of the eight countries targeted by u.s. travel restrictions which go into effect in just six hours. as this variant inches closer to the u.s., president biden has just wrapped up a meeting with his covid-19 response team. joe, we now have a readout and a photo. >> yeah, this is the status report. it doesn't move the ball a lot, but it gives us some information. much of what we heard from the experts on cnn talking about the variant. here is a graphic from that. dr. fauci informed the president that while it will take two weeks on the severity, trans m -- tranc trans mmissibility of the varia, dr. fauci said boosters of the covid-19 vaccine provides the biggest protection against covid. now, one of the big questions, of course, is the extent to which authorities actually know where the science is headed. so if that's a question, the answer would be maybe. dr. francis collins, director of the national institutes of health, talked about that on "state of the union" earlier today. >> there is even a bit of a report from south africa that maybe people with this are milder than the usual case, but they're mostly young people who have mild illness, anyway. we do think it's more contagious when you look at how rapidly it spread through multiple districts in south africa. >> we're also in a countdown now till monday, and that is the time when the president's latest restrictions on people traveling here to the united states from several countries in southern africa, including botswana and south africa, so hopefully tomorrow we can get an update on that as well. the president was asked today whether he is expected to extend restrictions to any other countries, but he didn't answer that question. jim? >> joe johns, i'm assuming that's because they're in a wait and see mode just like everybody else, waiting for that science to come in to see what to do next. joe johns, thank you very much. still much to learn about this omicron variant. the u.s. will join nations in restricted travel where this variant was first identified in surrounding nations, but they're saying not so fast. they're requiring borders to remain open while we learn more facts. they said closing the borders could do more harm than good. the president is signing off on these travel bans. >> reporter: that's right, he's deeply frustrated, and for a president who is usually quite diplomatic named the countries ask regions one by one, which is unusual in these kinds of circles, and then slammed them for instituting these bans. >> these restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our southern african sister countries. the prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. the only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of their affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to it and also to recover from the pandemic. >> now, if you look at the relative paems of south africa, u.s., u.k. and other regions, you have some sympathy -- there have bechb three severe waves in south africa, but it's all about trajectory. we have seen cases that are a contributed to this new variant the passengers coming from nigeria to canada tested positive for this variant. earlier this weekend we had a passenger from egypt testing positive. so who has the sophisticated means like south africa to testify what the variants are and where the variants are. it pokes a hole in this travel ban strategy. jim? >> absolutely, and you wonder if it's a disincentive for some nations to come guard and say, listen, we found variants where we are, and if travel bans are going to be thrown into place, that certainly might not be the best incentive. david mckenzie, thanks so much. let me bring in host of cnn, fareed zakaria. he's the host of a show at 9:00, "china's iron fist." we have to talk about this new variant we were just talking about a few minutes ago. mckenzie said people are being cut out from the world and enabling scientists to be able to detect this variant. what's your thoughts on how america is handling this, and what's your strategy for getting a handle on this? >> we're all learning as we go along, and i think one of the things we learned was don't make grand pronouncements without the data coming in. but it does appear we need to fundamentally understand the thing is not going away. so any strategy that is based on the idea that we just do one more thing and it will going to have to learn to live with some level of, moving from a pandemic to andemic stage. what you really have to do is ramp up vaccination, figure out what boosters you need. it's aner rant technology, because this is eventually some computer code and come up with a new booster. we can get technology to the world faster. the single biggest gap here has remained the global response, so we have 80% of many european countries vaccinated and only 10%, 15% of countries in africa, if that. that is the gap that is causing this virus to replicate, you know, to move around, and the more it replicates, the more it mutates, which has changed forms. but the bottom line is we have lived off testing for the variant for a long time. we have to learn how to protect ourselves and not shut down the entire global economy again, because that is not an option. >> these travel options based on risk, wouldn't many countries want to ban travel from the u.s.? fareed, when do we get to a point where there needs to be vaccine mandates for air travelers worldwide? wouldn't that potentially be a better measure here than arbitrarily going after one part of the world, even if the variant is around the globe at this point? >> to your first point, as you pointed out, the u.s. still has a massive disproportionate number of covid cases, covid deaths. this is a case of somebody in a glass house throwing a lot of stones. the single biggest gap here has been the global one. we have no global coordination, no standards, no passport that tells you if someone has had one dose, two doses, what vaccine it was from. in an age of information technology, this would be trivial to create technologically. the problem is no one wants to cooperate internationally. everyone is instead talking of nationalism, protectionism, reshoring supply lines. all of that is great, but what this new variant is showing us is none of it is going to work, because at the end of the day, the world is already so connected. by the way, has been for hundreds of years, that the only solution here is to come together, figure out a joint set of standards, joint sets of travel procedures, joint sets of vaccine stats and make a huge push to vaccinate the world. it remains true that vaccinating the world, while it sounds very ambitious, jim, it's going to cost a fraction of the cost of the serial shutdowns, these travel shutdowns. you could vaccinate all of africa and save yourself an enormous amount of money, because if we have to do these shutdowns again, the cost will get back into the trillions. >> and nobody is going to want to do it. fred, ylet's talk about your special airing tonight at 9:00. secrecy and censorship, that is how they do things in china. there was this idea as china became a global power, it would also become more transparent. maybe we ought to be able to pull it in a more democratic direction. that does not seem to be happening. >> what i tried to tell in that special, jim, is the story of how so much of history happens because of individuals. what happened in china is this one man, xi jinping, and before that they had opened, information was moving more freely, they were relaxing more areas and they were cooperating with the world, they were doing all kinds of things. certainly baby steps but all in the right direction. then you have xi jinping in what caused china's third revolution. in other words, dun jinping moved it to a more conservative style. china is the only one in the world that shut down from the bu entire world. it's not a good scenario for those who need more cooperation, whether on the pandemic, whether on trade, and of course on climate. on all these areas, we've got to find a way for people to come together. we like to think about the u.s. all the time, blame the u.s. examinant, but china, under xi, has really taken that country in a different and somewhat dark direction. >> it's going to be a fascinating special, fareed. thank you so much for sharing that bit of it with us. be sure to tune in to fareed's special tonight "china's iron fist: xi jinping and the stakes for america." that airs tonight on cnn at 9:00 p.m. two cases of the new variant has been confirmed in canada. you're live in the cnn newsroom. new mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds, lasts for hours. ♪ this... is the planning effect. this is how it feels to know you have a wealth plan that covers everything that's important to 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second, does it cause more severe disease? and third, will it render our immune defenses from vaccines and prior infections to be unsafe? do dr. jha, do you have any answers yet? it sounds like omicron may be more contagious than the delta variant. >> there is some preliminary evidence, and it's very preliminary, that it may be more transmissible, but we don't know that yet. i think we'll know more soon, certainly in the upcoming weeks, if not sooner than that. but it looks that way from earlier data. >> your second question, does it cause moresevere disease, there other things that can cause milder disease. and you said we just don't have enough data at this point. >> this is pretty hard to answer, and when we look at the previous variants, the early answers end up being wrong. i would love it if this caused a milder disease, i just haven't seen anything one way or the other, so i think the jury is out on this question. >> the third question is will it render us immune from other variants and are vaccines less effective? >> let's be clear on what we think is likely and unlikely. i think some people propose that our vaccines just won't work. i think that's extremely, extremely unlikely. i think our vaccines will hold up. the question is how much of its effectiveness will it take? we won't know. i think we'll get preliminary data on that probably next week with some preliminary laboratory data. lab data isn't as good as clinical data, but it will give us a hint in answering that question. >> dr. jha, from what we know right now, should we be changing our behavior? should people with travel plans be rethinking those travel plans. for example, in washington we dropped the mask mandate. should we be thinking about that again? god help us. what do you think about that? >> i'll tell you what i'm doing. i'm not making any changes at all. i think it's really important. obviously people need to get vaccinated. people should get boosted if you're six months out from your last shot. that should be for delta and omicron. but until we have more evidence, i don't think people should make substantial changes to their loo lives, not yet. >> that's very comforting. i'm glad you're saying that. we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope for the very best. the speed, though, that we learned about this new variant and the world reaction was stunning. we woke up this morning and had travel restrictions in part of the world. in terms of information sharing, i guess looking at the glass half full, are we looking at a better place than we were in 2020 when we had president trump defending the w.h.o. and using terms like kung flu and all the other various things that he did? >> we are not anywhere near march 2020 anymore. w we are in a very different place for a couple reasons. one being there is fabulous information sharing. the south african doctor detected this various that may be spreading to other parts of the world as well. we didn't have that kind of work in march 2020. then we have all the testing of the variants we didn't have. so no matter what we learn about omicron, it will not set us back to 2020. >> and this travel ban begins at midnight eastern time here in the u.s. in your "new york times" essay, you write, this will slow the variant into the united states moderately at best. and you pointed to south afterry -- africa which has done an extraordinary job in first identifying the variant and then quickly changing the information and the global restrictions. i suppose you didn't want people to think we're going to have an avalanche of restrictions now. >> this is why i think what south rafrica did was so laudibe and so open in its transparency, and we want to reward that. i'm afraid this travel ban that we've put in is a signal to countries that says, in the future, if you're not sure, don't share the information, which it could have negative repercussions. we don't want to be sending that signal. >> dr. ashish jha, thank you for joining us. >> thank you, jim. on the way for mark meadows. what a key member of the january 6 insurrection just said. my retirement plan with voya keeps me moving forward... even after paying for this. love you, sweetheart they guide me with achievable steps that give me confidence. this is my granddaughter...she's cute like her grandpa. voya doesn't just help me get to retirement... ...they're with me all the way through it. come on, grandpa! later. got grandpa things to do. aw, grandpas are the best! well planned. well invested. well protected. voya. be confident to and through retirement. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching... the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic 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. every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. the panel is hinting they make a decision about holding mark meadows in contempt this week. the former chief of staff refused to return a subpoena to the committee. >> i can't go into communications we have had or haven't had with particular witnesses, but we are moving with alacrity of anyone who obstructs the committee. that was certainly the case with mr. bannon. it will be the case with mr. meadows, mr. clark or any others. >> and cnn senior legal analyst and former attorney preet perar joins us now. preet, meadows and bannon are both trying to hide under trump's umbrella. >> of the entire universe of people that the committee wants to talk to, steve bannon, among the folks who have asserted some kind of privilege, was in the weakest provision. in other lay terms, he wasn't even in the building leading up to january 6. mark meadows has some details potentially, but that needs to be worked out with the committee. my sense is he doesn't want to get ahead of bennie thompson, but they use steve bannon as someone they are pursuing criminally to make the case for mark meadows, you better be forthcoming. if there are things you think are privileged, maybe there is some oaccommodation that can be made, but lots of things that mark meadows heard, saw or communicated are clearly not in the privilege. >> and they are clearly important to getting to the bottom of january 6. that is the question i have been wrestling with for some time now is executive privilege, executive privilege every time no matter what. might the courts look at january 6 and see something so extraordinary that executive privilege rights don't go as far, that they don't carry the same weight when we're investigating something as important as an attempted coup in our country? >> i think that's a great way of putting it and a great way of framing it. and executive branch officials themselves will look at what is the necessity of the investigation, what is the material? as you may know, as an initial matter, the biden administration, joe biden and his lawyers, have made the determination that although executive privilege is important, in this case, among other things, as you say, what's at stake here, understanding how there could have been an insurrection at the capitol, how we can figure out how to protect our members of congress and democracy better, what could be more important than that? for that, among other reasons, the claim of executive privilege does not make sense here. it has to fold to a greater need and necessity of getting this information. i think courts will have the same kind of view. the phrase gets used all the time that people are engaging in extraordinary measures or taking unprecedented steps. it's not unprecedented to charge someone with attempt of congress, but what is the thing causing the extraordinary action to be taken? the thing that's causing it to be taken is something even more extraordinary, something that's never happened in our country's history, the storming of the capitol. >> that's exactly right. i mean, to me, this is such a critical moment in our country's history to just let all of this go just by the wayside because we didn't investigate it. to me that would just be an outrage that people would not be able to tolerate. turning to another legal fight, trump and his business are under investigation in new york, as we all know. listen to what his former personal attorney has to say about long-time trump organization chief advisor alan weiss weisselberg. let's take listen. >> you can bet your bottom dollar that alan weisselberg is not the key to this. they are going after donald, they're going after don jr., eric, ivanka, a whole slew of individuals. >> what did you think about that, preet? >> i don't know what to make of it. michael cohen clearly is cooperating with that investigation in new york. he has said, and it's been reported, that he's met with investigators and prosecutors many, many times, so clearly he must have some insight based upon the kinds of questions he's being asked. but other things to remember are he never got any kind of formal cooperation agreement with my office in new york that prosecuted him. they didn't put out a report as to why that is so, but maybe they found him not to be a fully forthcoming witness. he is a pragmatic witness. he has taken a guilty plea for other things, lying to congress. the former cfo of the company is not the whole ball of wax. that may be so. maybe cohen is claiming that mantel for himself, but he is going to be a person that is so central and important to a prosecution that we don't care about the cfo. but all of the actions of the manhattan d.a.'s office in connection with trying to pressure the cfo to cooperate and flip on donald trump, there were reports of that. and separate from reports of that, you just know the playbook of prosecutors trying to negotiate something with him in advance of bringing that case with fringe benefits and tax fraud, they clearly thought he was an important witness. so i don't know what to make of what mr. cohen is saying. he may be the substitute witness, i just don't know. but from all of the things we see and we know from how cases work and how much knowledge someone in that high position of a company has, he's ant unimportant witness. >> we'll see how it shakes out. there are so many trump investigations going on, it's hard to keep them straight, but that one will certainly be interesting to see how it plays out. take care. >> you, too. nasa has crashed directly into an asteroid. up next. el in its weakened stat. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. to run a growing business, is to be on a journey. and along the ride, you'll have many questions. challenges. and a few surprises. ♪ but wherever you are on your journey. your dell technologies advisor is here for you - with the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. growing up in a little red house, on the edge of a forest in norway, there were three things my family encouraged: kindness, honesty and hard work. over time, i've come to add a fourth: be curious. be curious about the world around us, and then go. go with an open heart, and you will find inspiration anew. viking. exploring the world in comfort. ♪day to night to morning,♪ ♪keep with me in the moment♪ ♪i'd let you had i known it, why don't you say so?♪ ♪didn't even notice,♪ ♪no punches left to roll with♪ ♪you got to keep me focused♪ what does it feel like to sell your car to carvana? 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[gaming sounds] [gaming sounds] [gaming sounds] just think, he'll be driving for real soon. every new chevy equinox comes standard with chevy safety assist, including automatic emergency braking. find new peace of mind. find new roads. chevrolet. this evening doug imhoff, the husband of vice president kamala harris, lit the menorah candle on this, the second night of the national menorah ceremony. the pandemic has made people quit their jobs in mass exodus, so why when the jobs are plentiful? we're trying to figure out where all the members have gone. >> reporter: she picks up her 7-year-old daughter grace from school, something she's waited years to do. >> reporter: do you recall how often you were able to pick your daughter up from school? >> oh, my gosh. never. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: if covid didn't happen, do you think that you still would have quit your job? >> no. no, i think i'd still be there. yeah. without a doubt. >> reporter: she's one of millions quitting the work force in recent months. a record 4.4 million quits in september. it's being called the great resignation. >> we had, like, so much time that we had to be in our homes and spending time with, you know, people that we live with and just shifting priorities. >> reporter: and she's one of 4.7 million business applications filed from january through october of this year, a 34% increase from the same time period in 2019. she founded mommoth moms, a research guide for parents. >> it allows me to take off if i need to bring my kids to the doctor, or offers more flexibility of when i can schedule appointments for them. >> reporter: it's not just moms leaving the work force. americans are retiring in greater numbers, too. what am i looking at behind you guys right now? >> that's our rv in the background. >> reporter: sarah and marvin banks resigned and are traveling. sarah left real estate. 1.5 million americans were on pace to retire during the pandemic. instead that number doubled to 3.6 million. >> it was just is that thought that, gosh, wouldn't it be a tragedy if we spent all this time working for our retirement and right near the finish line, you catch a horrible disease and die and never beget to enjoy yo retirement. >> so they capitalized in the housing market, left their jobs and started traveling. >> i do not miss at all working right now. and the white house, as we know, have tapped into u.s. strategic oil reserves to ease the pain of motorists. get this, now pancake lovers can rejoice in their own relief. canada is dipping into their reserves of maple syrup, a cartel of 11,000 canadian producers is working with a spike of demand that cut down on the harvest. it's draining half of its stocks and 1500 pounds will end a sticky situation. and a toddler who became an overnight sensation after being filmed sliding down the hill on a snowboard. the 11-month-old hit the slopes at a ski resort in china, and although she hasn't mastered walking yet, her parents put her on the board and were surprised to see she could stand on her own and kept on encouraging her, as any parent should. she wears protective gear inside her snow clothes for her safety, and her parents have now hired a professional coach to help train her. not a bad idea. i jumped the gun a little too soon. we do have one more story to bring to you this evening. for many communities a local restaurant provides a place for family and friends, but the pandemic is putting some of those businesses at risk. in ohio there is a grandmother who grabbed an apron and pitched our very own wolf blitzer has the story. >> i'm bonnie. i'm 81 until the end of this month, then i'll be 82. i've lived in this area all my life and it's home to me. i'm comfortable here. >> reporter: one important ritual that makes it home for bonnie august is eating her favorite meal in her favorite restaurant. >> the people here are so friendly and i've known the owners grandparents, parents and them and they're wonder until, wonderful people. >> reporter: bonnie has been coming here since it opened ten years ago. >> these are some of my sunday lunch bunch after church. we go out to eat. >> reporter: which is why she was devastated that culver's had to go drive through only because there were simply not enough workers. >> i don't like eating in my car. they have to get open. >> reporter: there were 10.4 million jobs open and only 6.5 million workers hired. trying to fill in those gaps are retirees like bonnie, the hidden helpers of the pandemic economy. >> my job listing says runner. i don't run anymore. i just hurry as fast as i can. >> reporter: helping just comes naturally to bonnie. this is how the owner remembers it. >> she was walking up and me and my other partner met her at the tore and we're kind of like, sorry, our dining room is closed. no, i'm here to help. i want to get the dining room open. >> reporter: and bonnie isn't just showing up, she's a crucial member of the team. >> i work five days a week a lot. it's just walking, getting the orders, taking the bag and walking to the car and giving it to the people. >> you ordered some cheese curds, sir. ovg small talk. >> reporter: bonnie used to work nights and retired 11 years ago so her new job was a shock to her friends and family. >> 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. >> reporter: while bonnie certainly isn't looking for any extra attention -- >> she does it because she genuinely wants us to do good and she wants to see us thrive. she is genuinely wanting to help and that's all she cares about. >> reporter: she says she hopes she can aspire other hidden helpers to get back to what they love in these tough times. >> give back. if you have a chance to give back, give back. we've been giving so much. jump in the water. it can be fun. >> reporter: wolf blitzer, cnn, washington. >> great report from wolf there. before we go, look at one of the most fascinating trials in the country. after 11 weeks the jury heard directly from the former theranos director. elizabeth holmes took the stand for 11 hours. cnn's camila burnau reports. >> more people will have access to their own health information. >> reporter: with her distinctive deep voice, elizabeth holmes taking the stand. over three days of testimony holmes tried to explain her actions and regrets at her now dissolved blood testing company the theranos. >> these are the little tubes that we collect the samples in. >> reporter: needing just a few drops of blood, the startup once valued at $9 billion promised a wide range of tests claiming to revolutionize health care. >> called them the nanotainer. they were this big. >> reporter: but for 11 weeks prosecutors have argued holmes out of time and out of money lied. she faces 11 federal fraud charges over allegations that she knowingly misled investors, doctors and patients. the 37-year-old has pleaded not guilty. once known as the richest self-made woman, holmes captured the attention and money of powerful and wealthy investors. overall holmes raised $945 million in part thanks to her charisma. >> she kind of has her head tilted. she's very engaged. she's frequently smiling, making eye contact with her attorney who's asking her the questions and occasionally looking over at the jurors to kind of explain to them how the technology worked. >> reporter: tuesday holmes also telling the jury she relied on her scientists and cite the trade secrets as the reason for not disclosing the use of third party devices for their blood test. this as prosecutors prepared to confront the now disgraced golden girl of silicon valley. >> for weeks we heard all of the allegations they have mounted against her. they'll get a chance to put those allegations to her and see how she responds. i expect it will be pretty fiery when that happens. >> cnn, san jose, california. that's the news and i really nineteen this time. reporting from washington, i'm jim acosta. kaitlyn collins takes over the "cnn newsroom" live after a quick break. have a good night, everybody. veu the phone everybody wants on america's most reliable network. on any unlimited plan. better? better. and everyone gets up to $800 off when they switch. okay, everyone say betteeeer. 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