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New Day

Archeologists Unearth Mummy in Peru; Travelers Set New Record; Deaf Football Team Plays for Championship; First Lady Announces White House Holiday Theme. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 29, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ordinary citizen.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA: I'm Patrick Oppmann in Havana, Cuba, following discovery by archaeologists of a mummy in Peru. The mummy is believed to be between 800 and 1,200 years old. It was found tied with ropes and with its hands covering its face. What is believed by researchers to be a common southern Peruvian funeral burial customs. Now these researchers will be carrying out more specialized testing, including carbon dating to try and narrow down when exactly this person lived and more details about their identity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Patrick Oppmann.

So, Matthew McConaughey has made a major career decision, what he says about a possible run for governor in Texas.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And the all-deaf football team defying the odds and playing for a championship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:39]

KEILAR: Time now for "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."

The entire planet facing two weeks of uncertainty. That's how long scientists think they need to determine whether the omicron variant is resistant to the current Covid vaccines. Dr. Fauci saying he believes the vaccines will provide at least some protection.

BERMAN: The sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell begins today in New York with jury selection. Maxwell is accused of grooming girls for sex with her former partner, the late Jeffrey Epstein. He died in jail two years ago. She's pleaded not guilty to all charges.

KEILAR: And a 26-year-old man is found alive inside the landing gear area of an American Airlines plane at Miami International Airport on Saturday. The flight was traveling from Guatemala to Miami and U.S. Customs says he's been taken to a local hospital for assessment.

BERMAN: Matthew McConaughey has announced he is not running for governor of Texas. In a video message on Twitter he says he will instead focus on the private sector. McConaughey is not ruling out a future bid for office, calling it a humbling and inspiring path to ponder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BENNETT (singing): I left my heart in San Francisco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The legendary Tony Bennett in a moving final concert. Last night, CBS gave viewers a chance to see the TV special filmed in August, "One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga." Bennett and his family have revealed he is suffering from Alzheimer's.

BERMAN: He sounds great.

So, those are the "5 Things to Know for Your New Day." More on these stories all day on CNN and cnn.com. And don't forget to download the "5 Things" podcast every morning. Go to cnn.com/5things.

KEILAR: The Transportation Security Administration reports air travel hit a new pandemic high as people return from the Thanksgiving holiday. The agency screened more than 2.4 million people Sunday, that is more than double the number that they saw on that same day last year.

CNN's Pete Muntean live at Reagan National Airport with more.

That is a lot of people and probably telling us something about what the Christmastime is going to look like as well.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, true, Brianna, you know, these numbers are so huge. And what's so interesting is that there were no major issues at the airline like were feared going into this holiday.

Just look at these numbers, 2.45 million people screened at airports across the country just yesterday. That is a new record of the pandemic. The previous record set the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, that's about 85 percent of where we were back in 2019 when 2.88 million people were screened the Sunday after Thanksgiving. So these numbers just keep going up and up. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, 2019, that is the all-time air travel record. All of this means about 20 million people in total traveled on U.S. airlines in the 10 days around Thanksgiving.

There was a lot of concern that airlines couldn't handle this big onslaught of people. Remember, airlines got a lot smaller during the pandemic. There were major scheduled meltdowns in October at American and Southwest Airlines, but they coughed up extra money for their flight crews, paying time and a half to flight attendants. There were no major weather issues over the holiday weekend as well. So all of this amounts to only about 83 cancellations according to Flight Aware nationwide.

Now, all of the attention turns to the winter holidays and the omicron's impact on all of this. We know that travel restrictions just went into place today for those coming into the U.S. from South Africa and seven other countries. So we'll have to wait and see how that plays out, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, we should know more here in the coming couple of weeks.

Pete, thank you so much for that report.

President Biden addressing the nation this morning on the new coronavirus variant. We'll have live coverage right here on CNN.

BERMAN: And the deaf football team that is inspiring fans and trouncing opponents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:55]

BERMAN: Time now for "The Good Stuff." This is beyond good. Yes, there was some good football games this weekend, including Alabama's win in four overtimes and Michigan's historic win against rival Ohio State. But perhaps no game as meaningful and special as the one that Nick Watt went to in California.

And Nick joins us now.

Nick, this is just a lovely story.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, John. I mean this is a team entirely made up of deaf students, their coaching staff entirely deaf, and this was the finale to really what has already been an extraordinary season for these guys. This was the championship game of the southern California high school eight-man football league, eight- man because these schools are small.

This school is the California School for the Deaf in Riverside and the team is the Cubs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice over): The Cubs in their school 68-year history have never ever not even once made it to a championship game. And here they are.

[08:45:07] Their opponents, Faith Baptist, have won this southern California championship about a dozen times in their history. They're good.

Tickets for this blockbuster game sold out in 45 minutes. They had to move it to a nearby high school, bigger bleachers, to seat the growing fan base. Many of them are standing, a lot.

JUSTINE GUADARRAMA, PARENT: Well, today is the biggest crowd I've ever seen. It is just -- because you have not only people that come to this school, but you have other deaf people that come from different schools because whenever there's a deaf event, people just want to be there.

WATT: Now, we caught up with the Cubs for the midweek team talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great job. Fifteen tackles.

WATT: And practice. The voice you'll hear is a sign language interpreter.

ENOS ZORNOZA, WIDE RECEIVER/CORNERBACK (through translator): We're making history here. And if we do lose, I'm still incredibly proud of this team. If we win the championship game, that would just be that much more awesome.

WATT: Here is the already awesome back story. The CSDR Cubs, in the past, lost a lot.

JORY VALENCIA, WIDE RECEIVER/CORNERBACK (through translator): The team stunk, quite honestly. CSDR were often viewed as kind of the laughing stock, right. We're always going to have these lousy seasons. But this has not been the case this season.

WATT: First game, a 68-0 victory. Yep, that's a 6. This is not a well- funded fancy pants program.

WATT (on camera): Why are you guys doing so well? What's the secret?

ZORNOZA: We practiced strong. We work together. We've got this sense of brotherhood amongst us. We're a family.

WATT (voice over): Next up, the drubbing and then a shellacking. Their season so far? 12-0.

WATT (on camera): You're not just a good deaf football team. You're a good football team.

KEITH ADAMS, HEAD COACH (through translator): Exactly right. Exactly right. We've played against other good teams, let me say, but we just keep beating them.

WATT (voice over): Back at the championship game, second quarter, the Cubs are down 28-0. Oh, boy.

AMELIA ORTIZ, PARENT (through translator): Typically for our games, we are winning by a pretty, you know, 20, 30-point margin by halftime, and this is definitely a very different vibe.

WATT: And then, hook and ladder play sparks a startling rally. Suddenly it's 28-22. The crowd's going nuts. But how do the players feed off that that? With their eyes.

ZORNOZA: During your breaks, during halftime you look around, they're cheering, their hands are waving in the air. You see their energy and that's just -- that feels so good.

WATT: The Cubs average winning margin this season, nearly 50 points.

WATT (on camera): Have you yourself scored any touchdowns this year?

VALENCIA: More than 15. I lost count.

WATT: Nice.

WATT (voice over): These kids were already confident. They didn't need this historic run to prove their worth in the world, but some opponents underestimated them. Badly.

ZORNOZA: I think they do dismiss us oftentimes. They think we're a deaf school, no big deal. And I think it's a lesson learned for them that deaf people out there in other programs can do better than they are doing.

WATT: Back to that championship game, halftime, Valencia touchdown king is iced, he's out. Caden Adams (ph) is limping. He's the coach's son, by the way. And his brother, starting quarterback Trevon (ph), takes a hit. His night is over. The limping Caden has to take his spot.

Now, to most of us, a football game sounds like this. For these kids, well, turn off the sound. That could be a disadvantage. They make it an advantage.

ZORNOZA: During the game we're able to throw up plays -- exact plays hearing teams don't understand what our plays are, what they're -- what's being shared on the field.

ADAMS: Tree. That's a part of their play is tree. Watch the ball. Watch the ball.

This is our first language. This is our native language. We're using our native language on the field.

VALENCIA: Visual acuity is more alert than your hearing opponents typically and so that -- we use that as an advantage, yes.

WATT: To go from laughing stock to media darlings, moving merch.

[08:50:05]

ADAMS: Now we've got TV producers, movie producers reaching out to us. It's just -- it's endless.

VALENCIA: Yes, it definitely feels like we've reached celebrity status.

GUADARRAMA: I don't think the media and everything is getting to their head. They're just focused on the game.

WATT: But with two key Cub stars sidelined, those burly Faith Baptist boys proved just too much. A second half blowout. The Cubs, destroyed. They weren't in this for a heartwarming story about deaf kids against the odds. They were in this to win.

KAVEH ANGOORANI, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR (through translator): And I'm very proud. They defeated us, yes, but they've taught us a lesson. That means that the expectation is going to be higher next year.

WATT: And, get this, there were only two seniors on this Cubs team. Next year, maybe, just maybe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: And you saw the coaches there, clearly so proud of their team at the end. But during that little huddle, they also started talking about next season. One of the coaches says, I want you guys to be benching 200 pounds before next season begins. And the coach, the head coach there, called this just a glitch in the Cubs' story.

Guys.

BERMAN: All because of the hook and ladder. The comeback because of the hook and ladder.

WATT: Yes.

BERMAN: What a wonderful story, Nick. And, also, you're such a brilliant storyteller. I just hope that they have taken a moment to be proud of themselves for what they accomplished.

WATT: I'm sure they will. But listen, you know, as I said at the end of that story, they weren't in this for the heartwarming story. They were in this as football players to win. The fact that they were deaf, the fact that they are deaf is just an aside. And there's another really interesting thing one of the parents told me after the game. She said, you know, we heard Enos, one of the players there, talking about the brotherhood, the family that this team's created.

One of the mothers said, you know, sometimes if a child is born deaf and the parents are not deaf and the parents don't speak American sign language, can't do American sign language, then that child can feel slightly isolated. They go to a deaf school. They join a deaf football team and that then really does become so much more of a family, because they can communicate so freely with each other as you and I do through speaking because we are hearing people. I mean this was beautiful. The school was inspired. The community was inspired as one of the mothers said. People -- deaf people were coming from other schools around the state, even from out of state to watch this game. It meant so much for them as deaf footballers but also as footballers.

Guys. KEILAR: Look, and, Nick, in any other state, this would be a state championship game, right? Because California is just so huge, this may be the southern section, but this is representing such a vast area. It's a huge accomplishment.

WATT: Totally. In fact, there was some talk of that after the game. We were like, listen, I mean this is still huge. I mean this is southern California. But, yes, California has 40 million people.

I mean, and, again, remember, in 68 years, they've never even made it to the championship game. Now, the coach said at the start of this season he knew that this was a good bunch of players. He didn't know quite how good they were. And it is extraordinary also that there were only two seniors on the team, Jory Valencia, one of the stars there, who we saw scoring a touchdown, he's a sophomore. He's 6'2" already. And, you know, it was interesting, when the game started and we saw the Faith Baptist team come on, you could see -- I mean they were big. I would imagine, I don't know, I'm not casting any aspersions, but a lot of them were seniors.

So, this team that has played together a lot, you know, for many years as they've come up through the grades, you know, next year they really hope that they can take it all the way.

And, I don't know, I mean, I certainly would not bet against them.

BERMAN: Sign me up for season tickets.

WATT: Yes.

BERMAN: I want to be there for this. What a wonderful story. The part that got me was when they described looking into the crowd and seeing everyone cheering with their arms raised, and how much that meant. So that's what we're doing now, Nick, we're standing up and cheering for them so they can see it.

WATT: We are.

BERMAN: Thank you so much for that wonderful story.

WATT: Thanks, guys.

BERMAN: So what do scientists know so far about the new coronavirus variant that has already led to these new travel bans? We have key CNN coverage ahead.

KEILAR: And just in to CNN, the first lady revealing this year's holiday theme at the White House. We'll have more on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:58:27]

BERMAN: So, just in to CNN, First Lady Jill Biden revealing the White House holiday theme.

CNN's Kate Bennett live at the White House.

Kate, what is it?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The theme is Gifts from the Heart, John. And this year Jill Biden wanted to reflect unity, the things that bring us together. Lots of the trees had nods to first responders, front line workers, families, basically giving thanks for the things that she feels the pandemic has taken away, things people need to remember.

Jill Biden is going to thank the volunteers, the hundred or so volunteers who came to decorate the White House over the past week later this afternoon in person. But basically it felt like maybe a more subdued White House holiday decoration than in years past. Of course we are coming out of this pandemic, we hope, and the Bidens wanted to reflect that thankfulness that they're feeling, the gratitude.

There weren't the -- there will be no controversial red trees, let's put it that way. There's nothing in the decorations that's going to really cause a massive amount of conversation. But Jill Biden was very much involved. She picked the theme. She picked some of the ornaments. She decided she wanted to hang stockings with her grandkids' names on the hearth in the state dining room. She even placed the final person in front of the ginger bread setting in front of a school house. It was a teacher. Of course she's a teacher. So she's very hands-on, very involved.

The White House still closed to visitors right now but we're anticipating some announcements about that, perhaps opening up for visitors to see these holiday decorations.

Back to you guys.

KEILAR: That would be amazing.

[09:00:00]

Do we know anything about the ornaments? I know sometimes they're really fun or they come from particular kids.

BENNETT: Yes, I mean, they're made from all over. There are thousands of ornaments