presumably found among 61 people who tested positive for covid on arrival at amsterdam's airport. more analysis is being done to find out for sure. while the variant is being studied extensively, we don't yet know whether it's anymore deadly than the regular virus or whether it can blunt vaccine efficacy or natural immunity. but scientists fear it could be more contagious. dozens of countries have already banned or limited travel from parts of south africa and several of its neighbors where there are confirmed cases of the variant. on saturday, british prime minister boris johnson gave a sobering description of the possible threat. here he is. >> as always with a new variant, there are many things that we just cannot know at this early stage. but our scientists are learning more hour by hour. and it does appear that omnicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated. there is also a very extensive mutation, which means it diverges quite significantly from previous configurations of the virus. and as a result, it might at least in part reduce the protection of our vaccines over time. >> all right, we have full coverage of how this new variant is impacting every corner of the globe. larry madowa is in paris, but first let's go to barbie nadeau in rome. so more restrictions on the way as omnicron is being found in more and more european countries. >> that's right. these countries are dealing with how to balance the threat of the new variant and keeping the economy open. there's a lot of discussion going on, especially about whether or not there should be restrictions between the european nations, if there are more cases in one country than another. but it's going to be an interesting week, as more is learned about the variant and more is learned about what these countries can do to stop or mitigate the spread of it. >> and in the meantime, europe still in the throws of the existing covid crisis, because of the delta variant. so how are the worst-hit countries trying to cope with that? >> well, exactly right. the w.h.o said that europe is the epicenter of the fourth wave of the pandemic. now, it was already difficult for countries like germany, which has seen record-breaking cases. austria is in full lockdown, the netherlands were already in a partial laockdown. and there were some people that had that variant. it's a really troubling moment. and europe has to take a good look at what's more important, health or the economy. in doing so, they've got to really bulk up the vaccine program, especially the booster program, which really hasn't taken off yet, much anywhere in europe yet. kim? >> thanks so much, barbie nadeau in rome. let's go to cnn's larry madowa standing by in paris. there's been lots of travel restrictions enacted by many countries around the world, european nations including france, where you are, coming from several african countries. tell us more about what's driving this perceived sense of injustice and outrage in africa. >> so, this has been led by south africa itself. the foreign minister there, that's the minister of foreign registration relations said that south africa is being punished for having an advanced scientific community that can detect variants faster. and the south african position is that excellent science should be applauded, not punished. even though she has spoken recently with the u.s. secretary of state, antony blinken, who supported her and said that he was grateful that south african scientists were able to detect the omnicron virus, but many south africans feel that they're being punished for having this advanced scientific knowledge that is warning the world and sharing that knowledge openly, and yet you see all of those travel bans. south africa points out that nobody who is infected is allowed to leave the country. you need a test for covid just to be able to fly out of the country. it's not possible that anybody who is infected could leave the country. you've had, for instance, the speaker of the national assembly in south africa say that these travel bans are irritating and annoying and it will be devastating for the economy, for more than a year and a half because of the pandemic. this is the last thing that they need. for me personally, i flew from kenya and east africa. arriving here in france, kim, i have been required now to isolate and get a pcr test and only if it comes out negative can i be out in the community again. and you see why the africans feel that these are specifically targeted at africans and not say germany or the uk or belgium, where you don't see a red list or travel restrictions for travel from those places. >> i want to ask you, this might be hard to answer, but since you're arriving there from africa, going to europe, we saw early during the pandemic -- and i guess throughout the pandemic -- people of asian descent being targeted, because they were perceived as a threat or as the cause of the pandemic, so i wonder, larry, whether you have any fear that now people of african descent, regardless of where they're actually from in africa, might face the same type of racism or worse because of the fear of this new variant linked with africa. >> reporter: there is legitimate concern among many africans, not just in southern africa, not just in south africa or botswana where these omnicron variants were first discovered, there's feelings among africans, for instance, why israel put in a travel ban on everybody from africa south of the sahara. this is 38, 40 countries. many of which are so far from south africa. so they feel that this targeting of people of afghan descent is deliberate and has been repeated throughout this pandemic and that it might be extending to whenever there's a new variant that's come in that everyone else from the african continue tent is a target, at risk, when they're traveling especially in the west, in north america, in europe, that that's a real fear. which might explain why somebody like me who flew in from east africa is still required to test and getting an email from the health ministry here in france saying, you came from a country where a variant was discovered, when that's just not true. >> yeah. that's shocking. listen, really appreciate your perspective there. larry madowa joining us live from paris. and israel is now barring foreigners from entering the country for two weeks due to fears over the omnicron variant. the move starting sunday night makes israel the first country to completely shut its borders in response to the new variant. israel is also imposing quarantine rules, like forcing residents to reentry the cup from abroad to isolate at home for at least three days. israeli is returning from a country on a so-called red list, which includes most of africa, will be required to isolate for seven days in a designated hotel. now, the u.s. hasn't confirmed any omnicron cases so far, but in less than 24 hours, travel restrictions on eight african countries go into effect. as arlette saenz reports, the white house isn't saying whether more restrictions could be in the works. >> reporter: the biden administration has refrained from saying whether they'll enact more restrictions or mitigation efforts even as the united kingdom has announced some new steps that they are taking. president biden was out shopping in nantucket on saturday and ignored questions from reporters asking about those possible mitigation measures, but vice president kamala harris said that they are simply taking things one step at a time. >> i have been briefed. and as the president has said, we're going to take every precaution, and so that's why we've taken the measures we have. >> do you think there'll be any additional travel restrictions? >> we'll take it one step at a time, but as of now, we've done what we believe is necessary. >> reporter: now, biden health officials are in contact with health officials worldwide, as they are right to get a grasp about this new variant. officials have said that imposing those new travel restrictions that are set to take place on monday will simply buy the administration more time to understand what this variant can do. such as whether it can potentially have severe illness that goes along with it, or even possibly evade vaccines. but one thing the administration continues to push is vaccinations and booster shots, arguing that that is the way for americans to protect themselves. now, secretary of state tony blinken also held a phone call on saturday with a foreign minister in south africa, where he thanked them for their transparency inner notifying the world about this variant. of course, south africa has been critical about this travel ban that the u.s. and others have put into place. now, president biden returns to the white house on sunday, and we will see what further steps they might announce in the coming days. arlette saenz, cnn, traveling with the president in nantucket, massachusetts. >> dr. anthony fauci, america's top infectious disease expert suggests it's likely the variant is already in the u.s. here's what he told nbc news. >> i would not be surprised if it is. we have not detected it yet. when you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over. joining me now is lawrence young in birmingham, england. he's a virologist and professor at the university of warwick. the fact that this evaporate was only described just recently and already cases have been reported so widely around the world, does that tell you anything about this virus or confirm, i guess, what you already knew about how quickly coronavirus spreads? >> yeah. i mean, this comes as no surprise. we know that once the variant is identified, particularly one that is likely to be more infectious, it would have spread beyond the few original cases in the original countries. so this comes as no surprise. it's a product of the way that the international travel works and the infectiousness of coronavirus. >> and now, speaking of how this travels, i mean, we're seeing these travel bans, you know, around the world. we heard from african experts and politicians saying that travel bans haven't worked in the past, why go back to this failed measure? it may be good politics, but bad science. but we heard dr. fauci saying, basically, that it's not going to stop the virus, but it bias buys us time. is that why you support travel restrictions? >> it is. at this stage, everything we're doing is precautionary. we still know so little about this variant and we just need to keep control, really, by slowing and limiting the spread of this virus. that means travel restrictions are one way of preventing the virus spreading. whilst we gain time to understand more about this variant, whether it's more infectious, and indeed, whether it's more vaccine resistant sflp that's one of the big worries. you were quoted in an article saying that you think they will some offer some level of protection against this variant. where's the cutoff in terms of vaccine efficacy that would mean that we would all have to line up again for a new different shot, if the shots only offer 50% protection or less? where do we draw the line? >> that's an interesting question. of course, we just don't understand enough about the protection, particularly how long-term protection is going to be provided by booster shots for this and other variants. it's true for alpha, beta, gama and delta, all the variants we've been dealing with, current vaccinations, particularly full vaccination and boosted vaccination provides very good protection. that's why we believe, even looking at the enormous number of mutations in this omnicron variant, that vaccination very likely to protect against severe disease. but you're right, if vaccination dropped below 50%, we would have to really seriously consider the use of modified vaccines. i think that's unlikely, but we're having to wait for laboratory testing. it's going to twake two or thre weeks for us to fully understand whether immunity induced by vaccines will protect sufficiently to prevent severe disease with this new variant. >> many are blaming this on the fact that we haven't vaccinated the world population as well as we should have done. former british prime minister gordon brown, now w.h.o ambassador for global health financing, has been outspoken about how this variant is no surprise. he said, quote, our failure to vaccinate the rest of the world will come back to haunt us. but the current prime minister, boris johnson, has pushed back against that narrative when it comes to the omnicron variant. so we'll play the clips back to back here. >> let's just remember, only 25% of what america has promised in vaccines to the rest of the world has been delivered. only 11% of what britain has promised has been delivered. 19% of the european union. only 5% of canada. >> i think when you look at the arrival and the spread of omnicron, sadly, it's been if countries where the problem has not been supply of vaccine, it's been really to do with hesitancy and lack of takeups. >> so which position do you support here? or do they both have a strong case? >> i think it's a really interesting situation in terms of the way that governments respond to this. what omnicron is telling us that you have to control the pandemic globally, as well as locally. and it comes back to the mantra we've heard all the way through, that none of us are safe to all of us are safe. it's true that there are low levels of vaccination in south africa. a lot of that is not to do with vaccine supply, actually. it's to do with hesitancy and to do with getting the jabs out of fridges into peoples arms. it's the practice caalities. but nevertheless, this is a wake-up call. i don't see why we immediate to be in a position where there is an either/or. we should be able to look at our own populations, by ensuring that there's enough vaccine being manufactured, and that we do everything internationally to support the practicalties and the logistics of getting vaccines into people's arms. >> our thanks to lawrence young, professor at the university of warrick. still ahead, more details to the global response of the new omnicron covid variant, including a live report from south korea. and large groups of thieves are targeting retail stores in the u.s. what's behind the sudden surge of smash and grab robberies coming up. stay with us. hi. so you're the scientist here. does my aveeno® daily moisturizer really make my dry skin healthier in one day? it's true jen. ththis prebiotic oat formula moisturizes to help prevent dry skin. impressisive. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ new daily moisture for face. with age comes more... get more with neutrogena® retinol pro plus. a powerful .05% retinol that's also gentle on skin. for wrinkles results in one week. neutrogena®. for 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(vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. season's greetings from audi. an uptick in so-called sk and grab robberies is being reported. a brazen group of thieves barged into a louis vuitton store and fled with more than $100,000 in handbags and other merchandise. and on the left, you can see group of criminals smashing the display cases of. a store in california. also in california, police say about ten people entered a home depot and left with a wide range of stolen tools, including sledge hammers and crow bars, the same kind of tools used in a number of smash and grab robberies this month. professor charisse cubern is with us. thank you so much for joining us. almost every day we're getting reports of new attacks by these flash mob thieves. what we're seeing, it seems like scenes from some sort of dystopian movie. what's behind all of this? >> we're still trying to get a handle on exactly what's going on with these types of crimes. on the one hand, the places that they're occurring, cities like los angeles and san francisco, at least in california, are places that have seen lots of retail thefts over the years, and in fact, rank in the top ten. on the other hand, as you mentioned, they're quite distinct. they're very unique. these are involving many, many individuals that are highly organized, using social media in many cases to get that organization down. and then using social media where these are playing out. so it's very -- it's a very distinct situation here. in terms of why this is happening or what's behind this, i don't think that we have the full answer at this point. there's lots of culprits that i've heard being thrown around, everything from the pandemic and associated lockdowns, which led to economic displacement, can economic disadvantage among many. there's been the social and civil unrest. i like to say that crime is caused by many factors at this point, we don't know, but it's probably some combination of those. >> so we don't know exactly why. let's look at who. i mean, these are gangs -- are these like organized, established criminal gangs that are just sort of trying something new, or is it something completely different altogether? >> i think in many cases, it is. the sheer volume of folks involved, in some cases, dozens of people, suggests that this is not a seat of the pants, flyby, let's do this tonight and make this happen. they're very highly organized. they're organized criminal rings, if you will. however, there are other cases popping up in other parts of the country that maybe look a bit different, that are imitation or compete sorts of things, because these videos have been shown so widely on social media, there is concern with imitation and the diffusion of these types of crimes in other places. and in other situations and types, if you will. >> i want to ask you about something that you touched on here. and that's the theory pandemic and the economic disruption caused by that seems to have played in. the link seems a bit tenuous, but take me through it. why would everything that we're seeing kind of lead to something so specific as this? >> well, so -- so i think no one would argue that there's been the economic disinvestment, disadvantage that's resulted for many folks due to the pandemic and the lockdown. this does raise questions about these kinds of crimes for profit. there's lots of scams going on right now, on the internet and otherwise, so this may be a unique form that has arisen in response to these economic demands and that sort of thing spop there is some link between economic conditions and these types of crimes for profit. >> so thieves are just getting more creative, i guess. so how do you stop it? what would you advice, you know, stores do to combat this? >> there's a number of different measures stores can take. for example, increased police presence, hiring more private security guards, increased surveillance. so that police officers have video footage for after the fact, if they are able to review that footage and identify suspects. those are some of the steps that stores can take. the police need to be looking through social media, trying to identifying groups, breaking these groups down, potentially identifying the next places where these types of crimes will occurring. those are some of the things that can be done. what i don't think can be done, is there's been a lot of concern in california about recent criminal justice reforms and claims that these thefts, these large retail thefts are the result of these criminal justice reforms. i don't see any support or evidence of whatsoever. in fact, there's reasons that i don't think these reforms have anything to do with that so, i would hate to see the state undo a lot of these reforms, assuming that that's what's causing these crimes to occur. >> let's hope they can start getting a handle on it. it's absolutely terrifying for customers and has a huge effect on retail stores, especially the smaller once that get caught up in some of the side effects of all of this. people stay away from in-person shopping because of this. we'll have to leave it there, but smauch for your insights, really appreciate it. the rash of robberies doesn't seem to be stopping people from doing a lot of holiday shopping. millions of americans went to the stores on the busiest shopping weekend of the year. but with supply chain bottlenecks and fears of inflation, shoppers will likely find higher prices and even a few empty shelves. polo sandoval has details. >> reporter: industry experts are expecting roughly 158 million people will be doing some of their holiday shopping by the time this weekend wraps up. the majority of those, according to those same experts, are expected to do some of their shopping in person. one of the reasons is because of that lingering fear about supply chain shortages. that lingering worry that maybe some of those goods and those gifts that they're looking to purchase won't actually make it to their destination on time. so what we're seeing right now is many americans taking to some of the retailers throughout the country to make those purchases. in the meantime, we do know that some of those industry experts are very confident that some of the larger retailers, those big box stores, have been loading up on their inventory ahead of this holiday rush, this holiday shopping season. the president of the national retail federation explains why that is. >> retailers have been working on this since the beginning of the pandemic. they understand the real stress the supply chain was under. they've invested billions of dollars in their teams and systems, working with their partners to get goods here. that's why we've really we've survived the last 20 months and been able to get most of the things that we needed when we needed them. >> that basically covers some of the larger retailers. some of the big concerns are the more independent mom and pop stores, hence small business saturday, when americans were encouraged to do some of their shopping at some of those smaller stores. they're the ones that have been particularly hit hard during the pandemic. but look, whether you make those purchases at those locations or here on fifth avenue, the national retail federation estimating that there will be roughly $843 billion this holiday season, this as americans are still struggling with the rising price of everyday goods due to inflation. polo sandoval, cnn, new york. still ahead, countries around the world are on high alert as the omnicron variant sparks new fears of yet another and possibly worse covid wave. plus, dr. oz is said to be eyeing a key senate race after the trump-backed candidate abruptly backed out. but will republicans back the daytime talk show host? 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( ♪ ) what a pain in the... alice? if it's "let's wrap this up" season, it's walgreens season. xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like movie night specials, xfinity mobile benefits, and the chance to win tickets to see watch what happens live. hey, it's me. plus, get holiday gifts for everyone on your list with great deals on fan favorites from today. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards. welcome back to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." our top story. countries around the world are races to curb the spread of the new covid variant called omnicron. it was first detected in southern africa, but now cases have been confirmed in hong kong, israel, and several european countries. governments have moved quickly to impose travel bans on south africa and neighboring countries to try to curb the spread, but already australia says two people arriving from south africa have tested positive for the new variant. the travel restrictions have angered scientists and officials in south african countries. they say in a sense, they're being punished for detecting the variants and alerting the world. twl at least two cases have been discovered in the uk and that's prompting immediate goveaction the government. >> reporter: swwarning signs. boris johnson announced up in covid restrictions as fears and questions grow over the new omnicron coronavirus variant. johnson says the variant has already been detected in the uk and scientists warn this highly mutated strain, first identified circulating in countries in southern africa, could challenge some of the hard-fought advances already made against this virus. >> our scientists are learning more, hour by hour. and it does appear that omnicron spreads very rapidly. and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated. >> england's chief medical officer, chris witty, says the possibility that vaccines may not be as effective against the omnicron variant is what is galvanizing the government response. >> delta was primarily driven by the ability to spread really rapidly. this one here, really the biggest thing that is leading us to which to move rapidly is to do with the least strong theoretical reasons for thinking that some degree of vaccine escape is likely. >> reporter: after suspending flights from several southern african countries on friday, johnson said new targeted measures are necessary to contain new variant. all travelers to the uk will have to take a pcr test within two days of their arrival. and quarantine until they get their results. all contacts of positive omnicron cases must quarantine for them days, regardless of their vaccination status. face coverings will be mandatory in shops and on public transport and the government is looking to expand the booster program. top u.s. health expert dr. anthony fauci says the new variant is likely more widespread than is known and tightening covid-19 measures, like the u.s. move to restrict travel from some countries in africa starting monday is a way to buy critical time. >> the issue of blocking travel from a given countries is to just give us time to assess it better. that's the reason for doing that. we want to give us time to really fill in the blanks from what we don't know right now. >> reporter: some experts say it's not surprising that the omnicron variant first occurred in africa, with only 7.4% of the country's population fully vaccinated. >> this time last year, we were all sitting here hoping for a vaccine and science did what it does. it comes up with solutions that are available. and now the world has billions of vaccines this short time later. the problem that we haven't solved is to equally distribute them. we've still got most people in africa have never been offered their first shot yet. they're dangerously unprotected. >> a problem that is increasingly becoming a global one, as more countries confirm their first cases of the omnicron variant. nadia bashir, cnn, london. >> many countries are tightening their borders over fieears of t new variant, including south korea. for more on that, i'm joined by paula hancocks from seoul. looking across asia, i guess more restrictions are on the way now in the face of this new variant? >> it appears so, kim, yes. and ironically, just a week ago, we were talking about living with covid. we were talking about how many different countries around asia and the world were really starting to open up and lift some of those restrictions. here in south korea, it was very similar, four weeks ago, they eased curfews on certain businesses. more people could gather, even if they were unvaccinated in some cases, but now we are expecting potentially these eased restrictions to be walked back. what south korea has done, which is what many countries have done, is to ban travel eight southern african countries, even korean nationals that are coming in from that country will have to quarantine in a government facility for ten days. they're also suspending the visa system. and we saw something very similar in australia, as well. in fact, it was a very sudden decision in australia to introduce quarantine for those who were coming in from certain countries. some landing in australia, and then realizing that they had to undergo a quarantine they weren't prepared for. so certainly, this is a very fast-moving situation for all countries now, trying to give their borders a chance, trying to give their citizens some protection. but of course, the worry is, is that this may already be more widespread than is believed at this point. australia saying that it has found and confirmed two cases of this new variant and other countries are also undergoing testing to find out if they have the variant within their borders already. as you heard, as well. many officials are saying, they're just trying to buy time at this point so they can figure out what they are dealing with. so despite the fact that some in south africa are criticizing these very sudden border closures, for officials within different countries, they are saying that at this point, they don't know what they are working with. so they want to try buy time for officials and scientists to figure out exactly what this new variant means for them. kim? >> paula hancocks in seoul, thanks very much. here in the u.s., the cdc is keeping a close eye on covid variants, as omnicron appears in more countries overseas. new travel restrictions on. african nations go into effect in less than 24 hours, but flights between the u.s. and the affected region will still keep going. >> interpreter: least two u.s. major airlines say they will continue flirgts to south africa and continue business as usual, despite the emergence of a new strain of covid-19, omnicron. united airlines and the atlanta-based carrier, delta, say they will continue their flights to africa and south africa, specifically, despite an upcoming travel ban that will go into effect on monday. those travel restrictions will affect eight african nations, but u.s. citizens will be exempt, as will lawful permanent residents and the spouses of both of those groups, perhaps leaving the door open for omnicron to more easily come to the united states. for some in the health community, it's only a matter of time. and they're skeptical that these travel restrictions will do much to stop the spread of omnicron. there's clearly a lot of concern. we heard from dr. anthony fauci on friday saying, it's not time to panic and there's no indication that omnicron is here in the united states. but on saturday morning, he struck a more cautionary tone, saying he wouldn't be surprised if the strain is already here. here's what the cdc had to say about it. the cdc has continuously monitoring variants and the u.s. variant surveillance system has reliably detected new variants in this country. we expect omnicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the united states. now to be clear, there is a lot that we don't know about this strain, but what we do know is scary. nick valencia, cnn, atlanta. seeking a new title like u.s. senator. we'll have details on that after the break. stay with us. pain? salonpas contains the most prescribed topical pain relief ingredient. it's clinically proven, reduces inflamammation anand comes in original prescription strength. salonpas. it's good medicine. how did olay top expensive crcreams? like this with hydration that beats the $100 cream in every jar of regenerist retinol24 collagen peptide new vitamin c and the iconic red jar can't top this skin shop now at ay.com 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 tv doctor could emerge as the top candidate in a crucial senate race. daytime talk show host dr. oz is among several republicans eyeing the pennsylvania senate race after the trump-backed candidate dropped out. cnn's sunlen serfaty reports. >> reporter: trump-backed candidate sean parnell suspending his campaign for pennsylvania's open senate seat. scrambling the gop field, creating a new opening for others to get in. in a seat of republican had been elected to going back five decades. and crucial for republicans to keep in the midterms, as the party seeks to win the senate majority. in addition to those candidates who have already declared their race could see political newcomers and wild cards, like hedge fund millionaire david mccormick, the husband of former trump official, dina powell. >> a source close to mccormack telling cnn, the parnell departure has clearly created an opening saying he's seriously considering it, saying there's been accelerated outreach from gop leaders within pennsylvania and nationally. and another possibility, daytime tv talk show host, dr. mehmet oz. >> let me ask you, if your health is as strong as it seems from your review of systems, why not share your medical records? >> reporter: in 2007, oz saying he would consider running for office some day, calling himself a moderate republican. but a potential oz candidacy wouldn't come without controversy. earlier in the covid pandemic, he initially advocated for hydrochloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus. >> it's believed to be very safe. >> its unproven benefits. >> turns out it might have an effect against this virus. >> reporter: he later said that not enough was known about the drug and caused an uproar with these comments pushing for schools to reopen in april of 2020. >> we need our mojo back. i just saw a nice that reopening of schools may only cause 2 to 3% in total mortality. >> i realized my comments on risks surrounding schools have confused upset people. >> reporter: in the past, oz has been fiercely criticized for promoting unproven products on his shows like diet pills. >> i don't know why you need to say this stuff, because you know it's not true. >> if i can get across the message, that i do personally believe in the items i talk about in the show. sq >> reporter: in 2015, a group of doctors sent this letter to columbia university, calling his faculty position there unacceptable, causing him of promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain. ever >> we will not be silenced, we will not give in. >> that was our sunlen serfaty reporting from washington. wednesday's mass drowning in the english channel has sparked renewed concerns and anger over migrants fleeing to europe from the middle east and africa. france will host an emergency meeting in a few hours with most of its neighboring countries to discuss the escalating migrant crisis, but france has excluded the uk from the talks over a diplomatic dispute. here's cnn's jim bittermann. >> the immigrant tragedy has contributed to some pretty undiplomatic words between france and britain, after the broken submarine deal earlier this fall and a dispute over fishing rights, the furnginger pointing over the migrant deaths in the english channel has added to the acrimony in the two countries, after boris johnson tweeted out a letter addressed to french president emmanuel macron, macron was said to be outraged, and showed it at a press conference yesterday. i am surprised at the methods when they are not serious. we don't communicate between one leader to another on these issues by tweeting and writing letters and making them public. we are not whistle-blowers. come on, come on. >> macron's interior minister has disinvited the british home secretary to a meeting scheduled on sunday to discuss ways of dealing with the refugee issue. meantime, a spokesman for the prime minister said johnson had no regrets about posting the letter on twitter and that both britain and france should have a shared recognition of the urgency of the situation. jim bittermann, cnn, paris. an apparent stowaway was found safe in the landing gear of a plane upon arriving at miami international airport. the american airline's flight came from guatemala city saturday morning. u.s. customs apprehended a 26-year-old man who tried to escape detection by hiding in the landing gear compartment. emergency personnel gave the man some water before taking him to the hospital for medical assessment. an investigation underway on how he managed to get on to the aircraft. the taliban takeover in afghanistan forced many afghans to become refugees in other countries. now some of them in the u.s. have celebrated their first american thanksgiving. we'll meet one of those families after the break. stay with us. the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic a arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. motrin works fast to stop pain where it starts. like those nagging headaches. uncomfortable period pains. and disruptive muscle aches. you can count on fast, effective relief with motrin. ♪ (man) still asleep. 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(vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. season's greetings from audi. many afghan refugees who fled to the united states after the taliban takeover had their first thanksgiving this week. volunteers from a nonprofit organization in california opened their doors to afghan families for the typically american holiday tradition. natasha chen went to one of those celebrations to bring us their story. >> hello! hi, how you? >> kiki naj was already cooking a thanksgiving meal for a large group of friends. >> why is everything so much harder after the pandemic? i've forgotten how to do this. >> reporter: but she also wanted to open her los angeles home to some of the country's newest residents. she volunteers for an organization called mary's list that helps refugees settle in the united states. >> i just threw it out to mary, like, do you know any afghani families who need to have a first thanksgiving with an american family? and so she said, yeah, why don't you invite waheed? >> hi, everybody, how are you? >> waheed tells us that he was a translator and interpreter for the u.s. military in afghanistan. he arrived in late 2020 with his four children under a special immigrant visa. his wife joined them five months later. this was the feems first invitation to a traditional thanksgiving meal. >> sometimes when they ask me, what turkey is? i say, turkey is like a baked chicken. >> reporter: naj made sure there would be at least something familiar on the table. >> okay, so his the lamb. >> reporter: this experience wasn't just about new foods. it was also about learning the tradition of sharing gratitude. >> we may have more opportunities in our life and in our hands, so of course, the foremost example is this. that we are together, a family. >> reporter: with his wife's visa delayed, he says they're lucky that she arrived before the chaotic exit of u.s. troops in august. the scene of people trying to escape particularly resonated with fellow thanksgiving guest, tom van tram. >> when i saw the photo of the afghans in the cargo plane, it reminded me very much of just -- it was a gigantic cargo ship. >> reporter: tran came to the u.s. as a refugee from vietnam in 1975, when he was around the same age as waheed's oldest children. he said he can offer a warm welcome and imagine what they might be experiencing. like at many holiday gatherings, not everyone here practices the same religion or holds the same political beliefs. despite that -- >> there is something essential to the american experience that is rooted in gratitude, that is rooted in the volunteerism that you leave your country, you leave a situation and you come here, sometimes with very little, sometimes with nothing. and you start over. >> reporter: he tells his kids to work hard to seize this opportunity. >> we are here for you and the united states is here for you. and everything you have got in your hand, what you're going to have stood you have study, that's it. >> reporter: starting with what naj hopes is a lesson from their first thanksgiving. >> i would want them see that that kind of tolerance is really possible in the united states. that americans are at heart really a generous people. >> reporter: the founder of mary's list told me that they're inviting all of the refugee families they've helped for a friendsgiving in about a week. she also says that next year they are expecting to help 300 to 500 more refugee families settle in southern california. natasha chen, cnn, los angeles. >> that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. for viewers in the u.s. and canada, cnn "new day" weekend is next. for our international vanciewer it's "africa avantavant-garde." the xfinity black friday sales event is happening now on xfinity mobile. now new and existing customers can get our best wireless deal of the year - up to $1,000 in savings - for a limited time only. on the most reliable network nationwide, plus nationwide 5g. act now and save up to $1,000 with xfinity mobile. so you can go all out on gifts for the family - during our best wireless deal of the year... the xfinity black friday sales event. click, call or visit a store today. namibia. good morning. welcome to your "new day." i'm alex in for boris sanchez. >> good morning. i'm christi paul. countries around the world are on high alert as new cases of the omicron variant are emerging. travel restrictions already in effect with more to come, as officials here in the u.s. warn the variant is likely already here. and comply or else. a member of the january 6th committee says that former trump chief of staff mark meadows will have to make some decisions this week about whether he will comply with a subpoena or face consequences.

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