likely to send you to the hospital and it may cause less severe illness than previous strains of the virus. right now omicron has been detected in all 50 u.s. states, as expected. it accounts now and very quickly for at least 90% of new covid infections in the u.s. still, americans are keeping their holiday plans and the president and public health officials say that is safe for we should note the vaccinated. today is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season. we just learned the tsa screened more air travelers yesterday than at the same time in 2019. of course before the pandemic. we're also seeing, though, big lines for covid tests across the country. last night president biden responded to criticism that the u.s. did not get those tests out quickly enough, that it wasn't prepared. >> we hear this over and over again, empty shelves, no test kits. is that a failure? >> no, i don't think it's a failure. i think it's a -- you could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, a month ago. it's possible there could be other variants that come along, that's possible. but what do you plan for? you plan for what you think is available, that is the most likely threat that exists at the time, and you respond to it. >> president biden reiterated that the best defense is to get vaccinated. that's what the doctors, public health officials are saying as well. if you're already vaccinated, get boosted because the booster shots give you extra protection against omicron. for those who do get infected the fda has authorized the first pill to treat covid-19 infections. it is shown to reduce the risk for hospitalization and death by 88%. i mean just amazing results there. cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen and cnn correspondent larry mado are following all of the developments here and internationally. elizabeth, let's begin with you. these studies have been coming in for a couple of weeks now and we have a wave of them over the last several days that show a lower risk of hospitalization with omicron than compared to delta. should americans take these findings as encouraging? >> so i'd rather see these findings than other findings, right? it's good that we're seeing the hospitalizations are less common, but it doesn't mean you throw all caution to the wind and say, okay, so this is just a cold. that's not the case. people are still being hospitalized. also we need to protect people who may not have been as well protected by their vaccines, elderly people or people with compromised immune systems. they could get hit by omicron very hard. let's take a look at results of a study, for example, that was done in scotland. so in scotland they found a two-thirds reduction in hospital risk when compared to when the delta variant was dominant and they also foundi the booster wa linked to a 57% reduction in the risk of symptomatic infections. so emphasizing how useful the booster can be in this situation. really the advice is still the same. we're happy to see this data, of course, but still get vaccinated if you haven't been, get boosted if it's time for your turn, if it's time to get boosted, and do the common-sense approaches about masking and social distancing. jim? >> let's go to south africa now and larry mado because that's where omicron was first detected in long numbers. what's amazing, larry, when you hear from doctors and public health officials there is how quickly this seems to have peaked there and cases and new infections are already coming down. what are you finding? >> that's correct, jim. i spent most of this month reporting in south africa at the height of this crisis and now for the first time i'm seeing a lot of south african scientists, epidemiologists, virologists now confident enough to say they think south africa has passed the peak of the omicron wave and they think the numbers are reducing. that's largely because the outbreak was in the city of johann johannesburg and they're confident enough to say this is past the peak. they also think this is the same in several other south african provinces. you had an epidemiologist on yesterday who told you one of the reasons is they think because it spread so fast in the community, a lot of people got natural infection because they got natural immunity from being infected and the vaccination numbers have increased in south africa. they think this is a good clue for the rest of the world. if this south african example is anything to go by that the omicron variant will be less severe, so fewer people in hospital and fewer people dying, jim. >> elizabeth, for those who do get infected, the fda has authorized another treatment, the first pill to treat covid-19, highly effective. how long until it's widely available? >> you know, we don't know exactly when those first shipments will go out. i will say all of these covid drugs that we've seen and the vaccines are distributed by the u.s. government. you can't buy them on your own. sometimes it's taken a while to get these out. but let's talk first about the results of the clinical trial. so what pfizer did with this pill is they took 2,000 people and half of them were given a placebo which is a drug that does nothing. that half, 66 of them ended up in the hospital and 12 of them died. but the 1,000 people who got covid who got the pill 8 were hospitalized and nobody died. but the first is you've got to take this early, within five days, which means you need to test and we know there have been struggles with testing. also as you mentioned distribution. let's talk about that for a minute. the white house says they purchased 10 million courses of treatment, in other words, enough for 10 million people. in january, 265,000 of them will be available and by late summer they say the full amount will be available. utah, interestingly enough, is just one state that's come out and said we will be getting enough for 400 people in the initial allocation. that's obviously -- 440. that's quite a small number. >> all right. these are good developments. we know you'll continue to send us the data, elizabeth cohen. larry, thank you so much. here to discuss medical director at the baylor college of medicine, dr. regina bisette. nice to have you back, doctor. >> good morning. >> i know you've been watching these studies very closely. three new studies showing omicron has a lower risk of hospitalization compared to delta. are you encouraged by these findings? >> i'm somewhat encouraged, jim, but i do want to say that with a caveat. omicron spreads so quickly amongst the community that even though there is a chance that the disease may be milder, the caseloads potentially could be so high that that would still put a strain on our hospital system. so milder disease is not the only thing that gives me pause. >> it's a math problem here, right? more folks, even though it's a lower percentage, that still could be trouble for icus and so on which are already still overwhelmed. i do want to ask about the direction of this latest surge, because when you look to south afr africa where it came first, it went up very quickly but also came down very quickly. i wondering if you see the same likely trajectory here in the u.s. yes, it will spread very quickly, take over as the dominant variant, but does that portend a quicker surge? >> it's hard to say because even before we were in the throes of omicron and it became the dominant variant in the united states, we are still dealing with very high case numbers from delta. cases were surging in the midwest and northeast before we discovered omicron. so even if that peaks quickly, those numbers start to die down, i wondering if there are still going to be significant cases of delta that we have to contend with. >> okay. there are a lot of folks watching right now who are either on their way or thinking about being on their way to either travel or to keep their holiday plans. help them understand how to process this, because a couple of weeks ago folks were concerned omicron is so serious we may not be able to do anything. that's not the advice. the president is not saying that, dr. fauci is not saying that, local public health officials as well. so should folks take this as at least encouraging to say if you're vaccinated, it's okay to keep those holiday plans? >> if you're vaccinated, you're still at risk from omicron. being vaccinated and boosted is actually your best chance of combatting this particular strain of covid. there is no blanket answer for holiday travel and holiday gathering plans. if you are going to be around other people, that in and of itself poses a risk of contracting covid-19. there are low-risk situations and things that you can do to considerably lower your chances of contracting the virus such as making sure the gatherings are small, less than ten people, only from two or three households. try to see if you can get testing done before people gather. make sure everyone coming is vaccinated, if not vaccinated and boosted. >> so on that testing question because you raised that, a lot of friends and colleagues have asked me, hey, if we are getting together, should i ask people coming over to get a test, right? or tell my family members it's a good idea that everybody get a test within a couple of days of meeting. would you recommend that to patients who ask you? >> absolutely. if you have access to at-home testing and can get tests for everyone before they gather, that of course would create the safest scenario. the problem is right now that access to testing is an issue. a lot of major retailers are even limiting the amount of at-home tests that people can buy. >> and the white house plan is not taking effect until next month after the holidays. doctor, thank you for joining us. we hope you and your family have happy holidays. >> thank you, jim. happy holidays. early next month the supreme court will hear legal arguments to challenges to the biden administration's vaccine mandates for health care workers and private businesses. the urgency comes as lower courts are split on thei issue o far. the plan would impact 80 million workers. for now the court is leaving in place the status quo. the white house says it is confident in the legal authority for the mandates. those arguments are set for january 7th. still ahead, president biden says he is not giving up on build back better and it's not just the short-term fight he's considering. what he's saying about a 2024 rematch potentially with trump. plus, this morning the russian president says it's impossible to have good relations with ukraine. hear vladimir putin's disturbing message to nato as well. and later, two retired generals will join me live with a stark warning for this country. why they say the military has to be prepared and act now to prevent another insurrection. ♪ ♪ kiss the people you love. mark this moment in time, and celebrate every kiss. my family's been devastated by covid-19. and we're not alone. we've all had to find new ways to keep going. and cue has made that easier. with cue, you get lab-quality covid-19 test results in just 20 minutes. speed and accuracy. it's just for the nba; it's for you too. cue health. the official covid-19 home test of the nba. go cue. go you. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the first approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. just in to cnn inflation is rising at the fastest pace in nearly four decades in this country. the consumer price index jumped 5.7% in the 12 months that ended in november. that's the biggest jump since 1982. perhaps gives ammunition to those, joe manchin among them, who say that the build back better act might add to inflation by pumping more money into the economy. president biden disagrees. he says the legislation would make inflation better, not worse. have a listen. >> i still think we'll be able to get a significant amount of what we need to get done, done. >> the fed just indicated they might have to raise interest rates up to three times in the coming year just to slow things down. that sounds like americans should be prepared for potentially more pain before this gets better. >> if we don't pass build back better, i think you're right. but if we do, 17 nobel laureates in the economy said it's going to bring down inflation. >> cnn's joe johns joins us now from the white house. joe, it's a wide-ranging interview from build back better, very immediate challenge for this president, but right up to his plans for 2024. >> that's for sure. and he keeps the optimism high, doesn't he? optimistic on a number of fronts, including the idea of running for re-election. now, the president says he plans to be in the race even though his numbers have tanked, his approval numbers have tanked, even though he was the oldest president to take the oath of office. he does say if donald trump is in the race, he's planning to run too. listen. >> but look, i'm a great respecter of fate. fate has intervened in my life many, many times. if i'm in the health i'm in now, if i'm in good health, then in fact i would run again. >> and if that means a rematch against donald trump? >> you're trying to tempt me now. sure. why would i not run against donald trump or any nominee? that would increase the prospect of running. >> you know, in the last race he really held himself out as the donald trump candidate, the guy who was uniquely suited to run against donald trump. and what this does set up is the possibility that we'll all be watching to see whether there is a rematch, including people who could be possible contenders waiting to see whether these two men run again. jim, back to you. >> well, we'll be watching as we get closer. joe johns at the white house, thanks so much. >> you better. russian president vladimir putin making disturbing comments in public today in his annual news conference. he is blaming the ukrainian government saying it's the one preparing for war and a military operation despite the fact that russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops along the border. he also says the ball is in nato's court when it comes to de-escalating the situation there. melissa bell has been listening in from moscow. melissa, you listened to putin's comments and it sounds like he's in effect making a public case for russian military action in ukraine. >> reporter: that's right. in a case to the russian people specifically. you really heard him lay out the justification there might be foreign intervention, the nature of the russian-speaking people who found themselves in ukraine after the carve-out of the soviet union. but that was very much for his domestic audience. for the rest of us really what we heard was him laying the blame for the current tensions around ukraine squarely at the feet of kiev, first of all, saying that he had the impression that some kind of military operation in the east of the country was being planned and linking that to the sanctions that are being threaten ed by the west. saying if you intervene and help these people in the east, there will be war and perhaps there's a suggestion there that there will be. he also spoke to those forthcoming talks, the ones we now know that will be held in january between nato, the united states and russia. they could be mediated by italy. and he laid out some of his thinking saying when heefsz asked if russia would invade ukraine, he would not depend on the course of the negotiations, rather whether the west would give russia its guarantees that nato would not progress with any eastward expansion of its borders. now, to have a listen to the tone that he struck and the analogies that he raised, it was an interesting press conference, jim. >> translator: how would the americans react if we placed domiciles on the border between canada and the united states or on the mexican border? not a single inch to the east, they told us in the '90s. and what do you know, they cheated. they just deceived us blatantly. five ways of nato expansion, and there you go, now in romania and poland, weapon systems appear. >> reporter: now that really speaks to some of the fears we've heard the russian president speak about these last few days, specifically the idea that should that eastward expansion of nato continue, and you heard there his deep distrust for anything nato or western leaders had to say on this issue, then they might be faced with the possibility of weapon systems in ukraine on the doorstep of russia. that clearly unacceptable to the russian leader. so an interesting insight into what he's been thinking even as he builds up his troops on the ukrainian border. >> nato's response has been that's up to nato and those countries, not to russia. we'll see where the negotiations go. melissa bell in moscow, thanks so much. now to a cnn exclusive. new reporting, u.s. intelligence agencies have determined saudi arabia is now building ballistic missiles and the u.s. believes china is helping them do that. natasha bertrand is helping break the story this morning. natasha, this is remarkable collaboration between effectively a u.s. friend and ally and what the u.s. views as its primary challenger now, china. >> reporter: that's exactly right, jim. what intelligence sources are telling my colleague zack cohen as well as satellite imagery is that saudi arabia has begun to produce its own ballistic missiles. this is an escalation from 2019 when cnn first reported that saudi arabia was just buying these ballistic missiles from china. now it appears that they are actually able to make them on their own. u.s. officials have been briefed in recent months on the transfer of large-scale ballistic missile technology from china to saudi arabia. the satellite images are adding to the picture because what researchers have seen is that they're operating burn pits at a facility in saudi arabia indicating that right now they are producing these ballistic missiles. now, obviously this poses a big challenge to the biden administration even though it began under the trump administration because it could have significant ripple effects across the middle east. not the least because of iran and its ballistic missile program. iran, of course, is a major adversary and rival of saudi arabia. so saudi arabia is producing its own ballistic missiles. the question is will the u.s. be able to quconvince the iranianso give up their ballistic missile program. the administration is considering options about how to respond to this program. >> it's a regional arms race the u.s. has dreaded for some time. natasha bertrand, thanks so much. still ahead this hour, the committee investigating the january 6 insurrection now wants to speak with republican congressman jim jordan. why they think he should be willing and how text messages could be the focus. that's coming up. it's the last minute gift sale. get up to 40% off storewide. ( ♪ ) this is how we shine. at zales. the diamond store. johnson & johnson is the world's largest healthcare company. building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. joints can be 3-d printed. and there isn't one definition of what well feels like. there are millions. we're using our world to make your world a world of well. ♪ [text alert] ♪ son of a bi— beth? if it's “i thought we said no gifts” season, it's walgreens season. it's the most joyous time of year. especially at t-mobile! let's go to dianne. i got the awesome new iphone 13 pro and airpods, and t-mobile is paying for them both! and this is for new and existing customers. upgrade to the iphone 13 pro and airpods both on us. only at t-mobile. congressman and staunch trump ally jim jordan says he is reviewing the letter from the committee investigating january 6 which requested that he voluntarily come in for an interview. it is considered highly unlikely he'll sit down with the panel. jordan was one of the lawmakers who sent a text, now in the committee's possession, to then white house chief of staff mark meadows during the insurrection, which included a theory for how the government might be overturned, the election might be overturned. paula reid joins me now. so why does the committee believe jordan should be willing, even if that's considered something of a long shot? >> a long shot indeed, jim. in their letter to jordan the committee has several reasons for wanting to talk to him. first he was in touch with former president trump several times and he was involved in efforts to challenge the 2020 election outcome. as you just noted, the committee has previously revealed that on january 5th, jordan forwarded a text to then white house chief of staff mark meadows with a legal theory about how then vice president mike pence could block the certification of election results. that forwarded text said in part that pence should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all. jordan has previously told cnn he doesn't think he has anything to worry about. let's take a listen. >> you had conversations with them after january 6th. >> but i have conversations with the president all the time. >> but if they asked you to come, you would say sure, you'll talk to them? >> if they contact me. >> they actually used that language "i've got nothing to hide" in the letter to jordan. this is a move by the committee and one that could inflame partisan tensions around the investigation. jordan was selected to serve on the committee but that idea was denied by democrats. jordan has threatened political retribution if investigators were to target gop lawmakers in this probe but the congressman is actually the second gop lawmaker and trump ally to receive a request like this. earlier this week they sent a similar letter to representative scott perry requesting his cooperation, a request he has declined. as for whether jordan will cooperate, it seems like a long shot. last night he said his office is reviewing the letter. one other thing we're watching today, another key aspect of this investigation. today is the deadline for trump to appeal to the supreme court his so far unsuccessful battle to block the january 6th committee from obtaining some of his white house records. twice now federal judges have ruled against him. it's not even clear if the high court would take up this case, but it would have ramifications for other witnesses, like mark meadows, who have cited executive privilege as one of their reasons for not cooperating with the committee. >> paula reid, that's another supreme court case to watch. thanks very much. well, the one-year anniversary of january 6 is fast approaching, just a couple of weeks away. president biden is planning a speech to mark one year since the attack on the capitol. former president trump has announced he'll hold a news conference. as you know, president trump continues to defend the insurrectionists and to claim the election was stolen. three retired generals are now warning that the military needs to take action now to prevent another insurrection. they wrote in part in "the washington post," quote, we are chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time. without constant maintenance the potential for a military breakdown mirroring societal or political breakdown is very real. it's a chilling warning. two of the men who wrote that warning join me now. retired u.s. army general paul eaton and brigadier general steve anderson. gentlemen, thanks for joining me this morning. >> merry christmas, jim. >> great to be here. >> you note in your piece that one in ten of capitol rioters charged in the insurrection had ties to the military. how far do you believe extremest views, as well as ties to extremist organizations extending to the military and how much are you saying it's enough of a group that could lead to a mutiny? >> absolutely, we're very concerned. that's one of the things that we recommend in our piece is that we gather intelligence about our workforce and make sure that the people in the military are not part of extremist groups. d.o.d. just issued some policy prohibiting active membership, but allowing membership, nevertheless. we believe that that's just not going far enough. the fbi has a list of extremist groups. i submit if you're a soldier in the united states army, you can't be a member of that gang or extremist group and also bow a member of the united states military. membership in groups like that allow them to legitimatize their organizations, incite military members as leaders. the army is a team. we fight and win as teams. and being a member of a hate group is antithetical to everything american. serving in the military is a privilege and not a right and our soldiers need to know that. we need to gather information to know which folks might succumb to that hateful rhetoric. >> and an essential feature of military service, general eaton, is, of course, obeying the chain of command. we've seen examples where that's been broken, one being, and you mentioned this in your piece as well, the commander of the oklahoma national guard refusing the commander in chief, that's the president's order for vaccinating members of the military, claiming that the oklahoma governor somehow was his commander in chief. explain to folks at home how damaging that can be if soldiers, members of the military, decide i'm not going to follow the commander in chief. >> jim, if you insert doubt in the electoral process in the united states, the entire nation will be subject to some level of confusion. if you do that and have some level of confusion in greater america, you're going to have the same thing in the united states military. we're a very hierarchical organization. we're very clear in what the chain of command is. and the governors in oklahoma, texas, florida, with respect to their national guard command have inserted doubt already. so it behooves the chairman of the joint chiefs and everybody in the pentagon to go through an education process on civics and on chain of command. >> as you note and we note frequently on this broadcast, the former president continues to sow that doubt. one of your recommendations in addition to an intel operation in effect to seek out folks who hold these views, have ties to these organizations, is for the military, general anderson, to war game this out as it does for a whole host of international threats, foreign threats, but to war game out what would happen domestically if you had division in the ranks and the possibility of violence. in your experience has the military ever war gamed out a domestic threat like that? >> well, we have done that in the past. we need to do better, though, obviously. we need to imagine the unimaginable, jim. who would have thought a year ago that thousands of people could storm the u.s. capitol as they did? we need to think about all threats. one of the things that the military is really good at is strategic planning and war gaming, so we need to start thinking now about what things we can do to make sure we're prepared for '24 because we know that the bad guys, the oath keepers and proud boys, they're out there planning right now. so we need to think about all potentialities, po es and the l. they're going to try to be more successful than they were in 2020 and the military needs to be think about that right now. >> i'm going to quote from your piece here because now we have two serving, now retired but folks who served at the highest levels of the u.s. military. you did your time, decades of military service to your country. you write under such a scenario it is not outlandish to see a military breakdown could lead to civil war. you know, i read that and that sent chills up my spine here. and i know, general anderson and general eaton, you don't say this lightly here. do you believe, general eaton, that our leaders have sufficient appreciation of this? let's set aside, sadly, most of the republican party at the leadership level who either are staying away from this, some of them actively participating in questioning the outcome of the 2020 election, or our serving leaders, the president, democratic leaders, aware of this sufficiently and doing enough to contend with this? >> jim, steve already brought up a failure to imagine that we've had in the past. and the reason that we war game and the reason that we put role players with great imaginations into the war game is to identify the faults, the cracks, and to develop contingency plans to address those cracks. when you have a major political party start playing with fire the way they are doing right now and inserting doubt into our electoral process, that doubt will compromise all entities in the united states. and that includes all our police forces, both federal, state, local, and the united states military. so the republican party, and it is the republican party, has got to redress -- has got to turn and with this very dangerous approach that they have applied right now to electoral validation. >> well, and as you noted to me at the break, both of you said you were long-time republicans. this is not a partisan issue for you. i know it's a patriotic issue. major general paul eaton, brigadier general steven anderson, thank you to both of you. still ahead we are tracking the impacts of the pandemic around the world. why 13 million residents in china are now on lockdown. ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? 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[crowd cheering] how's sanchez looking? with your qb's increased spin rate, any pass with a launch angle of at least 43 degrees puts sanchez in the endzone. you a data analyst or something? an investor in invesco qqq. a fund that gives you access to nasdaq-100 innovations like ai statistical analysis software. how am i gonna do? become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq. ♪ breaking news. some more good news when it comes to the pandemic. another antiviral pill to treat coronavirus has gotten the green light from the fda. merck getting authorization for its treatment. elizabeth cohen joins us now. so we have two pills authorized to treat infection, basically to keep you from getting serious illness and out of the hospital. tell us the significance and what exactly this pill is. >> right. so the significance is that up until these antiviral pills, jim, if you got covid and were in the early stages, there was really not much that you could do. there was no medicine that you could take except for one where you had to go and find a place to get it, injections or infusions and it was very difficult to find. these are pills that your doctor can just call in a prescription and the results have been really, really dramatic both for pfizer's pill and merck's pill. when people got the pill, there were no deaths in the groups in the clinical trials that got these pills, whereas folks that got a placebo, which is a pill that does nothing, there were many deaths. so these pills really do seem quite effective. there are some safety concerns about merck's pill. the advisory committee to the fda that green lit it barely green lit it. the vote was very, very close. but to have both of these pills available could really make a difference in the treatment of covid-19. the safety concerns weren't so much immediate safety concerns, they were more in some ways theoretical concerns, if you will. now, availability is really going to be the question here. how quickly can the government get this out on the market? also these pills need to be taken just within days of feeling symptoms of covid-19 and getting tested and knowing that you have covid, that's going to be tough given the current testing situation. jim. >> yeah, let's hope more options means easier availability. elizabeth cohen, thanks so much. so just a month before the winter olympics in beijing, officials in one city in central china, a big one, have instituted strict lockdown measures on all of its estimated 13 million residents. it comes after detecting 63 new covid cases there. from asia to south america to europe, our cnn correspondents following the impact of the omicron variant around the globe. >> reporter: i'm in london. the omicron variant is driving record-breaking case numbers yet again here. on wednesday more than 100,000 positive cases were recorded in england. that's the first time that we've surpassed 100,000 cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. still, prime minister boris johnson has said no new restrictions will be announced before christmas time. it comes as there's promising news coming from a preliminary pre-print paper from the university off edinburgh in scottland. it shows that the omicron variant may be milder. this paper said the risk of hospitalizations was reduced by two-thirds if you compare the omicron variant with the delta variant for those who are double vaccinated. it's giving health officials some hope, but still the fear is that the sheer number, the sheer volume of people positive with covid-19, whatever portion of them winds up in hospital, could still be enough to overwhelm the health care system. >> reporter: i am in bogota, colombia. authorities are closely following the situation on board two cruise ships with multiple covid-19 cases onboard. one of them, the seven seas marina was placed on lockdown yesterday with passengers not allowed to land. but how the situation will evolve onboard those ships will impact the entire travel industry this holiday season. meanwhile in colombia authorities have refused to announce further restrictive measures this christmas despite the country reporting the first three omicron cases on monday. with 40% of the population living in poverty, the prospect of a lockdown christmas is more daunting for the economy than the virus itself. >> thanks very much. still ahead, families that had relied on the child tax credit to stay afloat, there are millions of them, now have to find a plan b. we'll hear from some of those parents about the effects of all of this. ♪ you are my fire ♪ ♪ the one desire ♪ ♪ you are, you are, ♪ ♪ don't wanna hear you say... ♪ ♪ ♪ i want it that way ♪ it's the season of smiling. and at aspen dental, we make it easy to gift yourself the smile you deserve. new patients, start today with a full exam and x-rays, with no obligation. if you don't have insurance, it's free. plus everyone saves 20% on their treatment plan with flexible payment solutions for every budget. we're here making smiles shine bright so you can start the new year feelin' alright. call 1-800-aspendental or book today at aspendental.com ♪ happy so happy ♪ ♪ let's hit the open road ♪ ♪ camp without a tent ♪ ♪ talk without a phone ♪ ♪ kick off your boots ♪ ♪ cook something new ♪ ♪ the meeting just started ♪ ♪ careful you're on mute ♪ ♪ catch a snuggle bug ♪ ♪ warm-up your buns ♪ ♪ bring your friend dave ♪ ♪ and the only song he knows ♪ ♪ host a movie night ♪ ♪ get your zen on ♪ ♪ nice to feel at home ♪ ♪ everywhere you go ♪ my family's been devastated by covid-19. and we're not alone. we've all had to find new ways to keep going. and cue has made that easier. with cue, you get lab-quality covid-19 test results in just 20 minutes. speed and accuracy. it's just for the nba; it's for you too. cue health. the official covid-19 home test of the nba. go cue. go you. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ 35 million americans lost their child tax credit when senator joe manchin rejected president biden's build back better legislation. parents nationwide are stuck worrying how to make ends meet. cnn's vanessa yurkevich reports some of those parents say they don't know what they'll do. >> a window into the lopez family reveals christmas cheer. >> i feel like the chocolate is gone. i wonder where it went. >> reporter: but come new year's they'll face a tough financial reality along with 35 million other families. >> we were at a tight budget already, and with this being, like, removed, it's going to be even a tighter budget. >> reporter: the mom referring to the enhanced child tax credit congress failed to pass build back better in time to extend these critical benefits into next year. up to $3,600 per child. the lopez family was receiving $800 a month for their three children under 9. what does $800 a month mean to you? >> it's enough to get us by just because the price of food went up, gas went up, so i feel that that has helped us a lot. and we looked forward to that. we try to stretch it as much as it can. >> reporter: how far does it get you? >> just a couple days before the next one. >> reporter: checks were coming monthly giving families income they could count on. last month's checks kept 3.8 million children out of poverty. what is the plan? >> at this point, i don't know. >> reporter: single mom katherine curran will likely have to take a second job to support her teenaged son and daughter, something shi did when they were younger. >> on weekends i was watching, not to be there watching his games, that was sometimes a little difficult. >> reporter: she's also getting a master's in psychology, just months away from graduating this spring, hoping it will further her career and increase her salary. >> it's going to be really difficult to do that and then also possibly take on a second job. >> reporter: the $500 a month in tax celts help with rising costs, making it easier to drive her daughter, isabella, to routine doctor's visits for her complex heart condition. >> we have to spend time getting there and getting back. taking time off of work and everything, it adds up. >> reporter: the child tax credit is popular along party lines. 75% of democrats sum important it and so do 41% of republicans which makes its failure in congress even more puzzling for these families. >> i feel that if they were put in our shoes for a couple of days, their decisions would be different just because we don't have that freedom to spend that money the way we want to. we have to spend our money planned, paycheck by paycheck. >> that is how many american families live paycheck to paycheck. theels why these enhanced child tax kremts have been so chriticl in digging these families out of the financial hole they found themselves in during the pandemic, jim. president biden has said he believes they can still pass build back better next year. however, these families have been watching these negotiations for the past few months between the white house and congress, particularly with west virginia senator joe manchin. we still have no deal, jim, so these families aren't super hopeful they'll see these enhanced child tax credits anytime soon. jim? >> his offer to this point to renegotiate does not include the child tax credit, so we'll see where that goes. vanessa yurkevich, thanks so much. >> thank you. still ahead, another tool in the fight against coronavirus, how doctors will soon be able to use not one but two antiviral pills. good news for all of us. that's coming up. 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. because you're forever connected by love... two touching center diamonds, representing the connection you share. forever connected. the perfect gift to give this holiday. exclusively at kay. when it comes to autism, finding the right words can be tough. finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like sing family fun nights! rent sing for $1 then belt out all your favorite tunes from the movie with sing karaoke. plus, see sing 2 in theaters with buy-one-get-one free fandango tickets. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards.

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