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Heroic Fight For Mariupol Appears To Be Over; Police: Buffalo Shooting Suspect Visited Area In March; Sweden And Finland Launch Bids To Join NATO; Western Brands Abandon Russia; Renault and McDonald's Exits Russia; Amanpour Speaks with Taliban Deputy Leader; Community Spread of COVID Eliminated in Shanghai; COVID Cases in U.S. Spikes; Interview with Internal Medicine Specialist and Viral Research Dr. Jorge Rodriguez; Abbott's Deal with FDA; U.S. Troops to be Deployed to Somalia. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired May 17, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:31]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. We are learning that the racist and hate-filled massacre in Buffalo may have been months in the making. As we remember the 10 lives that was stolen on Saturday.
Outnumbered and outgunned. The heroic months long fight, the Mariupol appears to be over and it is a major win for Russia.
Plus, primary day in America and there are major last-minute twists and some very important races as five states go to the polls.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CONFESSORE: Good to have you with us. Well, U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Buffalo, New York in the hours ahead where he will meet with families of the victims of Saturday's racially motivated shooting. A White House official tells CNN, Mr. Biden will make remarks in Buffalo and condemn the shooting as terrorism motivated by a hateful and perverse ideology.
That comes as we learn new details about the 18-year-old accused in the attack. Investigators say the gunman who opened fire in a supermarket killing 10 people traveled 200 miles to the predominantly black neighborhood two months ago and he was there this past Friday. Authorities believe carrying out reconnaissance just one day before the massacre.
The FBI is also investigating the shooting as both a hate crime and a case of racially motivated violent extremism. The latest now from CNN's Omar Jimenez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New details show the alleged gunman meticulously planned the attack months in advance. Investigators saying he's believed to have scouted the store in early March and prepare for a gunfight.
JOSEPH GRAMAGLIA, BUFFALO POLICE COMMISSIONER: Because of the body armor that he had on. He could have easily have retreated back into that store where there were dozens of other customers in that store fleeing for their lives, which could have been turned that into another barricade and further slaughter.
JIMINEZ: Investigators piecing together the sequence of events and what authorities say was a racially motivated attack. The Erie County district attorney tells CNN the suspects seemingly plan on killing more black people. If he could.
JOHN FLYNN, ERIE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It appears that way. Again, we need to drill down further.
JIMINEZ: Federal investigators drilling down further going to the home where the 18-year-old suspects lived with his parents as well as the gun store where the suspect purchased the Bushmaster assault rifle. They're also looking into his planning ahead of the attack, including illegally modifying his gun to carry 30 round magazines.
FLYNN: We are going to look into everything that this young man was doing and thinking.
JIMINEZ: Including analyzing the alleged shooters past, how last year police paid him a visit after he did a high school project. A murder suicides according to the Erie County Sheriff. And analyzing his state of mind just before heading to the market. He's believed to have written and posted a 180-page statement proudly labeling himself a white supremacist and outlining the attack.
The Buffalo Police commissioner says he live streamed the horrific attack that has scarred this community. Still grieving over the lives of 10 of their own. Gunned down in a matter of minutes. Ruth Whitfield was 86 years old and on her way back from visiting her husband and his nursing home. When she stopped for groceries. Her son called and called, no one ever answered.
JIMINEZ (on camera): You're looking for her, you find out. You go home. What's going through your head?
GARNEL WHITFIELD JR., SON OF RUTH WHITFEILD: I'm angry, hurt. She was a beautiful person. Which still we're still in the midst of this thing. One of the things that we as a family wanted to ensure is that we call it what it is. It is white supremacy, it is hate, it is racism, it is bigotry and we got to call it what it is and stop beating around the bush and take it head on because it's proliferating. It's not getting better.
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[02:05:00]
JIMINEZ: Now Buffalo's police chief says this suspect had basically been doing recon, leading up to the shooting in the area as recently as Friday but as early as months ago back in March. Now over the weekend, he pleaded not guilty to first degree murder but no word yet on whether he will face any federal charges. Meanwhile, President Biden is expected to visit Tuesday here to meet with the families of victims.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Buffalo, New York.
CHURCH: In another part of the country, a doctor who was killed in Sunday's church shooting in Southern California is being hailed for his bravery. The gunman opened fire at a Taiwanese church service, wounding five people and killing 52-year-old Dr. John Chang. Authorities say Chang charged at the shooter giving others time to help subdue him. They say Chang's heroic actions helped save lives.
Investigators have identified the gunman as 68-year-old David Chou. A U.S. citizen born in China. They believe the shooting was politically motivated and the Chou was upset over the tensions between China and Taiwan. He's not thought to have any connection to the church or its members.
Russia's invasion has left Mariupol in ruins. But after 82 days of fighting, the long standoff at the city's steel plant may finally be coming to an end. Ukraine says more than 260 people at the Azovstal plant have been evacuated. Their country has declared the combat mission fulfilled and commanders have been ordered to save the lives of their troops. But what happens next is unclear. Many of the evacuees are wounded and they're being bussed through territory controlled by Russia and its allies.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister says an exchange will see the evacuees brought home and Ukraine's president is calling the defenders heroes.
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VOLODYMY ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE(through translator): I want to emphasize Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle. I think that every adequate person will understand these words. The operation to rescue the defenders of Mariupol was started by our military and intelligence officers to bring the boys home, the work continues. And this work needs delicacy and time.
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CHURCH: Elsewhere in Ukraine, a local official says a military base outside of Lviv was targeted hours ago by another Russian missile attack. Later a member of CNNs team in Lviv saw air defenses lighting up to the northwest toward the Yavoriv military base.
Well, a few weeks into the war, three brothers were taken from their home by Russian soldiers interrogated, executed, buried and left for dead. One of them survived. Now his case is one of thousands of alleged war crimes being investigated by Ukrainian prosecutors. Here's the story from Melissa Bell.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is where Mykola Kulichenko was buried alive. The blindfolds he says he and his two brothers were made to wear by Russian soldiers still strewn by their shallow grave.
Mykola shows us where the bullet entered his cheek. His brothers, Yevhen and Dmytro were killed but he managed to escape their tomb. I had to live to tell this story not to Ukrainians but to the world, he says. The regional prosecutor's office says a war crimes investigations been opened.
BELL (on camera): This is Mykola's house where he lived with his two brothers along with their sister. On March 18, he says, Russian soldiers came into the village looking for men that they believed were responsible for the attack on one of their convoys. And that is when the family's nightmare began.
Three soldiers entered the house looking for anything that might link the brothers to the attack on the convoy. They found nothing but what they did find was something to link the family to the military in the shape of their grandfather's military metal.
BELL (voice over): They also found Yevhen's military bag. Since as a reservist in the Ukrainian army, he was preparing to go and fight. For four days, their sister Iryna heard nothing from her brothers until Mykola came back from the dead.
I came home and there was Mykola. I looked at his eyes and asked where are the others. He said there are no others.
Mykola says that after being taken from their home, the three brothers were blindfolded and interrogated in a cellar for four days.
[02:10:04]
BELL: They were then beaten and take him to the site of their execution. Two months on, he still struggles to speak.
What do I think of the Russians? I hate them with all my soul. They're animals. They should burn in hell.
It was only after the Russian withdrawal that a month after their execution, Yevhen and Dmytro were given a proper burial, a tombstone and the piece that Mykola has been denied.
Melissa Bell CNN, Chernihiv region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, Russia's war is bringing an historic sea change for European security. On Monday, Sweden formally announced that it would join neighboring Finland in seeking NATO membership. The move would reverse decades of military non-alignment and mark a major expansion of the NATO alliance right on Russia's doorstep. But Sweden's Prime Minister says it's the best way to ensure her country's security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the expansion wouldn't be an immediate threat but he wandered moving weapons onto Finnish or Swedish territory would provoke a response.
We are approaching what may be the most contentious U.S. primaries so far this year. The Pennsylvania Senate race. Can Donald Trump's pick fend off an establishment Republican and a surging, long shot? We'll have the details after the break.
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CHURCH: Well, voters in five U.S. states are getting ready to choose their candidates for November's midterm elections. The so-called swing states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina are among those holding contests. And in Pennsylvania, Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz surprise voters at his town hall with a phone call from his most important supporter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd like each of you to get out and vote for Dr. Oz and the Republican primary. Winning the Senate seat is a must, it's an absolute must-win, and he'll be able to do it.
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CHURCH: One of his challenges is conservative Kathy Barnette who's been shaking up the race. But CNN unearth previously unreported comments that she made ahead of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. During those comments, she vowed to bring buses of "pissed off patriots" to the so called Stop the Steal rally that wound up fueling the riot. Analysts say they have no idea which way this race is going to go as CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports from Pennsylvania.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A chaotic close to the Pennsylvania Senate primary. The leading Democratic candidate John Fetterman will spend Election Day in the hospital recovering from a stroke he suffered late last week. But his campaign did not reveal until Sunday in this video with his wife by his side.
GISELE BARRETO FETTERMAN, LT. GOV. JOHN FETTERMAN'S WIFE: We hit a little bump on the campaign trail.
LT. GOV. JOHN FETTERMAN, PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes. It was on Friday. I just wasn't feeling very well. So, I decided, you know, I needed to get checked out. So I went to the hospital.
BARRETTO: I mean, to get checked out.
FETTERMAN: Yes. ZELENY: On the eve of the primary and one of the nation's most closely watched Senate races, far more drama and uncertainty on the Republican side, where it's a three-way fight to the finish.
Elite grassroots surge from Kathy Barnette is threatening to upend a vicious months long battle between TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick. A former hedge fund executive and Army veteran. All three are trying to win over undecided voters.
KATHY BARNETTE, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I earnestly believe 13 months ago that if Pennsylvania's knew they had a better option, you will have the good sense to take it.
ZELENY: Donald Trump hangs heavy over the race, where his endorsement of Oz has outraged many hardcore members of the MAGA movement who are turning to Barnette. Her candidacy caught fire with a compelling personal story and repeated false claims the 2020 election was stolen.
BARNETTE:I don't think we have any more room to just pick a warm body with an R next to their name and call that a win for us.
ZELENY: In a radio interview. Today, Barnette would not commit to supporting the GOP nominee if she doesn't win.
ZELENY (on camera): Do you believe that's dangerous for the party given how important the seat is?
DAVID MCCORMICK, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, listen, I believe the stakes are so high. I think we as Republicans have to win this seat. And so, I believe I'm going to win this primary. But if I weren't win, then I would support whoever the candidate was that was selected by the voters.
ZELENY (voice over): Republicans are not deciding whether to choose a candidate in Trump's mold, that's been settled, but rather how Trumpian they hope their next senator will be.
DR. MEHMET OZ, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: The 45th President of the United States Donald Trump is actually going to call in.
TRUMP: He's a loyal MAGA person. And again, I've known him for a long time and he'll be your next senator. He's going to win it all.
ZELENY: Oz has struggled to close the sale with conservatives like (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is not Jesus. He's capable of making a mistake. The stuff I've seen about Oz, he doesn't come across to me as a conservative.
ZELENY (on camera): Even President Trump's endorsement is not enough to sway you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: And at the final campaign rally of this primary season, Dr. Oz is making the case one voter at a time that he is a conservative candidate. That is one of the hurdles he is trying to cross. Former President Donald Trump called into this rally trying to make that case as well. His prestige also on the line. This is one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. Democrats believe they can use this as a pickup opportunity to fill the seat of retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey. The voting is Tuesday. But all eyes will still be on Pennsylvania come November.
Jeff Zeleny CNN, Blue Ball, Pennsylvania.
CHURCH: From Angeles political analyst Michael Genovese, who is also the president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University joins us now. Great to have you with us.
[02:20:08]
MICHAEL GENOVESE, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE AT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, Tuesday marks the biggest primary night of the year so far with voters heading out just a few hours from now to select their candidates for the midterms. So, let's start with the swing state of Pennsylvania. We saw a little bit of it there were the Trump endorsed Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is taking some heat from his opponent conservative activist Kathy Barnette who's enjoying this very late surge in the race.
Also in the mix of course, her former hedge fund CEO David McCormick. It is another test of Donald Trump's kingmaker skills, and we heard some disgruntled Trump supporters there saying he's made a mistake here. What do you expect the outcome to be? Could Kathy Barnette push Oz out do you think?
GENOVESE: Well, yes, you're right. This is a major test for Donald Trump. He endorsed an inexperienced novice, a T.V. celebrity doctor, Dr. Oz and a lot of conservatives found that to be objectionable because Oz doesn't have real conservative credentials. Coming up in really the last two weeks has been what was an outsider and virtually unknown candidate, Kathy Barnette. She's very right wing. She was a -- she marx in the January 6 insurrection. He believes in the big lie.
She's said a lot of anti-Muslim things, a lot of anti-gay things. She has captured the imagination of conservatives in the state. And so, if Donald Trump loses this, this is a very visible one, a headline endorsement. If he loses this, he's weakened.
CHURCH: Right. And of course, are on the other side of the political spectrum, the numbers look very good actually, for Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman. He is the clear favorite, but we learned Sunday that he's recovering from a stroke. So, how problematic could that prove to be for him and his party going forward? Because this is going to take a lot of energy, you need to be pretty healthy to be doing all of this. GENOVESE: Well, John Fetterman is the incumbent lieutenant governor. He's fairly popular in the state. He's kind of a regular guy and not a slick professional politician and everyday kind of person appeals to working class voters. He had the clear path many people think to win in Pennsylvania. And that's a 50-50 tie in the Senate between Democrats and Republicans. So, right now it's a Republican-control seats, the Democrats could win this one.
His stroke which appears to be a mild stroke with very, very sort of limited consequences. We think he may be able to overcome it. But he's at all -- if he's at all weakened, then it just puts the state back into play and it gives the Republicans a leg up.
CHURCH: Right. Absolutely. And of course, so what about the other swing state of North Carolina, where the very controversial and embattled Trump endorsed Republican candidate Madison Cawthorn has his own party turning on him after a number of missteps there except we see Donald Trump coming out yet again. He says the Cawthorn should be given a second chance. What are you expecting to happen in this race with Trump backing a very flawed candidate in another crucial test of his power in the party?
GENOVESE: Well, in this race, you need a 30 percent threshold to win and in a crowded race, which is what it is. A known candidate with name recognition has a bit of an advantage. Also, the Trump endorsement might help. But here's an example of Trump endorsing someone who was thought to be a rising star in the Republican Party but who has fallen from grace and whose support has been disappearing faster than cupcakes at a pot party.
He is an embarrassment to the party, monumentally flawed, he's been -- he's accused other Republicans of inviting him to sex orgies and cocaine parties. He has been pictured -- we've seen pictures of him in women's lingerie. There are videos that are very embarrassing floating around. And so, Trump has picked an odd person to put his reputation on. It may help Cawthorn, he may be able to pull it through. But it's a really long shot because the Republican establishment really doesn't like this guy.
CHURCH: Yes. And yet to Trump doubling down as you say on him. We'll see what happens. Michael Genovese, always a pleasure to get to your analysis and perspective. Many thanks.
GENOVESE: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Well, still to come from loving it to leaving it. Russians are waving goodbye to McDonald's for good as Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine costs his country yet another major global brand.
CHURCH: We'll take a look at that on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
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CHURCH: This breaking news just coming into us. Ukraine says there have been many casualties from Russia missile strikes on a village north of Kyiv and far from the frontlines.
But it says Russian ground attacks in the East have been repelled. We will of course update you as details become available.
[02:30:00]
Well, 32 years ago, McDonald's opened its first franchise in Moscow, too much fanfare, a symbol of change in the thawing of the cold war as the Soviet Union began to crumble. 32 years later, McDonald's is pulling all 800 of its restaurants out of Russia for good. Just the latest major global brand to reject Vladimir Putin and his war of choice in Ukraine. CNN's Clare Sebastian reports on an economy that's going nowhere but backward.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Well, often unreliable and always boxy. Lada in the 1970s was a potent symbol of the Soviet Union's economic self-reliance. By 2022, a majority stake in the brand, now owned by Renault, it was a symbol of Russia's global integration. That integration now unraveling because of the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions. Renault has announced it's selling its Lada maker AvtoVAZ to a Russian state research institute, though with an option to buy back within six years.
AvtoVAZ announced in March, it would have to redesign some of its cars to make do without foreign parts. Initially, that will mean no special features like anti-lock brake systems according to one expert. And that's just the beginning.
EVGENY ESKOV, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AUTO BUSINESS REVIEW: If Russia will be with us in the future, we will have not new cars. We will be with just only used cars in my opinion.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): And it's not just the car industry in reverse.
ELINA RIBAKOVA, DEPUTY CHIEF ECONOMIST, INST. FOR INTL. FINANCE: Metals and mining will go to chemical production, paper, textiles, even foods. Every industry is now given either cutting their production by half or at least looking for new ways to import and new ways to export.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): Westernizing the economy was one of the hallmarks of Vladimir Putin's Russia. In the wake of the chaos and confusion of the 1990s, this policy helped bring prosperity, hope, and a real taste of something new. Now, shutters and plastic sheets barely obscuring the remains of what was.
Even McDonald's, which opened its first restaurant in Russia in 1990, says it's now starting the process of selling its business and, "de- arching its restaurants". Putin, himself, has played down the idea that his war and the resulting sanctions have undone 30 years of progress.
The Soviet Union lived under sanctions, he said in March, and achieve success. Rhetoric designed to strengthen his grip on power as he prepares Russia for a potentially painful economic transition.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The economy will adapt to the new situation. If we can't sink a one ship, we'll try another. If we can't go to one country, we'll go to a third country. If we can't buy it here, we'll buy it in a fourth country.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): In the Soviet Union in the decade that followed its collapse, economic isolation meant regular of consumer goods and food, queuing for things a part of life. So far Russia is not seeing this on a wide scale. But experts say it will if the war drags on.
SEBASTIAN (on camera): How much of a mess is this going to be, do you think?
RIBAKOVA: I think this is the worst crisis that most people in Russia are going to experience in their recent history. So, we invented the time machine and it is the pain of the '90s. But the other way. We're going towards darkness.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): The Cold War didn't just cement the Soviet Union's isolation, it also required ever increasing defense spending. The true scale of which only emerged in its final years. Russia's hot war in Ukraine could deal a similar double economic blow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SEBASTIAN (on camera): So, on the one hand, the exits of companies like McDonald's and Renault show that the risks of this war, the economic risks, and the risks of those sanctions are increasing every day for Russia. But on the other hand, the issue is that they have shown remarkable economic resilience. They can still afford this war largely thanks to the fact that they are still exporting energy. And while the EU struggles to find concensus on the issue of an oil embargo, Russia is actually making more money from its energy because of the disruptions that this is causing to the market and the resulting higher prices. Rosemary.
CHURCH: Unbelievable. Clare Sebastian with that report from London. Many thanks.
Well, there is a $10 million bounty and the head of a deputy leader of the Taliban. The U.S. calls him a specially designated global terrorist. And he's never spoken with a Western journalist or shown his face in a TV interview until now.
[02:35:00]
JEFF MAGGIONCALDA, CEO, COURSERA: Fundamentally, the world is changing very rapidly because of technology globalization. And people need to learn new skills. And if they do, there's a wide range of new opportunities for new jobs if people get skilled up.
So, we think this going to persist far beyond the pandemic. There's a lot of interest for individuals coming directly to Coursera online to take professional certificates to learn the skill to get new digital careers. But the other thing that we're seeing is that businesses are realizing that embracing technology, going digital, moving to the Cloud, using AI makes them more competitive.
And so, businesses are upscaling. Their employees are using Coursera. And now, post-pandemic, universities and colleges all around the world, even as students come back to campus, they're realizing that integrating online learning into the way the students learn is a great way to provide flexibility and also access to emerging skills.
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CHURCH: Now, to a CNN exclusive. Sirajuddin Haqqani is Afghanistan's acting interior minister and a deputy leader of the Taliban. He also has a $10 million bounty on his head. The U.S. says he orchestrated some of the deadliest attacks on American and coalition forces during the war. He's never spoken on camera with a Western journalist until now. CNN's Christiane Amanpour asked him whether he considers America the enemy of the Afghan government.
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SIRAJUDDIN HAQQANI, AFGHANISTAN ACTING INTERIOR MINISTER AND TALIBAN DEPUTY LEADER (through translator): In the future, we would like to have good relations with the United States and the international community, based on rules and principles that exist in the rest of the world. And based on that arrangement, we have made commitment with them and currently we do not look at them as enemies.
[02:40:00]
But based on their conduct, the Afghans have reservations about their intentions. From our side, the freedom of the country and struggling for the country's defense is a legitimate right in accordance with the international rules. Currently, we do not look at them as enemies. And we have time, and again, spoken about diplomacy. We are committed to the Doha agreement, like the rest the world, we want relations with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Find the rest of that interview at cnn.com. And viewers on CNN international can watch part two of that exclusive interview with the deputy Taliban leader Tuesday on Amanpour. Tune in at 6:00 p.m. in London, 9:30 p.m. in Kabul.
For our international viewers, "World Sport" is up next. And for everyone in the U.S. and Canada, I'll be back with more news after a short break. Stay with us.
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BARRY HURST, ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC: I'm Barry Hurst, energy and sustainability director at Schneider Electric. Schneider Electric was ranked the world's most sustainable company in 2021 by Corporate Knights. And it drew a lot of attention to what we've been working on now for over 10 years. So, I think the important thing to emphasize is that it's a long-term commitment. And that it takes a lot of organization to really make big strides. So, the advice I would give is do strategy and action in parallel. We see a lot of companies that have a strategy but are unsure on how to implement it. And we see companies that have -- want to get action, but don't have a clear strategy. So, I would say, always do the two in parallel if you want to get maximum impact and really accelerate your journey.
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[02:45:00]
CHURCH: Shanghai says it has eliminated the community spread of COVID-19 outside quarantined areas and all 16 districts in the city have achieved zero-COVID at the community level. Now, this means infections are no longer found outside quarantine facilities or neighborhoods under the strictest level of lockdown and it comes a day after officials announced a three-step plan to return to normalcy next month after weeks of lockdown.
Well, the United States is about to reach a devastating milestone. The country is less than 200 deaths away from reaching one million killed by the pandemic. That is according to Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a booster dose of Pfizer's Covid vaccine for kids ages five to 11 as early as Tuesday. Now, this comes as the number of new cases among children in the U.S. grew nearly 76 percent last week from two weeks prior, that is according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. And this is the fifth consecutive week in which child cases have increased. And now, kids make up about 18 percent of all the weekly reported cases in this country.
Well, joining me now from Los Angeles is Dr. Jorge Rodriguez. He is an internal medicine specialist and viral research. Always good to have you with us, Doctor.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST & VIRAL RESEARCH: Likewise. Always grateful to be here.
CHURCH: So, let's start with the horrifying fact that the U.S. is very close to reaching one million COVID deaths. And as that happens, we're also seeing surging cases across the country. How many more deaths could we see if people don't get all their eligible shots, including boosters, and if they don't start wearing masks again in public places, is that what we need to see?
DR. RODRIGUEZ: Well, Rosemary, I think so. The number is staggering and tragic. And unfortunately, I think, so many people have become none -- I mean, numb to that number. It's more than World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War put together almost by double. And one of the greatest failures that I think we're done is that we have been too eager to drop our defenses thinking that this is over.
And it really -- and I'm not trying to be a downer, but it is far from over. As we see now, there's surges with this new variant, certain States are 25 percent higher this week than last. So, we can never, until this is gone, let our guard down.
CHURCH: Yes, very true. And of course, good news at last for kids ages five to 11, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expected to authorize a booster shot of Pfizer's COVID vaccine. A meeting is scheduled today, once authorized how soon would you expect that booster to be made available to all those kids and their parents who have been eagerly waiting for this added protection as new cases among children in the U.S. have been increasing significantly in the last five weeks or so?
DR. RODRIGUEZ: Correct. If true for course, it probably would be available within a couple of weeks of the FDA and then the CDC approving it. And I'm just going to put a plug in here because I have a one-year-old niece-in-law, we really also need to move ahead and try to vaccinate those children under five years of age. But this is great news for kids. Great news.
CHURCH: It is great for that age group. But as you say, I mean, there's a lot of parents, they can't do very much in their families --
DR. RODRIGUEZ: Correct.
CHURCH: -- with those younger kiddies who are just so vulnerable at this time. How much longer, do you think, they would be waiting to get their kiddies the shots?
DR. RODRIGUEZ: I am hoping because the information is out there. It's been presented. They need to get more data. Because nothing would be more tragic than to give an infant or a child that age something that is detrimental to them. But I am hopeful that it will be in the next three to six months. If not sooner, God willing.
CHURCH: Yes, that is hopeful. And, Doctor, the CDC has updated some of their travel guidelines. They are now encouraging, just encouraging, domestic travelers to get tested as close to their departure date as possible and to get tested again on their return home. But of course, we both know that encouraging people to do the right thing is very different to telling them that they have to do it. So, how likely is it that people will follow this advice and how necessary is it, given most people probably won't be wearing masks on the planes? Should that change, perhaps, as well?
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DR. RODRIGUEZ: I think it should change. I think it should not have changed. I have been traveling quite a bit this month, both for business and for family. And I'm not saying that you know -- well, I am saying it. I think that I'm -- I think I'm doing the right thing, you know, by wearing masks at airports. Especially at airports. And even though planes are safe when somebody is walking up and down the aisle, that is when you're at the greatest danger.
And, listen, we are too quick to want to put our defenses down and pretend because all we are doing is pretending that everything is OK. We still need to be vigilant. And I know it's tiresome. And I know that we're fatigued, but come on, we need to buckle up and really be courageous and protect ourselves and everyone around us.
CHURCH: Yes, I think people are just so sick of the masks, so sick of all of it, aren't they? They want to move one. But it's not sick of us, that's the main point here.
DR. RODRIGUEZ: Correct.
CHURCH: Just a quick question. You know, we know that some people don't ever get COVID or they haven't, so far. Others do get it, recurring. How often can you get it? I mean, could some people just keep getting it every few months, is that possible?
DR. RODRIGUEZ: You know, that's a great question and I believe it is possible. I mean, this whole theory about herd immunity that once you get it, you're never going to get it. That is not playing out. You know, there are some people -- and I'm going to knock on wood, you know, like myself who have not gotten it again -- who have never gotten it. And some people that I know have gotten it, you know, two or three times. It has to be a lot to do, you know, with genetics and also exposure.
People think that just because you survived it, you're out of the woods. And the information about long COVID that is coming out now is actually very, very frightening. So, we can't let our guard down because we really don't know enough about this and what's going to happen in the long-term for people that have gotten it.
CHURCH: Yes. Such an important advice there. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, many thanks, as always for being here. Appreciate it.
DR. RODRIGUEZ: Always a pleasure.
CHURCH: A new deal between formula maker Abbot and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could help resolve the baby formula shortage in the United States. Pending court approval, Abbott says it could resume baby formula production and have products in stores in six to eight weeks' time. Abbott closed its Michigan plant earlier this year after investigators found bacterial contamination in the plant. But the company says no formula from the plant distributed to consumers tested positive for bacteria.
U.S. President Joe Biden is sending American troops back to Somalia to counter the terror group, Al-Shabaab. The order reverses a decision by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who withdrew all the U.S. troops from the country in late 2020. A senior U.S. official tells CNN less than 500 troops will be deployed in consultation with the Somali government.
And CNN's David McKenzie joins me now from Johannesburg with more on this. Good to see you, David. So, what more are you learning about the likely role of these U.S. troops? And what is the situation on the ground in Somalia right now?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with that last part of the question, Rosemary. The situation on the ground is very volatile. And they were many gains against Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda linked militant group over the years, famously being pushed out of the capital Mogadishu in 2011, mostly by African Union forces. But I think this decision by the Biden Administration is in part and acknowledgment that the security situation continues to deteriorate and those gains are under threat.
A senior U.S. administration official telling CNN that the decision by President Trump to withdraw those special operation forces at the very end of his tenure was irrational. And what you've had over the past few years or since Biden came in, Rosemary, is soldiers and Special Ops Forces moving in and out, cycling in and out of the country for operations. They say that this is for a training advisory and equipping a mission in Somalia. And they were at pains to push that point at the Pentagon briefing.
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JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Our forces are not now nor will they be directly engaged in combat operations. The purpose here is to enable a more effective fight against Al-Shabaab by local forces which -- and Al-Shabaab has increased in their strength and poses a heightened threat.
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MCKENZIE: There have been U.S. forces and intelligence forces very close to the action though. Tragically a special operations sergeant was killed in 2019.
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And that shows the proximity of U.S. forces to the actual conflict zone when taking on Al-Shabaab. Another reason the U.S. official stressed that it's important to get boots on the ground in this advisory capacity is that Al-Shabaab still has this capacity for attacking soft targets outside of Somalia. We've seen that in Kenya. We've seen that in other neighboring countries in the past few years, including targeting Americans.
So, this is a redeployment of troops in Somalia. The bigger issue is here. And you see these pictures of U.S. forces in the '90s in Mogadishu that the U.S. and other actives have been involved for many decades in Somalia and it still hasn't fully secured that country and its instability. Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. David McKenzie joining us live from Johannesburg, many thanks.
And thank you for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news after a short break. You are watching CNN. Do stay with us.
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