a. today it's another week, potentially another shift in cdc guidance which could leave many americans scratching their heads wondering exactly how to approach the latest coronavirus wave. just a week ago the isolation period for people infected with covid was shortened from ten days to five, so what could potentially be changing now? here's secretary-general dr. mur thy this morning at cnn. >> guidance on shortening the isolation period was one that the cdc issued last week. they have certainly received feedback and questions about the role of testing in shortening that quarantine period and they are actually working right now on issuing a clarification on that. i would expect that any day now. >> so stand by for some sort of clarification potentially involving testing. meantime, where do we stand as a country? omicron now accounts for 95% of enough cases in the u.s. in the last week, and while those infections do appear in most cases to be milder, we know the nation's hospital system is buckling of the right now the u.s. is averaging half a million new cases per day, but covid hospitalizations are at a level not seen since september back when delta was dominant. icus are once again flooded. three-quarters full nationwide, covid patients accounting for more than 25% of those in the icu and perhaps most alarming of all the hospitalizations among children are higher than ever before. the vast majority of the nation's schools are press ahead with in-person classes and if all of this has your head spinning wondering again what you're supposed to do, well, you're not alone. we do know, too, the next hour.will be meeting with his covid task force. let's go live to cnn owes kate abe collins live at the white house. >> will they be hearing any more about the potential change in cdc guidance? >> we will. we do know he'll make some remarks. the cdc guide as, expecting an update to it, not a change imminently. the reason it's not going to be a significant change is you're not going to see them come out and change drastically from what that recommendation was last week, which as you just noted was cutting that isolation period in half from step days to five days, but the criticism that the cdc faced over that new guide as is they did not require or recommend a rapid test at the end of those five days. a lot of outside medical experts said they believe that they should have done that, that there should have been a testing component to this, and what's adding to the confusion here is how the cdc is explaining this guide as and people are left wondering what is it that they should be doing if they are isolating and have tested positive and the cdc director was on cbs last night, and i want you to listen to how she explained it last night. >> so if you have access to a test and do a test as day five, if you're reeling well go ahead and do test? here's hoy would interpret it. if it's positive stay home for another five days, if it's negative, still wear a mask, should still have transmissibility ahead of you. shouldn't visit grandma, shouldn't get on an airplane and should still be pretty careful when you're with other people by wearing your mask all the time. >> now this is incredibly notable i think because where she says if you take a positive test after those five days and you test positive you should stay home another five days. that's not something that we heard from the cdc or other top government officials last week when we were asking them about this guide arranges and actually dr. with a lenczycki said we would would not change our guide as based on the result of a rapid test positive offer negative, but when it comes to what she's saying you should do. stay home if it's positive on day five. if you continuing to out in the world she would not -- that's a pretty big qualifier that would have been important information when all of this guidance came out. it's very difficult to acsews or schedule an opportunity for that matter. >>. they have the plan to difficulty abuse half a bill crop tests. we don't have details from the administration, and we are still waiting on those. >> not a lot of details but a whole lot of questions. we heard you point out in your interview that this is why americans have so many questions. kaitlan, thank you. well, as we've been talking about, we're looking at the numbers here, too, which are so important, specifically hospitalizations, and when we talk about pediatric hospitalizations, they are now at unprecedented level across the country. cnn's miguel marquez went inside the largest children's hospital which is currently experiencing a record surge and i want to warren, what he found was heard boecken. >> reporter: 4-month-old baby, one of many people here with covid-19, struggling to breathe. >> are you afraid they are going to have to intubate him? >> yeah, a little bit. it's just really scary, so i just hope, that you know, he's able to get better and go home. >> reporter: this mom of three thinks her youngest picked up the virus at a christmas family gathering. her only job now, keeping her son in good spirits. >> i do talk to him in like a little baby voice. i sing to him. i can't sing but he likes it. >> reporter: one of nearly 70 chirp now hospitalized at texas children's, a new record high for the nation's largest pediatric hospital. in just the last two weeks hospitalizations here have increased more than four fold. most not eligible from toddlers to teen. >> brains are mashed potatoes. we began november 29. me and my daughter tested positive for covid. >> reporter: amy woodruff's daughter has been intubated and in an induesed coma for nearly a month. she also gave birth nearly three weeks ago. she knows none of it. >> she had a c-section in amarillo on december 9th to a beautiful little baby girl, three pounds, 6 ounces. >> who she has not seen yet. >> she has not seen and she was covid negative, praise jesus. >> reporter: heal was moved from amarillo and houston to advanced care. still unaware her three-week-old daughter is 900 miles away in an amarillo newborn intensive care opportunity. >> what will you tell her when you can spoke to her? >> i don't even want to think about it. that's my little girl being away from her little girl. my heart bleeds for her. >> the omicron variant now ripping through the lone star state. texas children preparing for even more sick kids as covid-19 cases skyrocket. >> reporter: what is your sense for what the next few weeks are going to hold? >> you know, i think the bar for resilience just keeps moving. you think that i don't know how we can do it again and we keep doing again. >> the e.r. is seeing a spike in kids and parents seeking testing and bogging down triage for the desperately ill. >> we're suing mild conditions, known covid exposures and a lot of them are really seeking testing. >> reporter: like previous waves, the sickest kids, those needing hospitalization, are having a tough time breathing. >> so they are getting a lot of respiratory symptoms as we've been expecting. pneumonias, needing respiratory support to then them both better. >> viral spread expected to spread. >> the problem is with so many kids and children infected, own if 9% hospital rate is lower, we're seeing very few people hospitalized. >> reporter: miguel marquez, cnn, houston, texas. >> for more i'm joined by texas emergency medical physician from the baylor college of medicine. great to have you with you, the scenes we just saw heartbreaking. you're in hues top. are you and your colleagues seeing similar situations with children? >> absolutely, erica. what's being reported across the country is similar to what we're seeing here in texas. the american academy of pediatrics state that had over 325,000 children were diagnosed with covid last week alone. those are record-breaking numbers. you just aired the segment about texas children hospital. their hospital rates have increased four times over the last to you weeks and the majority of the children being admitted, are unvaccinated or because they aren't aware. children who contract covid, there are not the same approved treatments for children as there are adults. the oral medication treatments and monoclonal antibodies are approved for people of 12 years of aiming. the young people are struggling. >> just getting a note, i believe the hospitalizations in this country have surpassed the peak of delta. those are the host serious cases as we know. also do want to get your take on this cdc guidance which will as a negative taste and this is tough is dr. with a lenczycki saying even if you have a negative test on day five you're not really in the clear. you may still transmit the it is. don't -- do you believe the isolate peter should have been shorted. if we include a suggest of testing day five, that language is not strong enough. that should be a requirement. there's too much hedging going on. the tests rim perfect, yes, but age perfect test is better than no test at all. >> the tests rim perfect and also very difficult to get in many places. do you think the cdc's decision on shortening the isolation period was mace based on the zinsor zins? >> well, from what i sawed there was a familiar i in february sda of six people. we essentially changed recommendations based on a sub set of about 250 people. that's not enough to make generallizations for millions in this country. i also know that there have been comments from dr. auchy to come to a halt. we want peel could get back to work and if that's it -- that just leads to further staffing shortages don't the road so if we have way if you're doing it out of necessities or trow public. >> my neighbor athe street says i'm an essential worker and wants possible back in the classroom. there's a jim of students locking at remote. when you look at where were as a country, as the mitigation wresh. should kids thereby in person? >> undoubtedly kids need to be in school for in-person learning. there are a variety of benefits of why children need to be in school and as much as we speak about the benefits of children being in school, we also need to speak about the risk that in-person learning poses to the children and the adults and teacher and staff that are teaching these kids there. has to be some kind of balance in place. what is going on in this country today is not what was going on in this country before children left school for winter break, and we we've go to make changes to accommodate the ever change landscape. >> really quickly before i let you go. what are the changes and what needs to be in place? is it simple as good access to masks, we need karen this test neglect sieve and don't let children come to school with cloth masks and give them high quality mask. we need to ebb sure there's high circulation and benefit. there is no one reasons fits haul. >> always aout it. there are -- and then there is this. thousands of drivers south station tunnel on a? y? i i we're goinging is. we'll ask him how it's going. breaking news. moments ago the albany district attorney declining to prosecute former new york governor andrew cuomo on accusations of forcible touching. those developments ahead. stay with us. you gotta hustle. you gotta go the extra mile. make a name for yourself. have a firm grip. always dress for success. and you gotta show 'em who's boss. thanks for coming in. we'll get back to you. hustle, sure, but for what matters. when you do, it leads to amazing. welcome to the next level. the all-new lexus nx. ♪ age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond. >> vo: my car is my after-work decompression zone. ♪ music ♪ >> vo: so when my windshield broke... i found the experts at safelite autoglass. they have exclusive technology and service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ a must in your medicine cabinet! less sick days! cold coming on? zicam is the #1 cold shortening brand! highly recommend it! zifans love zicam's unique zinc formula. it shortens colds! zicam. zinc that cold! mass general brigham. when you need some of the brightest minds in medicine, this is the only healthcare system in the country with five nationally ranked hospitals, including two world-renowned academic medical centers, in boston, where biotech innovates daily and our doctors teach at harvard medical school, and where the physicians doing the world-changing research are the ones providing care. there's only one mass general brigham. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. growing up in a little red house, on the edge of a forest in norway, there were three things my family encouraged: kindness, honesty and hard work. over time, i've come to add a fourth: be curious. be curious about the world around us, and then go. go with an open heart, and you will find inspiration anew. viking. exploring the world in comfort. hello, for the last few years, i've been a little obsessed with chasing the big idaho potato truck. but it's not like that's my only interest. i also love cooking with heart-healthy, idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. announcer: tired of pain radiating down your leg and lower back? get relief finally, with magnilife® leg and back pain relief. and get living. available at your local retailer. i mean, the pictures, you can't turn away. thousands of drivers stranded on i-95 in virginia's fredericksburg area and a lot of these folks are just begging for some help. transportation officials say multiple accidents are blocking the 48-mile stretch, and this, of course, on the heels of that severe winter storm yesterday. some motorists say they have been stuck now for more than 24 hours. they are not just stuck there. they are stuck in freezing temperatures. most of them don't have food, water. some don't even have warm clothes in the car. >> we don't have winter jackets with us. we have light jackets because we were in florida, so just doing the best we can but also trying to conserve our gas because we didn't know when we were going to get home. >> democratic senator tim kaine tweeted i started my normal drive to d.c. at 1:00 p.m., 19 hours later i'm still not near the capitol. cnn correspondent joe johns joining us live. so, how is it looking for the motorists stranded? when is the help arriving, joe? >> well, you know what, to state the obvious this is very slow going, and let me just give you an idea where i am. this is dumfries, virginia. it's in the zone and if you take a look down here that will show you what the problem is. the department of transportation here in the state as well as the state police held had a news conference on the telephone a little while ago and they explained that a lot of investigation down here, some are cars, many are semis, some of them have run out of gas, some are disabled there. have also been accidents, and what they have to do is they have to get the vehicles off the road that can actually drive and then come in again with tow trucks to try to move the one naz are disabled. if we can come back here. i can show you up on the overpass, the other thing that's going on is people are trying to get southbound on interstate 95 are stuck out here on the road. i talked to truck drivers up and down the road here who have been here for hours and hours, some since last night because they need to go to places like north carolina or atlanta or what have you, and it's all down there. the stories are incredible. the first person i talked to here was a paramedic who told me who was in a ambulance last night with a patient who needed to go to the hospital. they got stuck out heer for eight hours until they were able to flag down a police officer who was able to talk that patient and put that patient in the car with another paramedic and drive to the nearest hospital. i also speak to a truck driver, extremely frustrated after a night of nisry? >> 7-eleven is closed. there's no fuel. you know, my heart goes out to the young lady who has her 2-year-old baby. she has no food. you know, how could -- how can they allow people from st. louis that call me and told me what was about to happen. >> reporter: so the authorities are saying they are doing the best they can, but, again, erica, it's very slow going here in the dmv. >> back to you. a quick question for you, joe. they say they are doing the best they can, understandably. there's a lot to work with here. we're talking 48 miles, but in terms of preparation, was that addressed kneeing this storm was coming? the governor was hit with that question, and he defended himself by saying this was an extraordinary and very unusual storm of the type that they haven't seen in years and years, and i can tell you here in this area there's a lot more snow than there was say up north in washington, d.c. we had rain and overnight is all crows creating a situation and the authorities have to be taken to task how well they prepared for the storm since they knew it was coming. >> do you know who you that will get -- >> that's really not clear and authorities were hit with questions to that effect today. until they can get the vehicles that can move out of the way, that's when they are going to drm how much will -- joe, appreciate it. >> this motorist was just able to get out of this mess, pulled over safely to talk to us. you're not force whether i stopped at this point. these are pictures you put up on the screen. this was near ladysmith, virginia earlier today. just give us a sense. you ended up -- you were only an hour from your destination when all of a sudden you get stuck in this mess. you were there for 13, 14 hours. were you worried at some point that you were going to run out of gas? >> yeah. i really was. you know, everything was going smoothly until i reached about 48 miles from my destination, and when i reached that stopping point, i had about is 10 miles until i was empty so that was more than enough than i needed to be where it was. since i was at stop still i had to conserve my gas to stay warm. i would turn off my car every maybe hour and turn it back on every 15 minutes, would i have it on conserving the heat and keeping warm, but it was very, very -- very hard to stay warm, especially when it was about 20 degrees outside. >> absolutely. you've -- cnn was speaking with other people, only with light jackets come back from florida. did you have food or water with you? all of these things that all of a sudden you realize you really need when you're stuck in your question. >> truck drivers were reaching out to other drivers saying if awningry, cold, thursday, we always have extra blankets and toys. >> reporter: sawy connections with some of the other bus drivers. as you're talking to them, were the truck drivers getting any information? were you getting any information? >> no, not at all. from my understanding i didn't know what was going on until 4:00 a.m. until i finally reached a spot where i could get out of my car and when i did i saw there was black eyes on the ground and i kind of realized, this is a valid point that i should stop where i'm at, like i to dm -- i tried to rest my head as much as i co. there's no -- was there a moment when you thought i'm going to run out of gas and be stuck in this cold car? were you worried you may not move, you know, for a period of time after running out of gas? >> yeah, yeah. i actually got stuck on the side of the road for maybe ten minutes. it was very brief, but it was definitely scary and embarrassing to say the least. two gentlemen got out of their vehicles and helped me out, but i almost gave up. you know, i stopped press on the gas and then i felled someone pushing from behind and i went back and saw another guy coming to help and i started press on the gas pedal. i got out of that ditch. >> look, these are the good moments, right, that we can hold on to is the way that people really do some together whether it's the truck driver's messaging. you're on your way now and were able to get some gas. how much longer? >> because of the alternate routes i have to take. >> when you were stuck there in all themes hours while were you there, were you able to find any communication from officials alerting you what was going on, say maybe the truck drivers who was getting other -- i don't know if i didn't know the station but that's why i was on social media. i was trying to see if anybody else was trying to do something about it. maybe virginia officials were starting to do something about it. >> and i -- i see -- a trailer that was jackknifed. it was pretty bad. as i started driving family i started realizes too other -- so they were creating extra traffic. everybody without there was. we didn't know whether to go around them or wait. >> quite a story to tell, isaac. glad that you're on your way out and that you got sews. >> when a story you'll have. what a way to kicks off 2022. draft safe. >> thank you. >> and stay with us. we'll be right back. strypaper? luckily, there's biotrue hydration boost eye drops. biotrue uses naturally inspired ingredients. and no preservatives. try biotrue! kim is now demonstrating her congestion. save it slimeball. i've upgraded to mucinex. we still have 12 hours to australia. mucinex lasts 12 hours, so i'm good. now move! kim, no! mucinex lasts 3x longer for 12 hours. ♪ limu emu and doug.♪ and it's easy to customize your insurance at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows several different whistles. doug blows several different whistles. [a vulture squawks.] there he is. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪ at intra-cellular therapies, we're inspired by our circle. a circle that includes our researchers, driven by our award-winning science, who uncover new medicines to treat mental illness. it includes the compassionate healthcare professionals, the dedicated social workers, and the supportive peer counselors we work with to help improve - and even change - people's lives. moving from mental illness to mental wellness starts in our circle. this is intra-cellular therapies. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that! (excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. chase first banking. a debit card and app for kids, and tools for you to teach them good money habits. set account alerts, savings goals, allowances and chores from your chase mobile app. all with no monthly service fee. chase first banking. 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. e breaking news into cnn. the district attorney in albany, new york, has just announced he will not prosecute former governor andrew cuomo for a channel of forcible touching. cnn's athena jones is following the latest developments. what more do we know about this decision? >> hi, erica. well the albany district attorney david suarez issued a statement explaining his decision hand here's what he said, the key line from what he said in the state. while we found the complainant cooperative and credible after reviewing all of the available evidence we have conclude that we cannot meet our burden at trial. what we were talking about is the burden of proof, having to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. this is an important move here. this move comes two months after the same district attorney had already called the criminal complaint in this case potentially defective. he cited issues like the lack of a sworn statement from the woman making the allegations of brittany committeeso, a former aide to governor kwoem oerg. to be clear the former governor denight these allegations. he was set to be arraigned in this case next month so the decision is coming at a key time and it's just the latest decision among several made by district attorneys in the new york area. it comes after the district attorney in nassau county and westchester county said the former governor would not be facing criminal charges over misconduct allegations and it also comes after the manhattan's d.a.'s office closed its investigations into a separate issue dealing with the nursing home deaths from covid-19. that investigation was closed and there's no criminal liability for state officials like cuomo so the -- the former governor is getting a lot of good news right now but the bottom line is he's still facing a federal investigation of sexual harassment allegations, and the dropping of these charges in albany does not preclude a civil lawsuit. brittany committeeso's lawyer hint that had that could be coming down the road. >> athena jones, appreciate the update, thank you. tomorrow attorney general merrick garland plans an update on the january 6th attack on the capitol. according to a justice department official garland will reaffirm the department's unwavering commitment to defend american democracy from threats of violence. reuben gallego says it's time for action from the doj. >> i think merrick garland has been extremely weak, and i think there should be a lot more of the organizers of january 6th that should be arrested by now. >> cnn legal and special agent joining us now. there's not a lot of specifics that it the attorney general is likely to offer tomorrow. there's only so much he can say. we know he's under pressure and some lawmakers feel he's not doing enough, but based on all of that, realistically, what should we expect from the speech if he can't really go into detail? >> well, aisha, i don't know what he has planned, and you're right that he can't speak with specificity about particular ongoing investigations, but i really hope that he goes beyond just stating, you know, the unusual -- the department of justice upholds the rule of law platitudes because i think that there is right now an erosion of faith in -- in the ". to uphold the rule of law it's not enough for justice to be served. just has has to be seep to be served and, you know, for three years the department of justice was weaponized and used as an arm of the white house under president trump. we even have a high-level justice official who is implicated in the january 6th coup, so while dawarland can't speak about specific cases, i think he can offer some insight into how he is approaching january 6th. are there any red lines? they have been incredibly efficient and add michele in prosecuting these, you know, ground-level minions who were at the capitol, but are they going after the planners and the plotters, and these are the questions that i think he needs to answer and the silence that he's had for the last year only makes it more imperative that he speak a little more forcefully and substantively about what is happening at the justice department. >> when he was sworn in garland vowed to restore the independence of the justice department, so he may not be moving as the speed that we know as some lawmakers as we just heard as the congressman would like, but there has to be that about. you just said you feel the justice department is weaponized for three years under the last administration. can he be both independent while also dealing with a timeline and a wish list that's coming from democratic lawmakers in this case. how do you square those two? >> erica, i square it by -- i think that garland just needs to explain things because the lay public really doesn't understand the inner workings of the justice department. i have no doubt that the fbi and prosecutors have their heads down. they are working very hard on, you know, this enormous investigation, but most people don't understand, for example, how long investigations take, that high-level investigations involving things like conspiracy and coordination won't be prosecuted as something as quickly as trespassing or vandalism. for him to speak a little bit more about that would be helpful. he did re-establish the independence of the justice department. he instituted new policy about contacts between the white house and the department of justice, but he never made a statement about it. i don't think move people know that he re-established that norm very clearly, you know, within the department of justice as a policy so i think that he can go a long way by just giving the public a window into steps that are being taken, how things work, you know. his -- his -- what interest he is balancing as he approaches, you know, these cases like when he's thinking about whether to charge somebody with contempt of congress. i think that that would reassure the public much more than what they are feeling now. >> we'll all be watching, right, to see how much that have we actually do hear and what ultimately is said tomorrow. always good to have you here. thank you. >> thank you. up next, he once argued an accusation of sexual assault against him couldn't possibly be true because he's not a sweater. well, now, prince andrew's attorneys are in court trying to get the same lawsuit dismissed. the latest argument. we'll get you up to speed next. i answer questions about my goals and the foods i love. i like that the ww personalpoints plan is built just for me. download the ww app today for a 14-day free trial. i always had a connection to my grandfather... i always wanted to learn more about him. i discovered some very interesting documents on ancestry. this is the uh registration card for the draft for world war two. and this is his signature which blew me away. being able to... make my grandfather real... not just a memory... is priceless. his legacy...lives on. [ joe ] my teeth were a mess. i had a lot of pain. as far as my physical health, my body was telling me you got to do something. and so i came to clearchoice. your mouth is the gateway to your body. joe's treatment plan was replacing the teeth with dental implants from clearchoice. [ joe ] clearchoice has changed my life for the better. it's given me my health back. there's an amazing life out there if you do something for your health now. a federal judge said he'll decide pretty swloon to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing britain's prince andrew of federal assault. in that suit jeffrey epstein was forced to have sex with the royal when she was just 17 years old. prescription andrew denies the allegation and his lawyers argued in a hearing which wrapped up a short time ago an agreement between the accuser and jeffrey epstein actually protects him from prosecution. royal correspondent max foster joining us from hampshire, england. update us on this hearing this morning and what happens next. >> reporter: a critical hearing for prince andrew and his team, and the jung said he would come back pretty soon with a ruling as well. on the basis -- it's obviously a very complex case but on the basis of this latest judgment, quite simple really. what prince andrew wants to do is get this case thrown out of the course based on a 2001 agreement between enteen and dufrey who does agree in return of $500,000 not to sue anyone associated with epstein who could be seen as a defendant. prince andrew feels he could be categorized as such whereas the team says he's not even a third party to that 2009 agreement so there's no way that he can use it in this new york case, so, therefore, they feel the case should continue disregarding the 2009 agreement. the judge, interestingly, erica, did appear to veer on the side of the dufrey team argument. he acknowledged the argument and said that this was a secret agreement in 2009 and, therefore, it could only be enforced by dufrey or epstein. epstein is passed and can't enforce it and the other isn't enforcing it. does feel that the judge in new york is falling on the side of dufrey and argue that the case should continue and potentially go to trial in september. >> which would real be something. max foster, appreciate the update. for more than lawsuit against prince andrew let's bring in cnn legal analyst paul callen. the judge was saying this is a secret agreement and since jeffrey epstein has died, right, and virginia dufrey is not enforcing it, what does this tell you about where this could be headed? >> reporter: it sounds like the judge, erica, is leaning in favor of allowing the case to proceed. he comes up with a very interesting view on it, and that is since epstein is dead and if joffrey chooses not to enforce the agreement the judge is really saying the agreement doesn't really exist and wouldn't bind the court, so that's kind of a novel argument that the judge is asserting. i haven't heard that used before because these types of agreements are quite common in civil litigation in both state and federal courts. >> i mean, this fess physically really quickly. prince andrew's legal team says she waived her right to sue because of this agreement, right, of potential defendants? i mean, who -- when you look at that, who has the stronger argument legally? >> reporter: well, it's a very close call, and i have to say that because these agreements are used across the united states and are very, very important in getting cases settled. the reason this happens, these kinds of agreements are used, erica, is because a lot of times there are multiple potential defendants in a civil lawsuit, and one of them has the money that you want to settle with, but that person isn't going to settle if he's going to get dragged into another lawsuit in the future. so this agreement is made that, hey, i'll settle with you, but you have to agree lawsuit against anybody, because i don't want to get dragged back into it again. and that's a common kind of agreement, very important to help resolve civil cases, so a precedent could be set in this case that would be an important precedent in the united states about how to handle these releases, these general releases. >> could prince andrew be forced to testify? >> yes, he can be forced to testify in this sense. in a civil case, if you don't testify in your own behalf, your failure to testify can be used against you. it's very different than a criminal case where you have the right to remain silent. so, he's really going to have to testify or the jury can hold it against him in the u.s. litigation. >> paul callan, we'll be watching to see what this judge decides. thank you, my friend. >> thank you. still to come, president biden set to speak about the rapid explosion of covid cases as his administration sends mixed messages on isolation guidelines, also struggling, of course, with this continuing, massive testing mess. stay with us. people with moderate to severe psoriasis, are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the entrance they make, the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. earn about covid-19, the more questions we have. the biggest question now, what's next? what will covid bring in six months, a year? if you're feeling anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673, or live chat at calhope.org today. the race to vaccinate the world is now butting up against the fast-spreading omicron variant. cnn is tracking its impact across the globe. let's begin in europe. >> i'm scott mclean in london. the surging omicron variant is piling pressure on british prime minister boris johnson to tighten restrictions in england, not because of the number of patients showing up at hospitals but because of the number of hospital staff who are not. several health regions have declared critical incidence because of the growing number of staff absences. in england, the number of staff out sick with covid doubled in just two weeks, and the situation is even worse in london. the country's largest nursing union is calling for tighter restrictions in england, though the government insists that hospitalization numbers do not merit any change. >> reporter: i'm paula hancocks in seoul. hong kong has announced it will tighten its vaccination rules in order to try and contain an as yet small outbreak of omicron cases. you'll need to be vaccinated in order to enter museums, public libraries, and schools by february 24th, although they haven't yet decided if all students will be included in that requirement. elsewhere in india, there have been record numbers of new cases in both mumbai and new delhi. in the national capital territory of delhi, there will be a weekend curfew put in place to slow down the spread of new cases. but elsewhere in other states, five states where there are elections coming up early this year, we are seeing massive political rallies with thousands of people in attendance, in some cases a lack of masks and social distancing is raising concerns. >> paula hancocks, scott mclean, appreciate the reporting. thanks to all of you for joining us this afternoon. that does it for me. victor and alisyn will take over after a quick break. 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. ♪ >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. hello, i'm victor blackwell, good to be with you. >> and i'm alisyn camerota. at any moment, president biden will lay out his latest plan to tackle the rapid explosion of coronavirus cases. the u.s. breaking its daily case count record every day for the last week. we are now averaging almost half a million new infections a day. the cdc reports more than 95% of those cases are the omicron variant. >> and we're just getting this