 million accounts in less than a month, and fan recreations like this one in the United Arab Emirates proved the show has worldwide appeal. From BTS to "Parasite" and now "Squid Game," the South Korean influence on entertainment seems here to stay.

Number three, the box office bounces back. Behind powerhouses like "Spiderman: No Way Home, "Shang-Chi," and "No Time To Die," The box office emerges from the pandemic topping $20 billion worldwide. In North America, theaters doubled their haul over 2020 passing $4billion. Still way behind 2019's $11.4 billion.

But the resurgence came with growing pains as studios used streaming platforms to pick-up the slack.

UNKNOWN: "Black Widow" biting back today.

ELAM (voice-over): Scarlet Johansson sued Disney for releasing "Black Widow" on Disney Plus the same day as theaters, alleging it would cut into her profits. Disney said it had no merit. Both sides eventually settled. Number two, the Alec Baldwin movie set shooting. The star discharged a prop gun on the set of his New Mexico western "Rust," killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring the director.

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ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe and started shooting I took her to dinner.

ELAM (voice-over): Hollywood and movie fans were stunned, left to wonder how this could happen on a fictional set.

UNKNOWN: I think there was some complacency on the set and I think there are some safety issues that need to be addressed by the industry.

ELAM (voice-over): As authorities investigate, speculations swelled.

BALDWIN: I let go of the hammer, bang! The gun goes off.

ELAM (voice-over): Baldwin sat down with ABC in a dramatic interview professing his innocence and fueling the drama over what went wrong. BALDWIN: The gun was supposed to be empty. I was told I was handed an

empty gun.

ELAM (voice-over): And the number one entertainment story of 2020 --

UNKNOWNS: Free Britney!

UNKNOWN: When do we want it?

UNKNOWNS: Now!

ELAM (voice-over): The Free Britney Movement and the end of Britney Spears' life in a conservatorship.

BRITNEY SPEARS, SINGER: I'm just grateful honestly for each day.

ELAM (voice-over): The pop star had been living a restrained life since 2008 under the tight control of her father through a conservatorship.

UNKNOWN: She was so open and vulnerable. How we treated her was disgusting.

ELAM (voice-over): But a "New York Times" documentary energized the Free Britney movement and put a spotlight on the courtroom. Fans rallied outside the L.A. courthouse until the moment they had been waiting for. Later, Spears thanked her fans and shared what life feels like as a free Britney.

SPEARS: Owning an ATM card, seeing cash for the first time, being able to buy sandals. It's the little things for us women but it makes a huge difference.

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ELAM (on camera): And many wonder if Britney will do a sit down interview which just might make our list next year. We'll be covering all of the top stories, of course. From Hollywood, I'm Stephanie Elam.

NOBLES: And join Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen for CNN's "New Year's Eve Live." The party starts at 8:00 right here on CNN.

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