black friday. a new and alarming coronavirus variant has been detected in south africa. officials are praerg to brief the world health organization. scientists are correspond because it spreads rapidly and shows the ability to evade immunity. >> there have been a spike in cases the last several days in south africa. it is known as b 11529 has been detected in israel and hong kong. the united kingdom banned flights from six african nations starting today. and the eu is confirming it also plans to halt all air travel from southern africa. cnn correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us with this top story. we know the world health organization is planning to meet today to discuss whether they should label this a variant of concern. so what are you expecting right now? >> reporter: i am expecting that they likely will label it a variant of concern. but i want to make something clear. variants and mutations happen often, all the time, actually. most of them come and go and we don't take note of them. the reason we're taking note of this one is researchers in south africa, who have really done an mazing job spotting variants in this pandemic, are saying they have seen more than 30 mutations in that spike protein. it is what allows the virus to get in our cells and do its job. that's what the vaccine is work to build against the spike protein. it is certainly worrisome. does it mean this is going to be the next delta variant? absolutely not. i remember back in january of this year, we reported on a variant that was coming out of south africa that looked terrible. and it was terrible. but incident was terrible mostly in south africa and a smattering of other countries. it never took off the way the delta variant took off, thank goodness. we don't know if this will be a sraeufrpbt tha variant that smolders and disappears we don't know. we will have to wait and see how much of a threat this variant is. >> thank you. we will be waiting to see what comes out of the meeting today. >> word of this new covid variant has spooked the financial markets. the dow tumbled 700 points overnight. chief business correspondent christine romans is with us now. this is the thing. covid is so tied to the economy, and we're seeing it in the markets. >> reporter: absolutely. there's an old adage, markets hate uncertainty. we don't know if this can evade immunity. we don't know if it can aoe innovate vaccines. we don't know if it if it will smolder or spread around the world. it has been found in other countries already. we know markets are concerned that what looks like a strong finish of the year, at least in the u.s. economy, could be challenged by this. you saw asian shares tumble here. that was the worst day for tokyo in months. travel stocks, airlines, hotel stocks all dropping sharply. 3%, 4% loss in paris is a big move. it looks like it will be a tough go for investors in the u.s. we have a shortened trading day because it is the day after thanksgiving. are markets overreacting? maybe. we have had a really good run for this year. people may be saying i want to go to safe havens. another thing to point out, oil prices are down 6%. oil futures down 6%. that is a big, big move for oil prices. and that is on the fear that this variant will slow economic growth and slow demand for oil and gas so you could see gas prices continue to cool off in the days ahead because of this. >> this is really what markets fear, it seems, right? the restarting of another vaccine process? >> absolutely. this is why vaccine uptick has been important for the financial picture here, right. every person who is unvaccinated is a potential breeding ground for mutations in these variants. when you have slow uptick of convenience, that is a challenge for financial markets. they want to see a vaccinated global population, right? we can start top get back to normal and have some certainty about doing business, keeping factories open, being able to travel, being able to go to school. all of this depends on getting this virus under control. . >> i wanted to ask you separately about these smash and grab thefts of groups of people going into stores. of course today is a big shopping day, right? >> yeah. >> are we expecting this to impact the day out there today? . >> i think the biggest impact has been on the workers in these stores, they are exhausted by covid, mocked and taunted for mask rules, right, and now you have organized retail gangs coming in and smashing and grabbing products. we have seen this as drug stores, and very high-end luxury retailers. i don't think if you are shopping at your local store you don't have to worry about this really. but best buy ceo said it is a real problem for their workers exhausted by this. it is an interesting covid trend. we have always seen retail theft. this isn't your normal shoplifting, petty theft, slippage that they plan for. these are coordinated attacks on stores and they are scrambling on how to combat that. i don't know if you will see a rash of this today. this will be honestly a black friday like no other. some stores are opening later today. i don't think you will see the black friday frenzies you're used to. hopefully law enforcement has a handle on this and you won't see this today either. >> we'll keep our eyes peeled. thank you so much. let's bring in former philadelphia police commissioner charles ramsey. you just heard christine's report there. these attacks are so brazen. and of course today is a big shopping day. what is law enforcement supposed to do about this? we haven't seen a lot of arrests being made after these attacks are happening? what are they supposed to do in response? >> well, first of all, this is hard to guard against. it happens so quickly. a few years ago in philadelphia we had something similar taking place where we had people, mostly teenagers, younger adults, participate in things like this. they would come in groups in 15, 20. in this case it was macy's and stores like macy's that they would rush into, steal as much as possible and run out. it took place in less than a couple of minutes. it was really, really difficult to get a handle on it. one, it was being organized through social media. one of the things we started doing is paying close attention to social media. the second thing, many of the young people we arrested had no previous criminal records. why they were getting involved in something like this i have no idea. we reached out and made it very clear to parents they needed to pay attention to what their kids are doing. we got a few phone calls from parents warning us something was about to take place, and we were able to prevent it from happening. i don't know what's driving this. it will continue. it is not going to stop any time soon. the punishment for this crime is very, very minimal. in most cases, it's a misdemeanor. some d.a.'s said they will no longer prosecute shoplifting. this is far worse than shoplifting. there's a lot that wants to be done if we want to get a handle on it. >> we heard from christine. she's talking to retailers who say the hard part is on employees dealing with this. if you're a retail security guard, what do you do when you're overpowered like that? . >> well, they're going to overrun a security guard. they can't stop 15, 20 people rushing. you may be able to grab one or two individuals, but you're not going to stop it. they are stores in open air, not necessarily in malls. they drive up, jump out, steal, get back in the car. again, if you identify the people, you identify the vehicle, i would tow the car, seize the vehicle, it was used in the commission of a crime. you have to crack down hard. this is something that will spread. right now it's in california. but it will spread, there is no question about it. >> a lot of people are wearing a mask. it's hard to identify for law enforcement. i want to ask you one other thing. you are former police commissioner of philadelphia. a very grim report came out this week talking about how they have hit their 500th homicide in 2021, hitting a high they last hit in 1990. i'm assuming you're still in touch with people in the city. what are you hearing from law enforcement about how they plan to combat this? i know there are efforts to get guns off the street, but what else can they do about what how brazen this is? . >> i still live in philly. i do stay abreast of what's going on. 500 homicides and we haven't even finished the year yet. they will blow past that with the rest of november and all of december. it's going to be difficult. right now what i see, and again i don't get too involved. ex police chiefs should stay out of the way. there are things that is disturbing, and that is finger pointing. the mayor was pointing fingers at the state legislature, the d.a. pointing fingers at the police department. they have to all come together if they want to do something about this. but there is one thing that is missing. you have to take strong action against people who are illegally carrying guns. they have seized 6,000 guns this year. that is another record set here. there has to be serious punishment for people caught carrying guns. felons that should not be in possession on of a handgun carrying guns. they need to be locked up. i'm sorry. i know that is not a popular thing to say. but people who are out here shooting and creating all of this violence and mayhem on the streets, when they are had he arrested they need to have high bonds. they need to be in jail. they're a threat to the safety of everyone else. i know a lot of people are low bonds and let people out. i'm all that with some categories of crime, but not violent crime like this. you have to get the people off the street who are out here doing this. they are not going to stop on their own and press conferences staying please stop the violence is not going to work. >> you may not be the police commissioner, but you are a resident of philadelphia. i think it's hard for many of us living in cities. it is difficult to watch happening in your community. >> it is. >> charles, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. coming up, congresswoman ilhan omar ripping her colleagues, calling her a buffoon. it is colored with anti-muslim bigotry. plus, social media abuse. discrimination, racism all during the 2020 tokyo games. shocking and disturbing details ahead. as i observe investors balance risk and reward, i see one element securing portfolios, time after time. gold. yoyour strategic advantage. we now find that 85% of individual investors are interested in sustainable investing. among millennials, the interest is even stronger. ♪ one of the big trends in sustainable investing is data, and the ability to understand how sustainable your investments are. by taking that information into account, investors can make better decisions for the long term. sustainability is not about one number. it's about variables like water usage, data privacy, consumer trust, diversity, land use and conservation. all types of investors are now considering this in their investment decisions. this is not niche. one in four dollars globally is following some form of sustainable investing. with sustainable investing at this scale, there's power to change the markets and have an impact on the issues investors care about most. i am courtney thompson and we are morgan stanley. i strip on public transit. i strip with the guys. i strip all by myself. breathe right strips open your nose for relief you can feel right away, helping you take in air more easily, day or night. ♪ ♪ you are my fire ♪ ♪ the one desire ♪ ♪ you are, you are, ♪ ♪ don't wanna hear you say... ♪ ♪ ♪ i want it that way ♪ pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now get relief without a pill with tylenol dissolve packs. relief without the water. as someone who resembles someone else, i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. oh, yeah. that's the spot. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ it's time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. what if i sleep hot? 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. >> this hateful fearmongering language is from the republican and house gop. it presents a choice for someone like kevin mccarthy where are you going to tolerate or condone this type of messaging, or are you going to condemn it? are you going to call it out? what this kind of shows and also a situation, as you mentioned, with gosar and that situation and how there was a lack of condemnation, also shows just how much they are willing to tolerate it looking ahead to the midterms next year. it shows how some of the folks on the far right, especially in the house gop and believes they are starting to fall into the mainstream particularly in the house gop. and when it comes to someone like kevin mccarthy, how he is aware of how he may need their support as well as moderate republicans going forward. the lack of condemnation from the leadership in the republican party when it comes to statements like this shows just how aware they are of how the influence of folks like tkpoe saturday, as well as bow better, how their voices may be quite valuable to them looking ahead to something like the midterms when many would expect when you talk to political strategy hes, as well as people on the hill, republicans have a high chance of taking back the majority. but without a doubt, when you talk to political strategists they say, look, this is not a one off. >> yeah. >> this hateful rhetoric, fearmongering rhetoric, is going to continue to present the decision for the relationship and the republican party. thus far we have seen there has not been a consistent effort to condemn it. >> look, i know you guys. we get a little used to the crazy, right. so it's sort of like this has happened so much. but let's just be clear, zolan. this is a member of congress calling her colleague a suicide bomber. >> yeah. and, look, it's also -- you have to look at reports from homeland security, fbi, that have warned this kind of rhetoric, this kind of hateful speech that comes from our political leaders, not only is it just speech from them and does it surprise all of us when we hear it and we say -- i mean, this is clearly fearmongering, even xenophobic and hateful speech. it influences people across the country. it has a ripple effect. >> yeah. >> department of homeland security put out a bulletin saying, look, when you look at the speech coming from our top political figures that amplify the rhetoric from fringe groups, say the false claims about the election, it has a ripple effect and galvanizes groups as well. not only is it surprising for i'm sure many of the public, there is going to be a ripple effect around the country. that has been said by federal law enforcement as well. . >> it's one of those things, if you said something in the real world. >> if you said something like me, in our place of work, we would be canned. let's be clear. it is so unusual this is going on on capitol hill or really anywhere. zolan, thank you so much for being with us this morning. >> appreciate you. happy thanksgiving. >> thank you, zolan. up next, a twist in the green-eyed afghan girl from the famous 1980s "national geographic" cover. hear what happened now that the taliban is taking over afghanistan. >> we're getting you water here on the break. and kevin strickland, the man freed after 43 years for a crime he didn't commit has a million reasons to be thankful. what thousands of people around the world just did that month month could not. 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(vo) buy your next car 100% online. with carvana. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ look, if your wireless carrier was a guy, you'd leave him tomorrow. not very flexible. not great at saving. you deserve better—xfinity mobile. now, they have unlimited for just $30 a month. $30. and they're number 1 in customer satisfaction. his number? delete it. i'm deleting it. so break free from the big three. xfinity internet customers take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings. or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. it's one of the most iconic national degree graphic photos of all time. you probably know it. refugee sharbat has arrived in italy. cnn's barbie nadeau has the story. >> reporter: the 12-year-old girl who became famous in 1985 after appearing on the cover of national geographic has been given refugee status by the italian government. no one knew her name for decades. she was tracked down years later, living in pakistan and returned to afghanistan in 2016 after being deported from pakistan. she is now in her 40s and petitioned the community to leave the region. after the events in afghanistan in august. italy's prime minister personally heeded the call and arranged her to come to italy for political asylum. she arrived in rome on thanksgiving day. 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, what have you learned? . >> well, everyone has their own specific reason for why they quit their jobs. largely we found it's moms who want to stay home with their kids, people retiring more than ever. but one thing we found they all have in common, if it wasn't for the pandemic they probably would not have quit. a simple task. kate picks up her daughter from school, something she's waited for years to do. >> do you recall how often you were able to pick your daughter up from school? >> oh, my gosh. never. >> but that all changed in april. she quit her 15-year career in sales to be home full-time with her kids. >> i was working endless hours and traveling a lot. >> if covid didn't happen, do you think you still would have quit your job? >> no. no, i think i would still be there. without a doubt. . >> 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. . >> we have had so much time to be sitting in our homes and spending time with, you know, people that we live with and just shifting priorities. >> and she's one of 4.7 million business applications from january through october of this year. a 34%en increase from the same time period in 2019. she founded monmouth moms, a resource guide for parents. >> it allows me to take off if i need to bring my kids to the doctor, or flexibility for when i can even schedule appointments for them. . >> americans are retearing in greater numbers too. what am i looking at behind us? . >> that's our rv in the background. >> scott and mary banks retired early at 57 and 59 respectively and are road tripping across the country. >> packed up, strapped down, ready to head down the road. >> scott quit his finance job. mary left real estate. . >> i said what would you think if we did it now instead of waiting three more years. >> i pushed all my chips in. i'm all in. >> 1.5 million americans were on pace to retire. that number doubled to 3.6 million. . >> it was just that thought of, gosh, wouldn't it be a tragedy if we spent all this time working for retirement and right near the finish line you catch a horrible disease and die and never get to enjoy your retirement. . >> so they capitalized on the hot housing market, sold their home, and hit the road. . >> how is life on the road compared to the jobs that you left behind? >> gosh, i wish i could say it's tough. but no, it's great. i do not miss working at all right now. >> the industries that saw the biggest quit rates, education, transportation, leisure and hospitality. these are issues that were suffering with labor shortages before the pandemic and still feeling that very acutely. the americans who left those industries said they were looking for better pay or more two, from home flexibility. we spoke to a few americans who quit their jobs and are just figuring out what they want to do now. clearly the pandemic has changed the way americans want to and are willing to work. kaitlyn. . >> yeah. it's completely altered it with 4.4 million people quitting their jobs in september alone. vanessa, thank you so much for that report >> thank you. coming up, the disgraced head of theranos is defending herself during the trial and even admitting to some of the claims made against her. what we have learned. fema athletes subjected to racism, sexism and of course social media abuse all during the 2020 tokyo olympics. we have the disturbing details on that report next. >> we're following breaking news out of south africa where a heavily mu dtated variant has surfaced. if you wanna look fresh, fresh. you gotta eat fresh. eat fresh. that's why subway bought time in my shampoo ad. to talk about the new baja chicken & bacon. body, bounce, and baja. bounce. eat fresh. no, he's not in his room. ♪ ♪ dad, why didn't you answer your phone? 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[echoing] get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ with xfinity home, you can keep your home and everything in it more protected. i can wrangle all my deliveries. thanks, hoss! and i help walk the dog from wherever. *door unlocks* ♪ ♪ well, i can bust curfew-breakers in an instant. well, you all have xfinity home, with cameras to home security monitored by the pros. *laughs* learn more about home security or get our self-monitored solution starting at just $10 per month. a missouri man who spent 43 years behind bars for a triple homicide he did not commit is waking up a millionaire today. he was exonerated tuesday morning and released from the western missouri correctional center. he appeared on "new day" and told us the first thing he did was visit his mother's grave to give her a proper good-bye. >> 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, it was -- i revisited tears when i was told i was not guilty of a crime i didn't commit. i believe she could feel me, hear me. i do. >> i understand that you want to see the ocean. . >> yeah. that would be a big win. i think anybody that's alive should want to see the ocean one time in life. yes, that's a big thing with me. >> now kevin can go to any beach that he wants to. donations are coming in from around the world. >> i was stunned to learn that in missouri if you are wrongly convicted and of course you get out of prison the way kevin did, you don't get restitution. >> yeah. . >> he's relying on the kindness of strangers who, thank god, have come through with him. >> i looked at that up. only those exonerated confirmed through dna testing gets $50 per day. that is why he has been able to raise this much money. he gets no financial compensation despite being wrongly convicted, wrongly imprisoned. . >> that interview what he said, what he told us here on "new day". i would just encourage our viewers to take a look at it. he had this feeling that someone was going to take him and put him back in prison. and that -- there is no amount of money that can compensate someone. >> exactly. or the moments he missed. going to miss mother's grave. he missed that because of what happened. that is a life moment you never get back. >> it is terrible. a statue of thomas jefferson removed after 187 years that it stood at city hall. this was a seven-foot statue transported in a wooden crate to the historical society where it will remain on a long-term loan. this is the latest statue to be removed of someone connected to the confederate era. he penned the phrase all men are created equal while also enslaving 600 people during his lifetime. and i spoke to a direct descendant of jefferson and author of the book "reclamation" about her search for her family's legacy. she said jefferson's history is complex and a debate about it is worth while. here's our conversation. gayle, thank you so much for being with us. >> i'm thrilled to be here. . >> this book is awesome. . >> thank you. . >> i love your personal story and the search for your family here. can you tell us a little bit how you first learned you were a descendant of thomas jefferson. >> i would love to tell you that story. it started when i was 13 years old growing up in washington. d.c. my oldest sister 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, 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. everyone was talking about their ancestry, their lineacknowledge as if they were royalty. my sister was appalled and she decided she was going to one-up everyone at that table. she said i'm a descendant of thomas jefferson. keep in mind, this is the 1960s. the subject was quite taboo. she said it went dead silent. you could only hear the china and the silver touching. i was frankly shocked. i had never heard that before. >> what did it feel like when you discovered that you were a descendant of thomas jefferson. . >> i cannot imagine how he was my favorite president, having written the check hrargz of independence, could be my ancestor. that started me on a life long pursuit to figure out how it could be possible. in that era, we were not taught that jefferson owned people. i could not have imagined how that was possible. it really became an obsession for me to find out that the ties were. i want people to walk around that enslaved people helped build the united states of america. 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. there's so much for me to have access to. most black americans don't have this. they hit the first wall after the civil war when their families were emancipated. but i can go far beyond that. my family is no different than 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. >> what is the interaction like between the black descendants of thomas jefferson and sally hemmings and also the white descendants of thomas jefferson? . >> yeah. there is one written about it in the book. a poet who helped me uncover the dna and find those ties. that has been a rewarding relationship in many ways. there's some members of a group called the monticello association. 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. i have discovered them. i have found them. we have created relationships together that are extremely rewarding. and i love them. up next, more on the breaking news out of south africa. what we are learning about the new variant that is triggering a wave of infections. >> bryan adams has been been hospitalized for covid-19 for the second time in a month. johnson & johnson is building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. and there isn't t one definitin of what well feels like. there are millions. johnson & johnson is building your world of well. ♪ ♪ grandma, how wide are two reindeer? twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine... ♪ ♪ we've been waiting all year to come together... it worked! have a happy and safe holiday season from lexus. every business is on a journey. and along the ride, you'll find many challenges. ♪ your dell technologies advisor can help you find the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we 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[ ferry horn honks ] i mean just cause you look like someone else doesn't mean you eat off the floor, [ chuckles ] or yell at the vacuum, or need flea medication. oh, yeah. that's the spot. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ a costly penalty has doomed the dallas cowboys in an overtime loss to the raiders thanksgiving day. coy wire has this morning's "bleacher report". >> reporter: hi, kaitlyn. multiple scuffles in this one. tensions reaching a boiling point in the third quarter. giving each other the business. both get ejected. like house guests fighting to get some of the leftovers to take home. tom hill with no cranberry sauce on his chin. pass interference call against dallas in overtime. anthony brown all up in his chest as he was going for a pass. fourth defensive p.i. of the game. 33-yard penalty that puts daniel carlson in a position to kick the game winner, and he does. that ends a three-game losing streak for vegas. and the match is back. the fifth iteration of the charity golf event. this time it features one of the biggest rivalries in the game. koepka and bryson dechambeau for a 12-hole exhibition match. two-time winner of the match. . >> just know brooks and i have never been paired together in competition on the pga tour or anywhere else. this will be the first time we're going to be together. >> playing 12 holes is nice. it is better than playing 18 holes with bryson. >> those referees were the star of that game, coy. "new day" is going to continue right now. good morning to viewers here in the united states and around the world. it is black friday, november