about president trump. novak djokovic, this is not about tennis but vaccinations. we'll have a live report for you from sydney. >> announcer: live from london, this is "cnn newsroom" with isa soares. welcome to the show, everyone. it is friday, january, the 7th. we have the heavy snow, brute ly cold temperatures. pictures here which can bring to you from the u.s. capitol this hour. really causing delays and disruption right across the united states. it's from coast to coast. more than 60 million people are being impacted, a storm moving into the northeast is wreaking havoc on really travel schedules. tracking flight aware reports more than 2000 u.s. flights have already been canceled. federal government offices in washington, d.c. and the district's public schools are closed because, of course, the storm. kids in boston are also getting a snow day. part of the city could see up to a foot of snow starting early friday morning. and ending just afternoon. meanwhile, maryland, virginia and tennessee have announced changes to covid-19 testing as well as vaccination sites. all three states are either shutting down locations for the day or delaying opening hours. and, of course, wintry conditions are already causing problems. thursday in kentucky, 20 cars you see there, ended of colliding because of ice and snow on the roads in this town. luckily only minor injuries were reported. let's put all this into perspective for you. meteorologist derek van dam has more. perhaps the storms will get worse over the weekend. paint a picture for us what we can expect. >> you're right. looking at a live shot in times square in new york city as well, we have seen in the past hour some of the snow starting to accumulate on the roadways there right within this popular tourist destination. pe people milling about, taking photos. we haven't seen snow in quite sometime. there have been reports of 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour, and that is pretty significant considering you've got one of the busiest corridors here, i-95, stretching from d.c. through philadelphia to new york city all the way to boston, and that is where the heaviest of snowfall is setting up as we speak. let's zoom right into new york city, take you in, and you can see, of course, the shades of blue indicating our heaviest snow bands moving through. that is impacting portions of western long island into the coastal areas of new jersey, stretching towards connecticut and into rhode island and eventually into massachusetts as well. that that's where we anticipate the heaviest snowfall. in and around boston that is where the snow will hang around longest. the limiting factor today will be the quick-moving nature of this particular storm. it is going to exit off the east coast just as quickly as it arrived. over 60 million americans feeling the brunt of the storm. let's time it out through this morning. unfortunately the worst of the storm coinciding with the rush hour commute. people advised to stay off the roads today. and then, of course, just by 8:00 this morning we'll start to see the snow come to an end from d.c. to philadelphia, new york and eventually moving towards the east coast. by this evening, i believe we'll see clearing skies overhead and the skies will also -- the roadways will also clear quite nicely for the evening commute home back to -- back from your office. you can see the additional snowfall on top of what's already taken place, perhaps another 3 to 6 inches of snow, higher amounts in and around boston. new york will see 5 inches of snow when it's all said and done. isa? >> i'm glad you corrected me, it will come in quickly and leave swiftly as well. derek van dam for us. new york marking one year si since the violent attack. a candle light vigil was held on the capitol steps mostly attended by democratic members of congress. on january 6 of last year, trump supporters stormed the building hoping to stop certification, of course, of joe biden's victory, all of it based on false claims from trump that the election was stolen. president biden condemned his predecessor, but predicted better days ahead. have a listen. >> i know how difficult democracy is. i'm crystal clear about the threats america faces. but i also know that our darkest days can lead to light and hope, so now let's step up, write the next chapter in american history. where january 6 marks not the end of democracy, but the beginning of a renaissance of liberty and fair play. >> despite those words, experts warn the threats posed by domestic extremism is as high as ever. cnn's brian todd has the story for you. >> reporter: in the 48 hours leading up to the january 6th anniversary, there was an increase in online extremist content, according to a new d.h.s. memo obtained by cnn. it warns that potential violence could be directed against political and other government officials, including members of congress, or the president, and not limited to washington, d.c. one recent online video flagged by the fbi and d.h.s. lists 93 members of congress who voted to certify the 2020 election and calls for them to be hanged in front of the white house. the memo says, quote, no indication of a specific and credible plot, but security in washington has been stepped up amid particular concern about the potential for lone actors. >> the threat is real. >> reporter: administration officials, in part, blaming today's divisiveness and misinformation. >> ideologies of hate, false information, false narratives are primary sources of the threat landscape that we confront in the united states today. >> reporter: experts on extremism say the threat has not diminished. >> the extremists are not done now that we're a year out of january 6. they have not been swayed as the group or movement from stopping their activity. >> reporter: u.s. capitol police chief tom manger says he expects his force to be tested again. to protect the capitol they have improved intelligence gathering and sharing, streamline procedures for calling national guard backup. conducting joint exercises, improving equipment and training and plan to hire 280 officers a year for the next three years. but former d.c. metropolitan police officer michael fanone who was dragged out into the mob and beaten says the work is not done. >> they have to address the security posture, the training, the equipment provided to their officers and also the physical security of the capitol complex. >> reporter: a form capitol police chief says one vulnerability that has to be addressed, the fact there are still so many entrances to the capitol building. >> we still don't have a safe way to get into the capitol complex. the capitol police have to be everywhere at once and keep a lot of doors open that are done for convenience. >> reporter: over the last year threats to lawmakers hit a disturbing high, with the u.s. capitol police reporting 9600 instances, about 26 a day. >> the ones that concern us the most are the ones where we have had previous contact with the individual who is making the threat and we are concerned about their actions. >> reporter: a full year after the attack, more than 700 defendants have been arrested in the justice department's investigation. attorney general merrick garland vowing they'll hold all the perpetrators accountable at any level. but the fbi is still asking for the public's help in identifying more than 350 other people who the bureau believes engaged in violence that day who they still haven't caught. brian todd, cnn, washington. so, here we are 430 days after the election. according to a new abc news poll, 71% of republicans still believe trump won. >> for sure. >> and do you still believe that? >> i still believe it. >> trump won the election. they've proven it over and over again. >> do you think biden won the election? >> i don't believe he did. >> i think trump won, yes. >> yes, i think it was -- the machines were rigged. >> some opinions there. well, we are learning more about the former president's mind-set on the day of the riot. now, at 2:38 in the afternoon, he tweeted this. you can see it in your screen. please support our capitol police and law enforcement. they are truly on the side of our country. stay peaceful. a source told cnn he didn't want to include the words stay peaceful. trump was letting the violence play out. they told cnn trump was gleefully watching it on tv and hit rewind to watch it again. house speaker nancy pelosi said she wishes the republicans would take back their party, and she accused some of her republican colleagues of helping perpetrate the attack. here's what she said. >> we have to pursue the common good because of some them are perpetrators. some of them were aware and they are in denial. it doesn't mean we have to meet them halfway, no. we are upholding our oath of office to protect and defend. >> so far there is no evidence proving house or senate republicans participated in the riot or helped the rioters. now, you may remember police found pipe bombs at the democratic and republican national committee headquarters on the day of the insurrection. surveillance video shows the man who allegedly planted it you can see there. no one has been arrested. we now know then vice president kamala harris was removed from the house. they breached the capitol gates an hour later they ultimately claimed the lives of four offer certificates with four dying of suicide. president biden and others honoring the sacrifices made that day, but all of the offices including brian sicknick. earlier his long-time partner land out at the republicans trying to rewrite history and dismissed the deadly attack. >> i hear gohmert, marjorie taylor greene, lauren boebert, and other scum bags within the republican party that make terrible insensitive comments and downplay the horrific things that happened on january 6. and i, you know, it just makes me incredibly angry. and i believe, if i'm not mistaken -- and you can correct me here -- marjorie taylor greene and louie gohmert and others actually went into the jail to visit some of the rioters which, you know, they haven't visited me. they haven't visited any of the families of the officers who were injured or any of the families of the officers who committed suicide. it's just disgusting. >> she went on to praise the law enforcement and agencies hunting down the rioters. she hopes the most sadistic ones are held accountable. now, the professional tennis players association says it has been in contact with novak djokovic and identified his well-being. he has reportedly been confined to an immigration facility after being denied to play in the australian championship for allegedly not meeting the country's vaccine requirements. the world's number one men's single player is a national native. hundreds of fans turned out in bell grade to protest the situation. a court hearing has been set nor monday. australian officials say djokovic has not been detained and can leave the country at any time. djokovic's family is furious he was denied entry into australia accusing melbourne of treating him like a prisoner. here's what his mother said at a news conference on thursday. have a listen. >> as a mother, what can i say? you're a mother. just imagine how can i feel? i feel terrible since yesterday, last 24 hours. they are keeping him as a prisoner. it's just not fair. it's not human. i just tell him to be strong as we are trying to be strong, give him some energy to keep on going. i hope that he will win. >> meanwhile, djokovic's wife as you can see there expressed her anguish on social media, thanking fans for their support. saying, i'm taking a deep breath to calm down and find gratitude and understanding the moment for all that is happening. let's get more on this developing story. ivan watson is following the story for us in sydney. good to see you, angus. the -- his mother is accusing the australian government of holding him captive. give us a sense. >> reporter: that's right. there is a stance between serbia and australia for his treatment. we heard from the mother and father. the leader of serbia saying their country's star tennis player has been mistreated when novak is in a detention facility in central melbourne. it was a hotel that was being used for overseas arrivals into australia serving a 14-day quarantine period during the heights of the coronavirus outbreaks in melbourne in 2020 and 2021. now it is being used as this immigration detention facility where he could remain for days because, isa, it's only on monday that novak djokovic's lawyers will have another day in court to seek an injunction against his deportation from australia, deportation which came up on wednesday night when he was held in the airport. his papers poured over to see if his immigration status, his visa, matched up with his med consolidate exemption to enter the country unvaccinated. now, we heard earlier from rafael nadal, his great rival in tennis saying if novak djokovic wanted to play in the australian open, he could have just got vaccinated. we heard from the australian government saying he has another option. if he wants to just leave, he can. here's what the minister in charge of the board had to say. >> mr. djokovic is not being held captive in australia. he is free to leave at any time that he chooses to do so and borders will facilitate that. >> reporter: now, the people novak djokovic is sharing the detention with don't be have so many choices. some have been caught up in the detention for years now as refugees wanting to seek asylum in australia. they can't do so because they arrived by boat. the harsh border policies go way beyond this era of covid-19, isa. >> i know you'll stay on top of story for us. angus watt usson in sydney. thank you, angus. you heard his mother say he was being treated like a captive. they said it is not an accurate description of djokovic's situation. have a listen. >> he volitionally chose to extend his stay after he got his visa improved, he got an injunction against his deportation order. he would have had a flight out of here last night. conditions aren't comfortable for him. not ideal preparation for playing in a tennis tournament if he's successful. but he's in australia still because he has chosen to be. he could have withdrawn from the country, could have left the tournament. his goals and ambitions professionally, i'm sure at this point his stubbornness about feeling like he's in the right in this situation, are not going to make it easy for him to leave as it tiechnically is on paper. coming up right here on "cnn newsroom," soaring new covid infections are disrupting work and school schedules right across the united states. what experts are saying, things could even get worse. plus, chicago says its public schools will close for a third day over covid safety concerns, but some say schools might be open after all. nothing kills more viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. [♪] cooking and eating at home more often means food odors get trapped in your home's fabrics and released back into the air so you smell last night's dinner the next morning. for an easy way to keep your whole home smelling fresh try febreze fabric refresher. febreze's water-based formula deeply penetrates fabrics to eliminate trapped food odors as it dries. spray febreze fabric refresher when you clean up after meals to ensure your entire home smells fresh and clean. try febreze fabric refresher. brand power. helping you buy better. now, school systems across the u.s. are increasingly putting in-person learning on hold as the omicron variant continues to cause covid cases to spike and teachers unions to worry over safety. new infections are averaging more than 600,000 a day, and all-time highs you can see there on your screen. health experts are warning that the highly transmissible variant will continue to drive up both cases as well as hospitalizations. now, they say numbers are likely to get worse before they get better and that it's critical for americans to continue mitigation efforts to help prevent infections. but there is some hope on the horizon. on wednesday, the centers for disease control and prevention recommended boosters for children as young as 12. really widening the pool of americans eligible to receive the additional dose. the cdc will hold an independent briefing today to give updates on the pandemic. the agency has faced criticism in recent weeks over confusion, if you remember, surrounding the isolation guidelines. now, health officials and hospitals in the u.s. are preparing for a surge in covid-19 patients over the next four weeks as cases as we pointed out continue to climb. cnn's athena jones has the story for you. >> the next month is going to be awful. >> reporter: covid-19 is taking more than 832,000 lives in the the. that's one out of every 400 people. and with the near vertical increase in cases and hospitalizations, the cdc now forecasts another 84,000 people will die in the next month. an average of more than 3500 covid deaths a day. >> people should try to do everything they can to be careful and thoughtful about their activities and their masking. i don't buy the idea that we're all going to get omicron and, therefore, just give up trying. i think that's wrong. >> reporter: the surge prompting the nfl to explore contingency plans for the super bowl. as new cases and reimposed restrictions mount. doctors warning the dramatic jump in new infections threatens to overwhelm some hospitals, even suggesting the omicron variant causes less severe disease than previous variants. unvaccinated children at particular risk. >> the sheer volume of infections, because of its profound transmissibility, mean that many more children will get infected, and as many more children will get infected, a certain proportion of them, usually children that have underlying comorbidities are going to wind up in the hospital. >> reporter: schools in chicago closed for a second day today, amid a showdown between the city and the teachers union over in-person learning. the mayor arguing some 100,000 mostly black and brown students were hit hard by learning losses when schools went virtual. >> we are standing firm, and we are going to fight to get our kids back in in-person learning, period, full stop. we owe that to our children who suffered learning losses. >> reporter: the union wants students to be tested before returning to class. >> we're just wanting basic things. testing, that's what we're asking for. can we test every student before they come into the building. our district, for some reason, has been unable to do that. >> reporter: in washington -- >> i'm very happy students are returning today. >> reporter: students were required to show proof of a negative test. just 5% tested positive. only one school forced to close. >> we have a few classrooms affected, but most importantly we'll have about 50,000 kids in d.c. public schools, another 50,000 in our public charter schools. >> reporter: and in new york city, surveillance testing in some 250 schools found a covid positivity rate among students of just over 1%. an editorial in science, francis collins, former national institutes of health, a hyper partisan atmosphere and skepticism of science have taken a toll. he writes, quote, objective truth is under attack. during the pandemic this has led to unsubstantiated claims of the origins of the virus. rejection of evidence-based information on preventive measures like masks, and highly questionable, potentially harmful treatments. athena jones, cnn, new york. well, as athena just mentioned there, chicago public schools said most public schools will remain closed today as negotiations continue with the teachers union. but they greatly confuse the situation by saying a few places might resume in-person classes and activities. school principals said they were blind sided by that announcement because they had been told all schools would be closed. the school district cautioned parents not to send their children to school without hearing first from the principal. well, teachers, meanwhile, in the san francisco area collectively calling in sick to push for stronger covid protocols in schools. their unions asking for new safety measures including respiratory masks to everyone on campus and conducting weekly testing. more than 600 teachers in san francisco, pardon me, called out on thursday, while another wave of sick calls is expected in the nearby oakland today. schools are using substitute teachers and administrators to keep the classes going. and public school students in boston will get a snow day today. we mentioned that, a top story. the district decided to close all schools due to inclement weather. the announcement comes after more than a thousand staff members called out on wednesday. it is unclear, though, how many absences were covid related. boston is under a winter storm warning. it could get more than 6 inches of snow throughout the day. and still ahead right here on the show, kazakhstan is reeling from anti-government rallies across the nation. the president now said security forces are gaining the upper hand over protesters. plus, the big lie behind the january 6 u.s. capitol attack, how donald trump and his supporters are putting the false narrative of a stolen election a live we'll bring you those stories after a short break. you are watchihing "cnn newsroo" scientists proved that rid- x reducess up to 20% of waste build up evevery month. take the pressure off with rid-x. nurse mariyam sabo knows a moment this pure... ...demands a lotion this pure. new gold bond pure moisture lotion. 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin. wet dishes? residue? spots? it's not your dishwasher's fault. simply add finish jetdry 3in1 to rinse, dry and shine your dishes. solve 3 problems at once with 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[cheering] that was awesome. and, the hits won't quit, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. welcome back to "cnn newsroom," everyone. i'm isa soares. if you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour. a fast-moving winter storm is expected to cause widespread disruptions today and tomorrow right across the northeast of the united states. more than 60 million people are under winter weather alerts. plus, president biden didn't hold back on calling donald trump out on his lies and inciting the january the 6 insurrection, speaking from the very place rioters stormed a year earlier. biden challenged the, quote, defeated trump and the lies he spread putting american democracy on the brink. well, across the united states, trump supporters are still pressuring local election officials to recount the 2020 vote. many are running for office, and they want to make it easier to overturn future election victories they don't like. cnn's sara murray has the story for you. >> i'm ron hanks and i approve this message. >> reporter: u.s. senate hopeful ron hanks is talked about fake machines. in liberal washington state, a local republican party is knock on doors trying to uncover voting fraud. >> we're canvassing in a dozen counties. >> reporter: in minnesota, a bright red county, that's gone blue since '76, they are pressuring for an audit based on false pretenses. >> that log will tell us if that thing went onto the internet and switched any votes. >> reporter: and in alabama which former president trump carried by 25 points, republican secretary of state john meredit is still batting back questions of fraud. >> people don't know what they're talking about. it's almost as if they will claim that a murder was committed, and yet they cannot prove that the person ever lived, let alone a body or a weapon. >> reporter: in the year since rioters stormed the u.s. capitol convinced the 2020 election was stolen, they are lapping up the lies. they are pressuring to revisit 2020. others are passing legislation making it easier to meddle in election administration. >> 32 of those bills have become law in 17 states, which is a really unprecedented amount of legislative interest in the mechanics of election administration. >> reporter: efforts to undermine confidence in election results began in hotly contested battle ground states. but have since ballooned into a nationwide crusade. in colorado election officials like justin granlund ttham is af hanks' ad. >> i've seen is that. i extended multiple offers to come to my office and talk about the election. he's not responded and not come in. >> reporter: he said he appreciates the offer, but he did his own research. >> i didn't really need it. i was at other locations and so that made it rather redundant. >> reporter: asked why he's still spreading debunked conspiracies, hanks says nothing has been debunked. >> i think that is a false argument. we have found evidence and it is compounding daily. >> reporter: back in alabama when merrill met with election deniers including mypillow c.e.o. mike lindell. >> the whole technology was attacked. >> reporter: he easily debunked their claims. >> the information that they have been sharing with us could have been cleared up by simply doing a google search. >> reporter: other officials are aiming to appease their constituents. when cnn asked a commissioner who said he's confident in the county selection for an interview. >> i got an email, i'm going to read it. >> reporter: he said reading our audit support. >> sara murray, cnn snnews. >> reporter: they are worrying the swirl of disinformation could lead to more violence surrounding future elections, even dominion warned the ad like hanks could endanger their employees as well as their customers. sara murray, cnn, washington. we have some breaking news to bring you from kazakhstan. the president of kazakhstan addressed the country in the last 30 minutes or so where he authorized forces to fire without warning, and he had a very bullish speech. our nina dos santos has been monitoring it. she joins me now. nina, what else did he say? >> reporter: really worrying stuff. it's autocratic talk that thankfully we don't hear that often, but it will be raising eyes in washington, paris, diplomats will be eagerly picking out what the speech means. it sounds extremely worrying for any of those protesters who have been taking to the streets across kazakhstan, isa. the past several days, the flash points happening since wednesday. all of this has gathered pace since a few spiked over the course over the weekend. he removed subsidies on the type of fuel people fuel their cars with in kazakhstan. this is a huge energy-ritchie economy. ironically, corruption and inequalities and unemployment and issues like that dr. dogged this economy many years. the president said anybody taking to the streets to protest about those sorts of issues, well, they could expect authorities to open fire without warning. he said now my troops will be shooting to kill, and that any people who wouldn't surrender as he put it would be destroyed. in this speech he continues to say, which is a claim that he's made over the last several days, without, i should say, any evidence to back it up thus far, that he believed that these protesters were, quote, unquote, bandits who are backed by international factions. and he thanked the russian president vladimir putin for helping to lend troops as part of this post-soviet security collective that is now in the streets since yesterday to help to impose law and order. now, supposedly the troops are there in a peace-keeping capacity. the real concern for international watchers in kazakhstan is exactly what methods they will use to restore peace and how long they will be staying. remember the backdrop to all of this, isa, is that, you know, vladimir putin has made it very clear over the last few weeks, months and days that he wants to re-establish a russian sphere of influence. for that reason we've seen these troops backing up in places like the border with ukraine, which is obviously on the other side of the -- other side of russia, russia's borders from kazakhstan. now we have this flash point over on the eastern side, which is neighboring china. and so obviously this is extremely concerning to see this violence and the methods that might be used to quash it from here, isa. >> very worrying indeed. and the fact that he's authorizing -- giving the orders for shoot to kill order. nina, for our viewers right around the world, what you said was very striking. what started as a fuel protest has kind of morphed into an expression of discontent. and i'm sure the eyes of the world, the leaders are looking at this and worried. what have we heard from the united nations, from the u.s., france, the uk and others? >> reporter: well, we've heard v various different comments guarded. it is crucially important. it's not only the nineth largest country in the world. it is bordering russia which the west has fractious relationship with especially at the moment over issues like ukraine. and china. the west is getting increasingly concerned about the autocratic tendencies over there. the types of expressions we've heard from france and the uk, obviously they condemn the violence and they're monitoring. in the white house yesterday there were comments that were made to express how concerned they were about what exactly the mission of this supposed post-soviet peace keeping force would be. further down the line there is a real question mark over how long those types of troops will stay and whether or not all of this might really affect kazakhstan's sovereignty. what i should also point out, isa, is taking to the streets is probably the only method for many people in kazakhstan to protest. this is a country that's been called an autocracy ever since it emerged as an independent nation after the dissolution of the ussr. >> getting the message out because of internet blackouts. nina dos santos, i know you'll keep us posted. thank you very much. tensions have been simmering in kazakhstan for years. earlier cnn spoke to a senior fellow in russia eurasia program about what led really to such violent unrest. have a listen. >> what really is the cause and that's caused this to spread around the entire country was a tremendous disconnect between the governing elites and the political elite in the country, and the everyday life that people are experiencing. this is a country that has tremendous hydrocarbon oil and gas wealth, but that money -- that wealth is not distributed evenly among the population. so you have tremendous wealth, and people who spend their time in places like dubai and london. and then you have also people who are really struggling to get by on a daily basis. what this is, this is largely about a disconnect between a government that has promised its people a better future, but has not delivered that future on a socioeconomic -- equitably economic way. >> that's why we are seeing the protests. he says kazakhstan's government needs to address corruption and poverty, and improve democratic institutions. of course, we'll stay on top of this breaking news story for you. coming up meanwhile on the show, shorts in xi'an punished after hospitals turning away patients during the ongoing covid-19 lockdown. we'll have the latest from china ahead. and while some countries in europe are opening up to vaccinated international travelers, others are tightening restrictions as the omicron variant spreads. we'll have a live report for you from paris next. now, the omicron variant sending cases soaring right across the globe. austria says it's imposing tougher restrictions in hopes of avoiding a lockdown. and that includes stepping up inspections to ensure businesses are limiting access to those who are vaccinated or recovered from covid. in the uk where i am, fully vaccinated arrivals and those under the age of 18 no longer need to submit a pre-departure negative pcr test. instead, they have to take a rapid lateral flow test within two days of entering the country and then isolate if they test positive. and the british ministry of defense has deployed 200 military personnel to hospitals. they will assist staff and patient care and help fill some of the shortages, of course, due to covid. meanwhile india is reporting another sharp increase in daily covid cases. new infections topped 117,000 today. that is the highest figure in about seven months. and over in china, the city of xi'an is now entering its third week of lockdowns. there is growing outcry over the house measures with many unable to secure even the most basic of necessities. we're talking about even food here. let's get the latest on the global covid-19 pandemic. jim bittermann joins us from paris. kristie, let me start with you. some of the cities including xi'an incredibly stringent. i can understand why this is taking a toll on the population. is the government doing anything given this growing outcry or are they sticking to their policy? >> reporter: for over two weeks now, 13 million residents in the northern chinese metropolis xi'an are under the lockdown. they are forbidden from leaving their homes. they are online vocally struggling to get food, basic essentials, even access to lifesaving medical care. officials will in xi'an have apologized. they have been punished. we know at least two local health officials have been suspended from their posts. the head of the xi'an cdc in a press conference stood up and bowed to apologize to an eight-month pregnant woman who had a miscarriage because she was not able to get help at the hospital. they claimed that she didn't have a valid covid-19 test. but despite the punishment, despite the apologies to many angry citizens across china, they say it's not enough. it's too little too late. one comment that has gone viral the last couple of days, a commoner said covid-19 may not kill you, but bureaucrats can. sadly we have learned that a second pregnant woman in xi'an has suffered a miscarriage because of delayed medical care. the central government is now weighing in. we've heard from a vice premiere in china telling hospitals in xi'an that they must not turn away patients for any reasons whatsoever, but want to remind our viewers it was a staff member in the xi'an hospital who told cnn earlier that the reason why they turned away that first pregnant -- eight-month pregnant patient was because they were merely following government covid-19 regulations. back to you. >> just truly heartbreaking, kristie, what these women have to go through as you said because of froetprotocol regula. stay with us. let's go to jim bittermann. we've seen a number of schools closing. this must be all very stressful, not only for students, but also for parents. >> reporter: absolutely, isa. the fact is that the parents -- the burden on the parents to get their students tested after they have discovery of any positive cases in the classroom. and just to give you an idea, school started here on monday after the christmas holiday. and since then, just this week, 47,000 students have tested positive and more than 5600 school personnel have tested positive. so it's a big problem for the government. the education minister was on television this morning saying it is an absolute priority to keep the schools open, so that's where the priority is. the burden is falling onto the parents to keep testing their students. in one case, you have to have three negative tests in a four-day period. it's a lot of testing that has to go on here if you want to keep the schools open. and the young people, in fact, that's one of the crucial areas for the government here. they have seen the cases among young people just skyrocket. there is, for example, 61 children under the age of 9 in i.c.u.s across the country. that's four times the number just a month ago. and they've started vaccinating children as young as five here, including just four young people here in paris because they're really worried about the omicron spread among the young, isa. >> jim bittermann for us in paris. and kristie lu stout in hong kong, thank you very much. now, parts of colorado still reeling from a massive blaze last week. after the break, details of the destruction the fire marshal left behind. but it's so absbsorbent, you cn use less. enjojoy the go with charmin. blendjetet's holiday sale is on nonow for the #1 gift this holiday season, the blendjet 2 portable blender. it packs the power of a big blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. and it crushes just drop in your favori ingredients, and it crushes even frozen fruit, and ke a smoothie any time, anhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and get our best deal ever! do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep? qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol. now, the marshall fire that ripped through colorado destroyed more than a thousand structures. that is according to the office of emergency michael anagement. commercial losses are being calculated. the blaze scorched more than 6,000 acres as you can see on the screen. two people remain missing. of course, the impact of world team has help for colorado wildfire victims. visit cnn.com/impact if you can help. now, los angeles county is reporting its highest number of new covid infections since the pandemic began. they hope to host super bowl lvi next month. they are working with the national football league and authorities to ensure safety is in place for february 13th. taco bell has now launched its own. for $10 a month, subscribers can get one taco a day for 30 days in a row, i kid you not. there are a variety of tacos to choose from including soft, crunchy and spicy potato. the taco supreme, that sounds great. the hope is that the subscription will lure customers to add more to their order and increase the amount they spend. and the coronavirus pandemic, of course, is no joke. but for late night tv host james corden, he has canceled his show for next few days after testing positive for covid-19. core den said he's vaccinated, and boosted and feels fine. seth meyers has been off the air after testing positive. and tonight show host jimmy fallon revealed he has recovered after testing positive before christmas. wishing them all a speedy recovery. that does it for me here on "cnn newsroom." i'm isa soares in london. you can follow me on twitter at isa cnn at isa soares cnn. "early start" is next with christine romans and laura jarrett. i shall see you on monday. have a wonderful weekend. bye-bye. a must in your medicine cabinet! less sick days! cold coming on? zicam is the #1 cold shortening brandnd! highlyly recommend it! zifans love zicam's ununique zinc formula. it shortens colds! zicam. zinc that t cold! moving is a handful. no kidding! fortunately, xfinity makes moving easy. easy? -easy? switch your xfinity services to your new address online in about a minute. that was easy. i know, right? and even save with special offers just for movers. really? yep! so while you handle that, you can keep your internet and all those shows you love, and save money while you're at it with special offers just for movers at xfinity.com/moving. all right. here we go. it's friday, january 7th. happy friday, everybody. 5:00 a.m. in snowy new york city. thanks for getting up with us. i'm christine romans. >> i'm laura jarrett. we begin with president biden who described a defeated former president, casting his predecessor who he has tried to ignore the better part of a year, now as an existential threat to democracy. >> speaking from the very place