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The Great Resignation: Where Have All the Workers Gone?; Study: Women Faced 87 Percent of Social Media Abuse during 2020 Olympics; $1M Plus Raised for Wrongly Convicted Man, Free After 43 Years; Statue of Thomas Jefferson Removed from New York's City Hall. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired November 26, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The coronavirus pandemic has triggered the great resignation with Americans voluntarily quitting their jobs in record numbers. So why the mass exodus at a time when wages are up, and jobs are in plentiful supply? Where have all the workers gone?

Vanessa Yurkevich joins us with more.

So, Vanessa, what have you learned?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, everyone has their own specific reason for why they quit their jobs. But largely, we found that it's moms who want to stay home with their kids, folks quitting to start their own small businesses and retirees. People retiring more now than ever. But one thing we found that they all have in common, is that if it wasn't for the pandemic they probably would not have quit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (voice-over): A simple task. Kate Santangelo picks up her seven-year-old daughter, Grace, from school, something she's waited years to do.

(on camera): Do you recall how often you were able to pick your daughter up from school?

KATE SANTANGELO, QUIT HER JOB IN APRIL: Oh, my gosh, never.

YURKEVICH: But all that changed in April. She quit her 15-year career in sales to be home full-time with her kids.

SANTANGELO: I was working endless hours and traveling a lot.

YURKEVICH: If COVID didn't happen, do you think that you still would have quit your job?

SANTANGELO: No. No, I think I'd still be there, yes, without a doubt.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): She's one of millions quitting the workforce in recent months. A record 4.4 million quits in September. It's being called the great resignation.

SANTANGELO: We have like had so much time that you know we had to be sitting in our homes and spending time with, you know, people we live with and just shifting priorities.

YURKEVICH: And she's one of 4.7 million business applications filed from January through October of this year, a 34 percent increase from the same time the period in 2019. She founded Monmouth Moms, a resource guide for parents.

SANTANGELO: It allows me to take off if I need to bring, you know, my kids to the doctor or, you know, offer more flexibility in terms of when I can even schedule appointments for them.

YURKEVICH: It's not just moms leaving the workforce. Americans are retiring in greater numbers too.

(on camera): What am I looking at behind you guys right now?

SCOTT BANKS, RETIRED EARLY: That's our RV. Yes, that's our RV. We have got in the background.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Scott and Mary Banks retired early this September at 57 and 59 respectively. And are road tripping across the country.

S. BANKS: Packed up, strapped down, ready to head down the road.

YURKEVICH: Scott quit his finance job. Mary left real estate.

S. BANKS: I said what would you think if we did it now instead of waiting three more years?

MARY BANKS, RETIRED EARLY: And I'm like I pushed all my chips in. And I'm all in.

YURKEVICH: 1.5 million Americans were on pace to retire during the pandemic. Instead that number more than doubled to 3.6 million.

S. BANKS: It was just that thought of, gosh, wouldn't it be a tragedy if we spent all this time working for our retirement and then right near the finish line you catch a horrible disease and die and never get to enjoy your retirement?

YURKEVICH: So, they capitalized on the hot housing market, sold their home and hit the road.

(on camera): How is life on the road compared to the jobs that you left behind?

S. BANKS: Gosh, I wish I could say it was tough, but, no, it's great. I do not miss at all working right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (on camera): And the Banks clearly enjoying retirement there. But the industries that saw the biggest quit rates, education, transportation, leisure and hospitality. These are industries that were suffering with labor shortages before the pandemic. And they're still feeling that very acutely. The Americans we spoke to who left those industries said that they were looking for a better pay or more work from home flexibility.

And Kaitlan, we spoke to a few Americans who quit their jobs and are just figuring it out. Figuring out what they want to do now. Clearly, Kaitlan, the pandemic has changed the way Americans want to and are willing to work. Kaitlan?

COLLINS: Yes. It's completely altered it with 4.4 million people quitting their jobs in September alone.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much for that report.

YURKEVICH: Thank you.

COLLINS: Coming up. The disgraced former head, CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, is defending herself during her trial and even admitting to some of the claims that are being made against her. What we have learned.

Plus, female athletes subjected to racism, discrimination, and of course, social media abuse. All during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We have the disturbing details on that report, next.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And we're also following breaking news out of South Africa where a heavily mutated variant has emerged. We'll have Dr. Anthony Fauci joining us on all of the developments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:50]

COLLINS: This morning, a brand-new study from World Athletics reveals disturbing details about what took place during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It found that nearly 90 percent of social media abuse was targeted toward women.

Joining us now is CNN's sports analyst and sports columnist for "USA Today," Christine Brennan.

Hi, Christine. And thank you for joining us this morning.

I think any woman who looks at these - these findings, is not really that surprised. But what did you see in there that stood out to you?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Kaitlan, basically what I read before seeing here is women's sports become more popular, more important, and more prevalent. Those who are misogynistic or sexist or racist or name - name a - whatever terrible thing it might be, they continue to want to drag women down. And they come out of the woodwork. And this is their last gasp, my guess. And let's hope it is the last gasp and it doesn't last too much longer. But this is what we're seeing. I mean when you have got people who are competing for their nation, you would think that patriotism would trump anything else, racism, sexism, et cetera.

[06:40:04]

And no. At those Tokyo Olympic games, you've got athletes, many of them black from around the world. Certainly the U.S. is a big target. And it's the women athletes who these people on Twitter and other social media outlets, they're the ones that these people are going after. It's women athletes who of course are representing their nations and themselves in terrific and beautiful ways.

KEILAR: And look, these athletes, Christine, are tough, right? We know that. They perform with blinders on, ignoring a lot of distractions. But I can't help but think that they absorb some of this. What do they tell you?

BRENNAN: Yes, Brianna. Absolutely. And of course, we have seen it discussed over and over this summer. I mean this was the summer of mental health, the fall of mental health, the year of mental health.

And Simone Biles talked about it in her own way. Naomi Osaka, and then right after the Olympic games, Sloane Stephens, U.S. Open champion, a tennis player, she went public with all the posts that she has received and how terrible the abuse has been online.

So, it takes a toll. They are tough. They are strong. They are you know -- today is the greatest day to be a woman athlete, until tomorrow. The best, most competitive time in the history of the world in terms of female athletes and male athletes too, of course.

But the women are the ones that are getting the barrage. And even as strong, as tough as they are, as they represent themselves, their nation, they win gold medals, they win championships, it does take a toll.

And what's terrific about this, to flip it, is that we're hearing about it. We're talking about it and not just from the athletes themselves like Sloane Stephens, like Naomi Osaka, like Simone Biles, but we're also hearing about it from these national and international organizations.

World Athletics runs international track and field. That is a significant step to have them doing a research and then they can basically stand behind these athletes. They can say, hey, cut it out. It's not just the singular athlete standing there fighting this. This you know fire hose of abuse. But it is now an international organization standing with them.

KEILAR: Yes. It is essential, right? It's essential that they do that.

COLLINS: They need to be defended.

KEILAR: Yes. Christine, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Christine Brennan, thank you.

BRENNAN: And to both of you. Thanks so much.

KEILAR: So, just in. A major story is developing. Ukraine's president is now alleging that Russia is plotting a coup against him as the U.S warns a Russian invasion of the country could be imminent.

COLLINS: And after 187 years, a statue of Thomas Jefferson has been removed from New York City Hall. We will speak with one of his descendants about that removal, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:46]

COLLINS: A Missouri man who spent 43 years behind bars for a triple homicide that he did not commit is waking up a millionaire this morning. 62-year-old Kevin Strickland was exonerated Tuesday morning and released from the Western Missouri Correctional Center. He appeared on "NEW DAY" the very next morning and told us that the first thing he did was visit his mother's grave to give her a proper goodbye.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN STRICKLAND, EXONERATED AFTER 43 YEARS IN PRISON: To know my mother was underneath that dirt, and I hadn't got a chance to visit with her in the last years because due to her, you know, diminishing dementia state, you know, it was -- it was -- it was -- I revisited those tears that I did when they told me I was guilty of a crime I didn't commit. So, it was -- a lot of stuff came out. We -- I -- I talked to her for a minute. I believe she could feel me, hear me, I do.

KEILAR: I understand that you want to see the ocean.

STRICKLAND: Yes. Yes. That would be a big win. Yes. I think anybody that's alive should want to see the ocean before they pass, you know, one time in life. So, yes, that's a big deal with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Well now Kevin can go to any beach that he wants to. A GoFundMe account setup by the Midwest Innocence Project has topped more than $1 million and counting with donations coming in from around the world.

KEILAR: I was stunned to learn that in Missouri if you are wrongly convicted and then of course you get out of prison the way Kevin did, you don't get restitution.

COLLINS: Yes.

KEILAR: So, he's relying on the kindness of strangers who, thank God, have come through for him. COLLINS: And I looked that up. It says only those who were exonerated through DNA testing get $50 per day of post-conviction confinement. And so, that is like part of this effort. I mean, it sounded that this why he has been able to raise this much money. But it's because he gets no financial compensation despite being wrongly -- wrongly convicted, wrongly imprisoned.

KEILAR: Yes. Look, that interview, what he said was unbelievable. What he told us here on "NEW DAY." And I would just encourage our viewers to take a look at it. I mean, what - has been the cost to Kevin Strickland. He said --- when I asked him how the night before had gone because he'd only been out of prison for really several hours.

COLLINS: Yes.

KEILAR: And he said he was restless, that he could sleep. Because he had this feeling someone was going to take him and put him back in prison. And that was - I mean that nothing -- there is no amount of money that can compensate someone.

COLLINS: Exactly. Or the moments that he missed like going to see his mother's grave. Like missing that. He missed that because of what happened. And that is something that the life moment you never get back.

KEILAR: Yes. It is terrible.

A statue of Thomas Jefferson removed earlier this week from New York City Hall after 187 years that it had stood there. This was a seven- foot statue that was transported in a wooden crate to the New York City Historical Society where it was going to -- will remain on a long-term loan. This is the latest statue to be removed of someone connected to either slavery or to the confederate era.

Thomas Jefferson of course, a complicated figure in U.S. history. He penned the phrase "all men are created equal" while also enslaving personally more than 600 people during his lifetime.

[06:50:05]

And I spoke to Gayle Jessup White who is a direct descendant of Jefferson. She's also the author of the book "Reclamation" about her search for her family's legacy. She says Jefferson's history is complex and a debate about statues is worthwhile. Here's more of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Gayle, thank you so much for being with us.

GAYLE JESSUP WHITE, DESCENDANT OF THOMAS JEFFERSON: Thank you. I'm thrilled to be here.

KEILAR: This book is awesome.

WHITE: Thank you. KEILAR: I love your personal story and I love the search for the history of your family here. And I wonder, can you just tell us a little bit about how you first learned that you were a descendant of Thomas Jefferson's.

WHITE: I would love to tell you that story. It started when I was 13 years old growing up in this city, Washington D.C. I'm the youngest of five children. My sister -- oldest sister Janice, I was just back from living in Asia where her husband was "Time" magazine correspondent covering the Vietnam war. And she was relaying to my dad a story that happened there at the embassy in Saigon, the American embassy.

There was a gathering. It was a dinner. A dinner party, a small dinner party. And this is in the late '60s. Everyone at that party was white with the exception of my sister and her husband. And everyone there was talking about their ancestry, their lineage. As if they were royalty.

And my sister was very offended by this because after all we fought a war to separate ourselves from the monarchy. And she decided she was going to one-up everybody on that table. And she said to them, I'm a descendant of Thomas Jefferson.

Well, keep in mind, this is the 1960s. The subjects like that were quite taboo. She said that the room went dead silent. You could only hear the China and the silver touching. And this is the story I heard my sister shared with my dad when I was 13 years old. And I was frankly shocked. I had never heard that before.

KEILAR: So, you -- what did it feel like when you discovered that you were a descendant of Thomas Jefferson?

WHITE: I could not imagine how Jefferson who was my favorite president, having written the Declaration of Independence, could be my ancestor. So, that started me on a lifelong pursuit to figure out how that could be possible.

Now, back in that era, we were not taught that the founders enslaved people. I did not know that Jefferson owned people. So, I could not have imagined how that could have been possible. I made a mission. It really became an obsession for me to find out that the ties were.

I want people to walk away with that knowledge to know that enslaved people helped build the United States of America. I'm a black people to see that my family, their own families. I am blessed to know my history because Thomas Jefferson has had unending interest of the public for 200 -- more than 200 years. He kept copious notes. So, there's so much there for me to have access to.

Most black Americans don't have that. They hit this wall at that first 1870 census after the civil war when their families were emancipated. But I can go far beyond that. My family is no different from any other black family in America. We represent the best of America. And I would like other people to see in us who they are and who their families were. KEILAR: What is the interaction like between the black descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings and also the white descendants of Thomas Jefferson?

WHITE: Well, yes, there is nine written about it in the book. A poet who helped me uncover the DNA and find those ties. And that has been a rewarding relationship in many ways. There are some members of a group called the Monticello Association. And those have been rewarding relationships as well.

So, we have done some discovery. We call each other cousin. And it's been nice. I also feel a great deal of comfort having found my black family which we lost when my dad's family died. Most of his - his sisters died. I have discovered them. I have found them. We have created relationships together that are extremely rewarding. And I love them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And up next, some more on the breaking news out of South Africa. What we are learning about the new variant that is triggering a wave of travel restrictions.

COLLINS: And singer Bryan Adams has been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 for what he says is the second time in a month.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:58:45]

COLLINS: A costly penalty has doomed the Dallas Cowboys in an overtime loss to the Raiders on Thanksgiving Day.

Coy Wire has this morning's "Bleacher Report."

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kaitlan.

Cowboys and Raiders, not very thankful for each other this holiday. Multiple scuffles in this one. Tempers reaching a boiling point in the third quarter. Raiders punting. Roderick Teamer and Cowboys rookie Kelvin Joseph giving each other the business. Both get ejected.

And here comes some other players pouring in. Like house guests fighting to get some of those Thanksgiving leftovers to take home.

Side judge Tom Hill caught some men to scrum to, that is not cranberry sauce on his chin.

28 penalties in this game. None bigger though than this pass interference called against Dallas in overtime.

Anthony Brown all up in Zay Jones chest as he was going up for a pass. Brown's fourth defensive PI in the game.

It's a 33-yard penalty that puts Raiders Daniel Carlson in position to kick the game winner, and he does. That ends a three-game losing streak for Vegas.

And the match is back. It's the fifth iteration of the charity golf event this afternoon. And this time, it features one of the biggest rivalries in the game. Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau taking their long running feud to Vegas for a 12-hole exhibition match.

Two-time winner of the match, Phil Mickelson, spoke with the guys ahead of the showdown.