secretary of state anthony blinken warns russia ahead of meetings over tensions of ukraine at the top of the agenda this shower. and true to his word, the women s tennis association boss puts principle ahead of profit, suspending tournaments in china over the safety of peng shuai. announcer: live from london, this is cnn newsroom with isa soares. hello, everyone. welcome to the show. it is thursday, december 2nd. we begin with the omicron variant of the coronavirus, now confirmed in the united states. now, dr. anthony fauci says the person is fully vaccinated and had recently traveled to south africa. the u.s. is now among many countries, at least 20 countries, in fact. have a look at the map. and territories with confirmed omicron cases even though the world health organization says it remains dominant around the globe. have a listen. having a single person who had what would be considered a breakthrough infection because the person was fully vaccinated doesn t
first case of the omicron variant has now been officially confirmed in california. president biden is expected to speak around 1:30 this afternoon on this new variant. and his winter strategy to fight the virus. cnn has learned that the administration plans to extend the existing federal mask mandate for airplanes, buses, trains and boats through at least march now, a move many experts believe is appropriate until scientists know more about omicron. i think the steps that are being taken, being aggressive until we know more, is the right thing to do. you only have one chance to get ahead of a newly-spreading strain of a disease. cnn s kaitlan collins starts us off with more on the discovery of this new variant in san francisco and the administration s response. reporter: good morning, christine and laura. this is a moment that scientists in the federal government had been bracing for. finding this first omicron variant in the united states, in san francisco, an individu
townhall last night. having a single person who had what would be considered a breakthrough infection, because the person was fully vaccinated, doesn t really tell you much at all. it s only a single person, anderson. so you can t make a broad general statement or extrapolation for what would go on with unvaccinated people, people who are boosted. so there is still a lot to be learned. . dr. fauci went on to say holiday travel is safe for those who are vaccinated. more than two dozen countries on six continents. this was expected here in the united states and elsewhere. this is not some surprise or calamity. overnight, france joined the list, confirming a positive case in an unvaccinated man in his 50s who just returned from nigeria. later today, president biden, and this is a big deal, he will visit the national institutes of health and deliver remarks on his plan to fight the pandemic, to deal with the omicron variant as the united states enters its winter months. becau
survey of executives from the prominent business roundtable, ceo s outlook the strongest in the 20-year history of the survey. the omicron factor could change that. if history is a guide, large companies have managed very well through every twist and turn of this pandemic. even with tangled supply khaepbs. the covid economy has been remarkably profitable for the big companies. profits for s&p 500 companies soared 37.5% in the year ending in june. according to bloomberg, they posted biggest profit margins in 70 years. let me say that again. biggest margins since 1950. the s&p is up 20% this year. even after that november wobble there. nearly half of ceos surveyed said worker pay was the greatest cost pressure. profit margins would suggest companies are paying people more and they re still making money. it is the goldilocks moment. just right for employees and pay. inflation eats into the worker pay. goldilocks is wearing a mask. delta and omicron are still helping market conce
plug. patrick mcenroe, i appreciate your input here. you should know that china apparently is so scared with what you have to say about this that they blacked out the feed of cnn to china during this segment, underneath we re showing the live feed, the people in china are seeing now, color bars there. they don t want china the chinese people to hear what you have to say, patrick. we do. thanks so much. hopefully my podcast as well, john. i ll stay on this topic until we know for sure that peng shuai is safe, and is sound of mind, and can speak her mind. the wta has not gotten any assurances of that thus far. that is a huge problem. good for you. we appreciate you speaking up. thanks so much. thank you, john. new day continues right now. good morning to viewers here in the united states and around the world. it is thursday, december 2nd, and i m brianna keilar with john berman. it was inevitable but very alarming this first confirmed case of the omicron vari