recent day of the holiday season thanks to covid and bad weather. more than 13,000 flights have been canceled since christmas eve. many stranded travelers may have attended new year's eve gatherings like this one last night in times square. but experts warn it could lead to a tidal wave of hospital admissions as omicron surges. the nation has already smashed another daily case record, but mass gatherings aren't the only issue. we were all taught if you have a significant exposure to covid, you would have been within six feet of somebody for more than 15 minutes. while omicron is so contagious, it's changing the rules. >> you can have a very transient encounter with somebody. maybe your mask is a little bit loose, maybe they pulled their mask down a little bit, maybe you walked into an elevator or somebody has just coughed. this is how you can contract this virus. >> as those case numbers grow higher, one consequence is clear. right now more kids are hospitalized with covid-19 than ever before. cnn's polo sandoval joins me now from new york city. polo, health experts say the times square new year's eve celebration could come back to haunt the city. so how is new york gearing up amid the omicron surge? >> paula, those health officials have been warning that the current explosion in covid numbers is something that they have never seen before. in fact, four times this week the nation broke its own record when it comes to the daily number of new covid cases. this week even reaching 386,000 , a pandemic high. the u.s. is shattering records this week with an average of about 356,000 covid infections reported every day in the past week, according to johns hopkins university. as the world rang in the new year, the latest surge is sweeping across the u.s., pushing cases and hospitalizations to unprecedented levels. experts warning a turning point could be weeks away. >> given the size of our country and the diversity of vaccination versus nonvaccination, that it likely will be more than a couple of weeks probably by the end of january. >> reporter: roughly 62% of the country is fully vaccinated according to the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention. only about 33 of fully vaccinated adults have gotten boosters, which experts say are critical to protecting from the variants. the omicron variant rapidly spreading across the world. in the u.s., states are seeing their highest case and hospitalization numbers ever. new york reported more than 76,500 new cases on thursday. the governor's office said breaking its single day record. hospitalizations hit about 8,000, an 8% spike from the day before. hospitalizations have risen almost 20% since monday. >> clearly new york and washington, d.c., are ahead of the curve, but not by much. and so expect that in the next three or four weeks we're going to see everyone hit with this. >> reporter: new jersey identified more than 28,000 new covid-19 cases via pcr testing, governor phil murphy said on thursday. the number of positive cases likely higher due to at-home testing, he added. some governors calling on the national guard. ohio governor mike dewine deploying troops. georgia also deployed 200 troops in the same week that major health systems saw 100% to 200% increase in hospitalizations. new york doubling its national guard deployment to 100 and preparing for 80 guardsmen to undergo emergency medical training next month, according to the governor, with more virus spreading in the country, more than 30 colleges and universities are changing the start of their spring semester, and more children are getting sick and being hospitalized than at any other point in the pandemic just as their school will be navigating reopening after the holidays. >> quantitatively, you're having so many more people, including children, who are getting infected. and even though hospitalization among children is much, much lower on a percentage basis than hospitalizations for adults, particularly elderly individuals,. however, when you have such a large volume of infections among children, even with a low level of rate of infection, you're going to still see a lot more children who get hospitalized. >> on a positive note, studies and reports on the omicron variant continue to suggest it may not be as lethal as delta, even as it spreads quickly. just yesterday brown university said they're growing more concerned about really more shutdowns and not necessarily because of government policies, but more because more americans are getting sicker, meaning more of them have to stay at home and recover. >> polo sandoval, thank you so much for your reporting. let's talk more about that troubling data polo mentioned about children and how there are more sick kids with covid in hospitals than at any point in the pandemic. cnn's nadia romero joins us from atlanta. children's hospitals say they're overwhelmed. what more are you learning? >> yeah, we're seeing that, really, all across the hospital systems here in atlanta and across the state of george, paula when it comes to adults and pediatrics. when we focus on kids right now, if we take a look at the numbers, we know that cases are rising at a dramatic rate. we are close to reaching the peak we saw back in august and what happened in august, well, all the kids went back to school. there were some social distancing that happened because they were at home over the summer, but when all the kids went back to school around august, that when we saw the peaks in pediatric cases of kids getting covid going up in the atlanta area and across the state of georgia. we know with this omicron variant, according to health experts, that kids will experience milder symptoms. however, it is highly contagious and we are still seeing that big impact, sending more georgia kids to the hospital. hospitalizations seeing a dramatic increase and kids having to go to the hospital because of their symptoms. now, this is one big reason why the u.s. secretary of education is pleading with school districts all across the country to go back to masking inside. kids and staff, students, faculty, all of the above, if you're in school buildings, to wear a mask, encouraging people to get vaccinated, to do the things we know can help mitigate the spread of covid-19. listen to his plea and why he believes that could be key to keeping kids in school for learning. >> i think parents have had enough of school closures due to poor policy, so let's protect our students and our staff. let's keep our communities thriving. it's unfortunate that the numbers are going up, but we know how to continue during the pandemic. we charlotte hornet have shutdowns or our schools closed for a long period of time. if we know what works, we should employ it. we have the resources. we need to come together for our students. they deserve that. >> paula, we're already seeing at least one school district here in georgia, fulton county schools, one of the largest school districts in the state, going back to remote learning starting on monday. paula? >> nadia, thank you so much for your reporting and a lot of parents have this top of mind right now. thank you. i want to bring in dr. peter hotez, a professor and dean of medicine at baylor college of medicine. and dr. william schaffner, professor at vanderbilt medical center. dr. hotez, i want to start with you. i the hospitalization numbers are clearly troubling. what would you advise parents to do, especially parents with children who youare too young te vaccinated? what are the risks their children face? >> what's happening, paula, with omicron -- we saw a little bit with delta, but it's even more so with omicron and we've seen in in south africa and the u.k. as well. this is so highly transmissible that it's not necessarily that the virus is targeting kids. it's just that they're getting swept up along with everybody else. and many kids are getting admitted to the hospital and found after the fact they had covid because they've actually been admitted for other reasons. others are actually admitted with symptomatic covid, meaning respiratory illness and all the other things that we've been seeing. if you want to protect your kids, especially as schools start to open, because remember, it's about to get worse, especially in high transmission areas like washington, d.c., and new york city. max out all of the tools that you have available. that means if your kids are 5 and up, vaccinate them. the vaccination rates for kids 5 and up have been pretty bad around the country, around 15%. we have a lot of room to move there, even among adolescents, 12 to 17-year-olds, like in louisiana, georgia, where things are revving up right now as well, the vaccination rates are still only half the northeast. so vaccinate, mask as well, and be mindful of the situation. it may the case that in some school districts where things are so raging right now in terms of omicron for the next couple of weeks that it may be prudent to delay things a couple more weeks and put it into the back end, into the summer to extend the school year. so it's going to be a very challenging time. people are going to have to be patient. >> challenging indeed. dr. and a half ner, is it clear at this point whether omicron is really causing children to be sucker than previous variants? or is it it's to transmissible, more kids are getting it, parents bring them into the hospital out of an abundance of caution or they're there for something else and get this variant? >> paula, it looks to be just as my friend peter said a combination of those. there are children who are getting infected with omicron and are getting seriously ill. some of those children have underlying illnesses, some do not. other children are being admitted to the hospital for another medical reason, but we're testing children routinely, and there they are in the hospital and, oh, my gosh, they're positive. so we have kind of two streams coming in, children who need to be admitted for covid, children who need to be admitted for something else and suddenly found to have covid. their illnesses tend to be lease severe. the virus is multiplying abundantly up in the throat and behind the nose. but when the virus gets down into the lungs, it doesn't seem to have the same capacity as delta and the other variants of actually infecting the lung tissue directly. so whether adults or children, we're not seeing the same level of severity. but if you're unvaccinated, that's the group still at highest risk. i'm the adult doctor here, and the adults that are being admitted to my institution, the vast majority continue to be unvaccinated. >> we hear that again and again from our medical experts. all right, dr. hotez, we have a record number of cases and people were just gathering for christmas and new year's. a quick survey of social media last night, looks like a real mixed bag in terms of people really trying to mitigate against potentially contracting covid. so what do you think the next month looks like here in the u.s.? >> paula, i see a lot of social disruption and some of it dangerous, some of it just inconvenient. first of all, in our transportation hub we're hearing about the airports, tsa agents calling out sick in large numbers, home sick with covid. also ground transportation, all the aspects of the airline industry. so we should anticipate huge delays and disruptions in that, all transportation hubs. the schools are going to be problematic, especially when teachers and staff and bus drivers have to call out for breakthrough covid. it's not going to be easy to maintain the schools in session for the next few weeks. the biggest concern, of course, as dr. schaffner pointed out, the hospital workers. even though you have fewer numbers of patients going into the hospitals, into icus, you have a commensurate decrease in the number of health care providers who can take care of them. that will create a dangerous situation. and two of the three monoclonal antibodies don't work and paxlovid we don't have in quantity. when you put those things together and the fact that diagnostic testing is still a debacle, you have a dangerous epidemic in this month of january. so a disappointing way to start the new year. we'll get through it, but it's not going to be so straightforward. >> now, another study found that immunity to omicron does wane off the vaccination, but it wanes even more for those who have, quote, natural immunity. so what does this mean in terms of herd immunity that many people had hoped that we would reach? >> well, you know, i'm cautiously optimistic, paula. i think natural immunity from infection plus vaccine-induced immunity can come together and perhaps by the end of january, beginning of february, begin to get us to the point where we can control this epidemic. but having said that, i would encourage everyone who's had natural infection to nonetheless get vaccinated because the studies show very securely that the combination of the two really gives you higher levels of protection that are much more secure against variants, and likely will last a longer period of time. so even though you've recovered from covid, get the vaccine. >> we hear it again and again, get the vaccine. dr. peter hotez and william schaffner, thank you so much for joining us with your setups. >> happy new year. >> thank you. tributes are pouring in this morning as the world mourns the death and celebrates the life of a tv icon, betty white. up next we'll hear from someone who knew her best, her longtime agent and friend. you're live in the "cnn newsroom." witjas (man 1 vo) i'm living with cll and thanks to imbruvica (man 2 vo) i'm living longer. 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(vo) ask your doctor if it's right for you. learn how we could help you save on imbruvica. growing up in a little red house, on the edge of a forest in norway, there were three things my family encouraged: kindness, honesty and hard work. over time, i've come to add a fourth: be curious. be curious about the world around us, and then go. go with an open heart, and you will find inspiration anew. viking. exploring the world in comfort. life and rich legacy of a beloved american tv icon, betty white. the self-described lucky old broad's sweetly sarcastic characters were fixtures for decades in movies and on tv, shows like "the golden girls" and the "mary tyler moore show," and, of course, "hot in cleveland." she died yesterday at the age of 99 just weeks from her 100th birthday. ryan reynolds , who co-starred with her in the movie "the proposal" tweeted she was great at defying expectation. she managed to grow very old and somehow not old enough. we'll miss you, betty. joining me now on the phone is betty white's agent of 1221 yea, jeff witjas. we are so sorry for your loss. >> thanks, paula. i actually don't believe that betty passed. i'm still trying to adjust to that. >> her legacy will certainly live on forever. there was just something so special about her. you have other stars who come and go, but she managed to stay so relevant and so loved over seven decades. so what was her secret? >> heshe was real. it was always betty. there was nothing ever fake about her, and it was part of -- betty and i were a team, and part of our plan was to keep betty relevant and to appear in places where people would not expect her to appear. for instance, like, she would appear on monday night football. i mean, that would be the last place somebody would think betty white would appear, or doing dramatic work. there was nothing she could not do and do it well. amazing talent. >> you both did a great job executing that plan. now, just two days before she died, she told entertainment tonight, she joked her secret to a long life was to avoid anything green. do you remember the last conversation you had with her? >> the last time -- actually, i was with betty a week or so ago. we play gin rummy. that was our favorite thing to do, play with each other. she was quite good at it and as we play, we would talk and joke around. but when we played gin rumnmy, she was serious most of the time because shel always wanted to win. she beat me four games out of five, and she promised me she would give me a rematch. so we're not going to have that, but we talked a lot about her friends. we talked about the things she liked in the sense with animals. animals war big part of her life, animal welfare. it was just betty white just talking about down to earth things. >> so interest because i think a lot of people are wondering what was she like when the cameras weren't rolling. you say she was down to earth. also just sounds like she was a really authentic woman. >> she honestly was. i mean, i loved her dearly. she took concern in my life, not just the work aspect of what we did, but she cared about me, my family, about her friends and what was going on in the world we would discuss. betty was not a political person, per se, but she definitely had her opinions on things, and we would discuss it. but she cared deeply about things, very much so. >> you worked together for 21 years. do you have a favorite memory that you can share during that time? >> paula, there's so many. but i would give one that's related to cnn, actually. betty was interviewed by larry king on "larry king live" years ago. larry asked her a question. betty, who do you think is funny? and i was at the studio at the time and she said, oh, my agent, jeff witjas. so i felt so great betty would say something like that about me. and of course she couldn't leave it like that. she said, yes, my agent, jeff witjas, is the funniest person. he's not very good, but he's very funny. and she just -- i mean, that's betty's sense of humor, you know? a little twist to everything. that's one of my favorite stories because it made me laugh when i was with her. there are many. we traveled together when she would do personal appearances or when she hosted "saturday night live." it just -- it would just be natural, it was organic. betty wouldn't force anything. it just would happen. it would be taking a word and twisting it or a situation that was there that she would make funny. she was such a positive person that it was great to be around her. >> and you mentioned hosting "saturday night live." you were there the night she became the oldest person to host the show at the age of 88. tell us about that night. >> it was -- it was sort of a dream. betty originally didn't want to host "saturday night live." at that time she did not want to go to new york. but once she was there, she was pulled into the enthusiasm of the city and also into the show because you have to be -- you have to be ready. it's an amazing show that's put together in one week. and it's hilarious seeing betty pulled from one costume to another and within seconds she's into another character. betty was used to dialogue that was scripted. in this case, it was not scripted. but she adapted to it and lorne michaels and the cast were fabulous to betty. and she knocked it out of the park. but one quick story. there was one night, thursday night after rehearsals. i was in her dressing room and she looked at me and said never again. so i thought, well, maybe i pushed her too much to do the show. and two seconds later, you know, i'm exaggerating, maybe a minute later, she looked at me again and said, okay, let's go on, let's go out for dinner. just for the first time in that moment something hit her. but after that -- go ahead, paula, i'm sorry. >> that's understandable. that's a high-pressure environment. but she just killed it, got the highest ratings for the show that year. now, for "people" magazine profile, several actors paid tribute to her, including carol burnett. she said if there was a tinge of risque, she's not a stand-up, she's not a jokester, it's just way she can the waste line to get a laugh. that was really on display for that "snl" hostingg gig, wasn't it? >> absolutely. towards the end she would say i have an offer for you to do a certain show, and she would say to me, is there any nudity? she knows there's no nudity. well, i'm not doing it then. that was her sense of humor. i think it was her sense of humor. >> you think? you never know. >> yeah, but she was a dream to work with. i miss her dearly. her fans are extremely loyal people, extremely. i've received emails over all the years and -- wonderful letters and emails and things they say about betty. they feel they knew her because for so many years she came into people's homes, living rooms, and performed. so it was a great relationship she had with her fans. >> absolutely. we all feel that. we feel like we knew her and, of course, many people know she wasn't just an actresses. she was also an animal lover. talk about how important that cause was to her. >> i would say that was the number one reason she kept living, to be honest. she loved four-legged animals. she did her best to take care of them in any way she could. she was a humanitarian and i think her legacy will show that. i honestly feel bad for the animal world because they lost someone who was probably their biggest supporter. i mean, there are many other people out there who do good things for animals, but betty was focused on that, 100% focused. most of the money she made during her show business career in many ways went to the animal world. so it was very important to her. >> now, when asked why she never remarried after the death of her husband, allen, in 1981, she famously said, quote, when you had the best, who needs the rest? is there any comfort in knowing that betty and allen are together again today? >> yes, there is, paula. i think betty never feared dying. and i think she actually felt -- and hopefully it's true -- that she has reunited with allen. that was her love. she talked about him all the time. there would never ever be another man. even though she would kid a lot about robert redford was her favorite, and then ryan reynolds. i know ryan has a hard time accepting that, but it was always allen. allen was the love of her life. it was beautiful to watch when she talked about him. so she is hopefully with him now and she's forever and ever going to be happy. >> jeff, thank you so much for joining us to share your memories. incredibly sorry for your loss, but thank you so much for your work for the past 21 years keeping betty in our lives and in our living rooms. thank you so much. >> thank you, paula. take care. happy new year. >> we'll be right back. i've always been running. to meetings. errands. now i'm running for me. i've always dreamed of seeing the world. but i'm not chasing my dream anymore. i made a financial plan to live it every day. ♪ but thank you so much for your at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com ray loves vacations. but his diabetes never seemed to take one. everything felt like a 'no'. everything. but then ray went from no to know. with freestyle libre 2, now he knows his glucose levels when he needs to. and... when he wants to. so ray... can be ray. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free. visit freestylelibre.us >> time thinkorswim® by td ameritrade is more than a trading platform. it's an entire trading experience. with innovation that lets you customize interfaces, charts and orders to your style of trading. personalized education to expand your perspective. and a dedicated trade desk of expert-level support. that will push you to be even better. and just might change how you trade—forever. because once you experience thinkorswim® by td ameritrade ♪♪♪ there's no going back. 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. just "n," boulder county emergency management officials tell scnn that two people are still missing after the wildfires thursday. hundreds of people are now without homes after the fires, fueled by wind gusts of 100 miles per hour, torched the neighborhoods. shoppers ran out of a store and into the parking lot. today, though, a welcome sight for residents and emergency workers, snow. and there's more on the way. cnn's natasha chen joins me from louisville, colorado. we sent you there to report on a fire. looks like you're sort of in the middle of a blizzard now. what are you seeing there on the ground? what is happening? >> reporter: paula, we've moved over to superior, colorado, the other town that's been really devastated by the fire. we went from flames to snowflakes. there have been -- it's a foot of snow covering a lot of the destruction we aren't able to show you right behind us, but you mentioned two people missing. just yesterday authorities had said that if it remains the case that no fatalities are reported, it would be a new year's miracle. of course everyone is still hoping that is the case. officials wouldn't say which city these two people are from, but did say these are boulder county folks who are missing. now, in talking to some of the residents who had to flee in such a hurry, we spoke to one family this morning who really put things into perspective about how the only thing that truly matters is having the people you love with you. the rest of it is material possession. >> and it felt -- like -- like, i don't even know how to say it. i don't know how to get it out. it just felt like a punch to the stomach and this can't be real. it's just so surreal to be able to even fathom everything you owned is just gone. gone. >> reporter: what are you going to miss most about that house? >> my yard. my yard and we had just redone our family room and -- i mean, just the memories. just the memories of being able to be there. it was -- it was a house filled with love. >> reporter: and she said that they'll rebuild a new house in that same spot and fill it with love again amount of couple of their neighbors were lucky across the street. their houses were untouched and she said they're such close friends, they can't imagine being in a different place without that community. this louisville community is full of families that have been in that area for generations, so they are very tight knit. a lot of support has poured in there and now our attention turns to hoping these two missing people in boulder county are found. >> natasha, this has been such a fast-moving situation. have people been allowed to return to their homes now that it's snowing? and are there resources being offered to people who have lost everything? >> reporter: they have a place to stay. they're going to be all right. as far as access to the homes, some people yesterday, especially before it started snowing, were able to take a look at the destruction of their homes. but for the most part there are many roads and subdivisions still closed off. in fact, the delawares wanted to show us their home this morning. we followed them to the edge of the subdivision, but police there told us to turn around. that is because they told the delaware family that there were still neighborhooding houses that had hot spots. the fire department still needs to keep certain plumes of smoke under control. so not all of this is out, even though there is heavy snow. it's still safest for people to stay away from the closed roads. >> natasha, thank you for your incredible reporting on the ground there. appreciate it. quarantined inside an airplane bathroom after testing positive mid-flight. one teacher's harrowing ordeal playing out on social media and how it's just another example. the challenges of traveling during the pandemic. but first, carole king and james taylor together in an unforgettable concert film, "just call out my name" tomorrow night 9:00 p.m. on cnn. here's a preview. >> friends, collaborators, legends. the music shaped a generation. they came together for the tour of a lifetime. ♪ and it's too late baby now it's too late ♪ >> james taylor -- ♪ >> his songs were amazing, his voice is amazing, and his demeanor. >> yee-haw. >> reporter: and carole king. ♪ >> carole king, one of the greatest song writers of all time. i asked her to be a part of my band ♪ i've seen fire and i've ♪ >> reporter: 40 years passed since the first time we played. >> i loved every experience we've had together. ♪ you just call out my name ♪ ♪ and you know wherever i am ♪ ♪ i'll come running ♪ >> "just call out my name," tomorrow on cnn. can you hand me some potato skins. theyyyy're loooaded! turns out, michael buffer speaks like that all the time. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. and in this corner, coconuuuut shriiiiiimp! for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage - make the right call - and go with the general. let's get rrready for garlic breeeaaad! 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>> i've never heard of an airplane bathroom quarantine, but, you know, i'm never surprised by anything in traveling. it's not off to a great start in 2022, but i do believe things will get better. >> well, i appreciate your optimism. the number of flight cancellations, though, today topped any other recent day, thousands have been canceled since christmas eve, and the faa is warning things could get even worse. as many of its own employees test positive for covid. that could impact the number of flights their system can handle. how are these major disruptions going to change the travel landscape over the next few weeks? >> yeah. i know the going to get better anytime soon, but hopefully after this holiday rush the airlines will have time to reset. but we're now in winter and weather cancellations, you know, in the past would throw airlines a curveball. but now with omicron, we're seeing nearly half a million cases a day and growing. so until we're out of the omicron surge, the airlines simply cannot hire and train staff quick enough to fill the gap when people call out. so i think if you're traveling in the next couple leaves, you got to leave your house with a good attitude and don't take your frustrations out on airline employees. they're doing the best they can and there are so many things out of their control. >> such a difficult job. you're absolutely right. these are the folks who showed up. shifting from the air to the sea, the cdc advising people to avoid going on cruises regardless of their vaccination status. they're investigating at least 86 ships for recent covid outbreaks. this virus, though, it's unlikely to go away completely. so how will the cruise industry be able to adapt to this new reality? >> you know, i have to say the cruise industry has been above and beyond with putting in new safety protocols and being on a ship is, frankly, safer than being, you know, on land. however, you know, a lot of ports recently have declined cruise ships. with the pandemic, we've just seen every day is a new day. so when you're on a ship f you really want to go to certain ports of call, you're just -- if you're going to cruise anytime soon, you have to be aware that you may not get to go to those destinations. you got to roll with the punches. but i do think the cruise industry's very, very, you know -- they change quickly. if you want that full cruise experience, you know, i would recommend waiting a little bit before booking that cruise just to see how things shake out. >> it's a good point. if you do cruise, like you said, be adaptable. countries and cities in europe are cracking down on the virus, limiting gatherings, some even closing nightclubs as these cases spike. paris just brought back its outdoor mask requirement. so what would you tell people who would like to travel abroad but are worried about their experience being impacted by all of these renewed restrictions? >> yeah, i mean, i would just say every country's different. research the country you're going to. if you don't care about going to nightclubs in paris because you just want to go to museums, you can still have an amazing trip, get really good deals. but i think what most people are worried about is testing positive abroad because you have to now test within one day of coming back to the u.s. and i know a lot of people just aren't comfortable with even the thought, even if they're not going to get sick and go twa hospital but having to extend their trip by a week or two. i think international travel is going to be -- everyone has to make their own personal risk assessment. but i have traveled quite a bit over the pandemic and you can still have incredible travel experiences and get great deals. >> well, that's great to hear. ryan kelly, thank you so much for joining us today on the first day of the new year. >> thanks for having me. and the new year often brings with it resolutions to lose weight, to eat better and get a handle on your money. with big changes coming in the pandemic economy this year, cnn chief business correspondent christine romans is her with your financial checklist for 2022. >> your house, your job, your retirement. time to tick through your personal finance checklist. first, your home, likely your biggest investment. the fed signaled interest rates could be up three quarter points. that means your borrowing costs could rise. if you're in the market to buy a home, it'll likely cost more in 2022 than in 2021. home prices on fire. it has been a seller's market in real estate, higher interest rates would make it more expensive to finance a home, but could help cool down red-hot prices. it promises to be an exciting year for workers who have the upper hand in the labor market. wage growth is higher than it has been in years. employers offering perks and bonuses and flexible work schedules to keep their workers happy and attract new talent. workers, you have leverage. and for investors, time to check in on your risk to school and asset allocations. it's been a banner two years. the s&p 500 index rose more than 20% in 2021. stock market recording record highs dozens of times, leading to record-high retirement account balances, creating so-called 401(k) millionaires. if the strategists at jpmorgan are right, there are favorable prospects in the new year. quote, our view is that 2022 will be the year of a full global recovery and end of the global pandemic and a return to normal conditions we had prior to the covid-19 outbreak. predicting more stock market gains for the benchmark s&p 500. and for those receiving social security, expect 5.9% more in your checks thanks to the government's annual cost of living adjustment. inflation, of course, the wild card in the new year. higher prices eat into wage gains and strain household budgets, especially for low-income earners. in new york, i'm christine romans. >> thank you. college football's national championship game is set. corey wire joins me now. no surprises here, right? >> that's right, paula. cinderella's slipper didn't fit. we'll show you what happened to senate and why georgia fans think they have a shot even though bama has history on their side. i always dreamed of having kids of my own. ♪ ♪ now i'm ready for someone to call me mom. at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. what does it feel like to sell your car to carvana? it feels amazing. when you get a great offer in seconds... 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>> the nhl's initial decision to pause the season was because of the spread of the virus around the league. these latest postponements about economics and a lack of fans in the stands. eight of the nine games postponed yesterday and a vast majority of those caught up since play restarted this week have involved canadian teams where fan attendance has been capped after stricter guidelines were put in place a few weeks ago. as it stands 91 games have been postponed so far this season. the plan is to play those games later in the season when hopefully restrictions are lifted. as for the games that are being played, the winter classic is today, blues and wild playing outdoors in minneapolis. forecast has temperatures at minus 5 at game time with wind chills at minus 20 which would make the coldest nhl game, outdoor game, in history. that's on our sister channel tnt. they're even going to have to heat the ice at game time. think of that. >> yikes. coy, thank you so much. >> you got it. and that does it for me. i'm paula reid in washington. i will see you pack here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. eastern. for now my colleague fredricka whitfield picks up our live coverage in the "cnn newsroom." have a good day and happy new year. ♪ my name is austin james. as a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. with a painless, one-second scan i know my glucose numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us ♪ ♪ do your eyes bother you? 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