her into custody. her husband, who has been in the courtroom every day, shouted loudly, according to our pool reporter who was on the inside, i love you, kim, and she says i love you back. when the guilty verdict was read, katie bryan, who you mentioned was the first to take the stand called by the prosecution, wept moments after learning that this jury of 12 found the former brooklyn center police officer who shot and killed the firstborn shared between her and her husband was guilty, she cried, and she was comforted by her husband. 26 years of experience, that's how long kimberly potter had been on the force. 19 of those years she had been trained to use a taser. and that day back in april, she was a mentor to an officer. she was a field training officer, and this all started because of a traffic stop. according to the officers that were with her. because of kim potter, others will serve time in prison. this has been an emotional time for the community here in minneapolis. soon after the verdict was read, we heard loud cheers. there is a group of demonstrators, and some of them are from minnesota, others from outside of the state, but they applauded. you could hear them applauding. i traded a few texts just moments ago with dante's older brother, and i asked him his thoughts about the verdict. he responded with one word. he said, good. prior to the start of this trial, i spoke with him in kenosha. he was there supporting other victims, and he told me, adrian, i'm nervous. i don't know what's going to happen. i am nervous. this has been really hard on my family. and this week, tomorrow is christmas eve. the family is preparing to spend their first christmas together without dante, and that's something erin aldrich reminded the jury during her closing arguments. she told members of the jury that the defendant, kimberly potter, testified her sons would be home for christmas but there woulding -- would be an empty seat at the table in the wright household. they held their head low as that verdict was read, and the defense attorney, earl gray, visibly upset, sitting down burying his head in his hands. po poppy? >> adrian, thank you for that reporting, and before i get to the rest of our legal team and our reporters, i want to pull up for our viewers a picture of dante wright, a picture taken with his son who was just two years old when dante wright was killed at the hands of police in april. he was, again, pulled over for an air freshener hanging in violation of minnesota law and expired tags. his life was taken. kim potter found guilty on both counts of first and second-degree manslaughter. omar joins me in minneapolis. omar, you were front and center covering the trial and murder conviction of derek chauvin, and dante wright was killed right in the middle of that in brooklyn center which is right outside downtown minneapolis. what are you hearing from people in minneapolis right now? >> reporter: well, people here in minneapolis, for many of them, it is deja vu, going through that roller coaster of emotions of trying to see if floo police officers in this minneapolis area would be held responsible for their actions. you can see after derek chauvin, i would say there is a few dozen people who have come here to demonstrate in the name of dante wright. we do expect dante's mother and father to speak a little later as well, as we also expect to hear from the prosecution. i want to show you a little of what happened here in minneapolis. you can see people that have pulled up with porportraits, th one with dante wright right in front. you see other places and names that have popped up. people feel whenever one of these come, it's not for this particular case but it's about so many other names and faces, especially black ones, that have come into these types of interactions with police. but when i talked about that roller coaster of emotions before it is a similar ending result as what we saw with chauvin. it took a number of days, and if you want to compare the two, it took more than twice as long to convict former officer kim potter as it did former officer derek chauvin, but the emotions here are very similar. many people feel this is vindication, and many are surprised she's in jail. >> minnesota is my home, and as we heard reverend al sharpton say at the funeral of dante wright, i remember when he decried the number of black men killed by police officers, particularly in the state of minnesota. it does feel, and i wonder if the community feels like more justice is being served at this point. >> yeah, poppy, and part of the reason that people have other faces here and you think about the heartbreak that many people feel, because i heard adrian mention it earlier in this broadcast that at the end of the day, regardless of the result of this, you can't bring back dante wright. that is the pain that this family will always have with them. and we noted that this is the holiday time. they are heading into christmas here, and one of the points where the mother in particular broke down in tears over closing arguments was when the prosecutor noted that dante would not be home for the holidays. and we spoke to some of those close to dante wright just before -- just after, i should say, this verdict was reached. i want you to take a listen. >> this is proof that the world can change and do better for black people. that's all i want. i have a blacks son growing up n this world. you can imagine my fear. i always worry he's going to get killed. who is the next man to get killed? it should never have happened, but we fought for this. i was pregnant and got shot in my stomach by rubber pellets. we fought for this. >> reporter: you got emotional when you heard the word "guilty." why is that? >> justice. justice. >> because he's not here. he got the justice he deserved because he didn't deserve to be killed. but with this verdict, it's showing that he got his justice. >> reporter: and that phrase "justice" for dante wright is the main rallying call here. this is representative of a number of signs that we've seen here over the course of this. they want that face and name to be the central peeliece of all this, and kim potter was the center of the trial that stretched for weeks, but regardless of how that traffic stop unfolded, she is not going to be here from here on. kim potter, as you saw, was taken into custody where she will remain without bail until the sentencing date, and out here we await comments from the family who, similar to what happened in the derek chauvin case, there is a lot of fanfare, a lot of attention on the trial itself, but at the end of the day, this is a family in mourning and we will likely hear a lot of that when they come here to the south portion of the hennepin family center at some point. we again expect to hear something from the prosecution. remember, it's not the norm that the state attorney general would take over the case, but when that happened with chauvin, there was a lot of pressure for them to do the same with this case back in april, and for the second time in a row, we see them get convictions for these former officers. >> and adding additional charges at later stages in both cases, and getting guilty convictions on both. we have our legal analyst we're bringing back in. before i get to that, josh, i just want you to walk people through the key evidence in this trial that you believe led this jury to a guilty conviction on both first and second-degree manslaughter. >> well, without question the police body camera footage was front and center for members of this jury. we see cases, we hear testimony where it's a he said-she said. this was an opportunity for jurors to see and hear for themselves because prosecutors entered so much evidence from different officers who were on the scene that day. you see them pulling daunte wright over. you see kim potter talking to that rookie officer as they approach the vehicle, and you see that fateful moment where the officer pulls out her service weapon, yells "taser" and fires that fatal shot. not only that, but then the aftermath. you see her clearly distraught saying on camera, i shot him, i'm going to prison. you got that kind of reaction you don't often see in trials. by the way, this is one of those types of trials that also is going to, i think, make the case for those who advocate for more body camera footage on police. it lets them look after the fafact and review what officers have done. so many officers say good officers should want body cameras as well, because if the officer is accused of wrongdoing, that body camera can save them. also the witness testimony. there were 33 witnesses that this jury heard from, including fellow officers of kimberly potter, some of whom were there on that day providing their vantage point about exactly what happened. one thing that was very interesting that you don't often see in these trials is that there were two officers who were called by the prosecution who actually ended up making a case for the defense. they said that in their view, in the circumstance, because daunte wright was resisting and could have driven away and harmed some of those officers, they believe they testified that kim potter was not only justified in using her taser but also in using her service weapon. again, prosecution witnesses. that's what made so many of us wonder how that would resonate from this jury. hearing from officers on the scene, obviously the jury coming to a very different conclusion that it's not just a mistake, but also a criminal mistake, and obviously you have what their verdict announced today, providing some sense of accountability for this officer after that act that all of us saw with our own eyes, our own ears on that body camera. again, a key piece of evidence, poppy. >> thank you for that. elliott williams, i'm really interested in your take, especially in the conviction of manslaughter in the first degree. because looking at the actual statute in minnesota here, to be able to convict on first degree, it says you have to cause the death of another in committing or attempting to commit a system with such force and violence that death or great bodily harm was reasonably foreseeable. you thought that was maybe too high a bar. ultimately the jury disagreed. >> maybe it wasn't too high of a bar, i just had a hard time thinking a jury would go there. there is a lower standard for second-degree manslaughter. i thought, if anything, they would have had that. the misdemeanor here is the reckless him hanmishandling of firearm. it was using the gun improperly that it rose to the level of a crime. i thought it was really an open question as to whether they would have gotten there, and it frankly would not have shocked me if they didn't. i think a number of factors got them there. number one, like we talked about a second ago, the amount of training that she got and the prosecutors walked through quite methodically the amount of training that an officer with her level of experience would have had over time. the most recently being, i believe, on tasers about a month before this incident happened, so that's number one. again, just how it plays out in realtime, there is about five or six seconds elapsed from the time she says the word taser to the time she fires her weapon. now, look, we know that adrenaline is hot, emotions were high in the moment, but if you or i stopped talking for five seconds right now, it would be excruciating. it would be silence. it's a long period of time, and if you go look at the video, a bunch of time elapses. the notion that this was a heat of the moment decision, that might be something that just didn't resonate with the jury. the big picture here is this jury assessed what they think officers ought to be reasonably doing, and they found that this was just a grossly reckless and unreasonable use of a firearm even for someone who society has entrusted to have one. >> thank you, all, very much. stay where you are. we have a lot more to talk about. we're also waiting for the family of daunte wright to speak. we'll bring you that live. prosecutors also expected to speak in moments. we'll bring you that press conference right after a short break. rgiveness... 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[beep] i just wanted to say... ♪ find yourself in these situations and see who you are. and that's just part of the bargain. ♪ . much more now in our breaking news. kimberly potter found guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of daunte wright. his parents were holding hands and took deep breaths as the verdict was read. adrian broadus and omar jimenez are live. omar, let me begin with you again. what more can you tell me about the reaction from daunte wright's family when they handed down the verdict? >> reporter: the reaction right now is very celebratory. we're waiting to hear from them officially, but i wanted to show you this out here. a band started up, people are dancing. they just started playing "when the saints come marching in." you can see the celebratory nature of what people are feeling right now, chanting, cheering. there were worries there might be protests if this had gone the other way. those worries are far behind these people. this is a process that many people sometimes lose faith in if they take a very pessimistic attitude going in, and there was a lot of that, especially during the deliberation period of this trial as it stretched on longer and longer. you wouldn't be able to tell looking at this crowd here. as celebratory as it is at this moment, a little later is when we expect to hear from the family of daunte wright, as well as htheir attorneys, and that will likely strike a many more somber tone. the day before christmas eve, two days before christmas, this is a family who will be without daunte wright and it was a moment that forced a mother to burst into tears in closing arguments, and it is obviously a sent men they evoke very consciously. >> and daunte's son spending christmas without his father. paige, to you. the charging of this trial happens on february 19, and the prosecution is trying to invoke aggravating factors. what are those aggravating factors, and how successful do you think they will be when our josh campbell was telling me police officers generally serve about two-thirds of their time in prison and about one-third on supervised release? >> reporter: poppy, i think the prosecution is going to focus on two things on aggravation here. one would be an abuse of trust. this is a police officer who has been well-trained, over 20 years on the job. she should have known better. by giving her a firearm and by giving her a taser, the people of minnesota are placing their trust in her to do the right thing, to follow her training and to be careful, and she wasn't. the second thing is she discharged this firearm -- >> hold that thought. i'm sorry to interrupt, i just want to get to this press conference outside of the courthouse. let's listen in here. >> at 20, daunte could have gone into anything. maybe he could have gone into the building trade, maybe he could have started a business. what we know is he was a young, new dad and he was so proud of his son daunte jr. we know that he loved his mom and he loved his dad and he loved his siblings, his big, beautiful family. he had his whole life in front of him. he could have become anyone. all of us miss out on who daunte could have been. and no one has missed him more than his parents, katie and aubrey and their children. i'm very mindful today that there will be an empty chair at the wright family dinner during the holidays, and that saddens me. and once again i extend my deepest condolences to you. with the jury finding kimberly potter guilty today of manslaughter in the first degree and manslaughter in the second degree in connection with daunte's death, we have a degree of accountability for daunte's death. accountability is not justice. justice is restoration. justice would be restoring daunte to life and making the wright family whole again. justice is beyond the reach that we have in this life for daunte. but accountability is an important step, a critical, necessary step on the road to justice for us all. i want to thank the jury for their careful attention and deliberation and their service to the people of minnesota. i want to thank all the witnesses who testified and who came forward with what they knew about this case. i especially want to thank my remarkable team. when i took this case, i said it would be difficult to prosecute because history has shown that trying cases like this one is difficult. this team did not shy away from the challenge and the people of hennepin county and the american people and the people of minnesota, what they saw in the courtroom was the fruit of many, many hours of labor and hard work and planning. from my office, i want to thank specifically mr. matthew frank. i want to thank erin eldridge. i want to thank eric miller and devon voight and mary ann dodd. but this team would not be anything if it wasn't for the work of eric miller and venona shaw. i also want to thank those who worked not on the legal matter but on the community. so thank you to you all for your hard work. i also want to thank the many staff at the bureau of criminal appear remention who worked on this case. the staff of the hennepin county attorney's office and washington county attorney's office. specifically i want to thank mr. drew evans and those who testified in this case, like agent phil who did a fine job and put in many long hours, and we appreciate their service. the next step in this case is sentencing. and all i will say about that today is we have to look forward to the court setting a calendar date for that hearing, and at that time we will make our appropriate arguments within the context of the court hearing. i think we have a date, do we not? what is that one? >> march 8. >> my thoughts are also with ms. potter today. she has gone from being an esteemed member of the community and a noble profession to be convicted of a serious crime. i don't wish that on anyone. but it was our responsibility as the prosecution, as ministers of justice, to pursue justice wherever it led and the jury found the facts. my thoughts are also with those who work in law enforcement and public safety. we hold you in high regard, and we also hold you to high standards. we don't want you to be discouraged. your community respects and appreciates you. we want you to uphold the highest ideals of our society and ideals of safety. when a member of your profession is held accountable, it does not diminish you. in fact, it shows. it shows the whole world that those of you who enforce the law are also willing to live by it. and that's a good thing. it restores trust, faith and hope. well, in the words of daniel sared, daniel sared is a noted author who writes on matters of justice. all parties come together in a way that is for the greater good. the humanity of everyone involved includes the humanity of community members and the humanity of police officers, and when that standard of justice is not upheld, it must be the job of a prosecutor to step up and step in and an attempt to uphold it and uphold the principle that no one is above the law and no one is be nneath the law. finally my thoughts are with the community center and all the communities that hung in there for better relations between police and community, and for everyone to get home safe at the end of the day. i hope today's verdict provides a measure of healing for all of them. i thank you, and we can take a question or two. [ inaudible question ] >> that the jury was taking this seriously, that they were going through every bit of evidence. that they were not leaving anything to decide and that they understood that this matter was a tremendous importance to the wright family but also to the potter family, to the entire community. so i thank them for their service. they want questions for the wright family. is that okay? >> what were you feeling when you heard the word "guilty" and what are you feeling now that you've processed it? what are you feeling in your head and heart right now? >> oh, my gosh. the moment we heard guilty on the manslaughter 1, emotions. every single emotion you can imagine just running through your body at that moment. i kind of let out a yelp because it was built up in the anticipation of what was to come while we were waiting in the last few days. now we've been able to process it. we want to thank the entire prosecution team. we want to thank community support, everybody who has been out there who has supported us in this long fight for accountability. [ inaudible question ] >> i'd rather not answer that question. >> well, the true details, what i think, i want to thank -- i'm going to keep it short. >> did you expect former officer potter to take the stand, and do you think that helped or hurt your case? >> they said from the very beginning that she was going to testify. they said in jury selection. and she had -- she expressed herself immediately after this tragic incident on the scene. so i'm not too surprised. look, it's -- i think it's a good sign that she was remorseful. i mean, what decent person wouldn't be broken-hearted and sad if they were involved in something like this? i wish nothing but the best for her and her family. but the truth is, she will be able to correspond with them and visit with them no matter what happens, but the wrights won't be able to talk to daunte. >> there were two high-profile killings this year by police. what do you think that says about police accountability? >> i think the juries admire police. they respect them, and they want to make sure that high ideals and standards are maintained. >> can i ask you really quick, you had a state witness testify that they may have used deadly force in a similar situation. were you expecting one of your own witnesses to say that, and did you think it would be a hurdle to overcome? >> i think that you're referring to the officers on the scene. oh, yeah, i understand what you mean. we did call them. well, we had confidence in the law and the facts, and we had confidence that ted stoutman would give testimony, and he did. [ inaudible question ] >> sorry i can't be more specific. but the main thing about sentencing is that the wright family is going to be able to make a victim impact statement, and the most important thing may be that, really, for the first time they're going to be able to talk about how this tragic incident impacted them in their lives. >> thank you. >> thanks a lot. >> all right, you just heard from minnesota attorney general there, keith ellison, along with his team of prosecutors who successfully prosecuted both manslaughter counts against former brooklyn center minneapolis police officer kim potter. we also heard a few words from da daunte wright's parents, his mother saying this was a long time coming. as we bring back in our reporters on the ground in minneapolis and our legal team, i would just note two really important things we heard from the minnesota attorney general, and that is that accountability is what we saw, not justice. and he also said to police officers watching, we hold you in high regard and we also hold you to high standards. paige pate, back to you. i interrupted to get to that just as you were speaking your thoughts. >> that's fine, poppy, i'll finish up the thought we were discussing and that's about the sentencing process, the prosecution asking for a higher sentence based on her status, based on the circumstances of her defense. but i could also see the defense asking for a lesser sentence based on her responsibility. that's not just through her testimony. we heard it on the video. i think it's very unusual to have a defendant, especially in a police case like this, literally say on tape, i'm going to prison. i'm sorry, i did this. and i think the attorney general was recognizing that when he simply said, we're going to hold officers accountable, but we appreciate the officer in this position making that acceptance of responsibility, being remorseful. i think that is very important for the law enforcement community as well as for the citizens of this state. >> elliott williams, to you. there is going to be this push by attorney general ellison's team once again in this case for aggregating factors to push for a longer sentence. when one of the jurors asked how long of a sentence are you going to ask for, he said a fair one, so he didn't really lay out what they were going to ask for. but they were successful, the same team, in doing that in the trial and murder convictions of derek chauvin. >> yeah. look, what people should remember is that this is a crime of violence. there were two homicide charges here, and regardless of the fact that it was a police officer, someone put in a position of trust -- and this is backing up on page's point that merely being in a position of trust, that in itself can be an aggravating factor at sentencing. i think people might have in their heads that regardless of what we think of police officers, this is a violent crime. number one, what we saw today is that affected the fact that she was put back in prison pending sentencing, right? her defense attorneys asked to have her released. she's behind bars right now because she committed a crime of violence, she committed a crime of homicide, she was convicted of that. society just needs to reframe what we think crimes are and what a violent defendant is. she's a violent defendant. she's a police officer who may have served honorably and ably for a long time, but she committed a violent crime and will be treated as such. if the law is treated honestly and fairly, she will be handled that way and sentenced to the appropriate law. >> back to what was said, we hold you in high regard, we also hold you to higher standards. josh campbell, you have some information on other aggregating factors the prosecution is going to push for here. >> reporter: that's right, and what they're saying, these prosecutors, is that what kimberly potter did through her actions and drawing her service weapon, shooting daunte wright is that she was a servant of the public. the jurors also heard from the wife and the daughter of an elderly man who was in a vehicle that was struck by daunte wright in a collision after he was shot. he drove away, suffering from that gunshot wound, slammed head-on into a vehicle. these two witnesses testifying that this gentleman is now severely injured. he had some preexisting conditions but he is now in hospice care. they attribute some of that to that severe injury. that is what prosecutors have said, that because of the actions of this officer, that was one of the follow-on actions. it wasn't just with daunte wright. this gets to that larger point you've been talking about, which is so important as it comes down to accountability. there are countless officers that go to work every single day protecting everybody, but there are others who betray their badge and they are held accountable. because officers are given such power, they know that prosecutors will be looking over their shoulders, and that's what the prosecutor is saying here, that someone in that position needs to understand that if they become a threat to the public, they will be held accountable. one last thing i want to point out because there was so much testimony we can talk about, but in addition to body worn cameras and positions across the country calling for body-worn cameras, even officers knowing how to manipulate the devices they are given on their tool belts every single day -- you know, potter was asked about whether she tested her taser, what it did, what it looked like. she said she could hardly recall what the lights looked like that came out of the taser. clearly someone, at least according to her testimony, someone who was less familiar with a less lethal device, but still a dangerous device, that was given to her by the people on behalf of the public. that was one of the takeaways, you had an officer that seemed to have no interest in how to operate something that was on her belt. obviously that being the key issue here where she drew her service weapon rather than that taser. you have to wonder whether this is an officer who took her proficiency very poor in her own mind, and she had more practice, more muscle memory. again, we'll never know, but you can bet there are police officers around the country who will be focused on training and ensuring that before an officer wa walks out of roll call and hits the streets that they need to know how to operate the weapons on their tool belt, poppy. >> and what can be taken from this tragedy. adrian, thank you for your coverage throughout this trial. this is a city that has been debating and almost moved to defund its police. that's the broader context that we're talking about here in minneapolis. and now you have the guilty murder conviction of derek chauvin and now guilty on both counts the manslaughter convictions of officer kim potter here. and we heard a lot from people in minneapolis in omar's reporting about finally they feel they're seeing accountability. >> reporter: and i've been trading texts with people in the community, some of the folks who were calling for the firing of kim potter immediately after they learned she had shot and killed daunte wright. if you saw me looking down, that's what was going on. i want to read the cheering from one activist who said, i am absolutely overwhelmed and joyful. full justice would be having daunte back with us, but this is a measure of justice. and just so we're clear, kim potter worked in brooklyn center, which is about 10 miles from the hennepin county courthouse. brooklyn center is in hennepin county but it's not in minneapolis, and officers in suburban districts surrounding minneapolis made clear points to make sure there was a distinction. it seems, in my recollection from the eight years i lived here, folks who worked at brooklyn center or golden valley or brooklyn park or even lakeville, they did not want to be lumped in with the minneapolis police department. here we have a former brooklyn center police officer who was convicted in the same courtroom as derek chauvin. when we heard from katie bryant just moments ago, you could see the relief. after days of waiting, finally an outcome. i can't help but think what this was all over, a car freshener in the shape of a tree. full transparency, i bought this air freshener from someone driving down the road just outside the hennepin county courthouse a few weeks ago at the start of the trial. and when katie bryant testified, she said she told her son when he called and told his mom that he had been pulled over, she told him to remove that car freshener from the rearview mirror. you guys don't know. here in the state of minnesota, it is illegal to have anything obstruct your view, and kimberly potter said she never would have pulled him over for that violation. >> thank you for your opinions after this verdict was handed down. also we're following very closely the covid surge. omicron is spreading as new york city's celebration on the new year is being scaled back. we'll tell you how. and the mayor is wondering what they can and can't do to stay safe. we're answering some of your questions ahead. we envisioned at times that we would lose one of our facilities. breaking news. but we never envisioned even in a pandemic that we might lose them all. our engineers and operations team worked with cisco to do whatever's necessary and bring whatever tools we have to bring to tell the best story. between what's news and what's now, there's a bridge. cisco. the bridge to possible. ♪“i got you babe” 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. ♪ to run a growing business, is to be on a journey. and along the ride, you'll have many questions. challenges. and a few surprises. ♪ but wherever you are on your journey. your dell technologies advisor is here for you - with the right tech 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(gasps) ♪ did it work? only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ spider-man no way home in theaters december 17th ho ho ho! 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. welcome back. new york city mayor bill de blasio announcing that the city will scale back its new year's eve celebration. there will only be 15,000 people allowed in the viewing area. normally they allow 58,000. everyone has to wear a mask, show photo identification, and anyone over five years old must be vaccinated. this decision comes as cases continue to skyrocket in the city and as people brave freezing temperatures and long lines to get tested. but there are some positive signs in the pandemic. several studies from the u.k. and south africa are showing that omicron may pose a lower risk for hospitalizations and severe sickness compared to the delta variant. joining me now is dr. rob davidson, an er doctor in west michigan and health care doctor. dr. davidson, thank you for being here. what should we take from the u.k. studies and the south aftafter afterry -- africa studies given there were less cases in the u.s.? >> the u.k. has a higher number of cases overall, so this strain tends to spread very quickly. even if there's half as many people or lessened up being hospitalized, if you have twice as many cases in a very short period of time, it's still going to stress the health care system and that's what we've been dealing with for five or six weeks here with delta. >> you have seen a surge in michigan now for weeks, and i'd like to play for our viewers what president biden said last night in an interview with abc news responding to criticism that his administration didn't get in front of this. here's what he said. >> i don't think it's a you can't argue it is a failure. you can say we should have known a year ago, months ago. >> empty shelves, no test kits some places three days before christmas when it is so important. is that good enough? >> no. nothing has been good enough. >> the vice president said in recent days you didn't see delta coming. you didn't see omicron coming. how did you get it wrong? >> how did we get it wrong? nobody saw it coming. nobody in the whole world. who saw it coming? >> do you agree and either way what do we now for the next wave if there is another variant coming? >> it's hard to know exactly what the president was alluding to. certainly with omicron nobody expected it as quickly as it has come here. we were seeing models saying mid january and frankly it ripped through europe and into the u.s. and now it's taking hold. as far as delta goes because if we had more people vaccinated and that was the administration's plan, get the vaccine out and people vaccinated. i can't imagine any administration doing more to get people vaccinated. they instituted vaccine mandates in businesses over a hundred employees and now are being sued by republican states attorneys general. you kind of throw your hands up. i appreciate him saying, yes, it's never good enough. nothing is ever good enough if one person dies who didn't have to. we have to get more tests out, try to get more people vaccinated and get the new pfizer pill out to as many as possible and i think this administration is showing they are going to be doing that. >> dr. rob davidson, thank you very much for being with us. have a happy and safe holiday. >> thanks. same to you. # . with just two days until the christmas holiday president biden reassured americans we are not headed back into a covid lockdown saying those who are vaccinated can celebrate the holiday safely but with an uptick in breakthrough cases in overwhelming demand for tests there is growing confusion about how to gather safely for that advice we turn to a professor in biology who specializes in immunology at the university of manchester dartmouth. great to have you, professor. thanks very much. let me get straight to viewer questions. first, should we test before gathering indoors? >> yeah. so the test definitely adds an extra layer of safety. we're looking at safety from infection, bringing the infection into the place. if you want to add that layer, if you want to avoid being infected, testing is the next layer on top of boostered vaccination. >> okay. here is another. a 25-year-old boosted daughter flew in for the holidays, developed a scratchy throat and dry cough. tested positive yesterday. all of us are boosted. we feel fine. do we have to quarantine? for how long? we already nixed our holiday plans. >> yes, so the cdc recommendations at the moment are you do not need to quarantine. we all know that you can get infected if you're vaccinated. exactly this case. what we typically do in those situations is you've had a known exposure. we know within about four days after the exposure the vast majority of people will develop symptoms if they were infected so what you should do over this next four or five days is lower your interactions with other people. make sure that if you were infected you're not transmitting to others. wear a good quality mask when you're out. about day four or five test either with an antigen test or pcr and use it as guidance going forward. you don't need to isolate yourself but make sure you are not part of the chain of transmission. thfr thfrjts -- >> this is a question a lot of my colleagues with young children have and i have as well. if a vaccinated parent tests positive but still have to care for infants or toddlers too young to be vaccinated what do they do? >> it is really tough. working with families and households that end up with an infection it is really easy to say you need to isolate away from everybody else but the reality of the situation is that can't happen in most situations. you're accepting a risk that goes with infecting your child. thankfully, we know with children the risks of infection and poor outcomes are very, very low, but things you can do to sway it in your favor is wear a good quality mask when doing that. you can do a lot of lowering risk by wearing a mask and making sure you're not shedding the virus around the house. open windows and doors a little bit. even in cold weather cracking open a window or door is a really big part of lowering the viral burden in the air in the house. if you've got access to filters, i've got a few hepa filters i've been moving around friends' houses when infection got in there trying in the effort to not get other people in the household infected. it comes down to you need to be a parent. you have to look after your children. but you can do some things to lower the risk they will get infected. masks, ventilation, filtration. >> one other thing -- thank you for that for all the parents out there. one other question from a viewer named mary. my friend wants to visit over the holiday. only received the j&j shot. is that okay? >> yeah, so the j&j shot unfortunately is not working so great at blocking infection in people exposed to delta or omicron. it is still working well at stopping poor outcomes but basically the way it looks is they don't have any better protection than a person unvaccinated. you have to look at the risk. if someone wants to come visit you, you can put testing before hand, but if you've got a vaccinated household the way that my household works now is we've redefined what risky is. we have sort of understood with our lifestyle we are going to at some stage the virus is going to get in. we've done everything we can to look after our personal health. my wife and i are fully vaccinated. our kids are vaccinated. for me that is safe because we know we've tilted the odds so far in our favor that if somebody was to bring the virus in we know that we will have good outcomes, you know, if infection did establish in the family. >> well, professor, thank you. wishing a very healthy, happy holiday. thanks again. >> you, too, poppy. all right. we have this update. scientists -- are we doing the dinosaur story? let me show you a cool picture before we go to "the lead" with jake tapper. we were going to try to get to this story but we don't have time. thank you all. oh, okay. we'll do this great story. we wanted some fun stories at the end of the hour. there you go. meghan and harry's sweet girl lilibet, the first picture we are seeing of her. very happy holiday to their family, to all of you, wishing you good health in the new year. thank you so much for joining me today. and to this great team through all of the breaking news i'll see you back here tomorrow. "the lead" with jake tapper is next. guilty on both counts. "the lead" starts right now. a jury finds former police officer kim potter guilty of two counts of manslaughter in the killing of daunte wright. prison time she is now facing. plus, omicron may be spoiling some holiday gatherings but there is a lot of good news. a new covid fighting pill as well as positive signs about the threat from omicron. president trump takes his case once again to the highest court in the land. a look at the push to have the supreme court keep his white hous