to just go home. the unvaccinated serb is the number one seed in the australian open and is on the cusp of becoming the so-called g.o.a.t., greatest of all time. now, if a court once again rein states his visa, djokovic could become the first man to win 21 grand slam titles to give you a sense of what's on the line here. all signs indicate he won't leave the country without a fight. his visa battle is a big deal in australia as you can imagine, where people have been really suffering through some of the toughest covid restrictions anywhere in the world. now, for an update on all of this, we want to go straight to melbourne now and our paula hancocks. and really good to have you there on the ground, paula. i mean, look, people were wondering will he or won't he. in the end, the immigration minister i guess must have felt to do anything but deport him would have been untenable. >> reporter: well, paula, what we're hearing from the statement is we believe they had to do it on the basis, it was in the public interest to do so. pointing out that it was on health and good order grounds as well. now, it did take him a little while to come to this decision. we know that there were more documents provided by djokovic's team on wednesday. so trying to make the case that he should stay. so clearly they had a lot to look at and they would have wanted to make this as watertight as possible, having lost in court on monday when a judge reinstated djokovic's visa. so now, of course, the question is what happens next? i have spoken to a number of immigration lawyers about this to understand the situation here. the cancellation notice, they say, would have been issued to djokovic at this point. and usually there is a mandatory detention once your visa is canceled. now, we don't know if that will happen in this case. we have no indication of djokovic's whereabouts at this point and we haven't yet heard from his lawyers. but then the lawyers will likely seek a judicial review from the courts to try and overturn this. they'll question the legality, the fairness and the reasonableness of the decision of the immigration minister has made. and then also what they'll try and do is try and employ a bridging visa. it will allow djokovic to stay in the country. it will allow him to be out of detention and it would allow him to work, which, of course, for him would be playing in the australian open. now, we don't onofre exactly wha -- now, we don't know exactly what is going to happen. he will try to fight it as he did before. paula? >> the prime minister weighed in with a statement saying australians made many sacrifices during the pandemic and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected. can you give us some insight, paula, just in terms of how australians are reacting to this in the moment? i know it only just happened, but given all that has transpired in nearly two years and as the prime minister rightly characterizes it, sacrifices, do you think they will be satisfied with this decision? >> reporter: well, just briefly talking to family and friends about this, paula, there is no surprise that this has happened, that they have said this is what they expected to happen. no australian i've spoken to is happy about the situation because nobody comes out of this looking good. not tennis australia, not the government, not novak djokovic. but they do, many believe, that this was what needed to happen. as you say, the border controls in this country were among the toughest in the world. you had australian citizens unable to get home over the past couple of years, unable to see loved ones. you had australian citizens here unable to leave the country to go and see loved ones. there has been, we have heard it repeatedly over the past week, many people and politicians saying there shouldn't be one rule for the australian citizens and another rule for someone who happens to be a celebrity or has money for lawyers. so there does seem to be that sense of fairness for many australians. obviously there is a serbian community here in melbourne who will be extremely vocal this friday evening i imagine. they will not be happy with the situation. but i mean, to put it into context, to put it bluntly, we heard from the deputy prime minister barnaby joyce yesterday, and he was saying it doesn't matter whether you are a tennis player, the king of spain, the queen of england. australians want to know you are following different rules to them. >> that seems to be the principle that the government is sticking to. paula hancocks, really appreciate the update. and as i say again, good to have you on the ground for us in melbourne. appreciate it. now, earlier we spoke with a partner with the major australian law firm thompson gear. he weighed in on what could happen next. listen. >> djokovic needs to show two things. the first is as you mentioned, an arguable case. can he do that or not? hard to say. we need see the minister's grounds, djokovic's grounds attacking those grounds first. but if he can show that he has an arguable case, then he needs to show -- he needs a temporary in junction because he can't win the australian open in march. but the government can still deport him in march. so he will be worse off if his rights are unjustly denied then the government would be worse off if their rights are unjustly denied. if he can prove those two things, he gets a temporary injunction, and then the next question. does that temporary injunction just mean he stays in australia, but in detention? and i think that's unlikely. >> so, remember what could happen here. he could still appeal this, but still play in this grand slam tournament. now, all those legal aspects aside, another big question here is how could this case affect djokovic's sports legacy? one tennis expert told us earlier it will certainly take a hit. >> well, there is still some time left in djokovic's story for sure. if he wins more grand slams, he will have the record and that will be a big part of his thing. obviously federer doesn't go past him. this has been massively damaging for him to be seen as someone who risked so much in terms of his ability to compete as one of the all-time greats to win this grand slam, to lose the opportunity potentially over something like not being vaccinated. that was the rules. to try to be above the rules is the perception in the sport with many of his peers. seeing djokovic being handed a different rule book from the left of them. this is now over he wasn't able to be bigger than the sport, bigger than the rest of the games, bigger than the australian laws. >> i want to point out it is after 8:00 there. we will continue to bring you breaking news from australia. now, going to the 11 people facing the most serious charges yet in the u.s. capitol riot, two of them are scheduled to amir in court today. among them, oath keepers leader stuart rhodes arrested in texas and accused along with the others of seditious conspiracy. prosecutors say the far-right group played a role in planning the attack, recruited members and stockpiled weapons ahead of january 6th. and you can see them there in the capitol rotunda. other video shows members and military-style uniforms marching into the capitol in formation. you can see it just in the video there. the new indictments say even after january 6th, they continued to plot, to oppose by force, the unlawful transfer of presidential power. now, oath keeper thomas caldwell claimed he took a reconnaissance trip to washington before january 6th. >> every single [ bleep ] in there is a traitor. every single one. >> okay. so what exactly is seditious conspiracy? because it's important, and why has it taken so long to bring charges this serious against the capitol rioters? cnn's paula reid has our answers. >> reporter: the justice department escalating its efforts to prosecute those responsible for january 6th. charging oath keepers leader stuart rhodes along with ten others with seditious conspiracy related to the attack on the capitol. it's the first time federal prosecutors have used the sedition charge after bringing more than 700 cases related to the insurrection. but prosecutors have long signalled that they were considering using the rarely applied section of federal law. rhodes is the most high-profile individual charged in the investigation so far. court documents filed layout a wide ranging plot to storm the capitol and disrupt the certification of the 2020 election. two days after election day, rhodes allegedly urged his followers to refuse to accept the election results. writing in a signal message, we aren't getting through this without a civil war. according to federal prosecutors, on his way to d.c. on january 3rd, rhodes allegedly bought an ar-platform rifle and other equipment including sights, mounts, triggers, slings and attachments in texas. the next day, he allegedly bought more firearms equipment in mississippi. rhodes, a former army para trooper who went on to earn a law degree from yale, did not enter the capitol on january 6th, but video captures oath keepers wearing military gear forcing their way into the building in a military stack formation. in this clip, you can see a group of oath keepers very close to the capitol doors, breaching the building. and here, members inside the capitol rotunda, including jessica watkins, who was among those charged with seditious conspiracy. >> we're inside the capitol. >> reporter: the new indictment also reveals the group allegedly had quick reaction forces from three states. arizona, north carolina and florida to rush into d.c. if needed. according to court documents, oath keeper thomas caldwell arrested in january, claimed that he took a reconnaissance trip to d.c. prior to the insurrection. and prosecutors say rhodes was planning for violence well beyond january 6. allegedly referring to the capitol attack as nothing compared to what is coming. in the weeks after the attack on the capitol, he allegedly spent more than $17,000 on weapons, equipment and ammunition. then around inauguration day, rhodes told his associates to organize local militias to oppose the biden administration, and another member allegedly said, after this, if nothing happens, it's war. civil war 2.0. rhodes was arrested at his home in texas thursday. he is expected to make his initial court appearance in federal court in plano on friday. if convicted, seditious conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years. paula reid, cnn, washington. more on the story now house committee investigating january 6 says it's not getting the answers it wants from social media companies. so it's issued subpoenas. the parent companies of facebook and google along with twitter and reddit have refused to supply key documents requested by the committee. chairman bennie thompson says the panel wants to know how misinformation and extremism contributed to the attack and what the companies did to keep their platforms from radicalizing people. now, after rejecting an effort to change senate filibuster rules to pass legislation, democrat senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema met with president joe biden thursday evening at the white house to discuss voting rights. mr. biden says it's the single most important issue currently facing the nation. he said earlier that he remains hopeful, but is unsure whether the bill will pass. now, on the senate floor thursday, sinema said she supports strengthening voter protections, but insisted she's not backing down on changes to the filibuster. listen. >> i will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country. the debate over the senate 60-vote threshold shines a light on our broader challenges. when one party need only negotiate with itself, policy will in strictably be pushed from the middle towards the extremes. >> now, the u.s. supreme court has dealt a blow to the white house covid vaccine policy. on thursday it struck down mandating vaccinations for large corporations, saying the measure was just too broad, but allowed the mandate for some health care workers. now, the ruling drew both praise and criticism from various industries across the united states. the secretary of labor called it a major setback to the health and safety of workers right across the country. >> disappointed the court ruled to protect workers in america. what we have to do is try another way to make sure that we keep americans safe. >> now, this is something we've been hearing for awhile. the record number of omicron-driven covid cases in the united states is putting unfortunately a real strain on hospitals. according to the department of health and human services, 19 states now have less than 15% of their intensive care bed space left. and because of those health concerns, bank of america is telling its employees to work from home until they are notified to return, and it's not the only company. goldman sachs is doing the same with its employees until at least february. cnn's nick watt has more. >> when you need something done, call in the military. >> reporter: military medical teams now heading to six states to help in hospitals. and? >> next week we'll announce, announce how we are making high-quality masks available to the american people for free. >> reporter: the president also just pledged another half a billion free tests, but the administration still hasn't des distributed the half billion announced before christmas. >> we're on track to rollout a website next week where you can order free tests, shipped to your home. >> it is a matter of urgency for us. >> should we have done that sooner? >> we are doing it >> but should we have done it sooner? >> we are doing it. >> reporter: average new confirmed covid-19 infections now nearing 8,000 a day. that number has more than doubled in just the past two weeks. average daily death toll also rising, but that could be the lagging impact of the delta surge says the cdc director who points to a pre-print california study, showing hospitalization and death rates are indeed much lower with the omicron variant. >> the data in this study remain consistent with what we are seeing from omicron in other countries, including south africa and the uk. and provides some understanding of what we can expect over the coming weeks as cases are predicted to peak in this country. >> reporter: there are already signs of a plateau in parts of the northeast. >> here in boston, for example, for the first time in quite -- several weeks we have actually no increase in the number of hospitalizations from covid from yesterday to today. >> reporter: but hospitals still stretched in massachusetts and elsewhere. in all these states remaining i.c.u. capacity is less than 15%. and schools? >> i'm deeply concerned about schools over the next two weeks. i'm deeply concerned because of staff outage on this. >> reporter: minneapolis public schools moved to online only for at least a couple of weeks. nick watt, cnn, los angeles. still ahead right here on cnn, diplomacy gives way to the drum beat of war. we'll have the stark assessments from three days of failed talks to ease tensions between russia and ukraine. plus, a further fall from grace for britain's prince andrew. why buckingham palace is stripping him of his roles. u.s. national security adviser jake sullivan says the threat of a russian invasion of ukraine remains high. now, that bleak assessment comes after a week of disappointing talks across three european countries. russia's deputy foreign minister said negotiators have hit a dead end and he saw no reason to restart the same discussions. and the u.s. envoy went even further. listen. >> at the present time, we're facing a crisis in european security. the drum beat of war is sounding loud and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill. we have seen a massive and unprecedented buildup of russian forces. tens of thousands, now close to 100,000 combat-ready forces on the international border with ukraine, we have seen all of the advanced weaponry, artillery systems, electronic warfare systems, ammunition, et cetera. that leaves a lot of question. >> okay. cnn's sam kiley is standing by for us live from ukraine. listen, there were very sobering assessments of what happened in week and none of it good for ukraine. i'm wondering what the reaction is there on the ground. after there were some hopes perhaps more compromise, more talks would take place, now they're saying there's no point in even talking. >> reporter: there wasn't a great deal of faith among the ukrainians, paula, that the talks would lead anywhere. but they have done two things, they say. they've reinforced their sense of security in that nato has not countenanced any of the demands being made by the russians, first. secondly, in large part, revealed to nato vladimir putin's hand in that he now has absolutely clear lines, may even accelerate the process of ukraine being able to join nato. that was the analysis of the deputy prime minister when i spoke to her just a few hours ago. i understand we're not going to be playing that, paula. but when we were speaking with the deputy prime minister, who is the lead to nato and to the european union's accession process, she was very hard over on the need for the europeans in general to aid ukraine at this dangerous time for them militarily, not with troops, but with weaponry to help them defend themselves. she says the ukrainian military has come a long way since it was trying to fight off russian-backed rebels in 2014. the illegal annexation of crimea by special forces. and the continued, albeit low level conflict that is going on in the eastern country. there are 200,000 ukrainians capable of being mobilized here in the regular army. there is fronting efforts going on to try to train citizen army. there is also reports of preparation for insurgency, guerrilla war behind russian lines if the russians do try to invade. and the whole attitude here is that we in ukraine, they say, have been fighting russians and russian-backed rebels for the last eight years, and they're not that fast at really about an increase in tensions because they couldn't be higher than they are now, paula. >> it is interesting, as i say, sobering perspective. sam kiley, good to have you in kiev. the foreign minister making comments i'm sure will come as no surprise to you. it does follow a familiar script, and yet, matthew, i kind of want to know after this week of failed talks, i mean, what do you think russia's posture will be in the next few days? >> reporter: well, it's the question, isn't it? we're all trying to sort of workout. there is only one person that really knows what the russian response is going to be after the week of negotiations both -- well, in geneva in brussels and in vienna that have yielded no results from a russian point of view in terms of their core demands being met, their demands, of course, that nato stop expanding eastward towards russia's borders and military forces that join nato after the fall of the soviet union be sort of rolled back. and vladimir putin and the kremlin is going to assess the situation and decide what strategy to move forward. there have been a lot of compromises talked about by western officials. a nuclear missile treaty inside europe. talks about putting curbs on nato exercises close to russia's borders, other things as well bilaterally between the united states and russia that could potentially be yielded by this very forceful round of negotiations that the russians have been conducted -- conducting with nato and with the united states. but it's whether they will, you know, decide that those compromises are sufficient to continue the talks. and, yeah, there's no indication yet which way russia is prepared to go. they've got those tens of thousands of troops massed on the border of ukraine. i've just been listening to se sergei lavrov, the foreign minister giving a press conference as we speak. he said they're waiting for basically written guarantees from the united states and nato on their core proposals that i've just mentioned. of course, that was the position of the russians when they went into these negotiations, and they've had nothing but a set of categorical rejection from the western officials on those points, paula. >> yeah, certainly more to come on that in the coming days. matthew chance for us live in moscow. are appreciate it. north korea is launching another missile. they identified a projectile toward the countries east. japanese officials called it a possible ballistic missile. it comes after the north claims it successfully test fired a hypersonic missile on tuesday. a launch that initially had the u.s. preparing for the worst. sources say that early warning system suggested the missile could reach as far as the california coast, but it was soon understood that there was no direct threat to the u.s. mainland. so, the british royal family is further distancing itself from prince andrew as he faces a civil sex abuse case in the united states. the allegations had already sidelined him from public duties, and now he's losing all of his military titles and charities. anna stewart joins us now from london. anna, as you aptly put it, the royal faemily essentially fired prince andrew. he's lost his job, and the tabloids are really making a appoint of it this morning. >> reporter: that is how the news is running here pretty much every front page, driven out from the daily mail, thrown out, great pun from the sun. queen freezes out prince andrew. it shows how people are viewing this. this is a decision that came right from the top. was it jumping the gun given that prince andrew denies any of the sexual abuse allegations, and obviously hasn't yet been found guilty, or was this decision taken rather late, given how damaging the story has been now for years? the allegations, prince andrew's conduct through the investigation, not cooperating, the disastrous interview with the bbc's news night a couple years ago. so on and so on. and this is going to get more damaging still. because the case has not been thrown out, which was the primary plan for prince andrew's legal team that's correct was ruled out on wednesday. this case will go further. that means the discovery process goes underway. that will be damaging in terms of all the documents that we revealed. phone logs, emails, diary entries, the deposition, of course, of prince andrew. and possibly other members of the royal family. so, little surprise, i think, that her royal majesty is wanting to distance herself slightly from all of this and distance the royal family for what comes next. he has essentially been fired from the firm while remaining, of course, a member of the royal family. i can show you a list of the military titles he's losing. there are quite a few. that impacts many regiments both in the uk and the commonwealth. most significant you see there is colonel of the grenadine guards. he took over from the late prince philip in 2017. this will be visible in june. one of the regiments in the household division. it's where the colonel would traditionally wear a uniform and be on a horse and march around. so it's quite interesting that this is being taken, this decision, months ahead of the big jubilee celebrations. it feels permanent, paula. we were told by a source these roles will not be returned to the duke of york even if the case goes to trial. even if prince andrew were to win, lots of ifs, this is permanent. he will not return as a working member of the royal family. >> i'm sure many brittons, are concerned the queen is starting 2022 on this note. anna stewart, appreciate that. coming up for us, president joe biden suffers a really bad day of setbacks and roadblocks as he struggles to push his agenda through congress. the latest from washington straight ahead. plus, u.s. sports fans may have to look for extra connections to try and get to those beijing olympics. the reason all direct flights from the united states are likely to be canceled. we'll explain. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep? qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol. welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm paula newton. if you're just joining us, i want to bring you right up to date on our top story this hour. australia has canceled the visa of novak djokovic for a second time just days before the start of the australian open. now, the immigration minister said he used his personal power to do so because, in his words, it is in the public's best interest. the unvaccinated djokovic now faces deportation, and just moments ago cnn confirmed that an australian court is holding what it's called directions hearing. that is going on right now as they decide the fate of novak djokovic and his visa cancellation. and we go now to news here at home. the justice department charged the leader of the oath keepers and ten others with seditious conspiracy in connection with the u.s. capitol attack. now, the indictment says they engaged in a conspiracy to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force. thursday it was a disappointing day of defeats really for u.s. president joe biden. he arrived on capitol hill to a standing ovation by fellow democrats, but left an hour later visibly upset by another senate impasse. cnn's phil mattingly has the latest from washington. >> the honest to god answer is i don't know whether we can get this done. >> reporter: for president biden, a day of roadblocks and setbacks. a presidential trip to capitol hill for a voting reform bill doomed to fail. >> as long as i have a breath in me, as long as i am in the white house, as long as i am engaged at all, i'm going to be fighting to change the way these legislatures are moving. >> reporter: vaccine requirements on large employers viewed as critical to the white house covid response efforts blocked by the supreme court. >> president biden will be calling on and will continue to call on businesses to immediately join those who have already stepped up. >> reporter: even as a separate requirement for health care workers was given the green light, rulings that came at a moment of peak exhaustion with the pandemic in its third year. >> i know we are all frustrated as we enter this new year. omicron variant is causing millions of cases and record hospitalizations. >> reporter: all as senate democrats pressed toward votes on a sweeping voting reform measure. >> and every senator will be faced with a choice of whether or not to pass this legislation to protect our democracy. >> reporter: no clear path over unified republican opposition. >> nobody in this country is buying the fake hysteria that democracy will die unless democrats get total control. >> reporter: two key sen trysts, democrats kirsten of arizona and joe manchin of west virginia both supportive of the voting measures. >> while i continue to support these bills -- >> reporter: but both also still opposed to unilateral changes to the senate rules to do a which with the filibuster. >> i will not support actions that worsen the underlying disease of division affecting our country. >> reporter: cold water on the week biden went all-in on passing voting measures. >> do you want to be on the side of dr. king or george wallace? do you want to be on the sides of john lewis or bull conner? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? >> reporter: but biden's speech served to only more deeply ent entrench gop opposition both to the bill and to his rhetoric. >> i've known, liked and personally respected joe biden for many years. i did not recognize the man at the podium yesterday. >> reporter: leaving democratic leaders barrelling toward a doomed effort to change senate rules, arguing that state gop efforts to change voting laws have forced the so-called nuclear option to the forefront. >> in the coming days, we will confront this sobering question. >> reporter: and while senators manchin and sinema made it abundantly clear, they will not support any changes to senate rules. it hasn't stopped president biden from continuing to work with them. he has brought them over to the white house on thursday night trying to figure out if there is some path forward on voting rights and also keep in mind those are two critical senators the president's entire agenda. it looked like there was a pretty significant split over the course of the day on thursday. the president making clear he wants to continue pushing forward and at least continue the relationship with two critical members of the senate democratic caucus. phil mattingly, cnn, the white house. now, despite seeing biden's vaccine mandate for large companies, the supreme court did uphold it for some health care workers and the american nurse's association responded to the ruling saying to the statement, through this decision, 76,000 hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities right across the country that participate in medicare and medicaid programs are required to implement covid-19 vaccine requirements for an estimated 17 million health care workers. ana is pleased that the supreme court allowed this requirement to be implemented. turning now to the beijing winter olympics, they actually get underway, if you can believe it, in about three weeks. but u.s. sports fans may have trouble getting there because, according to a cnn analysis, all direct flights between the u.s. and china are likely to face cancellation starting next week. the reason for that are china's covid rules. david culver is in beijing with more. i'm glad you're going to be able to clarify this for us. the beijing olympics in general is something that's concerning. now they're doing something practical it seems to protect themselves as they go forward with this zero-covid policy. >> reporter: yeah, and when we look at the flight cancellations that have been taking place, and really their suspension of certain flights, it's based around what's considered to be a circuit breaker rule. that was put in by chinese aviation regulators, essentially saying, paula, that if you have five or more positive cases on one flight, it will be suspended for two weeks. and then if you have more than that number of cases, it could be suspended for several weeks. so what we're likely to enter next week is the reality that there are no china-bound flights from the u.s. now, when you mentioned the olympic athletes and some of the personnel and media, sure, that could impact some individuals who would normally be taking commercial flights. many of them have already orchestrated chartered flights so as to get around that, knowing there have been limited international flights into china over the past several months and really even dating back two years to the start of this pandemic. but it complicates matters even more. the olympics is supposed to be that opportunity to showcase to the world, from china's perspective, that they were able to contain the virus, and then to show a global unity stance really. but if you're starting to limit people coming in and it's going to be that as we get closer, now three weeks away, it really kind of dampens the mood even more. and now you have these cases in shanghai, which this major financial hub, this metropolis, that normally has delicately balanced the covid restrictions, which are very harsh here at times, with trying to stay open and moving around. well, now you're seeing that they're going to have to revert back to harsher restrictions in place, paula, because they just left one person who seemed to get out of her quarantine and spread it to a few more peopleful. that's causing the issue there. >> in one instance like that happened, i'm sure it makes them even ever more cautious about who they let in the country and what freedom of movement they would have. david culver, glad to have you there. appreciate it. now, there is a new lawsuit over the fatal shooting on the "rust" movie set. the wrongdoing in the film's armour led to a crew member's death. blendjet's holiday sale is on now for the #1 gift this holiday season, the blendjet 2 portable blender. it packs the power of a big blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in your favorite ingredients, even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and get our best deal ever! this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. the mexico county sheriff's office says actor alec baldwin still hasn't handed over his phone to the authorities after the fatal shooting on the "rust" movie set. a warrant was issued for it last month. baldwin has said he will comply, but the process seems to be taking a long time. the actor was holding the gun that went off, killing the movie cinematographer. meanwhile, armorer for "rust" is suing the movie's gun and ammunition supplier. lucy kafanov has more on that. >> reporter: the question is how the live bullets ended up on set in the 24-page, accusing seth kenny, the owner of the weapons and prop company that supplied ammunition for the low-budget western as miss labeling boxes of ammo. they were abled dummies, but contained a mix of blanks and live rounds. he previously denied the live rounds came from his company. he has not responded to cnn's request for comment, but there are new interesting details emerging from this complaint that helps shed some light in the events of that day. at least the armorer's version of them. now, in the lawsuit, gutierrez reed said she remembers cleaning the gun baldwin used and loaded the weapon with what she believed were dummy rounds. she said she spun the cylinder for the a ssistant director dav halls as blank rounds. halls would not be shooting the weapon and the gun was not going to be used for rehearsal. so she left it inside the church set and stepped away. according to the complaint, halls was supposed to alert the armorer if baldwin or anyone used the gun because she was required to re-inspect it. halls claimed she gave the firearm to baldwin and called out, cold gun, which signified the firearm was empty or contained blank rounds. the complaint also states that baldwin never attended a cross draw briefing. the complaint also states had hannah been called back in, she would have re-inspected the weapon and every round again, and instructed baldwin on safe gun practice with the cross draw as was her standard practice on set. hannah would never have let baldwin point the weapon at halyna as part of standard safe gun practices. apparently no one inside the church stopped baldwin from doing so, including dave halls, referring to the assistant director dave halls. cnn has reached tout to seth baldwin as well as halls for comment. but did not immediately hear back. meanwhile, the investigation continues. lucy kafanov, cnn, denver. millions across the southern and eastern u.s. are about to be hit by a winter storm. and it could bring anything from rain to ice to snow in places not used to it, including right here in atlanta. meteorologist derek van dam has details. >> indeed, paula. we have a significant winter storm that is moving across the central u.s. that will bring a wide range of threats across the southeastern united states and along the east coast through the course of the weekend and parts of next week. we already have seen winter storm warnings, watches and advisories in place. where the storm is ongoing across the northern plains through the southern portions of the midwest, this will be ongoing through the course of the day today and then preemptively ahead of the storm across the southeast, winter storm watches already hoisted for portions of arkansas, northeastern georgia into the carolinas and now starting to pop up across central pennsylvania and into southern new york. this is in advance of the storm system moving across the east coast later this weekend. here is a look at the timing. this starts on saturday morning. so, be aware of that. here comes the low pressure system diving south across the southeastern u.s. and you can see the backside of the storm, according to this particular model which is the american model, there will be enough cold air behind it to change our precipitation from rain to snow into the atlanta region, maybe a couple of inches for that area. higher amounts northeast of the metro region. rainfall totals along the east coast could be hefty because of the surge of warm air right along the major met polropolita just east of d.c. as well as boston. this is an area we'll have a tight gradient in precipitation types. rain on the coast, snow inland. how much do we get? it depends exactly where you live. you can see the coastal area should be rain, but just inland, that's where we have the potential for several inches of snowfall. and we cannot neglect the potential for a crippling ice storm across the western portions of the carolinas. cold air already in place across the northeast, and that will only aid in our chances of snowfall across that region. back to you. >> thank you, derek. i think. and we will be right back with more news in a moment. g on? zicam is the #1 cold shortening brand! highly recommend it! zifans love zicam's unique zinc formulula. it shortens colds! zicam. zinc that cold! here's something we've all been wondering about, right? health experts agree masking is key to not spreading the coronavirus and social distancing. which masks are the best ones? cnn's brian todd takes a look for us. >> reporter: a new effort to stem confusion about mask-wearing during the pandemic. the cdc expected to update its guidance on the best masks to wear soon. the cdc and local health officials have recently said that n95 and k n95 masks appear to give you the most protection against the surging omicron variant. >> we should be wearing the best possible masks that we can get. that's a fact. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci and other top officials say n95s and kn95s work better than the surgical masks people have worn and better than cloth masks. how? leakage found cloth masks can leak 75% in and out. surgical masks only 50%. and n95 masks as low as 1 to 10% if correctly fitted. >> we do want to make sure they fit properly so you don't want air escaping from the sides, underneath or around the eyes. got to make sure it's really snug. but it's an effective mask. that's the thing. >> reporter: one expert says n95s are very similar to kn95s because they both have high efficiency filters. but the n95 has a slight edge over the kn95. >> it provides a better fit to your face. if a mask doesn't fit your face well, it's going to leak. >> reporter: another key question, can you wear an n95 or kn95 more than once? yes, says one expert. >> you can wear an n95, a rule of thumb is up to 40 hours of use. the filter in an n95 respirator does not go bad for days to weeks. >> reporter: experts now say with omicron, it's high time to upgrade from cloth. >> cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. there is no place for them in light of omicron. >> reporter: some health experts believe there's been way too much confusion over mask wearing and the messaging on it throughout the pandemic. >> we should not have any confusion out of the mask wearing. this is confusion we ourselves, the front line workers, the government, public health experts, doctors, nurses and other influential people when it comes to infection prevention control have actually created because we haven't got on the same page on what works and what doesn't work. and what works based on evidence. >> reporter: n95s and kn95s aren't cheap. they average $2 apiece. they are set to announce how the government will make n95s and kn95s available to the public for free. brian todd, cnn washington. that does it for me. i'm paula newton. i want to thank you for your company. "early start" is next. you are watching cnn. 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