hospitalizations and deaths are lower than their 2021 peaks, but the avalanche of new cases has the cdc predicting that more than 44,000 people could die of covid-19 in the next four weeks. pretty sobering numbers. cnn's nadia romero is covering the pediatric surge, but first let's start with polo sandoval on the airline cancellations. what a horrible mess, polo. >> reporter: i don't know how i survived my post-christmas travel a couple days ago. for so many americans they basically ended up stranded at airports as we continue to see them try to mitigate the flight cancellations, some due to the weather and some due to the omicron variant right now with many airline employees having to call in sick to recover from the virus at home. let's bring viewers up to speed on where the numbers are right now. just today alone over 2,300 flights canceled, now bring that total to just over 13,000 since christmas and authorities say it's likely going to get worse. we have seen in chicago, for example, just over half of the flights there canceled at midway. at o'hare about 40% of them or so. detroit also according to authorities there saying that one in five flights were canceled. delta airlines announcing that passengers should be prepared for potentially up to 200 to 300 cancellations a day out of their 4,000 departures. they're doing everything they can to try to limit those effects but when we heard from the faa not too long ago saying it's only going to get worse, especially as the disruptions on daily life continue and potentially continue to worsen. >> oh, boy. and nadia, to you now. you are in atlanta where the children's health care system is already overwhelmed. so what are health officials saying today? >> yeah, well, fredricka, they are basically saying that we are moving in the absolute wrong direction when it comes to covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. when we are talking about pediatrics, kids, minors who are 17 and younger. if we take a look at the numbers of just the shear amount of cases, i mean, compare the numbers in less than a month's time. we saw what was a record low in november and now we're reaching up to those peak levels for our seven-day averages for cases among kids and hospitalizations also moving in the absolute wrong direction with a dramatic increase. now, we know that omicron isn't as severe as delta, but that doesn't mean that our children are not still ending up in the hospital with some of those intense cases of dealing with covid-19. we're seeing this all across atlanta, though, with our pediatrics and with adults, some six major hospitals in the atlanta area, the metro area, all came together and released a joint statement pleading with people to take the precautions necessary to limit the spread of omicron. the city's mayor, keisha lance bottoms who finished her term just last night on new year's eve, she says that basically these hospitals are overrun. take a listen. >> we are seeing over 80% capacity in our hospitals, over 80% icu capacities and particularly when it comes to grady hospital which is in the heart of downtown atlanta, when you have a major trauma center you obviously have car accidents, you have people coming in with heart attacks and other issues and at the point that we are having to divert ambulance service from grady hospital to other hospitals. >> reporter: and that is such a concern because if you are a gunshot victim, if you are a car crash victim, if you are a victim of a stabbing you want to go to grady, it's our trauma 1 center in downtown atlanta but those ambulances are being turned away because of covid-19. a really scary situation here. the city also canceled the peach drop, its annual new year's eve celebration for the second year in a row trying to curb some of these numbers. >> very sad situation. too much seems to be sadly normal for us all now. all right. polo sandoval, nadia romero, thank you so much. let's continue this conversation, dr. jennifer shue is a pediatrician in georgia and a cnn health contributor. this is deja vu all over again. really, this is just a terrible situation and seemingly hopeless, but maybe it's hopeful. tell us what you are seeing in pediatric cases. >> so since the start of the pandemic we have had 7.5 million children who have tested positive for covid, with 2.5 million of those happening just since september alone and that is one in ten children in the united states have tested positive. in my practice i would say in the past few weeks i've seen more covid infections in this past few weeks than i have the entire pandemic combined. >> oh, my gosh. >> we are testing many patients for covid and other respiratory viruses. covid is definitely outweighing flu, rsv and all the common cold viruses right now. >> what are you seeing particularly in these covid cases, because, you know, i've heard the description of how delta is more lower respiratory and the omicron strain is more upper respiratory. are you seeing a real distinction in the kind of covid cases particularly of the young people, the minors? >> we're actually seeing both upper and lower respiratory, so even with omicron we are seeing things like pneumonia and croup, sometimes they are severe enough to land kids in the hospital. typically we're seeing the kids under five who are getting sicker who aren't old enough to be vaccinated yet. and then there was a statistic from the cdc that said kids ages 12 to 17 are ten times more likely to be hospitalized if they have not been vaccinated. our vaccine rates for children is unfortunately low, fredricka. right now only 15% of 5 to 11 year olds are fully vaccinated and only 15% of teenagers are. >> what's it going to take to bring those numbers up? >> i think really talk to your pediatrician if you have any concerns. there should be plenty of vaccine available. we are expecting fda and hopefully cdc to approve vaccine boosters in the 12 to 15-year-old age group, but so many of them still are unvaccinated and still need to get their first dose. >> and with that possibly right around the corner, fda to -- you know, giving approval to allow the 12 to 15 year olds to receive the booster shot, do you think that that is the message that a lot of reluctant parents or families need to hear to even become a little bit more comfortable with the kids who are eligible for, you know, two shots right now? >> yeah, i think families just need to see that 8.8 billion doses of covid vaccines have been given worldwide. so we know it's safe. we know it is effective. we know that you're more likely to become hospitalized if you are not vaccinated. so that all speaks to itself. vaccines are also a very important layer in your protection against the virus and so that includes masking, distancing, good vept lags, good hygiene. don't go to school if you're sick. we know a lot of kids are about to go to school next week and then all of a sudden those germs will be mixing. >> two of the big public school districts in the atlanta area, fulton and dekalb counties have announced that classes will be online for the return of school next week. do you agree with that? was that wise? >> you know, i think we are in a surge right now so that is one way of trying to minimize infections. i know kids do need school and in-person school is extremely important. so for those schools who are staying open, really need to mask up and try to do the ventilation and maybe eat lunch outside if the weather permits. >> are you seeing that perhaps there will be an apex by the end of the month and then a drop off in some of these numbers or are you even willing to make any predictions? >> you know, if we follow south africa and england's patterns that's probably what's going to happen, although it seemed like the holiday break spread up our infections. one of the predictions we had heard was that we weren't going to see a lot of omicron until mid-january, we know that's already happened so that happened faster so it's hard to say. if we follow other countries' trends i'm hoping we will also peak fast and go down fast. >> all right. i like your optimism. dr. shu, good to see you. thank you so much and happy new year. all right. the covid surge is so bad in one city that its mayor has declared a state of emergency. i will talk live with the mayor of cincinnati about the crisis and the impact it's having on residents there. and wildfires in colorado turned hundreds of homes into ash in a matter of hours. now officials say at least two people are missing. we will take you there live. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire at least two people are missing after wildfires fueled by high winds whipped through the boulder area. the fires leaving hundreds of residents to start the new year without homes. officials say at least 500 structures were destroyed. as the flames moved in, shoppers as you will see right here in one store running for their lives. some residents say they had just minutes to escape before the fire ripped through their neighborhoods. now a reprieve of sorts for residents and emergency workers because snow is falling in the area. cnn's natasha chen joining me now from superior, colorado, and gene norman is in the cnn weather center. natasha, let's go to you first. talk to us about what you are hearing from families and their narrow escapes. >> reporter: right. fred, right now there are two missing people in boulder county. we don't have a lot of details about which city they're from or any other details surrounding their disappearance at this time. authorities were just saying yesterday in a press conference that if it holds that there are no fatalities this would be a new year's miracle. people are still hoping that is the case. right over the ridge from where we are yesterday before the snow started we could see smoke -- whether their homes were still standing or not. we spoke to one family, the delaware family from louisville who found out yesterday and took some images, took video of the destruction of their home burned to the ground. they said their neighbors across the street were lucky their houses are still standing, but as for them they only had minutes to leave with nothing but their cell phones and chargers. here is judy delaware telling me about the difficulty of seeing her home no longer there. >> and it felt like -- 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 own just gone. gone. >> what are you going to miss most about that house? >> my yard. my yard. we had just redone our family room and, i mean, just -- and 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 will rebuild in the same place because they can't imagine being apart from those neighbors they've been next to for 20 plus years. louisville is a community where generations have lived in the same place and this new year will be a time for them to rebuild and renew, fred. >> wow. that's terribly sad. all right. gene, i want to bring you into this because, i mean, this is just another example of just the extremities within such a short amount of time, i mean, drought and heat one day and then the next day you have snowfall. what's going on with these patterns that we seem to be seeing, you know, replicating itself across the country? >> well, fred, it's a very active weather pattern to be sure. it was 44 before those fires broke out just in the boulder area and now snow is falling, as you said. the good news, at least right now, is on the radar we're seeing less and less snow. so it should taper off i'd say in the next hour or two in the boulder area, but we can show you how much has fallen in the burn scarf that marshall fire highlighted in red here. you see some blue shadings which represent snowfall on the ground as you saw from natasha's shot, anywhere from 6 to 8 inches and those were some of the reports that we have received from the official reporting locations from the national weather service, anywhere from 5 inches down in denver to 8 inches in the boulder area. so the snow should start to come to an end, although it's still snowing at a pretty good clip at the denver airport. as you mentioned, we are seeing a lot of changes in the weather. we've got the battle of the air masses, it's a knockout heavyweight fight. the warm humid air coming out of the gulf of mexico, record high temperatures today, in atlanta 72, going to sit for a record, meanwhile bitter cold is coming out of the northern plains and that could set the stage for 20 to 30 below temperatures in places like north dakota, south dakota, all the usual cold spots. even in the boulder area where they of course are trying to recover from those fires it's going to be minus 4 in the morning. it's about 9 degrees there now. winter storm warnings stretch all across the areas that you see here from the rockies up into the great lakes and that's where the snow is beginning to fall. beginning to move into chicago but on the other i had of that in the warm part of this storm tornadoes are possible, tornado watches are in effect in the red shaded areas that you see right now until 6:00 and we do have a couple of active warnings that we're tracking. fred, it's going to be a busy afternoon here. first day of the new year, a lot of people are saying stop. i can't get ready for this, it's just day one. >> stop it already. brutal, cruel conditions. thank you so much. gene norman and natasha chen, we will check back with you. all right. ohio has a record number of covid hospitalizations and now cincinnati has declared a state of emergency. the city's mayor joins me live next. you are in the "cnn newsroom." some of my best memories growing up were cooking with mom. so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com one role of a lifetime...one sore throat. but she had enough. she took new mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who's boss. new mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds, lasts for hours. (announcer) lose weight, lose inches, and do it in just 30 days. introducing the aerotrainer from golo. the aerotrainer's ergonomic design uses cushioned air chambers for maximum support, maximum muscle activity, and results. you can work your entire body fast and reduce stress. get fit with the aerotrainer and lose weight and get healthier with the golo metabolic plan without starvation dieting. go to aerotrainer.com and get in shape and lose weight fast with golo. eric adams new york city's new mayor was sworn into office just minutes after the crystal ball dropped at midnight in times square last night. the 110th mayor of new york took his oath of office holding up a framed photograph of his mother dorothy and resting his hand on a family bible. the 61-year-old retired new york police department captain who embraced a public safety message during his campaign will be just the second black mayor in the city's history. he defeated republican mayoral candidate curtis sliwa in the november election. cincinnati, ohio, is in a state of emergency right now with dozens of firefighters out sick amid a rise in covid cases. the pandemic is exacerbating staff shortages at the department as cases continue to steadily climb statewide. ohio hit a record high in covid hospitalizations earlier in week. cincinnati mayor john cranley joining me now. mayor, good to see you. sorry under such circumstances. so what do you do with this situation as the cases continue to climb, people are out sick including your firefighters? what can you handle? what can you do? >> happy new year, fredricka. thanks for having me. look, we obviously heading into the third year of this pandemic have got to figure out how to live with the pandemic, live with the virus and continue to provide basic services. so i declared a state of emergency so that my fire chief to do some unpopular things like mandatory overtime and that's how we're managing now. the caseload continues to rise every day among our firefighters and over 99% of them are vaccinated. the cases we're seeing are mild, but we've got to make sure that the basic services that our citizens depend upon are being serviced every day. >> so extending basic services, offering overtime, i mean, that also sounds like a lot of people will be very taxed under very stressful situations as it is, which also may make people more susceptible to the dangers that come with public contact and covid. do you have a contingency planned? what is your safety net? >> well, there's no question that these are not ideal circumstances. these are stuff choices that have to be made, but what i think about is if -- you know, we made sure this weekend, last night, new year's eve which is a big night for people to go out, that there would be no brown outs. so if there was a shooting and there were several after midnight, if there is an overdose, if somebody drinks too much and passes out, if somebody has a heart attack that there will be a fire and medical personnel that can get there in the professionally-wired amount of time. that's what you call avoiding brown outs. brown outs is when you can't guarantee that people will arrive in a lifesaving time period that is considered the professional standard. so these are all awful tough calls, but we get paid, taxes to provide these services we're three years into it the vast majority of our firefighters are vaccinated and they're doing great work, which is why we need to honor our first responders and thank them for putting their lives at risk as they signed up to do and they do every day extremely well. >> and that is impressive that you would say 99% of the firefighters are vaccinated, but what about the public? how difficult is it to get residents, adults, all those who are eligible for vaccines to get vaccinated and to be part of the solution to the problem? >> well, look, i'm fully vaccinated, my family is fully vaccinated, my wife and i have door knocked in our city in low income neighborhoods asking people to get vaccinated and of course it's how people can best protect their health because there are all these breakthrough case, i got a breakthrough case, it was very mild. at the end of the day, though, it's personal responsibility and we've made the vaccine free, available, we distribute it in churches and rec centers, but ultimately people have to take accountability for their own lives and for their loved ones. >> what are your concerns as kids prepare to get back to school? >> look, i think, you know, we have all learned that we have to figure out how to live with this virus. the data is coming out that kids predominantly low income who are not in school are suffering academically and so we need masks, we need safety protocols, we need barriers as appropriate, we need hybrid learning when appropriate, but fundamentally we have got to keep going as a society. the data coming out of south africa strongly suggests that this omicron is going to be a huge spike in january and then quickly subside and the cases coming out are mild. the best they think that everyone can do is get vaccinated and boostered, wear masks when appropriate, follow safety protocols and be smart. >> mayor, how do you remain hopeful at this juncture? >> i remain hopeful because there are a lot of people who have been vaccinated, a lot of people's cases like my own were very mild and it looks like this case -- this omicron is going to be a quick surge and quick fall. so i think the next two to three weeks will be a bit scary, but that's why we declared an emergency to put people on high alert, to be extra cautious. but also to acknowledge the sacrifice of people missing vacations and mandatory overtime of our firefighters and the other people who don't have the luxury of working from home. >> cincinnati mayor john cranley, thank you so much for your time. all the best to all those hard working firefighters and all the public servants in your city trying to keep everyone safe. appreciate it. >> thank you. all right. the pandemic cast an uncomfortable spotlight on the u.s.'s dependence on foreign imports, relying on overseas suppliers for masks to medical gowns and hospital gloves. cnn's scott mclean takes us inside a chicago area factory aiming to loosen asia's choke hold on ppe production. >> reporter: literally hot off the production line, the very firsthand molds being dipped in nitril, the result a reliable stream of medical-grade gloves made in america. this is a big deal because for decades the u.s. has imported these gloves from cheap suppliers almost entirely in asia. it took a pandemic to start to change that. businessman dylan radiga nsaid he felt compelled to act. >> we just watched hundreds of thousands more than half a million americans die and many of them for no reason. i think bad decisions have been made in american manufacturing, specifically for critical assets like medical devices. >> reporter: when the pandemic exploded the nithil glove industry was plagued by price gouging, fraud and scams, a cnn investigation found counterfeit, substandard or even dirty used medical gloves being imported to the u.s. by the tens of millions. pre pandemic there was only one nitril glove producer in the u.s. in alabama but they struggled to get the u.s. government to buy their gloves because they cost around twice the price. that's because around 10% of the world's medical gloves are made in china, 20% in thailand and 65% in malaysia where the u.s. government only recently lifted an import ban on the world's largest producer after finding evidence of forced labor earlier this year. how do you can compete with slave labor? >> the technology allows me to do it in a way that i can compete with even the dirtiest user of slave labor. you want to be the customer of a slave labor company? i don't. >> reporter: you couldn't do it 30 years ago. >> the technology didn't exist. but the post important thing that you need to see this. >> reporter: ratigan is now ceo of the u.s. medical glove company committed to paying workers at least $25 per hour plus health care coverage and plans for free on site child care. there are currently about 100 of them now assembling new lines and ovens using all american-made parts. >> and that is a critical distinction between this company and others. >> reporter: the start up in a sprawling former caterpillar factory is backed from a purchase order from the u.s. government. all told washington is spending $1.7 billion to help american companies manufacture ppe at home. after the pandemic exposed how dependent the u.s. is on foreign sources which is a vulnerability in public health emergencies. another american startup u.s.a. gloves outside houston was created by former importers who found it almost impossible to buy gloves from abroad. they don't have any government investment yet, but once the machines are finally up and running next month, they hope to turn a profit from private sales, even with higher prices than asian brands. >> hospitals and clinics and even end users are willing to pay a slight premium so that we're prepared for a future pandemic. >> reporter: it's still early days, but experts say it is essential for the u.s. to make more of its ppe at home. the question is -- >> whether people will remember this and be willing to pay that premium in the medium term or is this just a very short-term memory and soon people will go back to thinking about who is my lowest cost supplier. >> reporter: that may ultimately be what determines the success or failure of these new enterprises. whether they're expensive experiments or the beginning of a new era that reduces america's dependence on factories on the other side of the world. scott mclean, cnn, london. and as russia continues its military buildup along the ukrainian border, president biden is expected to talk to the ukrainian president tomorrow to reassure him of u.s. support. we will talk about that next. and this quick programming note, carole king and james taylor in an unforgettable concert film. "just call out my name" tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. on cnn. here is a preview. >> friends, collaborators, legends. their 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 was amazing and his demeanor. >> yee-haw. >> 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 seen rain ♪ >> 40 years have passed since the first time we played. >> i've 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 at 9:00 on cnn. nitrile. . president biden is set to speak with ukrainian president vladimir zelensky tomorrow about the growing threat from russia along the ukraine border. this follows a conversation between biden and russian president vladimir putin earlier in the week. biden later said he had a clear warning for putin when they spoke. >> i made it clear to the -- president putin that he -- if he makes any more moves and goes into ukraine, we will have severe sanctions. we will increase our -- our presence in europe with our nato allies and it will have to be a heavy price to pay for it. >> while putin issued a warning of his own saying any sanctions would cause a, quote, complete rupture of the already frayed u.s. relationship with russia. let's bring in cnn's senior international diplomatic editor nic robertson in moscow for us now. what will biden's message to zelensky be when they speak? >> reporter: it's going to be one of reassurance. president biden has promised to keep the ukrainians informed every step of the way so we can expect him to give zelensky a brief on the conversation with president putin that he had on december 30th. he will tell president zelensky that if russia attacks them the united states will support ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. this has been repeated many, many times. i think, you know, zelensky is likely to ask president biden to supply more weapons and ammunition, that's certainly been high on the agenda for ukrainian authorities. president biden will probably tell zelensky, you know, whatever you do, whatever your forces do on the ground, where they're particularly close to russians forces as we go into this very delicate period of talks with the russians beginning january 10th let's try to avoid any escalation, avoid doing anything that could sort of escalate tensions equally reacting to some provocation that the ukrainians might interpret coming from the russians. so, you know, i think that's what's going to be on the table there. it's all about support. the underlying message, when talking with the russians nothing about ukraine without ukraine. ukraine has to be in the room if it gets discussed. >> u.s. trying to offer some reassurances o ukraine. thank you so much. nic robertson, appreciate you. all right. the new year brings new opportunities for workers. christine romans explains how to take advantage of the great resignation. you are in the "cnn newsroom." in a 21 month study, scientists proved that rid- x reduces up to 20% of waste build up every month. take the pressure off with rid-x. [microwave beeps] [ahh] ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm so defensive, i got bongos thumping in my chest ♪ ♪ and something tells me they don't beat for me ♪ ♪ i love romance, but i got eggshells around me ♪ ♪ don't step on 'em, don't step on 'em ♪ ♪ don't step on 'em, don't step on me ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ he'd better not take the ring from me ♪ it's your home. and there's no place like wayfair to make the morning chaos, organized chaos. however you make it, make your home a place like no other. with mucinex all-in-one you've got powerful relief from your worst cold and flu symptoms. so when you need to show your cold who's boss, grab mucinex all-in-one... and get back to your rhythm. ♪ the relief you need. the cash you want. all right. president biden is set to speak with ukrainian president vladimir zelensky tomorrow about the growing let from russia along the ukraine border. this follows a conversation between biden and russian president vladimir putin earlier in the week. let's bring in gary kaspera, a critic of vladimir putin, chairman of the human rights foundation and renewed democracy initiative. gary, good to see you. let's begin with this meeting between biden and zelensky. will zelensky get the assurance that he is looking for from the u.s.? s>> i don't know. it's ukraine 2022, but putin thinks it's munich, preparing for war. putin hopes that biden is not a chamberlain, taking peace for all time. i'm increasingly worried that he's right after biden keeps giving him what he wants. putin's main goal was just to call, he didn't care what they discussed because it showed putin's gang that putin is in charge. he is a big boss negotiating with the biggest boss in the world, the president of the united states, and i still don't understand how can you discuss the fate of ukraine without ukraine being at the table. >> so if ukraine is at the table, so to speak, with the president of the united states tomorrow by way of the phone call, isn't that a start? >> let's think why putin is negotiating with biden the fate of ukraine. the country he has been invading. also i don't understand, you know, why american administration keeps repeating if putin invade ukraine. he has invaded ukraine. eight years ago. he still occupies cripmea and part of eastern ukraine and threatening with sanctions doesn't make any good because white house yet to explain to us what was accomplished in june at the summit and then in another call. they told us in june -- >> what do you think the role -- >> and then gave them an ulti ultimatum. >> what do you think the role of the u.s. should be at this juncture with this new threat if the administration is not going to be able to address past aggressions involving russia on the ukrainian border, what are your expectations about what the u.s. can really do at this juncture with this newest threat? >> let's start with what you should not do. they should not talk directly to putin, excluding not only ukraine, but also european partners, nato. so does biden want putin to -- the policy because many of the statements have been strong and clear, but putin is looking for a weak link in the white house. i'm still amazed, you know, that biden is playing putin's game. >> you think biden is being used? >> look, that's how it looks like because that's with the three calls. again, they kept -- biden made demands, ultimatum. if biden made real threat why you keep following with new -- new phone calls, and of course, you know, many of the sanctions had to be in place already and it's not that difficult, you know, just to put putin in place by imposing real sanctions, stop playing lip service and do what america can do because extortion isn't negotiation. >> so -- >> and -- go ahead, yes. >> i'm wondering what do you believe is at issue here? why would vladimir putin want to invade ukraine? i mean, you wrote this, saying ukraine isn't a threat to russian national security, of course, a thriving democratic ukraine is a threat to putin's dictatorship model and thus to personal power. >> absolutely. i can repeat it again. so free prosperous democratic ukraine is a threat to putin because russian citizens look at ukraine and wonder why they can't have free and fair elections and free press. putin must destroy. putin was never ambiguous about his goal to destroy ukraine. you have to listen to russian propaganda. 24/7 they keep talking about it and deny ukraine's right to exist. >> what do you believe nato ought to be doing? you said nato ought to be at the table, it shouldn't be just the u.s. and russia and ukraine, but nato needs to be more involved. >> i think it's about, you know, americans talking to ukraine and nato allies and to formulate a proper defense strategy because russia is an invader. russia is aggressor and you have to start doing something that will make putin worried about his grip on power. sanctions is putin's closest oligarch buddies, living in luxury in europe and the united states. seize their assets, kick them and their families back to russia and of course cut russia, putin's russia, out of every international organization they abuse and corrupt, inter spol, the council of europe, debt market, financial market. it's putin's russia, it's painful for me to say but it's a criminal state making war in europe and you have to treat them like this. >> do you believe it's inevitable that russia will cross the border into ukraine? >> look, i think it's inevitable that putin will start a war because with dictators it's not if, it's when. but he's trying to get some concessions even without -- without starting a major war because he understands war is a war and invasion of ukraine will cost him dearly. i'm not sure about european and american sanctions but ukrainians will fight back and there will be body bags going back to russia. right now putin is looking for any means to subdue ukraine without starting the war and america should not -- must not play this game. >> gary, a pleasure talking to you. thank you so much and happy new year. >> happy new year. all right. covid and winter storms have combined to make a real mess of holiday travel. airlines have canceled thousands of flights today. we will have the latest coming up next. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete balanced nutrition for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪ (phone rings) - hey, kaleb, what's up? how you doing? - hey, i'm good. guess what. i just had my 13th surgery. - [alec] really? - how are you doing? - i'm doing good. i'm encouraged by seeing how people are coming together to help each other during times like these. - kinda like how shriners hospitals for children is there for us. - i know my shriners hospitals family will continue to take care of kids like us who need them most, all because of caring people like you. - like me? - (chuckles) no, the people watching us right now at home. we hope you'll call the special number on your screen right now. - you'll need making sure our amazing doctors and nurses can keep helping kids like us who need them now and in the days to come. - with your gift of $19 a month, we'll send you this adorable love to the rescue blanket as a thank you and reminder of the kids you're helping with your monthly support. please, call now, or you can go to lovesshriners.org. 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. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com forced millions of american workers to prioritize and refocus, balancing their family's health and safety with how they make a living. wages are on the rise and the jobless rate is falling and the economy is growing. cnn chief business correspondent christine romans has more on what 2022 means for american workers. >> fatter paychecks, flexible schedules, more opportunity. workers have the upper hand in the covid jobs market. employers are scrambling to find the workers they need in the strongest economy in years. by november, there were 11 million open jobs. at the same time, workers are scrambling to reassess their priorities. the so-called great resignation, millions of workers quitting their jobs for better pay or a more satisfying position. several million have retired early, backed by record-high retirement savings accounts and enviable home equity in a red hot real estate market. others have left the job market to take care of family. it means higher pay is needed to attract and retain workers. 4.8% wage growth in november. economists expect wages to remain strong in 2022, especially for new hires and people working in factories or on the front lines in retail and hospitality. 2021 saw a war for talent. $3,000 signing bonuses for temporary holiday work, and starting wages in seasonal jobs at companies like amazon at an average of $18 an hour. for millions of americans with office jobs, flexibility is the new mantra. two daily commutes and 9:00 to 5:00 at the office, that's a decidedly pre-pandemic model. market research firm forester estimates by the end of 2022, 60% of u.s. companies will offer hybrid work where employees can work more than one day a week remotely. 10% of companies will be fully remote. 30% expected to want everyone back at the office. in new york, i'm christine romans. with 2021 now in the rearview mirror, it's about time to remember all the moments from the year, putting a smile on some of our faces, from the cat attorney to rudy giuliani, shaving in public. there were lots of laughs to go around. k we look back at the quirkiest stories of 2021. >> how time flies. not to mention seagulls, we all took it on the chin again in 2021, but no one more literally than this teenager riding a ride on the jersey shore. still, there was plenty to celebrate. tom brady did it by daring not to go deep under water with the lombardo super bowl trophy. another guy also known for his hands was bernie sanders, whose mittens at the inauguration became one of the first big memes of 2021. in fashion, comfort and torture, with $625 high-heeled crocs. >> fashion is about a double take. you want people to look and look again. >> a massachusetts man looked and looked again for his missing airpod after he fell asleep using them. eventually an x-ray located it in his esophagus and it was extracted. >> the audio works perfectly, but, sadly, the microphone is a bit glitchy. >> at least he didn't glue his eyes shut like this michigan woman, who meant to reach for eye drops, but used fingernail glue instead. her contact lens may have saved her vision. maybe you think you're seeing double. dwayne 'the rock' johnson fans were rocked by the alabama patrol lieutenant who even sounds like "the rock". >> can you smell what the rock is cooking. >> and this secret service agent protecting the bidens went viral just for being hot. a dead ringer for tom cruise. the pope needed no protection from spider-man, an italian guy who dresses up to entertain kids in hospitals. nicole ritchey avoided the hospital, even though she managed to catch her hair on fire. forget the candles. blow out nicole! a burger king manager and eight staffers blew off steam by quitting very publicly with this sign, while rudy giuliani wouldn't quit shaving in public at jfk lounge. the guy who shot the spectacle say -- >> i was delighted and horrified. >> the same can be said of combination foods from fruit loops pizza to popcorn salad. of course, animals stole the show. noodle the pug predicted good or bad days by his willingness to get up. >> oh, my gosh, there are bones today! >> claiming either bones or no bones days. doggie makever of the year goes to this guy, found wondering in kansas city missouri. they removed 6 1/2 pounds of matted fur. he had to relearn to walk and his owners say all that hair even affected his towel. >> he basically wags one way. >> then there's the tale of the deer in virginia that leaped onto a school bus, landing on a sleeping student. they made an unscheduled stop to drop him off. 2021 saw some unusual guinness records. biggest mouth, 5.7 inches. most m&ms stacked on each other, a measly five. >> i've got to admit, i did eat them all. >> the longest dog years, the coon hound's ears measure 13.8 inches each. through our interview, she kept staring off to the side. >> she's staring at herself. >> in a glass door. >> of course the end of the year is a great time for self-reflection. how do others see me? >> can you hear me, judge? >> i can hear you. i think it's a filter. >> a texas lawyer using his assistant's computer during a hearing heard himself coming out of a feline. >> i'm here live. i'm not a cat. >> at least the cat didn't get his tongue. cnn, new york. hello, again, everyone, and welcome to the new year, 2022. thanks so much for joining me. i'm fredricka whitfield. a pandemic exhausted nation starts the new year with the unrelenting headache and concerns of surging case numbers. holiday air travelers are feeling the stress. airlines are struggling with sick-outs and canceling more flights today. 13,000 flights have been canceled since christmas eve. many parents are feeling anxious this weekend over their children's return to the classroom on monday. some school districts facing a spike in hospitalizations have already announced a partial transition to online learning. the u.s. is in the grips of a record-shattering surge of new infections. the seven-day average of new cases has soared t

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