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CARL AZUZ: Hi.
I'm Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
Welcome to the second of three shows
we're producing this week.
It begins in the United Kingdom, where health officials say
Omicron, a newly discovered variant or version of COVID-19,
is spreading rapidly throughout the country.
The British government estimates that Omicron
accounts for 20% of all coronavirus cases in the UK.
That amounted to just over 4,700 Omicron cases Monday.
10 people had been hospitalized with the new variant,
despite most of them being fully vaccinated.
One person with it has died.
There's a lot that's still unknown about this mutation
of COVID.
But according to the World Health Organization,
early findings suggest that existing vaccines may be less
effective in preventing people from getting
and spreading Omicron.
Early data also suggest it's less
severe than previous COVID variants
that most people with Omicron have relatively
mild symptoms or none at all.
Still, the British government is asking
more people to work from home.
It's reinstated a mask mandate for people to shop or use
public transportation and it's planning
to expand vaccine requirements for people
to go into certain public places.
Across the Atlantic, New York state is increasing
COVID-related restrictions.
For people to enter businesses there,
they now have to be wearing masks
unless the businesses themselves require vaccinations.
The state's government says it's trying
to get ahead of an expected winter surge in cases.
A mask mandate remains in effect in Illinois for people
who go inside public buildings-- and that's
regardless of whether they've been vaccinated.
Cases have been on the rise in the American Northeast
and Midwest over the past couple of weeks.
We don't know if that's because of the Omicron variant, though.
This could be the continued spread of previously
identified versions like Delta.
Protesters have been speaking out against various mandates
nationwide and dozens of court cases related to them
have been filed.
Meanwhile, several states in and around the Midwest
are trying to measure the damage caused
by last weekend's tornadoes.
Kentucky's governor says at least four of them
struck his state, with one twister
staying on the ground for a stretch of 200 miles or more.
At least 74 people there were killed.
More than 100 are still unaccounted
for and over 1,000 homes in Kentucky were destroyed.
People from all over the country have
sent millions of in donations.
Officials say more is needed.
And they're specifically asking for blood donations.
Seven other states were hit by tornadoes last Friday
or Saturday.
The National Weather Service says at least
50 twisters were reported.
10-second trivia.
What did US President Gerald Ford call "public enemy
number one" in 1974?
Soviet influence, pollution, OPEC, or inflation?
With the inflation rate at higher than 11%,
President Ford called it a public enemy.
There are a lot of mixed signals concerning the US economy.
In its most recent employment report,
the Labor Department said 210,000
jobs were created in November.
That's far short of the 573,000 economists had
expected-- a bad sign there.
On the other hand, the unemployment rate,
the percentage of American workers who don't have a job,
that dropped from 4.6% in October to 4.2% in November--
a good sign there.
Wages have increased.
The government says this November
the average amount of money Americans made per hour
was 4.8% higher than it was a year ago.
But prices have increased, too.
The government says inflation is 6.8% higher
than it was a year ago, its biggest increase
in almost four decades.
Economists say the rise in wages is not enough to keep
up with the rise in prices.
And while some are optimistic that inflation could calm down
in the year ahead, banking officials have
indicated it may stick around.
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: Hi.
You hungry?
VANESSA YURKEVICH: In the St. Cyr household--
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: Nice.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: Cricket the show cow and Trigger
the rescue horse are top priorities.
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: So your animals come first.
Like, they eat before I eat.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: And these gentle giants eat a lot.
[horse neighing]
The price of their food has gone up.
And with twice daily feedings, they run through nearly
250 pound bags a week.
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: It was about, like, $16 a bag.
And right now it's at--
it depends on where you go.
Where we're getting it, it's about, like, $22.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: It's just one of the price pinches for
this family in rural Michigan.
Spending power for rural Americans has dropped by 5.2%
compared to 3.5% for urban Americans from pre-pandemic.
And rural Americans typically spend more
on the very items that have seen the biggest price increases--
food, energy, and cars.
What are the biggest challenges you face
when it comes to inflation?
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: I think it's just not having the options
to offset those costs.
It's, like, OK, yeah, we could drive another half hour,
another hour.
But it's, like, we're paying $350 for gas.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: But gas prices are
falling to a seven-week low--
down $0.20 in Michigan in the last month to $3.22 a gallon.
And for these new small business owners, every cent counts.
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: You have a budget
that you have to stick to.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: This year, the couple
launched their wood furniture and decor company Palomino
& Co. out of their garage.
But then the cost of lumber skyrocketed,
and good quality became scarce.
So to fill orders, they turn to their own barn for wood.
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: All of this used to be stalls.
This whole, like, the aisleway.
They're all stalls.
We deconstructed those to get lumber.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: The price of wood has come back down.
But the cost to ship their orders is up.
DYLAN ST. CYR: With being out a little farther
out in the country, obviously shipping costs,
they increase because the farther out they have to drive.
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: I think we've been hit with so much.
It's, like, you know, first, inflation.
And then gas prices, and then shipping.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: But as prices have risen, so have wages--
up 4.8% since last November.
Dylan still has his full-time job
to help support the business.
So you feel like it's risen a little bit
together enough to offset?
DYLAN ST. CYR: It's definitely helped.
Probably not enough to keep up with inflation.
CHRISTINA ST. CYR: No.
DYLAN ST. CYR: But it's definitely helped, though.
I mean, you always have that in the back of your mind.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: The couple says
there is a positive to living in rural America
during a time of inflation.
If a family in the community is suffering financially,
the whole community rallies around them to try to keep
their heads above water.
And the St. Cyr couple says that despite the fastest rise
in inflation in nearly 40 years, they're
very hopeful and optimistic about their future
and their business's future.
They believe that this inflation is temporary.
Back to you.
CARL AZUZ: "Everyday people changing
the world" is the phrase used to describe CNN Heroes.
This year marked the 15th anniversary of the program.
CNN announced its top 10 heroes in October.
And after that, it was up to viewers
to choose the hero of the year.
The finalist was named in the all-star tribute on Sunday
night.
ANDERSON COOPER: The 2021 CNN Hero of the Year
is Shirley Raines.
[audience cheering]
CARL AZUZ: So who is Shirley Raines?
She's the founder of a non-profit organization
called Beauty 2 The Streetz.
For the past six years, it's provided food, clothing, hair,
and makeup services on Skid Row, an area of Los Angeles,
California that has one of America's highest
concentrations of homeless people.
Raines first started working in this area in 2017
when she joined a church group that went there to feed people.
She felt a connection to the homeless community.
Raines had experienced financial insecurity, grief,
and loss herself in previous years
after her two-year-old son died.
Thirty years afterward, she and her six children
began the work that became Beauty 2 The Streetz
SHIRLEY RAINES: This journey has not been easy.
I stand before you today a very broken woman.
My life would never be the same since my son died.
But it's important that you know that broken people
are still very much useful.
We are very much useful.
[applause]
CARL AZUZ: Raines received $100,000
to expand her weekly outdoor beauty salon on Skid Row.
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Bears have been known to eat everything,
from berries and fish to grass and deer.
But do they eat reindeer?
This one does.
The cub viciously attacked an inflatable reindeer recently
in Southern California while its mother hung back
and watched the scene unfold.
Get it?
A woman nearby thought this was funny enough
to whip out her phone and provide this video,
but she says the two bears are commonly
seen in the neighborhood and that they're trouble.
You might call them "Bad News Bears."
That cub left more than a bear and stain on that reindeer.
He caused the padding ton of damage.
And while no one had to call Smokey--
and this happened a long way from Chicago--
we'd say the cub that managed to Winnie
the fight will probably get passed over by Rudolph
and the gang this Christmas.
Pocahontas High School won't get passed over those.
Shout out to you, our viewers in Pocahontas, Arkansas.
We have one more show to go for the season and for the year.
So we hope you'll bear with us once again tomorrow.
I'm Carl Azuz.
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