homes. he embraced all who had ever felt are the cold wind of exclusion, and they in turn also embraced him. he sought to emulate jesus christ, who embraced all those who society looked down upon and rejected. throughout his life, he became involved in causes both here at home and abroad. that went the very heart of the quest for social justice. through the desmond tutu hiv organization, he was involved in the treatment and care of people living with hiv and aids. in the provisions of health care services to adolescents and empowerment of young women. he was an outspoken supporter of the palestinian cause, and in 2014, he wrote a powerful article calling on the israelis and palestinians to find each other, and to make peace. in his words, peace requires the people of israel and palestine to recognize the human being in themselves and each other. and to understand their interdependence. he advocated for the lgbt-iq plus rights and decried all types of violence and discrimination against this community. speaking of hate crimes perpetrated against the lgbtqi plus community in the powerful message marking 20 years since the world conference marking human rights, he said, i oppose such injustice, with the same passion, that i oppose apartheid. one of the causes that was dear to him and less well-known to many of us as campaigning together with her royal highness mabel arunia here is here with us today against child marriage across the globe. i have learned how the arch traveled to villages in ethiopia, in india, and zambia, to understand the circumstances under which young girls were being forced into marriage. he also took up this cause with elders. mary robinson, part of the elders is here, marcel is also here, a group of senior leaders brought together by president nelson mandela in 2007. such was his stamina, such was his commitment to social justice for all. but he took up the codgels of millions of people around the world. many would know his name, many would not. he never stopped fighting. he never stopped speaking out. and he never stopped caring. since the passing of our beloved arch, we've been looking back on his life. on the part he played in our transition to democracy. and to his towering role as a chairperson of the truth and reconciliation commission. today, 27 years after the advent of our democracy, we can still say with certainty that what we have achieved as a country was nothing short of a miracle. we could have chosen the path of retribution. but the project of national reconciliation, of recognizing the injustices of our past, set us apart from many societies in transition. alongside president nelson mandela, archbishop desmond tutu held to steer our nation through this very challenging and painful period. the heartrending testimonies of many who have suffered and lost loved ones were broadcast for all to see. their accounts opened deep apartheid wounds. but they also opened a window, not only for the formerly oppressed to knowed what to their loved one, but also to the white minority community to know what crimes had been committed and perpetrated in their name. helping us to come to terms with the past was among the most arduous tasks of our new nation. and archbishop desmond tutu played a seminal role in this whole process, at request, he led the truth and reconciliation process with integrity, dignity and humility, while our beloved was a father of democracy, archbishop desmond tutu was a spiritual father of our new nation. in considering how fortunate we are as a country to have been blessed with these two global icons, we think about the street in soweto, the only street in the whole world that was home to two of our peace laureates. we think how both of these two icons of our country played different, but complementary roles in forging the nation that we are today. archbishop desmond tutu has been our moral compass, but he's also been our national conscience. even after the advent of democracy, he did not hesitate to draw attention often harshly, to our shortcomings, as leaders of the democratic state. he saw our country as a rainbow nation, emerging from the shadow of apartheid. united in its diversity, with freedom and equal rights for all. the arch teach us many things, the importance of having the courage of one's convictions, solidarity of the oppressed. delivering on the promises made by the constitution and many others. but it was with this term, rainbow nation, that he bequeathed our new nation the greatest gift of all. hope and forgiveness. hope and forgiveness, for a better tomorrow. hope for a country free of tyranny and hope for a society where all the people of south africa, irrespective of their religious affiliation, their gender, their race, their origin, could live side by side in harmony. when he first spoke about us as a rainbow nation, south africa was a different place, and we were going through a very difficult time. we are still finding our feet on our long road to nationhood. he has left us at another difficult time in the life of our nation, problems and challenges are bound. and they're everywhere. poverty and inequality, racism, homophobia, gender-based violence. crime and corruption. have left many people disenchanted. there are times when he first let down, and yet, he never lost hope. the most living tribute we can pay to him wherever we are is to take up the cause of social justice for which he tirelessly campaigned throughout his life. archbishop tutu has left a formidable legacy. and we are enormously diminished by his passing. his life settled an epoch in our country's history that has now come to an end. though, we say good-bye to him today, with the heaviest of hearts, we salute our beloved arch, for all that he did, to help build this nation. we thank him for giving us hope, for reminding us of our responsibility as a people, but more especially also as leaders. and for giving us a reason to believe that we are, and that we can be a true rainbow nation that he spoke about. we celebrate him for what he was. life. to mama leia and the family, our nation shares in your sorrow. on behalf of the government and the people of south africa, we thank you for sharing your husband, your father, your brother, uncle and grandfather with us. we know it was not easy and yet you did so willingly. he belongs to all of us, and it is all of us who mourn him. but today, we celebrate his life. i recently came across these word which is provide a fitting end to any tribute to desmond tutu. tears are sometimes an inappropriate response to death. when a life has been lived completely honestly, completely successfully, or just completely, the correct response to death's perfect punctuation mark is a smile. his was a life lived honestly and completely. he has left the world a better place. and he has left our country a much better place than we were prior to our democracy. we remember him with a smile, the type of smile that he would have flashed around. and we say farewell, father, se [ speaking in foreign language ] rest in peace. thank you. >> and we have been listening in to the eulogy for archbishop desmond tutu. that was the south african president cyril ramaphosa delivering the uyoeulogy there. we want to bring in our david mckenzie. the eulogy touched on so many points, he called him a globalr he met. and of course the spiritual father of our nation. he was talk about apartheid of south africa. what stuck out to you, david? >> reporter: i think what stuck out to me is just how much this man achieved in his life. you can see the blue sky coming out here at st. george's cathedral. earlier, it was raining pretty hard. and it just feels like a moment for south africa, a book end, as it were. as the president said, this man, desmond tutu, was one of the few people you could really say was a global icon. not icon in tirms of celebrity, though he was a famous man, but icon in terms of impact, social justice, as you said, a spiritual father to the democratic nation of south africa. the president talked about the images we all know of desmond tutu. and if you're not aware of them, i urge our viewers to look them up. this man, the short man, who had the heart of a lion, a brave spiritual leader, who would be willing to face up personally against the apartheid police and later always willing to speak his mind. he referred to his moments here at the cathedral, standing in line against the apartheid police. he referred to him as the truth and reconciliation commission, dealing with the atrocities of south africa's painful part. and shouldering them, weeping in public when the testimony was heard of a man who had been tortured by those same police. and he spoke about the genuine way that this man was for social justice across the world, in many different causes, even until his death, and it certainly will be a sad day today, and he ended his eulogy with a full likeness, you should smile at the memory of desmond tutu. >> perhaps, the parting of the skies and the sunshine is the smile, figuratively that we can all take from this celebration of the arch's life. david mckenzie, i really appreciate you being by our side, to all of our in cape town. we now to the executive chairperson of the democracy foundation. he knew the archbishop from his work in south africa truth and reconciliation commission. and he joins us from johannesburg. and our deep condolences for you. this is a profound loss for so many in south africa. we just heard the eulogy and others, talking about his life's work which resonated with so many. you worked with him. what would you like us to know about his convictions and how he pursued them? >> i thank you for having me. i think this is the end of an era in south africa. and, i think, you know, many people will feel a deep sense of loss. and some will even feel leaderless, because he provided spiritual leadership. he provided political leadership, although he was not a politician. what stands out for me, he really was what we call here in south africa, a man of the soil. he was honest. he loved his values, and he was grounded in his faith. and he was always acting in the best interest of everyone. and he was a very, very caring and authentic leader. >> yes. a man of the soil, in fact, in some of the eulogies there, we doll hear how he was really inspired by jesus, to be among their struggles and not just preach from the pulpit. you know, so many of us have had an opportunity to review his life. unfortunately, at that point, you're reviewing the cruel, dehumanizing effects of apartheid. the more relevant, all of us are seeing, obviously with everything that so many people are struggling around the world, in terms of what you do, in that pursuit of democracy, social justice, he really was a radical, wasn't he? >> absolutely, i mean, he was a courageous radical. and i think he was also leaving a very important intellectual tradition in south africa. you know, critical -- he was critically loyal, he was loyal to the anti-apartheid cause. but he critical not only to the apartheid government, of course, but critical to liberation fighters when they do wrong. and that was in the eulogy, and apart from the post-apartheid, he was the same, critical. even nelson mandela, 1994, a couple days after mandela assumes office. he was very critical of mandela, and he says, why do you accept all of the benefits and the challenges of the apartheid government, why do you inherit it and accept it, why don't you take a cut of at least half the benefits. you know, so, he had the ability or the courage to talk to power, to his own side and also to the other side. >> you know, i'm struck just by the way you are speaking of him, and, again, pointing out that he would criticize anyone if he thought he had that moral authority to do so. you know, here in the united states, there is of course a civil rights leader john lewis, who always said good trouble. you should get into good trouble. as far as the archbishop is concerned, you know, there is a debate about tactics, right? and these things are debated fiercely. you should be violence or nonviolence? should reform come from within the system or by a toppling of the system altogether. can you give us insights now that he's being laid to rest, that so many people want to carry on his legacy in social justice, what would be his clearheaded approach that people should do now? >> i think in the '70s and '80s, he stood for nonviolence, for him, it was a principle. and the apartheid state was violent. and from the 1970s, the struggles became violent in response. we had a cycle of violence in the country and took out for his nonviolence, you know, the idea that nonviolence can lead to freedom, can lead to peace. and that it was very important, and it can also lead to reconciliation. that is important. i think the second one is the idea of, you know, forgiveness, not forgetting, but forgiveness. as an active act and reconciliation. now, reconciliation, and not to stay the path, but to build up the future, based on truth. i think these are very important not only to south africa, but in many places of conflict. where that an important part of moving on is to forgive and to reconcile both at a communal level, but also at the personal level. >> and when these things are based in faith, as he wanted them to be, as you said, it is very much a personal act that you forgive, as you were speaking, watching again, that very simple coffin at st. edralcathedral. william gumede, we thank you, i can hear the emotion in your voice and we appreciate you bringing that perspective to us, appreciate. >> thank you. turning to other news here, president putin's new year's message doesn't mention the crisis with ukraine but he did praise the russians with the ongoing faith with the ongoing pandemic. a live report from moscow, straight ahead. um 24hr stops acd before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette ww's all-new personalpoints program is made just for you. you take an assessment, enter your goals, the foods you love and ww builds a plan just for you. i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible. oprah: no two people are alike so no two plans are alike. with ww, i lost 30 pounds. this new program changed my life. live the life you love. lose the weight you want. the all new ww personalpoints program. start the new year with three months free. join today at ww.com. hurry, offer ends january 3rd. casket of archbishop desmond tutu. this is the end of his official state service, as he's being laid to rest out there in cape town, south africa, outside the st. george's cathedral. the same cathedral from where he approached, he was eulogized as the spiritual father of south africa. and with many there asking people around the world as a tribute to him, to continue his advocacy for social justice around the world. now, to other news here, russian president vladimir putin delivered his annual new year's address at the stroke of midnight, across russia numerous time zones. but he didn't mention the high-stakes phone call, that is, he had the day before with u.s. president joe biden. nor did he refer to the thousands of troops now amassed along the border of ukraine. instead, mr. putin praised russians for her perseverance during the pandemic. cnn's nic robertson has been following it, nic, for good reason, russians have been suffering quite a bit during the pandemic. they just surpassed a record for the month of november. in terms of the tone from putin's address, what did you make of it? >> reporter: yeah, it was an internal message, rather than external. yes, we'll defend the security of the country and the security of the nation, and the security of the citizens consistently, that's what he said. but the overall message was one of, sort of, you know, try to uplift the nation, you know, we've faced many challenges, we've done it together through solidarity. everyone is doing their little bit, you know, was the tone of the message. so it was an effort to uplift. embrace your family, take this time of year to tell them personal messages, hug your family indeed. but, you know, the pandemic, and as you mentioned, the figures of last year, have been pretty bad. i mean, russia's tracking in terms of its vaccination rate, it's lagging many of the other nations, you know, compared to europe and united states, let's say, according to the government figures released at the beginning of december, you have only 60 million who are double vaccinated. 69 million who have had their first vaccination. that's barely 40% of the population. the government says the sort of background immunity, if you will, is about 50%. so, you can see there's a huge challenge ahead. the loss of life has been significant. president putin offered his condolences and support for those families. but, you know, the government has been trying hard to get an uptake of their vaccines, sputnik 5, which the russian government, you know, pretty much rushed to be the first in the world. but in russia the population tends to shy away when the government over self-aggrandizes its comphachievement, leaving t country because sputnik 5 isn't accepted outside of russia, at least by the united states. you know, this was an uplift message, the reality is 2022, there's a long, long way to go, for russia to get to equal level of footing of vaccination compared to other developed nations. >> while security is certainly in the headlines the last few days, nic, this will leave a profound mark son those with the pandemic. nic robertson live from moscow. there is growing concern that the omicron variant who upend the financial outlook for many americans around the world. my conversation with cnn's commentator kathryn van pelt is just ahead. id before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? not only do centrum multigummies taste great. they help support your immune defenses, too. because a healthy life. starts with a healthy immune system. with vitamins c and d, and zinc. getting out there has never tasted so good. try centrum multigummies. and there you have it. woah. wireless on the most reliable network nationwide. wow. big deal. we get unlimited for just 30 bucks. sweet, but mine has 5g included. relax people. my wireless is crushing it. that's because you all have xfinity mobile with your internet. it's wireless so good, it keeps one-upping itself. take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. after another challenging year, living through the coronavirus pandemic, people around the world were anxious to try and join in the celebrations to ring in the new year, nonetheless. now, some cities in the united states celebrated as usual, while others opted for more scaled-back festivities. as usual, new york city welcomed the new year with a party in times square. >> 10, nine, eight, five, four, three, two, one! >> looks familiar, right? but unfortunately, that huge spike in the covid-19 cases meant it wasn't quite the same. the audience was capped at 15,000, instead of the usual 60,000. and everyone, of course, was fully vaccinated and wearing a mask. in pennsylvania, a gorge fireworks show on display for spectators, that does look lovely. and chicago's navy pier, despite a number of record covid infection there's as well. >> five, four, three, two, one! ♪ >> love those sydney fireworks, across the globe, many countries cancelled their big events or made due with more subdued plans to bring the new year to a close -- or the old year, i should say. that is sydney, the australian city carried on with famous fireworks display. but officials say social distancing would be maintained in all public spaces. and south korea brought that farewell to the past year, with a light show and traditional bell-ringing in the capital seoul. [ bells ] >> and if that sound, big ben, and there is london celebrated with those midnight chimes from the familiar landmark there. and there is the shard, skyscraper that put on a light show. now, the british capital was among major cities like atlanta, zynga portion all canceling celebrations. limited scaled back celebrations were par for the course as u.s. shattered daily records ahead of that new year. as you can see on the map, notice the color, not much, other than red right across the country. and the u.s. set a record on friday with more than 380,000 new cases. that is just the seven-day average. experts are predicting a tsunami of new infections in the coming weeks. health officials worry that could lead to a tidal wave of hospitalizations, especially among children. it's no wonder that covid among those children is rising rapidly. and that means child admissions and hospitals are at record high. according to the cdc, hospitalizations among children jumped 66% last week from the previous week. now 2022 is only just beginning and already there are signs how covid in general, and omicron, in particular, will impact the economy. you want some proof? well, ask friends who had their holiday flights cancelled because airlines found themselves short staffed. or ask the fan who didn't get to see their favorite team play after another game postponed. or talk to that beleaguered restaurant owner who was planning on getting back to normal only to have one of the most contagious viruses ever discovered threaten the whole thing. >> we were just delayed back, a little sidestep here, we know we'll come back strong, 22 years strong and we'll be 44 years strong. >> wow, omicron is not the only, analytics cited the failure to pass the build back better proposal is another reason to cut the u.s. growth forecast. as it was last year, covid hangs over everything. joining me in new york is cnn economics and political commentator catherine rampell. catherine is also an opinion columnist for "the washington post." catherine, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> 2022. we didn't want it to be under these circumstances especially the economic ones. you know, main street had a hard time recovering throughout 2021, never mind not seeing this omicron variant which has thrown everyone for a loop, especially in those most vulnerable industries. i mean, how much do you see the ripple effect of this latest pandemic adversity hitting into 2022? >> well it really depends on what the path of omicron looks like. if in fact, we have this surge of infection that's quickly re recede, and it's over almost as quickly as it begins, and there's a little bit of evidence that suggests that could be the case, basically what we've seen in south africa, then we will have one difficult month perhaps, where once again, consumers are skittish about going out, and shopping and engaging in travel and other in-person activities. workers might be wary of going to work. people are getting to sick and they can't go to work and engage in their normal economic lives. but in a few weeks, you know, knox on wood, that might be over. that would be certainly the good scenario. the bad scenario, of course, it sticks around for a wild. and it disrupts again our work lives, our shopping lives and saul sorts of ways in which we interact with one another which weighs on the economy and not only causes people to pull back on work. perhaps even on spending, i don't know. probably they'll just shift their spending more goods and services that obviously could be bad for the economy. but it really depends on what happens with this latest variant. >> do you think there's more that governments need to to really help out main street around the world. you and i both know they've already used a lot of fire power with that concern? >> yeah, it's very hard to say at this point what governments can do. i think the most important thing, of course, is getting more people vaccinated. not just here in the united states where i live, but obviously in lots of other countries around the world where people have much less reliable access to shop for vaccines, because, you know, far flung parts of the world are not able to have factories running, have people going to work, that reverberates here and neighboring countries as well. the most important thing is getting the world vaccinated as quickly as possible. beyond that, there's a question of how much relief to expend to businesses as they're enduring this new wave. in the united states, for example, i think there's a little bit of exhaustion with the idea of extending more fiscal relief, for example, in part because some of that may have contributed to inflation. part of that because resources are finite in other countries as well, there are the same concerns. the question is how do you kind of stamp the bleeding without potentially compounding upon the same effects that we've had, basically, throughout the past year, year-plus. where you have consumers still having cash to spend, for example. but nothing to spend it on. but fewer things to spend it on. and that ends up, you know, potentially helping people put food on the table but extending other economic activity and leading to inflation. so there's this really tricky question about what is the right set of it. strictly economic measures and how you gauge that, given that, you know, i think there's very little appetite at this point for a government-imposed shutdown in much of the world. >> yeah, it really is touchy. i don't have a lot of time left, catherine, but do you have confidence on a fiscal level that the central bankers on a monetary level that the central bankers around the world have this in hand? >> i sure hope so. it's not just this problem of command outworking supply, people have money to spend, it's hard to get good workers but expectations change. people expect more inflation. and that becomes a self- self-fulfilling prophesy and it spins out of control. and the solution is to have the central banks willing to step on the brakes and take the punchbowl away which they haven't had to do in a long time. >> gotcha. catherine rampell, happy new year, i encourage anyone to see your latest column opinion in "the washington post." appreciating that, cka catherin rampell, happy new year. as you were saying once again, it rings in the new year with soaring covid cases. several countries are reporting their highest case counts this week. french president emmanuel macron says he hopes 2022 will see the end of this pandemic. he urged 5 million in france to finally get shots. france is also making home tests more available. the rapid antigen test as arrived on supermarket shelves this week. as it comes at a time of record cases. and officials of the world health organization say the pandemic could end in 2022 if global vaccinations increase. the director general said it can only happen if we end inequity, and vaccinate 70% of people in all countries by the middle of this year. yes, just in a few months. now, a fascinating wildfire hits near boulder, colorado, fueled by hurricane force winds. as survivor, come to terms with the devastation, the state's governor said one good thing happened and it's important. we'll explain. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? hi susan! honey? yeah? i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love... plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? now get powerful relief with robitussin elderberry. moving is a handful. no kidding! fortunately, xfinity makes moving easy. easy? -easy? switch your xfinity services to your new address online in about a minute. that was easy. i know, right? and even save with special offers just for movers. really? yep! so while you handle that, you can keep your internet and all those shows you love, and save money while you're at it with special offers just for movers at xfinity.com/moving. winds of more than 100 miles an hour fuelling a magazinesive wildfire near boulder, colorado. the marshall fire struck thursday, forcing more than 35,000 people to flee their homes but luckily, not a single life was lost which governor jared polis said could be the state's own new year's miracle. the flames wiped out entire subdivisions. i mean, look at that video, destroying at least 500 homes. the fires came in the blink of an eye, literally leaving some families only minutes to get out of the way. and the fires subsided after the snowy weather that moved in on friday. derek van dam is here to fill us in. really, the superlatives, i've run out of. >> how about this, add weather whiplash to your superlatives. how do you go from 110-mile-per-hour winds, wind, drought to snow? that sounds like another planet or movie, right? here's the reason why, 1 1/2 inches of snow in the past six months to the see of denver. boulder is just to the northwest of that. last month, an inch of rainfall. the ground is parched. it doesn't take much to ignite that parch vegetation. 100% of the state under some sort of drought classification as we speak. we know what the result was, 6,000 acres, nearly 600 structures torched or completely destroyed. leaving these neighborhoods in complete rubble. this is very hard to see. it was indeed a new year's day miracle that no fatalities came out of there. wind gusts 107, that's equivalent to a category 3 hurricane, people. look at the colors that shade of pink over boulder, that is winter storm warning, winter weather advisories across the front plains, and east of the city of denver, that's because snow is moving through. you can see it on the current radar. along the boulder region, south of there, there's the area of superior that had so much damage. this saul part of a larger storm system that's moving across the rockies and eventually into the plains and into the upper midwest as well. chicago, you're going to have snowfall that could impact your plans for new year's day. the other strange thing, the temperature drop behind this system, look at this, single digits for boulder, denver's high today, 15 degrees. this is the weather whiplash we're talk about, weather roller coaster, we were talk about 50s in the week. we'll see that continue as well. paula. >> we appreciate you taking us through that. now, we go to betty white who will wasn't just a golden girl, he was a pal and confidant. ahead, we say good-bye to the sitcom star. and thank her for being a friend. it's never too late to start. download the ww app today for a 14-day free trial. before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn... claire could only imagine enjoying chocolate cake. now, she can have her cake and eat it too. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? 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(vo) ask your doctor if it's right for you. learn how we could help you save on imbruvica. to support a strong immune system your body needs a routine. centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc* season after season. ace your immune support with centrum. now with a new look! the beloved actress betty white has died at 99 years ago old. now, the self-described lucky old broad starred in the sitcoms "the golden girls" and "the mary tyler moore show" in a career that spanned decades. celebrities have been remembering her and so did the u.s. president and first lady. >> that's a shame. she was a lovely lady. >> who didn't love betty white. we're so sad about her death. >> now, the much younger actor ryan reynolds loved to joke that white was his ex-girlfriend. the world looks different now, he tweeted. she was great at defying expectation. she managed to grow very old and somehow not old enough. we'll miss you, betty. now, you know the secret, "happy days" star henry winkler told cnn about betty white's racy sense of humor. >> i would have to say authenticity, because she was always who she was. you know, on screen, off screen, she was bluer than blue. and also will. if you want to be in the world and a contributor, then you can, as long as your body allows you, and your mind allows you. and in her case, both of them did. she was -- she loved what she did. she loved what she did. and just was not going to give up until she had to. >> betty white would have celebrated her 100th birthday january 17th. i'm paula newton. i want to thank you for your company. for our international viewers "defining moments" is next. if you're until united states and canada, "new day" takes you to the top of the hour. happy new year, everyone. and th. i like that the ww personalpoints plan is built just for me. start the new year with three months free. join today at ww.com. hurry, offer ends january 3rd. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette such tree-mendous views. i'm at a moss for words. when a cough tries to steal dad's punchlines, he takes robitussin naturals powered by 100% drug-free ingredients. are you gonna leaf me hanging? soothe your cough naturally. this is elodia. she's 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 we're 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. 2022, i wasn't sure if we would make it, but we did. happy new year and welcome to this special edition of "new day." i'm boris sanchez. >> i'm amara walker. we do hope your 2022 is off to a great start. the music made me want to do jazz hands or something. coming up, we will look ahead at the crucial midterm elections that will determine the balance of power for the second half of president biden's term. the impact that could have on his agenda just ahead. >> and a new year usually comes with new year's resolution. we've got ways to get your financial house in order. >> and we'll introduce you to the rising singer-songwriter, using her own challenges to inspire other young people. first, let's get a check of your top stories this morning. >> good morning, and happy new year. i'm ryan nobles. 2022 begins with more