could climb. so firefighters say they found victims on every floor of this building. many survivors feared they would not make it out. >> i would see the flames an the smoke and everything and coming into my apartment. okay. you're being trapped somewhere as you see we have no fire escapes, and obviously the building was not fireproof like we thought it was. just smoke coming in, just the fact that we're in a building that is burning and you don't know how you're going to get out. >> brin ging grass is joining us. there was just a briefing from officials. what did you learn? >> reporter: you could just hear the panic that these residents were feeling as they tried to escape the fire yesterday. officials pointing to the cause of the fire as the space heater on the third floor of the building behind me. that apartment rather is actually a dupe flex and what happened according to fire officials is when the residents of that particular apartment tried to escape, they left the door open to their apartment. no blame of course in that panic state. however that allows the smoke from this intense fire to just billow all the way up into the building. we're told the 15th floor was pretty bad as well. completely damaged because the door to that stairwell was also open. and that is something that investigators are going to be looking into, asking these questions of why these doors which are made to close permanently, why there was an issue with those doors, actually they reminded residents to check doors to make sure they close automatically. this is a good time to do that. but again, just so much panic, so much fear for these people as they tried to escape. and the mayor talking about how they're going to give psa throughout the school systems to remind kids and adults and everybody about closing doors in order to save lives. but i want to you hear from the mayor as he talked about just reaching out to the community here, devastated by this fire. >> we sat down with the principal and the teachers and just wanted to have a private moment to let them know that we're here to support them as they go through this tragedy. they shared just personal notes of these children and it was something that we heard universally. each child that we lost is how much they smiled, how much they brought life to the school. this is a global tragedy because of the bronx and new york city is representative of the ethnicities and cultures across the globe. >> reporter: yeah, eight children lost in this fire. this number could go up. the ambassador the gambia saying that we're going to come together as a community as many of the people living here were immigrants from that country. and we have been seeing a lot of people who have survived this fire coming back here to their homes trying to figure out what they could get from their homes, if there is anything left and hoping they could eventually get back into their homes which they love so much. guys. >> just heartbreaking there. brynn, thank you so much. there are so many questions about the unexpected death of comedian and actor bob saget yesterday. she was found dead in a hotel room in orlando. he was traveling for his comedy tour. he was 65 years old. he's best known for his role as danny tanner, the wholesome dad on "full house" and host of america's funniest home videos. later he pursued a much ethier brand of comedy. >> i know what the surprise is. joey, you're making that chili again. >> you're going to love this. >> i have a date tonight. i have a date tonight. >> you have such a good heart. you care about people. that is why people care about you. and everybody who knows the real d.j. thinks she's pretty terrific. >> thanks, dad. i love you. >> i love you too. >> you know, they say the measure of a man is judged by the company he keeps. i'm [ bleep ]. norm mcdonald, you're the funniest man that i know. because these are the other people that i know. >> there has been an outpouring of love and memories for saget from his full house co-stars. candice cam ran said 35 years wasn't long enough and john state stamos tweeted i'm gutted. do we know might have caused his death. >> we don't know yet and that is what is part of what is making this so difficult to process. someone so vibrant would be found alone in his hotel room by a security guard and had no pulse and was not breathing. and was declared dead at the scene. that is what we know at the point. the authorities there in orange county, florida, are saying they don't believe there was any foul play or drugs involved in this at all. and you look at how people are responding and in san francisco people are showing up at the full house, house to pay respect. take a listen to what a couple of fans had to say. >> it is definitely sad news. he's like the dad of the '90s. so, for everyone, you know, just loves the show very much. not just full house, but everything else that he did. >> i think it was raised in a generation throughout the country. a big impact on people as children as the tanner family and as adults and bob saget and his comedy career and he was a cultural icon. >> and that is true. a lot of people grew up watching bob saget, so he's a part of their childhood. so seeing someone so vibrant gone is what plays into this. it feels like a part of people's childhood is also passing away. it is worth noting what bob saget posted on his instagram just a day before -- the day that he passed away and he rote in part, i have no idea -- i had no idea i did a two hour set tonight, i'm back in comedy like i was when i i'm 26. i guess i'm finding my new voice and loving every moment on it and he's going everywhere until i get the special shot and probably keep going because i'm addicted and he's talking about addicted to comedy. what is so great that he spasse away on this tour but he has plans to do so much more of it. >> stephanie, thank you. coronavirus hospitalizations are nearing record levels in the u.s. the health care system is once gren on the brink. they're seeing critical staff shortages. >> child hospitalization for some age groups are setting new pandemic records and the rise in adolescent cases fuelling the debate over how to keep kids safe in schools. cnn's alexander field has detailed. >> parents are outraged and they are making their outrage known to the teachers union. this is a very different dynamic than ever before. >> reporter: tensions mounting in chicago, more than 340,000 students missing school for a fourth day. they're teachers refusing to return to the classroom. >> we're very frustrated that there are no public health leaders standing up and saying that we should be moving to a remote learning environment especially for a district of this size. >> reporter: in los angeles, students are due back in school in person tomorrow with widespread testing turning up some 50,000 positive cases in the district. metro atlanta schools also returning to in-person learning after almost a week of going remote. the largest district in the nation, new york started the new year in person. so far just one single classroom in partial quarantine. >> i think at this point there is no good explanation for having remote schools. >> still disruption ripple throughout the country. some in greensboro, north carolina are without bus drivers made worse by rising covid-19 cases. and a more dire situation for hospitals. nearly one in four nationwide now reporting critical staffing shortages, federal data shows while covid hospitalizations numbers near the pandemic all-time high. >> among unvaccinated people and unboosted high risk people, it is putting a big strain on given how much infection is, our hospitals are the at brink. >> for children, the numbers are above any pandemic peak we've seen before. more than 800 children are being hospitalized daily. children who can't be vaccinated or aren't vaccinated make up a majority of the cases according to dr. rochelle walensky. >> they are most likely to get sick with covid if family members aren't vaccinated. >> reporter: some testing labs report they're already overburdened. the university of washington prioritizing tests for those with respiratory symptoms or a new exposure. the university of north carolina in chapel hill also restricting tests to those issuing symptoms and people needing a test before surgery, with the omicron crush not letting up yet. >> new york city and washington, d.c., maryland, probably floor as well, have already peaked and maybe delaware and rhode island and you'll start to see the curves and the epidemic curves. the risk now is to the midwest where you have rising infection. >> reporter: and there really isn't broad consensus yet about whether the northeast is at or getting past that peak. we'll have to watch these numbers over the coming days very closely. at the same time, the ceo of pfizer, albert bourla is saying the company is forging ahead with a omicron vaccine and it will be ready in march and he doesn't know if or when it will be used but they do plan to move forward with it. victor and alisyn. >> thank you so much. a federal judge has deciding right now whether former president trump is protected from liability after his supporters attacked the capitol on january 6. and the brother of brian sicknick slams trump saying he does not care about police at all. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. 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. ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ (phone beep) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (music quieter) ♪ (phone clicks) ♪ ♪ a federal hearing is happening right now that will determine if former president trump could be sued for the siege on the capitol. >> three lawsuits against trump and his supporters were file by some capitol police officers and a dozen house democrats including congressman eric swalwell. >> donald trump and others are saying that they cannot be sued because they have absolute immunity. our theory of the case is that there are limits to that and when you incite and aim a violent mob at the capitol to stop lawmakers from counting votes and to terrorize them and hurt police officers, you're out of bounds. >> we've bb been watching the hearing. it starts about an hour ago. what is going on. >> reporter: what is interesting is the first of the lawsuits was actually filed 11 months ago. and this afternoon it is the first time that they're all being heard by a federal judge. it is a critical question that is being asked. should the lawsuits be dismissed or can they move forward. in the judge allows them to proceed, it would open up all of the defendants here to sworn depositions and all kinds of discovery. that includes former president trump, his son donald trump jr. and congressman mo brooks and members of oath keepers and proud boys. now the people suing, there are three different lawsuits including several members of congress and capitol police officers. they contend they were threatened by trump and the others as part of this conspiracy to stop the election certification an january 6. and on top of that, they say that trump should be held responsible for directing the assaults here. now trump's legal team, they're arguing in part that trump can't be sued because they say he has presidential immunity and it extends so what he said on the ellipse that day right before his supporters stormed the capitol. we're about an hour into this. the judge is hearing this case. he has seemed skeptical about that argument of broad presidential immunity. but his ultimate decision will be key here in whether the lawsuit against trump and the others will move forward and if it does, trump will be deposed here. woe finally be forced to answer crucial questions about what he was doing on january 6, probably before january 6. this is a court hearing, it is 2:00 now, 2:15, this could stretch hours into the evening and we're not expecting a ruling as to whether the lawsuits could proceed today. but possibly in the coming days. we'll find out if the lawsuits against the former president and others could move forward. guys. >> jessica schneider, come back to us as soon as there are any developments. let's bring in steve bladdic from the university of texas school of law and charlie dent, our commentator and a former republican congressman for pennsylvania. gentlemen, great to have you here. professor, can a president be held responsible for inciting an angry mob? >> i think that is the question. and that is why as jessica suggested, the judge is hearing hours of debate on this very topic. the problem here is that we haven't been in this fact pattern before. so when courts are looking for precedent, they don't have many. much of the discussion at the hearing so far has been thabout this fairly cryptic 1982 supreme court decision where the court said former president nixon had immunity when he fired someone while president. a lot of ways to distinguish what president trump said on the ellipse than firing someone in the white house. the real tricky part, whatever judge rules it is going to be appealed because this is a novel question and novel circumstances and so we're not going to have a definitive resolution probably any time soon. >> congressman, i'm sure there are a lot of members of your conference who are watching this trial, this hearing pretty closely. mo brooks is the only one sued and is at issue today. but how do you think this resonates there in the halls of congress? >> well, i have to think there is a fair amount of nervousness. because i think really what this is all about is accountability. are the evens of january 6, are the people who are directly responsible, those who attacked the capitol, physically, are they the only one held to account or are those who may have incited them, will they be held to account. i think that is the novel question. is it -- if it is just the people who entered the capitol, that means all of the others from the president and other leaders who incited this mob may escape accountability. but as a member of congress and as a president, part of your official act, it is not part of your official duty to incite a mob. i don't see how that could protect you legally or criminally. i'm saying this as a norn lawyer. but i think this is a huge problem. and if i were a lawmaker, i would be a bit nervous because it is a novel question, this will set a precedent going forward, of course there are all sorts of first amendment implications. when they were speaking, were they talking figuratively, figures of speech, kick butt, fight like hell, or were they talking literally. these are the questions that i think the court is going to have to figure out. >> yeah, i mean sometimes you change your phrasing when you look out at a crowd and they're wearing combat fatigues and body armor. so, i understand what you're saying, charlie, but, steve, isn't it true that if you say we're going to have trial by combat and let's go kick some ass, it is different based upon your audience? >> yeah, i mean, alisyn, there is no question this is a probably pretty outwardly convincing case for holding speakers accountable, knowing what they were saying. as jessica said in her story and in err interview with you, much will depend on what comes out in discovery if we get that far. it is important to keep the separate track separate. this is a big fight. whatever the judge rules, whoever loses will surely appeal to the d.c. circuit and eventually the supreme court. this is all happening at the same time as former president trump is still resisting turning over a bunch of documents about january 6 to the january 6 committee, we're also waiting for the supreme court to rule, perhaps as early as next week on whether he'll be able to continue resisting that. so i think congressman dent is right, the bottom line here, the watch-word is accountability and if it can't come through the civil suits, where else can it come from. >> congressman, we heard from the former president bragging about the size of the crowd there at the rally before the insurrection. and this morning on "new day", we heard from the brother of brian sicknick, ken sicknick, i want you to listen to what he said. >> he's a narcissist. not one -- not once that i heard has he mentioned five police officers that died because of the events of that day. not just my brother, but lebbengood and sherta and fritag and they committed suicide. he's so blinded by his own -- by himself that he can't see what he caused, the pain. >> hundreds of officers injured, five lost their lives. you're reaction to what the former president prioritized and how do you call yourself the law and order anything if you don't acknowledge those five law enforcement officers lives lost? >> well, ken sicknick i think nailed it pretty well in terms of the president's narcism, his lack of concern about the well being of those police officers and frankly everybody else in the capitol that day, had very little regard for how his rhetoric might impact others. but that is the case for this president for sometime. i never thought we would witness it in such a horrific violent way. but i think the lawsuits, particularly the police law enfor enforcement lawsuits, they're expecting accountability too. and i would love to hear what the president has to say, what was his frame of mind? was he in the white house, all reports suggest that he seemed to be enjoying the show. he was derelict in his duty. he was aiding and abetting, would you argue, he was aiding and abetting this mob that was intent on disrupting official proceedings of congress. which is a crime. so, bottom line it, the family of officer sicknick has ever right to make those statements. and like every else, they wanted the former president to be held accountable. >> charlie dent and steve vladdic, thank you both. for a fourth day, more than 300,000 students are not in school in chicago. what will it take to get them back into the class? we'll discuss with a parent who is also a third grade teacher next. and here is a look at some of the other events we're watching today. i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible. with the new personalpoints program, i answer questions about my goals and the foods i love. i like that the ww personalpoints plan is built just for me. download the ww app today for a 14-day free trial. i've always been running. to meetings. errands. now i'm running for me. i've always dreamed of seeing the world. but i'm not chasing my dream anymore. i made a financial plan to live it every day. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ deposit, plan and pay with easy tools from chase. simplicity feels good. chase. make more of what's yours. it is day four of no school for more than 330,000 children in chicago. the nation's third largest school district. the city officials continue to battle with the teachers union over covid safety protocols. hallie is a third grade teachers in the chicago public school district and a members of the teachers union and a mother of a student in the system. thank you so much for being with me this afternoon. i want to start here with the feelings of a parent, of a student there, like yourself, in the chicago public school system, listen to this. >> we saw over the holiday break, we saw our teachers going on vacations and visiting families and they absolutely should be doing that. but to return to school three days later and say that they don't feel comfortable being in the classroom when the public health community said it is safe, and the rates within the community of kids is lower than what they face when they go to the grocery store or when they get their nails done or when they're out in just the general community living their lives. you know, we have to move on. we have to live our lives with this pandemic. and so we really want the teachers to get back to work. >> what is your response to that? >> yeah, ultimately i would say we are in a spike. there was a lot of holiday travel. a lot of teachers were quarentining like myself. but we need to respond to that, to that spike that we're seeing in covid. you know, 20% of the covid cases in schools since the start of the pandemic showed up in school buildings that monday and tuesday that teachers did go back. and the real heart of the instability here is that i think everybody knew at some point we would have a covid variant that was more contagious, and the city of chicago failed to have a plan that we could switch to when we got to that point. what is most enraging to me as a parent and a teacher is knowing that the chicago teachers union has been pushing to have a plan for this exact scenario since august. to hear that our governor has been trying to support mayor lori lightfoot behind the scenes for weeks with the very demands that teachers are asking, which isn't a lot. we want increased access to tests and vaccines and masks for our students. we are in unchartered territory. we are in a spike. we're not asking for remote learning forever, we're asking for remote learning until the cases get under control. >> let me say there. there are other school districts that are chartering this territory, new york schools are open, and they take it school by school approach to this. you told one of my producers that the idea that you could do anything school by school without district wide planning to invest more in schools with least resources is inhumane. what do you mean by that? >> it is. here in chicago, our resources are so strat fied. we have investment in specific communities and there are communities that are carrying the brunt of the economic impact of covid, the brunt of the health impacts of covid, schools that are just dealing with mass grief and they're also are schools that we see are least vaccinated and have the fewest percentages of kids signing up for tests. and that is not because they're fam families don't care. those are policy errors. that is a lack of organization and care on the part of planning. >> so let me ask you this. the world health organization tells us that the most likely transmission in schools is from adult to adult. it is from teachers to teachers, staff member to staff member. 95% of the teachers in chicago public schools are vaccinated. they also tell us that, quote, opening schools generally does not significantly increase community transmission. so with those two factors from the world health organization, again, why can't teachers in chicago do what teachers in baltimore, in philly, in new york are doing? >> yeah and i'll say the teachers of other major school districts are saying the same things that we are. we see the data that is not collected to start with. and second, it is, gosh, it is hard to quantify. so i'm a teacher who is vaccinated and had a break-through case of covid and my vaccinated husband was hospitalized. and it was traumatic to my family. and having lived that and asking me to subject my students and their families who are even more vulnerable, it feels wrong, especially when there are very basic, again, basic steps that we're asking the district for. like adequate masking for our students and that is recommended for the vaccines and the rest. >> hallie, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. all right. >> well now to this. high stakes talks between the u.s. and russia lasted seven hours today. so have they de-escalated the tensions at the border with ukraine? our reporters were just briefed by both sides. they'll bring us the takeaways next. from the very first touch, pampers, the #1 pediatrician recommended brand, helps keep baby's skin drier and healthier. so every touch will protect like the first. pampers ♪ 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 u.s. and russian officials met for seven hours today to discuss the rising tensions between russia and ukraine. u.s. deputy secretary of state wendy sherman said the talks were, quote, frank and forthright. but she said it is not clear if the russians are ready to de-escalate. >> security correspondent alex marquardt is following the talks from geneva. so what else do we know about this meeting? >> reporter: hi there, after more than seven and a half hours of discussions here in geneva, it is clear that another side emerged completely victorious. another got the major things that they wanted. but at the same time the talks didn't fail. it is not like the russians walked away and it looks like a military incursion is imminent. the talks will continue. but they had a series of demands that the u.s. had already ruled out include that ukraine never join nato. that is something that the u.s. said they will never agree to or discuss without nato and ukraine in the room. at the same time, the u.s. did not get any real indication that russia plans to de-escalate in ukraine and withdraw troops. listen to what the deposit secretary of state wendy sherman said when asked about the assurance from the russians today that they don't plan to invade ukraine? >> i don't think you'd be surprised to hear that russia indeed said to us, as they said publicly, they do not intend to invade. these are just maneuvers and exercises and they can prove that, in fact, they have no intention by de escalating and returning troops to barracks. >> reporter: so essentially where we stand now is where the biden administration had predicted we might be at the end of the one day of discussions and that is with no major breakthrough. so rather than focusing on the things that the demands that the u.s. would not agree, to the u.s. wanted to focus on issues that they could come to an understanding about eventually and that is what kind of missiles would be placed in ukraine, or no missiles at all. what kind of missiles would be placed in the rest of europe, what exercises, by both nato and russia would look like, the u.s. has said clearly that if they are to give any sort of concessions or make any moves on those fronts they want reciprocal moves by the russians. this is just the first day of meetings in a whole weeks worth of meetings that will expand over the week to include nato and other countries later on this week. >> alex marquardt in jean eva. thank you. let's bring in security analyst david sanger. he's a white house and national security correspondent for "the new york times." good to see you again. as alex referenced there, secretary blink ep said that he didn't expect any big break-throughs and the threshold was low. what are the big takeaways. >> i was struck by two things, victor. the first is that the two countries are still talking past each other. the united states wants to slow down the threat to ukraine and get those troops moved off the border. the russians see those troops as their leverage for a much broader agenda. which is to try to assure that ukraine but also other nations do not join nato. that their long-standing argument that the united states needed to withdraw troops and arms and even nuclear arms from newer nato states, former soviet states, that that has to be abided by as well. so we've got the united states trying to buy some time by talking about reinstituting some older agreements, about missiles, about exercises, while the russian are saying the big concerns aren't being addressed. >> so, david, are there -- it sounds like as alex just pointed out and you that russians have a list of unrealistic demands. so there are things that the biden administration could offer that would satisfy putin? >> there are things that they could offer them, alisyn, i'm not sure whether it will satisfy putin. you heard deputy secretary sherman talk about two of them. one of them is reviving the intermediate nuclear forces agreement which president trump abandoned but the russians have violated and another was working out an agreement about where and when you would deploy troops on exercises making sure they're far from borders. but these are more tactical things and what the russians are really looking to do i get the sense is roll back the clock to at least 1997, maybe to 1990, so they have a spear of influence that is as broad or as close to as broad as what they have before the soviet union collapse. and i'm not sure the united states could help them with that. >> this meeting comes at an interesting point between two speeches from the president about the preservation of democracy. of course on the anniversary of the insurrection from one element talking about the former president, but then tomorrow he's going to be in atlanta to try to promote some movement on protection of voting rights. the president trying to promote democracy in eastern europe but still having to have that fight here at home? >> that is right, victor. and i think that part of the challenge for president biden throughout this year is that he's the first president who is making the case for freeing democracies around the world and removing threats from them at a moment when it is under such threat as home. and this makes the argument hard to make. the chinese and the russians have all done a good job, i think, of turning the january 6 events, turning the divisiveness in the united states to their advantage. and the russians have done everything they could to widen the differences. the chinese government has done a good job of broadcasting images of january 6 back to their own people and saying do you really want a democracy that looks like this? this is the moment where what happened at home collides with our influence abroad. >> really interesting. thank you for the insight. david sanger, great to see you. great to see you, alisyn. >> last year was the fifth hottest on record and a new warning on greenhouse gases that could set back the president's climate agenda. >> and it was a rescue on ice. see the moment emergency crews saved dozens of fishermen who were stranding on a floating chunk of ice. they have exclusive technology and service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ 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. ♪ ♪ you're a one-man stitchwork master. but your staffing plan needs to go up a size. 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 as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ announcer: tired of pain radiating down your leg and lower back? get relief finally, with magnilife® leg and back pain relief. and get living. available at your local retailer. emergency crews in wisconsin rescued at least 34 people from a floating chunk of ice that broke away from the shore in green bay and traveled about three quarters of a mile before everyone was brought to safety. amazingly, nobody was hurt, victor. >> now, it took a few trips, because airboats from the brown county sheriff's office and the u.s. coast guard were able to only rescue eight people at a time. they think a barge traveling through the bay is responsible for that ice breakage. >> just incredible video there. meanwhile, severe weather events are taking a very costly toll on the u.s. a new report from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration says weather disasters have cost the u.s. $750 billion over just the last five years. >> and the country endured 20 weather and climate disasters in 2021 alone, each cost at least $1 billion in damage. we're talking the record-shattering heat wave that triggered wildfires across the west, the devastating out of season tornado outbreak near the end of last year. let's bring in now cnn chief climate correspondent, bill we're. the report was just released, bill. what are you learning about it? >> well, as you said, $20 billion disasters in a single year. that's only happened twice. and those two years were 2020 and 2021. and we knew it was going to be bad. we didn't know it was going to be this bad. there was another 20, not as many as last year's 22, the record there. but this year cost $50 billion more. as you mentioned, from ida to the deep freeze to the december tornadoes to the epic megadrought, all of that -- and as long as we're throwing around numbers with nine zeros on them, we should mention that stuck in congress is the build back better climate plan, which is a modest $550 billion over ten years. and that one has been which i happened away so much that it's pretty much all carrots and no stick for big utility companies, for energy companies, which is why the other reports today are so alarming. as you say, not only are we in the top five hottest years ever, the seven hottest summers ever. the nonpartisan rhodium group put out a report that last year the planet's share of cooking emissions went up by 6%, and this after joe biden promised to cut it by half in just the end of this decade. the proof is right there. all of these three reports are all tied together. >> going in the wrong direction. bill we're, good to see you. thank you so much. breaking news into cnn. convicted murderer robert durst has died. we've got more on that, ahead. ♪ ♪ now i'm ready for someone to call me mom. at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. i lost 26 pounds and i feel incredible. with the new personalpoints program, i answer questions about my goals and the foods i love. i like that the ww personalpoints plan is built just for me. join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry, offer ends january 10th. narrator: on a faraway beach, the generation called "our greatest" saved the world from tyranny. in an office we know as "oval," a new-generation president faced down an imminent threat of nuclear war. on a bridge in 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you do, it leads to amazing. welcome to the next level. the all-new lexus nx. ♪ breaking news. convicted murderer and real estate heir robert durst has died. he was 78 years old. he was serving a life sentence in a california state prison for the fatal killing of his best friend in 2000, susan berman. cnn's jean casarez is here with more. jean, do we know yet the cause of death here? >> well, he was not well. and he died in the custody of the department of corrections in california, where just as you said, he'd been convicted of capitol murder. early last fall. but during his capitol murder trial in los angeles, which actually began in 2020, was continued because of covid, took up again in '21, you could tell he was very ill. and the defense actually had a physician associated with cedars-sinai to come and testify in the courtroom, saying that this trial should be continued at this point, even dismissed, get another jury in time. and he, under oath, talked about all of the ailments of robert durst, one being cancer, one being esophageal, esophagus issues, immune system that was not good. his blood levels were not good. but the prosecution argued that he was passing some notes to his attorneys and that he was able to continue, so the judge kept going with that trial. and robert durst did testify in his own defense for about three weeks in los angeles. and he continued to say to the very end that he did not know what happened to his wife, kathie durst, who went missing from right here in new york city in 1982, just before she was abou