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Major U.S. Airlines Cancel More Than 2,000 Flights on Christmas Weekend; Two Cruise Ships with COVID Return to Florida Ports; Doctors Face Threats as Patients Demand Unproven Treatments; Prosecutors Claim Ethan Crumbley's Parents Ignored Signs He was a Threat; Democrats Consider Breaking up Biden Spending Bill into Smaller Pieces; 11-year- old Saves Choking Classmate, Rescues Woman from Fire on Same Day; England Abstains as Parts of U.K. Bring Back COVID Restrictions; COVID Outbreaks Spur Lockdowns in Chinese Cities. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired December 26, 2021 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:31]
RYAN NOBLES, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ryan Nobles reporting tonight from Washington.
And as we approach the new year, it's looking more and more like 2021 will round up the same way it started, centered around COVID. New cases fueled by the Omicron variant are surging nationwide and racing toward record highs. Hospitalizations and deaths also rising, although nowhere near peak levels. And even on this day after Christmas, people are lining up to get tested. Airlines are also struggling with the surge and sick-outs, which means traveling is getting harder. Hundreds of domestic flights have been cancelled today and more than 2,000 total this holiday weekend.
Let's begin tonight with CNN's Nadia Romero and Alison Kosik who are keeping watch on all of this for us tonight.
Nadia, let's start with you. You're in Atlanta. That's of course one of the world's busiest airports. How are flight cancellations impacting travelers today?
NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ryan, we're talking about more than a thousand flights canceled today alone. And think about all the people who travel on Sundays and travel on the day after Christmas, and it's all coming together with so many people thinking that they were going to be able to go see family and friends and then get back to work as it's business as usual starting on Monday morning for many Americans.
Unfortunately, a thousand flights canceled today. That brings the total up to about 2,000 for the weekend of cancellations and delays, and then you add in those international flights that were canceled as well. We spoke to some travelers that were just frustrated, right? They finally wanted to get out and meet family members again for the first time, many of them in two years, but their flights were canceled.
We spoke with one woman who was supposed to leave from Atlanta, head back to Wyoming, she had to call her employer and tell them that she wouldn't be able to make it because her flight was delayed. The lines through TSA pre-check and TSA regular general boarding are so packed, we spoke with one man who said his flight was delayed but he still didn't have enough time to get through the screening process.
He got up to the gate, they looked at his I.D. and said, yes, you're not going to make this flight. So he turned around. He says he was actually happy about it because he wanted to spend just one more day with his family.
We spoke with another woman who said that this was the first time she sees her family in a long time. Listen to her talk about what it meant to be able to get on her flight that was not canceled to see her family and friends again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER SMITH, TRAVELER: This is my in-laws, the first time I've seen them in about two years. So, yes, it's been a while. And I saw my mom over Thanksgiving the first time in two years. I got my booster shot, that was first and foremost. I was due for it, so I got that. Been wearing my mask. And I actually ended up switching my seat to be next to one person instead of three other people so just to keep my distance. So yes, my whole family is vaccinated and we felt safe. It was just immediate family, just like 10 people.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROMERO: And a lot of people were talking to me about getting vaccinated, even kids. Because remember during the Thanksgiving holiday, a lot of kids were partially vaccinated. They may be had one shot before Thanksgiving, now those kids, ages 5 to 11, a lot of them are fully vaccinated. They were eager to share that with me, but still some frustration for the many others who were not able to get on their flights, experiencing delays and cancellations and that ripple effects that will continue for the next couple of days -- Ryan.
NOBLES: OK. Nadia, thank you.
Let's now move over to Alison. It's not just airlines being disrupted, it's also cruise ships. What are you learning about that part of the story?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ryan. Yes, the cruise line industry again being disrupted by COVID-19. Over the past week we saw at least four cruise ships turned away from ports of call and passengers prohibited from disembarking because of COVID cases on board their ships. Now it was just over the summer when the U.S. cruise line industry resumed service.
It resumed service with vaccine requirements and measurements put in place to mitigate any kind of COVID outbreak. And since then there have been COVID cases. Case in point, in August, on a Carnival cruise ship, there were 27 COVID-positive passengers. Those passengers were isolated, other passengers were allowed to disembark after showing proof of a negative COVID test, but the difference now is the Omicron variant. We know it's more transmissible.
A Carnival spokesperson telling CNN in a statement that the spread of the variant may shape how some destination authorities view even a small number of cases. Now Carnival cruise ship Freedom was one of the cruises impacted this week with what Carnival calls a small number of passengers with COVID-19.
[18:05:09]
And that ship docked earlier this morning in Miami according to plan. Passengers coming off that ship after that eight-day voyage, they all spoke differently of their experience. Listen to what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM STORUPSKI, CARNIVAL FREEDOM PASSENGER: We've heard varying stories, we've heard five, we've heard 12, we've heard 25.
CONNIE STORUPSKI, CARNIVAL FREEDOM PASSENGER: They quarantined them. I mean, it was safe. We had a good time. We would do it again.
KIMBERLY KELLY, CARNIVAL FREEDOM PASSENGER: I couldn't even go in the pool the whole time. We didn't touch one pool on that ship because everybody is in there, all over each other, nobody is wearing masks. It was disgusting. Nobody cared.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Although we are seeing this uptick in the number of cruise ships that are having to alter their itineraries because of the Omicron variant, it really is only a small fraction of the dozens of cruise ships that are currently underway, you know, making their journeys. Also if you compare what happened in March 20220 when the cruise ship industry literally had to shut down and these ships were actually trying to find ports of call to take passengers and crew just so they can get home. We're in a very different position at this point compared to March 2020 -- Ryan.
NOBLES: OK. Alison Kosik, Nadia Romero, thanks to both of you.
In the early days of the pandemic, they were hailed as heroes. But now some health care workers are facing threats of lawsuits, even death, from the very people they are trying to save.
CNN senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. JACK LYONS, CENTRACARE, ST. CLOUD HOSPITAL: My name is Jeff. Your ICU doctor here.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL 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.
(On camera): What's it been like to work in this atmosphere?
LYONS: It's exhausting. It is frequently heartbreaking. It is demoralizing at times.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Dr. Lyons says it's also getting hostile as patients are demanding bogus medical treatments.
(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 being that somehow they can pick and choose and direct their therapy. And it doesn't work.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): 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.
LYONS: They 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 (on camera): What has 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 was 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 -- 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 (voice-over): Barbara Chapman is a nurse practitioner and works at the University of Texas at Tyler. Last summer, she started a hotline offering teachers and healthcare workers mental health support.
CHAPMAN: I used to think of it as being overwhelmed. Health care workers are overwhelmed. That doesn't even address it. The way I address it now with folks when I talk to them is I refer to it as moral injury.
LAVANDERA (on camera): What do you mean by that?
CHAPMAN: We want to help folks. And now that folks aren't getting vaccinated, 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 mortally injured.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): 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 (on camera): Man, 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.
(SIREN)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Dr. Jack Lyons often thinks of the pandemic's early days when grateful communities banged pots and pans to honor frontline healthcare workers.
LYONS: The vast majority of patients we take care of now come to our interactions distressed.
[18:10:04]
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)
NOBLES: Unbelievable. Joining us now is Dr. Rob Davidson. He's an emergency room physician in West Michigan. He's also the executive director for the Committee to Protect Healthcare Workers.
Doctor, first, just tell me what you make of what we just saw. This vitriol against some healthcare workers and what they're facing now. How do you explain it? Is there a way to explain it?
ROB DAVIDSON, WEST MICHIGAN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: Well, you can just hear it in Dr. Lyons when he had a deep sigh and just has to pause to reflect how it came to be. I mean, we're seeing this, I'm seeing this kind of thing at our hospital here in West Michigan and an area with a vaccination rate of about 45 percent. A very high vote for Donald Trump in the last election. And folks who are frankly coming in, demanding things like nebulized peroxide, nebulized iodine, asking for Ivermectin.
And I agree, people come in with their menu. Now in normal medical practice, we constantly talk with patients about different options for treatment. Patients refuse treatment. That is something that is standard. We give them form refusal. This is something different. People are coming with specific treatments that we know not to be helpful, and in some cases, would be extremely dangerous, and they're getting this from the rapid disinformation that's being spread, you know, from Senator Ron Johnson in Wisconsin to Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida, you know, telling people that there are treatments out there that truly don't exist, that truly don't help.
They're refusing vaccines and then they're coming in and declaring that we are trying to hurt them or their loved ones. It is demoralizing, as Dr. Lyons said in that piece.
NOBLES: I can't imagine how frustrating that might be for someone who spent all that time going to medical school and then practiced this profession for so long, to have someone come in and tell you they read something on the internet that would help them versus your own expertise. It's just baffling.
Let's talk about what things are like on the ground right now. Hospitalizations nationwide up 30 percent from last week. That's not quite the same rapid rise that we're seeing in case numbers because of Omicron, but it's still taxing, I would imagine.
What is the situation like in hospitals where you are in Michigan, and what are your biggest concerns and challenges right now?
DAVIDSON: I tell you we are still deeply mired in a Delta surge. And the case numbers themselves and the percent positive rates are trending down a bit. You know, I think we're just under 19 percent now for test positive, but this still appears to be Delta. The problem is COVID patients across the board for the past two years end up staying in the hospital for extremely long periods of time.
So our hospital beds are still extremely full. Finding beds for patients on a daily basis is always a challenge. I mean, we have flu seasons where you have a weekend that's like this or maybe even a week where it's really tough to find a bed in your hospital or a hospital, you know, an hour away or so. This has been six or seven weeks straight every single day calling multiple places and not being able to find beds and boarding people in the ER.
And the spillover of that is when people are boarding in the ER, people wait in the waiting room, and speaking of threats of violence. We had a patient a few weeks ago who found out they would have a long wait, and said, well, I'll go home and get my 9-millimeter and do something about it. Well, the police were called, security was called, and turned out this person was very apologetic and said they really didn't mean it, but it's that kind of spillover effect that all of these patients flooding the hospitals unvaccinated patients that is just, you know, really causing the system to break down.
NOBLES: It's just shocking. I cannot imagine having -- you're trying to help people and they threaten you with gun violence if you don't do what they ask you to do. I want you to listen --
DAVIDSON: Right.
NOBLES: Want you to listen to something that Dr. Anthony Fauci said today about testing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: We should be using testing much more extensively than we have, even in a situation where you have people who are vaccinated or boosted. But the situation where you have such a high demand, a conflation of events, Omicron stirring people to get appropriately concerned and wanting to get tested as well as the fact of the run-on test during the holiday season. We've obviously got to do better. I mean, I think things will improve greatly as we get into January, but that doesn't help us today and tomorrow.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: Doctor, here's a real problem, isn't it? I mean, testing is hard to come by. You either have to wait in a long line to get it free through some sort of local municipal government or you have to pay really an exorbitant price, sometimes $20, $25 for a test, which, you know, might be out of some people's price range. And people are trying to do the right thing, they're trying to get tested before they go and see their loved ones. This is a real problem, isn't it?
DAVIDSON: It certainly is. And I think, you know, testing is an issue that this administration and governors in the states have to deal with, and we need to get more tests out there, make them more available.
[18:15:09]
But, you know, we're never going to test our way out of this pandemic. The bottom line is we need more people vaccinated. We need to stop this flow of disinformation about vaccines, about the idea that we can treat COVID instead of prevent COVID. And then the need for tests will kind of go away over time. Zero COVID-19 is extremely unlikely at this point. But keeping people out of the hospital, keeping people from dying, that is absolutely possible.
We know it is. We see it every day when 98 percent of our ICUs are filled with unvaccinated COVID patients when they're there for COVID. You know, to me that is the most critical, most important thing we can do is get more people vaccinated and stop the flow of disinformation that's preventing it.
NOBLES: It seems like everything goes back to the vaccine, Doc. Ask you guys these questions all the time, and testing, you know, long hospital stays, whatever the case may be, the answer is get vaccinated, get your booster, that's your best opportunity to avoid being seriously second. Yet some people still having a hard time coming to terms with that.
DAVIDSON: Absolutely.
NOBLES: Dr. Rob Davidson, thank you so much for spending time with us on a holiday weekend, and thank you for the information you provided. We appreciate it.
DAVIDSON: Thanks, Ryan. NOBLES: Coming up, in an unprecedented move, an accused school
shooter's parents are being charged alongside him. New court documents revealed disturbing new details about why prosecutors felt it was necessary.
You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBLES: Newly released court documents revealing never before heard and seen information in the deadly school shooting in Michigan last month. 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley has been charged as an adult in the crime, and in an unprecedented move, his parents have been charged alongside him.
Brynn Gingras is covering these developments for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, disturbing images, disturbing details coming in these court documents, which essentially is the state's response to the defendant's request to lower their bond, which currently is at $500,000. And we do, we see those drawings that we did know about.
[18:20:04]
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 prosecutors 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. Now again. this is just part of some of the evidence that prosecutors are sort of laying out in this case. 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, prosecutors saying, up to like six months before the shooting happened in late November.
Let me read you an excerpt of this court document. It said, quote, "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 other disturbing texts about his state of mind. Meanwhile, during that same period, defendants spent their time at the barn 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."
Prosecutors 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, 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 a 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. 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES: All right, Brynn, thank you.
Joining me now, CNN legal analyst Areva Martin and Jillian Peterson is a psychologist, criminal justice professor and the founder of the Violence Project.
Areva, let's start with you. How much do you think this strengthens the case against the parents for involuntary manslaughter?
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Ryan, I think this is really critical to the prosecutor's case against these parents. We know that it's highly unusual to see prosecution against parents in school shooting cases, although parents have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in cases where they've been negligent with respect to allowing kids to have access to guns.
But we haven't seen charges brought in cases involving these school shooting cases, like in this case, but the evidence is so overwhelming against these parents in terms of their complete lack of regard for what was going on with their son.
Look, it's not against the law to have extramarital affairs, it's not against the law to be an inattentive parent. But it is against the law to not take steps to prevent your child from being a danger to other people, and that's what these documents say is that all the warning signs were there. They knew their son was extraordinarily sad. They knew he had access not just to their gun but that they had bought him his own weapon and that that weapon was not kept in a locked cabinet or a drawer.
So when you add up these facts and the facts that one hour before he committed this crime that they were at the school, they didn't ask their son where the gun was, they didn't ask to look in his backpack, and in fact, they insisted that he remained in the school even though they knew he had access to this gun. So when you look at all these facts, I think the charges were appropriate and I think this case against both of these parents is incredibly strong.
NOBLES: So, Jillian, you study violence, you're also a mom of three. What are your biggest takeaways from the details that are laid out in these court documents?
JILLIAN PETERSON, PSYCHOLOGIST: You know, our research on mass shooters and school shooters is life histories that are actually very consistent with this, that perpetrators tend to have really chaotic backgrounds, come from households that are chaotic, they are in crisis in the weeks leading up to the shooting. And there's triggers for that, so things like a friend moving away or a dog dying would be examples.
They become suicidal, their behavior is changing and people around them are noticing it, and they're leaking their plans, which, you know, happened that morning with the notes that he made in class.
[18:25:02]
This is all really consistent with the patterns that we see that makes us hopeful that some of these cases may be preventable in the future. I think what's different in this case is the school counselor literally laid this all out for the parents an hour before this happened and they did nothing.
NOBLES: Yes, and that's why we're in the situation now where the parents had been charged in this case.
Areva, is there enough here in this case, and enough laws on the books for this to become a legal precedent? This isn't something we've seen before, to charge the parents for their child's alleged violent acts.
MARTIN: Well, we definitely have seen parents charged in other cases with respect to acts of their children, so it's not uncommon to see parents held responsible for their children's actions, we just haven't seen it in some cases. But I think based on the facts that each of these individual cases, and as much as I'd like to say I hope we don't have any more school shootings, the reality is until something happens in this country around gun laws, accessibility to guns, we're likely to see more shooting cases like this.
But this is definitely a wake-up call, Ryan, for parents, parents who ignore the red flags, who see that their children are extraordinarily sad, who have access, who give their kids access to a gun. I think parents are on notice that if you engage in this conduct similar to what these parents engage in, you could find yourself facing criminal charges.
NOBLES: So, Jillian, as somebody who studies mass shootings, you know, you mentioned the fact that the school officials put this problem in front of the parents and they didn't really do anything about it. Is holding them accountable in a situation like this going to make a difference in helping to prevent the next incident from happening? PETERSON: You know, it's hard to know. I think this may have
implications for laws around things like safe storage of weapons and what is the responsibility of parents who make guns accessible in the home and, in this case, even give children a gun, how responsible are they for what happens with that gun. I think that could have real implications for our laws around safe storage and how schools talk to parents around the importance of safe storage.
NOBLES: And Jillian, quickly, you know, what are some things that maybe parents could do if they see these red flags in their children?
PETERSON: I think you want to make sure you're responding to red flags. You're looking for marked changes in behavior, marked changes in behavior. And you want to reach out and give support, whether that is from a health professional, someone at the school, someone in your community you want to make sure your weapons if you own them are safely security but you want to make sure you're not missing warning signs, that you're digging in, that you're asking questions and really sort of helping that child navigate that space that they're in.
NOBLES: I can't think of two better people to have a conversation around this difficult topic. Terrific insight from both of you.
Areva Martin and Jillian Peterson, thank you so much for being here.
And if you're concerned about the mental health of loved ones, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a national help line. It's 800-662-HELP which provides free confidential treatment, referral and information in both English and Spanish. It is 24/7 and it is every day of the year.
Still to come, after Senator Joe Manchin said he was a no on Biden's Build Back Better agenda, what happens next? Democrats are already strategizing their next move.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:31:54]
NOBLES: Could the new year give President Biden's Build Back Better plan a new lease on life? Some Democrats haven't given up hope, optimistic that at least some key pieces of the president's economic agenda will still make it through the Senate in 2020.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live at the White House. And Jeremy, just before the holiday, President Biden signaled that he was still working on Democratic no-vote Joe Manchin. So where do things stand right now?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Ryan, that Christmas deadline that the president had previously said, it came and went and still no Build Back Better agenda. Instead it appears that we're in a bit of a holiday pause right now on those talks. Of course discussions have been ongoing between the White House and Senator Manchin's office, even since Senator Manchin last week blew up the state of affairs, essentially, by saying that he could not support the Build Back Better Act in its current form.
Since then we know that President Biden and Senator Manchin, they did speak following that interview, and President Biden has expressed some optimism that he believes that they can ultimately get large chunks of his agenda done. How, though, appears unclear. That's where the strategizing comes in, and we know the Democrats are still considering a variety of ways that they can push that agenda forward next summer.
Here's Senator Ben Cardin talking about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are Democrats open to scaling it back even more or passing various pieces of standalones, maybe attracting Senator Manchin or even some GOP on some of these issues?
SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-MD): Well, that's a strategy decision that's being negotiated. We are open to a way to reach the finish line. We want to make it as comprehensive as possible because the needs are just there.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Ultimately, though, Democrats have to be clear out here. It's going to be difficult for them to break this up into different parts, particularly if they want to use that reconciliation vehicle with a simple majority to get this through. So those conversations are going to have to be ongoing for the White House to find some path with Senator Manchin to bridge the difference there.
We've also heard today in an op-ed from Congresswoman Jayapal, the head of the Progressive Caucus, she also says that they want to find a way forward to get as close to the Build Back Better framework that had been agreed to as possible in the new year. She's also saying that she's going to push President Biden to act on executive action to get some of this done. Meanwhile, we know Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, he has said that Democrats will vote in the New Year on the Build Back Better bill, though he hasn't officially set a date for that vote -- Ryan.
NOBLES: All right, Jeremy Diamond, live from the White House. We appreciate it. Let's talk more about this with historian and CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer.
So, Julian, you know, I've been covering the Build Back Better back and forth on Capitol Hill since it started. It's never seemed like it was ever on stable ground. Is it time now to rewrite the obituary for this plan at least in this fulsome big vision that the president once had for it?
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Not yet. The president is in a difficult position. There is always the possibility of some kind of shift, but it's difficult. The president will have to negotiate with Manchin who has been very difficult and not very clear in terms of what he wanted. So we're probably at looking either scaling back or redirecting funding or parts of the program in ways that are appealing to Manchin. [18:35:11]
Other than that, they have to work around him rather than working with him.
NOBLES: So that, of course, difficult in a 50-50 Senate. They need his vote to get anything through especially in the reconciliation process. But, you know, President Biden has played up his Senate experience, right? He talks about the fact that he's somebody who knows how to forge agreements on Capitol Hill. Why has he come up so short with this, with his own party, on this particular signature bill?
ZELIZER: Look, there's limits to what a president can do. Even Lyndon Johnson understood that when a member of Congress was firmly against the president's agenda, there wasn't much you could do if you didn't have the numbers. And I think he's running into that. You have zero Republican support for what he's trying to do and so then you need every Democratic vote for reconciliation in the Senate and Manchin is just not willing to go along, so there's limits on what the president can do beyond executive power.
NOBLES: Now I realize that he's limited to a certain extent because of reconciliation, right? It's much harder to piecemeal all these things through with different bill because you've got only so many cracks at the apple when it comes to reconciliation. But did he try and do too much all at once or on the other side of the coin, you talk to progressives, was he not ambitious enough with this unified control of Washington?
ZELIZER: Yes. There is an argument he should have moved more quickly and with more force early on when it was still early in his presidency and when he still had more leverage from that post-election moment. Timing is everything. And so I think different people will have different views. He did too much, but others would argue he didn't work with enough force early on. But, again, there's still time.
He's still president, he has many years ahead of him, and so now the challenge is what to do in January to maximize the opportunity for legislation.
NOBLES: I mean, there's no doubt, right, that him setting these standards for himself, to a certain extent, it's a self-fulfilling failure, right? Because he did pass, you know, multitrillion dollar COVID relief package and a trillion-dollar infrastructure package that both Republican and Democratic presidents have failed, right? Are we perhaps being a little too harsh on Joe Biden and his administration, given that they have accomplished quite a bit?
ZELIZER: Well, I think both can be true. On the one hand we can look at the record and say it's already very substantial. And he's had two pieces of legislation that really are pretty significant and will go down in the history books as big accomplishments but that doesn't mean that the issues which are so critical that are addressed in that final piece, from child care to the climate, those are essential as well.
And I think this is a president with grand ambitions. And you don't start small, you start big and you see what you can get. So I think it's fair what to say what he did was a good strategy, but he might also come up without some of what he wants.
NOBLES: Yes. That's such a good point especially given the fact that he ran on this kind of big fundamental change. It's part of why he was elected. And now the clock is ticking, right, Julian? His party does hold the majorities in the midterms, but that the seems to be the scenario right now where they likely could lose at least the House in these upcoming elections.
How critical is it for him to get something done in 2022 before those midterm votes?
ZELIZER: In terms of the election, it's unclear what he can do that's going to change a midterm which might not go well, they usually don't for presidents. But in terms of legacy it is important. These are bills Democrats really see as being urgent. This is the window right now probably in the next couple months to get it. It might not change the midterms but it certainly will define who he is when he runs again in 2024, and how we think about him years from now. So I think he understands what's at stake and I think he's going to continue to pursue this.
NOBLES: I guess the big question in the new year is how does he get to those goals as he continue to push with that big package or find another way around it?
Julian Zelizer, those are the questions we will await the answers to. Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.
ZELIZER: Thank you.
NOBLES: He saved a choking classmate and helped a woman escape her burning home. And he did it all on the same day. And here's the other thing. He's only 11 years old and he's now a superhero.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[18:43:51]
NOBLES: This next story will either warm your heart or make you feel very inadequate, maybe even both. But an 11-year-old boy from Oklahoma is now a local superhero after he saved a choking classmate and then rescued a woman from a burning building, and he did it all in one day. Earlier this month sixth-grader Davyon Johnson was in class when he stumbled in choking. He rushed over and performed the Heimlich maneuver, potentially saving his life. Now if that wasn't enough, hours later, Johnson helped a woman flee from her burning home. Now for the heroic actions he was honored by local police and the school board.
And joining me now by phone, it is a bird, it is a plane, no, it's Davyon and his mother LaToya. Davyon, you are giving Superman a run for his money. Have you started
by thinking of any of the superhero names that you could have for yourself?
DAVYON JOHNSON, SAVED CHOKING CLASSMATE AND WOMAN FLEEING FIRE: Davyon the hero.
NOBLES: I'm sorry, say that again? I missed it.
D. JOHNSON: Davyon the hero.
NOBLES: Davyon the hero, I like it. That's amazing. You deserve it. Excellent.
[18:45:00]
So just tell me first, what went through your mind when you saw your classmate choking? Was this someone you knew?
D. JOHNSON: Yes. He actually goes to my church. And -- yes.
NOBLES: And then how did you know what to do? In a situation like that, you only have a split second to make a decision. Where did you learn how to do the Heimlich and how did you know that that was a moment where you needed to spring into action?
D. JOHNSON: Well, I learned it on YouTube. I watch a lot of, like, "Inside Edition" and stuff, and like one of my classmates were like, he's choking, he's choking, so I sprang into action and did it.
NOBLES: I need to introduce you to my children because they spent all their time on YouTube watching videos of people pulling pranks on each other. Not show them how to save people's lives.
So, LaToya, you have a son there watching the right things on YouTube, and you must have been so proud when you heard how he saved the day for the first time. Tell me what went through your mind when you learned about your son's heroic actions?
LATOYA JOHNSON, SON SAVED TWO PEOPLE IN ONE DAY: It didn't surprise me at all. That's just Davyon. He's always there to help.
NOBLES: Davyon the hero now.
L. JOHNSON: Yes.
NOBLES: Davyon, your adventure wasn't over after saving one person's life. That wasn't enough. Later that day you saved a woman from a house fire. I mean, that takes a lot of courage to run through a burning building. What was going through your mind? You had to have been scared.
D. JOHNSON: Yes, I was scared, actually, but it's just a point that I wanted to get her out so she could -- yes.
NOBLES: Well, just tell me. You know, go through that experience for me. What happened, how did you know someone was trapped inside there? Just tell us that story.
D. JOHNSON: Well, we were driving, and we saw flames and we stopped at the house. And the green oaks were on fire. So the green house (INAUDIBLE), so we honked on our horn and they didn't hear us, so we knocked on the door. And they were like, huh, they were like, you all have fire in your backyard. And they started freaking out. And I ran so everybody ran out and the old lady was coming out, she was on her porch, and I helped her to her truck and leave.
NOBLES: Wow. So they didn't even realize their house was on fire. That is just incredible. So, LaToya, were you worried when you heard that your son was at the scene of the fire?
L. JOHNSON: Actually I was there with him.
NOBLES: You were there? So you watched this whole thing happened. You didn't tell him to stop, you supported him as he rushed into danger like that?
L. JOHNSON: Yes. Because, I mean, he was there to save a life. But yes, I was on the phone with the 911 operator and it's hooked to my car, so you know, I couldn't really go up there so he went. So we can get them some help.
NOBLES: Wow. So LaToya, I mean, obviously this is my first time meeting Davyon and hearing his story but he seems to be, first of all, obviously a brave kid, but also super-intelligent and quick thinking. What's the key to raising a young man like this?
L. JOHNSON: Keeping them in church.
NOBLES: Anything else?
L. JOHNSON: Just instilling good things in him.
NOBLES: Well, it's clear that you're making all the right choices.
Davyon, you were honored by your local police department. What was that like for them to recognize your courage in both of these circumstances?
D. JOHNSON: It was amazing. I mean, so it's not normal, but -- actually, it was kind of a surprise.
NOBLES: So, Davyon, I wonder -- you know, this obviously seems to be something that is just kind of part of your DNA. It seems almost instinctual for you. Does this mean that when you grow up, you can be a first responder of some kind, maybe a firefighter, an EMT, a policeman? What are your thoughts?
D. JOHNSON: Yes, I want to be an EMT just like my uncle.
NOBLES: Your uncle must be so proud of you. Did you learn any of these techniques or did you, you know, learn from his example? Was that part of what was in the back of your mind when she rushed into action?
D. JOHNSON: Yes, he actually teaches us kindness and like instill respect to help others.
[18:50:01]
NOBLES: And what's your uncle's name? We should give him a shoutout.
D. JOHNSON: Wendell Johson.
NOBLES: Well, I'm sure your Uncle Wendell is so proud of you. So last question for you, Davyon. If you had any advice for other kids who want to go out there and be brave like you were in these circumstances, what recommendations would you have for them?
D. JOHNSON: Just stay calm, just stay calm and don't be scared, and just get everything done.
NOBLES: That's just terrific life advice in general, Davyon, even if you're not rushing in to save someone's life.
Well, Davyon the hero, which is your new name, you have T-shirts made that say that and maybe even someone needs to start writing a comic book in your honor because what you were able to accomplish here is remarkable.
LaToya Johnson, your mom, thank you for being here over this holiday weekend and I know there are a lot of people in your hometown there in Oklahoma that are very proud of you. And we so much appreciate you being on with us. Thanks so much.
L. JOHNSON: Thank you.
D. JOHNSON: Thank you.
NOBLES: All right. Thank you. And we'll be right back.
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NOBLES: The Omicron variant is causing case counts to surge across the world. But depending on where you are, measures to curve this spread may not look the same. From no restrictions, to complete lockdowns, our reporters show us now how different countries are taking very different approaches as they try to contain outbreaks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in London. While many countries in mainland Europe are piling on new COVID restrictions in response to the surge in Omicron variant, the U.K. is reacting to record-high case counts with a relative shrug.
[18:55:10]
Some new restrictions on large events come into effect in Scotland and Whales today but not in England, where the latest estimate show that last weekend one in 35 people have the virus with one in 20 estimated to be infected in London. The U.K. has not seen a spike in hospitalizations or deaths likely thanks to Omicron's causing less severe illness and a lightning-fast rollout of the booster shot with well over half the eligible population having now had it.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Will Ripley in Hong Kong. There are growing questions right now about the viability of China's zero COVID strategy as the nation takes increasingly extreme measures to stomp out relatively small clusters of COVID-19 infection. In the central Chinese city of Xian, 13 million people the city's entire population under a level 2 lockdown, the whole city considered a controlled area which means that schools and public transportation are closed.
All but essential services are stopped. That means that in every household, just one designated person can go out to get groceries once every two days and otherwise, unless there's a medical emergency, you have to stay inside. All of this affecting 13 million people for just over 200 confirmed cases, state media saying 30,000 of their close contacts are in government quarantine right now. China is just weeks away from the opening ceremonies of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and trying to keep COVID from spreading inside the country just before the Lunar New Year travel rush.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES: And many thanks to all our international correspondents. I'm Ryan Nobles in Washington. Thank you for joining me on this holiday weekend. We appreciate you watching. Have a good night.
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