far-reaching impacts on american lives. short-staffed airlines along with winter weather forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights again today. a travel nightmare for people returning from the holidays, and parents now worrying as classes are set to resume for their children after the winter break. several school districts, in fact, announcing they are switching to online learning to start this semester. the white house feverishly working on plans to address and mitigate covid's daily disruptions while acknowledging those disruptions will only get worse as the virus advances. >> it's kind of like a very interesting, somewhat complicated issue where you have a virus that might actually be less severe in its pathogenicity, but so many people getting infected that the net amount, the total amount of people that will require hospitalization might be up. so we can't be complacent in these reports which are likely accurate that it is ultimately in the big picture less severe, we're still going to get a lot of hospitalizations. >> cnn's paulo sandoval and ryan young monitoring the situation. polo, you're in new york which just set a new record for daily cases. what more can you tell us? >> no mistake that the general trend shows no signs of slowing in new york state as the governor's office announced we've set a daily record, totaling nearly 85,000 yesterday alone. that's certainly concerning for officials. this is happening as millions of students across the country are preparing the go back to school. this is renewing many covid concerns that we're all too familiar with for so many parents now faced with those tough decisions. experts in general are divided when it comes to return for students heading back to class. some of them just saying it won't go well in some of the areas of high transmission like d.c. where negative tests will be required, like here in new york where at-home tests will go home with students and staff. the department of education in general, as we heard from the secretary of education earlier on cbs believes there's a way for students and staff to head back to school if certain mitigation steps are taken. >> the message hasn't changed. we need to make sure we're following mitigation strategies, supporting educators by providing a safe learning environment, providing vaccination for students as young as 5 so the whole community is safe. we need to double down now that omicron is higher to make sure we're doing that, but it works. we went from 47% of our schools open in person in january of last year to 99% in december. >> secretary cardona recognizing there will be what he described as bumps in the road as students and staff head back to school a lot of districts, several are turning to virtual learning including five in metro atlanta where you are preparing to do just that. >> polo, thank you so much. ang slight very high in households, at schools and at airports. our ryan young is at atlanta's airport. we're seeing thousands of new cancellations, ryan, very frustrating for flyers trying to get back after the holidays. >> reporter: fred, happy new year, first of all. you think about this. you want to start the new year off on a good foot. so many people planned their holidays around traveling back on sunday to get back in time for monday. when you add all the testing and the whole idea of some of the storms hitting some parts of the northeast, you understand why some of these cancellations are happening, but at the same time, talk to a traveler who has been stuck at an airport for several days and you understand why they are upset. we just walked out from talking to a husband and wife who have been stuck here in atlanta since thursday. they're trying to get to sacramento. four of their flights have been canceled. on the way to the airport right now, their flight was canceled and they had to get rebooked to another flight later today. when you think about all the time they've been spending going back and forth to the airport, you can see why frustrations are happening. already today we know more than 2,100 flights have been canceled across this country, 2,700-plus on saturday. think about this. in the last ten days, 14,000-plus flights have been canceled. you add covid taking out some of the flight crews dealing with these situations and now the added frustration of arriving here, seeing long lines and tsa pre check that's long, you can understand why people are ready just to get on a flight and get home. fred? >> oh, my gosh, terribly frustrating. pack the patience today and hopefully things will get better somewhere around the corner. thanks to both of you. appreciate that. let's talk more about this real reality check for all of us across the country. joining me emergency medicine physician dr. annan swam many nathan. i keep saying happy new year because everyone needs an up lift. the harsh reality is we are seeing cases rise to levels not seen before, largely blamed on this omicron variant. so far hospitalizations and deaths have not risen at the same pace of positive infections. what are you seeing right now? how do you look at the landscape now of covid? >> we look at the percentages, fred. you're right, the percentages say it's not as high as with delta or prior variants, but it is still a large number, an absolute number because of the large number of omicron cases. we as a hospital are still overwhelmed, quite stretched thin because we have so many patients coming in. i epeople are coming to the hospital for tests. we're also seeing people who have chronic illnesses that are worsened by omicron and seeing lots of people coming in pretty sick with omicron, specifically patients that are unvaccinated. we're still overwhelmed, quite stretched thin. the hospital is full, the icu is full, and at the same time we've lost 20, 25% of the overall staff in the hospital due to them getting sick and having to stay home and isolate. it's really one of these perfect storms with all these cases coming in and hitting the door while we don't have the resources to take care of everybody. >> talk to me about the fact that, yeah, there are very few tests out there available in terms of what would be optimal, so people are resorting to come to the hospital to get tested. you laid the groundwork right there that staff workers are taxed. what is this doing to hospitals like the ones in which you work at where people are coming in to find out if they are even positive? >> it's a very difficult scenario. most of the testing centers in the area, people are waiting 12, 16 hours. i talked to people who said by the time they got to the front of the line, they ran out of tests. their ear ending up in the emergency room and again having to wait for long periods of times. emergency rooms, hospitals, we're not outfitted to do the type of testing that people need. but we also know we're the only option they have left. we're doing everything we can to test as many people as they can to get back to work and back to school. they can know they're safe to see family members. it's very difficult and all this comes back to our lack of infrastructure for the testing that we need. we've seen all of these different efforts to increase testing, to increase pop-ups. we haven't seen those pop up yet. we're in the middle of the surge. we need those a week ago, fred, to help people out. >> men time, a lot of schools are starting back tomorrow. there's a lot of concern in so many households. i want to play some sound from the former fda commissioner and what he said this morning. >> it does appear now based on a lot of experimental evidence we've gotten in the last two weeks that this is a milder form of the coronavirus. it appears to be an upper airway disease than a lower airway disease. that's good for most americans. the one group that may be a problem for are very young kids, toddler whose have trouble with upper air waif infections. it could be a bigger challenge in young kids because of the way it binds to the airway cells. >> help parents and families understand what that means. we're talking about the omicron variant really affects the upper respiratory and talking about younger kids, particularly those under 5 or maybe even those under 12 who have not been vaccinated yet but are planning on going to school, what should the concern be and the way forward? >> this is a concern because we are seeing much larger numbers of pediatric patients with coronavirus, much larger percentages that need to be admitted to the hospital, even if it's just for a night to make sure they're safe. we're seeing a lot more of that. if your kid is over 5, get them vaccinated. it's still not too late. we can still do that. that gives a huge amount of protection. in schools, they should be wearing masks just like everybody should be wearing masks. it's hard for the really little kids to be wearing masks. if they're going to daycare, that's a setting where we know there can be a spread of any type of respiratory infection. i don't know how to advise on this because people need their kids to go to school so they can go to work. there's this balance of what's safe, what can i do? hopefully schools are doing the right things by opening windows, having ventilation going on. hopefully we see that expansion of vaccines to that younger age group coming soon to help to protect them more. that's not goings to help during this current surge but hopefully down the line. for older kids, what we talked about, getting vaccinated, ventilation in schools. all schools should be mandating masks when we're indoors. those are ways to help protect our kids from getting sick. >> dr. anand swaminathan, thank you. new evidence showing ivanka trump visiting the white house before jikt. they rest protectin nothing kills more viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. this just in to cnn, just days ahead of the one-year marker of the insurrection, the january 6th committee says it has critical firsthand testimony about former former president trump's words and actions during the siege on the capitol. this was the committee's vice chair liz cheney this morning. >> the committee has firsthand testimony that he was sitting in the dining room watching the attack. we have firsthand testimony that his daughter ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence. at the same time the violent assault was happening, he's watching television, also calling at least one senator urging delay of the electoral vote. >> i want to get straight to melanie zanona on capitol hill. this certainly suggests the committee is talking to someone within the former president's inner circle. how consequential potentially is what congresswoman cheney had to say this morning? >> i think it's very consequential, fred. this committee has been conducting a lot of its work behind closed doors. there's been a lot of attention on the witness whose have not been cooperating. clearly there are people close to trump who are talking. i think what's revealing about what liz cheney said this morning is investigators are really zeroing in on the 187 min thauts trump was publicly silent while his supporters breached the capitol. we're starting to learn a lot more about what trump did or did not do. take a listen to what bennie thompson, chairman of the select committee, told our dana bash this morning. >> we have significant testimony that leads us to believe that the white house had been told to do thing. we want to verify all of it some when we produce our reports and have the hearings, the public will have an opportunity to see for themselves. >> reporter: now, one big question facing the committee is whether that lack of action amounts to criminality of any form. dana bash pressed bennie thompson on this very question. he said that is still something the committee is working to determine. but if they feel like any criminal acts were committed, they have no problem making a criminal referral to the department of justice. >> melanie, this investigation is moving into a new phase with public testimony. what is it expected to look like? >> reporter: i think from a macro level, bennie thompson has said what they're going to try to show is where this was a comedy of errors or whether the attack was coordinated. he himself said it's pretty clear this was planned, not just an accident. as far as witness, bennie thompson revealed they plan to haul in local and state election officials in charge of overseeing the 2020 election, doj officials pressured by the trump administration as well as national guard troops who were eventually hauled in but it took hours to have them show up here a the capitol on january 6th. they can also speak to gop lawmakers who talked to trump that day. it's unclear whether they'll show up voluntarily. bennie thompson said subpoenas are something that is on the table. >> melanie zanona, thank you so much. i want to bring in former federal prosecutor renato mariotti. good to see you. you wrote a few days ago it's a high bar to prove that the president conspired to stop the election. is this kind of new information potentially coming from someone within the inner circle of the former president, according to what we just heard from congresswoman cheney? is this enough to potentially push it over the edge into something more serious? >> i don't think it's enough, but it really provides some interesting leads. if i was a prosecutor looking at this, the first thing i would do, i would subpoena that senator. i would be very interested in what happened in that phone call. that is more like action than inaction. you talked a moment ago about inaction. if president trump was just eating popcorn and watching this unfold, it's absolutely reprehensible. that would be difficult to bring a criminal case based on that. if he's making phone calls trying to get the senators, for example, to delay certification, that's more like an active step where he's trying to help the insurrection succeed in some way. similarly, i think they should be talking to ivanka trump. her testimony about what he said and what his mindset was would be very valuable. obviously she's going to probably do whatever she cannot to testify, but i think that's where i would be going if i was a prosecutor. >> why in your view, renato, is inaction not enough when you're talking about the president of the united states, sworn to protect and serve the nation, and if by everyone's accounts he is simply watching on television the violence taking place, the threat to democracy and he did not act. why is that not enough? >> well, it's certainly a dare ricks dereliction of duty. there's a lot of things that have been done in the past. that's an awful, awful, awful act by the president to sit silently and maybe gleefully as an attack is occurring on our capitol, but whether it's a crime in terms of charging him for the attack itself, we usually in this country, criminal law does not charge people who are merely passively watching as an attack is unfolding. now, he did -- the argument would have to be that he had some sort of duty -- for example, if a capitol police officer just stood by and smiled and waved as the attackers were going past him, you might have a stronger case. you could try to make an argument that he was effectively aiding them by doing nothing, but it's just a very -- it's very difficult. it would be already a difficult case to bring against anybody, but against the former president of the united states merely for not -- to charge him with an attack, an assault or aiding an abetting and entering into the capitol for sitting there and doing nothing, i think that would be difficult. >> of course, among those allegations, too, for the president he has the power to get the national guard to move in and that didn't happen right away. >> yeah. i think what would be -- in terms of what i'm interested in figuring out what the committee is finding, what did trump know about this scheme? hid he know this attack was going to occur? for example, was that option put before him? you can call the national guard, and he made a deliberate decision not to do that. what evidence do we have of his state of mind. remember in a criminal case you have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. that's the thing i'll be looking for in the weeks and month ahead. >> what might this potentially mean for trump allies also implicated in the investigation? >> i think they have more to be concerned about, particularly the people who were hands-on coordinating this rally and then what we saw, of course, later, that turned into a violent attack. anybody who was involved in funding that effort, in coordinating that effort, they're much more hands-on. if you're somebody on walkie-talkies with the people storming the capitol or you funded their efforts, your knowledge and your intent is going to be much easier to establish. >> all right, renato mariotti, always good to see you. thank you so much. happy new year. today president biden will be speaking with you krarnian president zelinsky just days after he warned vladimir putin against invading ukraine. the late st straight ahead. ♪ and i'm gonna keep on lovin' you, ♪ ♪ 'cause it's the only thing i wanna do. ♪ turns out everyone does sound better in the shower. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. ♪ 'cause it's the only thing i wanna do ♪ shaq: (singing in background) can't unhear that. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage - make the right call and go with the general. always good to see you. - [narrator] introducing the grubhub guarantee: our promise to deliver the food you love on time, and give you the lowest price, or you'll get $5 off your next order. preparing for a call with ukraine's president. the ukrainian president looking for assurances from the u.s. as russia keeps tens of sthou sands of troops on the boarder with you ukraine. russian president vladimir putin says the possibility of ukraine joining nato is a threat to russia. eva, what do we expect of this call between biden and the ukrainian president? >> reporter: this call is aimed to keep president zelensky in the loop. president biden expected to update him on the strategy of engaging with russia. of paramount concern is for the u.s. to emerge from this entire negotiation and episode with a diplomatic solution, without russia invading ukraine. now, in terms of what russia wants, russia wants legally binding skurpt guarantees. they want no membership for ukraine in nato and a rollback of military deployments in eastern urine. congressman adam schiff who chairs the intelligence committee, he was asked about this today, and he is very concerned about this. he believes the threats from vladimir putin are not hollow and that putin is, in fact, looking to invane ukraine. take a listen. >> i fear that putin is very likely to invade. i still, frankly, don't understand the full motivation for why now he's doing this. he certainly appears internt on it, unless we can persuade him otherwise. i think nothing other than a level of sanctions that russia has never seen will deter him, and that's exactly what we need to do with our allies. >> now, after this call, there will be several calls this month. the principals will not be involved. so president biden or vladimir putin, but high l-level diploma, and the calls will be consequential. as for the call today between the president and president biden, we'll keep you updated on what we learn. >> eva mckend, thank you. let me bring in susan glasser, staff writer at "the new yorker," also a former moscow bureau chief and co-wrote a book called "kremlin rising, vladimir putin's russia and the end of the revolution." what does the ukrainian president need and want from the u.s. right now? >> unfortunately, when you have an invasion army -- and that's what it is -- of 100,000-plus russian troops on your border, you're never going to get enough security. the united states isn't in a position to militarily head off an invasion. so it comes to the question of what levers, if any, does joe biden, the rest of nato and ukraine do they have on vladimir putin right now? but the key thing, as the correspondent just pointed out, is keep ukraine -- putin's goal is to separate ukraine from the west, is to show that he's negotiating superpower to superpower with joe biden and that the affairs of little countries like ukraine don't matter. it's important for biden to show solidarity, if nothing else, with the ukrainians in this call. >> in president biden's talks with putin last week, it lasted about an hour. the meeting itself was putin's suggestion. what is the strategy for why putin reached out to president biden to initiate this conversation? >> well, people have spent the last two decades trying aurchd failing to sigh what does vladimir putin want. i won't hazard a guess as to what it's in mice mind. i will say this: right now there's a big mismatch between what vladimir putin is demanding and what joe biden and nato can get him. he's demanding things that are impossible. that's why you see the heightened concern with chairman schiff from the intelligence committee that putin might be planning another invasion of ukraine because he's demanding something that's simply unacceptable. the concern is, you look at messaging from russiansing after the call between biden and putin the other day. what they're saying is, well, it would be a huge rupture in relations if the united states put new sanctions on russia. well, the russia would be if russia invades another country, and the sanctions would come in response to that. again, i feel we're in a cycle where vladimir putin is running down a checklist of things that one might do before going forward with some kind of military action. >> president biden keeps insisting he doesn't want to negotiate these matters in public, but this is what he said after thursday's meeting with putin. >> i fear that putin is very likely to invade. i still, frankly, don't understand the full motivation for why now he's doing this, but he certainly appears intent on it, unless we can persuade him otherwise. i think nothing other than a level of sanctions that russia has never seen -- >> i made it clear to president putin that if he makes any more moves and goes into ukraine, we will have severe sanctions. we will increase our presence in europe with our nato allies and there will be a heavy price to pay for it. >> of course, the president is saying that was the content of the conversation. perhaps that's different from just announcing these plans prior to the conversation. does president biden have any choice but to reveal something about what was said or how he's taking a strong stand against russia? >> well, look, there are definitely much more stringent sanctions that the u.s. and its allies could impose on russia even that were imposed in 2017 after russia annexed crimea. one thing that is important is putin's stated pretext, and it is a pretext, for this military buildup is the idea he wants to stop further nato expansion. one thing that's virtually guaranteed is that, if vladimir putin does launch a military action of any kind in ukraine, that there will be additional nato presence in eastern europe which putin says he wants to avoid. there's talk now that even european countries that aren't members of nato, like finland, would be so concerned about this destabilizing action on the part of russia, that they could want to join nato. countries could be clamoring to do so. putin is almost ensuring that he'd have more nato in eastern europe than he has now if he moves forward with this. that is something that is a serious cost and something that certainly vladimir putin doesn't want. >> susan, you recently wrote this is a critical time for the president as he's about to start his second year. you wrote just this week about what a brutal start it has been for president biden's tenure, his struggles do mess tickly, and now he has a chance to score a foreign affairs victory or at least take a stand or make a significant imprint on the global stage. >> i will say this, the weakening of american democracy has also been a blow to american prestige internationally. vladimir putin and every other world leader is looking at an america divided against itself, beset by crises with a large faction in the republican party seemingly dedicated to the attack on democracy itself. today 71% of republicans in the latest poll a year after january 6th, 71% of republicans say they don't consider joe biden the legitimate president of the united states. now, that is a weakening factor in international relations, too. would it be a victory for joe biden if vladimir putin decided to pack up his 100,000 troops and go home? sure. it would be a victory for the world, not just for joe biden. it will be a victory for ukraine's rule of law. vladimir putin no longer seems to recognize the commitment to the international rule of law. it's hard to see that there's a win-win situation for joe biden in dealing with russia. if anything, putin has forced himself again and again on the agenda of joe biden who came into office on a foreign policy sense of hoping to really reorient american diplomacy and geopolitics towards the concerns about china and rising authoritarianism in asia. if anything, this is putin essentially pitching a fit. >> that helps him score points. that's the way he sees it. susan glasser, thank you so much. appreciate that. still ahead, the debate over how to return to school. i'll speak with former education secretary arne duncan about balancing the importance of in-person learning and keeping kids healthy. first, a quick programming note, tonight carole king and james taylor and an unforgettable film "just call out my name" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. on cnn. ahh! the new ww personalpoints program is particular to you. you can eat pizza. you can even eat this, if you want to. and these... in the same... i mean, not at the same time, i wouldn't do them at the same time. no two plans are the same. when can i start? start the new year with three months free. join today at ww.com. hurry, offer ends january 3rd. - family. - family. - family. - family is everything. - [girl 1] family is with us through all of life's great moments. - bye, bye! - [girl 2] family is who we count on, inner greatest time of need because they're always by your side when we need them the most. - and for the past 100 years, shriners hospitals for children has become family to over 1.5 million kids. - [girl 2] in tough times, and good times... - good girl! - [girl 2] they are there when we need the most. - but it's only possible because of people like you. - people who give every month. - because of that, you're our family too. - you're there when we need you most. - but if you haven't joined the shriner's hospital family yet, now is your chance. - [girl 3] all you have to do, is call the number on your screen or go online to loveshriners.org right now, with your monthly gift. and you'll help thousands of kids just like us, get the care and support we need every day. - when you call or go online today with your monthly gift of just $19, just 63 cents a day, we'll send you this adorable "love to the rescue" blanket as our gift to you. it'll be a reminder of how you're standing by our side, just like family. - thank you. - thank you for being a part of our family. - thank you for being a part of my family. - your monthly gift today, can change my life forever. - [girl 3] you can join the thousands of caring family members who give each month by calling this special number on your screen right now. - it's so good to know that we have a family like you, who cares enough to stand by our side. - thank you. - thank you. - thank you. - [girl 3] please, call or go online right now to loveshriners.org with your monthly gift. - [boy 1] you'll make a difference in our lives, every day. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. 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 welcome back. from colleges to primary schools, getting back-to-school plans keep fluctuating. most of the country's largest school districts are bringing students back in person in the next few days despise a growing surge in coronavirus cases. more than 30 universities are either moving online or delaying their start dates. over 2,000 k-12 schools are closing this week according to verbio. with us now, arne duncan, the secretary of education during the obama administration. secretary duncan, so good to see you and happy new year. >> happy new year. good to see you. thanks for the opportunity. >> you said last month that schools should mandate vaccines. what do you see as a potential path forward to actually making that happen? >> we've learned a lot, unfortunately, over the last two years. one, obviously vaccines save lives. we know how critically important that is. secondly, with the upturn in cases, frequent testing is very, very important, mandating masks for children and adults in school. i think the biggest thing we've learned over three years of disrupted school years is that virtual school is really problematic. it's problematic for kids academically, very problematic socially and emotionally. whatever we can do to keep children in school learning with their teachers, with adults, building those rips with peers, with adults and teachers who care about them, we have to try and do that as best we can. >> it seems as though in so many school districts and households, it's the congress certain about kids getting sick that are outweighing the concerns about whether virtual school is giving them the best educationally. it's really a matter of health. so is it your feeling that so many school districts are just so taxed right now that they have no other choice but to resort to virtual learning? >> school districts are taxed. i continue to be so disappointed that we as adults aren't also to make the sacrifices we need to make so our children can be safe and go to school. the trauma children have dealt with, we've had 150,000 kids lose parents due to covid, parents losing jobs. it's been an extraordinarily difficult time. our children need to be able to build healthy relationships with adults. i know everyone may not agree with me, but i would argue that schools should be the last things to close. it's very safe. it's being spread in the community. because we haven't done the things in the community, the kids pay a tremendous price. i don't think it's fair. i don't think it's right. our most vulnerable students, those who maybe aren't getting meals at home and they're food insecure, maybe home isn't the safest place, school serves beyond the needs of academics. the impact socially and emotionally on children continuing to miss school for now the third consecutive school year. >> d.c. mayor muriel bowser said students and staff have to provide proof of a negative test. listen to what dr. james phillips had to say about these rapid tests. >> there is absolutely no way to keep omicron out of the schools. these antigen tests at home simply are not sensitive enough to keep omicron out of our schools. >> so do you think testing for students is an effective solution, especially if the omicron variant seems to be es escaping accuracy on those tests? >> first of all, we know there are no perfect solutions. but we know three things. we novacks nations are critically important. we know wearing masks is critically important and frequent on going testing, whether weekly, every two weeks, during this realtime of crisis with the tremendous spike in covid case, we know those three things, vaccinations, testing, wearing masks are all critically important to maximizing the chance to keep our kids healthy and safe which is paramount and keeping them in school and learning with their peers which they desperately need as well. >> you've been speaking with superintendents around the country. what are they telling you about the biggest challenges that they're facing? >> the real challenge of superintendents, they're just doing heroic work everywhere, is this virus is spreading from the community into schools, and schools have done a much better job of being disciplined, of keeping both children and adults, bus drivers, lunch workers, custodians, teachers, principals, keeping the adults and students safe. we haven't taken this seriously enough for a long, long time in our communities and our children have paid a tremendously unfair and high price because of that. >> this was the education secretary miguel cardona this morning, if you'll listen. >> we know this omicron came quickly, and in many districts there aren't systems set up yet. we're working closely with those systems. we've partnered with the rockefeller foundation to partner with them. that coupled with what we know is going to help, having a shorter quarantine period. we do believe our schools can remain open. we have to stay vigilant. we have to stay focused on those mitigation strategies that work. we have to continue to work together to give our students a chance to learn in the classroom. >> is the biden administration, in your view, spending too much time trying to strike this optimistic tone, when this variant has covid spreading even faster in households and school systems than what we saw this time last year? is it time for this administration to be less reactionary and more proactive? >> i actually don't agree with that statement. i don't think secretary cardona is being overly optimistic. i think he's being realistic. districts are working hard to keep everybody safe and he understands the impact of children missing school. you have to think about children who are 7, 8, 9 years old. they haven't been to school three or four years. every year they've had is disrupted. it's tough on us, but think about children where this has been their only school experience, it's not right and not fair. we have to continue to be vigilant, careful and safe. that's first and foremost. we have to continue to find ways and make sacrifices, we as adults, to make sure our children can go to school safely and learn and not continue to have the trauma of having to stay home and not be around their peers. >> it underscores there are no easy answers. it's been a struggle for everybody and continues to be. >> that's exactly right. >> former education secretary arne duncan, thank you so much. >> thank you so much. still ahead, the weather system that braurt a rare tornado to georgia is not over yet. where will we see severe weather? we'll get the latest forecast right after this. ays been runni. 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 >> woman: what's my safelite story? >> vo: my car is more than four wheels. it's my after-work decompression zone. so when my windshield broke... >> woman: what?! >> vo: ...i searched for someone who really knew my car. i found the experts at safelite autoglass. with their exclusive technology, they fixed my windshield... then recalibrated the camera attached to my glass so my safety systems still work. who knew that was a thing?! >> woman: safelite has service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ welcome back. the weather forecast today has intense changes on the from texas to new england. heavy snow, thunderstorms, and possible tornadoes all part of the mix. a wave of severe weather is moving across the country and it could impact millions of americans. cnn meteorologist tyler malden is live for us in the cnn weather center. tyler, it's supposed to be a big travel day, but folks are frustrated for a number of reasons. cancellations of flights, and now weather problems too? >> yes, fredericka, we ended 2021 with severe weather and now we're rolling into 2022 with a powerful winter storm. if you'll remember, we had record breaking heat across the southeast but temperatures well below average up here across the north. where those temperatures are but the butting heads, that's where we're getting heavy weather. thunderstorms through the carolinas, and that's on the warm side. on the cold side, where cold air is meeting the moisture, we're getting snowfall. moderate snowfall at the moment ongoing in memphis. this system has the entire area shaded in yellow, from the panhandle to florida, in a 2 out of 5 risk of severe weather. winter storm warnings are in effect for the mississippi and tennessee river valley going up into the appalachians because we expect the snowfall to continue to expand as the system pushes east. we'll see snowstorms in the northeast. the final track of the system will determine how much snowfall new york city could see. the bullseye seems to be over delaware and southern new jersey, fredericka. >> wow, what a mess. tyler, thanks so much. coming up, new covid restrictions going into place tomorrow in chicago. if you want to go out to dinner, you need to prove that you're fully vaccinated. we'll talk about that, next. tok from puerto rico when he was 17. with ancestry, being able to put the pieces of the puzzle together... ...it's amazing. it's honestly amazing. we're having a baby, so the new law came at a perfect time. for less than 30 a month, the whole family is covered. i love my job and it pays really well. there's just no health coverage. for $182 a month, i found the perfect plan. all that stress about coverage just went away. for $14 a month, my plan covers my meds, vision and dental. now, more people can get financial assistance. what you pay depends in part on how much you make. new law. lower prices. more people qualify. at healthcare.gov - [narrator] introducing the grubhub guarantee: our promise to deliver the food you love on time, and give you the lowest price, or you'll get $5 off your next order. how not to be a hero: because that's the last thing they need you to be. you don't have to save the day. you just have to navigate the world so that a foster child isn't doing it solo. you just have to stand up for a kid who isn't fluent in bureaucracy, or maybe not in their own emotions. so show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com when you have xfinity xfi, you have peace of mind for the foster kids built in at no extra cost. advanced security helps keep your family protected online. pause wifi whenever for ultimate control with the xfinity app. and family-safe browsing gives parents one less thing to worry about. security, control and peace of mind. with xfinity xfi, it's all built in at no extra cost. welcome back. with covid cases on the rise, many cities are beginning new restrictions for the new year. starting tomorrow, chicago will require proof of vaccinations to enter into any indoor venues, including restaurants, bars, and gyms. illinois has seen cases double in recent weeks. and officials say they worry about what comes next. joining me now is kevin bain, co-founder for the independent restaurant coalition and the boca restaurant group. good to see you, kevin, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> i know, it's a very hard start, isn't it? >> it is. and it seems like this is a never-ending thing. so here we are, 20 months into this fight, and it's still a real struggle. >> so then do most restaurateurs welcome this, then, that patrons will have to show proof of vaccination? >> i think at the end of the day the requirement of vaccination cards is something we can both handle and support. and we welcome anything that will keep our guests and our team members safe. but it is problematic for restaurants in some ways. it does cause us extra labor. people can be arguementative at the front door. and in chicago you don't want to give people extra reasons not to dine when it's 5 degrees outside. but at the end of the day, we're happy to do our part. the variant spread that is the problem cost multiple staff members work in december. and we also had to cancel many holiday parties, millions of dollars of parties had to be canceled across the country. so restaurants are here once again in a major pickle, with no current government programs. >> so then i wonder, you know, if you're really also saying chicago and the restaurant business has no other recourse, because on one hand you want to keep all of your employees safe. you have suffered a big blow from people getting sick. at the same time, you want business, so you need the public to be cooperative about helping to keep you all safe. >> that's all true. now, if they go to capacity limitations, that's the death sentence that caused 100,000 restaurants to close. and there's a solution to all of this. the independent restaurant coalition is 1,000 members strong. we speak to restaurants all the time who are on the verge of closing. and the restaurant revitalization fund was already designed. it just needs to be refilled. we asked for $120 billion originally. we received $28.6 billion. there's 177,000 restaurants who never got support. so i think what restaurants want is just fair reciprocity. they want to say, hey, we're going to do our part, we're going to make it as safe as possible, but help us on the other hand so it doesn't kill our business and at the same time lose jobs for all these hard working people. >> so you're needing more federal assistance. you've said that 86% of the restaurants are in danger of closing. and congress needs to replenish the restaurant revitalization fund established by the american rescue plan. and i know you too have been working hard to ensure the safety of your customers. but those safety measures come with a cost. >> they do. >> prices for just about everything have been going up. how much of a role has that played too in your current situation? >> well, yeah. everything is difficult right now. first of all, the restaurant business was already difficult. it's like the hardest business in the world. and so now we're like in the olympics of trying to make it work. and so, you know, we've been working with senatorsin and sch on new legislation for this year. but neighborhood restaurants and bars are going out of business. yeah, restaurants have had to raise prices. but everything is hard right now. there are nights when you just don't have enough employees to field the team. the word "restaurant" literally means to restore other people. and it's pretty hard to restore other people when you're not restored and your spirit has been kicked. >> oh, my. that's

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