golf shoes they're supposed to wear, wear the wrong color. i don't care just as long as they play well, we play well as a team. doesn't matter what happens. we go out there and put a point on the board for our side. >> you can watch the match tomorrow night starting at 6 p.m. eastern on tnt. tiger doesn't play much anymore. he's not going to play much more in the future. we need to appreciate the time we see him out there on the course. >> have a great weekend. >> i'm christine romans. "cnn this morning" starts right now. ♪ good friday morning, everyone. we are so glad you're with us. we are live in washington d.c.

this morning. don has the day off. moments ago a wonderful thing happened. wnba star brittney griner has landed on u.s. soil. she is finally home after her release from a russian prison. we are live on the tarmac in san antonio. and arizona senator, kyrsten sinema with an announcement that will impact congress and president biden's agenda. we begin with these dramatic pictures from texas this morning, brittney griner arriving back in the united states moments ago, her ten month ordeal in russia is finally over. president biden arranging for her release in an exchange for viktor bout. rosa flores, you were there when it happened. >> reporter: it was quite the moment. what you see in the background is what we saw.

we want you to see these pictures because this is brittney griner coming home for the first time, as you mentioned, after ten months of being detained in a russian prison. from what we could see, we could see she was wearing the baeanie and red coat she was wearing in the video released by russian tv. we could see her landing on this plane, several officials that went into the plane first and then she deboarded the plane. we couldn't see anybody greet her from where we were. our cameras couldn't capture that. what we could see is brittney griner walking into a hangar, officials were tight lipped over who was going to greet her, what happens after. we do know she will be taken to a medical facility for valuations. we know that trevor reed just went through this process and his family did share with cnn

that he went through a reintegration program. if you do research, the gold standard program is here in san antonio, texas. so that's what we're expecting will happen next. but again this moment we can't say enough. like this is the first time that brittney griner is back on u.s. soil. she's a texas native, landed here in the lone star state moments ago. >> so glad you were there to capture it for us. what a great day for her and her family. thank you. we have major, major breaking news this morning. it's kind of hard to overstate just how significant this is. a stunning moment for the balance of power in the senate. kyrsten sinema is leaving the democratic party. the arizona senator said she registered as an independent, an announcement that comes three days after democrats secured the

51-49 senate with raphael warnock's re-election in georgia. before we discuss what it means for president biden, senate democrats we want you to hear from senator kyrsten sinema directly on why she's taking this step and taking it now. this is what she told jake tapper in a television exclusive. >> you're here to make a significant announcement? >> i registered as an arizona independent. i know some people might be surprised by this. but i think it makes a lot of sense. a growing number of arizonans and people like me feel like they don't fit neatly in one party's box or the other. like many across the state in the nation i decided to leave that partisan process and really just focus on the work i think matters to arizona and our country, which is solving problems and get things done. >> so your voting record is pretty capital d democratic.

your views are generally that of a moderate centrist democrat. how does leaving the party change how you do your job? >> i don't think anything will change about how i do my job. arizonans sent me to the united states senate to be an independent voice for our state. i'll continue doing that. what i think is important about this decision and move is i'll be able to show up to work every day as an independent and not be, you know, stuck into one party's demands of following without thinking. and as we've seen in recent years, both parties have created this kind of requirement or a pull towards the edges that you just unthinkingly support all of one party's viewpoints. it's made it difficult to find folks willing to work together and solve problems. as you know, jake, we've been able to do a lot of partisan

work the last couple of years. and i'm incredibly proud of that and i think it's important for folks across my state and frankly across the country to say there's someone that's kind of like me. doesn't fit neatly into one box or the other but is standing up for their values, what they believe in. and is doing it without trying to get one over on the other party or beat the other guy. >> let's talk about practically what this means. you're the chair of at least two subcommittee, a member of important committees, including veterans affairs. does this mean you'll no longer be in those positions because you're no longer a democrat and the democrats control the senate? >> i intend to maintain my position on my committees and keep doing the work i do for arizona. i don't think things will change in terms of how i operate or the work i do in the united states senate. >> so ever since raphael warnock, senator warnock was

re-elected earlier this week the balance of power is 51 votes for the democratic party, that includes two independents, angus king and bernie sanders, but that's 51-49. what you're doing today doesn't change that? it's still going to be 51-49. >> i know you have to ask that question but that's kind of a d.c. thing to worry about. what i'm focused on is making sure i'm doing what comports with my values and the values of arizonans. so i'm going to still come to work and hopefully serve on the same committees i've been serving on and continue to work well with my colleagues of both political parties and not spending much time about what the mechanics look like for washington d.c. to be honest, jake, i don't think anyone in arizona is caring about that either. so i don't think things will change much for me or arizonans.

>> the democrats in washington feel really good right now. they actually picked up a senate seat and picked up some governor seats, the first time the party that controls the white house actually gained senate and governor seats since 1934. the wave that was supposed to come, the red wave didn't actually happen. kevin mccarthy or the republicans, maybe kevin mccarthy will be the speaker but either way the republicans control the house but not with the margins they were expecting. this is going to disappoint a lot of democrats and they'll feel they don't understand why would you do this at a time when the democratic party is having a good week? >> i think folks at home in arizona have known me for a long time, they know who i am. i've always been someone who is focused on getting results, getting things done. and i've never fit neatly into any party box. i never really tried. i don't want to. and i think that's reflective of how most arizonans live.

arizonans who aren't affiliated with either party are often the largest group of voters in arizona. and even those who are affiliated with parties find they don't fit 100% into the box. when we get up in the morning we don't think about partisanship. most people don't wake up and think i have to get this democratic breakfast on the table, i have to get in my republican car and go to work. that's not how real life is. i know it is in this town but in the rest of the country people are just living their lives. so they're not thinking about who's winning and who's losing. but that's what the party is thinking about, how do we get one over on this guy? how do e ensure we're punishing them? how do we continue to win? what i'm really focused on, the proof is in the pudding in the work i've done in the senate, i'm focused on getting results. like actually solving problems. so removing myself from the

partisan structure not only is it true to who i am and how i operate, i also think it'll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country who also are tired of the partisanship. >> there's going to be a lot of noise about this from the democrats, from progressives, from the left, you know this. that because of your position working with senator joe manchin of west virginia to push back on some of the efforts, the legislative efforts and change them and moderate them, you've already been a target of the left and people have been very critical of you. they're going to call you every name in the book, a traitor, an ingrate, what are you going to say? >> i think i'll do what i always do, jake, which is keep doing the work that i know is important for my state. i'm just not worried about folks who may not like this approach. what i am worried about is

continuing to do what's right for my state. and there are folks who certainly don't like my approach. we hear about it a lot. but the proof is in the pudding. in the last few years in the senate, as you and i have just mentioned, i've been honored to lead historic efforts from infrastructure to gun violence prevention, to protecting religious liberty and helping lgbt families feel secure, to the chips and science bill, the list is long. the results speak for themselves. it's okay if some people aren't comfortable with that approach. >> wow. >> wow. >> what a day to be in d.c., huh? >> i know. major washington news while we're here in washington. let's talk about this with lauren fox and audie cornish. wow. >> wow. >> what's your reaction? >> this is really the identity that she has had this entire

time she has been in the u.s. senate. she has really acted independently, time after time. whether it was how democrats dealt with build back better and tax increases, whether it was how she wanted to deal with the filibuster, she wanted to preserve it. all of those issues really made her an independent. i think the key question of course is where is she going to spend her time? is she still going to caucus with democrats. jake asked that question and it's a key one, she skirted around it. it matters because of the balance of power in the u.s. senate. is she going to continue to serve on her committees and democrats are going to have the 51 vote advantage, that matters for subpoena power, for how the committees are made up. if that changes obviously a 50/50 senate is a different dynamic. the one we've been living with for the last two years. so that's really important and key. but wow. just wow. >> remember when mitch mcconnell called her the most effective

first term senator i've seen in my time in the senate. right? the question is, yes, she's voted with biden i think 93% of the time. he asked her is that going to change? she said, nothing is going to change. but we don't know what this means for her votes. >> she's being honest in nothing is going to change in the fact she was able to use her status as someone who is inclined to bring republicans on board to elevate herself in any given discussion, right. and she, joe manchin of west virginia, they're able to have a transactional relationship with their own party and extract concessions that benefit them and their constituencies in their state. it's not an accident she said arizona voters half a dozen times and we know in arizona there were a lot of ticket splitters in the election. whether or not she's running in the future it's fair to say she's trying to maintain the

power that she has gained by making this move. >> and that power was changed with what we saw happen in georgia. i wonder what you make of the timing of this decision. that is something the white house is going to be looking at, this comes just after they're off a major victory in georgia with warnock getting that full term. what do you think the timing of this looks like? >> maybe the timing gave her the room to do this in a way she felt as though democrats were secure in their majority, she felt she could take this step that was more true to who she was as an independent, that's how she's operated -- >> that's a charitable reading, by the way. >> i think one of the reasons she's also doing this, she's staring down a tough re-election. let's not forget about the fact that's just around the corner. and you have to be thinking, my state is changing, the dynamics have changed. probably looked at the last midterm and said what do i need to do to win to maintain my seat and perhaps saying i'm an

independent, putting the "i" behind your name gives her that power. >> we're in an age where running for dog catcher is politics. >> as you showed us in your podcast. >> it's very real. this discussion about the filibuster, about roe v. wade, federal judges, all these things they have big effects down ballot and for people and not just in arizona. and i think while that is a good focus for her to say nationally. you are going to hear a dialogue that isn't just about the senate, but is about how senators like manchin or her are able to wield power over other people in other states because of their status as kind of independent voices. >> i wonder what you think the white house thinks this morning? i know it's very early but she has helped biden. yes, she opposed dismantling the

filibuster but she helped with some of the things, build back better, chips. she was in line. >> i did hear from a source two minutes ago, the white house did have an idea this was coming. she did communicate to the white house. the question i think no one knows and this has been the entire premises of cikyrsten sinema she was an unknown. she's quiet, doesn't often speak to reporters. it's fascinating to hear her talk to jake because she does not do interviews like this. the white house did have an idea of it but have questions of what in practice this looks like. >> she likes being a mystery. that is something on capitol hill she gets attention for, she likes that, that's her identity. when she spends time on the floor on the senate she spends sometimes more time with republicans chitchatting, making deals. she says i don't care who i have to work with, i want to make a

deal, get things done in washington, that's what voters want. we have to see the practical implications of what this is going to mean in practice. >> i think mcconnell wants any vote he can get from her. i think we have sound from mitch mcconnell, let's play it. >> she is, in my view, and i've told her this before, the most effective first-term senator i've seen in my time in the senate. >> that was september. what do you think this means looking ahead to 2024 when the map gets much harder for democrats? >> i'm not all the way at 2024 yet. >> get there, girlfriend. >> i think about the last time this happened, maybe arlen specter, pennsylvania. they were able to pass legislative priorities, they were post 911 related around intelligence, surveillance, things like that. so there was a sort of higher calling in those moments but this does have implications for

what the legislative agenda is going into the 2024 period that everyone will be running on. >> and it's not going to look like it did this year. >> arizona is becoming more and more intriguing when you think back to the mccain maverick days and what happened with the election and kari lake. i feel it's the place to watch. >> for sure. >> i can't wait to see the reaction on the hill. thank you for joining us on this breaking news. later we'll speak to jake tapper himself about this rare interview with kyrsten sinema. also this morning a new cnn poll just out this hour. we'll tell you what it says about president biden's approval after the midterm elections we were just talking about. plus hospitals are really hitting their max capacity on patients. the fullest they've been throughout the pandemic and it's not just because of covid. what you need to know about this

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i'm for people 45+ at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. moments ago wnba star brittney griner touched down in the united states on u.s. soil after ten months being detained in russia. officials say she was -- will first be take bon to a medical facility and then be reunited with her wife and family. mj lee, you were on the breaking news with us yesterday morning when this happened, 24 hours later she is back on u.s. soil. >> reporter: yeah. and she is, by all measures, elated. the only video we have seen of

brittney griner was released by russian state media and they asked her on that flight when she was flying to abu dhabi, they said are you ready for the flight? she said yes, yes, i'm ready. i think that's our best indication how she's feeling. we haven't heard from her in a broad sense. when you talk to biden administration officials they say she's in good spirits, her wife spoke yesterday at the white house and talking about her family being whole again. we look forward to hearing her voice because the last few months have been by all accounts the darkest of her life. >> we think they might be more focused on brittney griner and her landing in texas but a lot of questions uppopped up about paul whelan, the fact this was a significant compromise to send this notorious arms dealer for a

basketball star. >> i think you saw from every public statement that we saw yesterday coming from the white house, the emphasis on paul whelan and really emphasizing just what a difficult and challenging decision this was for president biden and everyone around him. this wasn't where they wanted to end up, they obviously proposed a deal that included both brittney griner and paul whelan. and at some point it became very clear, because the russians were so insistent, you are going to get brittney griner and nobody else. and at some point they just had to make the executive decision that, you know, it's either going to be nobody or we are going to get brittney griner. i think a piece of language that the white house has continued to use is moral obligation. they said the president himself said there was a moral obligation to brittney griner who is a u.s. citizen to get her out when the deal was presented

to them. >> one of the headlines from our colleagues, the white house, biden chooses humanity over geopolitics. i want to play the blinken sound. >> to the credit of whelan family, they said of course they wanted the biden administration to work to bring home paul whelan, who has been detained there for almost four years, but they were gracious saying they believe the biden administration made the right call here. imagine how hard it is to say when your loved one is being left behind. >> let's listen to the secretary of state antony blinken on this. >> this was not a choice of which american to bring home. the choice was one or none. i wholeheartedly wish we could have brought paul home today on the same plane as brittany, just as i wish we could have brought brittany and paul home when we secured the release of trevor reed in april.

>> does russia have what they want to -- does the u.s. have what russia wants to let paul whelan go? >> that's the question. the bigger question of what kind of precedent this potentially sets, right. and they have gotten plenty of criticism for this already. if you are a rogue actor or a foreign government watching all of this unfold, what is to say you are not thinking if we take an american citizen captive and hostage, then we too could get back somebody as notorious and dangerous as somebody like viktor bout who has the nickname of merchant of death for a reason. when we asked the white house this question yesterday, i have to tell you we did not get a reassuring answer. the answer was, well, countries like russia are doing this kind of thing anyway. that doesn't really answer the question of how are you going to

prevent other countries from taking more people captive and using that as leverage. >> they have often said, don't pay these ransoms, don't negotiate. that's been their policy from the state department when it comes to families that want to take this in their own hands. >> that is u.s. government policy so it is a challenging thing. the other thing that administration officials were saying yesterday definitively, they're going to do anything they can that is in their power to get home americans. i think that's a powerful message. there's a concern as you said that other countries are watching, they're going to take other americans, the other thing the biden administration is saying they're doing is they're going to target those taking americans. we saw the president -- actually president biden rolled out an executive order a few months ago enabling the government to do that more easily. we'll see how it works out but they're trying their best. >> we'll wait to see. thank you for joining us. ahead the wnba commissioner

is going to join us on the league's efforts to bring brittney griner home and the letters she wrote to her during her ten months in russia. president biden's approval ratings are in. we'll tell you what the polls show. also former president trump facing a hearing as the justice department asks a judge to hold him in contempt. that would be extraordinary. what to expect ahead. ♪ over the last 100 years, lincoln's witnessed a good bit ohistory. even made some themselves. makes you wonder...

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welcome back to "cnn this morning." we are live in washington today. we have a lot coming up for you. including democrats, they won the midterms but where does president biden's approval stand

after seeing what voters said at the polls. new cnn polling at the moment. plus hospitals in the u.s. are the fullest they've been throughout the pandemic, not just because of coronavirus, we'll tell you why. and also, kyrsten sinema out with a big announcement this morning, how are her previous fellow democrats going to react? michael smerconish is standing by. this just in, brand new cnn polling on president biden's job approval following the critical midterms. 46% of americans say they like the way the president is handling his job, 54% disapprove. let's get to harry enton. you feel so far yet so close. good morning. is this good for the president? >> not a great approval rating, 46% approval, 54% disapprove. i want you to look at the trend line. this is better news for the president. so you can see right now 46%, right.

it was 41% in our last poll back in october. 44%, 38%, june, july. so the 46% is the highest number we've recorded him having in a while. but as you said, it's still not great. why is it that his approval rating is up but still not awesome. things in the country going today are going well. how are things going? we're at 35% who say things are going well in the country. that is up from october when it was just 26%. it's the highest rating that we have recorded on this measure since december of 2021 when it was 38%. so again, 35% of americans saying that things are going well. it's not an awesome number but it is better from where we were. if you look here on the economy, right, is the economy -- how's the economy doing? this gives you an understanding of why things are doing what they're doing. that is, why the approval rating for joe biden is low but perhaps

it's up. the economy still in a downturn. 35% of americans say that the -- 53% of americans say it's still in a downturn. 30% say it's stabilizing, not getting worse. 17% saying it's recovering. i want to dig deeper into the economy, right, and give you an understanding of why americans think things are still in a downturn. this is the change in financial situation over the past year. and what do we see here? are things worse off? 49% say that things -- that their change in their financial situation it's worse off. if you looked a year ago, it was just 33%. again, about the same, better off, totaling about 50% but 49% say things are still worse off. it's not great. it's the economy keeping joe biden's job approval ratings down. >> it's all that matters with the economy, how people feel not if there's a technical recession

or not. harry, thank you friend. what is the white house going to think about this? >> the approval rating going from 41 to 46 is pretty good. that's something they wanted to see. especially when we talk about the midterms, i don't think we talked about it enough it defied history how well democrats did. they were expecting a different midterm night than they got in november. that is something that -- one thing to think also into how does that factor into biden's decision making -- >> i don't know if it moves the polls but bringing brittney griner home isn't in these numbers. >> good news for them. up next, hospitals are the fullest they've been since the covid-19 pandemic but it's not just the coronavirus filling the beds. it's other respiratory viruses to blame. joining us is dr. tara narula. if you ask people what they would see when it comes to the capacity at these hospitals,

they would have thought it would have been higher earlier on in the pandemic. but now with the confluence of all of this, we're seeing them at capacity. >> absolutely. and you know, hospitals were required to begin reporting capacity back in the midpart of 2020 to help track the covid pandemic. in fact, over the past two years in general they've been operating with about 70% of beds full. that number this past week is up to 80%, jumped about 8% in the past two weeks. the only other time we saw beds 80% full was last january at the height of omicron. there are states where the number is higher, rhode island, over 90%. eight states, including washington, oregon, massachusetts, where the numbers are over 85%. we've been clearly talking about this in terms of pediatric hospitals as well. those numbers we're talking three quarters of capacity versus typically about two thirds. and when you look at the breakdown, only 6% of the

patients are covid patients. that's compared to about 25% last january. so as you mentioned, clearly more going on. >> is it because of what they're calling the tripledemic, which is covid, plus rsv plus flu, but the last of immunity from wearing masks the last few years. >> exactly. the new favorite word, tripledemic. it seems rsv numbers are peaking in many parts of the country and hospitalizations are slowing down. but when you look at the flu, the numbers are still high. the cdc director this week saying hospitalizations are at an all-time high for this year compared to last decade. and only six states are reporting high levels of circulating respiratory viruses. that's a big part of this. 78,000 hospitalizations already for flu. 4,500 deaths. but there's also the issue of workforce shortages we know that

contributes to problems in hospitals. how do you get patients out of the hospital? you have to discharge them to nursing facilities, rehabs. if you don't have staff there that could be a problem. and finally, a lot of people delayed care over the past two years. their own care for other issues, those are now taking up hospital beds. it's a confluence of all of these issues at the same time. >> a lot to deal with. thank you have a good weekend. >> thank you, you too. more on our breaking news this morning, arizona senator kyrsten sinema, she's no longer a democrat. we'll get reaction from cnn's michael smerconish on what that means for the structure of the senate, that's next.

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over 7 million people are under winter weather advisories this morning as heavy ksnow and ice are going to make traveling difficult. over a foot of snow expected in the sierra, nevada mark zuckerberg -- mountains. >> more on our breaking news this morning. arizona senator kyrsten sinema tells cnn in an exclusive tv interview with jake tapper she's leaving the democratic party, registered as an independent. it comes days after the democrats in the senate gained a clear 51-49 majority after the re-election of raphael warnock

in georgia. fierce independent michael smerconish joins us now. i'm so glad you could be with us on a day like this. what do you think? >> it's huge news. she has lots of company, 42% of the country according to gallup self-identify as is not rs or ds. i looked at the latest data as of november 4, arizona, there are more others than they are democrats and nearly as many others as they are republicans. so the point is, there are a hell of a lot of us in the country that regard ourselves as independents. there is really not a leader for that constituency, and i think she assumes that mantle. i think she is that individual. >> one thing noted by democratic sources she votes with biden a lot of the time. she gets criticism, you may not think that but she does vote

with the biden agenda a lot. do you think this has to do with her re-election? she hasn't said whether or not she's running but does this have to do with her potentially running for re-election as they promised to primary her in the democratic party. >> it might. there's a group called common ground that released data in the last few days showing that bridge builders for lack of a better description did well in c competitive congressional races this cycle. i think notwithstanding she votes with the administration more than she votes against it. she's proven her independence, much like joe manchin. you said we have a story today, someone has formally joined the ranks of independents, who do you think it is? i probably would have said manchin followed by sinema. the two of them exhibit such control in the senate because everyone needs to come to them

to cut a deal. i think it's wise for her because it places great power in her hands. >> i was asking kaitlan what she thought and i wonder what you feel, this feels from someone who's not a d.c. insider different from bernie sanders and angus king who caucus with the democrats and are pretty reliable. do you think it's different? >> totally different. i think most americans don't regard senator sanders as an independent because we're used to seeing him run for president as a democrat. remember in the recent election, evan mcmullen ran as an independent in utah, put up a good showing but was unsuccessful. there was a question of this and i asked it of evan, okay, you're going to be an independent but will you caucus with either party because if you don't won't you lose any committee standing. he cited for me on cnn, a senate rule, i think it was 25 but don't hold me to it, he said

there's a senate rule that applies that guarantees that a sitting senator has at least two committee assignments. that will be interesting to see how that gets handled because i don't think democrats will want to punish her because ultimately they're going to need her given the close margin that exists in the u.s. senate. the two of you made reference to this in a prior segment this morning, one wonders if she would have had this coming out as an independent if the election had gone in a different direction. in other words, the ds can afford to lose one. i don't know if she would have made this move if say herschel walker and one other race had gone differently. >> good point. >> i feel like she knows rule 25 or whatever you said because she said she's confident she'll have committee assignments. >> thank you fierce independent michael smerconish, we appreciate you. >> i love that, thank you. >> we'll banner you like that every time. you can catch michael's show

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♪ history in the making, everyone. >> history in the making. you can hear that money coming off the presses as treasury secretary janet yellen and treasure lynn mark a new milestone in the u.s. for the first time two women have their signatures on our nation's currency. yellen is the first female secret to sign a bank note. yellen said she's truly honored by this and made it clear the fight for equity and inclusion is not over yet. >> we made progress in providing greater economic opportunity for women at treasury and in the economics profession. but we still know that much more

needs to be done, and i hope that today is a reminder of the road we have traveled on equity and inclusion. and i hope it motivates us to continue to move forward. >> me too. great to see. >> great moment for her. we have two major breaking stories this morning, brittney griner, wnba star back on u.s. soil after her release from a russian prison and this. and arizona senator kyrsten sinema is leaving the democratic party. what does that mean for what happens on capitol hill? stay with us.

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♪ in sports this morning, army/navy may be brothers on the battlefield but they are not on the football field as kaitlan will find out this weekend. the cadets and midshipmen face off for the 123rd time in philadelphia tomorrow afternoon renewing one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. >> both schools want to win in the worst way, the players want to win in the worst way, they're going to give everything they have. when they graduate they'll be one team and protecting our freedoms as a country. >> it's amazing this one game can represent so many people. it's a great feeling and i'm honored to be able to be part of it. >> you get presidents, all these celebrities that come. america is truly watching this game and i'm so excited i get to be part of it. >> each team will be wearing special uniforms, army will honor soldiers fro