spreads. all of this is fueling more debate on how school districts can best keep kids and teachers safe. meantime, hospital staffing shortages and dwindling testing supplies are becoming more common. in california the national guard is being activated to help assist hospitals where needed. in colorado the state activated its crisis standards of care to keep up with the rise in patients. cnn's nadia romero is in atlanta where students are returning to classes in school, right, on monday, so what are people saying about the plans? >> reporter: yeah, fred, that is the plan so far, right, but the original plan was for them to return to in-person learning once they returned from holiday break, but then we had this rise in covid-19 cases, so they went back to remote learning. monday is the day. and on that day as well starts mandatory testing for teachers at the atlanta public school district, twice a week, and students can get tested as well with parental consent. that's how they're hoping to control the spread of covid-19 in their schools and keep kids in the classroom. but we're seeing a lot of issues at other districts all across the country, including in chicago, yet another instance where the city of chicago and the school district are at odds yet again. now, today both sides are supposed to come to the meeting table and sit down and try to hash this thing out, but the big issue is that the city's mayor wants kids to be back to in-person learning. she says it's the safest thing for kids, they get their meals from school, many of them, it allows their parents to go to work. she wants oink learning but the school district, teachers, teacher union some of the parents want more testing and more masks. listen to what they say needs to happen in order for them to come back to the school building and feel safe. >> we have been failed by the mayor, failed by the public health office and teachers and the school staff have decided the only thing that we can control is whether we go into the buildings and we're saying we want to teach and we want to do what's right for our students. >> reporter: so they want to do what's right for their students but want to do it safely, that's what we're hearing from the teachers. on the city side they're saying we've done everything we can do to make it safe but we have to move on with every day life. we're seeing those contentious battles happening in new york state, the mayor also wanting in-person learning but the different teachers unions and lawmakers are asking for more tests and masks. san francisco yesterday throughout the bay area teachers planned a sick out to protest against what they say is a lack of resources to be back in the school at a safe rate. fred, this is something that we've seen throughout this pandemic and unfortunately just hasn't gotten better. >> no. all right. nadia romero, thank you so much. let's talk more about this with students returning to class in atlanta on monday, schools in the state have a new set of rules set by governor brian kemp and public health commissioner kathleen toomey. under an order signed this week public schoolteachers who test positive for covid-19 no longer need to isolate before wlurng returning to the classroom as long as they are asymptomatic and wear a mask. stools are also not required to do contact tracing. here now to talk about it the president of the georgia association of educators, lisa morgan. ms. morgan, so good to see you. well, what's your reaction to this new order? >> thank you for having me on, fredricka. my reaction is that this is the absolute wrong thing to do at the absolute worst time. we know that there are increasing cases in our children, there's increasing hospitalizations in our children and this action shows a lack of regard for the health and safety of educators, students and our families. >> so what do you believe is behind governor brian kemp's order to do this? >> i believe this is an attempt to keep our schools open for face-to-face instruction, and as educators no one wants to be in the classroom with our students more than us. we have said that all along during the pandemic, but it must be done in a health and safety way, in a healthy and safe way, with a priority on keeping us in the classroom, by keeping us all healthy. as a kindergarten teacher i can tell that you every little bug my students get they share. >> right. >> they share with their classmates, they share with the teachers and we know that's what happens in our buildings. so we have to be extra vigilant in our classrooms and on our buses to try to mitigate the spread of this omicron variant that is so much more infectious. >> and with this new georgia, you know, state order, also what comes with it is the discretion of each school district. they still can independently make some decisions about what they're going to require from teachers regardless of what the order says about teachers being asymptomatic, testing positive, still being able to go into schools. what are you hearing from teachers? what are their frustrations about, you know, the ongoing virus, the ongoing hospitalizations of children and their desires to get in the classroom and teach kids but at the same time being concerned about their safety? >> i think frustration is the best word to use. with these new guidelines schools will no longer be required to do the contact tracing and we have school systems that have said they will not be doing contact tracing. so now an educator will not know if there is a positive case in their classroom. parents will not know if there is a positive case in their child's classrooms. so educators and parents will then be unable to make informed decisions to ensure their child's health and safety. >> i spoke with a member of congress in the last hour who says he really advocates school districts being able to extend an option to families, if you are comfortable with your kid going to school in person, then you have that option. if you are not, that child can continue to do remote learning at home. is that feasible? would that be possible as you see it in school districts throughout georgia if that were an option? >> we have some school districts that did allow that option, but we have other school districts that have simply said, no, face-to-face is the only option we are giving. or on the other hand we have districts that did allow that option that had deadlines for parents to choose that option and those deadlines passed, many of them in december, and now we're seeing the tremendous surge and they are not allowing parents to then switch. >> yeah. do you think it's a mistake that while that was exercised across the board, i mean, from coast to coast last year and, you know, in the first year and a half of this pandemic, but with the new year that option is not being, you know, considered or even exercised? is that a mistake or do you believe it's time to return to that? >> i believe that anything that we do that is not putting the priority on keeping students and educators and their families safe is a mistake. we should be using every tool we have in our toolbox to mitigate the spread of covid-19 in our classrooms and in our schools. >> do you believe it should be a requirement that teachers are vaccinated? >> we do have one district here -- we have two districts, actually, here in georgia that have required their employees to be vaccinated. we believe that vaccination is one of the best tools we have and that we all should be using that tool from our toolbox, along with masks. we think masks are at the minimum should be the requirement in all of our educational sites, our school buses, cafeterias when our children aren't eating and especially in our classrooms. >> lisa morgan, thank you for being with us with the georgia association of educators. >> thank you. as the omicron variant surges the changing cdc covid guidelines have been causing a lot of confusion out there. now cdc director rochelle walensky is facing backlash for the agency's lack of clear messaging. cnn's gabe cohen has had. >> as we have articulated before cdc is working on updated guidance. >> reporter: the cdc director facing renewed criticism from within the white house and her own agency after yet another guidance gaffe. a source telling cnn that cdc scientists are increasingly frustrated with walensky's handling of guidance and between her circumventing their vetting process for guidelines and the public criticism morale at the agency is sinking. >> it really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate. >> reporter: it comes after the cdc cut the covid isolation period from ten days to five, making no mention of a negative test, drawing push back from health experts and contradiction from the surgeon general. >> they have certainly received feedback and questions about the role of testing. >> reporter: as well as dr. anthony fauci. >> i'm saying it's something that absolutely should be considered and i believe the cdc is going to clarify that. >> reporter: they did, saying people can test if they want to, but if they tests positive they should isolate for five more days. the head of the american medical association says all of this is not only confusing, but risking further spread of the virus. >> i think the problem here isn't so much the guidance, it's the lack of effective communication about the guidance. >> reporter: dr. tom freeden was cdc director under the obama administration. >> and, yes, there are some judgment calls so be frank about them. >> reporter: now cnn has learned dr. walensky is in media training, for months she's been meeting with a consultant to improve communication skills. she held a rare solo news conference. >> this is hard and i am committed to continue to improve as we learn more about the science and to communicate that with all of you. >> reporter: the well-regarded infectious disease expert had no government experience before president biden appointed her and has often seemed out of step with the white house and dr. fauci, leading to some abrupt and confusing changes in guidance. in may she announced vaccinated people could stop wearing masks indoors, drawing quick criticism that it was too soon. last february the white house had to clarify walensky's comment that teachers did not need to be fully vaccinated for schools to reopen. >> dr. walensky spoke to this in her personal capacity. >> reporter: now walensky is under fire for not following the cdc's own playbook for explaining new guidance. a biden covid adviser tells me the cdc has got to do a better job communicating what they're doing and why and that has to happen quickly. >> that's whapg when you lead with the data and science and not lead with a clear communications plan. >> reporter: dr. frieden is urging them to move their head u ursers in atlanta and let them control more of the public message. the biden covid adviser told me this is a larger coordination problem across the administration between the white house, the cdc, the fda and the national institutes of health and blame can't solely fall on dr. walensky. gabe cohen, cnn, washington. let's talk further about all of this, joining me right now is an emergency medicine physician out of houston. lots of confusion, let's zero in on that, particularly the cdc guidelines of isolation from ten days to five days. what are you hearing from patients? >> thanks for having me. a lot of confusion indeed. when i see a patient in the emergency department we do a large workup and then i sum that workup in about a few sentences and give them discharge instructions. i feel like the cdc need needs to do a better job of that. they have a lot of information and data and they have to condense that down into clear mess messaging. my patients are confused when they can go back to work or school and it's hard for me to give them clear guidance because i'm confused at times as well. >> should it also be expected that there are going to be nuks waiting instructions because this virus is changing, it's constantly evolving and so guidance has to constantly evolve as well? >> i 100% agree and i think a lot of the changes made, the ten to five days were in the interest of kind of being current with the science and the he have hugs of omicron and what we're seeing. i think it's been said over and over again we just wish testing was a part of it. i tell my patients if they have access to tests, test negative twice in subsequent face and you can come out of isolation. if you don't test negative day ten is when you can come out of isolation >> on the issue of tests it's very difficult to find, i mean, you pull up to any wall screens, cvs, duane reed and there are signs on the front doors or pharmacy windows that say we don't have any tests. when the white house says it has a plan to send as many as 500 million tests to americans, how helpful might that be? how urgently do you think that is needed? >> we needed them last month essentially. we need them now. 500 million honestly won't be enough. every american should have two to three tests per week and 500 million is not going to get us near there. because there is such a shortage of tests we are having a huge rush on our emergency departments of people wanting us to test them and that's leading to a delay of care for critically ill patients, people showing up with heart attacks and strokes because we're understaffed as it is and we're having to take care of the sick patients and then all these patients who want covid tests. it's a complex and difficult situation for us. >> is it the case at your hospital, are you experiencing that patients are discovering they are positive with covid because perhaps they are coming into the hospital for other ailments. they don't have access to at home testing, only to find out that not only do they have this other problem like you just mentioned, maybe a heart issue, but they are also testing positive and now you have to treat them for multiple issues? >> absolutely. so that is the case and the big kind of grand scheme of things it doesn't change anything for us because we still have a lack of beds and a lack of staff and whether you have covid or don't have covid we still have to take care of you. it makes things for difficult. if you came in for a stroke and my husband doesn't happen to have a neurologist i have to transfer you. finding a bed is hard enough. now when i get on a transfer line telling them this patient is covid positive they have to find a neurologist and isolation bed that's available. that means caring for non-covid issues even if if you are asymptomatically covid positive that much more difficult. >> doctor, how do you see our way out of this, or are you resigned to the fact that we will all just simply be living with covid but the degrees in which we live with it may vary? which approach are you advising? >> i never give up, i always think there is a solution, i just think we need to make hard decisions in the short term. the good news is we've learned from other countries that the strike goes up quick and down quick. for the next six weeks we have to make tough decisions, wearing masks everywhere, n95 masks if possible. that's going to be the federal government finding creative ways to get us tests whether that's the defense production act or buying tests from other country or whatever the case may be, we need tests now, setting up testing centers and redoubling our efforts on vaccinations. we have an abysmally low percentage of kids vaccinated and we don't talk about that enough. our pediatric hospitals are seeing saurj in admissions. folk seasoning on boosters, focusing on childhood vaccinations and making tough decisions when it comes to nonessential events over the next six weeks. i think if we do those things we can look back on this and look back at the mistakes made over the last couple months and make sure we don't do this all over again in the next couple months. >> sounds like you're saying people need to make more personal responsibility to help be part of the solution here. >> absolutely. it's on all of us. the system has to do its part, we have to do our part and we have to hook out for each other. >> doctor, thank you so much. continue to be well. appreciate you. >> thank you very much. and at the center of the fight against the coronavirus our pharmacies, they've become crucial for vaccines and tests and of course every day prescriptions. but right now so many pharmacies are facing a dire worker shortage. plus, moments from now president biden and a host of other democratic leaders will gather in nevada to honor and remember the late senator harry reid. we will take you there live. y l. so when something happens that could affect your portfolio, you can act quickly. that's decision tech, only from fidelity. 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(robert) thank you. subaru. more than a car company. this just into cnn, south dakota senator john thune announcing he will run for reelection. let's bring in daniella diaz on capitol hill. >> reporter: fred, he made this decision to announce his intent to run for reelection just moments ago on twitter. this is huge news, fred, because john thune is actually the senate minority whip, the number two senate republican and this is an important decision he has made to seek another term. he was waiting weeks to see if he wanted to seek another term. i want to read his tweet, he said south dakota deserves a strong and effective senator who can deliver the results they expect. i'm uniquely positioned to get that job done and i look forward to earning the support of all south dakotaness in the 2022 election for u.s. senate. john thune is an interesting senator namely because he has been at odd with former donald trump before namely because he was in favor of accepting the electoral college results and then president-elect joe biden's victory. this is huge news for south dakota and the fact that this number two senate republican is announcing his reelection. >> daniella, was there any doubt that he would seek reelection? >> reporter: there certainly was, fred. right now of course senate minority leader mitch mcconnell was publicly urging john thune to seek reelection because john thune is likely seen as mitch mcconnell's successor. he is the number two senate republican, he is eyeing that spot. so that is why republicans wanted him to run for reelection. he is 61, fairly dwyounger than other senators so he can seek another term. now all eyes turn to senator ron johnson of wisconsin, he is the last republican who has still not said whether he will run for reelection, however, senate republicans are hopeful that he will because of course the goal being the republicans want to win back their majority in the house and the senate in the 2022 midterms. fred? >> thank you so much for that. coming up, a busy and emotional week for president biden on the heels of the january 6th insurrection anniversary. he traveled to colorado to tour the widespread damage from the wildfire there and speak with those who have lost everything. so much more straight ahead. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ deposit, plan and pay with easy tools from chase. simplicity feels good. chase. make more of what's yours. 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. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ you could fret about that email you just sent. ...with a typo. aaaand most of the info is totally outdated. orrrr... you could use slack. and edit your message after it's sent. 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>> reporter: fred, biden's role as consoler in chief has really come into focus offer the course of these two days, starting with that visit to louisville, colorado, in the wake of that marshall fire that devastated so many families' homes. the president and first lady spent close to three hours on the ground in louisville including meeting with meme who lost all of their belongings in their home. there was a touching moment where the president was offering comfort to a father and son dressed in shorts, telling the president that that was all that they had after losing all of their belongings in their homes due to this fire. so often president biden travels in the wake of these natural disasters to try to offer some words of comfort and support to those families who have been impacted. while on the ground the president also sounded the alarm about the impact of climate change on these extreme weather events. >> the situation is a blinking code red for our nation because the combination of extreme drought, the driest period from june to december ever recorded, ever recorded, unusually high winds, no snow on the ground to start created a tinderbox. >> reporter: now, the president today will also assume that role of consoler in chief when he speaks at a memorial service for the late senate majority leader harry reid who passed away this past week. biden spent nearly two decades serving alongside reid in the senate, he also worked with him over those eight years as vice president. so biden once again returning to that role as a speaker at these memorial services, something we have seen him do time and time again for so many friends since he has taken office. >> arlette saenz, thank you so much. president biden will be joined by other dignitaries including former president obama while in nevada for that memorial service for the late senate majority leader harry reid. reid died last month at the age of 82 after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. jeff zeleny is in las vegas and, jeff -- there you go -- tell us what is planned. >> reporter: well, fredricka, president biden and first lady jill biden have just arrived here to the smith performing arts center in downtown las vegas where this funeral service will be under way in the next 30 minutes or so. president biden has spent much of his career working alongside harry reid as a senator and vice president. he will be the final speaker as the conclusion of this memorial service here this morning in las vegas, but president barack obama will be delivering the eulogy and he had a very close connection, a close relationship with senator harry reid. in fact, that was made clear in the final days of senator reid's life when his wife asked many senators and friends to send letters to be read to harry reid and this is what president obama said in his letter, he said, i wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support and i wouldn't have gotten most of what i got done without your skill and determination. so that certainly crystallizes the important that senator reid played in the obama/biden administration, but he was an inside player, someone who knew the rules of the senate very well, respected by both sides. of course, how you viewed his time in the senate largely depended on what party you were in, but he also had deep relationships with senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, a strong personal relationship and they sparred quite equally. this will be a funeral service where nancy pelosi and chuck schumer also will be speaking, remembering the life and legacy of harry reid. many senators are here, vice president harris also has just arrived. also as you pointed out a few protesters as well, trump maga protesters criticizing harry reid, but most of the supporters here certainly remembering harry reid's legacy and lifetime of service, fred. >> jeff zeleny, thank you so much. we will check back with you there from las vegas. coming up, more than two years into the pandemic and still there's difficulty getting a covid test an confusion over which kind of test you need to get. we will break down the differences next. get $1,500 lease cash toward a 2022 rx 350. ♪ ♪ ♪ do your eyes bother you? 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that's the answer that a throughout of people are wanting, they feel fine, but they want to know if they are still contagious. the cdc should be promoting those types of tests, they have talked about 500 million of these tests going out. we need more than that ultimately but that would be a start. >> thanks, sanjay. one of the places people are getting tests is at their local pharmacy. that's place ago bigger burden on the country's pharmacies. theresa toll is the incoming president of the american pharmacists association and the owner of bay street pharmacy. so good to see you. how are you holding up? >> i'm doing well, thank you, fredricka, i appreciate the opportunity to be here today. >> thanks for being with us. so for so many people in the pharmacy, i mean, they are the point of contact, you know, when people are getting their vaccine or even getting a covid test and, of course, just picking up their prescriptions. how do you measure how well pharmacies are able to hand this -- handle this new demand? >> well, i'm going to say that it's definitely crazy everywhere right now. i mean, as you've seen the rise of this variant around the country has been just crazy and the phones are ringing off the hooks. so i think it's tough. i think every pharmacy environment is really hard. staffing is an issue around the country in all settings and then you've got employees out sick, so everybody is having to step up extra. the phones musting ringing probably ten times more than usual. >> you have so much more to do and i wonder if, you know, you feel a lot more vulnerable, you're having more contact with people, whether they are well or unwell, administering vaccinations as well as, you know, testing. do you feel like when you talk about people out sick, do you feel like the rise of, you know, sickouts among pharmacists has risen exponentially? >> i don't know that it's risen as exponentially. i think pharmacists as a whole we care so much and want to take care of people. i think they're very dedicated to being there as much as they can, but certainly with quarantine rules and the concerns about other staff members getting sick you have to let employees be off. it just makes everybody have to step up extra. i'm very front line in my business and i would just say i just take a lot of precautions. i wear my n95 mask, i am washing my hands constantly and alcohol gel just trying to really make sure, cleaning every surface many, many times a day just trying to make sure we're taking every precaution that we can. for patients who are sick in my pharmacy we are trying to keep them outside, too. we deliver out to their vehicles and do testing in their cars. >> and then just a moment ago we heard from our sanjay gupta who explained the differences in covid tests because there remains a lot of confusion out there, the pcr or antigen test, et cetera. how much of your day is devoted to answering questions? >> you know, that is one thing about pharmacies is i feel like we've been a great information resource and maybe the most accessible. it's easier to talk to a pharmacist perhaps than other health care professionals. so, yes, we answer so many questions and of course we have the supplies sometimes when we're able to get them, so people are scheduling, but, yeah, i think that's been one of the things that pharmacists have done extremely well, among others, but just been that information resource. i'm constantly answering questions, trying to keep my facebook page updated to just give the most information i can in one place to the patients. >> how are you and your fellow pharmacists holding up with, you know, what really is kind of mental anguish. i mean, you're having to do so much, being taxed so much more, you described how you are so inn blee conscientious about trying to protect yourself. >> i think we all have to make sure we're cognizant of that and take a break whatever that is. during the day i'm pretty insistent my employees have to take a lunch break, for example, but even just taking time away, doing their own activities, exercising, whatever, i think that's so critical. i think we all hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel, right, we keep thinking it's coming, so we're -- >> are you becoming more optimistic or less so? >> i think i'm becoming more optimistic. >> okay. good. >> it's got to get a little bit better. and just continuing to push the -- encouraging people to get vaccinated, you know, we're just driving vaccinations and boosters a lot, too, as one of the solutions. and that's where pharmacists are really stepped up during this pandemic. >> we hope your optimism is what's contagious. >> well, i hope so as well. yes, absolutely. and pharmacists are going to continue to do it. one thing i will just say, fredricka, we appreciate people's patience during this time because we are stretched as well and we just appreciate their patience and their thank you's to the teams that are just trying their very best to keep them safe. >> i know i speak for many by saying we appreciate you and your fellow pharmacists for doing what you do and being available whether it be fielding questions, filling prescriptions or helping out with all things covid related. theresa toll, thank you so much and thank for taking your time today. this quick programming note, join fareed zakaria as he investigates the fight to save american democracy. this special begins tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. still ahead tributes are pouring in for the late actor and activist sidney poitier. a look back at his extraordinary legacy. financial picture. a plan with tax-smart investing strategies designed to help you keep more of what you earn. this is the planning effect. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire it's your home. and there's no place like wayfair to make the morning chaos, organized chaos. however you make it, make your home a place like no other. andrea: this is the hardest thing we will probably ever have to go through. st. jude has given us transportation, treatment. to know that we don't have bills, they take every other stress off of your shoulders. ♪ ♪ i was not expecting to learn about my heart health from my genetic reports. but now that i have this info it feels like i can take even more control of my health. it's the most meaningful way to start the new year. now just $129. ♪ ♪ fareed zakaria. iconic actor and activist sidney poitier has died at the age of 94. hes with the first black movie star in hollywood and also the first black man to win an academy award when he won best actor for his performance in the film "lillies of the field". many of his films dealt with issues of race and social justice, including one of his most famous roles as a black man marrying a white woman in "guess who's coming to dinner". >> i love you. i always have and i always will. but you think of yourself as a colored man. i think of myself as a man. >> with me now, cnn's natasha chen. so there you are in los angeles, in hollywood. how are people remembering sidney poitier? >> reporter: well, fred, the industry here completely agrees that sidney poitier really laid the groundwork here for so many successful black artists in future generations. i spoke with the naacp hollywood bureau who gives out the awards and sidney poitier was a recipient a number of times and he said it's like a relay race, that poitier handed the baton to future generations and now it's a question of whom they will hand that baton to. here's bowser talking about the intersection of poitier's work as an actor and activist. >> our purpose sometimes is not always visible to us, and sometimes it's not revealed to us until we are well along the path of pursuing our calling, and i think sidney poitier realized at some point that his purpose was much larger than his career as an actor. so his commitment to the civil rights movement was a manifestation of him using his calling for his purpose. it was a perfect alignment. >> reporter: and i want to call up some of the reactions from hollywood celebrities, even presidents of the united states here, tributes that have been pouring in on social media, including from denzel washington, who said he was a gentle man and opened doors for all of us. whoopi goldberg said he showed us how to reach for the stars. and here is former president barack obama saying sidney poitier epitomized dignity and grace, revealing the power of movies to bring us closer together. i watched one of poitier's acceptance speeches for an image award he received in 2001 and something he said then really spoke to me. he said that in his teens, he says each time i thought of myself as being no less than any man and my dreams were as valid as i was prepared to make them, fred. >> wow, yeah. he was poignant and really powerful. natasha chen, he touched so many of us in so many different ways. thank you so much for bringing those perspectives to us. right now in las vegas, family, friends and politicians are gathering to honor the man from the tiny town of search light who became a titan of the u.s. senate. we'll take you live to the memorial of the late senator harry reid. orrr... you could use slack. and work faster with everyone you work with, together in one place. slack. where the future works. some of my best memories growing up, were cooking with mom. she always said, “food is love.” so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ i want to make the most of every meal we have together. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete balanced nutrition for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪ 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. hello, again, everyone. thank you so much for joining me. i'm fredricka whitfield. we begin this hour with a farewell to one of capitol hill's legendry figures. in las vegas, former senate majority leader harry reid is being remembered by a number of top democrat politicians. president biden and former president barack obama are some of the politicians there in nevada to pay their respects to the late democratic leader. reid died at the age of 82 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, and despite being born into abject poverty in a small town, he went on to become one of the most powerful politicians in nevada history. let's bring in jeff zeleny. we see that president biden is already there. what's expected at this service today? >> reporter: well, fredricka, the service is just getting under way right now. as you said, president biden, first lady jill biden, former president barack obama, vice president kamala harris, speaker nancy pelosi, senate majority leader chuck schumer and many more are here to pay tribute and honor the legacy of former senator harry reid. this is going to be the a service that will be opened up with remarks from one of his 19 grandchildren. all five of his children also expected to speak, as well as a eulogy from former president barack obama. so certainly harry reid during his three decades in the senate, a fiercely partisan democrat. but here in las vegas, here in nevada, he's remembered simply as someone who brought a lot back to this state. he also had relationships that crossed party lines. he w