in prison. the big question today, will the judge decide whether or not the men will have the possibility of parole. we also expect to hear from ahmaud arbery's mother during the hearing with a victim impact statement. she spoke with cnn earlier this morning. >> ahmaud didn't get a chance to live. so with that being said, travis should not get a chance to live as a free man. travis should go to prison for life without parole, and that being said, he should remain in prison forever. >> let's go to our national correspondent dianne gallagher on the scene for us in brunswick, georgia, for us this morning. set the scene for us. what do we expect? >> reporter: well, wolf, as things get under way inside that courtroom here, we expect for it to be a day of hearing statements, both from the defense and from the state. wanda cooper jones, the mother of ahmaud arbery, is expected to speak. she's going to give that victim impact statement to the court. we think we'll be hearing from ahmaud arbery's father today. the defendants will have the opportunity to speak as well. whether they choose to do that is yet to be seen as their attorneys present whatever evidence they choose to, and arguments to the judge who has to determine whether or not these three men should get the opportunity to seek parole at 30 years. there is a required life sentence with these charges, wolf. the attorney for one of these men, william "roddie" bryan, says that he has already filed motions and believes that the judge will have mercy in his words on his client. >> the evidence is clear he neither killed, attempted to kill or intended to kill anyone in this matter. we believe it is cruel, unconstitutionally cruel to impose a mandatory life sentence. i have no doubt that he will give roddie bryan the individualized sentence he deserves. >> reporter: roddie bryan chased behind the pickup truck that was driven by the mcmichaels. bryan is the one who recorded the video that went viral and led to the charges against these three men. the mcmichaels, of course, chasing 25-year-old ahmaud arbery through their neighborhood in a pickup truck before they gunned him down. now, that video is something that the family of ahmaud arbery had to see during the trial. his mother says she would rather not hear from the defendants, that it was very difficult for her, but is prepared for yet another very difficult day and this emotional month that has been leading up to something she has been in her words looking forward to today. and, wolf, it is not over. the attorneys have said they do plan to appeal these sentences that were handed down in november, and next month, here in brunswick, there are also federal hate crime charges that there will be a trial for. there was a plea deal offered to the family and we were told this morning by the attorney that ahmaud arbery's family rejected that plea deal, saying that the expectation is they think that these three defendants will be given life without the possibility of parole and they would like to see those hate crime charges then go to trial. >> all right, diane, thank you very much. we'll get back to you. in the next hour, by the way, there is other important news we're following, the cdc director dr. rochelle walensky is set to hold an independent press conference for the first time since july. and this comes as cnn has learned that officials at the cdc and at the white house have now grown frustrated with her job performance. let's go to our white house correspondent jeremy diamond joining us from the white house now. update our viewers on what you're learning. >> reporter: dr. rochelle walensky and the cdc have been facing a fevered pitch of criticism over those isolation and quarantine guidelines. and the confusing back and forth and the messaging over those guidelines in recent weeks. there has been frustration at the white house with the cdc's messaging operation. and also i'm told frustration within the cdc at dr. walensky and the way in which those guidelines were crafted and communi communicated. she is set to hold her first solo press briefing next hour, this is the first briefing she has done since the summer. and it comes as she has been spending the last several months undergoing media training with the prominent democratic media consultant. dr. walensky has already addressed some of the criticism she faced including just this morning. listen. >> we're working 24/7, 12,000 people to keep america safe, to update our guidance in the face of fast moving science and fast moving epidemiology. we have room we can improve in our communications of how we convey that science to the american people. we will continue to do so. >> reporter: but, wolf, administration officials told me and kaitlan collins it is not just the messaging of this, it is the way in which the guidelines are crafted, often by a small silo of aides around dr. walensky. one cdc scientist told me that the process of crafting these guidelines has really been shortened. dr. walensky focused on speeding up operations at the cdc, but often that has come at the -- instead of a full consultative process among scientists within the cdc, and also consulting outside experts. one cdc scientist told me that the fact that they have cut short that process may have contributed to some of the outrage that we saw from outside public health experts. meanwhile, for the white house, for its part, they have decided to allow the cdc to operate on its own and really staying back. but that frustration certainly is here. wolf? >> it is. jeremy diamond, excellent reporting. thank you very much. six of president biden's former health advisers are now calling on him to change course, urging the biden administration to shift to a new pandemic strategy that focuses on adjusting toward what is being called a new normal. let's discuss what is going on with dr. jay varkey at emory university in atlanta. thank you for joining us. do you think it is time for the biden administration to focus on policies that allow us to adjust our living pattern with the virus rather than aiming to eliminate it? >> yeah, wolf. look, i think that this discussion needs to start, but i dispute the notion that we're there yet. in other words, the goal for the new normal with covid-19 does not include eradication or elimination. we need to be honest with the american public in acknowledging that. in fact, infectious diseases can be eradicated when there is limited long-term immunity, following infection or with vaccination or when you have animal reservoirs of infection. but where we are today is not it. we have 125,000 people in u.s. hospitals and over 1200 dying each day. those with severe complications and that are dying are mostly unvaccinated. that is far worse than what we see in the worst flu season. and those worse flu seasons, they strain, but don't break u.s. hospitals. if we have the will to invest in public health and if we work together, we can get to the point that covid is something that we live with, we're just not there yet. one of the authors of that article you talk about, michael osterholm, quoted winston churchill, poignant in terms of where we are. this isn't the end. it isn't the beginning of the end. it may be the end of the beginning. >> one of those experts, dr. rick bright, he told cnn this morning that the country needs updated versions of vaccines to match new variants. listen to what he said. listen to this. >> remarkable tools, however, we're continuing to use a vaccine that is over two years old, and the virus has continually changed. so we need to harness the full power of those tools that we used to make the johnson & johnson and the pfizer and moderna vaccines, we need to sharpen those tools against the virus as it changes. >> because he maybes an impo. makes an important point. additional mutations, new variants down the road as well. the vaccines we currently have might not necessarily be able to deal with those. right? >> you're spot on, wolf. and i agree with dr. bright. we spent a lot of time talking about a variant, but remember all viruses evolve over time. that's what viruses do. they're pieces of genetic material, they develop mutations, sometimes mutations confer an advantage that cause them to replicate faster. we can evolve also. we can invest in the science to improve our vaccines. these vaccines are amazing tools and they're doing exactly what they're designed to do in terps terms of preventing people from the most serious signs of covid. we should push the science on this to enhance immunity. remember the fact that the current vaccines that prevent us from doing, that prevent us from the serious complications, but we're seeing breakthrough infections. if we can drive those -- drive down the infects and enhance the immunity in the back of our nose and back of our throat, these could be vaccines administered by nasal sprays, hand coronavirus vaccines. that's where we need to keep pushing the science. i think that is another tool that we have. >> yeah, after delta, after omicron, there could be -- we hope it doesn't happen, at nih and elsewhere, they're obsessed now, working on the possibility there could be additional deadly variants that emerge and they have to deal with that down the road as well. a problem we're going to have for sure. dr. jay varkey from emory university in atlanta, thank you for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. right now the u.s. supreme court is hearing challenges to the constitutionality of president biden's vaccine and testing mandates for covid-19. one rule requires employers with 100 or more workers to require vaccinations or weekly testing. the white house plans to begin enforcing that mandate on monday. a second rule requires healthcare workers at certain hospitals, nursing homes, other facilities to get vaccinated. that won't be implemented until the legal challenges play out. we're watching the supreme court today. also today, this morning, the u.s. labor department released what is being described as a disappointing december jobs report. new figures show the u.s. economy added only 199,000 new jobs last month, that's the fewest number of jobs added in any month of 2021. while that number does fall far short of what the experts expected, there is some good news out there. the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, that's the best it has been since the beginning of the pandemic. later this hour, by the way, president biden is expected to speak about the jobs report. we're going to bring you any developments from that once it happens. stay with us for that. also still to come this morning, the january 6th select committee is turning up the heat one year after the deadly insurrection. why they aren't ruling out a criminal connection when it comes to the former president donald trump's role in the riot. and winter weather blankets parts of the northeast this morning as i can personally testify. carry that with covid callouts and now thousands of flights canceled across the u.s. once again today. we're going to have an update just ahead. here say lis a look at somer events we're watching today. 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. 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. dove 0% is different. we left aluminum out and put 48 hour freshness and 1 quarter moisturizers in. dove 0% aluminum deodorant lasting protection that's kinder on skin. ordinary tissues burn when theo blows. so puffs plus 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constituted an actual crime. here is the committee vice chair liz cheney. >> the work that we're doing on the committee now, we know the extent to which he was working to pressure the justice department, to pressure state officials, and then, of course, january 6th itself was a line you just can't cross. the committee is looking at that, looking at whether what he did constitutes that kind of a crime. but certainly it is dereliction of duty. >> strong words indeed. let's bring in our law enforcement correspondent whitney wild. what are we learning about the committee's next steps? >> well, now we will finally see in public what they have been working on for the last six months. what we expect to see in the next quarter here are a series of public hearings that will lay out in detail their -- some of their conclusions as well as bring the american audience in to their fact finding mission here. what is very obvious is that they are building up their case against the former president. they have never been shy about wondering aloud whether or not the former president made a -- basically committed a crime. and they have always said if there are any crimes, even not related to the president, if they come upon anything they think is a crime, they expect that that will result in a criminal referral to the department of justice. what doj does with that information we don't know. but at this point, the committee does seem to feel at least that there is a possibility that they are coming upon information to suggest that crimes were committed. when those public hearings wrap up, we expect to see there will be an interim report, that should happen sometime in the summer and then, wolf, the final report that will happen before the midterms, the intention here is to give voters a lot of information before the midterms, also acknowledging there is a reality here, which is there is a very great possibility that democrats will lose the house and that if that happens, republicans are going to shut this down altogether. so that is the information that they're working with, the final deadline before the midterms, wolf. >> good point. whitney wild reporting for us, thank you very much. important special programming note for our viewers as we continue to look at what's happening in the aftermath of the january 6th assault on the u.s. capitol. join fareed zakaria as he investigates the fight to save american democracy. that's this sunday, 9:00 p.m. eastern, only here on cnn. meanwhile, the fate of three men convicted of murdering ahmaud arbery now lies in the hands of a judge in georgia. we're heading back to brunswick, georgia, as our legal experts weigh in on the sentencing and the federal charges that lie ahead. if you wanna look fresh, fresh. you gotta eat fresh. eat fresh. that's why subway bought time in my shampoo ad. to talk about the new baja chicken & bacon. body, bounce, and baja. bounce. eat fresh. are you one of the millions of americans who experience 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>> the deal he's referring to was a federal plea deal for the civil rights trial scheduled to begin next month, which the family declined today. all three of these men face a minimum of life in prison, but will they get the possibility of parole? let's discuss with the former defense attorney stephanie rawlings-blake and former federal prosecutor, cnn chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin. we're hearing from pool reporters that the start of the hearing is slightly delayed. the attorneys are in the courtroom, but the judge has not taken the bench. at least not yet. we're watching all of this as it unfolds. stephanie, what is the judge looking at in regards to the mandatory life sentencing? what kind of discretion does he have here? >> when you take a look at the age of the defendants, i don't think discretion really comes into play except for travis mcmichael, who if given the opportunity of release parole will be about 65. the other gentlemen, i think, when you take a look at their life expectancy, they're facing the rest of their actual lives in jail. >> what do you think, jeffrey? >> well, just to be specific about that, gregory mcmichael, who is the father of the shooter, travis mcmichael, he's 65 years old. roddie bryan, who was the third defendant, the friend of the other two, he's 52. so you add 30 years to that, and youeffectively talking about a life sentence for the two of them. i think the judge is going to listen to -- listen to both sides. but, you know, i think the important point to remember today is that this is a case that the prosecution won. these men were convicted of murder. and they are going to serve an enormous amount of time in prison. precisely how long, we don't know. but this is a case where the system did work to punish people who committed a heinous crime. what remains outstanding is whether there will be a federal trial as well, but no one should think that any of these defendants are getting out of prison anytime before 30 years as a best case scenario for them. >> and as you know, stephanie, all three of these men still face these federal hate crime charges. that trial set to begin next month. if these men already face life in prison, what is the significance of doing this federal trial as well? >> i think the federal trial is more about making it clear this hate crime actually exists. it is very hard to find defendants guilty of these federal hate crimes because they have to determine the motive, the motive is tied to the victim's identity. when you have a case like this, that is so egregious, when they talked to the -- they called 911, they mentioned what's the problem, they said a black man running. the federal case is about -- is that enough to consider it a hate crime? i think it is not about sentencing, whether or not they'll be in jail longer. it is about making sure that there is a hate crime, that can be prosecuted in this country, that if you are shooting someone if you kill someone because of their race, you can be held accountable in the federal court. >> let me let jeffrey weigh in on this as well. go ahead, jeffrey. >> what is interesting about how the prosecutors approached the case in georgia, the state case, they stayed away from the racial issue. they did not portray this as a racially motivated crime, they didn't argue that it was a racially motivated crime. they didn't present all the evidence that they had with regard to racial animus on the part of the three defendants. that was a strategic decision they made and it obviously paid off since they won the case that they brought. but the question is, you know, is it important for society to have a trial that -- where the prosecutors argue, look, it is a separate and additional and important crime when you commit murder for reasons of racial bias. that's a different crime, a different set of facts to be proven, and the question is whether prosecutors will think it is worthwhile to pursue this case, even though when these defendants are all going to be serve an enormous time in prison. a big factor in that is how the family of mr. arbery feels because that's something prosecutors take into consideration. it certainly sounds like both his mother and his father are against any sort of deal, but i suspect those discussions will continue for some time. >> you think we'll hear from these three men who have been convicted of murder, do you think we'll hear from them in the course of this sentencing procedure that is about to begin, stephanie? >> i think so, i think they're trying to get the judge to hear from them, to have some empathy, to give them the possibility of parole. they have nothing to lose at this point, to show some remorse, show some sorrow, to express their grief to the community, to ahmaud arbery's family. i think you'll hear from them. >> stephanie rawlings-blake, jeffrey toobin, we'll watch and see what happens in brunswick, georgia. thank you very much for joining us. all right, there is breaking news we're following right now. cnn has confirmed that the legendary actor and director and long time activist sidney poitier died at the age of 94. he became the first black male and bahamian actor to win the academy award for best actor back in 1964 for his role in the movie lilies of the field. in addition to his movie roles, he was a human rights trailblazer at the height of the civil rights movement, a truly, truly great man. sara sidner has a look back at his extraordinary life. >> reporter: sidney poitier was so much more than a film legend. he's revered, not just because of what he did on screen, but also because of his tremendous impact off screen as a champion of civil rights. >> we believe in the essential dignity of every human being. >> reporter: the son of a bahamian tomato farmer, he lived a life of firsts, first black man to win an oscar for best actor, and one of the first black people to become a true hollywood star among the greatest of all time. >> we have lots and lots and lots of african american actors. now, when we didn't have any, i appeared. not because i brought so much, but because the time was right. >> reporter: but his career almost ended before it ever began. as a teenager, poitier auditioned for the american negro theater, but he was quickly thrown out because he couldn't read. he was tone deaf. and he had a thick bahamian accent. >> he says, you're no actor. we got next to the door, he opened it, pushed me out and slammed it. >> reporter: a determined poitier would spend months perfecting his acting skills and modifying his speaking voice. his hard work would pay off in a big way. >> i was right. i know i was right. >> reporter: in the 1950s,' peered in more than a dozen films beginning with no way out. and including an oscar-nominated performance in the defiant ones. however, it was his portrayal of a former gi in the 1963 movie lilies of the field that broke hollywood's color barrier, earning him the coveted oscar for best actor. poitier never overcame his tone deafness. lip-synching the song amen in the famous lilies scene, the songwriter actually did the singing. poitier was considered a bankable star in 1967, starring in a landmark film "to sir with love". >> those kids are devils incarnate. i tried everything. >> reporter: playing characters that would force audiences to confront racial prejudices. >> they call me mr. tibs. >> reporter: he would also challenge the hollywood establishment, forcing a change in his iconic role as detective virgil tibs in the 1967 academy award winning "in the heat of the night" because of a scene that would require him to acquiesce to a racist character. >> i'm going to take you over to brownsville and put you on the bus myself. >> you aren't taking me anywhere, you dig? you're holding the wrong man! >> reporter: that same year he would star in the water shed film "guess who's coming to dinner," alongside spencer tracy and katharine hepburn. >> mom, this is john. >> reporter: the film not only depicted a successful interracial relationship, it also foreshadowed future progress in america. >> have you given any thought to the problems your children are going to have? >> yes. and they'll have some. and we'll have the children, otherwise i don't know what you would call it, about the you couldn't call it a marriage. >> is that the way joy feels? >> she feels every single one of our children will be president of the united states. and they'll all have colorful administrations. >> reporter: it is only fitting in 2009, sidney poitier would be presented with the medal of freedom by president barack obama. >> he once called his driving purpose to make himself a better person. he did. and he made us all a little bit better along the way. >> very sad indeed. hollywood indeed all of us, the world, is mourning a true trailblazer, sidney poitier was 94 years old. our deepest, deepest condolences to his family and to his friends. may he rest in peace. and may his memory be a blessing. all right, we're going to go to brunswick, georgia, right now. the sentencing hearing has just begun. >> individuals who kill, who are convicted of felony murder without killing, attempting to kill or intending to kill are not eligible for the death penalty. we're pursuing that both under the 8th amendment to the united states constitution of the state of georgia, we're asking the court to extend that reasoning one step further, reflecting evolving standards of decency and hold the position of sentence for life without parole for felony murder would be unconstitutionally cruel under our constitution absent evidence. we don't believe any of those facts are in dispute in this case. that's our first motion. >> anything from the state? >> yes, your honor. the recent felony murder is felony murder and different from malice murder is because of the lack of specific intent to commit the murder. as we all know, when a co-defendant kills -- when a co-defendant -- two men go into a convenience store, and they attack the convenience store clerk and the clerk defended himself, shoots and kills one of the armed robbers, the first armed robber is responsible for the death of his friend and co-defendant under felony murder. because while there was no intent for one armed robber to kill the other armed robber, it is a matter of responsibility under felony murder, not a matter of intent to kill. and in this particular case, mr. bryan is eligible for this court to impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. there is nothing preventing this court from doing that on a felony murder charge because felony murder once again is about responsibility, not about intent to kill. thank you. >> all right. mr. gauff? >> your honor, with all due respect, i don't believe that response addressed the issue. the issue is force -- individual such as mr. bryan who did not kill, did not attempt to kill, and did not intend to kill, whether or not the 8th amendment allows the imposition of a sentence of life without parole, it is not a question of the georgia sentencing scheme or statutes, it is a question of federal constitutional law. clearly under those circumstances, the death penalty, imposition of the death penalty is cruel and unusual. we are contending since 1982 that standards, our sense of decency in society have evolved to the point where you should -- the 8th moment amendment does nw the imposition of life without parole. i don't think the state contests that those are not the facts of this case, i think the state is relying on the fact that the supreme court hasn't addressed this issue yet. at least not to my knowledge, where preserving the issue for appeal. >> all right. the court received the motion. it looks like it was filed at 8:18. i have reviewed the motion. it cites the one case that was just referenced by mr. gough and having considered the arguments of counsel, the court denies the motion. mr. gough? >> thank you, your honor. our second motion is a motion to declare unconstitutional the mandatory life sentence for felony murder for discreet class of offenders and alternative motion to bar in position of life sentence. the previous motion addressed whether or not mr. bryan was eligible under the eighth amendment for a sentence of life without parole. this motion challenges whether mr. bryan can be sentenced to a mandatory life sentence for felony murder, both as a class of individuals, who have not killed and intended to kill or attempted to kill, and also as to mr. bryan individually. and we contend that this is essentially the first part of it is taking the case that has already been discussed this morning, not one step, but wtwo steps, to strike down mandatory felony murder for people that convicted of felony murder that fall within that class of individuals that have not killed, attempted to kill or intended to kill. this is an issue which has tremendous import in the state of georgia and around the country. in that there are hundreds in georgia, probably thousands of individuals around the country who are serving life sentences, in prison for many, many years who drove the car that was used to escape from the armed robbery. or provided the key to break into the house, not knowing that it was occupied. all kinds of people out there across the country, serving life sentences right now, who never killed, attempted to kill or intended to kill, but have been subjected to mandatory life imprisonment. i would venture to say the majority of those individuals tend to be african american, but i haven't studied it in depth in a while. but that doesn't matter. doesn't matter if you're white, black or martian. it is wrong for the legislature to require this court, to compel this court as a matter of law to impose a mandatory life sentence on an individual who hasn't killed, attempted to kill or intended to kill. and, again, this is an issue that would have significant impact if it were granted. but we're certainly preserving that issue. secondly, with respect -- >> we're going to continue to monitor the sentencing hearing down in brunswick, georgia, in connection with the ahmaud arbery murder case. these three men convicted of murder. let me get quick reaction from stephanie rawlings-blake, criminal defense attorney, former mayor of baltimore. stephanie, this going to go on for quite a while. and what they're trying to get is some sort of parole in addition to what potentially could be mandatory life in jail. >> as i said before, you know, they have to do what they have to do. there is a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years. they are going to try every -- i don't want to say every trick in the book, but they're going to try every legal maneuver they can to get the judge to consider parole or even a lighter sentence. you hear the judge -- the lawyer now talking about the unfairness of -- or the lack of justice in the minimum sentence and the judge is clearly not hearing it. you're going to hear more of that as the judge -- as the lawyers do their best to get their clients some leniency this morning. >> we'll monitor this hearing and update our viewers obviously as to what's going on. stephanie, thank you very much. other important news we're following right now, any moment now president biden will speak on the december jobs report. we're going to have live coverage. looking at live pictures coming in from the white house right now. we'll be right back. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash... and this is the basement slash panic room. maybe what your family needs is a vacation home slash vacation home. find yours on the vrbo app. - [narrator] every three minutes, a child is born with a cleft condition. without surgery, some will die. those who do survive face extreme challenges. operation smile works to heal children born with cleft conditions. we need you. there are still millions in dire need of healing. go to operationsmile.org today and become a monthly supporter, or call. 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(vo) ask your doctor if it's right for you. learn how we could help you save on imbruvica. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. any moment now, president biden will address the nation from the state dining room. you're looking at live pictures coming in. the lectern there. the president will be speaking about the december jobs report that was released by the u.s. labor department earlier this morning. it was lower than analysts predicted, a lot lower. yet this, the unemployment rate also dropped to only 3.9%. that's good news. we're going to bring you live what the president has to say once he starts speaking. stand by for that. in the meantime, we're also following a fast moving winter storm that is expected to cause widespread disruptions today and tomorrow across the northeast. over 40 million people are under winter weather alerts right now, with up to a foot of snow in some areas. the storm already has hammered parts of virginia, tennessee, and kentucky, where a 20-car pileup on the western kentucky parkway left drivers stranded for hours. boston already has shut down its schools after several inches blanketed their streets, creating hazardous road conditions. the severe weather is also causing once again major headaches for air travelers. more than 2,000 flights already have been canceled today. airlines say the continued impact of the omicron variant is also fueling major staffing shortages. let's go to our aviation correspondent pete muntean, live over at reagan national airport, outside washington, d.c. there was a lot of snow here in the d.c. area as well. what is the latest as far as flights are concerned? >> reporter: well, wolf, cancellations nationwide today have already exceeded the cancellations for the full day, just yesterday. look at the numbers from flight alert. 2300 flights canceled nationwide today. another 1200 flights delayed. travelers really can't catch a break here, the airlines can't catch a break. winter weather, a huge factor here in places like laguardia, boston, denver. but also because of these sheer high numbers of workers at airlines who are calling out sick because they have become either exposed to coronavirus or they have become infected with covid. southwest airlines really leads the pack here, in the number of cancellations, canceling one in every five flights today. its strategy is to try to get more workers to show up, incentivizing flight attendants by offering them double their normal pay if they pick up extra tips. different strategy at alaska airlines, it says it is trimming its schedule, pulling it back, by 10% for the rest of the month. says it needs a price reset on its operation. it canceled about 16% of all of its flights over the last few weeks. th this all amounts to a huge problem for airlines, going on for a couple of weeks, going back two weeks to christmas eve. more than 27,000 flight cancellations nationwide, a silver lining here, wolf, this is typically a time one when flight numbers and passenger levels go down a little bit because we're through the holidays. but still averaging 1.5 million people flying every day. big inconvenience for automatic th all those folks. >> pete muntean, excellent job over at reagan national airport. thank you very, very much. any moment now, president biden will speak about the december jobs report. you're looking at live pictures coming in from the white house now. we'll have live coverage when we come back. hi susan! honey? 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explore over 75 programs and four-week classes at national university. your future starts today at nu.edu. while the united states works to rebuild the economy, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, a record number of low wage employees quit their jobs, most of them looking for higher pay and better benefits. our business and politics correspondent vanessa yourkevic has spoken to some of those employees. tell us what you're hearing. >> month after month, we're seeing a record number of americans that are quitting their jobs. when you dig into the numbers, we're finding these are low wage workers. people who work in retail, hospitality, warehouses. we spoke to one hospitality worker who quit her job over the summer, she was a barback at a bar right there in washington, d.c. she made about $5.05 an hour, that's with tipped wages. she says she simply could not rely on being able to get enough money to support her and to support her family that she hopes to have one day. she decided that she needed to quit to find something else. here is how she is describing this movement, this momentum of these workers quitting. >> people say it is a resignation. to me, it is not a resignation, it is a revolution. we're realizing our worth. >> and so many of these workers are leaving their jobs because they simply feel like they have more options. they're not necessarily quitting and sitting out of the labor force. they're job hopping and we saw that in today's jobs report, look at the unemployment rate, 3.9%. that's a pandemic low. the worker now feels empowered to be able to find whatever job works best for them. we're seeing low wamg wage workers finding better paying jobs out there. they're short employees and they're relying on people getting out into the job market and get the job they're looking for, hoping the businesses can go ahead and hire as many workers as they can now because, wolf, they're pretty desperate for help at this point. >> and very quickly, the president is about to speak any moment now. what do you think the workers want to hear most from the federal government? >> the workers i've spoken to, they are really pushing for a federal minimum wage. they believe that $15 an hour is the base line. that woman who you heard from just there, she was making $5 an hour without tips. she said that is simply not good enough. she says that $15 an hour at a minimum would be a great way for her to be able to feel comfortable with what she is taking home every single day. wolf? >> thank you very much. and to our viewers, thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. i'll be back at 6:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." at this hour with kate bolduan starts right now. this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, everyone. i'm kate bolduan, we begin with breaking news. the labor department reporting a second straight month of disappointing jobs reports. the u.s. added just 199,000 new jobs in december. that's the fewest jobs added in any month of 2021. on the bright side, unemployment is down