store. could a series of smash and dash robberies keep people away? good morning and welcome to a special thanksgiving friday edition of early start. i m christine romans. laura jarrett has the day off. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we have reports this morning from hong kong, california, france, istanbul, capitol hill, rome and virginia as only we can. but we start with breaking news this morning from johannesburg. serious concern about a new coronavirus variant detected in south africa. scientists worried because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people. remember, lower vaccination rates allow the virus to mutate more easily. every unvaccinated person is a host for a new variant. this morning infections in south africa are dramatically up. markets ricochetting around the world. tokyo, shanghai, all down sharply. europe has opened up down sharply as well. in the u.s. stock index futures