Speaking out as questions grow about the tactics used by police. Remembering american legends. Longtime senator harry reid and nfl great john madden. Tributes are pouring in for these two giants. We begin with the United States reaching a grim milestone in the pandemic as the delta and Omicron Variants continue to wreak havoc, the u. S. Shattering its record for daily cases. The sevenday average now topping 265,000 cases a day. The prior record was set nearly a year ago. Public Health Officials warn these numbers are going to continue to rise. Hospitalizations are also up, but not as rapidly. They are about half the alltime high set last winter. The cdc this morning is defending its decision to cut the recommended time of isolation for asymptomatic patients. Some scientists are accusing the agency of caving to public pressure instead of following the data. All this as the White House Pandemic Response Team holds a briefing in just moments. Lets begin our coverage with cnns Elizabeth Cohen on the cdc defending changes this week. You and i were talking 24 hours ago just how confusing the updated guidance is. You also have a lot of criticisms and questions on the this was based wholly on science or if the economy played a role. Rochelle walensky responded to that. Dr. Walensky was on cnn this morning. She said, look, this is based on science and she explained b basically what she said is, at a certain point, the likelihood of you being contagious is very small. Thats why they changed it from ten days to five days as long as youre asymptomatic or if you have symptoms and on the end, getting better. Lets take a listen. We know the most amount of transmission occurs in those one to two days before you develop systems, those two to three days after you develop systems. If you map that out, those five days account for somewhere between 85 to 90 of all transmission that occurs. We want to make sure those first five days youre spent in isolation. Thats when most of it occurs. Okay. Lets put in writing what dr. Walensky just said. What shes saying is 85 to 90 of transmission occurs in the one to two days before you develop symptoms or the two to three days after you develop symptoms. The cdcs thinking is for days six, seven, eight, nine, ten, why are we isolating people if theyre ace ssymptomatic or get better when theyre most likely not contagious. Lets get them back to work, especially if theyre doctors or nurses or have other essential jobs. Amara. Elizabeth cohen, thank you for that. Communities across the counted are taking steps to increase testing and reduce those long lines many of you have experienced for weeks now. It comes as schools reconsider their Covid Protocols as they prepare to reopen in the new year. Cnns Leyla Santiago live at a testing site in miami with more. Are you seeing any improvement in the weight time . We are seeing improvement in the wait times. The first time ive been able to say that in the last few days. Were at Tropical Park in miamidade. Its one of the busiest sites for testing in south florida. This is a site open 24 hours. The wait has been three hours long, pretty standard over the last few days. Just now we checked in again, about 45 minutes. Weve seen a little change in the last hour. What else has changed over the week . Theyve had to open new sites and extend hours at other sites. So theyre trying to accommodate by auvg these free tests in other locations. That could be part of the factor here as to why youre seeing the wait time here, anyway, go down. I did talk to some of the workers that have been working the tent right behind me where the tests are being administered. They were telling me they still are planning for increased demand in testing into the new year. Listen. Its almost like covid started all over again with the influx of patients coming through. A lot of people arent feeling well. Thats why theyre coming to us. We also understand we have a lot of patients that are concerned just, oh, i was exposed or i was next to somebody that was exposed. I want to make sure im okay. Reporter amara, you mentioned schools that will be starting up soon here in the new year. Miamidade county superintendent miamidade county, the Largest School district in florida, tweeting out they will be reassessing what their protocols will be. They say they will do right by our children and went on to say that by the end of the week they expect to have updated policies to address things like mask wearing, testing, et cetera, how they will move forward given the rapid spread of omicron. A lot of parts are in limbo wondering what they should do once school gets under way. Leyla santiago, thank you. Joining me is dr. Michael mina, the Chief Science Officer at emed, a Health Care Company that provides athome testing. Hes a former professor of epidemiology at harvard university. Great to have you on. I want to start with the cdc and its defense over its new guidelines that reduce the days that Covid Patients need to remain in isolation if theyre asymptomatic. There have been a lot of questions as to why the guidance does not include testing as a requirement at the end of those five days. Lets first listen to what cdc director dr. Rochelle walensky said on cnn this morning about that. We opted not do have the rapid test for isolation because we actually dont know how our rapid tests perform and how well they predict whether youre transmissible during the end of disease. The fda has not authorized them for that use. Wet dont know how they perform. What we said was, well, if you got a rapid test at five days and it was negative, we werent convinced you werent still transmissible. We didnt want do leave a false sense of security, we still wanted you to wear the mask. If it was positive, i dont know the maximum amount of transmission is behind you. We still wanted you to wear as mack. Given that we werent going to change our recommendations based on the results of that rapid test, we opted not to include it. Dr. Mina, i know youve been a vocal advocate for Rapid Testing. What do you make of walenskys argument that rapid tests may not be reliable and were never meant to predict how inferctiou someone is . Well, what weve seen is study after study in this pandemic have shown a high correlation between having an infectious and culturable virus and having covid. For the vast majority of the pandemic, the argument was the other way around, the tests couldnt be relied on the they were negative. Now theyre saying they cant be relied on the theyre positive. I think we need to take a very sciencebacked approach. What we can say is, if youre still highly positive on a rapid test, you should consider yourself infectious. I certainly wouldnt want to be sitting next to somebody at work who i know is bright positive on a rapid test even though theyre at five days. We know people do stay positive and infectious for longer than five days. Do you agree with the updated guidance . Do you think testing needs to be included to help bring down the number of cases . I think the guidance to reduce isolation to five days, the principle of it is sound, and its very important that we attempt to reduce isolation as much as possible. Many people dont actually get detected using a pcr test until after theyve been infectious. So we need to keep isolation as minimal as possible, but we also go through all this effort to find positive and infectious people, and when we do find those individuals, we should make sure to do everything we can to ensure that they do not go on and unintentionally infect their cleeks or their family. Thats where just using inserting a rapid test into the guidance to say use a rapid test at day five, and if youre still positive, do not leave isolation. If youre negative, then follow the rest of the guidance which is wear a mask and you can leave isolation. I want to ask you about the absence of testing, because dr. Fauci said the new guidance has nothing to do with the shortage that were seeing and those long lines. Remember at one point the cdc recommended bandanas and scarves as a last resort for Health Care Workers because there was a shortage of masks. Ill tell you, from what i heard, a lot of the medical care professionals that i know were shocked by that. Do you think were seeing the same reasoning here, even though those being denied . Yes, i do. I think throughout this whole pandemic, we have failed to create policy that includes fast and frequent testing like Rapid Testing because we didnt have the supply. So weve seen this chicken and the egg issue continue to persist. I do think that the cdc was in a very difficult place here. They see this on this wave of omicron. They need to get people back to work. Unfortunately as a nation, we didnt act months ago and we still havent done what needed to happen to ensure that everyone could have access to tests. So in fairness to the cdcs decision, they cant create policy that americans cant follow. We need to get the tests into the u. S. We can do that. The tests do exist. Okay. Because you and a group of experts actually presented a plan, right, in october to the white house to ramp up testing, especially Rapid Testing as a way to prevent the surge that were seeing right now. As we know, rapid tests are very hard to come by right now. Is it too late . Its not too late. We can still bring on rapid tests, and President Biden recently did announce 500 million. My hope is that that is the start of a Snowball Effect where americans will see these tests are useful, that theyll give added sense of ability to safely gather. Well keep seeing increased numbers of tests, but ultimately its probably going to come down more so to private industry and others to bring these tests into the United States rather than relying fully on a massive Government Action to bring sufficient numbers into the United States. Dr. Michael mina, appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much. Coming up, remembering two americans giants. Longtime senator harry reid and legendary coach and broadcaster john madden. Were going to look back at their lives and careers next. Limu emu. Doug superpowers from a spider bite . I could use some help showing the world how Liberty Mutual customizes their Car Insurance so they only pay for what they need. gasps did it work . Only pay for what you need liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Spiderman no way home in theaters December 17th for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. A triplelift serum with pure collagen. 92 saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. Neutrogena® for people with skin. At carvana, we treat every customer like we would treat our own moms, with care and respect. To us, the Little Things are the big things. Which is why we do everything in our power to make buying a car an unforgettable experience. Happy birthday. Thank you. We treat every customer like we would treat our own moms. Because thats what they deserve. Tributes are pouring in to honor Two American Legends who died overnight. Longtime Senate Democratic leader harry reid died at the age of 82 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Former president obama said he never would have been president if not for harry reid. Republican leader Mitch Mcconnell calls reid a oneofakind senate leader. Cnns dana bash profiles harry reids incredible life and legacy. Reporter he led democrats in the senate for a decade. Harry reid called one of his proudest accomplishments is the impact on president ial history. I called him into the office and said he could take a long at it. When he was reelected, that was one of the most moving phone calls ive ever received because he said youre the reason im 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 search light nevada, 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 search light he casually pointed out where his father took his own life at 58 years old. This house right there, the last room there is a bedroom. Thats where he killed himself. Reporter he fought his way out of poverty as a boxer. As a politician he was never afraid to punch below the belt, even taking on the mob as a young politician. A wide variety of adjectives have been written about you. Some good, sod bad. Let me read a few. Scrappy, blunt, tough, scan any, behind the scenes mastermind, ruthless. Are all those fair . If thats what people think, theyre entitled to their opinion. Reporter he was a polarizing figure. Republicans argued a lot of congressional gridlock stemmed from his hardball tactics. But he reveled in playing the political bad guy calling then president george w. Bush a loser and a liar well before politicians used those l words. I dont care. I dont want to be somebody im not. Reporter during the trump presidency, he changed his tune about bush. In hindsight, i wish every day for a george bush again. I think he and i had our differences, but no one ever questioned his patriotism. Theres no question in my mind that george bush would be babe ruth in this league that hes in. Donald trump wouldnt make the team. Reporter in 2012 he used the senate floor to accuse mitt romney of not paying his tkss even though he had no evidence. Hes refused to release tax returns as we know. Let him prove hes paid taxes. I dont regret it at all. Some people call it mccarthyite. Call it whatever you want. Later he did ask to meet are romney to make amends. Shoot hands and put stuff behind us. Why was it so important to tie up that lose end. I try to do that with everybody. Reid also inspired fierce loyalty from many longtime aides as well as fellow senators. Not all out of fear, but but affection. I love you, john kerry. He had a storybook romance with wife landra, the two converted to mormonisms. She had on a pair of levis, and i thought, man, you look so good. Its true. Reid, a workout addict had a brutal Exercise Accident that left him severely bruised and blind in one eye. It cemented his decision to retire. A few years later he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The effects of chemo made it hard for him to walk. We went to see him in las vegas. Thats one of my keepsakes from donald trump. Never any complaints. Im doing fine. Im busy. I work quite hard. Reid was an unlikely political leader in todays media age. Soft spoken and gaffprone. But he played the inside game like no one could. I didnt make it in life because my atlantic prowess. I didnt make it because of my good looks. I didnt make it because im a ge genius. I made it because i work hard. One of the things i hope people look back at me and say, if harry reid can make it, i can. Now to the death of one of the greatest figures in football. John madden is being remembered as legendary coach, Hall Of Famer and be loved broadcaster. Madden also gave kids and kidsatheart the chance to imagine calling their own plays as the name sake of the madden nfl game series. Cnns coy wire joining us now with more. As Roger Goodell said, he was football. Whats the reaction been . Far spread and full of love, amara. There was no one like john madden. His boisterous style brought the game to life. So many players of generations of fans enjoyed his work. Not many people under the age of 40 might not remember madden lead the raid toers the super bowl. His Winning Percentage of. 759, the highest of any nfl coach in history. He truly soared when he stepped into the tv booth in 1979, called 11 super bowls, earned 16 sports emmys during his 30 years of broadcasting. He had 11 super bowls he called. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 2006. I never worked a day in my life. I went from player to coach to broadcaster. Im the luckiest guy in the world. Some of us think maybe we will be immortal, that well live forever. When you really think about it, were not going to be. I say this, through this busted, with these guys and in that hall, we will be forever. You mentioned nfl commissioner Roger Goodell, amara. Here is what he said. 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 forever be indebted to him for what he did to make football and the nfl what it is today. His legacy will live on through that madden video game. Its sold more than 130 million copies worldwide. Ea sports calling him a willing teacher, humble champion. Expert of the xs and os, he could captivate Football Gurus but also the casual fan. In a live broadcast on thanksgiving day, he talked about how to eat a turduckit. Coy wire, thank you. Coming up, demanding justice. The parents of a teenager girl accidentally killed by police are remembering their daughter as a talented stunned full of dreams. We speak to the familys we speak to the familys attorney next. Highly recommend it zifans love zicams unique zinc formula. It shortens colds zicam. Zinc that cold introducing the allnew gillettelabs with exfoliating bar. 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California family is demanding justice after Police Accidentally shot and killed their 14yearold daughter. Valentina orellanaperaltas mother says her daughter died in her arms as they hid in a storys Dressing Room when police opened fire on an assault suspect. One of the bullets pierced the Dressing Room wall killing valentina. Cnns Josh Campbell live in los angeles with more. It was so painful to watch that mother talk about what she had to endure when those shots rang out and how her daughter died in her arms. Reporter thats right. Tragic, just tragic all around. We were downtown at Lapd Headquarters yesterday as the family addressed the public for the first time after the release of that video. Just seeing the anguish on their face, you can tell this is a family that is in mourning, just unbelievable loss. We heard from young valentinas mother who was there with her in the Dressing Room that Day Recounting that experience. Have a listen. Translator and she died in my arms. I couldnt do anything. I couldnt do anything. I couldnt do anything seeing a daughter or son die in your arms. Its one of the most profoundly painful things anyone can imagine. Valentina meant the world to me, to her friends, family, classmates and neighbors. Reporter this all began last week at a Department Store in the los angeles area. Police received reports of a shots fired, a suspect going on a rampage throughout a Department Store, swinging a bike lock, assaulting people. Authorities tried to take down that threat after seeing him standing near a woman who was bloody. One of the rounds from that officer piercing the wall killing young valentina, obviously a family that is now in mourning. An attorney for the family says they were looking into a possible lawsuit against the lpd. The department wouldnt comment. We have heard from the Los Angeles Police union saying this is utter sorry that theyre experiencing. Theyre praying for valentinas family and also praying, amara, for the officer involved in the shoog, saying that officer is devastated. Joining me is the attorney for valentinas mother. Thank you for joining us. What really stuck out to me reading about what kind of young Lady Valentina was, just her interest in getting good grades, wanting to become an engineer, but also the fact that she and her mother came here first from chile six months ago in pursuit of the american dream. Can you tell us a little bit about that and how her family must be holding up now . Thank you, amara. Valentina came here. Her older sister lives here in los angeles, and came to pursue the american dream, go to a better education and actually was going to a fantastic school, was doing very well and had aspirations of getting into robotics and making a difference in peoples lives. Her family, her mom and her dad, wanted to come to the United States and help her fulfill all of her dreams. So seeing that the center of their universe is now gone is something that they cannot get over and have not gotten over. No one goes to a Department Store thinking that theyre going to be shot and killed, right . Valentina was inside that Dressing Room with her mother. They were trying on a dress. What was the occasion . Just for christmas. It was it was the day before christmas eve. And im just thinking about myself. I was out in a Department Store at the same exact time. So they were shopping and trying on a dress and when the lapd opened fire and took valentina from her mother, from her arms. Thats the last time soledad saw her daughter. Tell me more about this case. I know youve watched the Body Cam Video that was released by the lapd. Anything that stands out to you . What went wrong in your opinion . Well, just watching it, just taking a step back, this shouldnt have happened. I think any reasonable person watching that video sees that there is no imminent threat of death to anybody at the time shots were fired, and shots were fired from an ar15 assault rifle. This was a Department Store with people in it. The officers knew that there was a fitting room right behind that assailant. So valentina shouldnt have died on december 23rd. Shots shouldnt have been fired. But the unfortunate thing im seeing, also, is before even any of the footage was released, the narrative coming from the lapd was not accurate. There were misstatements made by the police chief that were that were contradicted with the video that was produced. What were the misstatements. For one he said it was not known by the Police Officers that there would be anybody behind the wall. You can hear the officers as they were approaching the area where they opened fire saying thats where the fitting rooms are, go to the fitting rooms. Why they would immediately before even releasing any of the footage start trying to defend the conduct of the officers in that way and falsely is unfortunate, but actually predictable. Lastly, youre requesting more evidence including the raw body cam footage. You believe theres more to be seen. Whats the response been and what else do you hope to glean from this . Wels more to be seen. The lapd will acknowledge that as well. There hasnt been any of the full production of all the Burlington Factory Surveillance Footage as well. So theres definitely more there. Through that were going to actually be able to see the full truth of what happened and what transpired over there, which is important for the family. We want transparency, and we want accountability, and neither of those things can happen until theres information provided and none has been yet. Rahul ravipudi, i appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you. 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So the Holiday Break is winding down for millions of americans as students prepare to return to school in the new year. Many parents have questions about how to best protect their children right now. Joining me now to answer some of your questions is Assistant Professor of pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Columbia University medical center. Dr. Deci, lets get right to it. Amanda asks, why does everyone keep saying schools are saech, it depend on the schools attention to masking and testing. Mine is not safe. Thank you for having me today. I understand this is a time when parents are scared about this contagious omicron variant. Parents should be reassured that we have a years worth of data that shows that transmission in schools is really low. Schools are safe. As parents, we can do what we can to prevent transmission in schools, and that includes really effecting high quality masks for your children, take time to get a fitted mask, multilayer mask or mask with a filter and make sure you practice that at home, as well as practicing hand washing and other behaviors that can keep your kids safe. Most importantly, in the next few days before School Starts again, if your child is eligible for the vaccine, 5 years and older and they havent been vaccinated, get that as soon as possible. Get that done or get the second dose or booster if your child is eligible. The small risk of contracting covid in schools is far lower than the consequences of not being in school for kids. Just quickly, because my daughter is under 5, ineligible to be vaccinated. Shes in School Starting in january again. Theyre required to wear masks. All her classmates are not vaccinated. Omicron is extremely contagious. Is it safe . It is safe. I think of this similar to other respiratory viruses. We have the flu, other viruses that go around schools. Its possible that kids will transmit it to each other, but transmission is pretty low, and the risk of the virus itself in terms of hospitalizations for children is really low. Just continue to wear good quality masks. As soon as that vaccine is available for your child, go ahead and get it. Absolutely. Now to david from new york who asks in mid january my 16yearold is scheduled to get a pfizer booster because she was infected and presumably her im mine system is boosted. Should she still get the booster as scheduled, not get it at all or get it at later time. If so, when . Great question. You should not get the vaccine while youre ill with covid. So asymptomatic and pass your isolation period before you get the vaccine or the booster. If youre still feeling sick, wait a few days or a week or so. If its time for the booster and your child is feeling better, you should get the booster. Get the complete series, the second dose, the booster, whatever theyre scheduled for as soon as theyre feeling better. Cdc director says she hopes boosters will be eligible for those 16 and older. She says my 15yearold got his two shots six months ago and now has covid. The rest of us got boosted and so far we continue to test negative. We want to keep our kids protected to the maximum that we can. We need to make sure they get the booster when they need it. We dont have enough research yet on children and boosters. We cant apply immunity in adults to children. Children have different Immune Systems. For now, if your child is 16 or older, six months since their last shot, they should get the booster. If kids are 12 and over and are immunocompromised for any reason, problems with their Immune System, theyre eligible for boosters, too. Were hopeful the booster will be available for other children in the future as soon as we have the data showing its necessary and safe. Dr. Almaz dessie, thank you for your advice. Thank you. Ohio is Hearing Arguments over redrawn congressional maps. One of the justices may have a Conflict Of Interest. Were going to discuss next. Dont thank them too soon. Kick pain in the aspercreme. I brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. Those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks Sighs Wearily here ill take that excited yell woohoo ensure max protein. With thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. Computer Keys Clicking mouse clicks Shriners Hospitals For Children is awesome my favorite people in shriners are the doctors and the nurses because they help people through life. 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One of these cases in front of the state Supreme Court is Adams Versus Dewine as in Ohio Governor mark dewine whose son patrick is one of the seven justices weighing the case. Justice dewine, though, has not recused himself. Joining me now is cnn contributor and republican election lawyer ben ginsberg. Thank you so much for joining me. Lets talk about this because the justice told cleveland. Com that since his father is one of five republicans that approved the maps, he doesnt have an obligation to recuse himself. Look, he could be the swing vote, right . Hes one of four republican justices on the sevenmember panel. Do you see a Conflict Of Interest . Well, Conflicts Of Interest by Supreme Court justices, whether federal or state, are up to the justice to decide. In this case the reason were asking the question is its a highly political case. And the reality of the ohio Supreme Court is that all seven of the justices have some sort of a political background to them. I doubt if Justice Dewine is the swing vote on this court, but the Chief Justice, who is also a republican, probably is the swing vote. Okay, but in 2018, didnt ohio voters approve a constitutional amendment to eliminate gerrymandering . How does that come into play now . Thats the big challenge for republicans. They had a very good redistricting year in 2011. It was a prorepublican map that was passed. As the Chief Justice potential swing vote pointed out in oral arguments yesterday, in fact, voters have spoken and perhaps they dont like the current map and thats why there were changes. So thats where it is likely that this map will have its greatest challenges and where the court could rule against them. Of course, what Ohio Republicans realized is that they kind of control this process all the way through. Even if the court throws out the map, it goes back to the legislature which republicans control. If the Legislature Fails to decide on a map again, then it goes back to the ohio redistricting commission. Thats where they are now. The Supreme Court is still 43 republican. The United States Supreme Court has a conservative majority. So Ohio Republicans at the start of the decade will be as aggressive as they can in their first map and hope that it sticks. How do you see this playing out, though . Is it going to be difficult . I think you allude to that for the plaintiff, the democrats, to prove that this new map favors republicans. Yes, i think it will be difficult for them to do it. It will be difficult for them to get the relief that they desire, again, because of the way the process is tilted towards republicans because ultimately they won more elections and got to a point more judges. Now, what democrats in ohio are saying is precisely what republicans in illinois are saying at the hand of a democratic gerrymander, and what republicans are saying in new jersey and california after supposedly neutral Redistricting Commissions came up with new maps. So what youre hearing in ohio and the relief thats being sought is pretty traditional for the political minorities who dont like the map. So gerrymandering, i mean, this ageold way of drawing these boundaries to favor one political party, and many times in many cases heavily for the republicans, thats so undemocratic, right . As a whole, as we look to 2022, we know, you know, the Biden Administration has prioritized Voting Rights. Can you talk quickly just about the state of Voting Rights and what this means for 2022 . Look, our system of choosing districts has been established to favor the party that does best at the ballot box in the preceding elections. So democrats had 40 years of unfettered control, unbroken control of the u. S. Congress from 1950s to the 1990s, you know . So this has happened before in history. And, again, the party that does best at the ballot box in the year before redistricting is going to do best in redistricting because theyll have the most people. As for Voting Rights generally, redistricting is taking place across the country, republicans had a better election in 2020 down ballot. Theyre in a better position. Got it. We appreciate you so much joining us. Thank you so much for that, ben ginsberg. Inside politics is next. Phil mattingly in for john king. Explore your opportunities at phoenix. Edu i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible. With the new personalpoints program, i answer questions about my goals and the foods i love. I like that the Ww Personalpoints Plan is built just for me. Download the ww app today for a 14day free trial. We hit the bike trails every weekend shinges doesnt care. 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But you should. This is elodia. Shes a recording artist. 1 of 10 Million People that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. And this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students were connecting throughout the next 10. Through projectup, comcast is committing 1 billion so millions more students, past. And present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. Hello and welcome to inside politics. Im Phil Mattingly in for john king in washington. Today an american case record falls. This morning the cdc director explains why the agency changed its mind about what to do if youre asymptomatic and why it left testing out of the equation. Plus, a boxer,