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New Day Sunday

Countries Impose Restrictions To Combat Spread Of Omicron Variant; White House: Biden Monitoring Situation, Receiving Briefings; COVID Hospitalizations Approach Record Highs In Michigan; Congress Faces Debt Ceiling, Government Funding Deadlines; South Korea Enacts Travel Restrictions To Combat Omicron Variant; Two Storm Systems Could Complicate Post-Thanksgiving Travel; College Football Rivalry Saturday For The Ages. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 28, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:08]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Sunday, November 28th. I'm Alex Marquardt, in today for Boris Sanchez.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Alex.

Good morning to you. I'm Christi Paul. Thank you for waking up with us.

We want to start here with these mounting fears of another pandemic setback this morning over that newly identified Omicron coronavirus variant.

This hour, Turkish Airlines has evacuated its last flight out of South Africa, 41 passengers total. And that's due, of course, to the emergence of the new strain.

MARQUARDT: And coming up later today, President Joe Biden is going to be returning to the White House from his Thanksgiving break as his administration works to enforce emergency precautions to contain the spread of this new variant. Starting tomorrow, travelers from South Africa as well as seven other Southern African countries will be restricted from entering the United States.

Health experts, meanwhile, are warning that Omicron variant may already be here in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT BROWN UNIVERSITY: There's no way that it's in this many countries across the world, and it has not made it here into our shores. Now that we have our eyes open for it, it's probably going to be days until we find it and confirm that there are cases here in the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Right now, there are studies to test how well COVID vaccines work against this new strain, but with a high number of mutations, the doctors say with the little we know about this variant is, quote, very worrying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SAJU MATHEWS, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: We shouldn't panic just yet. The most important thing is to study the virus. Just because this virus is more contagious, doesn't necessarily mean that it's more dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, the CDC hasn't confirmed any cases of this new strain here in the U.S., but we know the delta variant is still out there and causing a lot of problems. So, we're covering every angle with this past moving story with our CNN reporters around the globe.

MARQUARDT: And we start with CNN's Polo Sandoval who's at Newark International Airport where a flight from Johannesburg, Polo, is due to touch down just around now ahead of tomorrow's travel restrictions from South Africa as well as those other countries around South Africa. Walk us through what we can expect from tomorrow.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Alex, that flight that you just mentioned is arriving here at Newark, left Johannesburg last night. Here it is, really when you add it up, it is one of those final flights that won't be subjected to those new travel (AUDIO GAP) the flight again in the process of actually arriving here at Newark. When you hear from United Airlines (AUDIO GAP)

MARQUARDT: All right. We are -- we've lost Polo's audio there. So, we'll try to get back up and get back to him.

PAUL: Uh-huh, we sure will.

MARQUARDT: But let's move on to South Africa.

PAUL: Yeah, we're going to take you to South Africa now. Remember, that's where the Omicron variant was first detected. But scientists are praising health officials for acting so quickly in response to it.

MARQUARDT: CNN's David McKenzie joins us again live in Johannesburg.

David, in the wake of the revelation about that is variant by South Africa, there have been angry reactions from both leaders and scientists, not just in that country where you are, but in surrounding countries as well. The president of Malawi calling it Afrophobia.

How are people, how are the leaders, how are the scientists reacting to these widespread travel bans?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alex and Christi.

Yeah, there's great frustration, I think, and also fear that these travel bans will hammer an already suffering economy. It really harkens back to the earlier days of the pandemic. You mentioned the Turkish Airlines based on state media evacuating more than 40 passengers from Cape Town to Turkey. Remember, that's how we saw this pandemic in those first few months when it was unknown how bad this virus would be and there weren't any vaccines in play.

Well, now, there are vaccines, but we still don't know a lot about this variant. Here's what we don't know and based on my conversations with scientists here what maybe can hint at the answers -- we don't know how transmissible it is. There is some early indications this may be more transmissible than delta, an already infectious variant, because you're seeing cases rise quickly where I'm sitting in Johannesburg from a pretty low base, but the expectation is that this might be more transmissible. We don't know for sure.

Will it evade previous infection? Immunity? What scientists are trying to do over the next few weeks, Alex, is work in the labs and to try to really get a sense if this evades immunity from previous infection.

There is some sense it might evade some immunity, but a bigger question for those countries that have high levels of vaccination, will this stop vaccines from working?

Now, the very early indication from scientists I'm speaking to, just based on their gut feel and maybe some incidental evidence, is it could still be effective, these existing vaccines, to a large degree against this variant, but they don't know for sure.

[07:05:11]

And, of course, there are parts of the world, including many parts of Africa, where vaccines are just not available.

Finally, how severe is this virus? Is it similar to previous variants like delta, like beta, like alpha, or is it somehow worse? At this stage, there's no evidence this is more severe, and the hospitals in South Africa are not seeing a rush in the ICUs. But again, just too early to tell -- Alex, Christi.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, so many questions and it's likely to take weeks to get some of those answers.

David McKenzie in Johannesburg, thank you very much.

Now in Israel, they've gone a step farther than most countries and they're banning all foreigners from entering Israel in response to these omicron fears. The country has been in many ways a leader during this pandemic and is also taking other steps now to contain the spread of the virus.

PAUL: CNN correspondent Hadas Gold is in Beersheba, Israel.

Hadas, talk to us about what you're learning there in Israel?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, right now there are seven suspected cases an one confirmed case of this new variant. The confirmed case is from somebody who had recently returned from Malawi. Four of the suspected cases were from people who returned from abroad, suggesting the three other cases may have been transmitted locally.

As you noted the Israeli government pretty quickly decided to bar all foreigners from entering Israel for two weeks. Keep in mind on November 1st is when they finally opened up the country to vaccinated tourists. Now, they are now closing everything down for two weeks.

Any Israeli who is returning to the country, no matter where they are coming from, no matter their vaccination status, must be in quarantine for three days and get two negative PCR tests before they can be released from quarantine. If they're unvaccinated, that quarantine is seven days.

Any Israelis who are in red countries, this is most of the countries in Africa aside from the northern countries, will be brought into special quarantine hotels. Again, regardless of their vaccination status. They can be transferred to their home isolation if they get a negative PCR test.

And also, anybody who has a suspected or confirm case of this new variant, the Israeli government says they will be tracked via their cell phones via the Israeli security services Shin Bet to keep track on exactly where they are. But besides that, there are no new restrictions in place for gatherings, especially as the Hanukkah festival is expected to start tonight. They aren't putting new restrictions to those parties, to those public events.

And also, I should note, in just two weeks from today, the Miss Universe pageant is expected to take place in Eilat, in southern Israel. And so far, the authorities and the organizers say they do expect that competition to go on as planned -- Christi and Alex.

PAUL: Hadas Gold, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

So the White House says President Biden is closely tracking the Omicron variant as it raises these concerns across the globe. The president did decide Friday, remember, to shut down travel from several South African countries starting this week, and we know that he was briefed again yesterday on this new strain.

MCKENZIE: And CNN's Jasmine Wright joins us from the White House.

Jasmine, what else is the White House doing now to learn more and to track this new variant?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Alex you're right. The president will face a new test in his administration's response to the pandemic today when he returns back to D.C. Remember, it's one thing that officials have told me and my colleagues over the last few months, which is that the best way they feel to turn this country around is to get beyond the pandemic. But, of course, with the emergence of that new variant, that goal could possibly be threatened.

And as you said earlier there have been no known confirmed cases in the U.S., but, of course, officials are concerned that it could already be kind of circulating within the country and that concern led to the travel ban that President Biden instituted or announced on Friday that goes into effect on Monday from South Africa and seven other countries in the region.

Back to your initial question, Alex, of what more is this administration doing? That's one of the questions that president and health officials are going to have to face this week, whether or not they could be doing more, taking more precautions, trying to get ahead of this variant if it is in the U.S.

Now, the vice president was out shopping yesterday in D.C. and she was asked that question. Take a listen to her answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As the president has said, we're going to take every precaution and that's why we've taken the measures we have.

REPORTER: Any additional travel restrictions?

HARRIS: We'll take it one step at a time, but as of now, we have done what we believe is necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So, we just heard Harris describing step by step where the administration is, but also leaving us wondering what those next steps could be as health officials are really working around the clock, talking to their counterparts around the globe, trying to learn more about this variant -- Alex, Christi.

[07:10:10]

MARQUARDT: All right. Jasmine Wright, thank you very much. Jasmine is at the White House.

Now, joining us now is someone who has been feeling the current strain of this virus. That's David Claeys. He is the president of the Dearborn & Farmington Hill Campuses for Beaumont Health, the largest health care system in Michigan.

Sir, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

DAVID CLAEYS, PRESIDENT, BEAUMONT HEALTH'S DEARBORN & FARMINGTON HILLS CAMPUSES: Thank you, Alex. Thanks for having me on this morning.

MARQUARDT: I want to talk specifically about Michigan which is approaching last year's record numbers of COVID patients in hospitals. What is different this time this year?

CLAEYS: Yeah. I think what's different this year is that, you know, we -- you know, everyone is back to moving around and we've seen people coming back to health care, getting the health care that they delayed. So, last year people, when the -- when we saw the increasing numbers of COVID people stayed away from health care, which is not good, it causes their illnesses to be worse to delay getting care. This time, that's not the case, they're coming back and seeking that care which is fantastic. Nothing is worse than seeing people have more severe illness that could have been treated or prevented.

And on top of that having COVID, which has made really it difficult, you know, on our staff and our teams.

MARQUARDT: When you look at the vaccination rates in Michigan, they are below the national average, not by much, but a couple percentage points. In the face of these rising numbers, what do you think can be done to ease those concerns? Do you think this new variant is going to affect anything?

CLAEYS: Yeah. Actually we're really concerned about the new variant. We really encourage people -- we understand it's a personal choice and personal decision, but we really encourage people to get the vaccination, especially now with this new variant coming out. Our concerns are that things will continue to get worse and deteriorate.

MARQUARDT: What is the status right now in your hospitals, in your system? Can they cope with this growing -- what is expected to be another surge?

CLAEYS: Yeah. You know, we're going through surges right now at most of the hospitals and my hospital in particular. It's been a struggle just because the patients are so sick and the amount of time it takes with each patient is so much that all of our teams, whether it's our nurses or respiratory therapists or support staff, everybody is chipping in. But at times, it can be overwhelming and frustrating for the team.

MARQUARDT: The federal government is sending help to your hospitals, a team of federal medical personnel. They're arriving this week. How much of a help is that going to be for your current staff?

CLAEYS: Yeah. It's a team of 22 individuals from the department of defense. It's huge. They're going to help out a ton in our emergency rooms that are, you know -- we have a lot of people in the rooms, waiting for beds to move upstairs into our inpatient units. It will be a huge help for them to oversee and take care of those patients.

MARQUARDT: And the current plan is for that team to be in place for some 30 days. Do you think that that is going to be enough time? Do you think that those are -- that the team is big enough to help you get through this?

CLAEYS: Yeah. We would always love to have it for a longer period of time. I do think that they will have a significant impact. We just had Thanksgiving and we'll see over the next search to ten days how many people get COVID from being at family events. That didn't mask or wash their hands or socially distance. But we do think they will play a significant impact in helping us get through the next 30 days.

MARQUARDT: And it's not -- it's not just the end of Thanksgiving now. We're heading into the Christmas season, New Year's. How concerned are you about people getting together then and traveling around those holidays?

CLAEYS: Yeah. Very concerned. You know, the vaccine plays a huge role in reducing the risks and the severity of the illness and that's what we've seen so far. You know, we're obviously very concerned, as families get together who haven't been together before, with members now being vaccinated or being possible carriers or being sick to see their families, makes us nervous. It's not the flu or a cold. It's COVID, and it has real consequences.

MARQUARDT: And back to your staff, it's been nearly two years that, you know, they've been facing all these people streaming in with this horrible virus. Talk to me about how they're holding up and especially in the face of what looks like a new surge?

CLAEYS: Yeah. You know, it's difficult. I will get a little bit emotional about it just because they're working really hard and you know they're tired. And we thought we would get relief with the vaccine, and we haven't been able to.

[07:15:08]

And it's just difficult.

You want to put your team in the best position to be successful and it's hard when there's things that are just completely abnormal and out of your control. I will tell you, they're amazing people and they're doing amazing jobs, and I couldn't be more proud of them.

MARQUARDT: Yeah. Very much out of all of our control. Thanks so much to you and your team. Thanks for coming on this morning.

CLAEYS: Thank you.

PAUL: So, as we look at this Omicron variant, Europe is already feeling some impact here. We're going to have a closer look for you at the measures countries are taking to stop that spread.

MARQUARDT: And hitting the ground running after the Thanksgiving break. We're going to be taking a closer look at what lawmakers need to get done in Washington. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is doing some clean up this morning.

[07:20:02]

The top House Republican spoke to Congresswoman Lauren Boebert on Friday after she made bigoted, anti-Muslim comments about Ilhan Omar now. Boebert didn't publicly apologize directly to Omar. McCarthy says she hopes to privately do so.

McCarthy says he reached out to Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to facilitate a meeting between the two congresswomen, quote, so that Congress can get back to talking to each other and working on the challenges facing the American people, unquote.

MARQUARDT: Meanwhile, former Trump White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, could be hearing from the January 6th committee soon if he continues to evade the committee's subpoena. Committee member Pete Aguilar wouldn't say whether the group would issue contempt charges like they did with Steve Bannon, but did imply the window for Meadows is closing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER AGUILAR (D-CA): There's still a small window in which he can still comply here and so we're keeping an eye on the calendar ahead this week and if Mr. Meadows does comply with the subpoena that he has been given, then we can prevent some of those steps.

But if he doesn't comply, the committee has made very clear, just as we did with Steve Bannon, that we're willing to use whatever means necessary. And so, I think that that's something that we'll have better clarity on here in the next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Steve Bannon has now been charged. Members of Congress are returning from the Thanksgiving break with a really long list of important items from the debt ceiling, to Democrats in the Build Back Better legislation, it is shaping up to be a busy week.

PAUL: CNN congressional reporter Daniella Diaz is at Capitol Hill right now.

The government we know, Daniella, they could run out of money if Congress doesn't act soon. What are some of the issues they're dealing with, and what do we know about the status of anything?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Christi, Alex, lawmakers took this last week off for Thanksgiving recess, but when they return tomorrow, it's going be to incredibly busy, a long list indeed, as you said, Alex. First on the list, as you said, they need to address government funding. It's set to run out on December 3rd.

Now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says they plan to pass a short funding bill to pass a larger spending package. That is otherwise known as a continuing resolution. So, that is what they're going to do first.

But probably the most important thing they need to address is the debt ceiling. Right now, the nation is set to default on its debt on December 15th, something Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been warning again and again. And while Mitch McConnell has said that Democrats need to go at this alone, McConnell and Schumer actually reached a short-term deal for December 15th.

There was a breakthrough in discussions before the Thanksgiving recess between the two party leaders in the Senate. They actually had a meeting to discuss the debt ceiling, while they did not announce a breakthrough, it does seem they resumed discussions to go at this together. We'll learn more when they come back from recess this coming week. Another thing that the Senate needs to address is the National Defense

Authorization Act, which lays out the priorities for the defense spending for Congress. Now, they also are planning to tack on -- Schumer announced they're planning to tack on a separate bill to the NDAA that would also address competition with China and supply chain issues.

A lot that they have on their list, including the Build Back Better Act, which I didn't even mention, so they have a long list of issues they need to address when they come back before the end of the year.

PAUL: No doubt.

All right. Daniella Diaz, good to see you this morning. Thank you.

PAUL: There's an 11-year-old girl seriously wounded in the Waukesha parade tragedy. She's on a ventilator. She's fighting for her life. This is according to her mother and she says Jessalyn Torres is recovering from a broken pelvis, skull fracture, and other injuries. There is a GoFundMe page set up to help with medical expenses. We'll keep you posted on her condition and what's happening there.

MARQUARDT: Our thoughts, of course, are with that family.

Now, also, in Wisconsin, there has been a rare show of bipartisanship. Both of the state senators are warning outsiders to not exploit the tragedy that happened in Waukesha. Six people were killed and dozens wounded last weekend when a driver plowed his SUV into a Christmas parade. Now, those senators are Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican Ron Johnson. They issued a cease-and-desist statement. They did not specify what kind of actions they're concerned about, but they warned against people using that tragedy for their own political purposes.

PAUL: We have more ahead on NEW DAY. First, though, during the 1920s, the Osage people of Oklahoma were some of the richest people in the world, but as Lisa Ling uncovers, that wealth made them a target.

[07:25:04]

Discover a horrific plot carried out to steal Osage land and money. You can watch an all-new "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" tonight at 10:00 on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUARDT: It is just about half past the hour. We want to get an update on the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus around the world. Scientists are scrambling to learn more about it. Countries across the globe are reacting to the spread of this variant and closing their borders as well as enacting restrictions to try to contain it while they can.

PAUL: Yeah, it includes a lot of countries in Europe.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau is in Rome.

So, Barbie, good to see you this morning. What's happening there?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, there's a lot of panic here across Europe. You have to remember that the WHO had just said that Europe was a new epicenter of the current wave of the pandemic. That's before Omicron made its way into the European Union.

[07:30:04]

Now, of the flights that came into the Netherlands from South Africa, 61 people tested positive for COVID when they landed. Now authorities are sure that Omicron is among those cases. And that's just got everybody in a bit of panic here because vaccines are very low here. Relatively, though, I should say they're not much lower than in the United States for the most part.

And the booster programs across Europe haven't kicked off and haven't vaccinated a lot of young people. So, all that on the back of this new threat of the Omicron variant and every single country in Europe has a different approach to how they'll handle it. Some of them saying we're just going to put on more masks, social distancing. In the U.K., they want everyone tested and into quarantine before arrival.

It's really scattershot. And that's going to be a difficult issue going forward. People like to travel. There are no travel restrictions among European countries yet, but everyone is concerned that that could be in store for us here.

MARQUARDT: That is so important, how easy it is to travel between those European countries.

Barbie Nadeau, thank you very much.

PAUL: Thank you, Barbie.

Let's talk about South Korea because they're tightening their border against travelers from eight Southern African countries to prevent the spread of the variant.

MARQUARDT: CNN international correspondent Paula Hancocks is live from Seoul, South Korea.

Paula, South Korea is now joining this growing list of countries imposing these travel restrictions. What are South Korean officials saying?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Alex, it's just a matter of days ago I was talking about how South Korea was opening up, started their living with COVID process, but clearly that seems to be a thing of the past at this point. So, they've done what many countries have done as you said.

They have banned travelers coming in from eight southern African countries at this point. They said they're going to suspend the issuing of visas for nationals from those countries coming from those countries. And even Korean nationals, coming in from the affected areas, they will have to do a ten-day government facility quarantine. Up until now, they've been exempt from quarantine or have to

quarantine at home. That is going to change from these particular areas. They've also pointed out that there will be some exceptions, some humanitarian exceptions.

For example, coming for a funeral they could work with the individual on that. And interestingly, the Korean version of the CDC, KDCIS (ph) is saying that they're going to try to develop now a test, a PCR test, which can specifically target and pinpoint this new variant. South Korea has been up front and ahead of many countries when it comes to testing capabilities. They were one of the first back in the beginning of 2020. So, certainly good news they are going to try to develop that kind of capability.

But this isn't just South Korea. It's also around Asia and around the world. Australia, for example, has just recently opened up to some of its citizens being allowed to come home, so finally seeing loved ones after close to two years that country was isolated.

They're stepping back from certain countries. In fact, some of the nationals flying from those countries were taken by surprise. The rules changed as they were flying, and they arrived to find out they had to do 14 days quarantine, which they weren't expecting.

So, there's very fast decisions being made at this point around Asia. Officials say they just want to buy some time to figure out what they're dealing with.

MARQUARDT: Yeah. Those new tests are going to be so important.

Paula Hancocks, in Seoul, South Korea, thank you very much.

PAUL: Thank you, Paula.

I know you've heard about the labor shortages obviously affecting businesses across the country. Have you heard about the hidden helpers that are stepping up to fill in the gap? We'll tell you about one of them.

Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:08:28]

PAUL: So do you have that restaurant, that one restaurant, you go to in your community you just love? You go to celebrate life's special moments. You go to just have a glass of wipe with your friends or whatever you're doing. It the problem is the pandemic put the future of a lot of those businesses at risk, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, staffing shortages have put a lot of businesses in jeopardy. So, we want to tell you about one person in particular, a great grandmother in Ohio who without hesitation grabbed an apron and headed to her favorite neighborhood spot when they needed a hand.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BONNIE AUGUST, CULVER'S EMPLOYEE: I'm Bonny. I'm 81 until the end of this month, then I will be 82. I've lived in this area all my life and it's home to me, and I'm comfortable here.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One important ritual that makes it home for Bonnie August is eating her favorite meal in her favorite restaurant.

AUGUST: The people here are so friendly and I've known the owners' grandparents, parents, and then, and they're wonderful, wonderful people.

BLITZER: Bonnie has been coming to the Culver's in Findley, Ohio, with her friends and family since it opened ten years ago.

AUGUST: These are some of my Sunday lunch bunch after church we go out to eat.

BLITZER: Which is why she was devastated to hear Culver's had to go drive-through only because there weren't enough workers.

AUGUST: I don't like eating in my car.

[07:40:00]

They just got to get open.

BLITZER: There were 10.4 million open jobs across the country in September, only 6.5 million workers hired.

Trying to fill in those gaps are retirees like Bonnie, the hidden helpers of the pandemic economy.

AUGUST: My job listing says runner. I don't run anymore. I hurry as fast as I can.

BLITZER: Helping just comes naturally to Bonnie. This is how owner Danielle Doxsey remembers it.

DANIELLE DOXSEY, CULVER'S CO-OWNER: She was walking up and me and my other partner met her at the door like sorry, our dining room is closed. She's like, no, I'm here to help. I want to get the dining room open.

BLITZER: And, Bonnie isn't just showing up. She's a crucial member of the team.

AUGUST: I work five days a week a lot, walking, getting the orders, taking the bag, walking to the car and giving it to the people.

You ordered some cheese curds, sir.

Making small talk to see if I can make them smile. BLITZER: Bonnie used to work nights at this former factory and retired

11 years ago. So, her new job was a shock to her friends and family.

AUGUST: First, they asked me if I was crazy. You're not going to go back to work. I said, well, I am for a little while. I know that if there's a way I can help, that's what I'm supposed to do.

BLITZER: And while Bonnie certainly isn't looking for extra attention.

DOXSEY: She does it because she genuinely wants us to do good and wants to see us thrive. She is genuinely wanting to help, and that's all she cares about.

BLITZER: She says she hopes she can inspire other hidden helpers to give back to the things they love in these tough times.

AUGUST: Give back. If you have a chance to give back, give back. We've been given so much. Jump in the water. It can be fun.

BLITZER: Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: I love it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:46:40]

MARQUARDT: This is one of the busiest travel days of the year as people head home from their thanksgiving holidays. And as they do, heavy rain continues to drench the Pacific Northwest as well as the Gulf Coast.

PAUL: But that's nothing, right, compared to snow, for heaven's sakes.

Tyler Mauldin is with us to talk about what exactly we can expect.

Because you look at that map and it doesn't look so bad, Tyler, right now.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, we see a lot of green dots here and that means zero delays at the moment. That could change as we get later on in to today. The reason being, because of a few systems as you mentioned, but the two main systems is this area right here and that area right there across the Pacific Northwest.

We'll start with the Pacific Northwest where there is plenty of rain to come across Washington, going into Canada, and they just really had a tough go of it lately. Unfortunately, this atmospheric river, which is just a plume of moisture off the Pacific, will be replaced with another one that spells more in the way of rainfall not only today but Tuesday, where we could see up to six inches of rainfall off the coast of Washington. Away from the coast into the higher elevations, we could see up to a foot of snow. Meanwhile, across the Great Lakes going into New England, we have

another clipper system coming through and then on its heels is yet another one. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, we'll see additional snowfall. This is on top of what we've already seen.

So, we expect an additional 1 to 3 inches across the Great Lakes into New England. However, off of some of these lakes where some decent lake-effect snow bands set up, case in point, Erie, we could see up to 8 inches of snowfall off of Erie.

PAUL: Wow. All right. Tyler Mauldin, we appreciate the head's up. Thank you.

MARQUARDT: Thanks, Tyler.

Well, it was a college football Saturday for the ages. Rivalry weekends never disappoint but yesterday might be one of the greatest regular season finales of all time.

PAUL: Listen, Coy Wire is here, and coy, you know that I adore you beyond words. I have dreaded this segment since yesterday afternoon.

I was in front of my TV going, what is happening?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I know. I feel for you and your buckeyes. Look, when a top five matchup between Michigan and Ohio State is not the first game we're talking about you know it was a wild day.

We head to Auburn, facing Alabama in their Iron Bowl rivalry that dates back to 1893. Auburn 6-5 coming into this one. But electric crowd, super charging their defense, holding the high-powered offense to one field goal in the first 59 minutes and 36 seconds of the game.

But with 97 yards and no time-outs left, the Tide rise to the occasion. Sophomore QB Bryce young moving down the field to Auburn's 28. Then comes the big blow, a sensational throw, incredible catch by Brooks, corner, end zone touchdown. That ties it up with 24 seconds to go, forcing the first overtime game in Iron Bowl history.

It goes to four overtimes where young hits John Metchie as the game winner. Heartbreaking. Auburn playing their hearts out, but Alabama, avoids a huge upset and gets a win to keep their playoff hopes alive and well.

[07:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK SABAN, ALABAMA HEAD COACH: I tell you what, the players -- I'm proud of the way they competed in the game and fought. We said that's what we're going to do at halftime, and I couldn't be prouder of them. I think they were out of sorts. I could see it in their eyes.

So, I just want to them to go play. I told them to have fun at half time. I said, go have fun. Quit worrying about the result and let's just go have fun.

REPORTER: At what point did that become fun for you?

SABAN: When we caught the ball.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: How is this for Sunday fun day, Christi and Alex? Nick Saban, one of the greatest leaders of all time, dancing with his boys in the locker room. Bama gets to show down with the undefeated number one Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC title game in Atlanta next weekend.

Now to Ann Arbor. Snowy scene for number six Michigan, number five Ohio State. Sorry, Christi, bad blood between two of the winningest programs ever. Michigan hadn't won this one since 2011.

But they used the decade to demolish the Buckeyes. Big up front, bulldozing the way for Hassan Haskins leaping into the history books. In the final minutes, Haskins delivers the dagger into the heart of Christi Paul and Buckeyes Nation. His fifth score of the day marks the most rushing touchdowns in the 125-year history of the rivalry, 42-27 is the final. Just the third win for Michigan in the game since the turn of the century.

Coach Jim Harbaugh gets his first win in six tries in this game. They'll face Iowa in the Big 10 title game. Defense star Aidan Hutchinson broke Michigan's single season sack record with 40 in the biggest game of his career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AIDAN HUTCHINSON, MICHIGAN DEFENSIVE END: This is the best moment life. I manifested it. I'm here with my family, my teammates, on this glorious day that we just beat Ohio State.

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WIRE: Now to the bedlam rivalry. Number 10 Oklahoma, number 7 Oklahoma State, a trip to the conference championship on the line. Spencer Sanders and the Cowboys delivering in the fourth, 37-yard scamper for the score, bringing them back within in two.

Now, after their next drive stalled, the folks are punting, but Eric Gray muffs it for Oklahoma. Oklahoma State recovers it within the five, only in a rivalry game. Jalen Warren with punching in with the go ahead TD, the game winner. Oklahoma state roaring back from down nine points to win it 37-33. The first win over OU since 2014.

Oklahoma State gets Baylor in the Big 12 title game. The winner has an outside shot at the playoff.

Finally, if we had to sum up the intensity and passion of rivalry weekend, in one play, it would be this from Florida and Florida State. Senior Gator Dameon Pierce helmet pulled off but refusing to go down, heart and determination into the end zone. State bragging rights, both teams are 5-6. Bowl eligibility on the line. That's how much this matters to these young men.

And rivalry weekend brings out the best and sometimes the worst in players and fans. The ups and downs, highs and lows. It's incredible stuff. It's setting up for an awesome college football playoff rankings coming out.

PAUL: It's going to be good. Congratulations. I will say it. I got to be a good sport.

MARQUARDT: Hard for you to say.

PAUL: Well -- thank you guys.

Coy, thank you. You had an exciting day yesterday. You watched some really great football.

WIRE: Absolutely. All the thanksgiving leftovers.

PAUL: Yeah, I know.

MARQUARDT: Enjoy those.

PAUL: Thank you, Coy. I appreciate you.

MARQUARDT: Thanks, Coy.

PAUL: So, it will be a holiday season to remember for one navy veteran who got the surprise of a lifetime from one Mr. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON, ACTOR: Ladies and gentlemen.

(CHEERS)

JOHNSON: How are you guys doing?

I read this story and I was really impressed. I want to highlight him. His name is Oscar Rodriguez. Where are you Oscar?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of here, bro.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNSON: Oscar, come on down. Good to see you, brother.

OSCAR RODRIGUEZ, NAVY VETERAN: Nice to meet you, bro. Dude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDTZ: Oscar was attending a screening of The Rock's new movie which is called "Red Notice". When he learned he would get a one of a kind gift, The Rock's own custom Ford truck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHNSON: I want to show you something quick. It's a little thing.

RODRIGUEZ: What the heck?

Thank you for your service, brother. Enjoy your new truck.

[07:55:00]

What the heck is happening? Get out of here, bro. Oh, my god.

JOHNSON: You do a lot of good for people, man. You do a lot of good for people.

RODRIGUEZ: I thought this was your truck, bro.

JOHNSON: It is my truck. Now it's your truck.

RODRIGUEZ: What are you talking about (ph)?

JOHNSON: This is my personal truck. It's yours now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: That's very touching. The actor says that he was moved by Oscar's life story, how Oscar takes care of his family as well as vulnerable people in the community.

PAUL: That is the best. Thank you all so much for being with us this morning. Go make good memories.

MARQUARDT: Thank you, Christi. Have a great rest of your day, everybody.

"INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY," that's coming up next.