the united states explode. members of the january 6th selection committee reveal actions. just days before the u.s. marks a full year since the insurrection. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." we begin our coverage this evening with the latest on the omicron surge now seriously disrupting everyday life across the united states. cnn's alexandra field is joining us from new york right now. alexandra, americans are trying to keep some sense of normalcy, but the virus is causing all sorts of problems for schools and businesses. >> reporter: really we're facing cascading problems that should continue for weeks to come, wolf. that includes for travel. nearly 18,000 flights canceled since christmas eve. part of that is weather, a lot of it is covid, none of it will help up soon. as the governor of new york put it bluntly, we are not in a good place. >> if you look at the up tick, it's almost a vertical increase. >> reporter: amid a tsunami of new cases, the daily average topping 400,000 for the first time, the fda making major moves to add layers of protection, authorizing booster shops for kids, shortening the initial period from the first doses and the booster, authorizing a third dose of vaccine for some immunocompromised children between the ages of 5 and 11. all that, as the omicron surge brings a growing number of hospitalizations, more than 100,000 are hospitalized with covid for the first time in four months. >> the one group that may be a problem for is very young children, toddlers, who have trouble with upper airway infections. we are seeing rises. >> school districts struggling with how to bring students safely back to school. five atlanta metro schools going remote, white seattle, chicago and d.c. schools delay their stars, but the largest district in the nation, new york city schools is bringing students back to class, with a new mayor committing to in-person learning. we're not sending an unclear message of what will happen day to day. i'm going to tell you what will happen day to day. we are staying open. >> reporter: it's part of a shift in more of the country finding ways to exist with covid. crowds building stadiums for bowl games, nfl and nba easing restrictions on players last week. but there are still consequences with the crushingly high case count. it isn't business as usual. new york city coping with a staff shortage by instructing emergency medical services not to transport most stable patients with flu-like symptoms. the headaches for air travels increasing, causing another 2100 cancellations today. now affecting so many of us, also affecting covid treatments. the state of new hampshire was expecting to receive monoclonal antibody teams today, but they won't arrive for another week. the federal government citing a surge in demand for this kind of treatment, according to the governor. wolf? alexandra, thank you very much. let's get more on what's going on. dr. tom friedan is joining us, and soon dr. ala sanford will join us as well. a cnn hero, by the way. in 2021 for her work helping to improve testing and vaccine access in philadelphia's minority neighborhoods. she'll be joining us shortly. dr. friedan, dr. fauci, as you know, says it's more relevant to focus on hospitalizations than cases, so let's look at that number right now. more than 100,000 people in the united states are currently hospitalized, currently hospitalized with covid-19. exactly two weeks ago today, 68,000 people in the u.s. were hospitalized. should we be prepared for even more americans to be hospitalized as we see the impact of the holidays? >> well, wolf, bottom line, omicron is much more infectious, but fortunately much less severe. with the massive number of cases, it's inevitable we are seeing increases in hospitalizations. those are likely to continue. there is one point we should pay attention to, which is so many people have the omicron virus, that some of the people who are hospitalized won't actually be hospitalized because of omicron, but with omicron. that's going to make even that analysis a little more challenging. >> more than 100,000 americans in hospitals. dr. sanford, thank you for joining us. in the midst of this surge, more u.s. cities seem eager to keep schools and businesses open. they're coming up with new ways for that to happen. is that the right approach at this current phase of the pandemic? >> you know, i think we have to adjust to this new normal. we've got things in our ar armamentarium. receives your booster if it's time, and you're at six months for the mrna, even now five months for our children, two months after johnson & johnson, and knowing your surroundings, not being among those not vaccinated, and staying away from indoor gatherings, quite frankly. i think you can recoil and stay inside, or try to smartly and take calculated risk with our new normal of coronavirus. >> the fda, dr. friedan, has authorized booster shots, third shots, if you will, for 12 to 15-year-olds. good idea? >> absolutely. what we're finding with the omicron variant is that, unless you get that recent booster, you really have very little protection. >> so you agree, dr. sanford, you agree as will? >> i will. half my staff either has covid or someone in their family has coronavirus disease. it's so transmissible. my children said today that half of their class wasn't present, and their teacher was absent. yes, i agree with the doctor. you need to get your booster when you can. >> i agree as well -- not that i'm a doctor, but i agree. child optiizations are at that highest. dr. stanford, what is the best way. >> it starts with our teachers, cafeteria workers and bus drivers. they have to have been vaccinated and boosted. >> children who are eligible need to be vaccinated. folks needs to be wearing masks in the classroom, and if you can have outdoor instruction, better ventilation with windows open, then we need to do that. >> we heard the cdc could soon add a testing recommendations to the five-day isolation guidance, was it a mistake to not include a testing component when they released the guidelines the other day? >> wolf, the virus is adapting. the omicron is an adaptation. we need to adapt also. that means changing recommendations in real time, and inevitably without all of the information we wish we had about severity and other factors. the cdc hasn't explained their decision. they are thoughtful decisions, they are judgment calls here, and frankly testing is not necessarily going to tell you yes, get out of jail free, you can go around without a mask. their guide wants was stop isolating after five days, but wear a mask. what is missing, i think, besides the explanation is how do we protect the people who are most vulnerable, nursing home residents, cancer patients, others who may get very seriously ill with covid. that's a broader issue. those individuals may want to upgrade their masks, and they may want to make sure they don't have exposures that we can avoid. >> dr. stanford, i know that throughout this pandemic -- we're grateful to you for this -- you've dedicated yourselves to vaccine health, are you seeing the resources you need? >> somewhat. we could use more, definitely. for example, we were one of the sole people operating today. we saw upwards of 800 people today. we vaccinated about a third of those, and everyone else was here for a covid test, our positivity with the rapids, 45%. the remainder we sent for pcrs. i mean, it was one in three after christmas. so i'm glad fema is coming this week, looking forward to working with them. we need more personnel, we need more rapid tests. there's a place for it. when someone comes in and they look like they have covid, to get that positive result, it lets everyone know they've been in contact, allows you to separate in your household, so it doesn't continue to spread, and do year best. yes, i'm glad we are providing access, but do i need support? absolutely, to be sustainable and who we are serving, it's not just african-americans, but all of philadelphia. >> we're grateful to what you're doing, and we hope you get what you need. dr. ala stanford, and dr. tom friedan, thank you. have a happy new year. wall street investors kicked off 2022 on a high note. the dow jones industrials closing up to close at all all-time record high, the s&p 500 also set a record at the closing bell. just ahead, as the u.s. closes in on the one-year anniversary, we're getting inside into former president trump's actions while the attack unfolded. i'll ask a committee member where the investigation stands today. fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast heartburn relief in every bite. crunchy outside, chewy inside. ♪ tums, tums, tums, tums ♪ tums chewy bites ♪ 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 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. once upon a time, at the magical everly estate, landscaper larry and his trusty crew... were delayed when the new kid totaled his truck. timber... fortunately, they were covered by progressive, so it was a happy ending... for almost everyone. 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>> i think it's pretty clear that it shows the in, by the former president. it also demonstrates that we're making significant progress in our investigation. that's the stage at which we are right now, and we continue to gather information via text messages, via interviews from individuals. one of those key areas that we have discussed all along are these 187 minutes that president trump was in the white house, when he could have been doing something to help stop this attack. those are some questions we have for individuals as well. so we'll continue to ask those questions and seek interviews and testimony from individuals who might know more. >> that three hours-plus of inaction on the part of the then president, what would that mean? any sort of criminal investigation? is that what you are suggesting? >> well, what we're suggesting is we need to follow the facts wherever they lead. our job, our mandate is to follow the facts on the events of january 5th and january 6th, to make legislative recommendations to help prevent this activity from ever happening again. that's what we seek to do. through that process, if we gather information that is helpful in other arenas, we are happy to lay that out to the american public. >> is it wishful thinking, congressman, that any of the this new evidence amounts to what we call the smoking gun, that would actually change any minds about what happened on january 6th? >> well, i hope the american public wants to know, just like we want to know, exactly what transpired, and to make sure we protect democracy in the future. so that's been the focus and our key. so we continue to gather things. not all of it can be in the public realm. when we do have the ability to lay this out, we hope they do see how close we came to losing democracy, and the challenge that we face moving forward, and the role that people around the president played, including the president. this is folks in government and out of government who could have done things that could have helped that day and chose not to. >> congressman aguilar, thanks as usual for joining us, and once again, happy new year. >> thanks. same to you, wolf. new york city is, once again, a major covid hot spot. i'll speak with the new mayor, eric adams, and ask him how he plans to keep the city open, as the new variant wreaks half von. , so you only pay for what you need. havoc. wooo, yeaa, woooooo and, by switching you could even save 665 dollars. hey tex, can someone else get a turn? 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>> we were engulfed by what covid did to us. it was imperative not only did we have the turmoil and drama, the first few months, responding to covid, watching people die and sick on ventilators, i know what it did to the spirit of new york. it was familiar to what we experienced with 9/11. 9/12, we got up, wolf. that's what we must do right now. that's what i'm saying to my city. we can respond because of our resiliency to this devastating attack that covid put on our city. >> let's turn to schools in new york city. you've said we're staying open and telling parents to fear not, your words. can you promise parents there's nothing to fear as children return to classroom? >> wolf, the safest place for our children, we know, is in a school building. we should look at the fact that on december 23rd, 65% of children went into the school building. today, it was announced 67% went into the school building. so when you look at the fact that last year was only less than 1% of infection rates took place in schools. when you're home, it's over 15%. children not in school, they're not staying in their rooms. they're out in the street, not wearing a mask. some are not getting the food they deserve. many of them are dealing with socialization and other crises that comes from being isolated, now nat school building. this is the most important thing we can do, keep our schools open and allow our children to receive the support they deserve. >> the president of the new york city teachers union, who wanted city schools to start the year rem remotelies, is concerned about staffs schools as cases remain high. what do you see to that concern? >> first, michael has been an amazing partner through outthis entire operation. we did something over the weekend we should all look at. do you know we distribute 1.5 million test kits to all the schools in the department of education. we did it in a short period of time. we mobilized michael, the teachers, the department of education, police, organizations to get it done. that is how we deal with this problem. so, of course, he will raise his concern, but as the mayor of new york, i have to look at the totality of this problem and assure i have our children in a safe place. i know the best way to do that is have our children in schools. >> can you share with us specifically what he said, the union has said to you, and what do you do if the teachers and other school staff start calling in sick? >> we're going to adjust. we have to pivot and adjust. let me tell you something else. just as it is costly, expensive and dangerous for children to be home and on the streets, we need to understand the impact of that i know that it means whatever staff we have to coordinate and adjust, use our space in our building so we can social distance the right way, use our take-home tests, and make sure we create a -- and michael is on page with that. >> he believes that, i believe that. when we talk about remote learning, think about this for a moment. some communities don't have the remote option. they don't have high-speed broadband. they don't have access to wi-fi or access to ipads. so we're leaving them out. that's what we discovered. we have to think about all the children, not just some children. the best place to do that is in a school billing. >> and for a lot of these kids, the best meal they get is in school. >> well said. >> mayor, i want you to stay with us. i want to also talk about the fight that you witnessed personally while riding the subway on your first official day in office. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back. plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? 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(sings dramatically) oh, i need to get to work. telling people to check the singlecare price. it's been nearly one year before president trump et cetera plot to overturn the election culminated in the attack on the u.s. capitol. >> so, look, i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state. >> the georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger is author of a new book. a year ago yesterday, the then sitting president of the united states called you. we just heard the clip, asked you to find enough votes to overturn the results in georgia. is it still hard to believe that actually happened? >> wolf, thank you for having me. yes, it is. we had done all our research and checked out every single allegation that was made. there weren't thousands of dead people. in fact, we found two more, so four dead people voted. none of the allegations every proved out. i had certified officers -- we even call in the gbi and fbi. there was never anything to support the allegations made. >> the election fraud claim fueled the attack, but most republicans are standing by mr. trump. is american democracy any safer today than a year ago? >> >> when i look back at some of the heroic efforts of commanders in chief, like george washington, who crossed the delaware with his troops. and look at roosevelt riding a horse up the hill with his troops. that's leadership in action. you know, at the end of the day, like i said, integrity kocounts and i think people are looking for principled leadership up and down the line. >> former-president trump, as you well know, currently facing investigations in georgia your state for his push to reject the election results. what is the status of that investigation? >> they don't give us daily reports on where they are. i'm sure that our local district attorney is doing her work. so we haven't heard from them recently. >> what sort of accountability could the former president actually face from these state-level probes? >> well, that is a legal question and i'm a structural engineer, so i will let the lawyers debate that one. but i do know that i will always back the blue and always support law enforcement. >> how will you be commemorating january 6th? >> i think it's a day of sadness. it's a horrific day. we had -- i just commemorated and just actually recognized a georgian who went to uga. she is now on the national police force. the capitol police. and she was injured that day and we recognized her. there's many other officers that were injured that day. some lost their lives. and so, to me, it should be a day of mourning and remembrance. you know, the sacrifice they made protecting our nation. >> good point. georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger, i hope you have a happy and healthy 2022. thanks so much for join us. >> thank you, wolf. >> much more just ahead including a closer look at nfl star wide receiver antonio brown, after that bizarre mid-game outburst which raised lots of serious concerns about his mental health. no matter where you work. get up to a $3,000 scholarship, starting with your first course. explore your opportunities at phoenix.edu 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. tonight, new concern about the mental wellbeing of nfl star antonio brown after the tampa bay wide receiver had a bizarre meltdown during the midful yesterday's game against the new york jets and then stormed out of the stadium. cnn brian todd is joining us right now. brian, this isn't the first time antonio brown has courted controversies. >> and according to the website spot track, get this. this website tracks sports contracts. antonio brown would have made about $1 million in bonuses if he just played a little bit longer, catching just eight more passes, gaining 55 more dwryard with one more touchdown catch. now, it appears all of that and his overall playing career could be finished. a meltdown in front of a stadium full of fans and huge tv audience. >> stripped off his shirt and glove, threw those into the crowd. then, ran across the field while the teems are still on the field. tampa bay buccaneers star wide receiver antonio brown abruptly and dramatically storm all of a sudden the field during the third quarter of the buccaneers' game against the new york jets on sunday. just moments before, brown's teammates including fellow receiver mike evans were seen trying to convince brown to keep it together to no avail. >> that's antonio brown without his uniform we are told. >> reporter: brown's coach, bruce aarons, was abrupt with reporters immediately after the game when asked about the incident. >> he is no longer a buck. all right. that's the end of the story. let's talk about the guys who were out there and won the game. >> reporter: but at a news conference today, he struck a more empathetic tone. >> i wish him well. i hope if he needs help, get some. and -- but, um, yeah, i -- it's very hard because i do care about him. >> reporter: buccaneers' quarterback tom brady who had lobbied for brown to be signed by both the buccaneers and his previous team, the new england patriots, was clearly concerned about brown's wellbeing right after the game. >> i think everybody should do what they can to help him in ways that -- that he really needs it and we all love him, we care about him deeply. i think everyone should -- should be very compassionate and empathetic toward, you know, um, some very difficult things that are happening. >> reporter: some sports journalists, while disturbed by sunday's spectacle, were not shocked to see the long tortured saga of antonio brown take this turn. >> this did not take a genius to see that this would come to some sort of awful public embarrassing ending like this. >> reporter: antonio brown has made the nfl's all-star game, the pro bowl seven times. but his personal history has been arguably as explosive as his play. in december 2018, he was deactivated by the pittsburgh steelers after reportedly throwing a ball at a teammate. after being traded to the raiders and released, brown was signed by the new england patriots at tom brady's urging but the patriots cut him in 2019 after he was accused by a former trainer of sexual assault, a case that was later settled. in january 2020, brown was charged with felony burglary and two misdemeanors after an incident with a moving truck company. he pleaded no contest. this year, he was suspended for giving his team a fake covid vaccination card. >> he should have gotten psychiatric help. he should have gotten some form of intervention from the national football league that kept him off a football field but he is talented and can help a team win games. >> reporter: cnn has reached out to the nfl and to a representative for antonio brown for comment on all of this. we have not heard from either of them, wolf. >> all right. >> brian todd reporting for us, brian, thank you very much and to or viewers, thanks very much for watching. i am wolf blitzer in the situation room. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. out front next. the u.s. in the red zone. covid cases rising and hospitalizations now at their highest level in nearly four months as the fda tries to taking as. plus being breaking through trump's wall of secrecy. january 6th select committee has firsthand knowledge of what trump was doing during the deadly insurrection, so what do they know? and leader chuck schumer says he wants to force a vote that could change the rules of washington. but does he have the votes to make such a transformational move? let's go out front. and good evening, i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, covid surging