>> live, from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with john vorse. we begin with the coronavirus pandemic with. many countries, including the u.s., now setting new infection records each day. right now, the united states is averaging more than 265,000 daily cases over the past week. according to the centers for disease control and prevention. the omicron variant accounts for nearly 60% of all new cases. the number of children admitted to hospital with covid is nearing a record, with an almost 50% jump in just the past week. and the food and drug administration is taking a closer look at the effectiveness of at-home antigen tests, which may be not as effective at detecting the omicron variant compared to the delta variant. but anthony fauci says these tests are till beneficial. here is our lead story from new york. >> reporter: a new surge in covid cases is bringing with it another spike in pediatric hospitalizations, up nearly 50% in a week nationwide. children still make up a small percentage of people hospitalized for covid and far less likely to become severely ill than adults, but hospitals have seen it before. just last summer during the delta surge. >> we have very high rates of hospitalization, very high rates of severe illness. children going on to machines, teenagers especially. most children had underlying conditions. but it also affected healthy children. >> reporter: in new york city, pediatric hospitalizations have gone up five fold in three weeks. a hospital in chicago reports a fourfold rise. it doesn't appear the omicron variant is more dangerous for children, but it is highly transmissible. and holiday gathers could further fuel the surge in cases, including among children. >> i would say we have not seen the worst of it yet. >> reporter: with cases climbing, staffing shortages are still crippling industries. airlines canceling thousands of flights this holiday season. maryland's federal courts scaling back operations. team usa hockey forced to forfeit the tournament. the cdc latest guidance puts people back to work more quickly, but the recommendation to isolate five days if infected comes also with criticism. >> the trouble is for the unvaccinated, the data doesn't really back up that they become noninfectious at five case. >> reporter: testing lines across the country are intolerably long in some places and frustration is mounting. >> i hope we fix it in january and february. but we're going to have to have a real effort to make sure there's cheep, ubiquitous testing everywhere in this country. >> reporter: alex andra fields, cnn, new york. >> dr. peter chin hong joins us this hour from san francisco. thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure, john. thanks for having me on. >> the one thing we can say with omicron, a lot more people will be infected. and i want you to already to dr. jha. this is what he expects. >> people should just brace themselves for a month where lots of people are going to get infected, a lot of unvaccinated people are going to get pretty sick. and it's going to be pretty disr disruptive. my hope is by the time we get into february and march, infection numbers will come way down and spring things will get better. that combination means late winter, early spring should be much, much better. >> but the here and now, is it seems with this hospitalization rate because of omicron versus delta, we're in the calm before the storm. what are you expecting? >> john, some people think we're in the middle of the storm. the question is how long will the storm last? and will the winds wis pick up? it's like trying to fix the roof in the middle of a hurricane. in the west coast, where hospitalization is relatively lower so far, we're trying to brace ourselves. i think the anxiety that i have is not necessarily about lots of kick people got to the hospital, but probably more for the workforce that are going to get infected. even with a shortened isolation time of five days, places like quebec, where they're saying if you're positive as a health care worker, you should show up. i think all of that is possible in the united states. >> and your main concern with sending health care workers back if they're positive? >> i'm concerned, you know, several reasons why i'm concerned. i'm concerned obviously for potentially infection risk of vulnerable patients. i'm concerned for the morale. the health care workforce has been decimated with injury for the last 20 months. this could be the end. 40% of nurses declared they're going to leave the job. 20% of mds say they'll leave the job within a year. that's unprecedented. >> the medical team in south africa that identified the omicron variant reported a small number of patients infected not only had an immune response against omicron, but we also saw those same people, those vaccinated, developed enhanced immunity to the delta variant. in their research paper, they say this is consistent with omicron displacing the delta variant and say if so, the incidents of covid-19 severe disease will be reduced and the infection may shift, become less disruptive to individuals and society. it sounds like they're say thing is increasingly looking like this is how the pandemic might come to an end. >> possibly, john. that's certainly an optimistic end to the story. but i think there's a lot of biological plausibility from that finding that if you develop antibodies to omicron, you can protect yourself well against, you know, the more dastardly delta. but that's really speaking about the now. i think what's not really clear is whether or not the next variant, which by natural selection you will expect to be more evasive to omicron antibodies, would also, you know, be milder as well. if you look at the 1918 influenza pandemic, it ended because of two reasons. increasing immunity in a population with waves in infection. but also a milder variants or milder flu. so that's what we can hope for and i'm crossing my fingers. at the end of the day, i think we may be faced with a situation where you get a variability seasonably once a year, some people get infected, some people have some antibodies. the next year, you get another variant. we'll see this over and over again until enough of the world is immunized. right now, there are so many inequity, that i'm pessimistic it will come to an end that quickly. >> i just want to hear these comments from the uk government's life science adviser. and the guardian newspaper is report thing is not the same disease we were seeing a year ago. he was talking in terms of tet and hospitalization. but that seems to apply to symptoms, as well. omicron symptoms are described like a cold or a flu. >> hey, good morning. so i just wanted to hear for me. i tested positive this morning for covid. my symptoms are like a cold. scratchy throat, a bit of a runny nose. but i'm fine. >> that was actor hugh jackman. but all of this, the similar symptoms to cold and flu, it's led to another layer of confusion, this is coming at a time when there's a shortage of one thing, which could end much of the confusion, those home testing kits. >> exactly. i think even though joe biden has promised 500 million home testing kits for free, you think that sounds like a lot, but it's not here right now. also, the u.s. has 330 million people. so 1 1/2 tests per person isn't enough if we expect somebody to do testing as frequently as brushing your teeth once a day. i think the shortage of tests is not only going to help or mitigate, you know, events and possibly prevent more of a surge happening, but they also keep kids in school. so the availability of rapid testing can't really be underemphasized. i'm worried also about flu. these symptoms could be flu, covid, and some estimates of flu are in the order of 100,000 to 400,000 additional hospitalizations. wepeaked with the flu yet. so that is going to send ut essentially into a tailspin. but we are going to have oral agents for covid soon. i think that could add together with, you know, tamiflu for infl influenza, and helping people, even unvaccinated people, avoid hospitalization. >> two steps forward, two steps back, peter. thank you for being with us. appreciate it. >> thankses so much, john. when we come back, we're looking at the lives of two renowned americans. the legacy of democratic senate leader harry reid and his impact on u.s. presidents. and the sports world mourning the loss of an nfl coach and broadcaster. tributes to the late john madden. that's also ahead. and we're not alone. we've all had to find new ways to keep going. and cue has made that easier. with cue, you get lab-quality covid-19 test results in just 20 minutes. speed and accuracy. it's just for the nba; it's for you too. cue health. the official covid-19 home test of the nba. go cue. go you. one of my favorite supplements is qunol turmeric. turmeric helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. unlike regular turmeric supplements qunol's superior absorption helps me get the full benefits of turmeric. the brand i trust is qunol. one of the worst things about a cold sore is how it can make you feel. but, when used at the first sign, abreva can get you back to being you in just 2 and a half days. be kinder to yourself and tougher on your cold sores. now to the world of football and the surprising and sad news that john madden has died. he was beloved for a boisterous star, his commentary made watching fun for fans and casual viewers alike. he was the namesake of the madden series. the national football league announced his death on tuesday. the commissioner paid tribute to madden saying "nobody loved football more than coach. he was football. he was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. there will never be another john madden, and we will never be indebted to him." here's more on the life of john madden. >> i've never worked a day in my life. i went from player to coach to a broadcaster, and i am the luckiest guy in the world. >> reporter: super bowl winning coach. pioneering broad caster. video game icon. a larger than life personality, john madden was by any definition a true original. during his 30-year broadcasting career, he was widely considered the voice of the national football league. >> you have to attack them with the pass and attack them deep with the pass. >> reporter: his passionate way of calling games with unique catch phrases -- >> the packers came out, went boom and got ten points. >> reporter: and he helped explain the game to fans across america. he called games for all four major networks, announcing 11 super bowls and earning 16 sports emmys during his time in the broadcast booth. his playing career was short lived. he was drafted in 1958 by the philadelphia eagles. but a knee injury cut it short that's when he denied to try his hand at coaching, becoming the youngest head coach in professional football history at the age of 33. in 1977, hi led the oakland raiders to a super bowl victory, and is still the franchise's all-time wins leader. madden was inducted into the pro football hall of fame for his coaching career in 2006. >> boom. >> reporter: he was a television advertiser's dream, becoming the pitch man for numerous brands. >> ace is the place for me. >> reporter: in 1988, madden entered the video game world, lending his voice and name to madden nfl. >> anything that goes that far that fast ought to have dinner with an in flight movie. >> reporter: his video game is still the most popular football game ever, selling more than 100 million copies worldwide. whether it was his video game, broadcasting career or hall of fame coach, his passion for the game is what will always be remembered. >> some of us think we'll live forever, but when you think about it, we're not going to be. but i say this, through this bust, with these guys, in that hall, we will be forever. >> our thanks for that report. and now, he's being remembered as scruffy, the political street fighter, a champion of old school, bare knuckle washington deal maker. nevada democrat harry reid was one of the longest serving members of the u.s. senate. reid served as majority and minority leader in the senate, and played a key role in the rise of barack obama, enco encouraging him to run against john mccain in 2008. on tuesday, obama shared a letter he sent to reid. i would not have been president if not for your courage and support. and joe biden wrote, if hairy gave me his word, you could bank on it. joe biden also listed reid's legislative accomplishments, everything from the recovery act of 2009, to the affordable care act, or obamacare, and the new start treaty. here's more now from dana bash. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: he led democrats in the senate for a decade, but harry reid called one of his proudest accomplishments the impact he had on presidential history, encouraging barack obama to run. >> i called him into my office and told him to take a look at it. i was the first one to suggest that to him. when he was re-elected, he said, you know, you're the reason i'm here. >> reporter: he spearheaded epic legislative battles, like obamacare, with a scrappy style he learned during his impoverished childhood. reid was born, shaped, and scarred in searchlight, nevada, a truck stop outside las vegas. he grew up in a shack with no running water where this trailer now sits. he took us there in 2006. his mother did laundry for the local brothels. his dad, always looking for work as a miner. both drank heavily. during that 2006 visit to searchlight, he pointed out where his father took his own life at 58 years old. >> this house right here, that last room is a bedroom is where he killed himself. >> reporter: he fought his way out of forty as a boxer. as a polititpolitician, he was afraid to punch below the night. a wide variety of adjectives have been written about you. scrappy, tough, blunt, mastermind, ruthless. all those fair? >> well, that's what people are thinking, they're entitled to their opinion. >> reporter: reid was a polarizing figure. republicans argued a lot of congressional gridlock stemmed from his hardball tactics. >> seeing the turning of the tide. >> reporter: but he reveled on playing the bad guy, calling president bush a loser and liar well below politicians used those words. >> i don't care. i don't want to be somebody i'm not. >> reporter: during the president trump presidency, reid changed his tune about bush. >> in hindsight, i wish every day for a george bush again. i think that he and i had our differences, but no one ever questioned his patriotism. there's no question in my mind that george bush would be babe ruth in this league that he's in with donald trump. donald trump wouldn't make the team. >> reporter: in 2012, he used the senate floor to accuse mitt romney of not paying taxes, even though he had no evidence. >> his refuse to release his tax returns. he hasn't paid taxes. >> i don't regret that all. >> some people called it mccarthyite. >> they can call it whatever they want. he didn't win, did he? >> reporter: years later, he asked to meet with romney to make amends. >> shook hands. >> reporter: why was it important to tie up that loose end? >> i try to do that with everybody. >> reporter: he inspired fierce loyalty. not all out of fear, but affection. he often told colleagues he loved them, even in public. >> i love you, john carry. >> reporter: he had a story book romance with his wife. the two converted to mormonism when they married. >> she had a pair of leavis tha looked so good. it's true. >> reporter: in january 2015, reid, a workout addict who ran numerous marathons, had a brutal exercise accident that left him bruised and blind in one eye. a few years later, he was diagnosed w diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. >> that's one of my keepsakes from donald trump. i'm doing fine. i'm busy. i work quite hard. >> reporter: reid was an up likely political leader in today's media age. soft spoken and gaffe prone. but he played the inside game like no one could. >> i didn't make it in life because my athletic prowess. i didn't make it because of my good looks. i didn't make it because i'm a genius. i made it because i worked hard. one of the things that i hope people look back at me and say, if harry reid can make it, i can. >> larry sabato joins us from virginia. thanks for staying up. >> sure, john. >> one thing that is quite striking about harry reid, he's described as this charismaticly challenged person. he had little presence on tv or with a crowd. but he was a master of political hand-to-hand combat. there was two personalities going on there. >> yes. you're absolutely correct about that. the public harry reid wasn't that different from the private harry reid. the difference is, in the senate, it actually is an advantage to be low key, someone who doesn't take the spotlight, and doesn't overshadow other senators, and gets things done. harry reid was perfect for that. you know, we had for most of his tenure as majority leader, six of the eight years, we had a very charismatic president, barack obama. obama simply needed reid to get the senate to work, which as we all know, is not easy. >> there was some criticism from the conservative side of politics that it was his away from the consensus building, his combative approach which started the slide to where we are today. how do you see it? >> oh, i think you can say that it was a long time in coming and many people participated in it. but i find that rather amusing, given the republican leaders that we've had in the senate in recent times. not people like bob dole so much, but some of the other republicans that served, and i think we can all name some of them, have been very, very partisan. and they've been very partisan because they felt they needed to be in order to get their party in the position to win, particularly in presidential years. but also to win supreme court seats. unfortunately, this has led the senate as an institution to the most polarized era. certainly in my lifetime. it's very difficult to get any kind of bipartisanship in the senate, and yes, that was a problem when harry reid was majority leader, too. but it certainly wasn't as severe as it is today. >> he had 60 senators, and it was still a struggle to get the affordable care act through. larry, thank you for staying up. appreciate your time. >> thank you, john. still ahead, the coming year will bring pandemic restrictions for many parts of the world. and 13 million people under a stay at home order for almost a week now, as officials in china ramp up efforts to contain a local outbreak. c, d and zinc* season after season. ace your immune support with centrum. now with a new look! we hit the bike trails every weekend shinges doesn't care. i grow all my own vegetables shingles doesn't care. we've still got the best moves you've ever seen good for you, but shingles doesn't 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high. the cdc estimates omicron accounts for nearly 60%. more children are being hospitalized, admissions up 50% in the past week. and the fda taking a closer look of the effectiveness of at-home antigen tests. experts say that should not discourage anyone from using them. and spain reporting nearly 100,000 new cases on tuesday alone. that's the highest one-day total since the pandemic began. and double the previous record set just last week. not just spain, the country has had cases increase by 50% or more in the past week compared to a week only. and in china, authorities may tighten restrictions on day six, with 13 million people under a stay at home order. steven james joins us live from beijing. it seems not just they are losing what freedom they may have had, but access to basic supplies is becoming a point of anger for many. >> reporter: that's right, john. it feels like a deja vu what we saw in wuhan, with anger being vented online by social media users in the city, who say they are facing increasing difficulties accessing to groceries. and that's the biggest complaint. despite the official and the state media portrayal of orderly and smooth delivery of daily necessity items throughout the city since the lockdown began last week. the situation has been made worse by the tightened regulations you referred to, because last week, each household was still being allowed to send out one representative every other day to buy groceries. but that "privilege" has been suspended start thing week as authorities try to further curb the movement of people in order to stop the community spread of the virus. all of this because of the leadership's insistence on sticking to this zero covid policy, especially ahead of the beijing winter olympics, which is less than 40 days away. that's why authorities are doubling down under a strategy, harsher lockdown measures, as well. now, the numbers from the city looked quite grim by chinese standards. 151 local cases reported on tuesday. but authorities say with the lockdown firmly in place, these numbers will stabilize soon and start decreasing. and the outbreak could be over in a month or so. but this assess mment for millis trying to survive under this brutal lockdown. >> steven can, t, thank you. beijing making an official complaint at elon musk's satellites came too close to china's space station. details when we come back. are you taking a statin drug to reduce cholesterol? it can also deplete your coq10 levels. i recommend considering qunol coq10 along with your statin medication. the brand i trust is qunol. hong kong police have arrested at least six staff and associates of the pro democracy outlet. officials say they're suspected in skonconspiracy to publish cen material. police visited the home of a seventh employee who was led away by officers according to the hong kong journalist association although he was not arrested. the offices have been raided by police who have collected at least 30 boxes filled with evidence. china filed a complaint with the united nations claiming two close encounters with satellites launched by spacex endangered astronauts on board their space station. so far, spacex has not responded for comment on this. we welcome the guy we turn to all things space. miles, good to see you. >> greetings, john. >> so let's start with the complaint from china. twice in october to avoid a collision, they say the crew on board their space station took evasive maneuvers during dangerously close encounters with satellites launched by musk's company, which china says constituted a danger to astronauts aboard the space station. how serious were these incidents, and with musk's approval to launch another 12,000 satellites, should they get used to taking evasive maneuvers? >> there's a lot to unpack here. we're talking about low-earth orbit, on the order of 300 kilometers above us. things in low earth orbit and not falling down are traveling in excess of 20,000 kilometers per hour. so you can imagine if two objects are coming at each other in opposite directions, we're talking close to 50,000 kilometers in closing delta velocity. that can cause real problems. now, how close those star link satellites came, which are the elon musk spacex fleet to provide internet access to remote parts of the world, how close they came to the chinese space station is not laid out very clearly. we do know this, musk is very sensitive to this idea. he has 1700 of these satellites in orbit. he wants to put upwards of 40,000 so the whole world can get internet by this means. one of the things he claims is that the satellites have their own autonomous ability to avoid collisions, and at the end of their life, have the ability to be steered into the ocean. so it's getting crowded, however, low-earth orbit and that concerns a lot of people. >> back in may, we talked about coming back into reentry, but beijing was called out about the rocket used for their space station into orbit, was allowed to fall back to earth in an uncontrolled reentry. here's part of the statement from nasa. not the first time earlier this year, a similar scenario after the launch of a capsule for their space station. in 2018, we played spot the falling chinese space lab, if you remember that. and in 2007, china tested that anti-satellite missile, leaving about 3,000 pieces of debris in orbit. so is this complaint from beijing, is it just a chance to criticize the u.s., you criticized me, i'll criticize you? and do they have a credibility problem with all of this? >> oh, yes, they do. me thinks they doth protest too much. that 2007 asat anti-satellite launch that they did, created -- it blew a dead satellite to smither smitherines, causing all kinds of problems. the u.s. has done that, too. so they're all going at each other in low-earth orbit. the big picture here is, we're seeing an ascended china flexing its muscles in space. it now does have a piloted space station. it has great aspirations to do more in space. and it's flexing its muscles. i'm afraid what's happening, we're seeing what all of us have feared for a long time, which is the militarization of the final frontier. we don't want to see that happen. >> when it comes to this call for sort of code of conduct in space, a 2017 report by the u.s.-china economic and security review found that china appears to be uninterested in agreeing to a code of conduct for behavior in space, but instead exploring ways to put its own weapons in space. beijing proposed a treaty that would prevent the u.s. from responding in kind. has that position changed in any significant way? >> no, no. and you can't have it both ways, can you? do you want rules that make it more difficult for elon musk to put 40,000 satellites in low-earth orbit because you're worried about your space station or do you not? you can't have it both ways. so i do think low-earth orbit is becoming more populated. i think there's a lot of controversy around the elon musk satellites. astronomers are absolutely really, really upset about this, because it is blocking their ability to view the stars in the way they have gotten used. and it becomes a bit of a traffic jam there, throw in all the space debris, tens of thousands of pieces that the space stations have to jockey around as it is. and we really do need to come up with some guard rails, some rules of the road up there. if the chinese are going to complain about this, they might want to participate in that effort. >> miles, thank you. good to see you. there's no question, covid-19 dominated headlines this year, but it wasn't the only major medical news. our top health stories for 2021, in just a moment. only from discover. 13 minutes until the top of the hour. the coronavirus pandemic dominated the news for much of the year, but there were other stories of note. and cnn's dr. sanjay gupta looks back at 2021's top health stories. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: while the coronavirus faem pandemic did d much of our attention -- >> record death toll. >> reporter: for the first time on record, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in a 12-month period. in may 2020 and april 2021, much of it from fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. joe biden's new drug czar told me we need to employ harm reduction, making drug use safer, and testing drugs for the presence of fentanyl. >> people will say, you're enabling drug use. that's the provocation. as an evidence based physician that has spent his career dealing with science and moving data around, we just do not have that evidence. >> tonight, for the first time in almost 20 years, there's a new drug just approved to treat people in the early phases of alzheimer's disease. >> reporter: in june, the food and drug administration green lit the first new drug approved to treat alzheimer's disease since 2003. now, according to the fda, the drug can reduce alzheimer's signature tangles and plaques of attorney proteins that block the neural pathways. but the approval was controversial, which many researchers, including the fda's own advisory committee, saying the evidence wasn't there to show it slows down cognitive decline. there's a growing concern about a surge of covid-19 cases in tokyo. >> instead of a metal count, we're tracking the covid count. >> it had been postponed the previous year, but this sumer, the olympic games took place in the midst oh of a pandemic. athletes had limited reaction with those outside. is there a criteria by which you would start to become concerned? >> we are looking at changes in patterns. if we started to see infection in people that weren't part of that group. if we start to see a raise of cases. if we see it doubling faster than we saw. >> health and human services changing to make it more available. >> they're saying it should be available to anyone over 65. >> reporter: the first covid shots went to the most vulnerable. then, eligibility was expanded to those with underlying conditions. by april, everyone 16 and older in the united states was eligible for a shot. in may, 12 to 15-year-old were authorized for pfizer shots. in august, pfizer vaccine was the first covid vaccine in the united states. >> the biden white house, calling out the misinformation opinion. accusing facebook of killing people. >> there's posts that compare vaccines to the holocaust and nazi germany. >> reporter: the surgeon general called it a threat to public health. >> we're seeing it spread on social media sites. >> reporter: what resulted is a persistent pandemic, with 100,000 infections daily and tens of thousands of people in the hospital. most of them unvaccinated. >> some of the red districts that voted overwhelmingly for the former president donald trump, the vaccines remain unpopular. not just hesitancy. there's people that believe the vaccine is a big problem. >> reporter: with one in ten americans say they are no plans to get a shot. >> we live in a free country. and the right to make our own health care decisions is the core of it. >> reporter: businesses, states, even the federal government, is starting to issue vaccine mandates in an effort to return to normal. >> this is not about freedom or personal choice. it's about protecting yourself and those around you. >> reporter: it is one of the clearest examples of public health colliding with politics. >> health officials are trying to identify a new strain of pneumonia. >> reporter: when we first identified it two years ago, we had no idea what it would be in its wake. the population of the united states in 1918 was one-third of what it is now. but there were no vaccines available 100 years ago. it is difficult to fathom that we've lost more than 800,000 lives to the coronavirus. sadly, much of it preventable, as dr. deborah birx told me. >> all of the rest of the deaths in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially. >> reporter: after most kids spent the first year of the pandemic online, getting kids back into the classroom this year was a priority for everyone. but how to do it? that was up for debate and vaccination requirements, mask mandates, testing, quarantines. it erupted into clashes at school board meetings across the country. while children are less likely to be hospitalized with covid-19, the number of infections with children has been steadily rising. in october, the fda authorized a smaller dose of the pfizer having a zine for children, ages 5 to 11. that group remains the least vaccinated. vaccination is an important tool to controlling this pandemic. we're learning how long that can last. scientists study that antibody levels can fall after a few months, making people more susceptible to infection. the cdc has expanded recommendation for all adults over 18, to get a booster shot, six months after the pfizer and moderna vaccines and two months after the johnson & johnson one. >> we know they are safe and highly effective, in bringing up the p optization of your prot protection. >> over the last two years, there's been thousands of variants. a happndful becoming of concern. vaccination, masking, testing, can stop the spread of the virus. this past spring, we saw the rise of delta, a variant two-times or three-times as in infectious as the original coronavirus. it started in europe and india. and now, omicron cases are growing all over the world. >> this is something to be reckoned with. it's spreading throughout the world and certainly in our own country. >> reporter: as the weather gets cooler and we move indoors, remember to get your shots, to mask up, despite all of the fear, we do have the tools to stay healthy and protected. >> thank you for watching "cnn newsroom." please stay with us. i'll be back for another hour of "cnn newsroom." stay with us. so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ i want to make the most of every meal we have together. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com one of my favorite supplements is qunol turmeric. turmeric helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. unlike regular turmeric supplements qunol's superior absorption helps me get the full benefits of turmeric. the brand i trust is qunol. coming up this hour, on "cnn newsroom," the omicron variant, turbo charging the pandemic. the peak of the outbreak could be weeks away. 13 million people under a brutal covid lockdown for almost a week with no end in sight. now, anger and frustration is growing in the chinese city of xian, as people struggle to get supplies. and a legend in the world of football, john madden, broadcaster, video game icon and beloved nfl coach. hello. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. an omicron increase was always predicted. but what is truly stung is the incredible speed of transmission, driving the number of confirmed cases to record lies. in many countries, the daily records are continually being set with weeks to come. the united states, 250,000 daily cases in the last week. according to the centers for disease control, the omicron variant counts for 60% of new cases. the number of children going to hospitals with covid nearing a new record. there's almost a 50% jump the last week. and the food and