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CDC: Flu Hospitalizations Hit 10+ Year November High; WHO Renames Monkeypox To "Mpox"; Study: Eating More Flavanols May Slow Memory Loss; Hawaii's Mauna Loa Volcano Erupts For 1st Time Since 1984; Balenciaga Under Fire For Ads Featuring Kids, Bondage Bears; Online Black Friday Sales Set Record Despite Inflation; Police: Man Accused Of "Catfishing" Teen Before Killing Her Family. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 28, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

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ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Public schools in Houston are closed today because of what might be in the water. The entire city is under a boil-water notice after a purification plant lost pressure due to a power outage.

The advisory effects more than two million customers. Water for drinking, cooking, washing hands and faces, even brushing teeth should be boiled for at least two minutes.

Water pressure has been restored but the notice will likely remain until at least tomorrow.

Do you feel like just about everyone is sick right now? It's not your imagination. The CDC says November flu hospitalizations are the highest they've been in more than a decade.

I want to bring in CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

Elizabeth, we are all about to gather even more for the holidays. Is it about to get even worse?

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's possible it could get even worse. But, Ana, I haven't heard people say that they are fearful of some huge COVID surge, for example. And they're hopeful that flu will take a turn.

Let's take a look at what flu looks like now. If you look at this bar graph, the bar all the way to the right, that is hospital rates at this point in the season for this year. All the other ones it's the same point in the season but for other years.

In other words, by the end of November, we're seeing more -- higher flu hospitalization rates than we have in more than a decade.

The hope is that this is the peak. The hope is that when we get new numbers next week it will start to go down. But of course, we can't predict that -- Ana?

CABRERA: Let's pivot to another story. Monkeypox has a new name?

COHEN: It does have a new name. So the WHO says it's Mpox.

And there's an interesting reason for this, kind of a sad reason in many ways. There's a concern that monkeypox that the word engendered stigma.

I want to read to you a part of the letter that the New York City Department of Health wrote in support of getting rid of the word "monkeypox."

What the New York City Department of health said was, look, we are joining "others expressing serious concern about using the word 'monkeypox' given the stigma it may engender and the painful and racist history within which terminology like this is rooted for communities of color."

Just another note that monkeys have nothing to do with this virus. It's really a misnomer, so it's now Mpox.

CABRERA: Definitely makes sense to change the name. Monkeys have nothing to do with it.

COHEN: Yes.

CABRERA: OK. I want to talk about my favorite health story of the day. This is like the news you can use.

A new study finding eating more flavanols might slow the rate of memory response.

First, explain what flavanols are and why eating more might be beneficial in flowing cognitive decline.

COHEN: Right. So flavanols are an element in many different kinds of food. And I will get to which foods in a minute.

It's unclear why it could have a good effect on memory. But we know that for individual nutrients, they can have an effect on various things, like memory or sort of inflammation, various processes that happen in the body.

So these researchers took a look at large numbers of people, and they found not gigantic differences. It wasn't as if you ate these and, all of a sudden, you were, you know, a genius, and if you didn't eat them, you couldn't remember where you put your keys.

It's not anything like that, but it made subtle and important differences in memory.

Let's take a look at what the folks in the study ate, the flavanols they ate. A lot of them were eating kale, tomatoes, also high in flavanols, apples, broccoli and tea and wine. So you don't need to go out and get huge quantities of any of these.

And certainly drinking huge quantities of wine may have other memory problems for you.

But certainly these are healthy foods that are easy to incorporate into your diet -- Ana?

CABRERA: I had to read deeper into this story, onions, spinach, olive oil, other things that help with the memory issues because they have those flavanols.

COHEN: Yes.

CABRERA: Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen, for all of that.

Now, for the first time in nearly 40 years, the world's largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, is erupting on Hawaii's big island. Right now, lava is flowing down the mountain but we're told it's not putting anyone in danger at this point. But an ash fall advisory is in effect and shelters are open.

Let's bring in Meteorologist Tom Sater.

Tom, this volcano is so large it covers after the island. But lava isn't the concern, it's the air. Help us understand.

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. Back in 2010, a volcano in Iceland erupted, Ana. I'm sure you will remember this. It's known for shutting down the world.

The volcanic ash and the eruption shuts down air space. You can't fly in it. For a couple weeks in Europe there were no flights. We don't have that problem yet unless we have another eruption.

So just to get your bearings straight, here is Honolulu, well to the northwest. Here is the big island. Notice it's shaded in gray. That is the ash fall advisory. It's been extended until 10:00 a.m. because of the ash.

[13:35:04]

And it can be toxic. When it rains, it can be very acidic. It will damage the crops. Livestock, unfortunately, will be harmed with this.

Let's take a Google image of this. You can actually see the past lava scars here in the center. But this is the outline of Mauna Loa.

So, yes, the largest volcano on our planet woke up this morning and we do have some concerns.

Now, scientists, local scientists, volcanologists have been watching this since union and monitoring the activity. This is the caldera, all right, when you get to the peak.

I want to outline for you, this is the lava that has been building upwards. So the pressure is building. When you have that, obviously you're going to have to release that

pressure. It can be from an eruption or sometimes we have these fissures around the sides. It's like steam vents. And sometimes they can erupt and you will see a collapse on the volcano.

But notice all the burn scars. You go back to 1843, between 1843 and 1950, on average, Mauna Loa would erupt every three and a half years like clockwork. From 1850 to today, it's five years.

And the reason for that is it just went through the quietest period in history of 38 years, 1984. Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, well down to the southwest

Now, when we look at the images of this, this is the caldera infrared image. Again, they've been monitoring this. They took a flight over this morning.

Here's the satellite imagery. Look where Hilo is. That's a concern because when the volcanic ash slides over a community, it can be toxic. Authorities are saying wear a mask.

The land around volcano is the most fertile in the world so that's why farmers work this. That's a concern for farmers and livestock.

We are seeing some have flows but it's confined to the peak. Remember Kilauea, 2018, dramatic images of the lava flows coming through the communities, scorching homes, across roadways, making its way to the ocean waters. But again, this is video of that scene from this morning.

Yes, we still have pressure building, Ana. There could be another eruption. But right now, the advisory only until 10:00 locally because we haven't seen a massive eruption.

But again, when you look at the activity, this is all earthquakes and they've been watching. And it's really been picking up in intensity. You will see it get yellow with the eruption earlier this morning.

So, again, largest volcano, waking up, at least slowly, slowly --

CABRERA: Yes. And those images are really something.

I feel that way, especially after Thanksgiving. I'm still trying to make myself from my food coma.

Tom Sater, thank you so much.

Now to NASA's record-breaking mission. Today, Artemis I will reach the farthest point of its mission, 270 miles from earth. That's farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has ever gone. There's no crew on this trip, but there could be in a couple of years.

In a few days, Artemis will start heading back to earth and its set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11th, if all goes as planned. This mission, all part of NASA's plan to get astronauts back to the moon and ultimately to Mars. Teddy bears in bondage gear. One upscale fashion house is facing

serious backlash for its holiday ad campaign. Now Kim Kardashian says she's reconsidering her relationship with them.

And forget Cyber Monday. Online Black Friday sales just hit a new record.

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CABRERA: Balenciaga brand ambassador, Kim Kardashian, says she is disgusted and outraged as the luxury designer faces growing backlash over this holiday campaign. It features kids cuddling teddy bears that are dressed in bondage gear.

CNN entertainment reporter, Chloe Melas is here.

Chloe, Kim Kardashian is a mother of four. She says she's reevaluating her relationship with the brand.

But the big question is, why? Why would anyone think this might be a good idea?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Balenciaga is a massive international fashion brand. And Kim Kardashian, one of their most famous ambassadors, most famous faces.

But how did it get from an idea, photographs being taken and then actually becoming a published campaign? There are so many questions left unanswered.

But here is what Balenciaga is saying, they're saying, in part, in a statement to CNN:

"We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed this campaign from all the platforms."

They also went on, Ana, to talk about in a separate statement that they are going to be pursuing legal action against the agency and the set designers and those that put together this campaign, that they claim that they didn't have any creative vision or control over this.

In one of the photos that has gone viral, there's a Supreme Court case decision to do with child pornography, the actual documents, right, copies of it, in one of the photographs.

So what is the intention, what is the message behind it? We still don't understand.

Kim Kardashian saying she's been on the phone with executives from Balenciaga to talk about the gravity of the situation, that she's reevaluating her relationship with the brand going forward. Something that's really interesting is that the photographer, Gabriele

Galimberti, he has come out and he has said, look, I photographed the majority of these images but I had no creative control over it.

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Saying, "I am not in a position to comment on Balenciaga's choices. But I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to choose the products nor the models nor the combination of the same."

Going on to say, "As a photographer, I was only and solely requested to light the given scene, take the shots, according to my signature style.

Again, these are two --

CABRERA: So bizarre. I mean, somebody signed off on this. Somebody thought it was OK to public these pictures.

MELAS: How did this ever happen? A massive brand. And we have seen, you know, fashion houses before do things that are unsettling and come out and apologized later.

But this was one of the most extreme situations that I have seen. And they still have a lot of questions left unanswered.

CABRERA: It was the point to be provocative or was there a bigger message they were trying to send? Whoever is "they."

Thank you, Chloe Melas. I know you will keep looking for those answers. And if you get them, come on back.

OK. If the economy is barreling towards a recession, someone forgot to tell American shoppers. Despite runaway inflation, higher interest rates, rollercoaster energy prices, online Black Friday sales in the U.S. just topped a record $9 billion. And the experts say to expect another record from today's Cyber Monday shopping extravaganza.

CNN's Matt Egan is here with more on this.

Matt, is this simply because everything costs so much more or are people actually shopping more?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Ana, that's a great question because these numbers are typically not adjusted for inflation. But Adobe analytics track online prices and they say online prices have actually been falling.

So that means, if you do adjust for inflation, this does appear to be real growth. And that is good news because consumer spending is the main driver of this economy.

On Black Friday alone, as you can see, online sales topped a record $9.1 billion. That was up about 2 percent from a year ago. There's also early signs that in-store sales on Black Friday were surprisingly strong. Today, on Cyber Monday, Adobe expects Americans to spend up to another

$11.6 billion. That would be up by a healthy 8 percent from last year.

Now, one of the reasons why people are willing to spend more and more money is not just those annoying emails and text messages we're getting from every store we have ever shopped at.

It's because they are offering deep discounts. Adobe expects record discounts this holiday season, especially on Cyber Monday, somewhere between 15 percent and 30 percent off the listed price.

As far as what people are buying right now, as you might expect, a lot of people are buying toys. We've seen a big increase in spending on toys. Other categories that have been popular include apparel, jewelry, sporting goods.

Another interesting thing here, Ana, is how people are paying for their gifts. Because industry experts expect people to lean more on credit cards and to dip into savings. That is not a great sign and that is not sustainable.

People are also turning to buy now, pay later, to try to break up those big-ticket purchases into monthly installments.

CABRERA: OK. Matt Egan, thank you for that reporting.

A Virginia man, who had just been hired by law enforcement, is now accused of luring a teen girl through "catfishing" and killing her family. The latest on this stunning case when we come back.

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CABRERA: Back now with a disturbing catfishing story. Today, a teenager girl is recovering after police say this 28-year-old man from Virginia tricked her, developed a relationship with her online, got information from her and then traveled to California where he took her from her home after killing her mother and grandparents.

That man was ultimately killed in a shootout with police. Now, we're learning he was a former state trooper who was just hired by a sheriff's office in Virginia.

CNN's Camila Bernal is following all of this.

So many disturbing details. Tell us more about what happened, Camila.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ana. I'll start from the beginning.

This 20-year-old, Austin Lee Edwards, he begins this online relationship with a teenager, and that's how he's able to get her information. That's how he's able to go from Virginia all the way to Riverside, California.

Unfortunately, Riverside police saying this is not uncommon. They say especially when it comes to children and teenagers.

Here is what Riverside P.D. is saying about this.

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OFC. RYAN RAILSBACK, RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is probably a little bit more extreme where you actually have someone travel from across the country to meet up with their victim.

But this happens all the time. This is very frequent. This is just a very tragic example of how dangerous those interactions can be.

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BERNAL: Edwards gets to the house, and once he's there, he kills the teenagers' grandparents and her mother.

He then takes her outside, back to her car and someone spots them. They see that interaction and they call 911 reporting a woman in distress.

As dispatch is trying to figure all this out, they're also receiving calls about a house fire in that same neighborhood. Firefighters get to the house and they find three bodies.

They then begin the investigation and connect the dots. They say, of course, this is all because of this online relationship. So they're trying to find Edwards.

Hours later, there's a police pursuit. He loses control on his car. The teenager is able to escape.

He then points a gun at a sheriff's deputy helicopter, and that's when he gets shot by those deputies.

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Now police, though, saying this is shocking because he was a cop himself. He was hired by Virginia State Police. He began that journey in 2021, went to the academy and graduated in January of this year.

He was with the state police, and then he resigned in October. Then, in November, he applied for another job in law enforcement, this time with the Washington County Sheriff's Department.

The sheriff saying he is in shock, but that they interviewed the people beforehand who hired him, and nothing came up, and they still hired him as an officer -- Ana?

CABRERA: Unbelievable. Makes me wonder if he was able to get some of the information because he was an officer, too.

Thank you, Camila Bernal.

That does it for us. I'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. Thanks for being here. The news continues right after this.

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