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 concerns. we right now? the fed chief expects the u.s. economy will grow 5% this year. john, as you know, that would be the most robust expansion since the reagan administration. >> you had me at goldilocks is wearing a mask. . >> that's right. >> thank you so much, christine. "new day" continues right now. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. it is thursday, december 2nd. i'm john berman with brianna keilar. this morning, the former president in specific legal jeopardy. is he in specific legal jeopardy for the january 6th insurrection? if not, should he be? that's the question being add anew by court watchers and legal analysts after surprisingly blunt comments from the bench by a federal judge as she sentenced a rioter for her reaction. she made clear who she was talking about, suggesting to the rioter, quote, there may be others who bear greater responsibility and should be held accountable. and she called those who stoked the flames of fear and discontent and explicitly encouraged attendees to go to the capitol and fight for one reason and one reason only. >> they just released the interrogation tape of daniel rodriguez of california. he tearfully admits using a taser on michael fanone. he said he did it for his president. >> he's the commander in chief and the leader of our country, and he's calling for help. i thought he was calling for help. i thought he was -- i thought we were doing the right thing. >> he felt they stole the election, stole this country. it's gone. it's wiped out. america is over. it's destroyed now. >> joining me now cnn chief legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, jeffrey toobin. judge amy berman jackson said there may be others more accountable. that's what she says to the lower wrung people at the insurrection. what's the significance of that? >> well, she is someone who has followed the trump saga more closely than any federal judge in the country. she was the paul manafort judge. she was very involved in cases from the mueller investigation. so she knows what she's talking about. it's a little unclear to me whether she was talking about moral responsibility or legal responsibility. what the justice department is doing to the frustration of many trump opponents is they are pursuing a typical investigation in the sense that they are working from the bottom up. they are prosecuting all the low-level people first. and then they are working up to who may have planned the insurrection at the capitol. it's a slow process. they are getting people to cooperate. and if there's a case to be made against the ultimate higher up, which is the former president, that's going to be based on the cooperation of people at the next level up. so it is significant she feels there might be a case there. but the justice department is moving at a much slower pace >> they are the oneses that matter because they need to make a decision. they need to charge trump now. >> it's never going to happen. and that's not the way white collar criminal investigations work. they always rely on the cooperation of lower level people. there are a lot of people cooperating. how high that goes remains to be seen. but you certainly never indict the chief or even investigate the chief until you have lower-level people to cooperate. >> that's evidence of incitement. is that enough to charge? >> absolutely not. the language used, while inflammatory, was consistent with the language of politics. we're going to fight. every politician says we're going to fight. now, what followed was this extraordinary series of crimes. whether trump knew that crimes were being planned and committed, that's a very different matter from inflammatory rhetoric. >> what about sedition? why haven't they thrown the book at him and others? >> it is a crime almost never charged in american history. it is legally very murky. the justice department has plenty of crimes that they are able to charge the rioters with, and the immediate -- the people immediately involved in the events at the capitol. we'll see if there are more exotic charges down the line. but there is no reason for the justice department to get into legal fights with lower level people when they have very conventional crimes they can charge. >> just to put a bow on this part of our discussion, if you're donald trump, steve bannon or someone in his immediately circle, are you more worried because of what judge jackson said? >> probably a little. she has an intimate familiarity with the facts of the january 6th case. ultimately, remember, in our system, the decision of whom to investigate and whom to charge belongs to the justice department not to the judiciary. >> what on earth is going on with jeffrey clark? the january 6th committee, the committee voted to refer him for criminal contempt for not showing up and testifying. after that vote, reached some kind of agreement for him to go into a deposition but we think he's going to cite his fifth amendment rights not to speak. >> i think what happens with jeffrey clark will happen with a lot more people in this investigation, which will simplify the legal process. he will take the fifth, which he is entitled to do. there is nothing they can do except grant him immunity, which would stop the justice department's investigation of him. and the committee is not going to want to do that. so roger stone has suggested he's going to take the fifth. clark said he will take the fifth. that's it. that's the end. it's not legally complicated. no one has to go to court. it is frustrating because they won't be able to ask questions. >> jamie raskin said he can't use the fifth on everything. >> the way it works in the real world is you mostly can take the fifth about everything. you would have to litigate the issue of whether he can take the fifth. that would take months. taking the fifth is the end of the story. >> as we used to say as a kid, same difference. >> same difference, as we said. so we're learning more now about former president trump hiding the fact that he lied about having the coronavirus. this including a debate with joe biden who because of his age, like trump, was in a vulnerable category. trump had lied repeatedly from the very start of the crisis. now a stunning revelation by the former right-hand man giving us a timeline of the ex-president's reckless behavior after he became infected. fo former president trump's chief of staff mark meadows writing that the then president tested positive for covid-19 on september 26th, just three days before the first presidential debate and that trump subsequently took an antigen test that came back negative. here's how the timing breaks down. that same day of the first positive test, trump hosted a white house event, announcing his nomination of judge amy coney barrett to the supreme court. >> amy, say a few words. >> reporter: as trump was on his way to a rally in pennsylvania, his physician, dr. sean conley, notified meadows that trump had tested positive for covid. later that day, another test, this time an antigen test, came back negative. conley never acknowledged the first test in the media, even when asked directly. >> can you tell us when he had his last negative test? was it thursday, wednesday? do you remember when he had his last negative test? >> i don't want to go backwards. >> reporter: trump reportedly talked to the press without a mask on. that night he still held the rally before thousands of supporters. the following day, trump briefed the media indoors and held an indoor event for gold star military families. trump later would suggest that this event is where he contracted the virus, despite knowing he had tested positive the day before it. >> they come within an inch of my face sometimes. they want to hug me and they want to kiss me. and they do. and frankly, i'm not telling them to back up. >> reporter: so september 28th, trump held an outdoor rose garden event highlighting covid testing, where notably he was speaking at a lectern several feet away from everyone else. the next day he traveled to cleveland for the first presidential debate with joe biden, with moderator chris wallace saying trump arrived too late to be tested. trump later deflected questions about testing before the debate. >> did you take a test on the day of the debate? >> i probably did. and i took a test the day before, and the day before. and i was always in great shape. and i was in great shape for the debate. >> reporter: trump announced on twitter he had tested positive on october 1st and went to walter reed for medical treatment on the 2nd. he denounced meadows' account, equ calling it fake news. >> that story outlined a false positive. literally, he had a test. had two other tests after that that showed he didn't have covid during the debate. >> joining me now, alyssa farah griffin and cnn political analyst david gregory. he is saying this revealed a false positive. no, it didn't. clearly, it revealed a false negative. >> he is called in this reporting and told, i've got bad news for you. you have a positive test. and then he precedes then to have the event for amy coney barrett and then go into the debate. so it was very clear that the president and his top advisers decided we're not going to reveal this. we're not going to take it seriously. look, none of this is surprising that the president would lie about his own health, lie about other things. let's also be clear, at this time he wants to portray complete strength in the face of the virus. he has that barrett event at the rose garden, which he is not going to cancel. this is a huge moment for him in the middle of a campaign with conservatives to trumpet the fact that he was going to -- they had nominated her for the court. so he just wasn't going to back down. again, i don't think there's much impact to this. i don't think any of it is surprising. it just shows you a mind-set and that people around him were either unwilling or in no position to push him around to do the right thing. >> alissa, you were press secretary, then cos director for mark meadow, coms director at the white house when mark meadows was there. what's he doing here? >> i'm very confused by this. my best instinct is he didn't realize what he was revealing in this back. let me say this, my frustration with much of trump world, rather than giving the best advice and counsel to the president, former president, most of the folks around him would tell him what he wants to hear. this is a 74-year-old man who is not in good health tests positive with covid, rather than say, we need to keep you on bed rest, a the home, they had him flying him around putting other people at risk, but he may not have ended up in walter reed if he had rested after that first test. >> the other side is there's certainly plenty of accounts, and you would know this. where, you know, you didn't take on the president or those around him for fear of retribution by the president. i think it was you who has made some public comments, or maybe at the time, well, we're not sharing anything about his testing -- >> okay. did you know about the positive test? absolutely not. goodness no. i'm telling you i would either going go to the president and tell him this is a mistake or go to the press. that is insane to me it wasn't revealed. >> i want to play some of the sound you're talking about. let's listen to this. >> i'm not going to give you a detail with timestamps every time the president has tested. he tested regularly. >> [inaudible question]. >> i can't reveal that at this time. the doctors would like to keep it private. my understanding is that it's just private medical history. >> that doesn't fly? so tell us what's happening there? >> so i was asked by a handful of dogged reporters, maggie haberman, kristen welker. when was he last tested? has he ever tested positive. they wanted a timeline, which to me seemed perfectly reasonable. i went to the chief of staff and to his doctor and said we are being botmbbombarded. they said that is his private medical records. that was my chain of command. it totally makes sense why i was told that, because they were hiding a false positive. >> all the privacy about his health, it is important that our commander in chief -- he could fit into the rich history of other presidents who lied about medical ailments. he is the president during a pandemic. >> i made that point. i pushed back and said this is in interest of public health, it is of vital public interest. this is a 74-year-old commander in chief. his health matters. >> there should have been contact tracing going back. judging from meadows said he was symptomatic very early, right? he was symptomatic. it is clear that of all the people who got sick, he seemed to be the first one showing symptoms. was there a discussion about going back and kind of reverse engineering this? >> no. so that was part of the problem. this was kept with a close group. i didn't know the president was positive until moments before the statement went out that evening. i was never contact traced even though i had been in contact with him and others who did get covid. once again, it comes back to the fatal flaw of that era of leadership, which was a few people making decisions that were not the best ones for the country or the president and not sharing vital information with the public. >> yeah. there is nothing normal about this at all, whether it has to do with january 6th or the treatment of the pandemic. we're not talking about normal operations where people are doing the responsible thing. i mean, you know, kayleigh saying we're not going to time stamp when the president gets tested. we're in the middle of a pandemic and the president gets severely ill, has to be hospitalized and pumped full of the top anti viral drugs that most people couldn't walk in and get because of his health. there is not a big whodunit here. guess what, he was never going to tell the truth about his own health, particularly -- and why? because that's not his style. and he didn't want to look weak. the whole message was you can't let the virus dominate your life. why be truthful about that? i would be very interested to hear a lot of things he would like to reveal about january 6th and all the rest. >> kayleigh, what do we know? chefs is he there with a mask and tested positive. very likely she had it then. i think this very much matters right now. why do you think this matters right now? >> i don't think it matters right now. >> why do you think it doesn't? >> it's not a revelation. i don't think it will have any impact on people. i don't think people will be surprised he lied about this at all. >> i don't think people will be surprised. but i said this to jake tapper. the president could still tell people i got vaccinated, my wife did, my kids did. half the country is not vaccinated. many are die-hard trump supporters. he could say this was developed under my administration. it's not going to happen, but it dreams. >> i think it matters. i think it matters for how people perceive how you're honest about a disease, even if you're someone in a position of power. . >> i'm just saying it's not a revelation. >> it's not surprising. i totally understand what you're saying. >> i'm all for a complete record of his presidency without a doubt. but i don't think it is as impactful. of course it matters. i don't think it's impactful. >> i take your point. david gregory, alyssa, thank you as well. four big trials in america. we'll get you up to speed with all the admissions, regrets. merck's covid pill. this could be the first to be taken at home. >> dr. sanjay gupta very nearby. he has a firsthand look at the opioid crisis in the u.s. >> this has fentanyl? 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(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like movie night specials, xfinity mobile benefits, and the chance to win tickets to see watch what happens live. hey, it's me. plus, get holiday gifts for everyone on your list with great deals on fan favorites from today. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards. this morning a tiny strip of paper is having a huge impact in saving the lives of drug users. the strip can detect fentanyl, the deadliest drug in the u.s. when mixed with other drugs. here with me now cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta, author of "world war c." this is a big moment. >> it is. the way this started was probably with prescription drugs. people then transitioning to heroin. talking about fentanyl. people have heard about fentanyl now. it is come in oftentimes as illicit drugs, becoming very, very powerful. and now mixed with just about everything out there. that is what is so striking. month you do they detect when fentanyl is in their drug supply? it is called harm reduction. it's provocative. here's what it looks like. tanya, who didn't want us to use her last name, has been using heroin off and on for more than 20 years. lately, she says, each time feels like a real gamble. >> put it in the cup. and then you just pour it onto the dope. i use the end to stir it up. >> what you're watching is tanya testing for the presence of the deadliest drug in america. >> and it just takes a small amount. and just dip it in. between april 2020 and may 2021, the most deadly in a 12-month period. but this story is almost entirely about fentanyl. >> people dying. it is the smallest amount of the fentanyl. it's such a tiny amount that we have seen people go out. >> when you say go out? >> overdose. >> reporter: the reason? fentanyl is faster acting and more powerful than heroin. and not just a little bit. up to 50 times more potent. and because it is significantly cheap tore produce, it is an attractive cutting agent. that means dealers will mix it in, giving a small amount of heroin a bigger punch, juicing up fake prescription pills. nowadays fentanyl is mixed with just about any drug. problem is this, if someone isn't expecting fentanyl, they can easily overdose. >> it is instant. i mean, as soon as they hit, most of the time the rig is still in their arm. if not, they're tied off or something. it happens fast. >> reporter: from alive to dead within seconds. louise vincent has heard too many stories as well. she's executive director of the north carolina urban survivors union and has dedicated her life to harm reduction, trying to make the use of drugs safer. like naloxone or narcan, which can rescue someone from an overdose as you are watching in this extraordinary video. even better, though, preventing the overdose in the first place. >> it's just a little test strip. they're really useasy to use th. drug users care about their health. people don't want to die. people don't want to be sick. contrary to what everyone says, people that use drugs are human beings and they want the same thing that every other human being wants. >> giving users a chance to use safely has a long history of controversy. is it saving lives or enabling even more drug usage? in the 1980s and '90s, it was about needle usage. now it is about safe spaces to use. like this bathroom in new york. and lately it's about fentanyl test strips. researchers will tell you that the evidence shows harm reduction works. >> the question that will always come up, does this actually save lives? does this prevent deaths? do we know that? >> we don't know that yet. but what we are seeing is that people are using more safely. they're more aware of what's going on. >> john studies the compact of fentanyl test strips. >> what our study found is that people with a positive test result after they tested their drug were five times more likely to change their behavior. >> like using less of the drug, doing a test shot ahead of time, or maybe using with someone else who can watch them. tanya credits the fentanyl strips for keeping her from overdosing as the drug supply has become progressively more approximate more dangerous. >> i think i use it more now than i did two years ago. we're at greater risk for having other substances put into the drugs. >> with covid came a treacherous, treacherous drug supply. >> and with that, technology has had to keep up as well. it's why louise and her team are now working with the university of north carolina to utilize infrared spectroscopy. >> it is rare to find a heroin that is just heroin. we may call it hear win. we may refer to it as heroin, but it usually isn't. sometimes fentanyl, manalol and very dangerous chemicals. >> what we are seeing more recently, especially during covid, is big supply chain disruptions of established cartels. you have a lot more experimentation, a lot of new chemical synthesis methods that is being called heroin or fentanyl. but what is in them has changed. >> these machines may represent the future. but for now they are costly. just a handful of group like louise's around the country even have access to them, which is why fentanyl test strips are so important right now. >> that's your one lie. see where it's turning purple. what does one line mean? >> it's positive. if another line is there it's negative. >> so this has fentanyl in it? >> absolutely. this is fentanyl. >> those test strips you just saw cost a dollar apiece. you can buy them on amazon. here's the thing, some states still consider the strips drug paraphernalia. dollar apiece. buy on amazon. but in some places they're illegal. people think it saves lives. others say it nurtures drug use. >> it is a tough choice. harm reduction, you have to accept that people are using, right? >> yeah. >> and that's a tough decision for people. >> saving lives seems it would supersede. >> really important to lay this out. thank you. president biden is about to issue new guidance aimed at fighting the pandemic this winter, including updated travel protocols. we have brand-new details ahead. >> and in a big development, those who do test positive may now have access to a pill to treat the virus. we will tell you how it works. how did olay top expensive creams? like this with hydration that beats the $100 cream in every jar of regenerist retinol24 collagen peptide new vitamin c and the iconic red jar can't top this skin shop now at olay.com my retirement plan with voya keeps me moving forward... even after paying for this. love you, sweetheart they guide me with achievable steps that give me cfidence. this imy granddaughter...she's cute like her grandpa. voya doesn't just help me get to retirement... ...they're with me all t way through it. come on, grandpa! later. got grandpa things to do. aw, grandpas are the best! well planned. well invested. well protected. voya. be confident to and through retirement. to support a strong immune system your body needs a routine. centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc* season after season. ace your immune support with centrum. now with a new look! it's my 4:05 the-show-must-go-on migraine medicine. it's ubrelvy. for anytime, anywhere migraine strikes, without worrying if it's too late, or where i am. one dose can quickly stop my migraine in its tracks within two hours. unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks cgrp protein, believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. ask about ubrelvy. the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine. the new sensodyne repair and protect with deep repair has the science to show that the toothpaste goes deep inside the exposed dentin to help repair sensitive teeth. my patients are able to have that quality of life back. i recommend sensodyne repair and protect with deep repair. this is the new world of work. each day looks different than the last. but whatever work becomes... the servicenow platform will make it just, flow. whether it's finding ways to help you serve your customers, orchestrating a safe return to the office... wait. an office? what's an office? or solving a workplace challenge that's yet to come. whatever the new world of work takes your business, the world works with servicenow. we may soon have a new weapon in the fight against covid-19. an fda advisory panel has voted to recommend emergency use authorization for a new pill. the pill could reduce the relative risk of hospitalization or death by about 30%. joining us now is dr. barr, senior vice president of medical and global scientific affairs at merck. sir, thank you so much for being with us here today. this is certainly a big deal. this, however, was narrowly recommended, 13-10. you had some advisers that had some reservations. i know some people will have concerns about this drug. what do you say to that? >> well, i think it's really important to have as many tools in our toolkit to fight the covid-19 pandemic. we see this is a very unpredictable pandemic. we are confident this will be a really important addition. >> this is an addition to the toolkit, as you put it. the efficacy is 30%. look, that is definitely something. i wonder if you are looking for ways to make it higher than 30%? >> well, there's a few things to consider. first of all, the first analysis showed efficacy around 15%. and this was the primary analysis, the analysis we stood by for the study. certainly another piece of information was that mortality benefit remained very high. so only the majority of people who died on the study were in the placebo group, the great majority. this is important to remember this is a very important medicine that will be very useful for people to prevent signs and symptoms and terrible complications that can occur with covid-19. >> so if you're someone who ends up using molineux peer veer, it ends up you have four capsules, two times a day, for five days. which is a heck of a lot of pills. is there a better way to package that ahead? >> well, we'll be able to provide packaging that will remind people exactly how to use it. you're right, there's a lot of pills there. but we think the benefit certainly will be important for patients to have. it's a five-day therapy. so it's not too long. we look forward to enhancing things in the future. >> okay. and then on omicron, which obviously a different variant, do you know how effective it is against omicron? >> well, omicron is different from the other viruses because of the spike protein. that's not where this drug works at all. the drug works in a completely different part of the virus. and the genetic makeup hasn't changed in that area. we anticipate that the drug will be quite effective against omicron. but ongoing work will tell us for sure. >> that's really interesting. on transmission, does it help limit or stop transmission of the virus? >> well, we're going to be looking at that. we have a clinical trial going on right now. people who have been exposed to covid but haven't gotten covid yet. we will see if their risk of acquiring covid. we hope it will be an additional benefit of the drug. >> when will this be available if the fda follows the recommendation of the panel? >> fda and merck are working closely to finish all the technicalities and all the important things that need to be done before a drug is being used. we hope it will be in a relatively short period of time. ultimately, that's up to the fda. >> all right. dr. barr, thank you so much for being with us to talk about this new pill that we're awaiting potential approval on. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. take care. moments ago, a high-stakes meeting between secretary of state tony blinken and his russian counterpart. what he said about russia's renewed aggression towards ukraine. >> plus, the women's tennis association suspending all tournaments in china over concern for peng shuai. this is a stand that could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars. china just responded. we'll bring that to you, coming up. we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. ♪ ♪ when the chapstick goes on. it's on. get yours on at chapstick.com there's so much new in the new chicken & bacon ranch, but the clock is ticking, so we gotta hurry! there's new rotisserie-style chicken, new peppercorn ranch, new hickory-smoked bacon, new- did you just spike the footlong? 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[screams and laughter] yeah! xfinity brought us together after all. get started with xfinity internet and ask about wifi speed fast than a gig. click, call or visit a store today. so, developing overnight, secretary of state antony blinken met with sergey lavrov in stockholm after warning russia of severe consequences if it invades ukraine. blinken reiterated the commitment to protect ukraine's independence. >> in recent weeks we have deep concerns about russia's plans for renewed aggression against ukraine. that would move us in compactly the opposite direction. it is simply not in anyone's interest. we have a strong ironclad commitment to the sovereign integrity of ukraine. the best way to avert a crisis is through diplomacy. >> so how did we get here with russia threatening ukraine again? and will somebody actually stand up to putin this time? john avlon has the reality check. >> john lennon famously said life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans. when there is plenty to occupy your attention from covid, the economy and right-wing extremism and high-profile trials, overseas there are troubling signs that russia a massing troops on the border of ukraine. russia denies it has any nefarious plans but the biden administration is taking the event severely warning russia of severe kwconsequences. >> we qaa all on russia to not use military forces against ukraine once again. if they decide despite that to once again use some military force, invade ukraine, then there will be a high price to pay for russia. >> you hear that? once again. that's the key phrase for context. because back in 2014, russia did invade and annex the ukrainian peninsula of crimea after repeated strenuous denials that they were they are up to anything bad. it's a reminder of ronald reagan's plan for dealing with the soviet union, trust but verify. that's because the russians reflexively, repeatedly lied all the time. it's a tradition of a former kgb agent, vladimir putin maintained. secretary blinken meeting with lavrov. ukraine president says russia is backing a planned coup. but we do believe that the past can be prologue. that's why it is important to take are issue that denials with a pound of salt. because back in 2014, we heard a similar litany of denials that some believed before waking up and seeing russia had gotten away with it. it was executed in real life rather than on social media. here's how it happened. back in february 2014, ukraine's pro-russian president a long-time client of soon to be trump campaign manager paul man manafort, fled the countrywide spread protests. unmarked green uniforms easily took over buildings and airports in crimea. they were called little green men. russia swore they had nothing to do with them. here is the russian ambassador to the eu at the time. >> there are no troops whatsoever, no russian troops at least. >> when putin was asked by a reporter whether the troops were russian, given the similarities of the uniforms, said there are many uniforms that are similar you can go to the store and buy any kind of uniform. those were local self-defense units. and he kept it up for weeks, stating russia's armed forces never entered crimea and assuring people if he ever did give the order it would be in full compliance with international law as part of a humanitarian mission to protect russian-speaking people who lived there. spoiler alert, he lied. he pushed through dubious local referendum to officially annex the black sea outpost, admitting it all a year later. >> translator: i gave orders to the defense ministry. why hide it? to deploy special force, of the gru as well as military facilities in crimea. >> it's important to remember all this because it provides the context for the current escalation. and provides evidence for why only a fool would take russian assurances at their word. there are larger conversations to be had about the politics of nato expansion and eurasian balance of power. but there's no excuse for being willfully blind about putin's lies. also, back in 2014, we didn't have prominent anchors on right wing talk tv actively enabling putin. now we do. >> why should the average american care about the territorial integrity of ukraine. why would we say ukraine's side and not russia's side? >> the answer, of course, is that democracy and liberty matter. just like confronting a record of lies matters. and that's why this escalation, the week before an american hosted democracy summit really should matter to you. and that's your reality check. >> john avlon, thank you for bringing that home, really appreciate it. just ahead, we'll speak live with the sheriff investigating the deadly school shooting in michigan, what investigators just found on the teen suspect's phone. plus, the first case of the omicron coronavirus variant detected in the united states. what the white house is now doing to respond. but first, three months after hurricane ida barreled through louisiana, a rural community is pulling itself out of the destruction and despair with some help from habitat for humanity. it is today's impact your world. >> it took me four years to get where i was at. and to see that, it only took a matter of hours to lose it all. >> hurricane ida was our hurricane katrina. a big portion of lafitte became homeless overnight. the decisions to build l levees all around us, people don't have insurance, the price of the insurance, don't qualify for fema, they need funds, people to come help build the homes and put their roofs back together. >> we started distributing tarps to people to prevent further damage. but that's not where habitat really shines. it is long-term recovery and helping people figure out a path to rebuilding. the amount of work to be done is just overwhelming. so the piece where volunteers fit in is those are the extra hands, those are the people who can come in, they can muck and gut, they don't have to be skilled carpenters in order to be helpful. >> i've been a volunteer since 1991. it is not just building houses, but ministry, teach people about volunteering and community involvement. >> this didn't just happen to me. so it's heart breaking to see a whole community go down like this. but like some of the signs says, we're going to rebuild and we're going to be better. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire [ kimberly ] before clearchoice, my dental health was so bad i would be in a lot of pain. i was unable to eat. it was very hard. kimberly came to clearchoice with a bunch of missing teeth, struggling with pain, with dental disease. clearchoice dental implants solved her dental issues. [ kimberly ] i feel so much better. i feel energized to go outside and play with my daughter. i can ate anything. like, i don't have to worry. clearchoice changed my life. ♪ ♪ to all the kisses... ...that led... ...to this one. celebrate every kiss, with kay. the tempur-pedic breeze° makes sleep...feel cool. because the tempur-breeze° transfers heat away from your body... ...so you feel cool, night after night. save up to $500 on select adjustable mattress sets during the tempur-pedic black friday event. china is firing back at a decision by the women's tennis association to immediately suspend all tournaments in china. the move comes in defense of chinese tennis player peng shuai. moments ago, china responded to the wta's decision saying it firmly opposes any act that politicizes sports. i'm joined we patrick mcenroe, former captain of the u.s. davis cup team and host of the holding court podcast. patrick, great to see you. this could cost the wta hundreds of millions of dollars. i mean, seriously, hundreds of millions of dollars. so what do you make of this decision? >> well, this was a gutsy decision, john. and this is absolutely going to cost the wta a huge amount of money over the next ten years. they were supposed to play the year end championships and multiple other events in china over the course of the next decade. but they showed their gumption, they showed their morals, they showed they were in this for the right reasons, like, we need to know, okay, now we seem to know, john, that peng shuai is safe, she is alive. but do we know is she sound? is she sound of mind? and these videos supposedly from the ioc and the reaction from them to us that she is okay, don't worry about her, we can move on, we can brush this under the table, there are ex-athletes, olympic athletes that understand pressure and they spoke to peng. it is a joke when i heard the interviews from people representing the ioc. there is no way that you can -- that anybody can believe that that's reality and multiple chinese experts that i've spoken to said this is right out of the china playbook, and the ioc is complicit in their playbook. >> let me play some sound from dick pound, international olympic committee member, who was talking about that video. >> consensus of all of those people on the call was that she is fine, she's not -- she's not under any kind of coercion or, you know, confinement. >> so he's buying it. what do you think the olympics should do? what do you think other sports should do? should they have the same courage or guts as you called it the wta had? >> well, i believe they should. by the way, i don't believe, john, that means we should never do business with china. we're all aware of what a huge cog china is in the economics of the world. okay. when it comes to sports as well. and certainly the ioc, the olympics is a huge event. i know what the olympics is about. i know what a privilege it is to represent your country and for peng shuai as well. but this idea that you can't influence china at all, that we're just going to listen to everything they say and brush it under the table, the time has come for that to end. and the wta, huge credit to them, the nba wouldn't do it, the ioc wouldn't do it but the women's tennis association has done it and, by the way, john, i believe the atp, the men's professional tour, i believe they should follow suit. they don't have as much on the table economically, but they have some huge events in china as well.