novak djokovic ahead of the australian open. and all is quiet in kazakhstan after days of deadly clashes. what the country's president is saying now after issuing shoot-to-kill orders to stop protesters. all right. we begin in the u.s. where covid cases are soaring to record levels driven by the super contagious omicron variant. infections are averaging more than 660,000 per day. this map gives you a sense of the dramatic spread across the nation with cases surging in nearly every state. child hospitalizations are at an all-time high, as well. some of the largest increases are in children under 5 who are not authorized to be vaccinated yet. hospital zaizations in that age group are up 48% from a little more than a month ago. with the public exasperated by what seems like an endless pattern of covid surges, americans want to know when will it end. at a news conference on friday, president joe biden was asked if this was going to be the new normal. >> no, i don't think covid is here to stay. having covid in the environment here and in the world is probably here to stay, but covid as we're dealing with it now is not here to stay. the new normal doesn't have to be -- we have so many more tools we're developing. >> now certain some health experts say any kind of normal will likely mean living with covid in much the same way we live with the flu. a former adviser to president biden spoke with anderson cooper on friday and explained what it would take to get past the exorbitant case numbers that we're seeing now. >> unfortunately, if you vaccinate today, the people who are unvaccinated who account for about 75% of the hospitalizations, it's not really going to make a big difference over the next month because they need a second shot and then 14 days after the second shot. public health measures that we've mentioned, better air quality, masking, not going into crowd ed indoor spaces, those ae really important measures in order to get past omicron. you need to plan today for three month from now so we're not caught in the same problem. >> children's hospital of philadelphia has new guidance aimed at keeping kids in classrooms. the health care system said in a statement, quote, with evidence that covid-19 is becoming a milder infection in most children and at a time when all adults and youth in k through 12 settings have been offering vaccination, children's hospital of philadelphia and policy lab at chop support in-person education, even in times of significant community transmission, and propose new guidance that reduces excessive burden to school staff and families." that new guidance in brief -- continue indoor masking regardless of vaccination status. people with respiratory illness must stay home while symptomatic. those with mild illness should get tested if there is high risk of severe infection. discontinue required weekly testing of people with no symptoms. allow exposed but asymptomatic individuals to continue coming to school under modified quarantine, and encourage vaccinations and booster shots. here are some health experts on in-person learning -- >> our updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine and our prior publications and continued assessment of protocols in schools provide the tools necessary to get these schools reopened for in-person learning and to keep them open for the rest of the school year. >> it's safe enough to get those kids back to school, balanced against the deleterious effects of keeping them out. >> that teachers union is wrong, and all the teachers unions that are saying that we have to delay kids going back to school are wrong. we know what it takes to keep children safe in schools. we need to get our children back at all cost. >> we need our children to be in school. most importantly, the socialization, social development. the kids so sorely missed last year. >> the debate over the safety of returning to the classroom is playing out in chicago, home to the third largest school district in the u.s. public school classes have been canceled there since wednesday after teachers said they didn't have the resources they need to work safely. we have the story . >> reporter: back to school hangs in the balance for the country's third largest school district as negotiations between chicago public schools and the teachers union remain deadlocked over returning to in-person learning. >> i'm not happy that we're not at work. we want to be at work, and we want people to understand that this -- this idea to go remote is not to stop working. >> reporter: melanie lopez is a high school teacher and union member. the teachers union has argued the city of chicago hasn't provided adequate resources to be in person safely. did you feel like you had what you needed in the classroom for it to run safely? >> i did because i bought it. i don't know if that -- >> reporter: with your own money? >> with my own money, right. what we were given were not great. a lot of us had to buy better quality, you know, ppe equipment than what we were provided. we're running through masks, you know, pretty quickly. things that like -- in theory sound great on paper until it's in practice, right. like until you see it being implemented, and then you see where the holes in the situation are happening. >> reporter: the city, however, has argued through masking, vaccinations, testing, and more that school is still safer than being at home even with record numbers of cases among students, staff, and in chicago in recent weeks. >> the difference between now and a year ago was obviously we have vaccines for a huge swath of our school-based population. i think that the issues that are on the table as i wanted them, we can narrow the divide and get a deal done. schools are safe. there's been no question about that. >> reporter: the union disagrees, and one of the major sticking points in their ongoing negotiations with the city it testing. the governor's office confirmed friday it had been in touch with the white house in recent days asking for more tests. the white house confirmed those conversations with pritzker and mayor lightfoot to assess their needs. all the while, students have been out of class, and parents have been frustrated. lopez is also a parent to two 7-year-old twins and trying to find a balance, especially as she remembers what remote learning was like last year. you walked that line. >> right. trying to juggle watching them and making sure they're engaged in their activities and trying to also teach my classes is almost like playing a game of russian roulette it feels like. as a parent, i think what could be done better for next time is let's get those parent voices in there, let's get solutions provided that if this is something that may happen in the future we have alternatives in place so parents feel like they're supported. >> reporter: a spokesperson for chicago public schools says they expect their negotiations to continue through the weekend. and in a joint statement with the head of public schools, mayor lightfoot said their bargaining negotiations friday went into the evening, but that their so far productive sessions must cop -- must conclude this weekend. parents, teachers, and students will be waiting to see if that happen happens. cnn, chicago. >> thanks, omar. now a group of seven parents with children in chicago public schools has filed a lawsuit against the teachers union. it asks teachers to return to in-person learning immediately and also requests damages to make up for lost income and childcare costs. let's turn to australia now. that's where a standoff over covid is playing out right now in melbourne. the head of tennis australia has issued a video to his staff addressing the controversy surroundi ing novak djokovic. his visa was revoked for not having a valid medical exemption for getting vaccinated as he arrived for the australian open. we'll have more on that what video said in a moment. novak djokovic, the defending men's singles champion made his first public comments friday thanking fans as he remains confined in an immigration center. we've also learned that czech player renata vadachua had her visa revoked, as well. the czech government says she has decided to withdraw from the tournament and leave australia. angus watson is standing by in sydney. no relation. thanks for joining me here. now i understand you've just learned more about the appeal that djokovic's lawyers have filed on his behalf. what can you tell us what from what we're learning about his status and the argument they're trying to make to the australian authorities? >> reporter: that's right. the document that novak djokovic's lawyers have filed to the federal circuit court are just been posted on line, and there are several interesting points that are revealed here. firstly, it's confirmed now that novak djokovic is not vaccinated. we've long presumed that because of some anti-vaxxer statements that he's made in the past. this time when he came into australia to contest the australian open, he came in unvaccinated. he filed a medical exemption which stated that he had contracted covid-19 in december and because of the recent covid-19 diagnosis, he's precluded from getting a vaccine for the next six months. that's according to australia's immunization body who said that there's the possibility that it would be unsafe to get vaccinated so soon after recovering from covid-19. now the government says that that's actually not a loophole that they respect in the system, that its security states everyone has to be vaccinated unless you have a serious medical issue, an adverse reaction perhaps to that vaccine. so those are the two sides that will be argued in court on monday. tennis australia maintains that it's done all it could to get its champion through immigration, into australia, and making him available to contest his championship grand slam. he's going forises 21st -- for his 21st grand slam. here's some of what the ceo of tennis australia had to say today -- >> a lot of fingerpointing going on, and a lot of blaming going on, but i can assure you our team has done an unbelievable job and done everything they could according to all the instructions that they have. >> now that video in which he's addressing his staff wasn't meant to be public, but it's leaked to the press. tennis australia hasn't made a public statement on this yet while it waits for this court order to be heard on monday, ivan. >> wow. i mean, it's remarkable. australia had kept many of its citizens from traveling internationally. it was supposed to be opening up. now all the attention is instead on foreign players getting stopped at immigration. angus watson in sydney, thank you very much for that update. now, djokovic's former coach boris becker says the 20-time grand slam champion is the victim of a misunderstanding between the australian government and tennis australia. becker had his own illustrious career as a player before he turned to coaching the world's number-one player. he tells cnn that djokovic's predicament is heartbreaking to watch. take a listen. >> novak is like a family member to me, and i'm struggling. it's unfortunate for him. he's a fine man, and the difference of opinion with many things, but he's a very, very good character. he wouldn't have taken the plane if tennis australia wouldn't have given him the exemption. tennis australia obviously has a misthink with the australian -- misunderstanding with the australian government. and that's why he's in detention. it's terrible for him. imagine this man -- he doesn't drink, doesn't sleep in a normal bed, he looks at life in a different way than most other players, hence he's so successful. for him to be stationed in a room that he's in for the last couple of days just terrible. >> and that's not it for the drama ahead of this championship. the women's singles champion, naomi osaka, had to withdraw from a preliminary tournament in melbourne due to what she called an abdominal injury. osaka was heading into the semifinals at the wta tournament but said playing back-to-back matches was a shock to her body after taking an extended break from tennis. she said she would now rest up in preparation to defend her australian open title. kazakhstan's president has ordered deadly force to be used against anti-government protesters, and he says the brutal response is, in his words, yielding results. that story is coming up next. [girls laugh] -nice smile, brad. -nice! thanks? crest 3d white. 100% stain removal. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. you don't know how much pressure you put on your septic system. but rid-x does. in a 21 month study, scientists proved that rid- x reduces up to 20% of wastey, build up every month. takehe pressure off with rid-x. ♪ for skin that never holds you back. don't settle for silver. #1 for diabetic dry skin #1 for psoriasis symptom relief and #1 for eczema symptom relief. gold bond. champion your skin. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. welcome back to the program. let's turn now to the central asian republic of kazakhstan where an eerie quiet has fallen. that's where security forces are under orders to kill protesters without any warning. the president gave the order on friday after days of deadly anti-government protests. he now says the situation has stabilized in the largest city. a local journalist tells cnn security forces are in charge of government buildings that were partly burned during the protests. still, the u.s. has approved a voluntary departure of nonessential staff from its consulate there. meanwhile, more troops from a russian-led military alliance are coming in. the group says the number of what it calls peacekeepers will grow about 3,600. the u.s. is asking why they're needed in the first place. >> it would seem to me that the kazakh authorities and government certainly have the capacity to deal appropriately with protests, to do so in a way that respects the rights of protesters, while maintaining law and order. it's not clear why they feel the need for any outside assistance. we're trying to learn more about it. i think one lesson in recent history is that once russians are in your house, sometimes it's very difficult to get them to leave. >> scott mcclain is monitoring the situation in kazakhstan and joins us now from london. good to see you, scott. the situation has been so fluid there. what's the latest that you're getting now? >> reporter: yeah, it certainly seems the president has succeeded in restoring public order. what is much less clear and what he probably has not succeeded in doing is quelling the unrest and addressing the specific grievance that's have bubbled to the surface over corruption and inequality inside the country. it's hard to take the temperature of the country or hard to take the pulse without the internet which has been cut for the last few days. the president did promise to have it restored piecemeal, and that seems like it is happening in parts of the country like the capital, but not where we saw the violence break out. we did get a dispatch yesterday from a local journalist who saw bodies in the streets with bullet holes in them. we also know that there's government checkpoints set up, and they're firing warning shots at people who get too close. there are people out and about trying to buy essentials. what we're not seeing in el madi, though, is any kind of protest. it's difficult to blame people because there was obviously violence amongst those protests that turned into more something resembling riots, and so the president has taken this opportunity to paint all of the protesters with the same brush, calling them gangsters and terrorists who are foreign trained or at least foreign influenced, and so he says that when it comes to terrorists, you can't negotiate with them, you have to destroy them instead. we know that overnight, thursday into friday, there have been sounds of gunfire, quite heavy gunfire. the government describes that as counterterrorism operations. surely the opposition would describe it differently, though. state media is reporting that some 4,000 people have been detained. that there have been deaths, as well, from security forces and from protesters, as well. and you also on top of all this now have this russian-led coalition of ex-soviet states which have deployed troops and equipment there at the request of the kazakh government. from official statements, it seems that they're promising to have a relatively light touch, but the u.s. obviously has concerns about human rights abuses. white house press secretary jen psaki even suggested that perhaps the invitation from the kazakhs was not genuine which is bizarre considering the president in a speech yesterday thanked the coalition leaders for coming to his aid and specifically singled out russian president vladimir putin. >> we're going to have to watch this closely. scott from london, thank you so much for the update. to look deeper into the turmoil in kazakhstan, we're joined now by sean roberts. he's the director of the international development studies program at george washington university. and sean also worked at the united states agency for international development in central asia on democracy and governance programs. so thank you for joining me, sean. you have a long personal and professional history in kazakhstan and neighboring republics. first i guess i want to ask, how are your family and friends doing there? can you communicate with them? what are they telling you? >> well, the only way we can communicate with people in kazakhstan right now is through land lines. so we're using skype to get through to land lines. people i know so far are doing okay. they're mostly staying home. it's dangerous on the street right now. and we've heard that there's short supply of food, it's difficult to get money, and in general it's dangerous to be on the street. >> the speed at which this all unraveled was striking, and it does seem that it caught the government offguard. did you see any of this coming? did other experts see any of this coming? >> well, you know, there's i think two things that have been festering in kazakhstan for quite some time that kind of pointed to things becoming unstable. one is the -- the widespread corruption that has led to economic inequality, and i think that's been exacerbated over the last couple years by covid, and in general, the country was on a trajectory where it was constantly experiencing economic growth, and that kind of plateaued and has started to fall. and that -- that really hits people in their pocketbook and makes life more difficult. so there's a lot of frustrations. the other issue is the state has not really dealt with how to have a leadership succession from its first president. he stepped down in 2019, but he sort of retained a lot of his power by putting himself on the -- heading the national security council. and so i think that that -- i think what we're seeing is both widespread citizen frustration and something of a power struggle happening right now, and both of those things are leading to the crisis that we're seeing on the streets. >> tell me more about that power struggle. we're hearing about senior officials, allies to the former president being arrested and accused of being traitors by the current president. was this a popular uprising or a power struggle, or is it a mix of both? are factions taking advantage of a moment of popular discontent? >> yeah, so i mean one word of caution is -- as scott mentioned, the internet has been closed down. and at the same time, there's no foreigners being allowed into the country with the exception of csto troops, of course. and so all the information we have is rather murky and incon inclusive, but there does seem to be some indications that it's a combination of both a popular uprising and some inter-elite struggles going on. for example, on wednesday night when the protests turned violent, most people that i've heard from have told me that people who were on the street protesting told me that they saw basically the police leave the scene and suddenly other people showing up who started vandalizing things such ads burning down buildings and so on. whether that was -- those were proxies of some sort of elite power struggle, it's unclear. but there certainly is a lot of mystery around it. and we do know that there's long been a lot of jockeying -- hello? >> we hear you -- >> jockeying between elites. so you know, i think that -- that you do have to say that there's something of a combination of things happening all at the same time. and that, of course, overlaid by the fact that we have russian troops and troops from other post-soviet states now in the country. and that the president actually called those troops to kazakhstan to assist him. >> very quickly in closing, sean, how do you think those russian troops would be received by the public in kazakhstan? >> well, i think there's going to be a variance. i think some people -- most people in the country right now have no idea really what's happening. they have probably less idea than you and i because they don't have access to internet to see what other people are saying about the situation. some of those people may just be fearful, they may believe what the president is saying that there's a terrorist attack under way and might welcome these troops, particularly from russia which has a long relationship with kazakhstan. others are going to look at this as the state essentially ceding its sovereignty at a time where russia is increasingly aggressive abroad. i think that it's going to have lingering impact in the country and lingering geopolitical impact. >> all right. sean roberts, we'll have to leave it there. thank you very, very much. now, rampant covid case numbers and mixed messaging are trying the patience of americans looking for relief from covid. coming up, we'll look at the frustration growing over the government's changing guidelines. and countries across europe scramble to contain the spread of the omicron variant as soaring cases tax hospitals. a live report from london just ahead. rate with no origination fees and the ability to close in as littlele as three weeks. as of now, filo is changing what you can expect from a mortgage e lender. filo, ththe low and fast spokesdog, thinks so too. every little digit in your mortgage rate e matters because it grows up to be a monthly payment. so, for home purchases and refinancing, filo mortgage created the filo low-rate guarantee. if you find a lower rate with no origination fees, we'll match it and pay you $1,000 at closing. that's how certain we are. having an even lower lower rate also gives you more options, like boosting your price range or enjoying lower monthly payments. combined with zero origination fees, filo is practically a mortgage rate hero. start your pre-approval and let the filoing begin today. (announcer) find your lower rate at filomortgage.com, or by calling the number below. (soft music) ♪ with mucinex nightshift you've got powerful relief from your worst nighttime cold and flu symptoms. so grab nightshift to fight your symptoms, get your zzz's... and get back to your rhythm. ♪ the relief you need. the cash you want. 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. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. welcome back. the omicron variant is complicating more than just health statistics in the u.s. it's also led to recent guidelines about isolation periods from the centers for disease control and prevention that many are calling confusing for lacking clarity about whether or not tests are needed. the agency's director is facing sharp criticism from the white house and experts within the cdc itself. she addressed the issues during a rare solo news conference on friday. >> we're in an unprecedented time with the omicron cases rising. we are working really hard to get information to the american public. this is hard, and i am committed to continue to improve as we learn more about the science and top communicate that with all of you. >> meanwhile, in china, covid-19 cases are on the rise despite the nation's zero-covid strategy. on friday, the country reported nearly 100 new locally transmitted infections, almost half from shia. we've heard disturbing accounts from people in the locked down city revealing residents don't have access to many basic needs, including medical care. and now chinese authorities are telling hospitals to accept all patients no matter what their covid status is. we have more. >> reporter: i'm in hong kong. as the chinese city of shian enters a third week of hard lookdown, a second pregnant woman has suffered a miscarriage due to delayed medical aid. this is according to state media. china's vice premier is telling wants not to turn patients away under any excuses. the hospital told cnn that i initially turned the first pregnant woman away because they were following government covid-19 rules. after that incident went viral, local health officials were suspended. the director of the municipal health commissions bowed and apologized. for angry citizens, it is not enough. with one saying this, quote, covid-19 might not kill you, but bureaucrats can. >> all right. thanks. let's bring in professor ben cowling. chair of epidemiology at the university of hong kong, but he joins us now from england. good to see you, professor. i want to ask you first about a big story here in right now where you have a number of top government officials who are issuing public apologies. this after they attended a big birthday party in a spanish tapas restaurant monday days after the health secretary here told the public to avoid large crowds because the city was on the verge of a fifth wave of covid infections. now you have all these lawmakers and top government officials going into mandatory government quarantine, and at least one local transmission case from that party, possibly a second, we're getting mixed reports about a false positive there. the question being, is it possible now that we have a scenario where government officials, two years into the pandemic, may be a vector of transmission and spreading the virus in the city? >> well, certainly we see that covid doesn't spare anybody. that around the world a lot of public officials have had covid in the past two years and maybe in hong kong this is a chance now for some government officials to experience the infection and also in could h the control measures, the isolation for cases, and the very strict quarantine for close contacts in a quarantine facility are a little like a holiday camp. >> the city managed to avoid an outbreak of the delta variant. and now it seems to be struggling with omicron. do you think it can squelch this outbreak? >> right now we do have omicron in the community, but government is working very hard to do contact tracing, trying to keep up with the virus and even to get ahead of the virus. i'm a little bit concerned that it may be very difficult to keep up with omicron because it spreads so fast, and in the past few days there have been more and more cases being picked up. so i wonder whether government is going to have to consider bringing in m ining in more str public health measures. and on the main land, each time there's an outbreak in the city in the mainland, there's a stringent set of implicationses to get the numbers back to zero again. >> let's switch to the main land now. you've had the capital province averaging dozens of cases a day, 13 million-plus residents under strict lockdown now for more than two weeks. in the last week, dozens of cases a day in hinan province with the strict lockdowns being imposed there. china has its famous zero-covid approach to the virus even though it was first detected in china in the first place. can it succeed in suffocating the virus, these two outbreaks, or is omicron simply too contagious? >> we'll have to wait and see. i think for zero covid there were two modes. the first mode is keeping the virus out of the community, and most of china is succeeding in that at the moment. but then from time to time, the virus does get in one city at a time. and that's the second mode which is the very stringent measures to get the outbreak under control and get the numbers back down to zero. with omicron it's going to be tough. i think they can do it. i think this year is going to be much more disrupted in the mainland than it was last year because omicron is a bigger challenge. >> all right. professor ben cowling from hong kong university, speaking to us from the uk. thank you very, very much. >> thank you. now, for the view from europe because covid cases fueled by the omicron variant are running rampant across the continent. france reported more than 328,000 cases on friday, just shy of the record set a few days ago. meanwhile, germany is imposing tougher restrictions as the omicron variant spreads. stepping up requirements on those who haven't gotten booster shots. for more on all that, let's bring in our reporter if london. can you fill me in on how different governments are dealing with the outbreaks there? because of course the european context is so different from how the virus is being dealt with here in asia. >> reporter: absolutely. we're seeing the record-breaking figures, and really now in europe governments are tightening those restrictions. this time, though, they're focusing in on the unvaccinated in france. they're looking at making it mandatory for people to provide proof of vaccination in order to access many public venues and social settings, even for interregional travel within the country as opposed to what was previously in place as part of the health pass providing proof of a negative coast -- negative covid test. even if you are vaccinated or have recently recovered from covid infection, you'll still have to provide proof of a negative lateral flow test in order to access cafes, restaurants, and bars, only those who have had the booster jab will be exempt from those measures. in italy, all those over 50 are being mandated to get the vaccine, otherwise they could face a hefty penalty. even suspension of pay for the time being if they don't comply to these measures. so we are seeing a stricter response from the european leaders in order to push people to get their vaccines. in contrast in the uk, the government is still taking a softer approach. the government says it's sticking to its plan-b measures, no further restrictions just yet. and that means wearing face masks and indoor public -- in indoor public settings and pro public transport. and working from home. this come health care leaders calling for tougher measures to be brought into force to ease pressure on the uk's national health service in the week up to january 2nd. we saw nearly 60% increase in staff shortages across the health care sector. that is a real point of concern. the uk's biggest nursing union calling on the government to add some tougher measures to really stem this issue. they are seeing significant work force shortages. even in london where we've seen critical incidents declared in some hospitals, we're seeing the military being deployed to support health care workers. so a real mixed bag of measures coming in there. ivan? >> that's really worrying when you've got up to 60% absences of medical staff in hospitals. thank you very much for that update. now straight ahead on "cnn newsroom," ahmaud arbery's family speaks out at the sentencing hearing for his killers. and we'll take an in-depth look at a i hadly emotional day in court -- a high lie emotional day in court. hundreds of flight canceled in the u.s. the cause of this travel chaos up ahead. 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 woman: i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. at xfinity.com/moving. now, there's skyrizi. with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just two doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything. ♪ woman: talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. welcome back to the program. the three white men who murdered ahmaud arbery were sentenced to life in prison friday with two having no chance of parole. the 25-year-old black man was jogging in a south georgia neighborhood when the three men gave chase and shot him in february of 2020. more now from cnn's ryan young. today the deficits defendants are being held accountable -- >> reporter: two of the three men convicted of killing ahmaud arbery sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison, life without the possibilitier of parole. >> after ahmaud arbery fell, the mcmichaels turned their backs to -- a disturbing image, and they walked away. this was a killing. it was callus -- >> reporter: william bryan jr. sentenced to serve life with the possibility of parole after 30 years. >> he had grave concerns that what had occurred should not have occurred. and i think that does make mr. bryan's situation a little bit different. however, mr. bryan has been convicted of felony murder. >> reporter: before reading the sentences, the judge paused for one minute. >> i want us to get a concept of time. what i'm going to do is i'm going to sit silently for one minute. i kept coming back to the terror that must have been in the mind of the young man running through satilla shores. >> reporter: the court heard powerful statements from ahmaud arbery's family. >> i laid you to rest. i told you i loved you, and someday, somehow i would get you just. >> reporter: his mother spoke directly to her son and to the men responsible for his death. >> these men have chose to lie and attack my son and his surviving family. they each have no remorse and do not deserve any leniency. this wasn't a case of mistaken identity or mistaken fact. they've chose to target my son. when they couldn't sufficiently scare him or intimidate him, they killed him. >> reporter: taking aim the a defense attorney's comments during the trial. >> his long, dirty toenails. >> reporter: about her son's toenails. >> i wish he would have cut and cleaned his toenails before he went out for that jog that day. i guess he would have if he knew he would be murdered. >> reporter: arbery's family was clear -- they wanted the maximum sentence possible -- >> me and my family, we've got to live with his death the rest of our life. we will never see ahmaud again. so i feel they should stay behind them bars rest of their life because they didn't give him a chance. >> the loss of ahmaud has devastated me and my family. so i'm asking that the men that killed him be given the maximum sentence available to the court. >> reporter: last november the mcmichaels and bryan were convicted of murder after chasing 25-year-old ahmaud arbery in their vehicles while he jogged in the neighborhood killing him after they said they thought they see arbery inside an unfinished home on february 23rd, 2020. it took 2.5 months before arrests were made after video bryan took of the murder was released and went viral. these three men face additional federal charges. that case is scheduled to be heard in february. so it's not over for them just yet. a lot of people are paying attention to this, especially because the prosecutor who was originally involved in this case faces her own set of charges that are connected to this case. brian young, brunswick, georgia. hollywood loses a bright star. a successful career and an actor never afraid to push boundaries. we'll remember the life of actor sydney poitier ahead. (man 2 vo) i'm living longer. (vo) imbruvica isis a prescription medicine for adults with cll or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. imbruvica is not chemotherapy- it's the #1 prescribed oral therapy for cll, proven to help people live longer. imbruvica can cause serious side effects, which may lead to death. bleeding problems are common and may increase with blood thinners. serious infections with symptoms like fevers, chills, weakness or confusion and severe decrease in blood counts can happen. heart rhythm problems and heart failure may occur especially in people with increased risk of heart disease, infection, or past heart rhythm problems. new or worsening high blood pressure, new cancers, and tumor lysis that can result in kidney failure, irregular heartbeat, and seizure can occur. diarrhea commonly occurs. drink plenty of fluids. tell your doctor if you experience signs of bleeding, infection, heart problems, persistent diarrhea or any other side effects. (man 2 vo) i am living longer with imbruvica. (vo) ask your doctor if it's right for you. learn how we could help you save on imbruvica. introducing filo mortgage. now, you could be a click or call away from an even lower mortgage rate with no origination fees and the ability to close in as little as three weeks. as of now, filo is changing what you can expect from a mortgage lender. filo, the low and fast spokesdog, thinks so too. every little digit in your mortgage rate matters because it grows up to be a monthly payment. so, for home purchases and refinancing, filo mortgage created the filo low-rate guarantee. if you find a lower rate with no origination fees, we'll match it and pay you $1,000 at closing. that's how certain we are. having an even lower lower rate also gives you more options, like boosting your price range or enjoying lower monthly payments. combined with zero origination fees, filo is practically a mortgage rate hero. start your pre-approval and let the filoing begin today. (announcer) find your lower rate at filomortgage.com, or by calling the number below. (soft music) ♪ one role of a lifetime...one sore throat. but she had enough. she took new mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who's boss. new mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds, lasts for hours. - [narrator] as you get ready for what's next, custom gear from custom ink can help make the most of these moments. we've developed new tools to make it easy for you. custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com it is a tough day for travelers in the u.s. airlines have canceled more than 1,000 u.s. flights today. flightaware.com says many were on the east coast. both the omicron variant and a fast-moving snowstorm are impacting the region. this latest wave pushed the total of canceled flights by all airlines since christmas to more than 28,000. wow. meteorologist derek van dam is keeping close track of it all at the cnn weather center. the snowfall, everybody knows it's a fun day for schoolkids. i'm going to take the liberty of showing this photo my sister sent this morning of my bed head nephew greeting the snowstorm in rhode island. but if you're not a school kid who gets to stay home and play in the snow, wow, grinding uncertainty if you're trying to travel, right? >> but doesn't that photo just kind of encapsulate everything that a childhood memory should have? i mean, just that joy of looking out the window, seeing snow, and then -- and then this is dating myself perhaps, but listening to the radio a little bit and say, oh, is my -- my town going to be called in that cancelation list? i hope, i hope, i hope. and then it does. now we don't see the photo, the face of your nephew. and we don't see the face of the gentleman behind me, but i can imagine there are two completely different expressions happening here. the joy of a child with the classes being canceled. the unjoy or the sadness of this gentleman or the frustration i should say having to plow his front stoop because the snow piled up. almost a foot in the brooklyn suburbs or the -- the new york suburbs here of brooklyn. incredible snow totals from this recent storm along the east coast. look at boston, almost a foot of snow. laguardia at 9.7 inches. that storm is long gone, but we'll still feeling the ripple effects of the winter storm because, of course, the delays and then you add on top of that the omicron variant that is causing the staffing shortages for the airline industry. look at this -- we have winter weather advisories across new england. they've just been hoisted within the past 15 minutes. so updating this in real time, that's for the potential of freezing rain sunday morning. it's not today. this is actually for sunday, and we have the potential for freezing rain across the nation's midsection from st. louis to granrapids, michigan, as well as chicago. you can see that in the high-resolution forecast radar imagery starting to pop into the radar there later in the afternoon and evening today. some tough travels expected across the nation's midsection from the southern great lakes and into the deep south where rain will continue. what a juxtaposition between that photo of your nephew and the picture of the man shoveling his driveway. >> in all transparency, boy, did i listen to the radio back in the day, as well, for the school cancelations. >> okay, good. i'm glad i'm not alone. thank you. >> no, no. derek van dam, thank you very very much. now to a profound loss in hollywood and around the world. the charismatic actor sidney poitier was a powerful voice, an advocate for his race in the films he made and in the struggle for human rights in the united states. osidney poitier died thursday he evening. he was 94. he pushed back against racism to become hollywood's first black leading man in "defiant ones" and "guess who's coming to dinner." he was the first black man to win an academy award for best actor for his portrayal of an itinerant ---er working with white nuns in "lilies of the field." i'll be back in a minute with more "cnn newsroom." this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. woman: i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just two doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything. ♪ woman: talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. ♪ hello and warm welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world, i'm ivan watson. ahead on "cnn newsroom," the covid fight moves to kwlas rooms across the united states. with hospitalizations of children on the rise, teachers and parents are on opposite sides of the in-person learning debate. plus, we're learning why the organizers of the australian open granted the world's top tennis player a medical exemption to compete. we're live in sydney with ne