courtroom when that happens. first, the biggest current threat to global public health. the g-7 ahead of the christmas holiday, experts urging people to take precautions as they gather with family and friends. at least 37 states have confirmed cases of omicron as well as washington, d.c., and puerto rico. scientists believe the new strain to be significantly more contagious, but so far, more mild in terms of illness than previous waves. there are serious concerns about the toll this could take on doctors and nurses already overwhelmed with nearly two years of caring for covid patients. here to discuss all these concerns, former white house senior adviser for covid response, andy slavitt. thanks for taking the time. >> thanks for having me. >> first, if we could begin on what the early data shows and how you're reading that data. certainly more transmissible but at least early data shows perhaps causes less severe illness for the vaccinated and boosted. is that how you read the data? >> well, look, i think the things that are important for us to try and understand are, one, that the doubling time for this variant is two to three days. what that means, just if you want to wrap your held around that, if you have 100,000 cases of omicron at christmas, by new year's, you have 400,000 cases. that's extraordinary and extraordinarily fast. the good news we know is that the booster works well against omicron and therefore people ought to get boosted if they haven't been. in terms of severity, it's really difficult to uncouple. i think what we think is that because of both prior boosts, prior vaccinations and prior infection, that the t-cell response is doing its best to keep this at bay. it may be that it's equivalent severity, but that our bodies are fighting it off better than we did earlier strains. that remains to be seen. >> understand. just so folks -- because a doctor was explaining this to me last night in layman's terms, do i have this right that omicron can fool our antibodies, but the t-cells, which then attack infected cells, which are also boosted by vaccination, they can kind of make up for it? is that the way folks should understand this? >> 100% correct. yep. now, the only difference of course is t-cells take a couple of days longer to respond. that's why people are actually feeling the infection because for those first couple days before the t-cells respond, people can get, you know, mildly sick. >> understood. okay. now, you say that there are three groups of people in effect right now of americans, those who can, those who can't, and those who can but haven't. and they'll face omicron in three different ways. explain what you're talking about. >> well, right now we have about 15% of the country that is boosted. we have about 60% of the country that is eligible for boosters and is not -- has chosen not to get vaccinated or boosted. the remaining group we should be most concerned about, people because of their age, because of when they got vaccinated, aren't eligible for a booster shot. they're the people that society and laws and regulations are supposed to protect. and so if you have a chance to get boosted, you are not just protecting yourself but this other group. i think our policy response needs to reflect the fact that we have to protect the people that aren't able to protect themselves. >> let me ask you, because notable there, you put in the same bucket folks who are vaccinated but haven't gotten boosted and people who have not been vaccinated at all. are you saying that they face almost equal danger from omicron? >> it's not quite equal. i think the way to think about it is that omicron -- and this is a very imperfect but handy way to think about it -- omicron eliminates one shot. so if you've had two shots but not a third, it's the equivalent of having had your first. if you've had one shot only, it's very ineffective. and if you've had three, now the booster you're probably back to being where we thought we were with two shots. so none of them are perfect. but what it suggests is omicron is tricky enough that roughly speaking, it sets us back a little bit. that's why we all need to get boosted. >> now i want to ask you about response, because we're already starting to see some groups, organizations, universities, schools, professional sports leagues, businesses respond by shutting down, right. and given that we know at least for vaccinated boosted folks that it doesn't cause severe illness, is that the right response in your view? in other words, should folks be responding with the same kinds of potential shutdowns to this as we had in the past? or is it different? >> jim, it's an excellent question because we have many more tools than we've had in past. so why would you shut down? why would you shut something down when you can boost people and you can give people rapid tests, et cetera? the reason would be if you're afraid your hospitals ans were filling up. that's what governors and mayors and policymakers and employers need to be watching. as long as you can keep people out of the hospital and as long as you can keep the icus from filling, you don't have the same level of problem. but if this all happens at once, i think that's where there's reason to say maybe we should slow it down as best we can. it may feel like too little too late, but every little bit will help a nurse or a doctor with a big crush at the end of january. >> thinking about flattening the curve. andy, so good to have you on this morning. >> thanks, jim. any moment now, former police officer kim potter, who shot and killed daunte wright during a traffic stop near minneapolis in april, could take the stand in her own defense. cnn correspondent adrienne broaddus has been following this and is outside the henniman county courthouse. what do we expect to hear from her? >> reporter: she did say yes. when she takes the stand to testify in her own defense, it's likely she will talk about the aftermath of the shooting. she's already said the aftermath of the shooting destroyed her. on the body camera video, we see the shock, the remorse, and quite frankly the agony. multi. times we hear potter on that body camera video saying "oh, my gold, oh, my god." at one point she says to sergeant johnson as he's trying to remove her firearm, she says, "no, let me kill myself." it's likely she may talk about how she tried to end her own life if that was, in fact, the case, after she shot and killed daunte wright. there's no dispute she shot wright in the chest. but when she takes the stand, she has the opportunity to look members of this jury in the eye and explain how she made this mistake. that is the main question everyone wants to know -- how did she confuse the two weapons? throughout the course of this trial, we've learned that potter has extensive experience. she became certified to use the taser back in 2002, and in order to carry the taser, it's policy, officers have to be recertified and trained every year. part of that certification, when you look at the documents introduced in court, there are warnings from the manufacturer of the taser which talk about getting to know the touch and the feel of the taser because weapons confusion can happen. we also learned potter had perfect scores when she was recertified on one test, 100 out of 100, another 50 out of 50. today she has the chance to explain to this jury what happened and talk about how her life changed in seconds. jim? >> adrienne broaddus outside the courthouse, thanks so much. joining me now to discuss the law behind all this, criminal defense attorney sara azari. good to have you on. we'll see testimony soon. sounds like there will be a lot of remorse expressed from officer potter. how does the law see this? she's sad about, clearly distraught about what happened. does that take away from any legal responsibility? >> reporter: no, jim. in fact, when defendants testify -- first of all, they have a right not to testify and the jury would be instructed they're presumed innocent, and that fact cannot be used against them. when they elect to testify, it's for two reasons, to humanize themselves and explain certain facts, neither of which are necessary for potter. we have heard from a slew of officers, her colleagues, her superiors, who have humanized her, talking about her being a good person, a good cop, a fine law enforcement officer and a good friend. we have the footage that your reporter just talked about that shows how incredibly agonized and traumatized she was after the fact. what could she add to that? nothing. there's danger in explaining i made this mistake because -- it doesn't matter. first-degree and second-degree manslaughter are about the act of killing somebody else. she will be grilled anl stuck with bad facts she'll admit. the fact that the color was different, the trigger was different, the shape was different. it's just a really bad idea for her to testify. >> i believe held on a different side of the body than the firearm would be. >> exactly. >> if the law is clear on this, is this testimony in effect a jury play? is it going to tug at the heart strings, right, or an attempt to tug at the heart strings of the jury members to see a sympathetic figure there? >> reporter: right. i mean, look, jurors are human beings. they come in with a set of emotions and emotional make um. so of course it could sway the jury. but also they have to follow the law. they have to apply the law, the instructions, to the facts. so, did she act with criminal negligence, second-degree manslaughter? did she mishandle her weapon, first-degree manslaughter? that's ultimately the question. >> on first-degree -- clearly she mishandled her weapon. she used the wrong one and killed someone as a result. what is the legal standard there? can someone say in their defense i made a mistake, right, or is the mishandling a fact, right? is that material? >> reporter: the mishandling is material, jim. the case has never been about a dispute that she made a mistake in pulling out the taser versus the glock. the idea is the prosecution is saying, look, you weren't even entitled to use the taser. the defense is saying good on you for making the mistake because you saved another officer's life, so deadly force was justified. that's the dispute. if the jury finds the deadly force was justified and her mistake is okay, then she's not guilty. otherwise, she's guilty. >> we've seen a lot of cases where police officers use deadly force. by the way, different circumstances among all of them. but you do see where the law and juries give officers greater leeway with the application of deadly force with their judgment of a threat. this case is different because it was a mistake. it doesn't come down to was this person a threat to my life. it comes down to mistaking one weapon for another. does the law give greater leeway to uniformed officers to make mistakes like this? >> reporter: well, it's about the reasonableness of that mistake and, you know, making a split-second decision. when you go back and look at the footage here, jim, and also the testimony of major johnson, who was the officer who was halfway in wright's car, was supposedly kim potter was protecting, right, when potter started screaming, "taser, taser, i'm going to taser you," that officer actually moved out of the way, so that threat was no longer there. and additionally the use of force expert for the prosecution testified yesterday that even if deadly force was justified to save this officer's life, the fact that there was a passenger in the car and other officers standing by makes it unreasonable. >> understand. well, lots to follow in this trial. we'll bring you that testimony live when it happens. sara, thanks so much. >> thanks, jim. any minute, president biden is expected to make a passionate plea for voting rights as part of a commencement address in south carolina. we'll listen in on that live when it happens. the fda will allow abortion pills to be sent by mail. the politics behind that one coming up. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin. 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! i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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>> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ we strip in the community garden. i've been stripping here for years. i strip before take-off. breathe right strips open your nose for relief you can feel right away, helping you take in air more easily, wherever you are. imagine having someone else do your books for you. as your quickbooks live bookkeeper, i'll categorize expenses, reconcile accounts, and close your books. cool. yep. know where your business stands. intuit quickbooks live bookkeeping. schools across the country have beefed up security and sent alerts to parents due to a series of vague and viral tiktok posts threatening that violence will take place today. the threats are not specific to any single school, but this has prompted some districts around the country to cancel classes or ban backpacks for a day. shimon prokupecz is in new york following the story. tell us what law enforcement knows about this and also how parents should receive this. >> reporter: right. likely -- it is likely if you have a child in school today, you've received a letter or an email from the school warning you of this threat. but they're saying that it's vague, that there's no -- it's not credible. the baltimore school district tweeting saying that the police there have investigated the threat and it originated out of arizona. but nonetheless, of course, there is a lot of concern. this was a threat, a viral threat that started on tiktok. and what the new york city board of education is saying is that basically was call-in bomb threats and school shooting threats. others say people have actually threatened school shootings. that is causing a lot of the concern across the country. as you said, some schools have closed from california to texas, obviously baltimore, and all schools all across the country now on alert. they've stepped up security as you said. they've banned backpacks in some schools. keep in mind, this is all coming on the heels of what happened in michigan. as we know, those four students were killed and several more were shot. law enforcement and schools are on edge, certainly, since those moments. concern over what can start on social media can then turn out to be real. so there is a lot of concern certainly, but important to know there's nothing credible about this threat. but law enforcement not taking any chances, stepping up security, making sure students and children are safe. >> they don't want to be in a position of missing warnings if they turn out to be true. shimon prokupecz, thanks so much. another major story we're following this morning, the fda has announced the abortion pill can be sent by mail ending the requirement that the medication must be picked up in person. this comes as texas has essentially outlawed abortion and the supreme court does seem poised to undo or amend its abortion rights precedent as it weighs another abortion law case out of mississippi. senior medical correspondent for cnn, elizabeth cohen, and cnn's john harwood from the white house joining us. elizabeth, explain exactly what this medication is, who's eligible for it, and what a difference this will make. >> reporter: right. so, this is a pill. it's actually two pills. let's go over some of the basics about it. it needs to be taken early in pregnancy, 70 days or less after a woman's missed period. that is quite early. it must be prescribed by a certified health care provider, so not just any doctor can prescribe this. they have to go through a process to get certified beforehand. according to planned parenthood, it works 95% to 999% of the tim. it's very effective and has been used for years and it has a great safety profile. jim? >> john harwood, i wonder, is this a direct response to the law in texas which now yet again has been allowed to stand by the supreme court and other courts? is it a way, in other words, to give women in a tate like texas access to an abortion? >> reporter: hard to say it's direct response. this has been percolating since april when the fda suspended the rule that said it had to include an in-person visit by the patient. but i think you can't ignore the context here. you have a supreme court that seems poised to either sharply restrict or eliminate the right to abortion codified in roe v. wade at some point within the next coming months. and as you mentioned, the texas law has effectively outlawed abortion there. and so you have an executive branch that has limited options to respond. they can't legislatively protect the right to abortion because they don't have the votes in congress. what they can do administratively is make it easier for people and take some sort of step to show supporters of abortion rights, which of course include the president of the united states and the democratic congress, show that they're taking some action to vinl vand kate that right. of course if the roe v. wade is eliminated, states will be able to interfere with what the fda is doing and block it within their states. but it's something that the administration can do now at a time when the tide is moving against them on this issue and moving against supporters across the country of abortion rights. >> on that point, off court here again, the court could surprise, but many folks follow this court closely and see roe v. wade perhaps being overturned or a step short of that restricted in some way. does the administration have a plan? because some abortion rights group speak of a scenario where half the states outlaw or severely restrict abortion. what is the administration doing to plan for that outcome? >> reporter: i think the principal plan they can have is mobilize voters in reaction to a potential decision by the supreme court. the presidential administration cannot counter a supreme court ruling that eliminates that right. one of the questions, though, will be what will be the political ramifications for the republican party and the fight between the two parties nationally? that's a large part of it. obviously, blue states are going to take their own actions to protect the right to abortion, but limited number of steps that the administration can take. they've taken one today. >> john harwood at the white house, elizabeth cohen, thanks so much to both of you. as we mentioned, prooik is -- president biden is in south carolina highlighting his push for voting rights. we'll preview his comments coming up. 1, 2, 3... yay! ♪ “i got you babe” by etta james ♪ ♪ wait hold up, here it comes! alright, everybody stand up straight. okay now let me flip it. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ what do we want for dinner? 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[ screaming ] but one day in june of 2009, they had no choice. kara had an important doctor's appointment five hours away in galveston, texas. christy and mark decided to try the marijuana brownies that their neighbor had made. >> i just gave it to her and she ate it and it was about an hour where she was sitting, no longer rocking, no longer hand slapping, no longer hitting, and she's sitting there and looking out the window and she's looking at me and smiling. it was like a miracle. >> i got to see it up close when i went on a drive with them after kara had a dose of can cannabis. >> we would never be able to do this. >> an easier life for everybody. >> yeah. >> cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta joins me now. a lot of folks know you have been reporting on medical marijuana for years. why did you decide to explore this particular use? >> well, you know, what happens when you report on something like this for a decade, you're talking to researchers and scientists and families all the time. one thing that happened when cannabis became permitted for treating seizure disorders, what you found is a lot of those children had signs of autism. and these researchers were coming saying autism symptoms were improving if not going away in a lot of these children as well. so they started doing research, and it's interesting because you follow these trials over time, you start to see some of this data. people often think of these things as more anecdotal. we tell the story of a particular girl here, but she's embl emblematic, kara is, of so many others. >> how much data is there showing this effect is broad? >> as has often happened in the world of cannabis research, the early data often comes from overseas and oftentimes israel. so sometimes -- so we've seen data from israel for several years. they've been conducting these trials. it's challenging with children with autism because you have to blind the trials so they don't know what they're getting. sometimes they'll take the cannabis medication for a period of time, placebo, then cross over to make sure the data holds up. we followed a trial out of new york that's been going on for two, three years now, and several trials out of southern california at ucsd. we're going to present some of that data, some of which has not been seen before, but it's very interesting to sort of look at not only, you know, what -- if it's working or not but how it might work, how cannabis could potentially impact the brain. i can tell you it's not just sedating. there's a lot of medications that are very sedating often given to these children, powerful psychotropic drugs. there appears to be something more going on here. >> great work you're doing. dr. sanjay gupta, thank so much. >> thank you. >> on sunday please join sanjay for a look at how some families with children with autism are finding hope with cannabis and see how for some that hope does come with risk. this new special report begins at 8:00 p.m. covid-19 is ravaging the l.a. rams, taking out at least one third of the team's roster. what will the nfl do? that's coming up. 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to get as far as their god-given talents give them. incubators, scholars and educators, advocates and athletes, leaders of industry and entertainment, faith and medicine, arts and science, the molders of trail blazers, visionaries of public servants. you know it better than anyone. hbcu's have helped produce 40% of all the black engineers in america, 50% of all the black lawyers in america, 70% of all the black doctors and dentists in america, and 80% of all the black judges in america. folks, i see hbcu excellence every single day in my administration, and there's not an exaggeration. vice president harris, my cabinet, michael reagan, senior white house staff, staff across my entire administration, graduates, i'm here to congratulate you but also let you know that your country -- this is not hyperbole -- is counting on you. they're counting on you to change, to turn the dial at a moment we have a chance to do it. i'm committed to doing everything i can to make real the promise for all americans, for all of you. that's why my administration has delivered $5 billion so far to hbcus just this year. just this year. more to come. because there's nothing you're unable to do if you have the product, if you have the laboratories, if you have -- a lot of hbcus aren't endowed like these other universities. for south carolina, to help clear the balances of more than students with debt, it helps students weather financial hardships from the pandemic and stay in school. the finest in south carolina. that's why we're working to increase, and we will get it done. pell grants, another $1,500 so particularly black students and lower-income families can attend community college, four-year schools, and black universities, hbcus. that's why i'm proposing historic investment to expand these programs in high-demand fields like cybersecurity, engineering, and health care. these are the big paying jobs getting out now. but too many, too many hbcus don't have the laboratories, don't have the capacity. they have the intelligence. they have the intellectual capacity. but they don't have the research in front of them. we're going to create new research and development labs to prepare students for jobs in the future and establish hbcu research hubs across this nation. i also re-established the president's board of advisers on hbcus led by a friend of mine. used to work on my staff. to engage the private sector to advance hbcus. it's beginning to happen. i think your president will tell you. vice president harris is in constant contact with leaders of the divine 9. i signed an executive order to advance hbcu excellence across administration in everything from policies to funding. part of that effort includes recognizing outstanding student scholars like your student government president we just heard from. congratulations. but there's always more we can do. we're going the lead the way just as jim has led the way. what makes jim so effective as the highest ranking southern african american ever in the house of representatives is jim never forgets where he came from. don't you ever forget where you came from. that's your secret power. understand, there's no one more effective who knows how to get things done than someone who understands the need to get things done and the people who need it, who understands what folks are going through. that's jim, and that's many of you, and that was me graduating years ago. with the infrastructure law we just wrote and signed into law and that jim did so much to pass, we're going to create better jobs for millions of people, bridges, highways, small towns, rural communities. it men means more opportunities for black engineers, building black communities back to where they have to be. and i mean it. so if you don't know the community, it's hard to know what it needs. it means every american and every child being able to turn on a faucet and drink clean water, rip up everyone lead pipe in america. and something that jim has really championed. it means everyone should be able to access high-speed internet, urban, suburban, rural. graduates, you lived it. no student should have to go to a coffee shop or a fast food restaurant to get the internet so they can do their homework. we're going to make sure it never happens again. this is the united states of america, for god's sake. and the criminal justice reform. we need it from top to bottom. i believe we need judges who understand the experience of the people where they come from. that's why i'm proud i appointed more black women to the federal bench in the circuit courts and more former public defenders to the bench than any administration in american history. the previous record was three black women in eight years. we've confirmed four in less than eight months, and there's more we can do. there will be lures lawyers ands in charge who understand real people and the needs of people. on police reform, i share the frustration and i know the family well, the george family justice act and policing act. i know the family well. it's not been passed in the senate. but the fight's not over. despite republican obstructionism, we made changes to the federal law enforcement policies that i have the ability to do with the stroke of a pen. the justice department has banned choke holds, restrict nod-knock warrants, required federal agents to wear and activate body cameras. i want also is ending the use of private prisons, rescinding previous administration requirements that u.s. attorneys seek the harshest penalties. the justice department has opened an investigation into systemic misconduct of police departments in louisville, minneapolis, mt. vernon, new york. we're just getting started. this administration will continue to fight for meaningful police reform in congress and through additional executive action. and you'll be our next generation of elected officials, police chiefs, civil rights leaders, leading the way. see what just happened in new york city? first black woman head of the police department. [ applause ] with my american rescue plan passed right after historic investment in community policing and violence intervention programs. they're shown to reduce violent crime as much as 60%. we don't have to spend less money. we have to spend more money for police to give them the kind of help they genuinely need. why is a police officer showing up to someone trying to jump off a building? we we need more social workers there, psychologists there. they need help. they're basically good people. prevent violence in the first place. we're expanding summer programs and job opportunities and other services to keep young people safe and set them up for success. we're helping formerly incarcerated people reenter the communities. somebody gets out of jail now after serving their time, what do they get? they get a bus ticket and 25 bucks and they end up under the same bridge that got them there in the first place. so i'm going forward and making sure that everything that's available to anybody else is available to them, notwithstanding fact they've already served their tomb. we're going to reinstate access to pell grants, job training, apprenticeships, pathways to a better life. we need you. we need you to lead a lot of these efforts. we're also working to stem the flow of firearms and rogue gun dealers to curb epidemics of gun violence in this country. no greater victims than in the black communities. we talk about these massive shootings. well, guess what? there's a massive shooting every day in urban america. the number of lives that are taken. you'll lead the way as community leaders, educators, faith leaders, nonprofit leaders. that's what my daughter is doing right now. she's a social worker. she's heading up boys & girls clubs all across the country. we have to give people alternatives. we have to give them a reason to think they can make it. we're also going to use the federal government's purchasing power for billions of dollars in new opportunities for devastated small businesses including minority-owned small businesses to access government contracts. the goal i've set is 50% increase in the number of minority contracts going to minority firms by the year 2025. [ applause ] >> mr. biden speaking at south carolina state university, delivering a commencement address there but also making a strong plea, and impassioned plea for his larger political agenda. we'll continue to cover his speech there. thanks for joining us today. we hope off great weekend. i'm jim sciutto. 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