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CNN This Morning

Biden Braces for Reshaped Washington; China Scraps Covid Quarantine; Packages and Travel Disruptions Continue after Massive Winter Storm; Chris Nowinski is Interviewed about Concussions; Women Are More Empathetic Than Men. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 27, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:17]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING. We're glad you're with us.

Coming up, how the recent travel disruptions are impacting more than just your New Year's plans.

Also, Ukraine wants a peace summit by February. What is Russia saying?

And who is more empathetic, men or women? I'll let you guess. What a new study is revealing.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, also today, President Biden is headed for vacation. And while he is expected to sign that just passed $1.7 trillion government spending bill at some point this week, he's also bracing for a reshaped Washington in the new year. It's going to be buzzing with questions about 2024 and his potential candidacy. And it is also going to be a Washington where Republicans have control of the House. Just a little bit, but still, control.

CNN's Phil Mattingly is joining us live from the White House.

Phil, what are you hearing for how the White House is preparing for what Washington is going to look like by the time President Biden gets back from this vacation?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think there's a very keen understanding that it's going to be a very different town, a very different political atmosphere when President Biden comes back, just one day before House Republicans are expected to vote on the speaker's race. And I think that race itself kind of gives you a window into some of the preparations that have been going on behind the scenes here at the White House and the fact that they don't actually know who's going to be the next speaker. The expectation long been Kevin McCarthy, the current Republican leader, would win that race. As he has continued to be short of votes, White House officials have been watching. Not getting involved, not trying to put their thumb on the scale in any way, shape or form, but using it as kind of an illustration moment for what a House Republican majority may look like and how they will interact with that majority.

Kaitlan, you know this building as well as anybody right now. They are planning for how they will operate in a new legislative environment, how they will operate in a new political environment. And, of course, hanging over everything is President Biden's decision about whether or not to run for re-election. But they're doing so with a very clear momentum in their view behind them in the wake of a string of legislative victories, including that $1.7 trillion spending bill and a very real sense that President Biden's theory of the case that he laid out during the campaign and into the first couple months of his time in office has essentially come to pass and that should kind of define how things operate in the next two years.

COLLINS: Yes. And we'll see what that looks like when it comes to those it investigations as well.

Phil Mattingly, thank you.

HARLOW: A really significant change in China. This morning the country is taking a big step to reopen its border for the first time in about three years. In the new year, Beijing will plan to drop its quarantine requirements for inbound international travelers. It also is removing restrictions on airline capacity and the number of flights that it let's into the country.

Let's go to CNN's Selina Wang. She joins us live in Beijing.

This is a huge deal and it follows the end of their zero Covid policy. It also follows this ending of releasing any data in terms of the numbers of Covid cases. A lot of mistrust there.

How significant is it this morning that they're lifting all of these restrictions?

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, this is huge and people are collectively breathing a sigh of relief. This was a whole slate of changes. The biggest one is that from January 8th, the country is dropping quarantine for all international arrivals. Authorities are also promising to gradually restart outbound tourism for Chinese citizens. Inbound travelers, they still need to get a 48- hour negative Covid test before boarding but they dropped all of the other super cumbersome requirements.

Now these changes, they are not only a big move towards ending China's nearly three years of isolation, but it also points to a formal end to zero Covid. And to really understand why this is such a big deal, we've got to look at the reality of what China has been. This country has been severely limiting, throughout the pandemic, who can go in and out of the country. Flights have been extremely limited and expensive. All arrivals had to go through quarantines in government facilities. I went through multiple quarantines myself, including 21 days earlier this year. And we're talking about harsh quarantines. No choice in what facility you go to, no opening your door except for food pick-ups and Covid tests.

So, all of that is now gone. And this is an emotional moment for so many people who have been waiting for three years or more to finally go home, to reunite for family -- with family and finally so many people I'm talking to say they are seeing that light at the end of the tunnel.

HARLOW: And another huge change, they have -- China has not allowed foreign-made vaccine into the country, right? So, Pfizer's vaccine, for example, Moderna. But when it comes to antivirals, treatments like Paxlovid, they're changing now?

WANG: Yes, Poppy, this is significant because it has been so hard for people to access antivirals in this country. But in a major move, Beijing has just announced it's going to start distributing Paxlovid to community health centers in the coming days.

[06:35:01]

We don't know how much is going to be given, but this is much-needed relief. Even basic medicine, like fever and cold medicine, are nearly impossible to get at drug stores across the country. Some local governments have even resorted to rationing the amount of medicine for sale, down to the exacts number of pills.

And all of this is coming as the medical system is under a huge amount of pressure. Even in the capital here in Beijing, which has some of the best medical resources in the country, doctors say they are overwhelmed with elderly patients with Covid symptoms, Poppy.

HARLOW: OK, two big changes.

Selina Wang, thanks for the reporting, live from Beijing.

COLLINS: Also new this morning, Taiwan is preparing to extend its mandatory military service requirement for all eligible men amid rising threats from neighboring China. It will jumping from four months to a year starting in 2024, which is incredibly significant for Taiwan because it had previously been shortening this required service as recently as 2018. It was going from one year to four months then. Now Taiwan's president says four months can no longer suit the needs of Taiwan's defense.

Also this morning, thousands of passenger flights have been canceled this holiday season, but what about those flights that are carrying gifts and other last-minute deliveries? Rahal Solomon and Nathanial Meyersohn are here to talk about it. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TALIA JONES, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CUSTOMER: I'm beyond frustrated and hurt because I can't see my dad.

[06:40:01]

So, yes, it's very disappointing.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: The real impact of what is going on with Southwest Airlines right now. They are canceling even more flights this morning. About 60 percent of them today, they think, amid a major meltdown that has left thousands and thousands of passengers stranded and scrambling to make other plans or missing their family in these plans altogether. And a deadly winter storm that disrupted travel for so many has also forced shipping companies to ground planes and keep trucks off the road during those critical last few days before Christmas.

Let's bringing in CNN business correspondent Rahel Solomon and CNN business reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn.

Good morning to you guys.

Why don't we start with Southwest, because I don't want to -- like, this is beyond the weather for Southwest Airlines.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I mean it sounds like it because even still today most of the cancellations are by and large Southwest, right? So if you're at home wondering, is my flight going to be canceled over the next few days, well, Southwest is saying it does expect these cancelations to continue through the next few days, which means that it could even stretch into New Year's Eve weekend.

COLLINS: And what's crazy is the audio recording we heard of them saying, you can't rebook your flight until the 31st, you can't book a new flight until January 3rd.

But I wonder is - you know, I was in airports this weekend. It was madness for a lot of them. But I wonder how this impacts not just people getting to and from certain places, but also deliveries and all of these other impacts that we're seeing?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Right. So, this is the busiest time of the year for the retail industry. And people are waiting on those last-minute Christmas gifts that they bought. But UPS, FedEx, the postal service, Amazon, they've all had major disruptions to areas where the storm impacted. UPS said yesterday that 898 zip codes in four states, there were service outages. So those Christmas gifts, they're going to wind up being New Year's gifts by the time that employees can get in there.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARLOW: What do you think is the lesson here for just going back to what Southwest is dealing with, because this is because of, and they're admitting, their own system. The system that relies largely on '90s technology of not - I'm not talking about planes (INAUDIBLE), I'm talking about communication and phones.

SOLOMON: Right.

HARLOW: To tell pilots and flight attendants where to go. Not were digital and updated, and that's why they're in this predicament.

SOLOMON: Yes, I mean I think it will be interesting to see, moving forward, if Southwest actually does update those systems. I think the lesson for us travelers is that the systems are - it becomes a domino effect, right, whether it's a system failure or a system issue, in the case of Southwest, if it's a weather issue, which is what we saw with some of the other airlines. It takes one thing, one flight, one, you know, storm and then you sort of see a domino, cascading effect across the country.

So, a few things to think about if you're a flier. I mean I've talked to Brian Kelly, who most people at home would know as the points guy who runs the point system and he says, look, if you have a really important destination that you need to get to, it's unfortunately that it takes this, but you should probably have a plan b, right? If you have frequent fliers, maybe you book a second flight as a backup, a plan b, using those. That's not something that every --

HARLOW: I mean that is so unaffordable for like --

SOLOMON: Using points. Using -- if you have it.

HARLOW: For people that have them. Yes.

SOLOMON: That's something to consider. But it's unfortunate, as I said, that you would even have to think about that.

HARLOW: Yes.

COLLINS: You know, and I think, also, this puts so much attention back on Southwest when it comes to this actual systemic part of this and whether or not this is an issue that they can fix because if you were on a Southwest flight, you heard that woman there saying she's not going to be able to see her dad for Christmas. Why would you book a Southwest flight again if this is the risk that you're taking and that's a concern.

SOLOMON: And, by the way - it's a great point. And, by the way, we've also heard from Southwest travelers through different CNN reporters over the weekend who have said because of this they're never flying Southwest again. So that's something for, obviously, company executives to think about, just the impact of this and then also what that does in terms of brand reputation, in terms of what that does in terms of customer experience.

And so, look, I think this is going to have a pretty lasting impact for Southwest for sure.

HARLOW: You want to talk about returns? You all were griping in the commercial about returning things.

MEYERSOHN: It's about returns.

COLLINS: OK, well, a lot of people got stuff for Christmas, me included. Some stuff you have to return that you can't keep and now people are going to start charging for returns.

MEYERSOHN: So, some major stores are going to start charging for returns. We love free online returns. We can buy anything, bring it back, if the color - we don't like the color or the size is too big, but the stores hate it. It winds up back on their shelves, or in their warehouses. They have to mark it down. They also have to pay for us to ship the stuff back. So you have Anthropologie, H&M, Zara, Ambercrombie, they're all going to start charging for free online returns. We returned $816 billion worth of stuff last year and stores are saying they've had enough.

SOLOMON: It's a nice perk for us but it's a nuisance for the retailers. It's costly, as Nathaniel pointed out, and they have to figure out what to do with it. Can they resell it? Do they have to discount it? So they're sort of adding some friction to the return process, which, for someone like me who hates returns to begin with, just because I'm lazy, this means I probably won't return anything now.

[06:45:03]

HARLOW: Experiences, folks.

COLLINS: But, see, I mean -

HARLOW: Take someone out to dinner, don't buy them a hat.

COLLINS: But you need something to wear to dinner.

SOLOMON: That's a great (INAUDIBLE).

COLLINS: OK. Touche.

HARLOW: You have got plenty to wear to dinner.

COLLINS: But this means I -- I actually think this means some people will buy less.

HARLOW: Yes.

COLLINS: Because if you know that it's going to be such a pain to return, I think people will buy fewer things.

HARLOW: Yes. It's very true.

SOLOMON: All right.

HARLOW: Thank you, guys.

COLLINS: Both of you, thank you so much for joining us on this.

HARLOW: Yes.

Guess who's back? Anderson and Andy, they are back for another New Year's Eve celebration. Join them live from Times Square starting this Saturday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right on CNN. Don will join as well from hopefully a warmer New Orleans.

COLLINS: All right, ahead, what's next for Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after he was placed on the NFL's concussion protocol for the second time this season.

We'll also take you live to El Paso, Texas, where border agents say they are encounters more than 1,500 migrants per day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is back in the NFL's concussion protocol for the second time this season. The team says he displaying concussion symptoms after Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers. While Dolphins' Coach Mike McDaniel couldn't pinpoint a moment in Sunday's game where Tagovailoa might have been injured, some fans were pointing to this play that you're seeing here where his head hits the turf.

[06:50:06]

That was in the first half. Tua went on to play the entire game Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCDANIEL, HEAD COACH, MIAMI DOLPHINS: I care very deeply about each and every player. I take that seriously. So, you know, I just - I just want him to get healthy and have peace of mind in that regard. And that's first and foremost. And then we'll, you know, whatever those circumstances are after, you deal with after. But it's about the human being and making sure he's squared away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Tagovailoa's last in concussion protocol after week four when he was carted off the field on a stretcher and briefly hospitalized after his head hit the turf. Four days before that game, he took a hard hit while playing Buffalo. He appeared to show concussion symptoms, but he was evaluated and stayed in the game. This is what he said the first time he addressed the media after those injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUA TAGOVAILOA, QUARTERBACK, MIAMI DOLPHINS: I remember the entire night up to the point where I got tackled. But, yes, after -- after I got tackled, I don't remember much from -- from there. Getting carted off, I don't remember that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The NFL actually updated his concussion protocols earlier this season to mandate that any player who showed possible concussion symptoms had to sit out for the remainder of the game. There was another scary moment in last night's Colts/Charger game where L.A. defensive back Derwin James was ejected after lowering his head and hitting a Colts' wide receiver. Both players now in protocol.

So, joining us this morning is Dr. Chris Nowinski, a neuroscientist who leads the Concussion Legacy Foundation, which is a non-profit that's dedicated to fighting concussions and bringing awareness around them.

And thank you so much for joining us, Chris.

I wonder just what your reaction is after seeing the fact that Tua is now back in concussion protocol again, after seeing that play yesterday, even though I should note they say that they don't know exactly which play it was where he sustained this concussion. Just what do you make of this?

CHRIS NOWINSKI, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, CONCUSSION LEGACY FOUNDATION: Well, unfortunately, it's not a surprise because each concussion will make you more likely to suffer another concussion. And his concussions were so badly mishandled earlier in the season that I suggested when he got injured in October -- September 29th that he not return this season to give his brain enough time to recover. This hit like -- it does look like that hit to the ground changed the way he played. His performance before that hit and after that hit were very different. He had three interceptions in the fourth quarter.

I -- it looks like that third concussion now has happened. And we have to worry about his future, not just, you know, as an athlete, but as a person. And we have to worry now that people are going to consider him concussion-prone when, frankly, I think the Dolphins mishandled his concussion and left him open to this very likely possibility that now happened.

COLLINS: And multiple concussion in one season is terrifying. And, you're right, it's not just about, you know, whether or not he's playing in a game, it's about Tua the person here. And so I wonder, what does the criteria look like, do you think it should be, for him to go back into play again this season?

NOWINSKI: So, we're at a very sort of dangerous place in time in terms of how we treat concussions. So, 19 years ago I suffered multiple concussions that weren't diagnosed when I was a WWE pro wrestling, and that's left me with permanent symptoms. And that is a possibility, the more concussions you get, the closer they are together. I was forced to retire from those.

These days, most doctors will say, when your symptoms have cleared and you return - you go through the concussion protocol, you're safe to return. But Tua needs a doctor who's going to say, look, I could clear you, but for your, you know, your life, your profession, I shouldn't clear you. The season should be over for him if you are looking out for his long-term health. I mean God forbid if they clear him for some reason, if he comes back and gets another concussion, when we should already be worried about potential novel (ph) mental health disorders. The studies are very clear, the more concussions you get, the more likely you are to have anxiety, depression, self-harm. These things are very real. And so I hope somebody will sit him down and say, look, you can't go back, even if you cleared the protocol, because the protocol is not amazing science. Your brain needs months to recover from this many brain injuries in a short period of time.

COLLINS: Right. It's been so many. I mean I know it's concerning for his family, his friends. RG3 was saying he doesn't think Tua should play at all again this season.

I wonder, you know, we talk about the NFL updating its concussion protocols. Do you think they are stringent enough as they are now or does it need to be changed, the fact that we saw that play that happened Sunday. Tua stayed in the game for the rest of the game. Are the protocols where you think they should be as they are right now?

NOWINSKI: Well, the protocols are sort of negotiated between the Players Association and the NFL.

[06:55:02]

So, the players are very worried that if they hit their head, and they're going to be putted out, even when they don't have concussions. And so the protocol is designed to not pull people out too aggressively. And so if you did pull everybody out who was hit in the head, you'd be pulling everybody out every game. So that's not really feasible. So, I think, you know, the players are comfortable with this.

I think the reality is that we have to consider that Tua is the most watched athlete in the country for concussions right now, and everybody missed this, the spotters, the team, the doctors, his teammates. And it's just a reminder of how hard concussions are to identify. And it's -- and I think the extrapolation should be, think about your child. If you have your child in a sport like football and you think you can spot their concussions, I promise you, you cannot. They -- most of them don't show outward signs that you'll ever be able to pick up. That's partially why we suggest parents don't let their children play tackle football until high school. We have a campaign called Stop Hitting Kids in the Head. We can't control this concussion issue as much as we think we can. And Tua is a great reminder that we need to be more focused on prevention than just spotting concussions and moving players who already have brain injuries.

COLLINS: Yes. I know this is a big concern for Tua's parents, his family, his teammates, every -- all the fans watching him.

Chris Nowinski, thank you for joining us this morning with your expertise.

NOWINSKI: Thank you.

COLLINS: All right, a new study is also maybe showing what some of us think we already know. Elizabeth Cohen explains why women may be more empathetic than men.

HARLOW: Also, I hope this isn't happening to you, but it's happening to a lot of folks across the country. A major meltdown for Southwest Airlines. More than 60 percent of their flights have already been canceled this morning. What it means for you and why it's happening, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: All right, there's a new study this morning, a large new study, that shows women are better at empathizing with other people than men. This is something that the study showed was true around the world and in 57 countries, meaning that location, cultural or family differences or influences actually didn't change things all that much.

Joining us with the information from the study is CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Elizabeth, some people may look at this and say, you know, yes, I already knew that. I didn't need a study to tell me that. But you're saying there's actual science here that shows the differences here. And I wonder what they studied, what they looked at and how they walked away with this takeaway?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kaitlan, so what they looked at is they showed people online pictures of people's eyes. Just the eyes. You couldn't see the rest of the face. Just the eyes and said, what do you think? Is this person jealous? Are they amused? Are they irritated? Are they bored? There were different choices. I took the test. So I went through all of them. And apparently they -- the researchers knew what that person was feeling in the picture, and so then they matched it up.

[07:00:03]

And here's what they found. In 36 countries, women scored significantly better than men did.