the ukrainian capital kiev. according to the "times," dozens of people, mostly russian wives and children of diplomats have been boarding buses for a 15-hour ride back to moscow. a bipartisan delegation of seven senators met with ukraine's president, zelensky, as troops stand ready to potentially invade along the border. zelensky telling the senators, quote, it is important for ukraine that you are with us today. joining us now is national security analyst david tsesange also the correspondent for the ""new york times"" and part of the team behind this new report. david, the russians, of course, are out denying that this is true. we just wanted to put that to you, as i know you and your colleague have this lengthy story about the state of play. >> sure. thanks, kasie. welcome. so the russian statement said that their embassy is still operating, which is true. our story said that, as well. the ambassador is still there and so forth. but american officials heard and picked up evidence of discussions starting in december of beginning to reduce the number of russians in ukraine dramatically. they began to do that, we found, january 5th. bused them out the 5th, 6th, and 7th. by our count, about 40 diplomats, their families, children, were all removed. now, think about that timing for a moment. it was a few days before the negotiations between the united states and russia began in geneva, then moved elsewhere in europe. this wasn't as if they were clearing the embassy out because they were about to attack or something. it's now 10 or 11 days ago. but it certainly was a move that they knew the rest of the world would see. it suggests they knew how it'd affect the country. >> this has to do with the question of whether vladimir putin is playing checkers or chess. whether he's doing single things that last a day to poke people in the eye for a day, or whether he has some kind of a plan to invade ukraine. maybe occupy it. cnn's reporting, there are concerns they're training occupying forces. they have reporting that there are snipers training on the border. is that a today thing, or is it because a month from now, vladimir putin expects to be occupying that country? >> that's the great pgreat myst here, and we can't crawl into putin's mind. we do know he has a few major strategic objectives that he's described publicly. one of them is to stop ukraine's drift toward the west. the second is to make sure that ukraine never joins nato. the third is his demand that the united states and nato pull back all their armaments, all their nuclear forces, all of their troops to lines that go before 1997. that's when president yeltzin signed an agreement with bill clinton that basically allowed nato to expand. putin has made it very clare he w clear he wants to reverse that. is this a giant show to force the united states to do that by negotiation? is he trying to destabilize the ukrainian government and put in a puppet government? i think both of those things would be easier than invading the country. but, at this point, he has so many forces there, that he would look like he was backing down, i think, if he didn't move at least partly over the borders. >> that's a remarkable statement, david. i'm wondering, one thing we do know about vladimir putin and, i'm sure the u.s. officials you've talked to spent so much time thinking about this, but he is someone who very much thinks about the person on the other side of the table, who is his personal adversary. right now, that is potentially president joe biden, who, of course, was vice president when the former president, barack obama, decided to take a muted action, frankly, when russia annexed crimea pacback in 2014. what is your sense of how u.s. officials are evaluating the way putin is thinking about president biden, and how far is the biden administration willing to go here? what lessons did biden learn from the experience when he was vice president? >> tgs a fit's a fascinating is. biden and the team around him in the crimea crisis in 2014, the first thing they learned was they did too little, too late, right? that the sanctions -- they were taken by surprise by the invasion. then is sanctions they put into place went after smaller banks. the idea was to ratchet it up slowly. you heard jake sullivan, the president's national security adviser, say, this time, they're going to start big and move down. although, they're not going to start until putin actually invades. that raises some interesting questions of timing. the bigger issue of how it is that putin sees biden, that's really fascinating. and, you know, you have to think that he looks at the afghan withdrawal, he looks at the political division in the united states, he looks at how we have turned more inward, and he thinks, you know, this is probably as good a moment as he is going to have, especially if he thinks the ukrainians are going to grow more powerful militarily in coming years. >> remarkable statement. david sanger, thank you very much, as always, for your great reporting. appreciate it. >> every day matters here. every day bears watching along that border. we simply don't know what is going to happen. meantime, here in the united states, tensions high across the country as parents, teachers, and politicians debate whether students should return to in-person learning in the midst of a global pandemic. actually, that debate is over, as almost every student is back in person. the issue, and this was encapsulated in a story in the "new york" magazine, jonathan writes that he feels that democrats should apologize for the fact that schools were closed at all last year and the year before. he thinks this was a giant mistake. progressive, as he put it, should come to terms with that fact. joining us now is angie schmidt, a parent and author of a piece in the "atlantic," arguing for a return to in-person instruction. donna is the president of the american federation of teachers in new jersey. first, angie, i want to go to you. what provoked this discussion is the piece in "new york" magazine, which suggests that progressives should apologize for the fact that there wasn't 100% in-person learning really last year when this was an issue. do you think that apology is merited? >> yes, absolutely. i 100% agree. i don't think he blames the districts for closing in, like, march 2020, when no one knew anything about this disease and how it operated on children. but by the fall, it was clear from the science that schools were relatively safe. all of our european peers, essentially, went back to school, and many, about half the districts in the united states, went back to school, including in my own community, the private schools went back to school, wore masks. went to school all last year, pretty much without incident. while my kindergartener spent the entire year sort of wasting away in front of a computer screen, like a lot of the cleveland public school students. >> donna, let me get your response to that. i mean, there have been some pretty well-documented accounts of just the impact that school closures had for the year, for 2020, starting in the fall of that year. respond to what angie -- the point that angie is making here. >> i don't think there's an issue. i know teachers, and i know teachers want to be in school. but they want to be in school where it's safe and healthy. they understand the social, emotional, and academic toll it took on students to stay home. but to bring us back to school was something that was not in the teachers' control. the ventilation systems are old in many buildings, and, truthfully, it is going to take billions of dollars to fix them. schools can't do social distancing. testing, we've been saying all along, one of the things we need is a rigorous testing system in schools so we can control, or at least know, if there is a covid outbreak. the outbreaks before this, testing in schools was sparse. this time around, we're starting to hear more and more about testing and masks. we need to wear masks in schools. i'm very pleased governor murphy put a mask mandate into the buildings when it was going to expire here in new jersey. i think if we could control the masks, testing, and social distancing, we could keep kids in school. we need not only to bring kids back to school, but we need schools to remain open. >> angie, again, a lot of this discussion is bforwards looking not backward looking. most kids need to be in school, unless there aren't enough teachers. but who do you blame for last year. >> we're not talking about right when the pandemic hit. we're talking about last school year, when it took a lot time to get kids back in the classroom. >> okay. first of all, both my kids missed school this month. when i wrote this piece, it was christmas break. all i had was a message from our superintendent saying he was consults with health officials, and he didn't know whether they were going to open or not at the beginning of the year. so i'm not really sure that's the case here and everywhere. also, both my kids did do remote learning, which implies that staff was available for that. but, regardless, who do i blame? for one, i think it is a widespread failure. the media sensationalized the risks of covid to kids and scared a lot of parents, unnecessarily, when a lot of the data was reassuring. so i blame the media, in part. i think that the left wing became -- got a little bit of an echo chamber. they got detached from the science, and they were too eager to shout down anyone who disagreed with them, even if they were arguing in good faith, like i'm trying to do right now. i think that the teachers unions, i don't understand what it is like to be a teacher, but i think that they're used to fighting a certain kind of battle. this battle was a little bit different, and they didn't change their tactics as much as they should have. so i think that there's widespread blame to go around. i still think biden hasn't been strenuous enough about this issue. he's sort of tried to play it both bways. we really need our leadership to stand up and send a clear message. schools are safer than the wider community. that's what the data has shown for a long time now. we shouldn't be making kids, particularly low-income kids, pay the highest price for this pandemic, when they've always been lowest risk. >> angie, in that piece, you said that you had been a life-long, loyal democrat, but that that's no longer the case. can you tell us a little bit about that? and have you encountered other parents in your community who feel similarly? >> yes. people have been reaching out to me from all over the country, saying they agree. women who have children at home with disabilities, who were denied the essential services they're supposed to be glarn guaranteed. people feel betrayed. i'm the person who would door knock and register voters before the elections, but i feel we lost the way. where were the people standing up for low-income kids when this was going on? in cleveland, we closed playgrounds for an entire year, which is unscientific. there really was a total lack of concern about the quality of life and well-being of kids. it's disappointing because i think that goes against the values we claim to espouse. >> all right. angie, donna, thank you, both, very much, for joining us this morning. you can see how this discussion is sitting. part of this has to do with the tweet that nate silver put out at the beginning, where he suggested that the closing of schools for as long as they were closed will come to be seen like the invasion of iraq, based on the existence of wmd, something that was misguided, as people have come to believe. nate says he believes democrats need to come to grips with what happened. >> silver's tweet elicited responses that were incredibly -- i mean, they were going after him. this is an emotional issue for parents and for teachers, as, you know, you heard a little bit there from the guests. i think that the challenge, too, and one of the things i was thinking, there have been thousands of dollars set aside for schools to update their hvac systems, and the money hasn't been spent. i think that's where a lot of the frustration is. hey, you guys knew this. you should have planned for this. why are we having this conversation again in january of 2022, when we should have been having it forever ago? i think democrats in washington are going to have to grapple with that. >> angie's final point, saying this month she's had remote learning, and i get that some schools shut down temporarily here. really, what, i think, jonathan and nate were saying is, everyone nodeeeds to reassess h they think about this going forward. based on what they learned from last year, everyone should simply look at this through an entirely different prism before they close schools going forward. all right. up next here, oath keepers and big lie candidates are not only running for office, they are running to oversee elections. we're going to tell you where this is happening. plus, boris johnson's former aide is spilling some of the british tea. what he now accuses the prime minister of knowingly doing during the pandemic. and today, the senate will debate voting rights, a centerpiece of biden's agenda. but unless something remarkable happens, unless republicans budge, which they have shown no sign of, unless kyrsten sinema and joe manchin miraculously change their mind this morning, this is all for show today. ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪ you could spend half an hour preparing for the half hour status meeting. orrr... you could cancel the meeting and share updates in slack instead. it's where your whole team is in one place so everyone can stay up to date. slack. where the future works. (vo) subaru and our retailers volunteer and support charities all year long. and...through the subaru share the love event, we are proud to have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. you can get a car from any company, but none will make a difference like subaru. (jeff) thank you. (bonnie) thank you. (robert) thank you. subaru. more than a car company. [♪] if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. (burke) this is why you want farmers claim forgiveness... [echoing] claim forgiveness-ness, your home premium won't go up just because of this. (woman) wow, that's something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. [echoing] get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ welcome back. imagine for a second it is 2024, and it is presidential election results have all come down to one state. let's set up a hypothetical. what if the top election official in said state is a self-proclaimed oath keeper and qanon conspiritist? it could be a reality if these trump-endorsed candidates win in as. >> i look forward to the day that we set aside an ir r irredeemably flawed election. that's the election of 2020. with all the evidence we have, the arizona election should be de-certified, with cause, by the legislature. >> there's a few other people i'd like to send down to the prison here in florence. anybody who was involved in that corrupt, shady, shoddy election of 2020. lock them up. >> it's not just arizona where all this is happening. joining us now is cnn correspondent donie o'sullivan. donie, this is rather alarming, having listened to just what those folks had to say here. how likely is it that this becomes reality? >> reporter: i mean, imagine how chilling that is if you are an election worker, an election volunteer in arizona, hearing from people there who are running to take control, to have authority over elections in that state, and they're saying they want to lock people up. they believe in qanon conspiracy theories. look, it's very, very concerning for people we spoke to on the ground in arizona, people, certainly democrats, have a real sense that this is the major issue of 2022. because these elections are going to then play directly into 2024 and how those elections are overseen. look, it's not just happening in arizona. take a look at these numbers from the "washington post." they did a tally across the country. they found at least 163 republicans who have embraced the big lie that are now running for statewide positions that would give them some authority, some control over elections. you see there in 30 states. 69 candidates for governor. 55 candidates for u.s. senate. 13 candidates for state attorney general. 18 candidates for secretary of state. now, of course, not all of those have been endorsed by donald trump. those two candidates you heard there at the top of the segment, they have been endorsed by trump. >> again, these are people who are spreading lies about the past election, embracing them, which leads you to believe they would have no issue going forward, perhaps, enacting things based on dishonesty. now, the democrats in washington, most of them, are trying to pass new voting rights legislation that would address some of the movements that you're seeing from the right here to take over election apparatus. not all, but some. but there are two democrats standing in the way of doing it without a filibuster, and that's joe manchin of west virginia and kyrsten sinema of arizona. now, donie, what do the people, these trump supporters, say about democratic kyrsten sinema? >> reporter: yeah. this trump rally we were at on saturday was in arizona, sinema's home state. it's rare you hear anything good about a democrat at a trump rally. but have a listen to this. >> i think right now, what she's doing, stopping the voting rights bill and things like that. >> absolutely. it was a big deal. >> good for her, for standing. >> kyrsten sinema, good for her. you know, she's our representative. she represents the state. she's not along party lines. she's what's good for the country. >> reporter: so there you have it. even some arizona voters there telling us they would consider voting for sinema, those trump supporters. important to point out, of course, that sinema says she is supportive of these voting rights bills but doesn't want to change senate rules to get them through. look, guys, i think it is important to point out here that on saturday, we started our day at an event with the king family. there was a march for mlk day weekend for voting rights in arizona. people we spoke to there, african-americans, many of them have a real fear about what is happening with voting rights in this country. that is a real fear based on history, based on the president. some of them see echoes of jim crow in what is creeping in. in the afternoon and evening, we went to this trump rally, where people, some people are genuinely fearful. some of them know the big lie is b.s., it's a talking point, but some people are genuinely fearful. that fear is not based in reality. that fear is based on a lie and conspiracy theory. >> one thing, if you want to understand, there have been a lot of democrats who live on twitter and some of our other spaces who are very angry with kyrsten sinema for what she's done here. but i think the interviews you did with those trump supporters speaks to exactly what she's doing as she looks for her potential re-election in arizona. donnie o'su donie o'sullivan, thank you. seditious conspiracy is a serious charge, difficult to prove and rare, but a significant milestone. in fact, up until this point, some have used the absence of sedition charges to somehow try to diminish what happened at the capitol. back in may, pete sessions said, quote, right now, there is a rush desire for judgment, yet not one person has been charged with sedition. many of his colleagues echoed that. >> has anybody been charged with sedition, to your knowledge? >> okay, no again. we're supposed to believe the best way to describe the events of january 6th askis calling it insurrection? >> expressing concern over election integrity is not a seditious act. >> it was also on fox tv. >> oh, it was an insurrection. how many of the participants in that insurrection have been charged with insurrecting, with sedition, with treason? zero. >> you know what? no one has been charged with sedition. no one is charged with insurrection. instead, people like kelly and connie megs walked into the capitol, no vandalism, but were guilty of being members with the oath keepers. felony to on instruct official proceedings charges. they walked in while being a member of the wrong group. >> no one has been charged with sedition or insurrection. most have been hit with charges like parading. parading. who knew that was a crime? by the way, it should be. i hate parades. >> has anybody been charged with dec dec sedition? nobody. why is it called an insurrection? >> you know how many people have been charged with inciting insurrection, treason, domestic terrorism as a result of anyone? >> no one. >> zero, exactly. just like robert mueller never indicted anybody for criminally conspiring with russia. they live in this fantasy world that never corresponds with the reality. they think if they feed on it, one day, it will become true. >> now, there are sedition charges. this is not to suggest they were made to counter the talking points, not all all. presuma presumably, the charges were filed when prosecutors got the evidence. now, the question is, how much further will this investigation go? does it include the president and his close allies? >> first of all, i will say, i was at the capitol on that day. i think it is important to underscore that these people who literally invaded the capitol were attempting to obstruct the actual certification of the election that would install the dually elect ed president, joe biden, into office. the point that it does take time to bring major charges, pull them together, is the right one to be making. i mean, one of the congressmen said people were there expressing concern about the election. oh, it's fine to express concern. i'm sorry that doesn't mean you show up with zip ties and halfway repel down the hall of the united states senate while your representatives are on the floor. i mean, the level of insisting what we all saw happen with our eyes didn't continues to appall me. >> now we'll see if there are more charges. let's go now to the uk. what did boris johnson know, and when did he know it? one of his former, top aides made damning allegations about the boozy lockdown parties. we'll tell you about that. breathtaking before and after images of tonga and the devastating volcano eruption. i always dreamed of having kids of my own. ♪ ♪ 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 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. get your personal points plan! i'm james corden and i'm here to tell people that ww is getting even more personal. keep on shopping, ignore us. i've lost like 28 pounds. you look great! i love that my clothes fit better, but i just love ice cream a little bit more than that. the new ww personalpoints program is particular to you. so what kind of foods do you like? avocado. ice cream. sandwiches. no food is off limits. when can i start?! join today for 50% off at ww.com. hurry! offer ends january 24th! ♪ limu emu ♪ and doug. we gotta tell people that liberty mutual customizes car insurance so you only pay for what you need, and we gotta do it fast. [limu emu squawks] woo! thirty-four miles per hour! new personal record, limu! [limu emu squawks] he'll be back. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. welcome back to china now, where the birthrate is plummeting for the fifth year in a row to a few record low in 2202 1. the world's most populous country are realizing their one child law is hurting economic growth. now, the government making major efforts to encourage couples to have more children. cnn has reporters around the world with the latest headlines. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen in moscow, as russia continues to pile the pressure on the u.s. and its nato allies. the russian foreign minister, sergey lavrov, saying the russians want answers very soon to some of the security demands that they put forward in the security talks with the u.s. that happened in geneva last week. now, the russians also announced they would be holding large-scale military drills together with the belarusian army. they're conducting sniper drills in an area close to ukraine. >> reporter: i'm sam kiley in abu dhabi, where the authorities promised a swift response to the killing of three civilians here in the emirati capital. one pakistanian and two indians were killed in a drone attack of some kind out of northern yemen. in the last 12 to 15 hours, the authorities have, indeed, made good on the swift retaliation promise, with the saudi-led coalition conducting air strikes in and around the houthi headquarters in the yemeni capital in the north of the country, with at least 12 civilians reported to be killed. this is a claim we have not opibeen able to verify from the houthis. they claim among the dead are women and children. >> reporter: i'm blake essex in tokyo. it's been more than three days since an underwater volcano erupted off the coast of tonga. while we haven't received reports of mass casualties, the reality is we still don't know the extent of the damage, especially for those outlining islands close to the eruption site. it's because communication with anyone in tonga remains extremely limited. ashfall left runways unusable, preventing outside aid from arriving. new zealand has sent two royal navy ships, but they won't arrive for about three days. for now, aid organizations on the ground say the biggest issue is food and water security as a result of ash contamination. this morning, damning, new allegations from the former top aide to britain's prime minister boris johnson. dominic cummings said johnson knew about the parties at 10 downing street during the covid lockdown and has lied about it. joining us is a member of parliament and the leader of the opposition party, the liberal democrats. thank you so much for being with us, sir. this statement from dominic cummings, boris johnson knew and lie about it, how big of a deal is it? >> huge deal. the british prime minister had really strict rules on everyone here in the uk at that period, a big lockdown. they were really tough. a lot of people made huge sacrifices. people not being able to go to the bedside of their loved ones when they were dying. not being able to attend funerals. at the very same time, the prettyish ish british prime minister was breaking his own rules, and he's been caught out. then he's lied to parliament. in the british system, if you lie to parliament as a minister, including as a prime minister, you have to resign. so that's why my party, the liberal democrats, have called for boris johnson to resign and have tabled a motion of no confidence in him in the house of commons. >> there is this official inquiry being led by sue gray here. why not wait until the conclusion of the inquiry to decide what kind of action to take? >> wiell, i had been waiting fo that, but in the meantime, after that was set up, we've had a lot more evidence which, frankly, is unambiguous. it is very clear the british prime minister broke the rules. and it is very clear that boris johnson then lied to that to parliament. today, we've had dominic cummings providing yet more evidence that the prettyish prime minister did lie and did break the rules. frankly, the evidence is now overwhelming. it has been for a few days, if i'm frank with you. so that's why. we don't need to hear the inquiry results from sue gray. they've almost been -- become redundant because of the evidence we've had since the inquiry was set up. >> just to be clear, the specific lie in this case is boris johnson -- boris johnson is claiming he thought or might have been under the impression that it was a work event, in which case it might have been permitted under the lockdown rules. but you believe, and you think dominic cummings is saying he knew all along it was not a work event, it was just a party, correct in. >> that's correct. although, i will say, it is only one of the lies. the prime minister did tell parliament he knew nothing about the parties. we've had evidence to suggest that there were parties every friday. poo boris johnson knew they were going on. so there is actually a series of lies from the prime minister to parliament, and so there are many reasons why he should resign. but, above all, when you're a member of parliament elected by your voters, and your voters are telling you about their personal sacrifices, how tough it's been for them, and they cannot believe that the prime minister who made the rules, which they abided by, was breaking those rules, then the anger amongst voters and the genuine upset and distress is very real. it is very raw. >> right. >> that's why i believe the prime minister really has to go. >> and i can understand the basis of that anger if they were all living under -- if you were all living under a different set of rules other than the prime minister. i also heard people taking the view, you're throwing the guy out for having a drink outside, when we now know being outside was probably perfectly safe all along? is that a reason to kick a prime minister out of office, the argument would go. >> well, i think the united states is a great bastion of the rule of law, and so is the united kingdom. there is one rule for all of us. no one is above the rule of law. when the people who are making those rules has clearly broken those rules, that undermines the very substance of our democracy based on the rule of law. there cannot be a situation where there is one rule for the leaders, the people at the very top, and another rule for the rest of us. with this clear, blatant prbrea of this core democratic principle in law-apbiding westen democ democracies, the breach of the law is serious. that's why i don't think one can make light of it. this really is a grounds for the resignation of the prime minister. >> sir ed davey, appreciate you joining us this morning. it'll be inter esting to see wht happens in the coming days and weeks. as you say, this is having a serious ripple effect. appreciate it. >> thank you. espn's stephen a. smith revealing his brutal battle with covid. what he says saved his life. plus, a massive asteroid about to make a close encounter with earth. is it close enough to call in bruce willis? we'll have details ahead. >> always close enough. you always have to call in bruce willis. (music) ♪ i think to myself ♪ ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ feel stuck with student loan debt? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ ♪ ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi- you could save with low rates and no fees. earn a $1,000 bonus when you refi- and get your money right. my asthma felt anything but normal. ♪ ♪ it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala reduces asthma attacks it's a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occured. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala. this is a warrior. midnight to morning, she's in command. all-day comfort. all-night shift. head nurse. heart on her sleeve. so, when leaks show up, our protection helps keep them dry. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you.™ (vo) subaru and our retailers volunteer and support charities all year long. and...through the subaru share the love event, we are proud to have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. you can get a car from any company, but none will make a difference like subaru. (jeff) thank you. (bonnie) thank you. (robert) thank you. subaru. more than a car company. it's our january sale on the sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to relieve pressure points. and it's temperature balancing so you both sleep just right. save $1,000 on the sleep number 360 special edition smart bed, queen now $1,999. plus, 0% interest for 24 months. new year, new start. and now comcast business is making it easy to get going with the ready. set. save. sale. get started with fast and reliable internet and voice for $64.99 a month with a 2-year price guarantee. it's easy... with flexible installation and backing from an expert team, 24/7. and for even more value, ask how to get up to a $500 prepaid card. get a great deal for your business with the ready. set. save. sale today. comcast business. powering possibilities. espn commentator stephen a. smith revealing his near deadly battle with covid, crediting the vaccine and doctors for saving his life. listen. >> i had a 103 degree fever every night. woke up with chills, pool of sweat. headaches were massive. coughing profusely. it got to a point that right before new year's eve, i was in hospital new year's eve into new year's day. that's how i brought in the new year. they told me, had i not been vaccinated, i wouldn't be here. that's how bad i was. i had pneumonia in both lungs. my liver was bad. it ravaged me, to the point where, even now, i have to monitor my volume. i have to get in the gym every day, walk before you run. work your way back, because i'm not 100% with my lungs. but i'm covid negative, all that stuff. i'm on the road to recovery. but if it wasn't for the several doctors, like dr. booth, dr. sp spevak and others, i wouldn't be here. >> we are glad he is back. just in, a dire warning from health care officials in four oklahoma city hospitals, writing in an open letter, quote, our emergency departments are overflowing. the oklahoma city health care system is at a breaking point. soon, you or a loved one may need us for life-saving care, whether for a stroke, emergency appendectomy, or trauma from a car accident, and we might not be able to help. this pandemic isn't just impacting care for covid patients. the letter says 107 patients are waiting for beds in oklahoma city emergency rooms. new data out of israel suggests that while a fourth covid vaccine dose can elicit and increase antibodies, it still may not be enough to prevent possible breakthrough infections caused by the omicron variant. joining us is michael osterholm, director at the university of minnesota. always great to see you. thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >> let me ask for your reaction, first off, to this study that shows, out of israel, that perhaps this fourth shot won't actually protect you from a break sq breakthrough infection. >> it is important to break this into two separate parts. the first one is, let's make it clear, for 7 million americans right now who are severe or moderately immune compromised, there is a very strong recommendation to get a fourth dose. the data there does, in fact, support that that can improve on your outcome and the antibody it produces. the question is, what does it mean for healthy adults? that's what the study in israel is addressing. this was just a lab-based study, looking at the amount of antibody. the study is ongoing and will have more clear information within the next month or two, as to whether it helps prevent getting infected or having serious illness. so i think the jury is still out on what it means for otherwise healthy people. >> professor, we have two huge things happening in the united states this morning. number one, and i think we need to draw focus to this, it seems as if cases and hospitalizations are dropping in the northeast and in the parts of the united states where this omicron wave hit first and worst. it now seems to be getting better. you can see the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in new york. while that's happening, we just saw that letter from health care workers in oklahoma city who are very concerned because now it's starting to hit there. how do you describe what's happening in the country right now? what do you make of it? >> well, you know, as i've described this for the last six to eight weeks, this is a viral blizzard. a blizzard doesn't hit the entire country all at once. it actually has a path that it follows. it unfolds often over days. we're seeing very much the same thing with regard to this virus. the northeast was hit first. they surely saw the very rapid increase in cases. when some other parts of the country, including my own state of minnesota, weren't seeing the big increases in cases. now, it's happening. because we see that the northeast is a week to ten days ahead of the rest of the country, we're glad that we're seeing these cases drop, but as you just pointed out, in the other states, particularly in the middle west, in the atlantic region, southern atlantic region, we're just now seeing the rises occur. i think for the next three to five weeks, we're going to continue to see large case numbers around the country, as kind of a mosaic of outbreaks happening in each state. >> isn't this a serious concern around capacity? i mean, obviously, where this wave started, places like new york, washington, d.c., where there is perhaps more concentrated, significant capacity to handle these kinds of waves. i mean, clearly, they don't have that in >> the really key point here is that this is not about hospital beds. it's about people. it's about healthcare workers, and we are already hanging on by the skin of our teeth in this country in terms of providing care just because of what happened and the number of healthcare workers who have left their jobs, literally suffering classic post traumatic stress syndrome. now we're seeing 10 to 20% of healthcare workers who are infected and they themselves cannot come to work because of the fact that they're infected. and so this has really made this a perfect storm kind of moment where we're seeing at i time where we need more healthcare workers having less. and while the administration has surely put forward dod medical teams and so forth, just put this in a perspective. we now have 1,000 dod medical exp experts in the feield and are missing 2 million healthcare workers today. and what you heard from oklahoma city. this is not just about covid care. now continue the time to have a heart attack, a stroke or be in an automobile accident. >> and it's a good reminder of what our healthcare workers have been through and what they continue to go through amid this omicron surge. thank you j, as always. >> thank you. up next, the major airlines warning of a catastrophic disruption to air travel starting tomorrow. what they're begging the biden administration to do right now. b ges. ♪ your dell technologigies advisr can help you find the rigight tech solution. so you can stop at nothing for your customersrs. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. 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 ♪ baby got back by sir mix-a-lot ♪ unlimited cashback match... only from discover. 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. ♪ got my hair ♪ ♪ got my head ♪ ♪ got my brains ♪ ♪ got my ears ♪ ♪ got my heart ♪ ♪ got my soul ♪ ♪ got my mouth ♪ ♪ i got life ♪ >> airline industry executives calling on bopresident biden to take immediate action against rollout of 5g technology near major airports. they're warning that 5g could interfere with and compromise key safety systems, causing what they say catastrophic dis disruptions of thousands of flights. cnn is live in washington. pete, glad you're a little warmer thais morning than w"whe it's all said and done..take time" we saw you yesterday. this sounds pretty scary. >> the airlines say this ere is real threat to your safety and they say this will only mean more delays and more cancellations. we've seen about 1,000 on a typical day because of this 5g issue. what is at issue is the power from the 5g transmitter towers, especially when they are near airports. they operate on a similar radio spectrum to what is called a radar altimeter that airliners use, especially when they are low to the ground and those critic al moments right before landing. now the ceos of all of the major airlines have written the biden administration to say there should be another delay of the 5g rollout and already delayed by two weeks. it says the ripple effect across both passenger and cargo operations are work force sand the broader economy are simply incalccable. the faa is testing these 5g transmitters close by to airports. the other idea put forth by united airlines is a two-mile buffer zone, essentially turning off these transmitters to make it so these planes can safely land. this is the new statement from united airlines. we will not compromise. government of other countries have successfully designed policies to do this. now the u.s. government must do the same, it says. the telecom industry says this has been successfully in plenty of other countries around the world. at&t and verizon are behind this p big push. at&t, the parent company of cnn, it is not commenting on this new letter. >> i would pmuch prefer that my plane run safely than my phone work a little bit faster. earlier this afternoon, an asteroid that's just over half a mile wide will fly fly by earth. what exactly does that mean? so according to nasa, it will pass earth at speeds of 12 miles per second. the distance is 1.2 million miles away. cnn's christian fisher joins us now. i don't know whether that's close or not. is that close? how scared should i be this morning? >> you should not be too scared, john. 1.2 million miles way in the grand scheme of things the scope and size of the universe, a million miles way is not that far and it is close enough to earth and this asteroid large enough, about twice the size of the empire state building that nasa has labeled it a potentially hazardous asteroid. you can go about your day fine, john. but this is just one example of some of the reasons why nasa is so concerned about the potential of not just this steroid, this steroid is something that has been watched and monitored and detected for decades now. what nasa astronomers are particularly worried about are those asteroids that sneak up on earth and this happened back in 2019, two years ago an asteroid got within 40,000 miles of e earth. that is nothing. this was a big asteroid, and the craziest part, john, is that nasa and astronomers around the world only noticed it less than 24 hours before it made its closest encounter to earth. and we now know it's a combination of things. i won't get into the fphysics right now but that is what nasa is most concerned about, not this one that you see that we've been monitored fobut those asteroids that go undetected until right at the last moment. >> you can't have asteroids sneaking up on you. that's unacceptable, right? >> that's when you need to s