over the past several days. and i think this reflects that we re entering a new phase of the pandemic. reporter: and officials are telling us that they are very concerned about the number of covid cases that are growing, because the omicron variant is so transmissible. and now the cdc is out with a new forecast, estimating that the toll this could take on americans could grow, up to 845,000 by january 8th, with many states expected to see an increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the next few weeks. david? all right, stephanie ramos tonight. thank you. we re going to turn now to the moment in court today. former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin pleading guilty to violating george floyd s civil rights. chauvin, of course, already serving 22 1/2 years. george floyd s family now reacting tonight. and here s alex perez. reporter: tonight, an about-face from former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin. no cameras in the courtroom, chauvin changing his plea to guilty
but give you mine, okay? oh, my god. no, just let me kill myself, mych. no, that s not happening, kim. reporter: potter crying today as the videos were presented in court, putting her head in her hands. during that traffic stop in april, officers tried to arrest wright for a misdemeanor warrant. you re under arrest, daunte. reporter: that body camera footage belonging to officer mychal johnson. you see him open the passenger door as wright struggles with the officer potter was training. johnson attempts to put the car in park as wright gets shot, all in a matter of seconds. taser, taser, taser. and then what happened? and then i heard a loud pop. reporter: the defense focusing on justified use of force given wright s resistance. the prosecution shifting away from the right potter may have had to use deadly force saying potter s actions endangered those around her. testimony resumes on monday. david? stephanie ramos tonight. thank you. now to that supreme court dec
th defense for a mistrial, saying the the defense saying that the state introduced irrelevant information that had nothing to do with potter s thought process. now, the prosecution saying it i relevant and that potter s actions endangered those around her. testimony continues tomorrow, david. all right, stephanie ramos tonight. steph, thank you. and now, to a major storm system we re tracking at this hour, taking shape in the west. alerments already across more than a dozen states at this hour, from california all the way to the great lakes. and ahead of it, a major warmup on the east, that will also change quickly. already parts of colorado tonight getting its first significant snow of the season. and the severe weather threat including tornadoes across several states tomorrow, so, let s get right to chief meteorologist ginger zee tracking it all tonight. hi, jinger. reporter: hi, david. can you believe that denver has not yet had a measurable snow. their latest on record was
still driving what we re seeing in this country, but what dr. anthony fauci is saying now about what we re seeing so far from symptoms with omicron. abc s stephanie ramos tonight leading us off here in new york. ed. reporter: facing a covid surge driving cases up 27% across the country in the last week, along with the looming omicron variant, new york city today expanding vaccine mandates in the nation s most sweeping plan yet. the mayor calling it a vcis the str weapon in this war against covid. it s the one thing that s worked every single time across the board. reporter: starting later this month, all private sector employees will have to have one dose of the vaccine. children as young as 5 to 11 will now also need proof of one vaccine dose to enter restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues. and anyone 12 and older will require two vaccine doses for all indoor activities.
guests and crew onboard also testing positive for covid. they said everyone has got to be tested all of a sudden. dinner, shows, everything. a lot of moving parts in this pandemic again. and stephanie ramos, the u.s. military sending more militatea help states? reporter: that s right, david. they ll be heading to colorado, new mexico andmy mip. they ll include nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists and be in position to support those on the front lines by the end of the week. david? stephanie, thank you. we re going to turn next here tonight into the investigation of the deadly school shooting in michigan. the gunman and his parents now all behind bars in the same sul jail, but being held separately. tonight, the school is now under the microscope, too, after that meeting earlier in the day and the warning signs.