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Twin Threats: COVID, Flu Cases Rise Sharply Across U.S.; More Hurricane-Force Winds Reported Than Ever Before; Professional Sports Teams Grapple with COVID Outbreaks; Jacksonville Coach Fired 13 Games Into 5-Year Deal; Is Biden's 'Build Back Better' Plan Dead Until 2022?; Federal Reserve to Slow Stimulus, Hike Rates. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired December 16, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Thursday, December 16. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar.

[05:59:49]

And this morning the dilemma facing colleges and, really, the country as coronavirus cases shoot up. And cases are definitely shooting up, rising a lot.

Cornell University encapsulates the situation. About 1,000 new cases reported on campus. But the university president reports they are seeing no severe cases among students, none. So what's the most important medical headline here? A thousand new cases or no severe cases?

And what's the right reaction? Cornell, Princeton, Middlebury all moving fall semester final exams online. New York University says it strongly encourages students to take their finals from home, as well. Is that necessary with almost no severe cases?

Several schools have issued booster shot requirements in recent weeks, and others say they are thinking about it.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: This as both flu and COVID-19 cases are on the rise, which has led growing concern that health systems may be overwhelmed this winter.

Coronavirus hospitalizations up 43 percent from a month ago. And the CDC is projecting that virus deaths will increase over the next four weeks.

However, the number of fully vaccinated Americans surpassed 200 million earlier this month, just over 60 percent of the population. And in the past week, the doses being administered jumped 35 percent from the week before.

But there are still millions who have not received a single dose, and many of them insist they're not going to.

BERMAN: Right to CNN's Jacqueline Howard with the latest on what we're seeing around the country -- Jacqueline. JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: John, yes, health

officials say that they're concerned about what we could see this winter. They're concerned about a trio of illness.

So we already have a Delta wave right now. The Delta variant causes the majority of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

And then we have the emergence of the Omicron variant. And then we are seeing an increase in flu cases. So Delta, Omicron, flu, that's where the concern is right now.

When you look at the CDC's latest weekly flu report, the agency notes that activity remains low nationally but continues to increase. There is this slow and steady increase in flu cases.

The report says most cases are among young people, ages 5 to 24. But there has been an increase among adults.

And then the CDC emphasizes that the best way to protect yourself is to get your flu shot if you haven't already. So that's where we are with flu.

But when you look at COVID, we're also seeing an increase in cases. Here's Dr. Anthony Fauci on how many new COVID cases the U.S. records each day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We are already in a Delta surge. I mean, the cases are going up. We have an average of about 117,000 cases. We have an increase in the percentage of hospitalizations. Deaths still over a thousand. And then you have, looking over your shoulder, the Omicron variant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: So, John, you hear there the Omicron variant is looking over our shoulder. And that's why health officials emphasize get your COVID shot if you haven't already, get your flu shot if you haven't already.

And there is concern about what we could see this January. Do we have testing capacity in place? Could we see overwhelmed health systems? So there's a lot of concern right now. And John, as they say, winter is coming -- John.

BERMAN: Where have I heard that before? Jacqueline Howard, thank you very much for that.

We're going to speak live with the former surgeon general in moments about what you should do and what the reasonable reactions are to this.

KEILAR: Yes. Winter may be coming, but you wouldn't know it from looking from some of the severe weather that we're seeing. Unprecedented weather, sparking tornadoes, hurricane-force winds,

fires in never-before-seen forecasts. A major cause is this record December heat. It's creating severe weather threats all across central -- the central states. So let's check in with Chad Myers.

This is highly unusual, and we're keeping our eye on it.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I grew up in Nebraska, and there aren't tornados in Nebraska in December. There's snow and ice storms.

But yesterday, Nebraska, Iowa, parts of Minnesota, 20 reports of tornados and well over 300 reports of severe wind.

More than 50 reports of hurricane-force gusts. Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa. And it's still blowing out there. Four hundred and eighty-thousand customers still without power because of these tornadoes, but mainly because of the wind gusts.

Winds will still have wind gusts, maybe 60 or 70 miles per hour in that red zone. And then eventually, we'll start to move this storm to the east and we'll warm up parts of the East Coast today but then spread some snow into parts of New England. That's the word I should be using, not tornados in December. Some snow coming into New England. Even possibly as close to New York City as you could probably get. Just a few miles north of there, as the storm rolls on by.

But really, most of the accumulation will be New England, and then the rain showers down near across the south for later on this week -- Brianna.

KEILAR: So just how unusual is this, Chad, and what are your concerns about, you know, what we should be expecting ahead?

[06:05:00]

MYERS: You know, the normal number of tornados in December, the average number is 23. We've already had more than 100 this December. And it's mainly because of, you know, the climate is warming.

But it's also because we're in a La Nina pattern out there. And that La Nina brings the Jet Stream down through the Rockies, and then back up through here. And when you get that dip in the Jet Stream like that, that's when you run the risk of having tornados, whether it's spring, summer, fall of now, apparently, whether it's winter. Almost.

KEILAR: All right, Chad. Thank you so much for that. Chad Myers.

Let's go back now to COVID. It is roaring back in pro sports. The NFL says it's seeing a substantial increase in positive cases. One team, the Cleveland Browns, has 18 players on reserve COVID-19 lists, and that includes the quarterback, Baker Mayfield. The head coach, Kevin Stefanski, also testing positive.

And this is happening as around 100 players have tested positive this week alone. Now, we should emphasize that most of these cases are asymptomatic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ALLEN SILLS, NFL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: As you know, we have about twice as many staff as we do players who are testing. And so typically, we've run a higher ratio of staff cases to player cases. Over the past four to five days, we've seen that ratio inverted. So far more players affected than staff. Most importantly, a very, very large percentage of asymptomatic or mild illness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now is Dr. Jerome Adams, former general surgeon under President Trump. He has been meeting with doctors who are advising the NFL, as well as other pro sports leagues.

And you know, Doctor, part of the reason they're getting your input is because this isn't the COVID of a year ago when everyone was unvaccinated. So how should they be handling this right now in pro sports and, honestly, other environments, as well?

DR. JEROME ADAMS, FORMER U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Well, as you mentioned, other environments should be paying attention to what's going on in pro sports. They're really a window into community spread.

And kudos to the sports leagues, because they are actually doing a fantastic job of surveillance testing. In the rest of the country, we're driving a car down a dark road with the headlights off while looking in the rear-view mirror. And we hit a bump and we say, what was that? That's our surveillance system right now for COVID.

The NFL is testing regularly. The NBA is testing regularly. These sports teams are picking up these cases because they are testing regularly.

And what you're seeing is breakthrough cases resulting as a result of this virus changing and as a result of waning immunity. So I actually really think it's important for people to understand the CDC, the White House, many scientists have said this, most doctors have said this, need to change the definition of fully vaccinated, especially for J&J.

In the NFL and the NBA and these sports leagues, we have a higher proportion of J&J recipients than anywhere. And it's a good vaccine, but it needs to be more than one dose. And you're seeing these breakthrough cases, largely because you've got a lot of J&J folks who are well out from their first dose.

And they're mostly asymptomatic and mild, but they still can cause an outbreak.

BERMAN: Asymptomatic and mild. And that's what I want to focus on here for a second. Because it's not just the case in the sports leagues. But Cornell university, right, has about a thousand new cases. You're seeing these outbreaks on campuses. But at Cornell, the president put out a letter saying they're seeing

no severe illness. So Dr. Adams, how does society need to look at this going forward?

Because these colleges are shutting down with no severe cases. I know that a thousand cases is a lot of cases, but there are no severe cases. Is this going to be the type of thing where schools are just going to keep shutting down, and shutting down and shutting down, or does there need to be a new way to get through this?

ADAMS: Well, I hope not. What we need is a well-articulated long strategy. We can't keep chasing variants forever.

What I think will happen, is that after everyone gets their third shot -- and this always should have been looked at as three-dose series for mRNA, two dose for Johnson and Johnson -- that we will settle into a yearly pattern, the same as we do for flu.

We'll look and we'll say, OK, how has this changed in the last year, and do we need to issue a new vaccine for this year?

I think that we've gotten to the point where enough people have had the opportunity to be vaccinated that you're going to see some tradeoffs, and we're just going to say that we'll have to accept some spread in between the times that we issue that yearly update.

But the real fear -- and I want people to understand this -- is we still have under 5 who can't get vaccinate. We still have immunocompromised people. And so now the government is trying to do the tradeoff on protecting the unvaccinated and the immunocompromised, versus what appears to be a shifting towards milder spread. And mild disease, it can still be deadly if it's much more contagious. That's what we're worried about with Omicron, particularly with hospitals at their wits' end, at capacity.

KEILAR: Yes. Look, I have a 3-year-old. And I sort of am watching everyone kind of get back to normal. And we're trying the best we can, but we are not all vaccinated in our Household, so we're dealing with that.

You know, I wonder as you talk about getting ready to act with COVID as if it's endemic like the flu. What do schools need to be doing? What should sporting leagues be doing as they are seeing people infected with milder versions? How do they need to be prepared?

[06:10:17]

Because we're seeing, for instance, with schools, Doctor, they're really not. They don't know how to isolate people. They don't have the resources. A lot of them don't have the plans.

ADAMS: Well, that's exactly it. We need to -- to start thinking about this as endemic.

And you're hearing the politicians start to get there. I said before, our administration wanted to declare victory over the virus. The Biden administration wanted to declare victory over the virus. The virus has won. It's going to be here for a while. But we have the tools to live with it.

And we need a plan for surveillance testing so that we can actually -- we need a plan to be able to utilize these oral antivirals, these wonderful drugs that can help us. But they can't help us if we can't identify disease.

We need to change the definition of fully vaccinated to three doses so that people can all get to where they need to be, baseline. And we need to help people understand, it's going to be like the flu shot, most likely, for a while. Once every year, you're probably going to need an update until we can get the world to a base line level of immunity level from infection or from a -- or from a combination of prior infection and vaccinations.

BERMAN: It does really seem that there are some easy things that people can do to learn to live with this going forward. That would be get vaccinated, get boosted, wear masks.

Which is why it is so startling to hear now airline executives, of all people, suggesting maybe we don't need these masks after all. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY KELLY, CEO, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: I think the case is very strong that masks don't add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment. It's very safe and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Parker.

DOUG PARKER, CEO, AMERICAN AIRLINES: I concur. The aircraft is the safest place you can be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So it's American and southwest CEOs saying maybe we don't need masks after all on these airplanes, Dr. Adams.

ADAMS: John, I knew you were going to play that clip. And I've got to tell you, there's no other way I can put my feelings about that than it was irresponsible. It was irresponsible. It was reckless.

But I want people to understand how that happened. I've testified before Congress a lot. And there's a lot of theater. They're trying to set you up to say what you want to say. You come in with your talking points.

And the airlines' talking points, appropriately, had been that the cabin is one of the safest places you can be with the air exchange.

But what they didn't tell you is these were on mannequin who weren't pulling off their masks to eat. They were considering people on a plane who aren't by choice unvaccinated. You've got people under 5 who are unvaccinated.

And we also need to talk about the fact that many of these airlines aren't running these filters while you're sitting there on the ground. So you could be on the plane for half the time without the filters running.

And so when you're on a plane, you need to wear a mask. The Southwest CEO, the American Airlines CEO need to come out and say, Look, if you want to travel, then we need to have these mask mandates on planes, because they create a safe environment. They create confidence.

And these folks are making record money right now because of these mask mandates.

I was just -- I was disgusted when I heard that, but I understood how they were set up, how they were led into making these comments. And they need to be more careful next time.

KEILAR: Look, I'm so glad that you could react to that, because it causes a lot of confusion for people. Dr. Adams, great to have you. Thanks so much.

ADAMS: Thank you. Have a great day. Get your booster. Get your flu shot.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, Urban Meyer out as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, fired after less than one season. Coy Wire here with the latest.

Coy, this doesn't even scratch the surface of this scandal-plagued, controversy-ridden season that he's had -- Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Yes. Yes, absolutely right, John. Urban Meyer's tumultuous tenure at the NFL is over after just 13 games. Two wins.

Early this morning, John, Jaguar's owner Shad Khan confirming that he has fired the former Florida and Ohio State coach just 11 months into a five-year deal.

In a statement, Khan wrote, quote, "After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban's tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone. Regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen," unquote.

Now, this move comes just hours after former Jags kicker Josh Lambo told "The Tampa Bay Times" that he was kicked by Meyer while doing warmups before the team's final preseason game.

Back in October, video emerged of a woman getting extremely close to the married Meyer at a bar in Columbus, Ohio, after a Thursday-night loss in Cincinnati. Meyer apologized to the team.

Of course, later in the season, said that Meyer had arguments with players and coaches, suggesting to his assistants during a staff meeting that they're losers while he is a winner.

[06:15:05]

Offensive coordinator Darryl Bevell will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, beginning with Sunday's game against the Texans.

John, it's the first time a first-year NFL coach has not finished a season since 2007. Doesn't happen often.

BERMAN: How would you like to be that owner? Brings in a new coach for your franchise quarterback, Trevor Lawrence here. This is the way you introduce the guy you want to be quarterback for the next 10, 15 years, with a coach like this, a situation like this, Coy.

WIRE: Yes, look, and he had an incredible career in his college years, we know both at Florida and Ohio state. So there was a lot of excitement heading into the season with the new star quarterback, Trevor Lawrence.

But Lawrence said himself yesterday, John, we can't always be in the headlines. They are, and for all the wrong reasons.

BERMAN: Coy wire, thank you very much.

WIRE: Yes.

BERMAN: President Biden's social spending plan in political peril. Why Democrats are shifting their focus and what they're looking at now.

Plus, "We didn't know what the hell we were doing." Eric Trump on Russian collusion.

KEILAR: And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejecting calls to ban lawmakers and their spouses from trading stocks, from trading stocks of individual companies. Her stance now putting her at odds with progressives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:08]

KEILAR: The Build Back Better bill is stalled for the rest of the year, but is it dead? The cornerstone of President Biden's agenda will be punted to 2022 after Senate Democrats made clear there wouldn't be enough votes to pass it.

The major hold-out, of course, Senator Joe Manchin. He remains opposed to key parts of the bill, including the expanded child tax credit.

Sunlen Serfaty is live for us on Capitol Hill. So just give us a sense, Sunlen, of where this bill stands and, honestly, if this bill stands.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Things right now, Brianna, are completely at a standstill up here on Capitol Hill. Democrats are very likely going to miss that self-imposed Christmas deadline that they set up for themselves to get this bill through, punting this into the new year, very likely.

Now, the roadblock remains Senator Joe Manchin. He talked with President Biden multiple times this week. And sources telling CNN the two are still very far apart in these negotiations.

Now, the key sticking point is over the child tax credit. Manchin, as he has always insisted, wants to keep this bill at a total price tag of $1.75 trillion. So he's objecting to just a one-year extension of the child tax credit.

He says that if Democrats want to go ahead and extend it, they should actually extend it over the course of 10 years and factor in all of that money into the total cost of the bill.

That is something that is not going to happen, because that would completely blow up the price tag of the bill. Senator Manchin is arguing, then, Well, take it out completely. And that is, of course, a nonstarter with President Biden and Democrats up here on the Hill.

Here's more of Senator Manchin explaining his current negotiating position leaving the Hill last night to reporters and CNN's Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I want to make sure that we're up front and transparent with the public.

MANU RAJU, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But you don't believe that the child tax credit could fit -- if it does? It could blow up the price tag of this bill?

MANCHIN: Well, that's a big one. That's a big one. It really is. Well, the president, whenever he makes a decision, I'm going to try to work with him. I'm going to try to work with him. I really am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now, sources up here on the Hill tell CNN that negotiations do continue even as this is still at a standstill.

And of course, the child tax credit is set to expire later this month.

Democrats are pivoting to talking about voting rights reform. And Senator Schumer, he has stacked the calendar with nomination votes instead. Another big signal, Brianna, now that likely, this will all be pushed into the new year.

KEILAR: Into the election year. I mean, talking about getting rid of the child tax credit in an election year. And the fact that the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed, and this one is in jeopardy. I know progressives are going to be very upset about this.

Sunlen, thank you so much for your report from the Hill. BERMAN: All right. This morning, the story that will likely have the

biggest impact on your life. A dramatic shift for the Federal Reserve.

CNN's chief business correspondent, Christine Romans here.

Romans, you basically cover these things that will have the biggest impact on your life.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Look, this is the Fed. This is interest rates. And this is the support of the American economy. And Powell, the Fed chief, pivoting here to inflation fighting mode from rescuing the COVID economy mode.

We're in a totally new phase here. And the Fed chief yesterday essentially saying they're going to ramp up their taper. They're going to taper faster, get their stimulus out of the system, stimulus that some worry has been actually causing the economy, potentially, to overheat, and they're going to start raising interest rates next year. Maybe three-quarter point rate increases next year. Why?

Well, inflation is a problem. And you can see. I'm going to show you how inflation is felt across the economy. The Fed chief now saying the risk is inflation becomes entrenched. And that's why they have to start moving more quickly.

So they're going to start fighting inflation as best they can, and that will mean pulling the stimulus out of the system, and starting to tap the brakes, raise interest rates on the economy, starting next year.

Rising interest rates matters to everyone. It is your credit card bill. It is your car loan. It is your home loan. It is refinancing. It is the plans that companies make because interest rates are higher. So all of this is incredibly important. Reaches every corner of the economy.

BERMAN: It -- like I said, it really does matter to everyone. And it may slow down inflation, which also matters to everyone. But all of this, you know --

ROMANS: Well, the risk is -- the risk is it tips you into recession if they don't do it right. The risk is they're already behind the curve. So this is a very delicate balancing act to tame inflation but not spark a slowdown in the economy that leads to a recession.

So what the Fed does here is incredibly important in the weeks and months ahead

BERMAN: No one said being Fed chief was easy.

ROMANS: No. But the stock market, I have to say, the S&P touched a record high yesterday. Usually, you say, Oh, we're going into a new phase, we're tapping the brakes on the economy, and that would be bad news for the stock market. I think Jay Powell gets high marks for completely telegraphing what's going to happen here.

Corporate profit margins are at record highs. Companies are making a ton of money.

BERMAN: Very quickly, what Sunlen just reported, Joe Manchin coming out against the child tax credit as part of the current Build Back Better plan as written. This has an impact.

ROMANS: This is something that also reaches far and wide in the American economy. Some 65 million children getting money, right, to help pay for child care, to pay for food, to keep them out of poverty.

In West Virginia, we looked it up. Ninety-three percent of West Virginia children received that enhanced child tax credit. That's 340 -- 346,000 children in West Virginia getting a little bit of extra money to help them. That stops now, unless it's included in that Build Back Better bill. This expires at the end of the year. The last checks have gone out.

BERMAN: Christine Romans, thank you very much.

The world's richest free-loader, very thin skin. Senator Elizabeth Warren firing back at Elon Musk.

KEILAR: And San Francisco's mayor is sick and tired of what the crime surge that is plaguing her city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR LONDON BREED (D), SAN FRANCISCO: Time for it to come to an end. More aggressive with the changes in our policies. And less tolerant of all the bullshit that has destroyed our city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Don Lemon will join us with his reaction ahead.

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