biden was asked did he drop the ball. >> empty shelves, no test kits. is that a failure? >> no, i don't think it's a failure. i think it's -- you could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, a month ago. >> more on that answer in just a moment, but, first, we start with these promising early studies on omicron, and cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here with us now. what do they show, elizabeth? >> ana, they show what we've been talking about for a while, that while this is an incredibly transmissible variant, the most transmissible we've seen so far it caused milder disease, good news and will until remember people just because something creates a milder disease, this is so transmissible and so many people will get it, a small percentage of the numbers can still be a lot. 2.5 people end up in the hospital but people infected with delta 12.8% end up in the hospital. that's obviously a huge difference. in scotland they found a two-thirds reduction in hospital risk with omicron and found that a booster was linked to a 57% reduction in the risk of symptomatic infection so the advice, while the news changes, the advice stays the same which is get vaccinated. it helps against omicron and boosted if it's time for you to get boosted. ana. >> let's hit that other piece of good news now because the fda hours ago authorized this second pill to treat covid-19, this time from merck. what does this pill do and how quickly will it be available? >> so this pill in many ways is similar to pfizer's, an antiviral you take within days of having pitch toms of covid-19. they tock hundreds of people and half of them were given a placebo, a drug that does nothing, so what they found is they had a 30% reduction in risk. with pfizer though there was an 88% reduction of risk so the pfizer one does so many to be more effective. for merck it's interesting. it's not recommended for pregnant women and also not recommended for children. it's only for adults. that's because of side effect concerning and the fda says only use the merck one if no alternatives are available. if pfizer is not available or a monoclonal antibody if a shot or inkwugs is available, there's more request for the pfizer drug than the merck drug not just because of the better efficacy but because of the side effects as well. now to president biden recently pressed about his covid response and the next steps in this pandemic. jeremy diamond is at the white house with the key takeaways from a new interview. tell us more about what the president is saying. >> reporter: listen, ana, we heard president on the one but acknowledging as well that some aspects of this response could have been better. we talked about nothing has been good enough and he doesn't necessarily think it was a failure but there were some things, like the purchase of 500 millon at-home tests that will only come online next month he wishes he had taken action on sooner and at the same time the president insist that had he did not get anything wrong saying nobody saw it coming. the white house press secretary jen psaki expanded on that moments ago saying while the white house knew that there would be variants, they didn't know specifically which kinds of variants and how transmissible they would be, but nonetheless, at a moment that parents are struggling to do have been better. we heard the president address question of whether or not an additional second booster shot will indeed be needed like israel has done for certain segments of its population. here's the president's response. >> i listen to the scientists, and i'm sure the scientists are paying very close attention to that. there may be a need for another booster but that remains to be soon. >> so it remains a possibility. >> it remains a possibility. >> and we are also seeing the white house this week really boosting an unlikely source, and that is former president trump who has been talking this week at several occasions about the importance of getting a booster shot and the benefit of vaccines, the white house press secretary told me moments ago there's been no contact between the former president and the current president and their teams but the president is certainly happy to see the former president changing his tunes on vaccinations and being more vocal in hurnlging his supporters to get the shot. >> thanks so much for your reporting. with us now is dr. leana wen, the author of "lifeline," doctor's journey in the fight for the public's health." for the president and the country to get a handle on the virus, a key part. equation is knowing who is infected and that's why the testing issue was focused on and pressed upon saying this wasn't a fail our of his administration but he wishes he would have thought of ordering more tests seen, yet here is what he's been saying since early days of his administration, as early as last january and as recent as september. listen. >> we're expanding testing. we're investing nearly $10 billion to expand testing. we're going to deploy things like testing to expand detection of the virus. we're committing $2 billion to purchase nearly 300 million rapid tests. my plan will also expand free testing. >> and yet it's december 23rd, we still don't have enough tests. your thoughts? >> i think what happened, ana, is president biden put all of his eggs into the vaccine basket, and, yes, that is really important and ultimately vaccines, vaccinations, that's what's going to get us out of this pandemic, but dr. 's the reality that people are not vaccinated and no one wants to inadvertently give covid to somebody else so covid is part of our reality and this is what many in public health have been trying to tell the administration for the past year and i wish.any american who wants a test can get a test and testing should not be had a limiting factor. what do you want president to do to be more proactive in getting testing than rather trying to catch up? >> the biden emergency has been responding to emergencies as they arise, but i wish they would look ahead because it's almost certain that omicron is not the last dangerous variant that we're going to see, so how are we going to stop future variants? one of the key factors is right now we're facing a collapse our health care system and that's because the unvaccinated are the ones getting infected for the most part and they are the ones clog up our hospital and straining our health care burdens. what.should be doing is to compel the unvaccinated including through travel mandates, mandates -- vaccine mandates for domestic travel and also doing what many cities are starting to do with proof of vaccination required for restaurants, bars and other events. that's what's going to get us are ahead of the team when we see another surge of another variant. >> i hear what you're saying to get the unvaccinated to get their first shot and now we're talking about some people getting a fourth shot. you heard the president there say it's possible that that could come to fruition here. what do you think? >> i think it will be interesting to see what israel decides to do. the rest of the world has followed romania so israel is decides to go ahead with fourth dose we should get data and that should help to inform us here but right now the bigger issue is we don't have boosters for third shot boosters for so much of the population. a large proportion, even of nursing home residents have not gotten their booster doses so i would really like for us to focus on third doses and also reassuring people who are vaccinated and boosted, chances are if they are generally healthy they are going do just fine with omicron so on an individual level someone who is vaccinated and boosted should not be fearing omicron. on the other hand, we as a society should fear omicron because of the potential to strain our health care system and when our hospitals are full, we also have care compromise for patients coming in with strokes, car accidents, heart attacks and other medical emergencies, too. >> speaking of omicron, let's circle back to elizabeth's reporting. two new studies show that this variant is less likely to cause severe disease and hospitalization compared to delta but u.s. officials are still cautious about jumping to conclusions here. why can't we be sure yet? >> the issue is we don't know exactly how much less severe omicron is going to be. we'll see more people ending up in hospitals so the issue is can we really extrapolate putting them in hospitals and also we have substantial proportions of the u.s. that omicron hasn't really hit full force the yet so will we see rolling waves as new york city is being hit now and then florida a month later? we might see that and that could wreak a lot of havoc for us in the coming months. >> it's holiday times and travel is really starting to pick up. we've been reporting on it the past couple of days but now we know. yesterday hit a level that was higher than even pre-pandemic levels. it was more than 2 million travellers who were screened yesterday by tsa, higher than the same weekday in 201. how much does all this travel concern you? >> actually travel for the vaccinated and boosted and generally healthy, that doesn't really concern me. chances are these are individuals even if they get omicron and chances are good that they will be exposed to omicron because of how much it's around and how contagious it is, but if they do chanced are they will get asymptomatic or mildly moderate infections so that's not the group i'm worried about. i'm worried about the unnational nail theed and how many this will cost them so if neurogathering with medically frail individuals over the holidays make sure you are taking other precautions including testing just before you see them and when it comes to who to test, it's not the people at risk for illness who should be test it had. it's the people who are at high risk for exposure who should be tested. don't test grandma who has already been hunkering down. test the college student going to bars. if you have unlimited tests test everybody. if you have limited tests test the person with the highest level exposure. >> thanks so much for the conversation and thank you for being there for our entire year. somebody we really appreciate and thank you for your time. >> thank you for your wake. happy holidays. >> former president trump is asking the supreme court to step in and stop the january 6th commit from obtaining white house records that it wants from the national archives. remember this. plus, a nurse manager in new hampshire is speaking out about the mental and emotional strain that the omicron spread is taking on her and her staff. and later the jury in the kim potter trial is deliberate. it's day number four for them. where is the verdict? “i got yo”" 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. ♪ age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond. ♪ i'm a reporter for the new york times. if you just hold it like this. yeah. ♪ i love finding out things that other people don't want me to know. mm-hmm. [beep] i just wanted to say... ♪ find yourself in these situations and see who you are. and that's just part of the bargain. ♪ the lasting cologne scent of old spice dynasty helps get you off your couch. and into the driver's seat. breaking news. we're told an outcome in the trial of former officer kim potter be announced shortly. i want to get straight to cnn's adrianne broaddus in minneapolis. what are you hearing? this is ana. you're live. can you hear me? okay. obviously she's having a hard time hearing us. she's working to get more information, more reporting. let me bring in our legal analyst arovea here. the wording here a trial outcome. what do you think that means? >> yeah, ana, a little misleading in some ways because people rex pecting to get a verdict. if we were to get anything and the court didn't say verdict. it leads me no believe that it may be a hung jury. we know that this jury has been deliberating for more than 25 hours. they are in their fourth day. there was a question on tuesday about how long they should deliberate if they weren't able to come to some kind of agreement, so the fact that the update on the court website says trial outcome not verdict reached leads me to believe that there is no verdict. >> and, of course, we had just yesterday they were continuing deliberations following a question they had sent to the judge the previous day asking essentially if we can't reach a consensus, what does that mean? what does the process look like for when we can stop deliberating essentially, and they were told to keep on working on it. we didn't hear a word from them yesterday and now still no questions today. that leaves a lot open for interpretation, doesn't it? >> we know that the court had said at the beginning, this jury has been sequestered so the question would have been if they haven't reached an outcome or a verdict today, would the judge break that sequester and allow them to go home for of the christmas holiday and have them come back on monday of next week? this new notification that there's an outcome will answer a lot of questions when we hear the judge actually speak from the courtroom, but this has been a long process, longer than what a lot of people expected, longer than the jury was out, even on the derek chauvin trial. clearly something has happened this morning. there's been perhaps a verdict, perhaps not a verdict which would lead us to a mistrial and depending -- i think we're going to get an end to the case that's been gripping the nation. >> this is the case of the former officer who said she mistook her gun for the taser and fired those fatal shots at daunte wright as he was trying to get back in his vehicle. all along her defense has been the defense made a mistake but they argued she was within her right to use deadly force while the prosecution has been arguing that she was negligent and reckless here so she is efacing first and second-degree manslaughter charges. is it possible when they say there's an outcome that they can come back with a verdict on one of the charges but not the other? how would that work? >> absolutely. they definitely could determine that she was guilty of second-degree murd manslaughter which is reckless conduct versus the criminal negligence for the second manslaughter charges. that was an option to find on one of the charges and not the other charge and there is an option that there is not a verdict, that they couldn't come to a consensus and that surely was suggested by the question posed to the judge on tuesday. there was a question about being able to see the gun and the taser again suggesting that maybe they wanted to hold the gun or the taser because there's a big looming question how could someone make such a mistake, particularly a 26-year trained officer, an officer who participated in the training of the use of the taser very recently before the incident occurred. the question of recklessness and criminal negligence can be troubling for jurors, particularly those that say, look, she made an honest mistake, so i never thought this case would be easy for the jurors and then we had the issue, ana, of the emotional nature of the testimony. we saw kim potter take the stand which is not usual in criminal defense cases, always risk for the defendant to do so. she did take the stand and gave this very emotional testimony that the defense team, you know, referenced in its closing argument, you know, hoping -- i think the strategy there was to try to appeal to the emotional side of these jurors and to cause them to sympathize with her and to perhaps find her not guilty because she did express some remorse. we saw the family though push back. >> yeah, yeah. >> stand bit. i want to go back to adrianne broaddus. we've established a connection with her just outside the courthouse. what are you hearing? >> well, silence here outside of the courthouse. we did hear from some activists shortly before we received this message from the court. they plan to gather here and wait and listen and see what this trial outcome is. this all comes after members of the jury have deliberated for more 25 hours. we know earlier in the week these jurors asked the judge a specific question. there were three questions on the record, but the question that caught the attention of the community was their question or concern what stepped should they take if members of the jury could not come to a consensus, how long do they deliberate and how do move forward? over the course of eight days they heard from 33 witnesses and 25 of the witnesses were called by the prosecution. the other eight were called from the defense. the first person who took the stand in this case was the mother of daunte wright. katie bryant, the last person who took the stabbed in this case was kim potter, testifying in her own defense and going back to the first day of testimony following the opening statement from the prosecution and the defense we heard katie bryant talk about the call she received from her son daunte. she mentioned that he sounded scared. he wanted to know if he was in any type of trouble, and when she was on the stand she testified that she reassured her son that he would be okay, and she testified shortly after saying she heard someone telling her son to hang up the phone, and later we know what happened based on her testimony. she tried to get in touch with daunte but was unsuccessful, and the passenger in the vehicle that day owe lanea albrecht peyton answered the-fat facetime call from daunte wright's mother and informed her mother that her son had been shot and she turned katie bryant her son's body. today we will find out what this jury has decided now that we've heard a trial outcome and perhaps the suspense will end today for these families. ana? >> okay. stand by. again, for those who are just joining us, we have learned there is a trial outcome that has been reached in the kim potter case. we're awaiting word as to what that means specifically. i want to bring in josh campbell, cnn security cover. who has also been following this case very closely and has been covering the trial for us. josh, the fact that this jury has been deliberating for more than 24 hours, that they sent a note previously asking about what happens if we can't reach a consensus. as you've followed the details of this trial what do you think they are struggling with or could have been struggling with? >> reporter: one thing that's clear is this is a case with playersor layers of complexity. some people might look at the video and draw their own conclusion of what transpired on that day, the multiple angles of what was submitted into evidence, but what is important to realize is the jury has been instructed on what to consider and not to consider and it's important to remind our viewers what these charges r.one thing is clear neither the prosecution nor the defense are saying that kim potter intended to kill daunte wright. show's not been charged with murder. what she has been charged with by the state, one count of first-degree manslaughter and one count of second-degree manslaughter, and what the jury was told by the judge is that first-degree manslaughter is essentially reckless use that have weapon, but one thing that has had so many legal experts pointing out why this could be going on so long is the instruction that went to the jury that word conscious, that kim potter consciously knew what show was doing. when you look at that you see a glock miss toll in view but the officer is yelling the word taser, taser, taser so what the defense claimed is this was a tragic mistake, she did not consciously know she was pulling her firearm which, of course, led to that deadly outcome. the second-degree manslaughter charming gets into the idea of recklessness but there is still part of that instruction that the judge told the jury there was an intention to cause this harm and if you look at the defendant's case, they claimed that this was an accident. the prosecutors have also said that they believe this was an accident and a criminal one and an officer who has been on duty for so long should have known the difference between a service weapon and taser. thus the outcome that we're awaiting for today. >> thanks to all of you. we'll stay on top of this. we're also following breaking news. former president trump now formally asking the supreme court to block the release of white house documents to the housing select committee investigating the capitol riot. let's get right to cnn's justice correspondent jessica schneider. fill us in on the new filing. >> trump's legal team asking for two things. they want the justices to consider the case and schedule argues since they are arguing that this case raised novel issues of executive privilege, most notably, how much weight does the former president have to press that issue? and they are asking to keep any turnover of documents on hold while they decide to take up the full case and specifically their filing says this. the limited interest that the committee may have in immediately obtaining the requested records pales in comparison to president trump's interest in securing judicial review before he suffers irreparable harm so trump's legal team has been successful blocking hundreds of documents from actually being handed over to the committee despite the fact that they lost at both lower courts as well and the records would be key to see what trump was doing on and leading up to january 6th. they include handwritten notes from then chief of staff mark meadows, drafts of speeches and visitor call logs from the white house, all of which trump wants to keep secret and joe biden said he will not block the documents, that they should be handed over to the committee especially in light what have happened on january 6th and so far the two courts who have heard the case have agreed. the documents belong to the occupant of the white house. we'll see if the supreme court takes up this case. until the sprekt will make a decision about hearing the case, they will block the documents so those won't be given over just yet. >> he waited until the very last day to file the apoel. norm eisen was special counsel for house democrats in trump owes first impeachment trial hand also the white house ethics czar in the obama administration. also joining us, former democratic senator from alabama doug jones, also a former congressman charlie didn't. >> ana, thanks for having me back. the court gets hundreds and hundreds of these applications every year, and when there's no legal basis for providing relief, including a stay, it doesn't take them up. that's what they should do. a former president, as two lower courts have held, a former president has no more right to assert executive privilege over documents than he does to take the resolute desk or the portrait of washington by gilbert stewart with him when he leaves. his responsibilities end. he has an opportunity to be heard. he has been heard, so there's no sound legal basis. the court should deny this, and they should deny it briskly, likely in january. using reason and logic as a guy there should be no further stay or delay. we'll have to wait what they think >> given that that this began back in october way back. he's trying to keep secret 100 pages from the national archives, call logs, schedules, notes from his advisers including his former chief of staff. how crucial is the outcome for this committee to get answers. >> i'm really imwessed with the way the committee has gone into investigating what happened on january 6th. they have done this in almost a non-partisan way and it's really important. the fact of the matter is i really think that this has moved quickly. you know this, was -- this first started in october with the issues on the subpoenas. we're now at the end of december, and it's already at the united states supreme court. this is moving along pretty quickly as compared to so many other things that move through the court systems, so i think norm is right. think that they should dismiss it. whether they will or not, i think they will come to an early conclusion, and it's going to be important not just for the president but other people like mark meadows and other folks who are looking at this issue, too, because others will be looking at what the they decide. >> that's such a good point. on that note, the committee is also awaiting a response from republican congressman jim jordan. they asked they voluntarily meet with the committee. you'll recall that jordan forwarded a message on january 5th to the trump's then chief of staff mark meadow basically a coup memo. congressman jordan has said he has nothing to hide. should he have to testify before his colleagues? >> ana, i predict that had scott perry would decline to testify before the committee voluntarily, and i suspect that jim jordan will do the same. you're right, own though he has said there's nothing to high. jim jordan has been on both the committee. this is going to be a very regard harl and i think he'll have to -- jim jordan has a lot to think about right now, and if i'm a betting man, i bet that he does not voluntarily testify before that committee. >> he hasn't responded just yet to their letter, norm. he's the second trump ally to receive an interview. former congressman -- is there any reason that the committee wouldn't issue a subpoena to congressman jordan if he refused to come forward voluntarily or to congressman per? >> well, i -- i think that they are being careful and smart in how they are proceeding. they are focusing their energies on things like the trump document fight which is moving at an extraordinary pace. doug is certainly correct about that. they are not overloading the system with these litigation fights, so i suspect they are going to tread lightly. the jordan information -- perri is important but it's so critical. he did forward the bogus argument that the vice president could overthrow the election while presiding on january 6. we know he had conversations, ana, with the president including on january 6th in that critical period of delay in responding to the insurrection, so he's such an important witness. we'll see what the committee does, but i do think that there may be a need to proceed with more firmness against him. that moans a subpoena. >> ever since the election and the insurrection there at the capitol, voting rights have been under attack, and republican state legislatures have already started enacting voting restrictions ahead of the crucial 2022 mid terms. in an interview with abc news, president biden says he supports making an exception to the senate filibuster rules in order to pass voting rights legislation. listen to this. >> whatever it takes. change the senate rules and proceed without 60 votes. the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not passed is the flust ier. i support making an exception of voting rights for the filibuster. >> senator, this is such an important discussion because it really goes to the core of the democracy of americans' right to involvement the problem here for democrats is they don't have the votes they need in the senate to change the filibuster, even with this one issue. they need all democrats to be on board and both joe manchin and kirsten sinema said not going to happen. what are your thoughts on this. how do you get there? >> well, i think that there's still a lot of discussions going on about changing rules. cool the filibuster won't be eliminated, and quite frankly i don't think there will be any carveouts. there are a lot of discussions ongoing that include senators manchin and sinema to change the rules, to go back to where the senate was at an earlier time with a talking flust yes, putting the majority in a different position. i think there's a lot of things that be done. i think quite frankly the dustup over the build back better plan is going to give democrats something to focus on changing the rules because the president said in the first part of the clip that the senate needs to change the rules so major pieces of legislation can be taken up by the senate without requiring 60 votes, and i think that's where we're headed and i remember confident that senators manchin and sinema will work with other democrats with regards to voting rights. >> have you been in touch with him personally? >> with senator manchin? >> yeah. >> i talk to a lot of colleagues up there and senator schumer has divided the group to come up with some different ways to have the senate function. the senate doesn't function the way it should right now, and there's been talk, even when i was in the senate, about changing rules of how the sat function the way it was designed to do. >> in that saum interview, congressman didn't, president biden also said he intends to run for re-election in 2024. here's what he said if trump is the republican nominee. >> you said you would serve eight years. do you plan to run for re-election? >> yes. i'm a great believer in fate. fate has intervened if i'm in the good health that i'm in now in fact i would run again. >> fanned that means a rematch against donald trump? >> you're trying to tempt me now. sure. why would i not run against donald trump if he were the nominee? that would increase the prospect of running. >> congressman didn't, do you think trump is hearing that and thinking the same thing? >> well, i'm not sure what trump is thinking. i'm thinking there's a good chance that trump is going to run anyway. certainly he'll threat right up in the filing deadline. we'll see what he does but joe biden gave the correct answer. look, he never should have stated he's not going to run now. why would you make yourself a lone deck and joe biden ran as a transitional figure and not a transformational one which is creating problems for him in his build back better and why that legislation i think is a massive overreach and it's failing because it's too big. >> it's very popular -- those plans are popular with the majority of americans. >> i would not argue that case, ana. would i tell you that the size and the scope are too big. they are scaring people, you know, and in joe manchin's state of west virginia 70% of the people are opposed to it, so it might be popular, but it's certainly not reflecting in the polls in west virginia and i suspect in many other places because, again, they are looking at this not in isolation but in the grand scheme of things in terms of the -- on top of $6 trillion in covid spending, inflationary pressures, supply chain shortages so i think it's a mistake to look at it that way, and i do think that this is, again, is a massive overreach. he did not run to be a transformational figure and certainly doesn't have the majorities either to do that. >> okay. thank you all. the poll that i was referencing were national polls that show 60% of americans are supportive of the plans within that build back better bill. you were citing the one specifically from west virginia and therein lies the complication here. thank you so much, congressman charlie didn't, senator doug jones and norm eisen. appreciate all of you. happy holidays and merry christmas and happy new year. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. up next, a nurse who has been treating covid patients throughout the pandemic says what's happening in hospitals right now is the worst show has seen. she joins us next. not again. oh no. for the gifts you won't forget. the mercedes-benz winter event. get a credit toward your first month's payment on select models. as i observe investors balance risk and reward, i see one element securing portfolios, time after time. gold. your strategic advantage. this is your home. this is your family room slash gym. the guest bedroom slash music studio. the daybed slash dog bed. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash classroom. 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. ♪ real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. breaking news. we are told an outcome in the trial of former officer kim potter has been reached. as soon as court reconvenes and they make this announcement, we will bring that to you live. meantime, she says she's scared to show her face, worried she will be arrested simply for doing her job. that job, being a school librarian in the state of texas. ch here's that dystopian tale. >> reporter: this is a school librarian in texas. >> why are you afraid to show your face? >> because there is a day not too long ago when i had to stop and think when they come in with handcuffs and they come in with a warren for my arrest for pledging that i provided obscene materials. who am i going to call first? >> across texas protesters are accusing educators of forcing pornography or obscene content on children. >> this is not a political movie. this is not a witch hunt. these are genuine concerns for children. it is abuse. it's grooming behavior and it it's predatory. >> the anger is largely aimed at school libraries and many texas politicians are on board n.october republican state legislator matt kraus requested every school disfrikt in the state scour their libraries for a list of 850 books. >> this is the texas list and it seems to be books that are representative of lbgtqa characters and subjects and topics, books that may contain depictions or narratives of sexual violence, survivor stories. some books that are about racism. >> reporter: the list includes "new kid," a graphic novel about a black student's struggles fitting in a majority white school. the letter "q," queer writers notes for their younger selves and "the cryder house rules" a coming of age story that features a character that performs abortions. in public sr complaints about two lgbtq-themed books he said were pornographic. >> i have never experienced anything like that before where a government agency or any kind of government entity was interested in specifically what kinds of books were in the library. >> reporter: the texas library association is traditionally a pretty sleepy advocacy group. but the heated rhetoric is forcing that to change. last week, the group set up an anonymous hotline for librarians afraid of job consequences. >> school librarians don't go into this business to harm kids. they are working really, really hard to select books that represent everyone on their campus. >> reporter: this is happening all over the country. lgbtq and racial-themed books, written for children and young adults, are facing powerful resistance. educators are being put on notice. >> this is pornography, plain and simple. and it does not belong in our schools. >> reporter: just since the start of the school year, the american library association has tracked more than 230 book challenges nationwide. the ala says there's been a dramatic uptick in challenges to books featuring lgbtq and racial themes. >> students like me who are not conforming to antiquated gender roles and how they should express themselves. >> reporter: librarians are starting to fight back. in a very librarian way. >> this week, we're sharing books that were gifts in people's lives, and so i'm going to kick this off by sending the first -- my first tweet from our freedom friday account. >> reporter: carolyn is a retired librarian and one of the founders of the group, freedom fighters. in just a month, it's become the grassroots way librarians under threat find and help each other. >> it's amazing how widespread these book challenges are. people are contacting us, like privately, from all over the country, saying, can you help me? >> scared, nervous, unsure. >> worried they might lose their jobs. >> heard that too. i'm hearing this from my district, they don't know this. what do i do? >> they're facing external pressure, like, what if i'm called out at a board meeting or someone's in front of my house? so it's a time when people need a lot of support. >> reporter: librarians helping librarians. so librarians can get back to helping kids. >> i grew up reading "trumpet of the swan" and "little house on the prairie." there were no hispanic girls. that's a disservice to kids, and so we work really hard as librarians to make sure that kids have books that they can see themselves in, but we also want to offer books where kids can learn about other kids' lives. >> and who knows if that's something that would get you demonized. >> reporter: governor greg abbott's office didn't respond when we asked for comment on what librarians in texas are telling us. we also reached out to matt krause and stopped by his office. >> hello? >> reporter: do you think you're going to win this, or do you think you're going to lose this? >> it's not about whether i will win or lose this. i think it's a point in our culture and our society when we have to ask ourselves, what do we stand to lose if we don't correct action and course now? we can't afford, as a democracy, to believe anything else than we'll correct this. >> evan mcmorris-santoro reporting. quick break, be right back. welcome back. u.s. hospitals are overwhelmed right now. and as we hear from one official after another, the covid patients needing ventilators are nearly always unvaccinated. frontline workers now facing fatigue, frustration, and for some, fading hope. >> it's probably our worst surge that we've seen so far. we actually just finally said, i don't -- i don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. >> hilary hawkins is emergency nurse manager in lebanon, new hampshire. first of all, thank you so much for taking the time. you just said this is probably the worst surge you've seen so far. what is different this time? okay, looks like we're having some problems with the tech gremlins again today. you know, hilary has been through so much. her hospital has been through so much as they are continuing to try to treat patients who they're seeing with covid, and i really want to hopefully get her to be able to share a little bit more about that. we have you again. let's try this, take two. talk to us about what you're seeing and what's different with this surge that makes it the worst you've seen so far. >> this surge has been the most acutely ill patients that we have ever seen. they are young. they're unvaccinated. they have -- we can't allow the visitors in. it is just continuing day after day after, and then unfortunately, our staff are dealing with covid as well at home as well. >> it sounds so overwhelming and stressful. you mentioned in your youtube post that you are treating some really sick kids. what can you share with us about these patients? what do parents need to know? >> parents need to become vaccinated. they need to protect their children. they need to keep them out of public places. we recently had a 7-day-old that not only had covid but also had the flu. these are just sick -- and it's sad. and we're trying to care for these patients, and it's just continuing. >> you made this plea on youtube. i know this is sort of a last resort, trying to reach more people, help them understand. do you feel like it's reaching the people who need to hear it? what has the response been, if any? >> well, people like you have come out and helped us with the message. i'm not sure if it's reaching the people that it does need to reach, but everybody needs to get vaccinated, get boosters. you need to wash their hands. they need to wear masks. we are exhausted. and i'm not sure how long this is going to keep up. >> what can you tell us about the patients if you were to share more details about what you are seeing? i know you've seen some patients who have been vaccinated as well. how do those cases compare to the unvaccinated cases? >> the vaccinated patients come in and might need a little bit of fluids or some reassurance, because they have covid, but they're generally discharged back home. they do not usually require hospitalization. they don't require assistance with their respiratory drive. and they generally are not needing to be intubated and put on a ventilator. >> and when you talk to the patients who are unvaccinated, one, what kind of, you know, symptoms and serious level of illness are you seeing? and two, what are they telling you? do they wish they had gotten vaccinated? >> the ones that can speak, that aren't requiring ventilators, tell us they wish they got vaccinated. unfortunately, most of these patients are gasping for breath and can't actually talk to us. >> wow. well, hilary hawkins, i wish we had more time with you today, but thank you for giving us a glimpse into your world and thank you so much for all you do on every day that you are there serving your patients. >> thank you, and thank you for helping spread our message. as i sign off today, i want to wish you and your families a very healthy and joyous end to 2021. may your holidays be blessed and full of love and light. i'll see you in the new year. until then, thank you so much for being with us. and merry christmas to all who celebrate. the news continues right now with poppy harlow. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. hello, everyone, so glad you're with me, i'm poppy harlow in today for alisyn and victor. we begin with significant breaking news, a trial outcome has been reached in the trial of kimberly potter, the former brooklyn center, minnesota, police officer who is on trial for killing 20-year-old daunte wright during a traffic stop in april. she says she mistook her handgun for her taser, we do expect the co

Related Keywords

Wall , Gift , Disease , Data , Ana Cabrera , Pandemic News , Pieces , New York , Researchers , Two , People , News , Cases , Delta , Second Covid , Fda , Green Light , 19 , Joe Biden , Omicron , Testing , Interview , Americans , Puzzle Piece , Experts , Nine , Ten , Failure , Ball , Test Kits , Shelves , Six , Studies , Cnn , Answer , Elizabeth Cohen , Variant , Transmissible , Something , Lot , Hospital , Percentage , Numbers , 2 5 , Reduction , Booster , Risk , Hospital Risk , Difference , Infection , Scotland , 12 8 , 57 , Advice , News Changes , Piece , Pfizer , Pill , Covid , Ways , Drug , Nothing , Placebo , Antiviral , Half , Pitch Toms , 30 , One , Children , Many , Adults , Side Effect , Women , 88 , Shot , Monoclonal Antibody , Alternatives , Merck Drug , Request , Side Effects , Efficacy , Inkwugs , Reporter , Response , Pandemic , White House , Takeaways , Steps , Jeremy Diamond , The One , Aspects , Tests , Things , Action , Purchase , 500 , Anything , Variants , Kinds , Nobody Saw , Jen Psaki , White House Press Secretary , Parents , President , Israel , Booster Shot , Population , Scientists , Address Question , Segments , Whether , Need , Possibility , Attention , President Trump , Vaccines , Occasions , Importance , Source , Benefit , Thanks , Vaccinations , Teams , Supporters , Contact , Vocal , Tunes , Hurnlging , Reporting , Health , Dr , Country , Leana Wen , Fight , Handle , Public , Journey , Doctor , Lifeline , Part , Virus , Administration , Testing Issue , Equation , Our , Wasn T A , Plan , Detection , 2 Billion , 6 Billion , 0 Billion , 300 Million , 10 Billion , Thoughts , Eggs , Vaccine Basket , 23 , December 23rd , Reality , Yes , Somebody Else , Test , Factor , Biden Emergency , Emergencies , Proactive , Factors , Collapse , Ones , Health Care System , Unvaccinated , Unvaccinated Including Through Travel Mandates , Cities , Doing , Health Care Burdens , Proof , Domestic Travel , What , Surge , Team , Bars , Vaccination , Restaurants , Events , Issue , Boosters , World , Dose , Rest , Romania , Chances , Residents , Nursing Home , Doses , Proportion , Someone , Level , Hand , Society , Potential , Patients , Hospitals , Care Compromise , Car Accidents , Heart Attacks , Strokes , Let S Circle , Hospitalization , Officials , Conclusions , Omicron Hasn T , Proportions , Times , Hit , Havoc , Waves , Florida , Hit A Level , Travellers , Levels , Tsa , 2 Million , Doesn T , Weekday , Travel , Vaccinated , 201 , Individuals , Infections , Group , Nail Theed , Unnational , Holidays , Illness , Exposure , Precautions , Neurogathering , Everybody , Don T Test Grandma , College Student , Hunkering Down , Person , Somebody , Conversation , Supreme Court , January 6th , Plus , Nurse Manager , The National Archives , New Hampshire , Wake , 6 , Verdict , Jury , Staff , Omicron Spread , Kim Potter Trial , Strain , Number , Mental , I Got Yo , Etta James , Four , R One Thing , Gifts , Guests , Groceries , Joy , Waiting On , Beauty , Both , Skin , Bond , Crepe Corrector Lotion , New York Times , Beep , Situations , Bargain , Scent , Dynasty , Cologne , Old Spice , Couch , Driver S Seat , Outcome , Trial , Kim Potter , Adrianne Broaddus In Minneapolis , Trial Outcome , Information , Wording , Analyst , Arovea , Hung Jury , Court Didn T Say Verdict , Rex Pecting , Question , Fact , Kind , Update , Court Website , Agreement , 25 , Course , Judge , Deliberations , Consensus , Word , Process , Them , It , Questions , Interpretation , Haven T , Home , Notification , Sequester , Christmas Holiday , Courtroom , Derek Chauvin Trial , Kim Potter Case , Officer , End , Mistrial , Nation , Taser , Daunte Wright , Defense , Mistake , Gun , Vehicle , Shots , Manslaughter , Prosecution , Charges , Force , Other , Work , Murd , Option , Criminal Negligence , Manslaughter Charges , Charge , Conduct , Use , Incident , Training , 26 , Jurors , Recklessness , Say , Testimony , Defendant , Kim Potter Take The Stand , Stand , Nature , Defense Team , Side , Closing Argument , Strategy , Courthouse , Family , Remorse , Back , Connection , Stand Bit , Adrianne Broaddus , Message , Activists , Members , Record , Three , Community , Concern , Witnesses , Move , Eight , 33 , Katie Bryant , Mother , Statement , Call , Trouble , Type , Phone , Passenger , Peyton , Son , Katie , Fat Facetime , Bryant , Body , Families , Suspense , Stand By , Josh Campbell , Security Cover , Note , 24 , Details , Complexity , Layers , Conclusion , Viewers , Video , Angles , Evidence , State , Show , Count , Murder , Weapon , Instruction , View , Toll , Miss , Glock , Idea , Firearm , Which , Case , Harm , Accident , Prosecutors , Intention , Service Weapon , Criminal , Duty , Committee , Donald Trump , Documents , Breaking News , Housing , All Of You , Top , Justice , Release , Filing , Schedule , Justices , Novel , Correspondent Jessica Schneider , Executive Privilege , Issues , Weight , Turnover , Hold , Interest , Records , Comparison , Judicial Review , Hundreds , Blocking , Courts , Chief Of Staff , Visitor Call Logs , Notes , Drafts , Speeches , Mark Meadows , Flight , Occupant , Decision , Sprekt , Won T , Counsel , Apoel , House Democrats In Trump , Norm Eisen , Senator , Doug Jones , Impeachment Trial Hand , Ethics Czar , Democratic , Obama , Alabama , Congressman Charlie Didn T , Basis , Stay , Applications , Relief , Gilbert Stewart , More , Resolute Desk , Portrait , Washington , Responsibilities End , Opportunity , Sound , Wouldn T Issue , Delay , Logic , Guy , Answers , Call Logs , Schedules , Advisers , Pages , 100 , Way , Matter , Subpoenas , The End , December , Court Systems , Point , Others , Folks , Jim Jordan , Trump , Republican , January 5th , 5 , Congressman Jordan Has , Colleagues , Coup Memo , Scott Perry , Same , Harl , Norm , He Hasn T , Oman , Ally , Congressman , Subpoena , Per , Document , Smart , Energies , Pace , Perri , System , Litigation Fights , Lightly , Jordan , Vice President , Argument , Insurrection , Election , Witness , Conversations , Including On January 6th , January 6 , Voting Rights , Firmness , Attack , Capitol , Exception , Terms , State Legislatures , Voting Restrictions , Abc News , 2022 , Rules , Senate , Filibuster , Voting Rights Legislation , Order , Whatever It Takes , Discussion , Votes , Standing , Flust Ier , 60 , Democracy , Problem , Involvement , Core , Discussions , Joe Manchin , Kirsten Sinema , Senators Manchin , Carveouts , Majority , Position , Dustup , Sinema , Talking Flust Yes , Build , Legislation , Clip , Regards , Touch , Talk , Function , Senator Schumer , Sat , Saum , Re Election , Nominee , 2024 , Fate , Believer , Thing , Prospect , Hearing , Rematch , Running , Threat , Chance , Ran , Deck , Problems , Overreach , Figure , Plans , Size , Scope , West Virginia , 70 , Places , Polls , Isolation , The Grand Scheme , Pressures , Supply Chain Shortages , Covid Spending , 6 Trillion , Trillion , Poll , Majorities , Bill , Merry Christmas , Complication , Specifically , Nurse , Up Next , Oh No , Month , Credit , Element Securing Portfolios , Payment , Models , Investors , Reward , Mercedes Benz Winter Event , Gold , Advantage , Family Room Slash Gym , Bedroom Slash Music Studio , Daybed , Family Needs , Panic Room , Basement Slash , Yoga Shanti Slash , The Living Room , Slash Classroom , Vacation , Car Insurance , Cowboys , App , Vrbo , Liberty Mutual , Tex , Ooo , Liberty , Turn , Pay , Hang On , Small Business , Flexibility , Service , Comcast Business Mobile , Business , Contract , Internet , Lines , Network , Line , Match Data Options , Term , Mix , Fees , Customers , Nationwide 5g , 0 , Possibilities , Comcast Business , School Librarian , Job , Announcement , Face , Court Reconvenes , Texas , Ch , Dystopian Tale , Handcuffs , Warren , Arrest , Pornography , Educators , Content , Who , Protesters , Materials , Movie , Witch Hunt , Abuse , Concerns , Grooming Behavior , Anger , Books , List , Matt Kraus , Politicians , Libraries , School Libraries , October Republican , School Disfrikt , 850 , Characters , Topics , Subjects , Representative , Stories , Sexual Violence , Survivor , Depictions , Narratives , Racism , Struggles , Kid , Majority White School , Graphic Novel About A Black Student , Story , Character , Q , Abortions , Selves , Writers , Cryder House Rules , Coming Of Age , Complaints , Pornographic , Government Entity , Government Agency , Library , Advocacy Group , Rhetoric , Texas Library Association , Librarians , Kids , School Librarians Don T Go , Job Consequences , Hotline , Everyone , Campus , Resistance , Lgbtq , Schools , Notice , Start , Ala , The School , American Library Association , 230 , Students , Challenges , Uptick , Gender Roles , Themes , Librarian , Lives , Sharing Books , First , Tweet , Each Other , Freedom Fighters , Freedom , Account , Founders , Carolyn , Book Challenges , Saying , Unsure , Scared , Pressure , House , Support , Front , Jobs , District , Board Meeting , Heard , Trumpet Of The Swan , Little House On The Prairie , Reading , Girls , Disservice , Hispanic , Greg Abbott , Comment , Office , Office Didn T , Matt Krause , Culture , Break , Santoro Reporting , Evan Mcmorris , Official , Another , Ventilators , Frontline Workers , Some , Don T , Frustration , Fatigue , The End Of Tunnel , Fading Hope , Hilary Hawkins , Emergency Nurse Manager , Lebanon , Tech Gremlins , Visitors , Youtube , Flu , 7 , Sad , Plea , Last Resort , Any , Hands , Reach , Masks , Reassurance , Bit , Fluids , Ventilator , Respiratory Drive , Assistance , Symptoms , Aren T Requiring Ventilators , Breath , Most , Spread , Glimpse , Love , 2021 , Announcer , Poppy Harlow , Alisyn , Victor , Hello , Police Officer , Handgun , Former , Traffic Stop , Kimberly Potter , Minnesota , Brooklyn Center , 20 , Co ,