♪ all right. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm john berman. brianna is off. erica hill with me this morning. on this "new day", omicron in america. new york city seeing a huge spike in cases. but some hopeful signs as well. senator manchin puts a nail in the build back better legislation. the white house with a new scathing response. a republican plan to block president biden from seating a supreme court justice if they take back power in the midterms. the new cnn reporting ahead. swinging into theater and the record books. spider-man shatters the pandemic-era slump at the box office. all right. we do begin with breaking news. moderna announced just moments ago that its preliminary data suggests its covid-19 booster is effective against the omicron variant. this is welcomed news, as dr. anthony fauci warned omicron will become the dominant variant within a matter of weeks. >> this virus is extraordinary. it has a doubling time anywhere from two to three days. right now, in certain regions of the country, 50% of the isolates are omicron, which means it's going to take over. >> it's going to take over. the resurgent virus caused sporting events to cancel. it is spiking, with hours-long lines at testing sites becoming the norm. the average daily cases is 130,000, compared to 70,000 per day at the beginning of november. >> the state is averaging 16,000 new cases a day, up 154% in less than a week. new york city, nearly 6,000 new cases on sunday alone. hospitalizations in the state are rising, but not spiking. that's important. new york city mayor-elect adams said he expects omicron to be, a quote, fast and temporary phenomenon. the current mayor says still deciding whether to go ahead with the new year's eve celebration. omicron does not have appeared to deter holiday travel. 2 million passengers for a third straight day. cnn's jason carroll is live in times square with more. jason, good morning. >> reporter: well, erica, a lot of concerns here in new york city, as you know. for now, the ball drop celebrations are still a go. all this as city and city officials keep a close eye on those covid numbers to see what they will do next. new york city is already dressed up for the holiday season. behind all these costumes and celebrations, there is one major concern, the looming omicron coronavirus variant. >> it's going to take over. and if you look at what it's done in south africa, what it's doing in the uk, and what it's starting to do right now, we are going to be in for some serious difficulties right now. and we better be doing more to mitigate against that. >> reporter: just a few days before christmas, dr. anthony fauci and many other health experts are issuing strong warnings to all americans. >> there's a tsunami coming. this omicron variant is extraordinarily contagious. this may be the most contagious virus that civilization has face indeed our lifetimes. >> reporter: those warnings as delta is driving the current surge, with new york state breaking the highest single day covid-19 case count for the third consecutive day. on sunday, 22,478 positive covid-19 cases were reported across the state. up from 21,908 on saturday. on friday, that number stood at 21,027 positive cases. in new york city, covid-19 cases more than doubled last week. and while case loads are high, mayor-elect eric adams said the city is not seeing a substantial number of deaths or problems with hospitalizations. with the spread shutting down everything from the rockettes to some broadway shows, to seven nhl teams, to new yorkers, and to the rest of the country, the message is clear. . >> this temporary reality demands an urgent, immediate step, which is to maximize vaccination. >> reporter: but for many new yorkers, their immediate need is getting test, and there is growing frustration as people are, once again, dealing with long lines and fewer options. >> i drove here from upstate because upstate it is impossible to even be tested, pcr test. so i drove here to stay in this line. >> we don't want to be standing in line when it's 30 degrees outside waiting for a test. >> reporter: nearly two years into the pandemic, this is not the holiday season new yorkers were expecting. and, if you're planning to spend your new year's eve in times square -- >> as of right now, we are mandating everyone who comes to times square new year's eve be vaccinated. we don't want to be tone deaf. we realize there is a surge. we will be working with medical experts to follow the data and the science. >> reporter: mayor bill de blasio telling new yorkers and visitors alike not to dash their holiday plans, not yet. >> we're going to make a decision before christmas. we're certainly looking at the new challenge we're facing. but, again, this is an all vaccination event, and it is outdoors. those are two very, very important favorable factors. >> reporter: so, again, anyone coming into times square for the ball drop will have to show proof of vaccination. they'll also have to show their i.d. at this point, organizers are also encouraging people who are coming here to wear masks. but at this point, they're not requiring it. erica. >> in jason carroll with the latest for us. we'll continue to watch developments this week. there is also breaking news. moderna announcing moments ago preliminary data about its covid-19 booster. elizabeth cohen joining us now. what does this preliminary data show, elizabeth? >> reporter: erica, moderna's press release they put out about an hour ago is a little bit cryptic. the booster that moderna puts out now is 50 micrograms. when they took it to the laboratory and tested it, it raised antibody levels, boosted antibody levels but 100 micrograms actually did even better. and they said they are continuing to work on an omicron-specific booster. the omicron booster right now that you could go and get, will it help you? the answer is, look, it is clearly better than not having the booster, but it is unclear exactly what effect it has on omi omicron. does it work, say, against delta or previous versions of the coronavirus? that is unwhicher. but, that is unclear. but the bottom line, it is better to be boosted than not to be boosted. erica. . >> and that's consistent. that, we know. which is good news. elizabeth, thank you. >> yes. for sure. >> both pfizer and moderna and say the regiment with the booster provides optimal protection. but the cdc says just two shots. so when will that change? jacqueline howard joins us now. jacqueline, what's the latest on? >> reporter: john, the latest on this is we could see the definition change. but when that will happen is what remains unclear. there are some logistic cal challenges with updating the definition. if you remember, about a year ago when vaccine makers got their vaccines authorized, they applied for emergency use authorization, noting that a preliminary series is just two doses. so in their authorization applications they said two doses would mean fully vaccinated. so to change that, there are some logistical challenges. what we could see happen possibly is that once boosters are fully approved, they are currently under observation. but when approval comes, maybe that's when cdc could change the definition. of course there is a big call to change the definition immediately because of omicron. right now dr. fauci says it's just semantics and to go get your booster regardless. here's what he told our colleague jake tapper just yesterday. >> it really is semantics. as far as i'm concerned, i make it very clear, that if you want to be optimally protected, get boosted. whether the definition for legal and other purposes dealing with the osha situation that you have, that's a different story. but if you want to look and say when am i opt mally protected, there's no doubt that's when you get boosted. >> john, what we are seeing so far, even though the cdc has not changed its definition of fully vaccinated, many colleges, schools, are changing their definition for policies. some do require boosters and see that as fully vaccinated. an interesting trend we will keep an eye on. >> no doubt it is going to be important going forward. no question it is better for you, safer for you to get the third shot if available. jacqueline howard, thank you so much. joining us now is dr. abdul syed, former detroit city health commissioner. great to see you. look, there are skyrocketing case counts across the country, particularly in places like where erica and i are right now in new york city t. the pandemic in some ways is more complicated than it's been, but not necessarily worse. explain all of this to us. >> yeah. well, i'll tell you this, this is not where anybody wanted to be this holiday season. this is covid-19. we are now headed into 2022. that being said, we are facing a virus far more transmissible than those we had in the past. we're not seeing the lock-step increase in hospitalizations and deaths we have seen before. that being said, this virus does move extremely quickly. for that reason, it may still be too early given they generally follow two to three weeks after the case numbers. at the same time, we are going into this with vaccines. vaccinations are an incredibly important tool in our arsenal. and the fact that we have them, and unfortunately the fact that so many haven't taken advantage of them may explain why we are set up for another variant at this time. >> when we look at this, we are talking so much about omicron. delta is still wreaking havoc across the country. we know this optimal protection is adding in that booster. and yet, if you look at the numbers of americans who have gone and gotten that third shot, it is really low. is there anything that you're seeing that you think could encourage mohr people to get that booster this morning? >> well, the good news is we have seen vaccination rates tick up on news of omicron. and i do think as we learn more about the relative protection of people who are boosted versus people not, it will encourage a lot more people to get the third dose. at the same time, we have to remember there is a six-month recommended lag between the second dose and the third dose. for a lot of people, given how slow our vaccination uptick has been in the united states, a lot of people remain ineligible. that will have to be a conversation made about speeding up the timeline. and moderna were somewhat cryptic in their messaging. they didn't say the booster is as effective as a larger dose. the fact that they left it open, means they may be hedging to suggest there may be a pivot in the way they think about boosting overall. and so it's unfortunate we are having a little bit of mixed messaging there. at the same time, right now, given where we are, how fast this virus is moving, get your booster. and we do have strong evidence that pfizer, a third dose is quite effective relative to two doses of virus at preventing omicron at least in nc-2. >> we have the graphic, and it is instructive. what's really interesting about this is the bottom line there, the orange line is hospitalizations in new york city overall. and you can see just the faintest up tick in hospitalizations overall. the top line, and this is really interesting, the top line is hospitalizations among unvaccinated people. skyrocketing. skyrocketing hospitalizations among the unvaccinated. overall, among the vaccinated, very little uptick there. a decoupling in cases of hospitalizations perhaps. >> yeah. this is, again, one more recognition of the value of vaccination in the context of this pandemic. and, look, we're headed into a holiday season, and nobody wants this to be the holiday season where there was an outbreak in the family and potentially somebody got really sick and there was a bad outcome. we want to protect ourselves. there is still time. please, if you're out there, you're watching these curves, maybe in a part of country where omicron hasn't started to spread as quickly as it has in new york city, for example, please make the right decision. go get your vaccination. if you haven't gotten your first two. and go get boosted if you haven't gotten your third. this is about us protecting ourselves, our loved ones. and hopefully after we get through this surge, wor in a position where we are more immune and potentially at a position to see the end of this pandemic. but for right now, you know, we may be done with covid, but covid is not done with us. . >> we have 20 seconds left, doctor. the testing situation, not good right now. >> it is -- i mean, i can't understand it how two years into this pandemic we are still in a situation where we don't have the necessary tests we need. the rapid tests, though, please make use of them. if you can get access to them, they are critical. >> if you can get access. that's the key. >> doctor, stay safe, stay healthy. happy holidays to you and your family. . >> thank you. and happy holidays. overnight, three lawmakers announced they have tested positive with covid. what we know about their conditions ahead. and joe manchin dealing a perhaps fatal blow to the president's signature domestic agenda plan. where do things go from here? >> tiger woods back in action with his son by his side. his remarkable recovery months after the devastating car crash. ”" by etta james♪ ♪ get groceries, gifts, & more fast and easy. so last minute guests are the only thing you'll be waiting on. ♪ joy. fully. ♪ it's the last minute gift sale. get up to 40% off storewide. ( ♪ ) this is how we shine. at zales. the diamond store. to run a growing business, is to be on a journey. and along the ride, you'll have many questions. challenges. and a few surprises. ♪ but wherever you are on your journey. your dell technologies advisor is here for you - with the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash... and this is the basement slash panic room. maybe what your family needs is a vacation home slash vacation home. find yours on the vrbo app. this morning, the white house reeling after democratic senator joe manchin unexpectedly announced that he is a no on president biden's build back better plan. >> i cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. i just can't. i've tried everything humanly possible. i can't get there. . >> you're done. this is a no. >> this is a no on this legislation. i have tried everything i know to do. >> now, the white house has accused manchin of breaking his word, breaking commitments, calling his opposition sudden and in explicable. cnn's lauren fox live on capitol hill with the latest here. and we do have more news, lauren. >> reporter: well, good morning, john. look, this was shocking news when senator joe manchin went on fox news yesterday and said finally he would not vote for build back better, that he could not even get there. this after months of tphoerbgs with the president. this was relayed to white house officials and leadership officials just 30 minutes or so before the appearance took place. it was an aide manchin to called aides at the white house to let them know this was coming. the president at his home in delaware, watching all of this unfold. and he tried to get on the phone with senator manchin shortly after that appearance. he was unable to reach him. his colleagues, senator manchin's colleagues, are deeply frustrated this morning. and into the evening last night, arguing they want to ceman chin have to vote on the floor of the u.s. senate. and just a few minutes ago we got a new dear colleagues letter from majority leader chuck schumer saying that is indeed his plan else going to have a vote on build back better on the floor of the u.s. senate so that everyone can see where every single senator stands on that piece of legislation. that of course is going to be tough for senator manchin, even though he said he is not going to get there on this legislation. it will be tough to take that vote. now, the white house sent out a blistering statement after all of these announcements yesterday. and it was the statement that the president himself signed off on. i want to give you a sense of just what they're getting at here. they said, quote, if his comments on fox and written statement indicate the end of thattest, they represent a sudden and in explicable reversal in his position and a breach of his commitments to the president and the senators colleagues in the house and senate, essentially calling joe manchin a liar, a very strong statement. again, we will see everything on the senate floor when they return in the new year. chuck schumer is saying they are going to bring it to the floor for a vote. . >> the white house said he broke his word. that is very unusual in this type of negotiation back and forth. joe biden knows what that is like in the senate. to say that of a u.s. senator is very serious there. we have three positive cases in congress, yes? >> reporter: yes. that's exactly right. this variant is spreading across the country. obviously we don't know what variant the senators have. but senator elizabeth warren, cory booker, and crow testing positive. keep your eye on whether or not the case counts rise in the u.s. senate. a lot of democrats still masking here in the senate. but a lot of republicans, john, unfortunately not really masking any more on the floor. >> all the cases mild at this point, which does indicate, and maybe we should be talking less about cases per se across the country and more about serious illness when it happens. i appreciate the reporting. lauren fox, thank you very much. for more, let's bring in cnn political commentator jess mec macintosh. the fact that we saw this statement from the white house, to say kid gloves are off may be an understatement. what did that do at this point in terms of potentially any future compromise, future bill, even if schumer wants to put the bill out in january? >> reporter: i would say kid gloves have been fully employed for many months now and they have gotten us to this point. i think the democrats are right not to take no as the final position here. manchin has an obligation to the people he represents, to the party that supports him, and frankly to the country that he serves. people are hurting right now. and he is standing alone in the way of their relief. it is an untenable position for him. and i don't think it's one that he is going to be able to maintain over the holiday as he goes back home and he hears from west virginians who are 49th and 50th when it comes to health care, child care and all the services that the build back better aims to strengthen. there is a reason why biden ran on this plan. it is wildly popular. it is politically popular. and it's needed right now. just full stop. >> in it is notable chuck schumer said he will put it on the floor for a vote. but not until the new year. you're basic live saying it's not dead yet, to misquote monty python? >> reporter: that's exactly what i'm saying, this is not dead yet. we still have a living parrot. i think what he hears in west virginia as his senate colleagues. he is behaving as a man who lives on a yacht and drives a maserati. when he goes home and has to explain to people why he voted against their ability to care for ailing relatives, i feel that's going to be a difficult position for him to maintain over christmas and not an enviable one. i do think it's amazing to have watched progressives who take so much of the hits for being, quote, unquote difficult compromised over and over again to get this necessary agenda, the president's agenda passed. and if it falls, it will be because of a moderate. so i think we need to stop calling it that. obstructionism at this level is not moderate. there is nothing moderate about it. . >> moderate is expressing frustration as well. congresswoman span berger among them expressing frustration and concern. bottom line, if this comes to the floor next year, the reality as we watch the vote, what can be salvaged from this massive bill? are there smaller parts that could perhaps find their path to some sort of passage? >> reporter: not without republican support. w 6th to come to recognize that one party is attempting to govern in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic and one party trying to stop us from doing anything to help the people of this country. that it's where we are when we start piecing this bill out into smaller chunks because they would require republican support. republicans are not willing to do that at this point. the only reason joe manchin matters is because an entire party abdicated their responsibility. that is something we need to keep our eyes on now. >> center appreciate you joining us this morning. thank you. well, the spike in covid cases certainly not stopping americans from traveling for the holidays. so what can you expect if you're about to hit the roads or the airport? >> overnight, israel shut its doors from travelers from the united states. also canada and germany. the prime minister warning the wave is coming. the latest on the global response ahead. ♪ ♪ (man) still asleep. (woman vo) so, where to next? (vo) reflect on the past, celebrate the future. season's greetings from audi. nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette so, big question this morning. the surge in covid cases, how will they affect travel? one man has the answers. cnn's pete muntean, the mayor of reagan international airport. omicron perhaps surging in the united states. what kind of impact on travel is it having? >> reporter: it's so interesting, john. because, you know, so many people right now are having the go, no go decision. it is clear millions are still going. just look at the numbers. the tsa screened more than 2 million people a day on thursday, on friday, and on saturday. we've not seen an above 2 million three-day stretch since the weekend of thanksgiving. friday's number is the biggest number we have seen since the monday after thanksgiving. we will have to see what yesterday's number will bring. we will get that number later on today. just judging from the long leans at airports across the country, no doubt it will be big in atlanta, austin, boston, clearly people feel confident about getting out right now. but dr. anthony fauci says you have to weigh the risks, given the variant's quick spread. here's what he said. >> clearly, when you travel, there is always a risk of increased infection. that just goes with respiratory illnesses. but if people need to travel and want to travel for the obvious family reasons during this holiday season, if you're vaccinated and you're boosted, and you take care when you go into congregate settings like airports to make sure you continually wear your mask, you should be okay. but we are going to see breakthrough infections, chuck. there's no doubt about that. >> reporter: the data watch, john, is thursday. that is the day the tsa says will be one of the busiest. we will see if these doubts in travel lead to any decline in these numbers. and airlines did say last week the omicron variant was causing a bit of wavering in ticket bookings and cancellations were going up. even still, this could be a huge holiday travel season. the tsa projects a total of 20 to 21 million will pass through airports across the country in 10 days, numbers that rival 2019's numbers before the pandemic. john. . >> wear your mask, be smart. if you have symptoms, don't travel. that's what the doctors are saying right now. hopefully peopling abide by that. pete muntean, thank you very much. so are senate republicans planning a replay of the merrick garland supreme court blockade? we have new cnn reporting ahead. closing arguments set to begin in ghislaine maxwell sex trafficking trial. how quickly could there be a verdict? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list event. ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪ limu emu... & doug ♪ ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance so they only pay for what they need. (gasps) ♪ did it work? only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ spider-man no way home in theaters december 17th ♪ this holiday, let them shine like never before. ♪ this is how we shine. ♪ find the perfect gift at zales. the diamond store. new cnn reporting, senate republicans are poised to block anyone president biden would pick to be supreme court justice. this comes as democrats are anxiously waiting for justice stephen breyer to announce his retirement plans. live in washington with more this morning. some folks will say this is not much of a surprise. but give us the details here. >> reporter: look, it's not just a concern for the midterms. we have a 50/50 senate as we all know at this point. some are aging, some who have been in bad health who colleagues themselves fear could die and throw things into disarray even on this. republicans telling cnn, telling me and my colleague manu raju that they would not likely move on a biden nominee for the supreme court. and senate democrats saying they are worried, and this worries the white house too, if they push stephen breyer too much, he may not retire. >> when it comes to the white house, where does the white house stand? >> well, president biden has been pretty firm he doesn't think it's his place to push for retirement. but of course he would like stephen breyer to retire so they can secure the seat for the next generation. it is tricky. there is the back firing question. then the fact that stephen breyer is 83 years old. joe biden planning to run for re-election when he will be in his early 80s. a lot of factors are at play here. >> great to have this in your reporting, isaac. thank you. >> reporter: thank you. tennis star peng shuai now recounting her sexual assault accu accusation. did kim potter's testimony on the stand help or hurt her defense? ♪ fresh flavors... classic dishes... ♪ and a new seat at the table. ♪ the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash... and this is the basement slash panic room. maybe what your family needs is a vacation home slash vacation home. find yours on the vrbo app. to run a growing business, is to be on a journey. and along the ride, you'll have many questions. challenges. and a few surprises. ♪ but wherever you are on your journey. your dell technologies advisor is here for you - with the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. nope - c'mon him? - i like him! nooooo... nooooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent, so you can use less. bounty, the quicker picker upper. this morning a cnn exclusive. manhattan's incoming district attorney says he plans to be personally involved in cases related to former president donald trump. cnn's kara scannell joins us now. kara, you sat down with the incoming d.a. there have been a lot of questions about what he would do regarding these cases. you have some answers. >> reporter: i did, john. it was very interesting. a good interview with alvin bragg. he will be the d.a. january 1st. i spoke with drug trafficking about this, and he indicated he has no plans to disrupt this investigation. he told me that he has asked one of the top attorneys who has been working on this country, kerry dunn, to stay on. and he hopes mark pomeranz, who has been involved in the specific questioning of various witnesses, he asked him to stay on. and he said when he comes into office january 1st and get fully briefed on this investigation, he will evaluate the evidence, take all of their knowledge and experience, his experience to bear. he might even add people to the team. it doesn't look like he is looking to shut down this investigation, even though he has quite a big agenda on his own. i said this is the former president. this is a big deal to investigate him and possibly charge him. i asked how does he think about that? he said he's been in these positions before, big profile cases. you have to look and ask the question, would you bring this case otherwise? he said that will be the guiding principle. and some people say this is a no-win situation. some people will be happy if he charges the former president, and others will not. he said you have to put your head down, do the work, and make the call. this is a historic election. he is the first african american district attorney. he is taking office while there is rising crime, rising gun violence in new york. he has a big agenda to shake up the culture. he brings a lot of his personal experience to bear. he grew up in harlem. he would guns pointed at him as a kid, including by police. he is trying to hold a balance between holding police accountable. >> kara scannell bringing the news this morning. people had questions. you had the answers. thank you so much. three major trials across america coming to a close this week. ghislaine maxwell, elizabeth holmes and kimberly potter. let's start with minnesota. kim potter took the stand in her own defense on friday. for folks who didn't see it, i want to play part of that cross-examination. take a listen. >> you didn't make sure any officers knew what you had just done, right? >> no. >> you didn't run down the street and try to save daunte wright's life, did you? >> no. >> you were focused on what you had done because you had just killed somebody? >> i'm sorry about that. i'm sorry. >> joey, kim potter tkroebg down multiple times, not just during cross-examination. she broke down as well with her own defense attorney. bottom line, did this help or hurt the defense, do you think, to put the defendant on the stand? >> reporter: yeah, erica. good to be with you. good morning. this was a devastating cross-examination. i understand where the defense is going here, for jury nullification. what does that mean? it means a jury has a right to get and understand that you committed the underlying elements of the offense and excuse you for doing so. why? because they feel you're contrite. they can relate to you. they feel badly for you. that's the only way, erica, the only way she gets out of this. why do i say that? i say that because she admitted to the underlying essence of what she's charged with. we know she is charged with reckless use of firearm, she made the admission she didn't mean to do it, she made a mistake, she didn't mean to harm anybody, on the tape she said i should kill myself. she is admitted to being reckless with a firearm. she also admitted to being careless. she understands the protocols, policies and procedures. she's an officer for 26 years. she's done training herself repeatedly and she has trained others repeatedly. she has admitted to everything. last point, the defense has been arguing she had the right to use deadly force. she said she was inclined to use deadly force and it was not necessary. all of those admissions are devastate to go her case. the question is whether the jury will forgive her and give her a pass in light that she was crying, contrite, and said it didn't need to happen and she felt awful that it did. . >> and also in the trial of ghislaine maxwell, opposite end of the spectrum, did not take the stand. what do you expect from these closing arguments? >> reporter: you know, there's always two narratives. and i think the narrative here from the prosecution will be consistent with what they said the evidence is, and that is you have these four young women who are women now, girls at the time, as young as 14, saying that you, ms. maxwell, really enabled. and not only did you enable jeffrey epstein to do in terms of sexual molestation and abuse, but there are times you participated in that. you knew what you were doing. you groomed the women. you facilitated everything that occurred. and you are responsible for that and need to be held accountable for that. that's the prosecution. the defense on the other hand, erica, will say why are we holding her for the bad acts of another who is not here? why was she ultimately indicted a year later after jeffrey epstein, who you really want, is not here. why is the fbi discredited some accounts of what the actual accusers had said. and a psychologist that said memories really could be re -- sort of you re-enact a memory, you gain an understanding of something, you understand it differently. defense paid a lot of attention to that and really focused a lot of that to the jury. their narratives will be far different saying don't hold her accountable. you wanted jeffrey epstein. she's the wrong target at the wrong time, and she's not guilty. we will see which of those two narratives carry the day. >> finally, this is a busy day for you. finally, elizabeth holmes, theranos founder. there has been so much fascination and interest with this trial. how do you see it playing out at this point? because she did take the stand. and actually there was a lot of positive feedback. >> reporter: yeah. you know, it was interesting, erica, not only did she take the stand but several days and about 24 hours of testimony. very charismatic. this is a person who at 19 dropped out of stanford, who built a company, who was a billionaire, and who ultimately the debt came down when regulators said, hey, this just isn't so. so it depends on whether the jury can connect. remember, her attorneys have been a lot, the defense attorneys, that is, spent a lot of time saying this is a person who really was developing and building a business, who gave up her youth to do it. and as a result of that, every investment is speculative, every investment takes risk. she really used her best business judgment and didn't mislead anyone. we know the prosecution, a lotly, said, wait a second, she misled everyone. she gave false miss rpgzs with respect to a product, what her product can do. it was all built on lies. if they related to her in those several days of testimony i think, you know, she walks. but there's 11 counts here, and all the prosecution needs is one to get a conviction. all which deal with fraud and conspiracy, which is you intended with another to commit fraud. so it's a heavy lift. but it can happen and she could walk. we'll see what a jury does. >> it is going to be a fascinating week as we look at all the trials playing out. we'll be calling on you, my friend. joey, thank you. >> reporter: thank you, erica. good to see you. taking a look at covid, the omicron variant now detected in at least 45 states. up next, a doctor in south africa treating patients with the variant for several weeks. what to change, if anything, in terms of the symptoms she's seeing and who is getting infected. and a remarkable comeback for tiger woods with someone special by his side. we'll speak to a reporter who followed them along the course. get up to 40% off storewide. 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ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. the surge in covid cases is wreaking havoc with all of the major sports leagues. andy scholes has this morning's "bleacher report" for us. i mean, buckle up. >> reporter: yeah. erica, it hasn't been looking good for the sports league as of late. sidelining a lot of players and forcing games to be postponed left and right. the nhl has shut down seven teams in the past week due to the rising number of cases. they will pause all activities through december 26th. the nhl suspending all cross-border travel until after christmas. that caused 12 games between the u.s. and canada teams to be postponed. so far 35 games have been called off since last monday. the nba postponing five players after multiple members and staff tested positive. three games played yesterday. tonight's game postponed. giannis, tray young and k.d. among those. the league sending a memo saying vaccinated players, coaches and staff will only be tested if symptomatic. the nfl said they will monitor symptoms more closely and will randomly test individuals. previously vaccinated individuals were tested once a week. the saints didn't have head coach on the field last night because of a positive test. tom brady turned the ball over twice, shut out for the first time in 255 games. he took his frustration out on the tablets on the sidelines. the saints won 9-0. erica, the last time tom brady was shutout, december 10th, 2006. it's been a while. >> it's been a while. it was a tough one for john berman, too. let's be honest here. the real pain is being felt by j.b. andy, thank you. >> reporter: all right. >> i hate it when he throws things. >> i do, too. it's not a good example, berman. >> it's going to be okay. a second place finish for tiger woods, his first time competing on a golf course and suffering serious leg injuries earlier this year in a car accident. he partnered with son charlie in this two-day event in orlando over the weekend. this is what tiger said on what it was like to play again. >> the competitive juices aren't -- they're never going to go away. this is my environment. this is what i've done my entire life. i'm just so thankful to be able to have this opportunity to do it again. to push as hard as we have the last seven months with taking no days off, just, twoing our butts off each and every day and to have this opportunity to be able to play with my son and to have these pherls,memories, for a li is worth all the pain. . >> staff writer for golf digest, dan rappaport. dan, you tweeted the most popular golfers in the world, number one, tiger woods. number two, charlie woods. number three, everyone else. this must have been something to see. >> reporter: . >> it was remarkable. golf's dead season. exhibition, father/son tournament, two guys who were two young to drive and two guys over 80 years old. everyone was glued to their television. just a reminder of the effect that tiger woods and now his son charlie have on this game. when he is playing there is a completely different feel, different aura, completely different buzz. and to see the two of them matching in red and black, making birdies down the stretch, especially given the year tiger had it was a truly remarkable sight. >> there were serious questions about whether or not he could walk, let alone play golf again. he did use a golf cart to get around, which you can't do when you're playing the pga tournaments as the year goes on. do you think he'll be able to get back on the tour and walk the course as he will have to? >> that's the question. i think this week he showed that he still has the game. he still has all the shots. but playing golf on the pga tour is not just hitting golf shots. people like to think of golf as an easy sport where you just ride around. it's physical. you have to walk five days in a row, four days in a practice round. it's uphill, downhill, hit shots out of the rough. what he did this weekend, while very impressive, hitting draws and fades and great distance control, putting stroke looks good, not the same as playing on the pga tour. that's really what it comes down to. it's a very simple thing. is he going to be able to get his leg to a place where he can walk a golf course five straight days? if he can do that, he will play on the pga tour again. i have no doubt about that. it is a function of whether he can get the leg to progress to that point and how long it is going to take. >> don't underestimate walking five days in a row. swinging a golf club, making the shots, that can be hard on your body also. no issues there? . >> no issues there. and i think it's really telling what the two players that he played with said. one of them is justin thomas, a good buddy of his and one of the 10 best players in the world. he said it looks like a lot of moves, the swings are already there. he played with matt kuchar, around tiger's age, played a ton of golf with tiger, he couldn't stop gushing how well he hit the ball. he said the swing and quality of his contact, the quality of his actual shots is already pga tour ready. for him to be at this point less than 10 months still after that accident, when it looked like he might lose his leg and golf was the furthest thing from anyone's mind, the guy seems to have nine lives. he finds a way to piece a body together, and to hit truly incredible golf shots. this guy is a golfing genius. if he has any sort of body to stand on, he will be good enough to play on the pga tour. some people just have it. and tiger woods, with a golf club in his hand, is magic, even after all of these injuries. . >> nice to see him smile. he loves practice ig with his son. dan rappaport, thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> if "new day" continues right now. ♪