a massive fire inside of an apartment building in the bronx. 19 dead, dozens hurt. >> i was scared, that's what really hit me. >> liright now, australia court considers whether to let tennis champion novak jdjokavich to defend his title. >> right now, wasn't clear about the responsibilities, what the expectations were. tonight, omicron surging rapidly across the country, hospitals struggling to deep up. >> large portion of the population unvaccinated, that sets up a large pool of people who as they get infected will end up straining the resources we have in the hospitals today. >> i'm joe mattingly in washington in for pamela brown tonight, you are in the cnn newsroom and we begin this hour with breaking news out of new york city where at least 19 people were killed in what's called the city's worst fire in three decades, among the dead, nine children, started late this morning in a bronx apartment building and quickly spread throughout two apartments, firefighters on the scene within minutes, three minutes, and make dozens of significant rescues, pulled several small children from the building as you can see in this dramatic photo. right now, more than a dozen people in the hospital with life threatening conditions, one woman who lived several floors above the fire described what she experienced. >> i panicked. i was scared. i was really scared. i was scared. i mean that's what really hit me. by the time i got to the exit and i had the mask on, i couldn't even see, i thought i went blind, i couldn't even see, so i was banging on my door to get back in. >> governor of new york saying new york city is a city in shock right now, joined now in the bronx, says a space heater is to blame for the initial fire, what more are you learning about the details? >> reporter: fill, fire commissioner adding it was that space heater supplementing the heat in the building initially caused this fire this morning that led to that fire resulting in dozens of injuries and as we know, 19 deaths, last updated, nine of them children, that is why it is a cold and rainy night in bronx but also full of heartbreak with so many families caught in the middle of this and wondering what will happen next, under in the mean time, investigators saying it was that space heater that initially caused it so now certainly looking into the possibility that that door in that apartment where that fire started was left open, allowing that smoke to basically fill the entire 19-story building. i saw some of the images shared with us through some images and you can basically see smoke billowing out of the apartment, so investigators saying it wasn't the fire itself that led to so much damage and death but in fact, the smoke that billowed throughout the interior of the building and according today commissioner, preventing the escape of dozens of people. >> we are indeed a city in shock. it's impossible to go into that room, where scores of family who are in such grief, who are in pain, to see it in a mother's eyes as i held her, who lost her entire family. it's hard to fathom what they're going through. and i went table to table, helped children make their ramen noodle and see heat their pizza and let them know one thing. the mayor is with me on this, we will not forget you, your elected leaders from senator schumer on down to counsel members are united here to support this community, to say tonight is a night of tragedy and pain and tomorrow we begin to rebuild, rebuild their lives and give them hope, especially those who came all the way from africa, in search of a better life right here in this great burrow, the burrow of the bronx, they're part of our family. >> that was your governor kathy hochul, describing basically what she experienced when she walked into a neighboring school being used as a temporary shelter for dozens of families right now as you heard, many of them immigrants, searching for a better life and instead caught in this situation right now. we do understand the red cross is here, we've seen them, members of the faith community also here, to make sure these families have as much peace as they can right now as they try to pick up the pieces because it's still unclear whether some of these families will be allowed to go back into their apartment so certainly going to have to turn to some of the resources made available by the city of new york in terms of temp raerp temporary housing and potentially long term, phil. >> yeah, a real tragedy, thank you so much and joining me now, the first deputy commissioner, chri chri chri christina ferell, i guess you heard the press conference report, what happens right now, this is 120 unit building. to those who survived this fire, survived the smoke, what's happening to those who lived in this building right now? >> sure, thank you, so right now, there's a middleschool right next to the building that we were able to open up working with the principles today and so we have all the residents here. we've been able to give them food, you know, a warm space, water, any other short term needs they had, people brought their pets, you know, left the building with their pets, pets been here with you should. so we're in the process of finding people shelter for the evening, we work with red cross, have hotel rooms and other resources available so we will a be providing, making sure everybody, every family has a safe, warm space to sleep in tonight. >> can you describe, you know, the scale of the aftermath here? obviously, we've talked about the individuals who die, the individuals in the hospital, but for those who, you're talking about right now, seeking housing assistance, warmth to some degree on a cold night, what's the scale of response necessary for a tragedy like this? >> yeah, i mean, you know, we have fires, we have emergencies in new york city everyday and so we have, you know, all of our professionals that are ready. nothing is like this, cleearly, you know, everyone is in shock but we can scale up very quickly, bring in additional people that can help. we'll be setting up a service center tomorrow, because people haven't even started to think about some of the needs, you know, we are hopeful that many of the residents will be able to go, you know, not on the floor the fire was on but other floors, many of them will be able to go back into their apartments in the coming days but for the people that are out long-term, you know, we will work with them, work with the state to get them appropriate housing. >> and one of the questions, you know, we cover a lot, the staffing issues that hospitals are facing that emergency responders are facing because of an omicron variant that has surged in new york city, this fire comes as the city struggling with this outbreak of the new variant. is that a challenge to your response efforts at all, hindered what you've been able to do so far? >> not at all, new york city is resource rich with the fire department, police department, you know, the hospitals, we have, you know, the hospital system we can move people, you know, to different places if we need to so, you know, every resource that has been needed has been here, has been possible and, you know, while we're still in the middle of the pandemic, did not affect any response today. >> and before i leltt you go i s struck when the mayor and several officials talking about this community, the folks who lived in this complex, immigrant complex, a lot of folks came particularly from africa, immigrant families, the mayor says immigrants who asked for assistance, know their information would be turned over to ice. is that something you can confirm? is that kind of the position right now as you continue this response? >> yeah, it's 100%, we have laws in place, this is not about anyone's status or where anyone came from, you know, this is about new yorkers that are in need, that need services, and we're able to provide those services. you know, while everyone deals with their grief. >> and just real quick before you let you go, for those seeking assistance right now, i know you guys have been out with the numbers they need to call, information they need to get out, can you repeat those if anybody is watching that needs help? >> of course, i'm happy to, if anyone needs assistance, needs a place to stay tonight, they should call 1,800 r800 red cros. if they're not local, trying to get in touch with a loved one and have not been able to, locally, you can call 311 or outside of the city you can call 212 new york which is 212, 639, 9675 and we have a system set up where we can get information to people on what hospital or what the situation with their loved one may be and in the mean time, setting up a website for testing services, local for the residents as different issues come up we can get them the services they need. >> kristina farrell thank you so much for your time. new york emergency services. bringing in former fire chief downey, crews were down i think in three minutes first response, still, 19 people dead, 13 others with life-threatening injuries. what does it tell you about the nature of this fire and the smoke that it caused? >> well, i mean clearly it was a well-i well-involved apartment, a lot of fire when the crews arrived, you know, based on the time of year, the building is sealed up, trying to keep the heat in and keep the residents warm and so the smoke, there's nowhere for the smoke to travel out of the building so it travelled through those windowless hall ways and those areas where it could extend up higher into the building. these highrise fires are personnel intensive, requiring a lot of people to affect rescue and fire suppression. >> yeah, i mean the scale of the response and the after from the fdny i think the mayor said some were operating without oxygen at some point in a very dangerous situation to save lives. i think one of the questions people aren't familiar with this kind of thing may have is, you know, we heard repeatedly at the press conference about an open door that kind of let the smoke to be able to rise the way it did, the smoke spread throughout many floors getting up to, i think, the highest levels of the building. what does that tell you and why is that such a challenge in terms of the response? >> well, doors are probably the single best protective measure to contain a fire and contain smoke. and we preach in fire prevention, close the door before you go, keep the apartment doors closed, that door opening to the common hallway allowed all that heat, that fire, that smoke, to extend rapidly through the hall way, from what i could see, looked like a windowless hall way, all the apartments on the outside and upwards and smoke and heat is going to rise, so that open door was critical to allowing for the fire to spread. >> in terms of the response we saw from the fdny, the speed in which they did things i think the courageous nature by which they did things, explain what a firefighter is dealing with when they enter a fire like this, particularly with the scale of smoke inhalation happening throughout the building. >> well the common strategy is obviously to try to locate and confine the fire, that was done relatively quickly, and then get firefighters not only on the fire floor where there's going to be the highest amount of heat and smoke, but on the floor above the fire, the top floor of the building, and then working their way down. most of the hazard is always above the fire. so you're going to need firefighters moving into every one of those floors. they were getting reports of smoke in apartments on virtually every floor. as firefighters encounter victims, they can't pass them up, especially if they're unconscious, so it will take 2 to 3, maybe 4 firefighters to carry one victim down and you just keep pushing in with more firefighters, the fdny is a resource-rich organization, but i'm sure those initial arriving crews were still spent with the amount of effort they had to exert to remove those victims within those stairwells. >> yeah, a slow moving process as heroic as the efforts were. thank you for sharing expertise, i appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> we'll continue to follow the latest developments on the fire but still to come tonight, tennis super star djokovich trades the tennis court for senate court. will he be able to participate in the tournament despite being unvaccinated? deportation hearing under way and could hear back at any moment. plus, omicron on the rise, cases are up and schools are trying to stay open, i'll talk to the superintendant of atlanta public schools. three times the electorlytes and half the sugar. ♪ pedialyte powder packs. feel better fast. kinder bueno. it's crispy. it's creamy. it's not your average chocolate bar. it's kinder bueno! smooth milk chocolate, crispy wafer, creamy hazelnut filling. it's kinder bueno. with ww, i lost 30 pounds and i feel incredible. i love the new program because the app does all the work for you. it's never too late to start. download the ww app today for a 14-day free trial. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that! (excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. i'm always up for what's next, even with higher stroke risk due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin i'll go after that. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk better than warfarin and has less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis has both. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking, you may bruise more easily or take longer for bleeding to stop. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, or unusual bruising. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor about eliquis. ♪ my name is austin james. as a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. with a painless, one-second scan i know my glucose numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (naj) at fisher investments, our clients know we have their backs. (other money manager) how do your clients know that? (naj) because as a fiduciary, it's our responsibility to always put clients first. (other money manager) so you do it because you have to? (naj) no, we do it because it's the right thing to do. we help clients enjoy a comfortable retirement. (other money manager) sounds like a big responsibility. (naj) one that we don't take lightly. it's why our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. fisher investments is clearly different. in australia, a hearing is under way right now for the number one men's tennis player in the world, an accord deciding whether to deport djokovich, detained in a hotel after rejecting his visa status, questions over a medical exemption granted because he says he tested positive for covid last month. >> fill, trying to follow this convoluted process over the course of the last several days, what will the court actually consider here in this virtual hearing. >> so, phil, novak djokovich's lawyers now arguing in this controversial hearing that the purpose of canceling his svisa was flawed, he was treated unfairly throughout, also crucial to their argument really is their belief that he has the right to be in this country, exempted from vaccine requirements for the same reason he was granted exemption to take part in the australia open without being vaccinated and that was where the independent panel of medical experts for the australian open said he can play because under the guidelines from the advisory to australian government on vaccine issues, they say there is grounds for exemption when someone has recently recovered from covid, specifically within the last six months and we know from the court documents filed from his lawyers, djokovich tested positive for covid on september the 16th. now he will be hoping this argument from the proceedings today will result in a swift decision that allows him to leave the immigration detention hotel behind and allows preparations for the australia opening in just over a week, but the australia openers, doing everything that can to make sure that doesn't happen. >> all over glreat reporting, thank you so much. turning now to covid pandemic and a dire warning from health experts about the healthcare system. show nearly a quarter of u.s. hospitals have a, quote, critical staffing shortage and a number of hospitals predict they women within a week. at least 10 states sent national guard troops to hospitals and testing sites. highly contagious omicron variant pushed hospitalizations to near record levels. children also being hospitalized at record levels, especially kids under 5 who are still too young to be vaccinated. health experts warn many hospitals have been pushed to the brink. >> healthcare system is not just designed to take care of people with covid, of course it does that, kids with appendicitis and heart attacks and get into car accidents and all of that is going to be much, muffin more difficult because we have a large proportion of the population that is not vaccinated, plenty of high risk people who are not boosted. that combination sets up a large pool of people who, as they get infected, will end up really straining the resources we have in hospitals today. >> cnn's natasha chen in los angeles where child covid cases sky rocketing and you've been at a school testing site all day. what's the mood been like there as parents, kids, the country tries to figure out how to deal with this current spread? ji yeah, phil, the testing site here, just closed about 20 minutes ago but all day we saw a steady flow of people coming through. this site is one of many and just at this site alone, they could test about 2,500 people per day, and from talking to the students and parents here, you know, they're used to this. la unified, second largest school districts in the country, did require a baseline negative test in order for students and employees to return to class in august. they're requiring that again now before class resumes in person on tuesday, and there's required weekly testing for students and employees as well. so the highschooler i talked to said no big deal, we do this every week, and in fact, the la unified board president spoke to us about how just this baseline testing in the past week has cost the positive cases and prevented those people from coming into the building in just a couple days. here's what she said. >> we're so grateful to all of our employees who have come back and gotten tested as of this morning, 85% of our employees had done their baseline test and more than 70% of students had done their baseline tests and that's allowed us as you said to protect staff and students on tuesday because we caught 50,000 positive cases of covid using those baseline tests which means that our schools and classrooms will be significantly safer come tuesday. >> reporter: and that's 50,000 cases out of more than half a million. students, more than 70,000 employees. in addition, they anticipate there could be a lot of staff, you know, not able to come into the buildings because of positive cases so they have four thousand certified professionals ready to come in and fill those rolls in case people are in quarantine. this system of protections, including universal masking, 100% employee vaccination and now about 90% of their students 12 and older vaccinated, has really helped this district keep every campus open throughout this academic year, they haven't had a single school go virtual so they're confident in this system. now, as you mentioned, the surge is very serious right now. children's hospital l.a. did tell me they're seeing more than double the positivity rate among the children coming into the hospital for whatever reason, compared to december. so that is a really quick wave, a really quick increase, and they are really telling people, please get vaccinated, especially to protect those under five who are not eligible to be, phil. >> so fascinating to compare and contrast how different districts have been handling this moment. natasha, doing an amazing job covering t thaks so much. we learned another member of congress tested positive for covid-19, democrat cortez says she is recovering at home, did receive a booster shot in the fall, over the weekend, cooper and sean casten also announced they tested positive. still ahead, live on the scene in new york city's deadliest fire in more than 30 years, the mayor hailing firefighters who went into that building despite oxygen tanks running on empty. news coverage continues coming up next. to a job that feels li. with home instead, you too can become a caregiver to older adults. apply today. (music) ♪ i think to myself ♪ ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ with clean, fresh ingredients, panera's new chicken sausage and pepperoni flatbread is a mouthwatering explosion of yes. craft? yes! heartiness? yes! living life to the flavor-fullest? heck yes. panera. live your yes. now $1 delivery. see blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. parodontax active gum repair kills plaque bacteria at the gum line to help keep the gum sealed tight. parodontax active gum repair toothpaste 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 you booked a sunny vrbo ski chalet. with endless views of snow-covered peaks. (laughter) a stove that inspires magnificent hot cocoa. and a perfect ski-in ski-out. but the thing they'll remember forever? grandpa coming out of retirement to give a few ski lessons. the time to plan your get together is now. find it on vrbo. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. (announcer) lose weight, lose inches, and do it in just 30 days. introducing the aerotrainer from golo. the aerotrainer's ergonomic design uses cushioned air chambers for maximum support, maximum muscle activity, and results. you can work your entire body fast and reduce stress. get fit with the aerotrainer and lose weight and get healthier with the golo metabolic plan without starvation dieting. go to aerotrainer.com and get in shape and lose weight fast with golo. we're back now with our breaking news coverage of what new york city's mayor is calling one of the worst fires in the city's history, at least 19 people are dead, including nine children. after a massive five alarm fire in a bronx apartment building. officials warn the death toll is expected to climb. fire started on the third floor of a 19 story structure happen flames and smoke poured out of the windows with families trapped inside franticly calling for help, as many as 200 fdny firefighters rushed to the scene, more than 60 people hurt, many of them suffering severe smoke inhalation, pa paulo sandoval, on the scene now for hours, pretty certain on what started this fire, correct? >> reporter: it was the city fire commissioner to say it didn't take long for them to get hands on physical evidence that shows it was a physical space heater in the apartment that led to that fire that quickly spread inside that apartment, but it basically was the smoke coming from that fire that quickly started to flow through this entire building, 19 stories, about 120 separate living units and now, as you can imagine, dozens of families that we heard earlier today from mayor eric adams whose administration was only about a week in, he took over at the start of the year and now dealing with his first mass casualty incident, and a massive tragedy, basically adding some context about what happened here today. >> thank you to the men and women who went in this building, some of these firefighters, their oxygen, their oxygen tanks were empty, and they still pushed through the smoke. you can't do this if you don't feel attached to the city and this community, and i really want to thank them for putting their lives on the line to save lives. >> reporter: and now we are seeing the community basically coming together for the dozens of families now displaced and many of them with absolutely nowhere to go, still, obviously a question as to whether some of them will be allowed to make it back into their apartments possibly tonight, authorities haven't answered that, at least at this point, so what you're seeing is the effort to make sure these families have the housing at least short term or long term because tonight it is cold, rainy, so many of these families have been through so much, and what you're seeing are even members of the community showing up at a neighboring school with warm males to make sure they know they're not alone. >> community coming together in the most tragic of all moments, polo sandoval great reporting thanks so much. covid puts pressure on hospital and takes a toll on responders across the country, dr. matthew joins me now, now this is an interesting moment, the fire chief, emergency department says it's been a challenge but they've been able to fully staff response, haven't seen dropoffs there but this is a moment that underscores why it's dangerous if hospitals are hitting capacity to some degree, new york and the city hit hard by omicron. how can an incident like this impact a hospital even further? >> yeah, it's like a worst nightmare, right, a crisis upon a crisis, and listen, phil, a lot of these patients or people, victims of a fire-related illness, it's the smoke inhalation injury that's really dangerous, they need immediate and swift care, a lot of them need 100% oxygen as we heard polo talk about in the opening, and need to be intubated, there could be edema of the upper air way soez now taking these patients quickly to an emergency room. the other day when i was on call, was a 12 hour wait in my city just for a 70-year-old lady with symptoms of covid so this is a crisis upon a crisis, and we have shortages of nurses and firefighters. a tough, tough situation. >> yeah, and it's interesting, you talk about omicron variant not being as deadly or as dangerous as the delta variant, but there's a real impact given the transmisability to some degree, it's not just hospitals in new york, how are hospitals across the country coping with this covid surge and the need to treat people for other very real medical issues they typically go to the hospital for? >> that's exactly right, i got a family member who is e.r. resident in chicago, tells me just how difficult it is when someone comes in with pain, appendicitis, and now a good number of hospitals delaying or postponing elective surgeries, whether it's women needing mammograms or cancer therapy that may not be able to be given swiftly and quickly, so this is really setting up a situation where if you're not vaccinated, i mean you have to really get it at this point in the pandemic that the only way to take care of not having to be a victim, if you will, in an emergency room waiting long hours is to get vaccinated, is to get boosted and also, phil, i think the cdc had it right on the isolation guidelines even though a lot of medical analysts are upset, because if you're asymptomatic then you actually feel fine, you have to be at home for 10 days. when i go into work every day, phil, the big question is who is out sick today with covid? we lost quite a few nurses and doctors because of this, so it's crucial for us to realize that this pandemic is unmasking a lot of issues, which is, we need to do the right thing, to get out of this crisis, and we need to do it as an entire nation. >> yeah, there's a potential for systemic breakdowns which i think played a role in the cdc's decision making, look the new york fire commissioner said covid-19 didn't impact response time, units fully staffed, but many ambulances and paramedics under staffed in other parts of the country and from an emergency response perspective, what happens if those parts of the country are hit by some type of crisis like this? >> right, so just imagine, even just talking about the bronx, you know, which is a huge crisis already, because these patients will need to be taken preferably to an emergency room like a burn center where people know how to take care of these victims. and they can rapidly decompensate, so these are patients that will be waiting in the emergency room for long periods of time. you need specialized care, they might need to be intubated and then these patients need to be transported then to the icu. so as you can imagine, there's a chain of events that have to be done very quickly, starting from taking care of these patients to transporting the patients to the emergency rooms and then getting the care that they need. >> yeah, it, there's a chain here, and every stage of all the chain in this moment, people are sick, even if not dying or hospitalized, they aren't at work and that's troubling for the system as you dr. matthew, know as anybody and can explain. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you, phil. tomorrow, public schools in atlanta transition from remote learning to inperson learning, how do they keep kids with covid out? i'll ask the commissioner next. is built just for me. join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry, offer ends january 10th. why does walgreens offer prescription copays as low as zero dollars? ♪ ♪ so you won't have a medicare in the world. ♪ ♪ plus, 90-day refills and same day delivery. larry? that's even less to medicare about. fill your medicare prescriptions with walgreens and save. ♪ ♪ at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis under control? hide our skin? not us. because dupixent targets a root cause of eczema, it helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of it. and for kids ages 6 and up, that means clearer skin, and noticeably less itch. hide my skin? not me. by helping to control eczema with dupixent, you can change how their skin looks and feels. and that's the kind of change you notice. hide my skin? not me. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. when you help heal your skin from within, you can show more with less eczema. talk to your child's eczema specialist about dupixent, a breakthrough eczema treatment. family is just very important. she's my sister and we depend on each other a lot. she's the rock of the family. she's the person who holds everything together. it's a battle, you know. i'm going to be there. keytruda and chemotherapy meant treating my cancer with two different types of medicine. in a clinical trial, keytruda and chemotherapy was proven to help people live longer than chemotherapy alone. keytruda is used to treat more patients with advanced lung cancer than any other immunotherapy. keytruda may be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you have advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer and you do not have an abnormal “egfr” or “alk” gene. keytruda helps your immune system fight cancer, but can also cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body. this can happen during or after treatment and may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain or tenderness, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion or memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. these are not all the possible side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including immune system problems, or if you've had an organ transplant, had or plan to have a stem cell transplant or have had radiation to your chest area or a nervous system condition. it feels good to be here for them. living longer is possible. it's tru. keytruda from merck. ask your doctor about keytruda. 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. oh yeah, we gotta take off. you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app? yeah, actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board... and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. choose the app that fits your investing style. ♪ the atlanta public school system has been doing virtual learning since the return from winter break. tomorrow, schools reopening in person with new testing guidelines for staff and students. staff tested twice a week, and students, with parental consent also tested twice a week. lisa herring joins me now, atlanta public school superintendant, i guess i would start with the testing question because this has been, now every school's different, different efforts under way to get kids back in the classroom. how many parents have consented to testing for their kids and do you feel like that number needs to increase in order to successfully do this? >> oh, so thank you for the opportunity to speak to this. we have approximately 50,000 scholars here in atlanta public schools, at last check, we were tipping above, close to 20,000 consent forms. that's not full capacity for the district at large, and so we continue to make those consent forms available. it's a critical part of the process, it allows for us to be able to return face-to-face, after the last four days of having been virtual. so we continue to promote the parental consent forms for that process. >> and what do you say to parents who say, look, i don't necessarily want -- like my kid's asymptomatic, if they're not showing any negative effects here, if they test positive, that puts a lot of burden on the family, a lot of burden on the parents, kid is out of school, maybe necessarily don't want to know, what's your response to that? >> yeah, so it's important for us to communicate several things given where we are at this junction in the pandemic. atlanta public schools has been executing surveillance testing since february of last year in partnership with vital solutions this semester as we return, we've returned mandatory testing for all of our employees, that's twice a week, and now expanded that to students. one of the reasons why this is critically important is because when students test, it does give us the opportunity to have clear information as to whether or not the student can remain in the building or if they do need to pivot, but that's also tied to the safety and well-being of not just the singular student but the class, as well as our employees, and we want for as much as we can to keep our children inside of the brick and mortar, but we do need that data to effectively support and ensure safety for everyone. that's what i want parents to be thoughtful about as they try to make these very important decisions. >> and how did this past week of virtual learning go? what's kind of the feedback from parents and staff as you get set to go back to brick and mortar environment? >> yeah, so, you know, as i've shared, we returned back to school from the holiday break just this past week, so the last four days, or the first four days of student return were virtual. although it allowed for us to secure additional data around positivity rates as well as community spread data, we're very much aware that it's always a challenge when we are virtual, because it's tied to the at-home learning experience. i think there's been a balance of two things. there's anxiety and appreciation from families who do have some angst around returning because of the spread of covid, while at the same time we are sensitive to the inconveniences that come in that reality, thus the four day span. so, here again to your earlier question, we have put in place several mitigation strategies that we are clear can help us keep children and staff in place when we're able to identify positivity data, to help address those issues that are tied to some of the frustrations with pivoting. but to be clear, we also recognize that in order to ensure health and wellness, there will be times which within schools or classrooms that pivoting to virtual may be necessary. >> yeah, it's, you mention the balance. it's extraordinarily complicated right now. i don't understand how any superintendant is pulling this off at the moment but appreciate your time and you sharing what you guys are doing down in atlanta public school superintendant, lisa herring. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> still ahead, we're on the scene of a deadly fire in the bronx. plus, thousands of russian paratroopers deploy to neighboring kazakhstan, trying to provide some stability after protests there turned deadly, details next. and heads up for later tonight, join fareed zakaria with "the fight to save american democracy" special begins tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern. and cue has made that easier. with cue, you get lab-quality covid-19 test results in just 20 minutes. speed and accuracy. it's just for the nba; it's for you too. cue health. the official covid-19 home test of the nba. go cue. go you. ray loves vacations. but his diabetes never seemed to take one. everything felt like a 'no'. everything. but then ray went from no to know. with freestyle libre 2, now he knows his glucose levels when he needs to. and... when he wants to. so ray... can be ray. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free. visit freestylelibre.us see blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. parodontax active gum repair kills plaque bacteria at the gum line to help keep the gum sealed tight. parodontax active gum repair toothpaste ♪ three times the electorlytes and half the sugar. ♪ pedialyte powder packs. feel better fast. (judith) in this market, you'll find fisher investments is different than other money managers. (other money manager) different how? don't you just ride the wave? (judith) no - we actively manage client portfolios based on our forward-looking views of the market. (other money manager) but you still sell investments that generate high commissions, right? (judith) no, we don't sell commission products. we're a fiduciary, obligated to act in our client's best interest. (other money manager) so when do you make more money? only when your clients make more money? (judith) yep, we do better when our clients do better. at fisher investments we're clearly different. for people living with h-i-v, keep being you. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. research shows people who take h-i-v treatment every day and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. in a few hours, u.s. officials will meet in geneva with their russian counterparts in an effort to de-escalate the growing crisis on the border of ukraine. for weeks, moscow seemed to be on the brink of invading ukraine with some 100,000 troops positioned at the border. speaking earlier with our jake tapper, secretary of state antony blinken said he did not have high hopes that the talks would dramatically reduce tensions in the area. >> there are two paths before us. the path of dialogue and diplomacy to try to involve some of these differences and avoid confrontation, and the other path is confrontation. >> russian troops are being sent into kazakhstan at the request of the kazakh government. our fred pleitgen has more. >> reporter: several days after protests began in kazakhstan, the scale of the crackdown there is becoming ever more clear. kazakh authorities say more than 5,000 people have been detained in relation to the protest, being accused of being part of those protests. kazakh authorities have also now said the death toll is 164 and they say 100 of those killed or more than a hundred of those killed were in one city, which in many ways was the hardest hit city by those protests. at the same time it seems as though what was possibly somewhat of a struggle for power, that the current president appears to be cementing his grip on power. in fact a spokesman for the former president has come out and said that the former president voluntarily gave up his seat as the head of the national security council and now fully supports the current president and is urging the kazakh nation to rally around him. it certainly seems as though the kazakh government in no way is looking to speak to the protesters or to try to give in to their demands. in fact the president says he believes that the protests were at least in part steered from abroad. and of course he's saying there will be a very, very tough crackdown. of course that's also one of the reasons why the kazakh government has called in for outside help, especially from russia. the russians very quickly moving in around 3,000 troops, mostly paratroopers, using a lot of planes to do that. there was a phone call between the kazakhs and russian president putin. at the same time cross-border traffic between kyrgyzstan and kazakhstan is completely shut down. the kazakhs say they're not going to allow foreigners into the country at this time. >> a tense moment continues there. fred pleitgen, thank you very much. boaters flee as a massive rock crashes in front of them. this video is disturbing to watch. [ screaming ] my goodness. at least ten people were killed in the collapse and more than 30 were hurt. this happened saturday at a popular tourist destination known for its beautiful waterfall views. officials say heavy rains that loosened the rock made the click resolve collapse. wow. ahead, a live report from the scene of new york city's deadliest fire in more than three decades. the bronx borough president joins me live, next. because the app does all the work for you. it's never too late to start. join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry, offer ends january 10th. 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. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ and there you have it. woah. wireless on the most reliable network nationwide. wow. big deal. we get unlimited for just 30 bucks. sweet, but mine has 5g included. relax people. my wireless is crushing it. that's because you all have xfinity mobile with your internet. it's wireless so good, it keeps one-upping itself. take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. a massive fire inside a 19-story apartment building in the bronx. several are dead. dozens hurt. >> i panicked. i was scared. that smoke really hit me. >> right now, an australian court considers whether or not to let unvaccinated tennis champion novak djokovic into the country to defend his australian open title. could he be deported? >> the minister of health was absolutely black and white clear to mr. djokovic about what his responsibilities and the expectations were. tonight, omicron is surging rapidly across the country. hospitals struggling to keep up. >> we have a large proportion of the population that is not vaccinated. that sets up a large pool of people who as they get infected will end up really straining the resources we have in the hospitals today. i'm phil mattingly in washington in for pamela brown